Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c6.s2.t1.16

c6.s2.t1.16

² Mr. Gupta gives an interesting account of *dhoti* and *sari* manufactures in Bengal in *J.D.L.*, 1929, 224-231. He tells us for instance, that four distinct varieties of silk *saris* were made, namely *Kala Pat Sadi*, *Agun Pat Sadi*, *Pater Bhumi* and *Kanchi Pat Sadi*. Among other varieties of silks he mentions *Neta*, *Tasar* and *Pater Pachhda*. He gives numerous descriptions of the designs and texture of the *saris*. Similarly he mentions a variety of cotton and silk *dhotis*. The early muslins of Bengal, he tells us, were usually made with a mixture of silk and cotton and were tastefully embroidered. Their descriptive names and the large variety of their range suggests a very advanced stage of refinement. It is, however, difficult to fix the exact period to which his account applies. Gupta in his ‘Bengal in the Sixteenth Century’ informs us that hundreds of pieces of *dhotis* were manufactured in the small colony of Bir in Bengal, which indicates the extensive output of cloth.