Molakalmuru is a town that is situated in Chitradurga district in the Indian state of Karnataka. One of the villages in the panchayat town of Molakalmuru is Hangal, where the maximum number of Molkalmuru saris is woven to date. The Molkalmuru saris have been accorded a GI tag # 53 for its unique designs and patterns.
Molkalmuru saris are predominantly woven by a community called Swakulasalis who speak the Marathi language. Their chief god is Jhiveshwara. Adimaya, the supreme mother created Vishnu from her Satvaguna, Bramha from Rajoguna and Maheshwar from Tamoguna thereby giving responsibility of creation to Bramha, ruling to Vishnu and destruction to Shiva. All the Devas and Manavas were initially unclothed, so the extreme weather conditions drove them to cover themselves with leaves, animal skin and wooden bark. With the discovery of the wheel and advancement in their knowledge, they started weaving cloth from the yarn of the tree and barks.
At this juncture, Adimaya requested Shiva to create a supreme human who could weave exquisite cloth. Shiva created a child from his tongue and called him Jhiveshwara who was bestowed with all the powers of the Gods and was dedicated to weaving. One of the sons of Jhiveshwara, Kailasabhuvana settled at Sathyavati, a town under King Subhanu of Malava and started weaving. It is he, who started the Ahersali community. Another son, Sanathana joined King Chitravrutti of Bhaglana and also followed the footsteps of this father and his brother. The community he started was called the Swakulasali. The Molkalmuru weavers belong to Swakulasali community. One of the deities in the Kalabhairav temple in Kashi is Bhagwan Jhiveshwara.
Molkalmuru saris are available in both traditional and modern styles. Molkalmuru – Simhasana, is one of the most beautiful saris woven here, have minimum zari if at all any. They have a 1cm X 1cm rhombus design all across the sari. This design is highly labour intensive and takes days to complete. Molkalmuru - Honey comb border is another variation that has exquisite pallus and has minimum buttas across the body. The original design of this sari was supposed to have originated from the ‘Mysore Silk’. Yet another type is the ‘Pooja Checks’, which comes in various colours and has a chequered pattern all across the sari. Pooja saris were made famous by Indira Gandhi; they happened to be one of her favourites among the genre. Photographs reveal that she had quite a few of these in both Silk and Cotton. The traditional saris, rarely woven these days, comes in woven bi coloured checks on the body; white being the constant colour teamed with another. The authentic woven checks with dots inside are called Mutthu Kattam. Ganga - Jamuna is the one that has large borders on both sides of the sari, in two different colours. The Baba butta sari is minimalistic in design and very elegant. These saris draw a lot of inspiration from nature with motifs like flowers, birds and leaves as motifs. Molkalmuru - Gandaberunda sari named after the mythical bird, the official insignia of Karnataka state. Gandaberunda is a two-headed bird and a form of the Hindu god Vishnu as Narasimha and has enormous powers in Hindu mythology. Gandaberunda is the emblem of the Kingdom of Mysuru of Wodeyar rulers, and after India was united, it was kept by Mysuru State as its emblem.
Molkalmuru saris, particularly the Simhasana sari derives its design from the Mysore throne. It is said that Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Sri Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar promoted these saris and have a collection of 140 Molkalmuru saris in their private collection. The clothes that are adorned by the Gods in the Mysore palace also are made out of this silk variety and hence these saris came to be called as Simhasana Saris
