From the Founder
Sarees
Every Danyah saree begins on a pit loom in Madanpura, Varanasi — a half-sunken wooden frame that the weaver climbs into at dawn and does not leave until the light fails. The looms are old. The youngest of them is forty years; the oldest in our circle is closer to ninety, passed from grandfather to grandson, still strung with the same handmade reed.
We work with sixteen master weavers across four neighbourhoods. Each piece in this room was made by a single pair of hands, on a single loom, in a process that takes between two and twelve months. We do not group-weave; we do not power-loom; we do not finish elsewhere. From the moment the warp is dressed to the moment the pallu is cut, the saree never leaves its weaver's bench.
At our Mumbai atelier, every saree is laid flat, photographed under daylight, checked against the weaver's own swatch, and paired with an authenticity passport — the weaver's name, the loom number, the silk-and-zari composition, and a private serial that lives on our blockchain log.
What you choose from here is one of one. The next saree to come off that loom will be its cousin, not its replica.
By Danyah Banaras
Danyah Banaras Cotton Salab With Dual Tone And Tassels Pre Draped Saree
Rs. 4,499.00
Know What You're Wearing
A short course in this cloth
Three things every Danyah buyer should know before they fold this saree into a trousseau.
The Weave
What makes a Banarasi a Banarasi?
A true Banarasi is hand-woven on a pit loom in or around Varanasi, in one of four traditional weaves — kadhwa (motif-by-motif brocade), kadiyal (interlocked colour borders), jangla (continuous floral net), or tanchoi (silk-on-silk satin weave). It must use real silk and real metallic zari — silver thread, gilded in gold — and it must be made by hand from warp to pallu by a single weaver.
Power-loom imitations sold as Banarasi exist; they are bright, light, and finished in hours rather than months. A real Banarasi has weight, a faint cool-to-warm shift against the skin, and a small irregularity at the back of the weave where the weaver tied off his weft. That irregularity is the proof of the hand.
Authenticate
How to identify an authentic piece
- The reverse test. Turn the saree over. On a true Banarasi the back of the brocade shows clean, individually tied weft threads at the edge of each motif. A power-loom print shows a smooth, machine-finished underside or long floating threads.
- The burn test (on a 2cm tassel only). Real silk burns to a fine ash, smells like burnt hair, and self-extinguishes. Art silk melts into a hard plastic bead and smells acrid.
- The zari test. Scrape a small section of zari with a fingernail. Real metallic zari reveals a silver core under the gilt. Plastic zari peels back to a coloured polyester thread.
- The passport. Every Danyah saree ships with an authenticity card listing the weaver's name, loom number, silk and zari composition, and a blockchain-logged serial.
Care
Care & longevity
- Dry clean only, sparingly. A Banarasi does not need cleaning after every wear. Air it inside-out in shade for a full day after wearing; clean only after every three to four uses.
- Fold along the loom line. Refold the saree every two months along a different crease to prevent the zari from cracking along a permanent fold. Store flat where possible.
- Wrap in undyed muslin. Never store directly in plastic or in a sealed bag — silk needs to breathe. A clean cotton mulmul wrap protects against moisture and oxidation of the zari.
- Tuck in a clove or two. Whole cloves and dried neem leaves keep silverfish and moths away without staining the cloth. Refresh every six months.
- If a thread pulls, do not cut it. Send it to us — we maintain a free lifetime mending service at our Mumbai atelier for any saree purchased from Danyah Banaras.
Handwoven Banarasi sarees, sourced direct from Varanasi
Our Banarasi sarees are woven on traditional pit-looms in the bylanes of Madanpura, Varanasi — by master weavers whose families have been weaving for four to six generations. Each piece is hand-checked at our Mumbai atelier, finished, and paired with an authenticity certificate that lists the weaver's name, the loom number, and the exact silk and zari composition.
Whether you are shopping for a bridal Banarasi, a festive Katan silk, or a ready-to-wear pre-draped piece, every saree on Danyah Banaras carries the same promise: real silk, real zari, real craft.