Tant sari

Tant sari is a traditional Bengalisari, originating from the Bengal region in the eastern part and usually used by Bengali women. Tant sari are woven from cotton threads and distinguished by its lightness and transparency. It is considered to be the most comfortable sari for the hot and humid climate in the Indian subcontinent.^[1]

Under the royal guidance the tant (specially jamdani) and muslin became famous in and around Dacca (now Dhaka, Bangladesh) and Murshidabad (now West Bengal, India) in the Mughal era.^[2] British government tried to destroy this art to protect the textile industry of Manchester, but the tant culture managed to survive.

With the division of Bengal province during the partition of 1947, some of the weavers migrated to West Bengal and continued their craftsmanship there. Thus the tant weavers are now seen in both parts of Bengal.^[3]

Weaving of tant sari is famous and an age old crafting of Bengal. The craftsmen deftly weave the cotton to thread which is woven to tant sari. Two shuttles are used for this purpose. Traditionally, handlooms were used by the weavers, which have today been largely replaced by power looms to weave these saris.

The typical Tant sari is characterised by a thick border and a decorative pallav, woven using a variety of floral, paisley and other artistic motifs. Some of the popular traditional motifs are: bhomra (bumble bee), tabij (amulet), rajmahal (royal palace), ardha-chandra (half moon), chandmala (garland of moons), ansh (fish scale), hathi (elephant), nilambari (blue sky), ratan chokh (gem-eyed), benki (spiral), tara (star), kalka (paisley) and phool (flower). Printed, hand-painted and embroidered patterns are also used to get a larger variety of designs.^[3] Different motifs including floral element, solar element and recently even modern art are depicted in this sari.^[4] Tant Sari comes with colourful design ^[5] and borders are made thicker because it is subjected to tear easily.

El arte tradicional del tejido jamdani , considerado la mejor variedad de vestimenta tant, ha sido incluido por la UNESCO en la lista del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad .

Además de las mujeres bengalíes comunes de Bangladesh y Bengala Occidental, muchas personalidades bengalíes destacadas también prefieren usar el sari tant como su atuendo habitual. Entre ellas destacan la primera ministra de Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina , la presidenta del Parlamento de Bangladesh, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury , y la ministra principal de Bengala Occidental, Mamata Banerjee .

Se recomienda que, antes del primer lavado, los saris tant se remojen brevemente en agua tibia con sal gruesa para evitar que destiñan durante los lavados posteriores. Lavarlos con un detergente suave, almidonarlos y colgarlos para que se sequen a la sombra garantizará la durabilidad de estos saris de algodón. ^{[ 6 ]}