Patan's patola sari stays new for 300 years, costs in the lakhs
The double ikat weave of Gujarat's Patan patola sari, woven entirely by hand with natural dyes, can take up to a year to make and keep its shine for three centuries.
Sarees have always held a distinct place in Indian culture, and several are famous the world over. Among them is the patola sari of Patan in Gujarat. Patola saris are generally considered expensive, but what makes the Patan patola so special that its price can run into lakhs of rupees is worth knowing.
Even very high quality saris usually cost only a few thousand rupees, but a genuine Patan patola sari can cost anywhere from one lakh to ten lakh rupees or more. It is surprising to hear that a single sari can cost in the lakhs, and it is worth understanding what makes it count among the most expensive saris in the world.
The most distinctive feature of the Patan patola is its weaving technique. The sari is woven using the double ikat method. Usually, saris are woven first and then dyed, or the design is created directly with thread, but the patola is not made this way.
To weave a patola, both the warp and weft threads are dyed before the weaving even begins. The weavers of this sari are so skilled and experienced that they know in advance exactly which thread will form which part of the pattern at which point. Even a small mistake with a single thread can spoil the pattern of the entire sari.
Normally, the right and wrong sides of a sari can be told apart just by looking at it, but this is not the case with the patola. This sari looks exactly the same on both sides. Looking at it, you would not even guess how finely it has been woven. Its colour, sheen and pattern are completely identical on both sides, and this is what makes it so special.
A genuine Patan patola sari is woven entirely by hand, with no machines used at all. Because of this, even a simple patola sari takes at least six months to a year to complete. If the pattern is more intricate, it can take even longer. It is the weavers' months of labour that make this sari so valuable.
Any sari, no matter how expensive, tends to lose its shine over time, but the Patan patola sari remains just like new for centuries. No chemical dyes are used in it, only natural dyes. A genuine patola sari stays new for around 300 years, meaning a single sari can be used by three generations.
