bout 160 to 240 kms away from Kolkata in Dhatrigram, Samudragrah, Saithia, Phulia and nearby  villages  the Jamdani  type  tangail  cotton  sarees are woven.

About 30 years ago, Hindu refugee weavers from Tangail in Bangladesh settled in these villages.

In response to a demand from the Calcutta market, the weavers started the so called Jamdani pattern of weaving, where the ground cloth is of 100 count yarn in both warp and weft.

The warp yarn is first sized with cooked rice and soaked in a puffed rice mixture. This yarn is then dried, after which it is wound into bobbins. The ground cloth is usually of grey colour, whereas the figuring weft is coloured in blacks, reds, greens, violets, blues and pinks.

The Jamdani pattern is then woven in such a manner that the woven pattern stands out above the saree level. To give this saree its particular crisp feel, thin khoi is rubbed on the freshly woven portion of the cloth.