Jamdani Weaving of Rupganj

Jamdani is a weaving technique in which the pattern is built up by hand as the cloth is woven, with a supplementary weft added thread by thread on a pit loom using fine cotton, so the motifs appear to float in the fabric rather than being printed or embroidered on afterwards. It is the descendant of the Dhaka muslin trade, and it survives in a cluster of villages along the Shitalakshya river east of the capital. A single sari can take two weavers several months, working from memory without a written pattern, and the finest pieces cost accordingly. UNESCO inscribed the tradition in 2013. Weavers work in village workshops that can be visited, and a jamdani market operates near Demra on Friday mornings.

What's there

• Pattern built during weaving - supplementary weft added thread by thread.
• Pit looms worked by two people - the arrangement a sari is made on.
• Weaving from memory - no written pattern used at the loom.
• The Friday jamdani market - the weekly sale near Demra.

When to go

November to March for travel; the Friday morning market near Demra is the time to see trading. Half a day. Workshop visits are easier with a local contact than turning up.

Good to know

Machine-made imitations are sold widely as jamdani and are hard to tell apart without help. Prices for genuine handwoven pieces are high and haggling is expected. Workshops are working places, not set up for visitors. The drive from Dhaka is slow.

Nearby

Sonargaon and Panam Nagar are south-east; Dhaka lies west.