Baluchari Brocade Weaving Bishnupur West Bengal

Baluchari is a silk brocade weaving tradition of Bishnupur in Bankura district, West Bengal, named after the village of Baluchar in Murshidabad where it originated in the Nawabi period. Baluchari sarees are distinguished by their large narrative pallu panels woven in supplementary weft silk using the Jacquard drawloom, depicting Nawab court scenes, palanquin processions, mythological episodes, and train and tram motifs from colonial Calcutta. The detailed figural woven scenes on a twill ground fabric require months of weaving. GI protection covers Bishnupur Baluchari. Master weaver Subho Thakur revived the tradition in the 1950s after it had almost died. West Bengal Handloom Corporation supports Bishnupur weavers with Jacquard cards and silk yarn and organises state emporium and craft fair sales.