KNOW YOUR TUSSAR

TUSSAR

WEST BENGAL JHARKHAND BIHAR CHATTISGARH ORISSA MAHARASHTRA

o Murshidabad o Bhagaiya o Bhagalpur o Champa o Gopalpur o Vidharba
o Bishnupur o Kharsawa o Nawada o Raigarh o Nuapatna
o Raghunathpur o Chaibasa o Gaya o Seoni
o Bilaspur
o Chandrapur
 West Bengal
Regions: Murshidabad,Bishnupur & Raghunathpur
 Bihar & Jharkhand
Region: Bhagalpur & Nawada in Bihar
Bhagaiya in Jharkhand

• Products: Saree, Yardage, Home Furnishing etc

• Jharkhand is leading producer of Tussar in the country which
produces 62% of Tussar Silk.
FINDINGS

BHAGALPUR
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
 HISTORY

Bhagalpur was on the ancient silk route that

Famous for Tussar silk - Bhagalpur was
connected India with countries such as China
considered an important trade centre in
in the east and Europe in the west and also
eastern India by the 7th century Chinese
became one of the most famous trade centres
travellers Hieun-tsang and Fa-Hien
of the East India Co
 SILK VARIETIES

Mulberry Silk/Cultivated Non-mulberry/ Wild Silk

(Mulberry leaves)

Desi Tussar OakTussar Eri Muga

(Sal, Arjun, Saja (Oak Leaves) (Castor Leaves) (Som and Sualu
leaves) Leaves)
BHAGALPUR USP - TUSSAR

• Also called Kosa Silk in sanskrit

• Wild silk - local trees: Sal, Arjun & Saja

• Copperish Colour

• Rich Coarse Texture

• Light & Airy

• Convenient for Draping

TUSSAR SILK VARIETY
Balkal/Danti

Jhuri

Khewa

Ghicha

Katiya
Balkal/Danti – Spun Yarn Khewa – Yarn reeled from tussar cocoons
prepared from the peduncles that are not damaged. Also called Desi
of the tussar cocoon Tussar

Katiya – Yarn spun from the

portions of tussar cocoons leftover
after 60% of reelable silk
Jhuri – Spun yarn prepared
from the left overs of the tussar
cocoon
Ghicha – Yarn prepared from
thigh reeling of tussar cocoons
that are damaged or left after the
moth escapes
 TUSSAR GRADING

 1st grade : Reeled Tussar (Khewa)

 2nd grade: Ketiya

 3rd grade: Jhuri / Ghicha

 4th grade: Danti

 TRADITIONAL BHAGALPUR SAREES
Plain body & pallu

Plain body &

Striped pallu

Twill Weave

Mostly Natural;
Black, Red, Yellow

Desi Tussar /
Desi Tussar
 CONTEMPORARY BHAGALPUR SAREES
Block prints, Extra Weft
Designs,dInterwoven
Designs, Big Borders, Zari

d
Buti Designs

d Desi Tussar
ChineseTussar/

PlaindWeave

Red, Maroon, Violet,

d Orange, All
Firoza, Yellow,
shades of green and Pink
 YARN VARIETY
China Tussar Tussar variety that is imported from China. 2 variants – 33 /37 D , 50/70 D

Khewa/ Desi Thickness of tussar in the cocoon varies. The middle portion comprising of 60% of fibre is of
tussar similar thickness. This 60% fibre reeled from 5-6 undamaged tussar cocoons is called Khewa

Katiya Yarn reeled from remaining 40% of undamaged tussar cocoons

Ghicha Thigh reeled yarn from 20 pierced tussar cocoons

Dupion –Malda Mulberry silk reeled from double cocoons; It is rough and irregular
& Bangalore Malda Dupion is light in weight, more fluffy and higher in price by 300/- compared to
Bangalore Dupion; So used to make light weighted dupion sarees
Bhagalpur Eri Silk yarn prepared from a mix of reeled mulberry silk and spun mulberry silk
 CONT.
Moonga Spun china tussar yarn is called moonga in bhagalpur; Not to be confused with assam muga silk

Staple Viscose - Regenerated cellulose fibre is referred to as staple in bhagalpur

Linen Linen of count 60 s and 80s, 1/2 ply is used in Bhagalpur sarees

Cotton Mercerised cotton of 100s count is used in Bhagalpur sarees

Noil Silk yarn spun from the short fibre waste produced during the making of spun silk

Spun yarn prepared from the pierced cocoons /wastage of mulberry silk.
Matka Earlier they used to spun the yarn with the help of a matka and so the name
 FABRIC VARIETY
- 99% of the time the tussar used today in the warp is China Tussar
- With China Tussar as warp they have all the below fabric combinations
- China Tussar / China Tussar : This combination is difficult to weave with hand as the yarn is very thin
and gives an uneven look if different pressures are used while beating
- China Tussar / Khewa
- China Tussar / Ghicha
- China Tussar / Dupion
- China Tussar / Staple
- China Tussar / Bhagalpur Eri
- China Tussar / Moonga
- China Tussar / Linen
- China Tussar / Matka
- China Tussar / Cotton
 CONT.
- Khewa / Khewa: This combination is extinct today because today’s reelers have lost the knowledge of reeling fine
even yarn out of the tussar cocoons. Earlier days the yarn so finely reeled that the khewa could be use both as
weft and warp
- The below combinations with khewa in the warp is now made by using an unusual amount of starch and
making the yarn very stiff and even for weaving. After weaving, a wooden hammer called ‘kundi’ is used to beat
the saree to remove the stiffness and make it soft
- Khewa / Staple
- Khewa / Noil
- Khewa / Ghicha
- Linen / Linen: This combination is now only made in power loom because of the demand for high production
and to reduce the costs.
 COSTING
- Most bhagalpur sarees use tussar and its variants as raw material
- Noil silk, zari are usually used in the extra weft designs
- Each saree costing is different and is based on its composition , design

Cost contributing /Time consuming factors : Design intricacy, Type of Yarn

Raw material per unit (1 kg) cost :

China Tussar – 5200/-
Desi Tussar – 3900/-
Dupion – 3950/-
Ghicha – 2500/-
Staple – 600/-
Cotton – 800/-
Tested Zari – 1800/-
 CONT.
Cost Sheet

a) Raw Material(Dyed Yarn)

Yarn Consumption(g) Price/kg Cost
Tussar 100 4000 400
Dupion 300 3950 1185
Ghicha 70 2800 196
M.Cotton 100 800 80
Zari 50 1800 90
b) Finishing 100
c) Labour Cost 500
d) 2551
e) Margin 10-15% 382.65
cost price 2900
 PRODUCTION
Time taken to weave one saree –
Plain: 1.5days
Pallu Design: 2 days
Pallu & Body Design: 3 days

Warp size: 30 sarees

The production per loom for a month is 20 sarees on an average

Time taken for production of replenishment or design development orders is nearly same