Kanchipuram Silk Sarees - A primer and Buying Guide
"How do I look?" Padma asked me, nonchalantly, staring at her reflection in the large mirror. We were in a large showroom of Silk Sarees, and a salesgirl carefully folded the saree at the right places, held them in place, and then looked at us noddingly for a reaction. "Good" I said, "But...". My wife cut me off, and declared "I love this saree. I want to buy this". I continued my muted protest - "first of all this is not handloom, and secondly I suspect this has a mix of polyester fiber". I got back in a quick retort was "Polyester, silk, handloom - does not matter. This a beautiful saree, and I love it." We were in the temple town of Kancheepuram in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, India, famed as much for its tradition of handmade silk sarees, as for its majestic temples. They are the remnants of a weaving and dyeing tradition hundreds of years old, patronised by the Cholas, Pallavas and the C