Muslin weaved in the country.
Is muslin just a fabric? Speaking of the
heritage of this Bangladesh, there is no way to exclude muslin when talking
about history. That's why it took six years for a group of researchers to
regenerate muslin. Eventually, they succeeded. The strange way in which the
ingredients of fine muslin were collected is a great story.
The last exhibition of Dhakai muslin was in
London in 1850. 170 years later, the traditional Dhaka muslin sari was woven
again in Bangladesh. Just like that, as it was said a whole sari melts through
the ring. GI ownership of Dhaka Muslin has already been approved. A gazette has
been published on December 28.
Traditionally, Dhaka muslin production stopped after the muslin artists cut off their fingers. Now muslin is also made in India. But experts say that the specialty of Dhaka muslin is different.
That is why a group of researchers set out
for Dhaka to make a muslin. These are the results of six years of effort and
research. Six muslin saris have been made. In which an investigator gifted the
Prime Minister. But first the researchers had to rush from Calcutta to London
to get a piece of "real" muslin. "Footy corpus" cotton
plants made from muslin woven yarn have been found using a variety of methods.
Even in this age of mechanical civilization, weavers had to use 500 counts of
yarn cut by hand to make this sari. The cloth is also woven by handloom.
In the beginning
During a visit to the
Ministry of Textiles and Jute in October 2014, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
spoke of bringing back the muslin tradition. Knowing in which areas of
Bangladesh muslin yarn was made, he instructed to rescue the technology. In
order to implement this directive of the Prime Minister, a seven-member expert
committee was formed by convening the Chairman of the Weaving Board in
Bangladesh. The other members of the
committee are Professor of Botany, Rajshahi University. Manzur Hossain,
Professor Shah Alimuzzaman of Bangladesh Textile University, Md. Akhtaruzzaman,
Additional Director of Bangladesh Cotton Development Board, Mahbub-ul-Alam,
General Manager of BTMC Dhaka, ASM Golam Mostafa, Deputy General Manager of
Bangladesh Weaving Board and Member Secretary of the Weaving Board. To Manjurul
Islam. Later seven more members
were added to the committee in the interest of research. They are Professor
Bulban Osman of Dhaka University, Professor M Firoz Alam of the Department of
Botany, Rajshahi University, Professor of the Department of Agronomy and Agril.
Mostafizur Rahman, Chief Planning Officer of the Bangladesh Weaving Board. Ayub
Ali and Bangladesh Silk Research and Training Institute Rajshahi Research
Officer. Abdul Alim.
At the beginning of the
work, the researchers did not have any samples of muslin cloth or cotton. Their
first task was to cut the yarn from cotton and weave muslin sari to find the
cotton plant.
To accomplish this, a
project titled 'Bangladesh's Golden Tradition of Muslin Yarn Making Technology
and Recovery of Muslin Fabrics (Phase I)' was undertaken. The main scientist of
the project is Rajshahi University Professor of Botany. Manzoor Hossain. The project director was appointed chief
planning officer of the Weaving Board in Bangladesh. Ayub Ali.
In search of Footy corpus
The chief scientist of the project. Manzoor
Hossain said that the main task of his team was to find out the DNA sequence of
his yarn and match it with the DNA of the footy cotton plant. But there is no
pattern of muslin cloth in hand, no sign of footy corpus. There were only books
like 'Spice Planteram' written by Swedish researcher Carolus Linnaeus and
'Dhakai Muslin' by Abdul Karim. In
the book of Carolus Linnaeus, it is mentioned that ‘footy corpus’ is
suitable for weaving muslin cloth. It is written that this tree was cultivated
in eastern India and Bangladesh.
Footy cotton cultivation in the research field of Rajshahi University.
Professor Manzoor Hossain said the Footy corpus has the potential to survive somewhere in the wild in Bangladesh. Based on this idea, it is planned to collect cotton varieties found in different parts of Bangladesh in different parts of the country and to experiment by cultivating them in their own research fields.
