Overview
- Kangana Ranaut, who shared photos Sunday on Instagram with the hashtag #bengalelection2026, wore a white Jamdani saree during a BJP roadshow in Nandigram.
- The saree came from Yarn Story, a South Kolkata handloom label that gained visibility through the campaign appearance.
- Jamdani is woven by hand using an extra‑weft technique that inlays each motif into fine cotton threads, a slow process that can yield only a fraction of an inch per day.
- The craft has UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status from 2013 and traces its roots to the historic Dhaka region in greater Bengal.
- Recent Jamdani choices by Alia Bhatt and Nita Ambani point to a broader revival that could boost work for weavers in West Bengal and Bangladesh.