The sarees of Bhagalpur
Bihar's silk city, long known for tussar silk sarees and dress material woven in the weavers' quarters.
Motifs of Bhagalpur
Woven here
Best time: October to March.
Bhagalpur is the centre of Bihar's silk trade and is often called the Silk City. Tussar, the wild silk reared on trees of the forests of eastern India, is its main thread. The cloth is called Bhagalpuri silk, and it is woven in the town and in the villages around it.
What is woven here
Tussar is a coarser, golden-brown silk spun from cocoons of silkworms that feed on the leaves of trees such as arjun and sal. Bhagalpur weavers make sarees, dupattas, furnishing cloth and dress material from it, and some pieces are printed or painted. The natural colour can be left as it is or dyed. A typical Bhagalpuri saree has a dry, crisp feel and a soft sheen that becomes smoother with washing.
The craft and its people
Weaving is done in the weavers' localities of the town, such as Nathnagar and Champanagar, mostly by families who have worked as weavers for generations, many of them Muslim. Cocoons come from Jharkhand and other forest regions, and reeling and spinning are done by hand in some places. The silk trade has declined and recovered several times, and cooperatives and designers have tried to bring Bhagalpur tussar to wider markets.
Seeing it
Nathnagar and Champanagar are the main weaving areas, and the town's silk shops and cooperatives sell cloth by the metre as well as sarees. Asking at a cooperative is the best way to be introduced to a weaver. The town is on the Ganga and is a short journey from the Vikramshila ruins, an old Buddhist monastery site.
A trail idea for Bhagalpur
- Nathnagar weaving quarter Walk the lanes where looms click in house after house and silk is hung to dry.
- Champanagar Visit the neighbouring area known for weavers and for the silk trade, and ask to see a loom at work.
- A silk cooperative shop Compare tussar by the metre with finished sarees and learn how to judge the weave.
- The Ganga riverfront End the day at the river that gave the town its trade.
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Bhagalpur" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and workshops change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreTussar silkkosa
Wild silk with a deep gold sheen, reeled from forest cocoons, woven into sarees in IndiaTussar · Kantha · Hand painting