The sarees of Rajshahi

What is woven here

Rajshahi silk is woven from mulberry silk thread into sarees, with plain or lightly patterned bodies and borders. The cloth is smooth and has a soft lustre. Block-printed and hand-painted silk is also made here. Rajshahi sarees are bought for weddings and festivals across Bangladesh.

The craft and its people

Silk work in the region covers the whole chain: growing mulberry trees, rearing silkworms, reeling thread and weaving. The Bangladesh Sericulture Board has its headquarters in Rajshahi and works to support farmers and weavers. Many households in the district take part, and women do much of the rearing and reeling.

Seeing it

The Varendra Research Museum, run by the university, has a notable collection of art and objects of the region. Silk factories and weavers' clusters in and around the city can be visited, and shops in the city sell Rajshahi silk. The riverfront of the Padma is the city's main public space.

A trail idea for Rajshahi

1. A silk reeling and weaving cluster Visit a unit where cocoons are reeled into thread and set on looms.
2. Varendra Research Museum See the collections of the museum for the history of the region.
3. A silk shop in the city Compare plain, printed and painted silk sarees and ask how they are made.
4. The Padma riverfront End with a walk along the river that gave the city its setting.