If you are a Kanjeevaram sari admirer, the rustle its mention creates in your mind would be of silk. Kanjeevaram’s texture, a grammatic and dramatic play of more than one shade of silk yarn in the warp and weft, gives it an underlit sheen, often in a contrasting hue. So common is the coupling of silk with the word Kanchipuram (the name of Tamil Nadu’s small temple town), that the popular marketing phrase “pure Kanchipuram silk saris” derives from it.

Silk, though, is not the only yarn that looks so irresistibly full-bodied in the Kanjeevaram weaving vocabulary. A new bunch of delightful cotton Kanjeevarams displayed at Dastkari Haat Samiti’s new store in Delhi makes that pretty clear. Woven on the same handlooms in Kanchi as their silken twins, by the same groups of weavers who work primarily with silk yarn for better profitability, these cotton saris carry the familiar Kanjeevaram design vocabulary—temple, geometric or floral borders, chequered or plain fields in colour themes like burnt orange, pink, and maroon, with distinctly woven borders. The depth of their colours and their dignified look make them outstanding pieces. They should certainly be on your wish list, especially during winters, when “pure silk Kanjeevaram” becomes a predictable seasonal choice.

Price: Approx. Rs3,000. At Dastkari Haat Samiti, Shop No.12, Mehar Chand Market, New Delhi (the store has moved from its former address in Khan Market).

https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/KwVzKSyVIX77RJGLbbBYmI/Lounge-Loves-Cotton-Kanjeevarams.html