Chanderi: The elegant fabric for the royal men

Who would have thought that men would lean towards Chanderi fabric? The Baroda royal family would have us believe so. Rajmata Shubhangini Raje Gaekwad says that the pagdi, angrakha and the dupatta, which the men in the royal family carried along with the sword, were all made of Chanderi.

The Rajamata along with the current queen of Baroda, Radhika Raje Gaekwad, were in Mumbai as part of Taj Khazana to revive Chanderi sarees. In fact, she got the inspiration for the current collection from Raja Ravi Varma's painting. Apparently, Mahraja Sayyaji Rao II of the Baroda royal family had invited the royal artist from Kerala to paint portraits of his family.

"Raja Ravi Varma's paintings captured the texture of Chanderi worn by the men and women of the royal family beautifully," says the Rajmata. So next time, pick Chanderi for your wedding pagdi — it's got a royal salute.