Kota Doria Cotton Saree Magenta Pink Gold Zari Border

This Kota Doria saree is a vivid magenta pink woven plain so the sheer cotton silk ground and its fine square khat grid do all the work A slim gold zari border runs down both edges and a matching zari line crosses the pallu the only ornament on an otherwise unbroken field of colour The result is light luminous and quietly formal With no print to distract the weave is the thing to read Hold it to the light and the khat grid appears tiny squares where matte cotton alternates with a few silk threads giving the sheer cloth its faint uneven shimmer Run a thumb along the border real zari is a fine metallic wrapped thread woven in with a soft weight and a tendency to mellow over time where a powerloom saree uses a flat synthetic gold that stays glassy and bright on the surface A true Kota Doria also shows slightly irregular checks and an airy faintly coarse hand a powerloom imitation is uniform denser and papery Kota Doria is woven in Kaithoon near Kota in Rajasthan where weaving families pass the loom down the generations The fine yarn is sized with a traditional rice or onion starch paste before weaving the step that lets such a near transparent cloth hold together on the pit loom A plain bodied saree carries colour beautifully wear it for a summer reception a festive lunch or an evening at home over a fitted blouse with statement gold or temple jewellery to play off the zari