What the Weaves Actually Are
Taant is a plain-weave cotton sari made on a pit loom in Shantipur or Fulia, in Nadia district. The warp and weft are single-ply cotton, sometimes with a zari border, and the fabric is woven at a thread count that keeps it genuinely porous. A standard Taant weighs between 350 and 500 grams. Garad is a different animal entirely: a raw silk woven in Bishnupur and Murshidabad, traditionally worn by Bengali Hindu women during religious occasions. The silk is degummed only partially, which gives it that characteristic stiff, slightly chalky hand and the off-white or ivory body that takes natural dye so cleanly.
