Shaheen held a nearly finished Banarasi saree up to the afternoon light.

The fabric lay across her lap as she moved a small blade carefully along its underside, cutting away the fine threads left behind after weaving.

“This work may seem small from the outside, but the saree won’t look right if it’s not done properly. Every thread has to be perfect,” she said, her hands moving across the fabric with practised precision.

Shaheen, who is in her late forties, was doing katorna, the process of cutting extraneous threads from the reverse of a woven saree.

She had learnt the work from her mother-in-law soon after marrying into the family. Years later, it remained part of her everyday routine, fitted around cooking, caregiving and the other work that kept the household running.

And as I would discover while moving through the weaving homes of Madanpura in Varanasi, Shaheen's hands were part of a much larger story behind the Banarasi saree.

Inside Madanpura’s saree-making homes 

Madanpura is one of Varanasi's old weaving neighbourhoods, long associated with the making of Banarasi silk sarees and brocades.

Its narrow lanes pass between closely built homes. Bikes lean against doorframes, children move between houses, and tea stalls and thread vendors sit alongside the everyday life of the neighbourhood.

It was Ramadan when I visited.

Sameer, an autorickshaw driver who has lived in these lanes all his life, guided me through the neighbourhood and into its weaving homes.

Over the course of my visit, I entered around seven or eight houses and spoke to approximately 10 to 15 women. Many preferred brief conversations and did not want to be photographed, a request I respected.

Inside the homes I visited, the loom told only one part of the story.

Women sorted silk threads by colour. They wound thread onto bobbins, checked finished fabric for flaws, trimmed loose threads, folded completed sarees and prepared them for delivery.

Some of this work happened beside cooking, childcare and other household responsibilities. There was rarely a separate working day with a defined beginning or end.

The saree-making simply moved through the home.

Who does the work around the loom?

The loom is usually the most visible part of Banarasi saree-making.

In the households I visited, it was generally operated by a male karigar, or craftsperson, whose skill shaped the weave and motifs of the saree.

But the work around that loom involved several other hands.

Threads had to be sorted and wound before weaving. Once the saree came off the loom, the finished fabric had to be inspected........

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