Peshwai Paithani Sarees

18^th century was witness to a cultural euphoria in Deccan region as it was a time when the Brahmin Peshwas ruled the Maratha kingdom. As the book by history professor Dr. Varsha Shirgaonkar ‘Eighteenth Century Deccan: Cultural History of the Peshwas’ describes, it was a period when the Peshwas grew in wealth and power and they nourished old forms of culture, gave rise to new, and aided in the synthesis of the old and the new Mughal and Rajput cultural elements as well as the European entered the region and got assimilated into the Maratha culture during their reign and trickled into various spheres of culture such as the performing art forms, festivals, textiles and ornaments.

Ornaments:                                                   

The Peshwas were very fond of jewelry and other ornaments. Some of the note worthy ornaments that gained popularity were the Mohanmal, the Chandrahar and the Mughal Laffa for the neck the Bugadi, Kap, and Velfor the ears and the not to miss pearl-studded Nath for the nose.

Festivals:

There were various festivals celebrated with grandeur in the Maratha court during the Peshwai reign Ganeshotsav, Dasara, and Vasantpanchami were some of the festivals that were celebrated with fanfare. The practice of sprinkling colored water during Holi was a Rajput influence.

Folk Arts:

Among the folk performing arts, the famous Tamasha and the Lavani were born in this era for entertainment.

Textiles:

Among the textiles, the grand tradition of the weaving of the Peshwai Paithani sarees, the wonder in silk and gold, thrives even today. History has it that when the Peshwas took over the growing Maratha empire, there were several battles between the Nizam and the Marathas for possession of Paithan town from where these sarees hail. Peshwa Bajirao I (1720-40) AD defeated the Nizam in the battle of Palkhed in 1728 AD. A treaty signed on the out skirts of Paithan at Mungi Shevgaon freed Paithan for a while from the Nizam’s rule. Bajirao’s son, Balaji married the daughter of Paithan’s well-known money lender Wakhore, in 1761 AD. Thus Paithan remained important to him. His successors, Peshwa Madhavrao and Narayanrao too had close links with Paithan due to its religious importance. They all visited Paithan, but Madhavrao was particularly enamored by the silk dresses from the city. By then, the Maratha dress had begun to determine the nature of products from Paithan during the Peshwa rule. The Paithani came into its own at this time and continues to rule the cultural ethos of Maharashtra.

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