ahmedabad

sâ̱bhra-matī

- māhātmya N. of wk.

A superior cotton fabric for use as a waist cloth in Gujerat, Kandesh, and other parts of India. Manufactured in Ahmedabad. Actually a very good quality muslin.

" Hinganghat " or " Bant " cotton is probably the finest class of cotton grown in India, having a staple of fully 1-in. in length, and being fine and somewhat silky. This particular variety is rarely exported, being used mostly by Indian spinners for their better class yarns. The Indian cottonsof the Liverpool market are divided into three groups: Surats, Bengal and Madras Surats - Surat is a small port in the Bombay Presidency, from which a large quantity of this cotton was formerly exported. The cottons of the Surat group constitute by far the largest portion of the Indian crop They are: Surtee - This is one of the best of the Surat cottons, and has a staple of ⁷/₈-in. to 1-in. in length Broach is a good white cotton of ⁷/₈ in staple, with a good ginning percentage Dharwar is an acclimatised American cotton of ⁵/₈-in. to ³/₄-in staple. It has a nice colour, but is not very strong Dhollera is a cotton similar to Broach, grown in the Ahmedabad district of Bombay, and is much used in the local mills Oomra, or Oomrawuttee comprises a small group of cottons of various qualities, grown in the Central Provinces and Berar Khandeish is an Oomras cotton of a medium length. The Deccan grows a mixed Khandeish cotton of an inferior quality Comptah is a cotton descended from Broach and has a staple of ³/₄-in to ³/₈-in. Bagalkote is a North Bombay cotton Scinde - The native variety is the poorest of the Surat cottons. It has a very short staple, and is dirty. Recently, however, cotton from Egyptian and American seed has been grown, and shows fairly good results. Bengal - Bengal cottons are short and dirty, and of a quality similar to Scinde. They average about ⁵/₈-in staple, and are only suitable for the coarsest counts Madras - The Madras cottons are: Tinne velly, Westerns, Northerns, and Coconada Tinnevelly is the best and is one of the few Indian cottons which may be suitably mixed with American. It is very white in colour, clean and strong. A fair quantity is imported into England. Westerns is a poorer variety than Tinnevelly, being dull and harsh and not so clean, but it has a fairly long staple. Northerns is a better cotton than Westerns, being softer and silkier, though not so white. Coconada, or Red Coconada, as it is sometimes called, is a highly-coloured cotton, with a moderate staple. Cambodia (or "Tinnevelly American") is a new Madras cotton, which is very similar to Uplands American, with a fine, strong fibre of about 1-in. staple. This cotton has been a great success, and probably has a good future before it.

A very expensive and elaborately ornamented fabric, woven in India for artistic and ceremonial purposes. It is made from all-silk yarns in all colours with gold and silver threads for extra ornament. There are up to seven warps used and many wefts in a large variety of designs. It is seldom that two pieces are alike either in design or quality. Being hand-woven the fabrics resemble embroidery work. Mostly made at Benares, Ahmedabad and Surat. They are used for covering state carriages, thrones, Mussulman jackets, caps, etc. When used for covering presents given by princes they are called rumals, but are not classed with the ordinary rumal.

A brocade made on hand looms at Ahmedabad, India, from native silk yarns and ornamented with gold and red silk.

Cloth of silver made at Ahmedabad, India, for native princes to wear. It is said that Herod was arrayed in this fabric when enthroned before the people in the full blaze of the sun and they hailed him as a god.

A rich brocade fabric of " cloth of gold " made at Ahmedabad. It was made on hand looms and used in the making of garments for princes.