To find the tree, it was first painted by
an art student of Rajshahi University. That picture was advertised in the
newspaper. Is broadcast on BTV. Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs
Shahriar Alam gave a status on his Facebook. Seeing this, the principal of
a college in Kapasia area of Gazipur. Tajuddin distributed leaflets and miked
at various local schools and colleges in search of footy corps. In view of this, news of this tree came from
Kapasia and Rangamati of Gazipur in March 2017. The researchers went and
collected samples. Then Baghaichhari, Sajek, and Langdu of Rangamati; A total
of 38 samples were collected from Bagerhat, Lalmonirhat, and Kurigram. Cotton, seeds, leaves, stems, and flowers are
taken as samples. Researchers found similarities between the sketch (pictured)
and a species of Kapasia tree. This variety of potential footy cotton is
cultivated in the field of Botany of Rajshahi University and in the field of
IBSC.
Running and moving
From Calcutta to London
Similarly, a notification was published in
Prothom Alo on 11 December 2016 to procure muslin cloth from local sources.
Then they get about two thousand phones. Samples of 8 fabrics are available
from different parts of the country. The research team also found a sari 300
years ago while collecting samples. An examination later showed that it was
actually an old silk cloth.
Recently, researchers are
showing a muslin woven sari that is melted through the ring in the Padma the residential area of Rajshahi.
Not finding any muslin
samples from any other source in the country, they swore allegiance to the
National Museum authorities. The researchers needed a four-by-four-inch piece
of Dhaka muslin cloth. But the museum was not giving them samples at all. Even
after getting permission from the ministry, the museum authorities did not give
them samples of muslin. The research team spent about eight months waiting for
samples from the National Museum. At one point they went to the National Museum
of India in Calcutta to collect samples of muslin. Museum experts say the
muslin sari now being made in Murshidabad is made from cotton in South India,
which is not as soft as Dhakai muslin. According to them, if you want to make
Dhaka muslin, you have to find the variety from the vicinity of Dhaka and use
that cotton in that area. Cotton varieties and weather have a special role in
making a muslin. If you want, you can't make a sari like Dhaka muslin anywhere.
The research team also
found a sari 300 years ago while collecting samples. An examination later
showed that it was actually an old silk cloth.
The research team was
disappointed after failing to go to India. Professor Manzoor Hossain said that
after hearing this news, the Prime Minister asked them to go to the Victoria and
Albert Museum in London. She has seen Dhaka muslin
there. Finally, in July 2017, a four-member team, including three members of
the committee, visited the museum in London for a small sample of muslin. There
they found samples of muslin cloth and important information.
Finally, that “Footy corpus”
DNA sequences of muslin
cloth collected from London were extracted. Researchers have finally found a
similarity between the DNA of this muslin and that of a previously collected
cottonseed plant. They are convinced that this is their desired variety of 'footy
corpus'. A local man
named Abdul Aziz found the
corpse. He was gladly given a mobile phone as a gift by the committee.
500 count yarn
If you weigh one kilometer
of yarn and divide the length of the yarn by the number of grams, the count is obtained.
For example, if the weight of yarn of 1000 meters length is 2 grams, then
dividing 1000 meters by 2 gives 500. This quotient is considered a count.
Muslin cloth was usually woven with 500 counts of yarn. A sari requires 140 to 150 grams of yarn. The
trained spinners of this project can now cut one gram of yarn in five days.
This means that if one continues to cut muslin yarn at this speed, it should
take him about two years to make yarn for a sari.
muslin sari
After wandering around for a long time, they found Hasu and Nurjahan, two old women in their eighties. They say that their ancestors used to cut muslin yarn. They also have memories of fine yarn in their childhood.
