From Livelihood Base to an Ill Fate; the Course of Ganga with Textiles

“It is very hard to establish the direct influence of the river on the prints, colour or the designs on the textiles,” says textile researcher Isha Priya Singh as we talk about the confluence of the river Ganges on the local textiles and crafts of regions located on the banks, though adding, “the socio-political environment definitely does like in the current times where we are seeing an inclination towards heritage and cultural roots.”

This is the time when the north-Indian regions of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are gearing up for a major festival, Diwali and Chatth— celebrations most visible on the banks of the river Ganges. It is the colourful apparel that, together, takes dips in the river to mark the ceremony and even the ceremonial arrival of winter.

However, the river remains the lifeline for many such apparel and textiles to come to life — which are adorned later by the people and whose impact is visible in the local crafts of the region. “It is difficult to pinpoint any reference to the river in the designs,” she says. “The trends like today’s influenced by the socio-political mood, are still easy to trace; however, there is no revival of ‘authenticity’ but the replicas of the heritage crafts,” she says in a comparison.

Existence, confluence and culture

When Singh talks about the interconnection of the river with the local culture — she, perhaps, hardly refers to the evident connections but the centuries of thriving together. There are three major silk textile centres: in Banaras, Bhagalpur and Mursidhabad, and these regions have thrived best with the river,” she says.

As she works as a craft consultant now, her work revolves around suggesting keeping the thread of culture with its textiles in a unifying bond.

“I had started documenting my own styles with fabrics and textiles online in 2017, but gradually, I got inclined towards researching more about understanding the deep-rooted connections,” the 40-year-old from Lucknow says.

Talking about the historical connections with the river, she says, “The river has acted as a medium of transport for the businesses. In the case of Banaras, it is important to know that the silk is not produced here but is brought here, after which the further process takes place through the river banks.”

Out of its virtue of being settled on the banks of the river Ganges, places like Varanasi, Bihar’s regions, West Bengal's Murshidabad, and Uttarakhand villages have had to rely on processing the textiles, which Singh says can be seen for the water-intensive processes like dyeing, removing of yarn, printing and more. Hence, she says, “It is this influence that can be talked about more than the river’s imprint on designs and patterns.”

While Varanasi is popular for producing silk woven with intricate designs using gold and silver threads, it also produces Jamdani, a cotton fabric with vividly patterned designs, since ancient times. Talking of cotton, it is the alluvial soil of the Indo-Gangetic Plain which is termed suitable for cotton cultivation.

Similarly, Bhagalpur or the ‘Silk City of India, is renowned for Tussar silk or Bhagalpuri silk and is also an important exporter of the textile, employing many artisans. Towards the east from here in Bengal’s Murshidabad, it is said to be an important textile centre located on the bank of the Ganges under the nawabs of Bengal.

On the other hand, the river’s connection can also be seen with Kolkata’s riverside and markets on the Hooghly river, a distributary of the river Ganges, which has historical links to trade, for it is a colonial port city. Bengal’s Ganges Delta has also been a global hub for jute cultivation and manufacturing as the river's water is important for retting —the process of separating the fibres from the plant's stem. 

While it is not possible to gauge exact data on textile industries based along the banks of the river Ganga in North India, it is these regions that are commonly known to have been producing the silk work for generations.

‘One can tell the trending colour from the river’

The artisans involved in this process, whose livelihood and residences have been credited to the river’s banks for not less than centuries, however, are at the receiving end of the same river’s hazardous water now.

Needless to mention that it is the same textile dyeing units whose unregulated discharge of industrial effluents has polluted the river. The untreated industrial waste includes heavy metals and toxic chemicals, directly entering the river daily.

As per the National Mission for Clean Ganga, it has faecal coliform bacteria in some areas reaching dangerously high levels (e.g., 7,500 MPN/100ml). Approximately 12,000 million litres of sewage are generated daily, but treatment capacity is only around 4,000 mld.

Citing an example of her hometown, Isha Singh says, “A lot of traders dumb the synthetic waste into the Gomti river, those who work for Chikankari or Zardozi, daily.” However, she says, the problem lies with the synthetic fibres and not natural fibres.

There lie market prices behind the usage of synthetic fibres, Singh observes. “If a Chikankari kurta has to be made available for Rs. 300 or Rs. 400, the traders will have to use synthetic fibres only and they will ultimately remove the waste into the river. Natural fibres can never be this cheap,” she adds.

Interestingly, Singh highlights that it is popular in Western and European countries, a saying which goes: “If you have to determine the colour which is going to trend, just check the colour of the river.” But is there a way out for the traders back in India? Singh shows hope.

Some government-led initiatives like the Namami Gange Programme involve strict industrial monitoring where the frequent and surprise inspections of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) are conducted. The programme also involves establishing treatment plants and promoting recycling and sustainable production. 

As per the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the government has sanctioned funding for Common Effluent Treatment Plants for industrial clusters, which also includes those with textile operations. Lately, the 20 MLD Jajmau CETP in Kanpur has been completed.

The Clean Ganga Fund (CGF), started by the government, also paves the way for contributions from public and private companies for Ganga rejuvenation and has been recognised as a CSR activity. Some NGOs, like The Hope Welfare Foundation, work in collaboration with officials in Varanasi to recycle discarded textiles from ghats into reusable bags, and a 1982 NGO named the Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF) in the city is also working for the same cause.

Back on the ground, Ganga is termed as “mother”, while the upcoming Chhath puja relies heavily on the river for devotees to go inside the water to worship the sun. But along with people go their fabrics, the secreting nature of the textile colours and much more, ultimately leading the river to pay a silent and huge cost— the same river on which these textiles thrive.