At the TIME100 Summit, Nita Ambani used her clothing to show off Indian craftsmanship; she wore a Jamdani saree from West Bengal that Biren Kumar Basak, a Padma Shri recipient, spent 24 months handweaving. It was a very intentional and perfectly timed choice, combining cultural pride with high fashion, and quickly got people in the fashion and heritage worlds talking.
The saree and its storyteller weave
The Jamdani, selected from Swadesh, is described as a rich display of tribal designs, images that tell a story, and lucky fish designs at the edges, and all of these are done with incredible detail. The end of the saree (the pallu) is like a scroll unfolding, showing ceremonial events, people, animals, and plants, all with details that look like jewels.
Pale, soft stripes go across the main part of the saree, and they are broken up by carefully created sections that balance color and shape. Swadesh said on Instagram that the fish designs around the edges mean wealth and good luck, and really connect the saree to Indian culture.
The most noticeable parts of the design were:
– Detailed meenakari Jamdani fabric
– The pallu with pictures of ceremonies
– Designs from tribal groups and figures
– Fish borders that mean prosperity.
Crafted in Phulia, rooted in heritage
Basak, who works in Phulia, West Bengal, was in charge of the long and careful two-year process. Jamdani isn’t printed or embroidered; the designs are woven into the cloth on the loom. This takes a lot of time, patience, and amazing skill.
The process uses an “extra-weft” technique. Artisans carefully put each design into the fabric by using thicker threads on a very fine base. Because each shape is made by hand on the loom, it can take many months to finish just one saree.
To put it simply, making Jamdani involves:
– Adding extra-weft to each design
– Thicker threads on a very, very fine base
– A slow, very careful, and months-long process.
A moment at the TIME100 Summit
At the summit in New York, Nita Ambani had a conversation with Jessica Sibley and said simply, “India’s time is here. The world doesn’t need more displays of military or economic strength, it needs ‘soft power.'” Her clothes said the same thing, really emphasizing her point by showing off this craft.
Choosing to wear a Jamdani on a world stage showed how confident India is in its traditions and heritage that aren’t physical. It presented the saree as not just something to wear, but as “soft power” being used.
From Dhaka muslin to modern Jamdani
Jamdani has existed for at least 2400 years and is originally connected to Dhaka (now in Bangladesh), which was famous for its Dhaka muslin. It did well during the Tughlaq and Mughal dynasties because of how light and beautifully made it was, and became a symbol of luxury.
Floral and geometric patterns influenced by Persia came with the artisans during the Delhi Sultanate. Because Muslims were not allowed to wear silk, the Mughal emperors supported Dhaka muslin and Jamdani, and this took the cloth to an even more special level.
During the time of the British Empire, Europe wanted a lot of it, which led to machine-made copies. At the same time, strict rules about making cloth in India, and the movement of artisans to different areas, damaged the traditional weaving.
It had a resurgence in the late 1900s, and now in Bengal they weave it by hand and by machine. In the past, looms in Dhaka could make cloth with 800-1200 threads per inch, but Jamdani made today usually has less than 100.
The original cotton, phuti karpas, that was used for Dhaka muslin is now gone, so weavers today use other kinds of cotton. Jamdani designs are usually one of three main styles: butidar for flowers, terchi for sloping lines, and jala for patterns all over.
Why it matters now
UNESCO officially recognized Jamdani as culturally important to the world in 2013. Famous people wearing it has kept it popular. Just last week, MP and actress Kangana Ranaut wore a white Jamdani in Nandigram, and Alia Bhatt chose a light green and white Dhakai Jamdani during last year’s Durga Puja.
Ambani wearing it gives this popularity another boost, showing where it comes from and making it more visible. A saree that a master weaver in Phulia took 24 months to make isn’t just an item of clothing; it’s a choice to support ongoing craftwork, and she wore it on one of the most viewed platforms in the world.
