Kota Doria is a unique and an almost transparent weave whose production process by Rajasthani villages tells its distinct textile story. Soft to the touch, yet with a serried feel at the edges, it is woven on a traditional pit loom in such a fashion that it produces square checks patterning on the fabric. The delicately wrought checks are known locally as ‘Khats’ that gives Kota Doria a transparent look and ethereal feel. The Masuria Malmal or Kota Doria is recognized by its graph like geometric pattern called “Khats”. Woven in pure cotton and silk in different densities, the sari is much loved and treasured for its lightness that retains a very versatile grandeur.
Its origin as a craft is shrouded in mystery and there are several myths all handed down from generation to generation. One theory is that the word “Masuria”, part of the local lexicon of the Kota sari attributes its name to its origin – the erstwhile Kingdom state of Mysore, while others believe that it is a tribute to the use of silk from Mysore. The Saris of India by Rta Kapur Chishti and Amba Sanyal refers to the finesse of the weave resembling “Masoor” lentils, a more plausible theory that has no reference to the state of Mysore. In earnest, the finest Kota saris that are handmade, of the 300 to 400 khat variety do indeed bear resemblance to the Masoor lentil.
The unique method of peg warping and brush sizing is special to the Kota Doria process. Onion juice and rice paste is brushed with a lot of care into the yarn. It makes the yarn so strong that no additional finishing process is required once the fabric is woven.
Locals in Kota attribute their weaving patronage to Rao Kishore Singh (1684 – 1695), a general in Shah Jahan’s army and also a Prince of Kota who facilitated the settling of weavers from Mysore in Kaithun. Kaitheen, used to be the biggest Kota Doria producing village in Kota district… a village of 15,000 people and 2,500 looms. Weaving is done in pit looms with the shuttle technique which has a great potential for improvisation. The designs are transferred on to the fabric using dobby, jacquard or the jaala techniques. While the yarn is procured from Bangalore, the real zari is from Surat. Both vegetable and azo free chemical dyes are used.
Kota Dorias started out as headgear or “pagris” for the royal court (8 to 9 inches) and then moved into dhotis of 36-inch width. Only when the width was raised to 46 inches did the versatility of the fabric as a sari come into vogue.
