Mulmul | And | More - The Beauty of Mulmul
The Beauty of Muslin | Mulmul |
"Goddess Lakshmi is adorned in garments , the fabric of which is white as foam, waving in the breeze and is ornamented with various flowers and birds". In another place he describes this fabic as having an appearance of a cast off skin of a serpant.
This is how this fabric is described by the 7th century Sanskrit Poet Banabhatta in his work Harshacharita – the biography of Emperor Harshvardhana ( 590 – 647 CE) which is one of the richest sources of ancient Indian textiles
Later Yuan Chwang Chinese traveller to India ( 629 – 45 CE ) described it is – “The cloth is like the light vapours of dawn “.
Further, In his text Nihayatul – Kamaal ( The Height of Beauty ) in 1320’s, the 14th century sufi poet Amir Khusro described the beauty of Muslin | Mulmul in such a mesmerising way . He described the fabric as :
“The Skin of the moon removed by the executioner star would not be so sheer. One might compare it with a drop of water if that drop fell against nature, from the front of the sun. A hundred yards can pass through the eye of a needle, so fine is its texture…. Its so fine and light that it looks as if one is in no dress at all but has only smeared the body with pure water “
These are just few of the ethereal descriptions for this cloth deemed for the Gods – Bengal Muslin | Mulmul.
Sources :
- Madras Courier
- The History of Cotton | Muslin | Mulmul.
- https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/living-history/the-romance-of-indian-muslin/