Hi, This is Niveditha Chandramohan…
And this is my journey with Madurai Kaikattu Sungudi that, true to its name, originated from the historical city of Madurai, the place that I call my home!
So, yeah! Predominantly found as Kaikattu Sungudi Sarees and Suit Sets, I have grown up seeing it around me, wearing it and ended up seeing it evolving into something else and vanishing slowly in front of my eyes & mind. And now the authentic kaikattu sungudi sarees have become a less available style in comparison to its evolved variants.
And talking about the artisans behind it. Well the scarcity is real!
In this blog, let's start with - knowing Madurai Kaikattu Sungudi!
Story Behind Sungudi:
According to recorded history, King Thirumalai Nayakkar from the Nayak Dynasty, an art enthusiast, welcomed the Saurashtrians under his patronage from Gujarat to Madurai in Tamil Nadu, during the 17th Century.
The Saurashtrians were skilled artisans and were known for their silk and cotton weaving. As the King supported their traditions to flourish, they started looking for new techniques and inspirations to add more value to their product.
It was on one such thoughtful night that the stars shimmering on the blanket of the night sky became their inspiration!
They experimented by tying small areas of the cloth with a thread tightly and then proceeded to dye it. In modern terms, they had tried out the Resist Dyeing Technique also commonly known as the Tie-Dye. This resulted in beautiful small, white, handmade circles after drying the cloth and removing the threads off, resembling the stars in the sky!
And this marked the origin of the Madurai Kaikattu Sungudi!
Kaikattu Sungudi? What does that mean?
Let's break it down!
The term “Sungudi” was derived from the Sanskrit word “Sunnam” which means the shape “Round”.
“Kaikattu” means “Kai”- Hand & “Kattu” - “Tie” in Tamil, meaning “Hand-Tied”.
Hence ultimately the meaning comes to “Hand-Tied Knots(Rounds)”
Why is Madurai Kaikattu Sungudi Special? When it comes to art forms, I truly believe that they are widely influenced and inspired by everything in us, around us and beyond!
Like wise, The Madurai Kaikattu Sungudi is an eclectic art form of Bandhini. They both share similar techniques yet differ from each other!
Kaikattu Sungudi was an adaptation to the local culture & condition of Madurai and was predominantly practiced on cottons followed by silk. Hence it's widely known as a cotton-based art form.
The artisans believe that even today, the water from the River Vaigai and the rich sand in its bed play an instrumental role in the making process and helps it stay unique and irreplaceable! And this gives it a place of its own among the Indian heritage textiles, earning it a GI Tag(Geographical Indication Tag)!
Hope you enjoyed knowing a little something about the Traditional Madurai Kaikattu Sungudi!
Now… Now… the flicker in my mind was..
Should I let it just linger in stories and sarees? Nope! Definitely not!
And hence… Meippai By Niveditha Chandramohan was born!
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