Pretty Paithani weaves for beautiful drapes

Hyderabad: Arati Baandal talks about the effort it took to revive the centuries old technique of Paithani through her label ‘OnlyPaithani’ Engineering graduate-turned-entrepreneur Arati Baandal was on the search for her dream wedding sari – a Paithani. Despite going through many shops and stores, she found not many sold the traditional style. “Back in 2006, […]

Hyderabad: Arati Baandal talks about the effort it took to revive the centuries old technique of Paithani through her label ‘OnlyPaithani’ Engineering graduate-turned-entrepreneur Arati Baandal was on the search for her dream wedding sari – a Paithani. Despite going through many shops and stores, she found not many sold the traditional style.

“Back in 2006, I realised that this beautiful art of Paithani needs to be showcased in the right way and brought to the people in newer colours and patterns which will bring in more buyers who appreciate Paithanis. Then I decided that the Paithani needs to be put on a much bigger platform to reach the right people and started researching the entire process from yarn to the end product,” explains Arati.

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It took her two years to understand what goes into the making of a Paithani sari. She then started with a small capsule collection of 12 saris which became the beginning of her brand ‘OnlyPaithani’.

“I had always been fond of various types of hand-crafted fabrics, and Paithani has been an integral part of all our ceremonies growing up, much like the Kanjeevaram in a south Indian household. The website was launched in 2011 and gained momentum from 2013. We opened the outlet in Hyderabad late last year,” adds Arati.

Paithani has been the choice of the royals from the time of great Marathas like Shivaji Maharaj and the Peshwas. It’s a fabric that’s entirely handwoven and, unlike any other weave, it uses a tapestry style of weaving which results in the design being replicated on the reverse of the fabric without any loose or cut threads.

Paithani is an exclusive sari weaving technique native to a Maharashtrian town named Paithan, located about 300 km away from Mumbai. It is made by highly skilled artisans. “We work with weavers in Yeola and Paithan. Initially, they were not very receptive to inputs. My lack of experience in weaving and a formal education in design made them resist my ideas. However, as time passed, the artisans have become quite open to experimenting as far as possible,” shares Arati.

Launch in Hyderabad

“Paithani is a very distinct fabric and it doesn’t compete with the other sari stores in Hyderabad. We realised the scope in Hyderabad market for good products, and the store’s performance so far validates this belief,” shares Arati.

Future plans

“We plan on expanding the physical stores. We have started offering dupattas, lehengas and men’s jackets too. There are also plans to integrate different types of hand-crafted saris and garments like the Jamdani cotton and hand block prints in a more affordable range,” adds Arati.