Gollabhama saris, prepared by weavers from the Siddipet and Dubbaka regions of the Indian state of Telangana, have been recognised as an iconic textile craft of India by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culture Organisation (UNESCO). The beautiful saris are named after the inlaid weave of the gollabhama or the ‘milkmaid’ motif on their borders.

The report titled ‘Handmade for the 21st Century: Safeguarding Traditional Indian Textile’ documented the unique customary textile crafts of India. The UNESCO report describes the gollabhama saris as having around eight to 13 of the milkmaid motifs woven on the pallu (the loose end draped over the shoulder) and 13-15 motifs adorning on the lower border of the saris. Around 500 weavers across the country earn their livelihood crafting the statement cotton saris entirely by hand.

Bandha tie and dye weaving from Sambalpur in Odisha, Toda embroidery and Sungadi from Tamil Nadu, and Himroo weaves from Hyderabad were other textile crafts that made it to the UNESCO list. Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi, Chamba rumals from Himachal Pradesh, Khes from Panipat, and Thigma or wool tie and dye from Ladakh in north India were described in the report, while Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur and Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka in south India were also documented.

“Textile crafts represent a very significant share of the Indian cultural heritage and have dazzled the world for centuries. Despite the pressures of industrial mass production and competition from new countries, it is essential that these iconic heritage crafts are taken stock of and promoted as contemporary treasures,” UNESCO New Delhi director Eric Falt was quoted as saying by various media reports.