Varashree
Since 1831

Our Story

Six Generations of Silk Excellence

In 1831, on the banks of the Vegavathi in Kanchipuram, our family threaded its first loom by lamplight. There were no machines, no shortcuts — only mulberry silk, drawn gold, and a patience measured in seasons. Nearly two centuries later, the loom still stands, and the hands that work it still belong to the same family.

Varashree was never built to be large. It was built to be remembered. Each saree we weave is a single object, traceable from the cocoon to the finished pallu, made the way it was made when the first thread was spun — slowly, by hand, with twenty-two carat gold zari worked thread by thread into pure silk.

Six generations have kept that vow. What you hold is not a product. It is an heirloom, and it carries our name as much as yours.

What We Keep

Four things we will never compromise

Pure Mulberry Silk

Only first-grade mulberry silk enters our looms — no blends, no substitutes, ever.

22-Carat Gold Zari

Real gold-dipped silver thread, weighed and certified, woven into every motif.

Handloom Only

Not a single power loom. Every saree is the work of three weavers over many weeks.

The Lineage

Six generations, one thread

1831

The First Loom

Our founder sets a single pit loom in Kanchipuram and weaves his first temple-border saree.

1874

The Gold Era

The house begins working pure gold zari, taking commissions for temple deities and festival drapes.

1921

Royal Patronage

Our weaves are drawn into the wardrobes of the southern courts — the third generation at the loom.

1968

The Motif Archive

Five hundred family patterns are catalogued by hand, an archive we still weave from today.

1997

Natural-Dye Revival

The fifth generation revives indigo, turmeric and madder dyeing on pure silk.

Today

The Sixth Generation

The same family, the same looms — now sharing the maison with the world.

1831
First Loom
VI
Generations
45
Days / Saree
22k
Gold Zari

Heritage. Craftsmanship. Legacy.
Since 1831.