Making 500 counts of yarn from cotton is no small feat. This yarn will not be in modern machinery, it will be cut in a spinning wheel. Manjurul Islam, member secretary of the committee and senior instructor of the weaving board, led the work of making yarn. This time the search begins where the weavers still spin the spinning wheel. The news comes that these weavers are still in Chandina of Comilla. They cut the thick yarn on a wheel for khaddar. However, that yarn does not come to the size of the count. It can be a maximum of eight to ten counts. Yet researchers rushed there. They think that it is possible that one of their ancestors cut muslin yarn. After wandering around for a long time, they found Hasu and Nurjahan, two old women in their eighties. They say that their ancestors used to cut muslin yarn. They also have memories of fine yarn in their childhood.
Finding them, the
research team saw the light of hope at the end of the tunnel. But they can't
cut the thread now.
Manjurul Islam and Dean of
Textile University Professor Alimuzzaman made a new spinning wheel.
The magic of three fingers
Thinning is actually the
magic of three fingers. It was necessary to discover how to leave cotton with
three fingers. And this yarn is the finest on the fingers of women. All three
fingers need to be kept soft enough. At first, their fingers were stiff. There
was no feeling. Later they had to undergo 'treatment' of their fingers. Later they had to undergo 'treatment'
of their fingers. In the
evening, the lotion was applied on three fingers and the yarn was cut in the
morning. And all three fingers have to take care of all the time. So that these
three fingers do not get any scratches or they do not cut any other thing with
these three fingers. When he went to work again, his fingers would get sweaty,
then he would bring him back to normal with powder. Concentration has been
created with their training on how much yarn they will leave in one of the four
gaps. Attempts have been made to increase their attention. It's a big deal.
Because it has no mechanical size. It is necessary to control the amount of
yarn release with the rotation of the wheel through full attention.
At the weaver's door with
yarn
Manjurul Islam, Senior
Instructor, Weaving Board
Knitting Pre-prepared
Manjurul Islam said, ‘There
was a hope that Jamdani was made in our country. Jamdani takes 150 counts of
yarn. Jamdani is actually low-quality muslin. I was optimistic about this but
in reality, it turned out that we went to the weavers' door with 300 counts of yarn.
They say it's not possible. But we did not give up. At one stage we got that
desired weaver in Narayanganj. They are Rubel Mia and Md. Ibrahim. '
However, we started the task,
with thin yarn. Starch was needed to prevent corrosion from friction, but
conventional starch was not working. At one stage, they were able to work using
starch by feeding thin paddy. Once again, it was torn with starch and
repeatedly torn. How to do it will not tear. That too was taken out. Dried.
Even if you go to fill the bobbin, it breaks again and again. Every step has to
be rediscovered. The same goes for making pulls.
In order for the bobbin to
rotate easily in the beam, the structural aspect has to be adjusted. The beams
had to be wrapped and sewn with this thin yarn. Due to the thin thread, the
thread gets torn as soon as it touches the finger. Half an hour of work had to
be done for four hours. It is neither too cold nor too hot. The loom is placed
in a clay hole. Muslin has a relationship with soil moisture. Water had to be
kept in buckets to prevent the yarn from tearing repeatedly.
Finally woven
These two weavers also had
to give a lot of technical training step by step in weaving cloth. At first, a
loom was made. Later three have been made. Rubel and Ibrahim saw the design of
the sari woven in 1710 and weaved exactly the same sari.
The Victoria and Albert
Museum in London has about three and a half hundred Dhaka muslin saris. That
sari woven in 1710 is there. In the first stage, it cost 3 lakh 60 thousand takas
to make the sari. The researchers
expect that these costs
will continue to decrease gradually. They have already made a total of six
saris. A sari has been given as a gift to the Prime Minister.
The total cost of the
project was estimated at Tk 14 crore 10 lakhs. Extensive travel in six years,
Kolkata-London has cost about 4 crore takas. About
70 percent of the maximum allocation has been given back at the time of
calculation.
Ayub Ali, director of the
project,
hopes the sari will be available to the public within the next two years.
Author-M.ZAMAN(RASEL).
:Rebirth of Dhakai Muslin Saree){kind=link}
1 Comments
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