The weave
comes first.

Chosen with the hands as much as the eyes. Tussar, ghicha and block print, on the avenue.

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A deep aubergine silk saree folded on a walnut floor, with silver zari
motifs across it and two woven silver bands, beside a pale blue vase of
white ranunculus.

Women-owned In-store pick-up Delivery Open Monday to Saturday, 11:30 to 20:00

Traditional saree weaves. Combining the ethnic with contemporary. Specialists in hand block printed sarees.

Brishtidhara, the avenue

A hand block printed saree in black, red and gold, printed in bands of small repeating motifs with a row of large leaf shapes along the border.

What they keep

Six things to ask for
by name.

Bengal tussar mostly, the block prints they are known for, and zari brocade for the occasions that call for it.

An old-gold tussar saree with small silver motifs, folded on a woven mat beside a pale blue vase of white ranunculus.

টসর

Tussar and ghicha

Ghicha is spun from what is left once the long filament has been reeled off, so the yarn is short, slubby and uneven. That unevenness is the whole character of the cloth. It is what most of this shop is made of.

An Ajrakh block printed saree in indigo and madder red, printed with rows of small geometric and floral blocks.

ছাপা

Hand block print

Their own word for themselves is specialists. In Ajrakh the red and the indigo are printed in separate passes and have to land on each other every time.

A band of kantha running stitch worked in fine red thread across a pale tussar ground.

কাঁথা

Kantha work

A running stitch, worked by hand, one mark at a time until a plain field stops being plain.

A peacock blue katan silk saree with silver zari motifs and a broad woven border, folded on a pale floor.

জরি

Zari brocade

Silver and gold thread on katan silk. Small motifs scattered across the body, and then the whole design arriving at once in the aanchal, which is the end that goes over the shoulder and the only part anyone else really sees.

A teal Chanderi saree hanging in folds, with a fine gold brocade border along its length.

চান্দেরি

Chanderi and tanchoi

Light enough to hold up to a window, with the brocade figure sitting on top of the cloth rather than inside it.

A deep green saree with a cream and silver brocade end, spread out on a wooden floor beside a stone vase of white flowers.

শাল

Shawls

They are in the name over the door, and everybody remembers them in the same week every winter.

Each of these is waiting
for an occasion.

A wedding, a puja, a first day somewhere new. The cloth does not know which one yet. Neither do you, on the morning you walk in.

A violet saree with silver motifs and a silver border, folded on a wooden floor beside a vase of white flowers. — Violet, silver border

A wine red saree woven in a fine check, with a gold border, laid in a long fold on a wooden floor beside a painted vase of flowers. — Wine check, gold border

An olive green saree with small silver motifs and a gold border, folded on a round woven mat. — Olive, gold border

A crimson katan silk saree with silver zari motifs and a broad brocade border, beside a small brass figure of a bull. — Crimson katan, silver zari

A cream silk saree with gold zari motifs and a wide gold border, folded on a pale floor. — Cream, gold zari

A block printed saree in cream, black and green, printed in bands of small repeating floral and geometric blocks. — Block print, green and black

A length of pale tussar hanging, with a band of kantha running-stitch and small mirror-work flowers across the lower end. — Tussar, kantha band

The shop

You will see the sarees
before you see the sign.

The Brishtidhara shopfront: a white signboard with the name in tall red letters, the Bengali name beside it, and sarees hanging at the entrance below. — 58 Willow Avenue

No photograph will decide this for you. You have to hold the pallu up to the light, find where the ghicha thickens under your thumb, and know whether it is the one.

That is what a counter is for, and it takes as long as it takes.

Half past eleven until eight, six days a week. On Sunday the shutter stays down.

The shop window from the pavement: sarees in green, red and black hanging from rings above the doorway, with the name Brishtidhara on the glass. — The window, from the pavement

Inside the shop: sarees hanging in a glass case and folded in deep stacks on shelves that run up the wall. — Shelves, most of the way to the ceiling

Getting there

Opposite the park.

Brishtidhara Sarees 58 Willow Avenue Opposite the park South Kolkata Kolkata, West Bengal

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Opening hours
Monday to Saturday	11:30 to 20:00
Sunday	Closed

The map and embeds are left out of the concept: a fictional business has no address to show.

Questions people ask.

Where is Brishtidhara Sarees?

At 58 Willow Avenue, directly opposite the park, in South Kolkata, Kolkata. the side street runs one block behind.

What are the opening hours?

Monday to Saturday, 11:30 in the morning until 8 in the evening. The shop is closed on Sunday.

What kind of sarees does Brishtidhara keep?

Bengal tussar and ghicha silk, hand block print including Ajrakh, kantha work, chanderi and tanchoi, and zari brocade on katan silk. Shawls as well, which are in the shop’s name.

Can I collect an order from the shop?

The shop’s Google listing states in-store pick-up and delivery. Ring 000000 00000 to arrange either, since neither is handled through this website.

Can I buy from Brishtidhara online?

No. This site is not a shop and takes no orders or payments. Everything is bought in person at the avenue, or arranged by telephone.

Come and feel the cloth.

It is the only way anyone has ever bought a saree, and it is the reason the shop is still a shop.