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The Kanjeevaram is mostly associated with special occasions such as marriages in Southern India. But the traditional silk saree is getting a contemporary look, says Shruti Kothari Tomar.

In 2018 Bollywood star Deepika Padukone wore two Kanjivarams for her wedding celebrations. One was a breathtaking red sari with the Gandaberunda, a mythical two-headed bird, and thesecond one had zari in both the warp and weft—it draped like molten gold. Both were by the Label Advaya from The House of Angadi in Bengaluru.

In 2009, a master weaver called Dorai stared blankly at the man in front of him. Dorai told the man something the latter had already suspected he’d hear. “Mudiyadu, anna (It can’t be done, brother).” The master weaver only agreed to attempt what he had deemed impossible when the visitor, K Radharaman, assured him he’d sit beside him while he worked….

K Radharaman of The House of Angadi says the awareness quotient about handloom has come down.

“Earlier, shopping was typically a family expedition. So an understanding of handlooms (as well as other things like jewellery) was passed down through generations during these shopping trips. The end of such a norm has contributed to the decline in knowledge,” he says.

“Simple devices to improve the ease of handling the spinning mechanism can go a long way in improving productivity,” says Radharaman Kothandaraman, a leading textile designer and founder of The House of Angadi, the sari brand that Bollywood star Deepika Padukone wore for her wedding to Ranveer Singh.

Ninety Kilometres South West of the modern City of Chennai – lies a town that lends its name to one of the most celebrated textile genres in the history of our civilization.

Deepika Padukone’s Kanjeevaram sari from luxury label, Advaya from the House of Angadi, has stirred the bridal fashion pot late last year and early this year. The Bangalore-based sari house is now in the news for its exquisite bridal Kanjeevarams and its innovative approach to the traditional weave. The fact that a celebrity like Deepika asserted her Kannada bridal roots with the Advaya sari not only made people sit up and take notice and got accolades for the House of Angadi. But for the design house, headed by Mr K Radharaman, the label’s popularity has always been the same, it’s a well known destination for South Indian brides around the world.

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From Sonam Kapoor Ahuja to Priyanka Chopra, most celebrities have already given metallic saris their stamp of approval. Here’s how you can incorporate one in your trousseau.

Through design intervention and harnessing tradition, Bengaluru-based label Advaya by the House of Angadi is breathing new life into Kanjeevarams, a centuries-old weave.