From the Jacket

Silk Sarees of Tamil Nadu takes the reader on a journey from "silkworm to the pattu pudavai (silk saree)" of Tamil Nadu. From yarn and dye, to designer and weaver, the book is an expression of the author’s love of this noble art of silk weaving in Tamil Nadu.

Her fascination with the designs as being expressive of the Tamil psyche and spiritual ethos is expressed in a comprehensive manner, with an awareness of their enduring beauty. “The designs are deep and meaningful, not just decorative. And they speak through the woven fabric. Nothing is but has a bhava, an inherent emotion, which, to those who will see it, invokes a response, a rasa, an answering emotion, and therein Art exists. And it seemed sad that this experience has not been explored enough. The rich spirituality of the designs can enrich all of us. This fascination with the meaningfulness of the designs in Tamil Nadu, some of which are, of course, pan—Indian, was the grain of sand that irritated the writer’s oyster. Without affectation, this book is an expression of that appreciation.

The sericulturist, the silk yarn spinner and reeler, the dyer, the artist-designer and the weaver, all come together to create the handwoven silk saree, and each is given his regard and due in the book. Students of Indian, textiles, seekers of meaningfulness in art, wearers of sarees, lovers of Tamil culture, and general readers who look to read about traditional art and informative asides in journal entries, will all find something of relevance to them in the Silk Sarees of Tamil Nadu.

Nesa Arumugam (aka Nasa Eliezer) has a deep and abiding love for Indian taxtiles. As a freelance writer, she has published more than 400 articles in magazines in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Other books published: Recipes of the Jaffna Tamils, Cooking for Jey, A Tale of Two Journeys and The Meddling Monkey and Other Animal tales. Also A Dictionary of Silk in India. She ran a Saree Shop (Ashwin Australia) from her home in Melbourne, Australia, for twenty years, importing the finest traditions of Indian silks. Her many stage productions included A Dream of the Drape, the story of the saree.