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Handwoven in North East India

The North East,
woven.

Sarees, silks and craft made on the loom across eight states, each thread traceable to the hand that wove it.

Assamese Muga handloom saree
Eri Ahimsa silk turmeric saree
Cotton handwoven saree
Specimen 01Muga Silk
Threads of the North East

Where cloth begins as a story.

In the far east of India, seven sister states cradled between the Himalaya and the Brahmaputra, the loom has never been a factory. Mist settles on the hills of Nagaland and Manipur, the great river braids its way through Assam, and in nearly every village a handloom waits in the courtyard. Here, cloth is not so much bought as inherited: spun by hand, coloured by the garden, and carried from one generation to the next. These are three of its oldest threads.

I Chapter One · Sualkuchi, Assam

Mugathe gold only Assam can grow.

A lustre no dye can imitate, reared on the banks of the Brahmaputra.

The silkworm refuses to live anywhere else, not the climate, not the leaves, not the air. That is why a single Muga saree can pass through three generations and grow more golden with each wash. You don't buy it; you borrow it from the future.

Origin
Sualkuchi, Assam
Colour
Undyed, natural
Weave
Plain & extra-weft
Shop Muga & Tussar →
Muga handloom craft
II Chapter Two · The Assam Villages

Erisilk spun in peace.

The only silk made without taking a single life.

Eri is gathered from cocoons the moth has already left, "ahimsa", non-violence, woven into the cloth itself. The result is soft, warm and faintly wild: a silk that behaves a little like wool and ages like fine linen.

Origin
Assam
Dye
Turmeric, madder
Weave
Handspun, plain
Shop Eri Silk →
Eri handloom craft
III Chapter Three · Across the Eight States

Cottoncoloured by the garden.

Handspun cloth, dyed with roots, leaves and flowers.

The everyday weave of the North East, breathable, honest, and coloured the slow way: madder root for red, indigo for blue, marigold for gold. Made to be lived in, washed often, and worn until it softens to your shape.

Origin
Assam
Length
5.5m · 100% cotton
Weave
Plain handloom
Shop Cotton →
Cotton handloom craft
IV Chapter Four · The Bamboo Hills

Canewoven without a single nail.

Split, soaked and woven while still green, baskets that hold their own shape.

Across the bamboo groves of the North East, artisans shave cane into hair-thin strips and weave them while still damp, so each basket sets as it dries. No moulds, no glue, only rhythm and memory in the hands, a craft as old as the villages themselves.

Origin
North East hills
Material
Cane & bamboo
Finish
Hand-woven
Shop Baskets →
Cane handloom craft
V Chapter Five · Bamboo Light, Assam

Bambooturned into light.

Fine slats bent over a mould into lattices that scatter warm, patterned light.

Each shade is shaped slat by slat, crossed and lashed by eye and by hand until the frame holds its curve. Lit from within, the open weave throws soft amber patterns across the walls, a piece of the forest, turned into light.

Origin
Assam
Material
Bamboo & cane
Use
Pendant & table
Shop Lamp Shades →
Bamboo handloom craft
VI Chapter Six · The Dye Garden

Stolesno two ever alike.

Eri and mulberry silk, dipped in turmeric, indigo and madder.

Woven in small batches and coloured the slow way with leaves, roots and bark, every stole takes the dye a little differently. The result is a quiet, living colour you cannot print, soft to wear, and warm against the cold of the hills.

Origin
Assam
Dye
Natural, plant-based
Weave
Handloom
Shop Stoles →
Stoles handloom craft
VII Chapter Seven · River & Reed

Reeda river, rewoven.

Water hyacinth and cane, twisted into cord and coiled by hand into vessels that breathe.

What grows wild on the rivers of the North East, hyacinth, kauna reed, cane, is dried and twisted into cord, then coiled into planters that are sturdy, breathable and entirely plastic-free. A weed reborn as a thing of use and quiet beauty.

Origin
North East
Material
Kauna, cane, hyacinth
Make
Hand-coiled
Shop Planters →
Reed handloom craft
An initiative of NEHHDC

Bought here. Woven there.

Every order arrives with a handwritten note from the loom, and a QR code that traces your cloth back to the weaver, the village, the fibre and the dye. Proof that your money reached the maker, not a middleman.

QR
Traceable to the hands that made it
Eight
North East states, one marketplace
Natural
Dyed with roots, leaves & flowers
Direct
Fair earnings to the weaver
A Government of India undertaking

Keeping craft in public trust since 1977.

Purbashree is the marketplace of NEHHDC, the North Eastern Handicrafts & Handlooms Development Corporation under the Ministry of DoNER, sourcing directly from artisan clusters across the seven sisters and Sikkim for nearly five decades.

Bodo dancers of Assam in traditional dokhona dress
1977
Established by the Government of India
8
States, the seven sisters & Sikkim
49
Years of craft development & training
5
Emporia across India
Visit the emporiaShillong · Guwahati · Kolkata · New Delhi · Bengaluru

"We do not make fashion. We keep a six-hundred-year-old conversation going, one thread at a time."

The Purbashree weavers
What our patrons say

Word of mouth.

★★★★★4.8 / 5from 2,400+ orders · 14 countries
★★★★★

"The Eri stole arrived with a card naming its weaver. It is the softest thing I own, and the indigo is alive in a way no print ever is."

Rohini M. · Pune
★★★★★

"Ordered hampers for Diwali gifting. Beautifully packed, every piece labelled with its village of origin. Our clients still mention them."

Arjun T. · Singapore
★★★★★

"My Muga saree from the Guwahati emporium years ago still gleams. Ordering online felt every bit as personal as the shop."

Lakshmi V. · Chennai
North East gift hamper, packed by hand
Gifts & souvenirs

Send the North East in a basket.

Hampers, brass metal, souvenirs and kauna accessories, gathered from all eight states, packed by hand, and shipped with the story of every maker inside.

Explore all gifting →
Letters from the loom

Stay close to the craft.

New weaves, the stories behind them, and first access to limited handloom runs.

Muga & Tussar Silk Sarees

Assamese Muga Silk Saree

SKU: PBS-MUGA-001 · In stock
★★★★★4.9 · 36 reviews
₹69,999
Ex Tax: ₹66,666 · Inclusive of all taxes

Pure handwoven Muga silk from Sualkuchi, the golden thread of Assam, undyed and naturally lustrous. Reeled, washed and woven by hand on the banks of the Brahmaputra.

Colour: Natural Gold
Length
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QR
Traceable to the weaver
A QR tag links your cloth to its maker
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Description
Muga is the rare golden silk that only the Brahmaputra valley can rear. This saree is woven by the master weavers of Sualkuchi on the traditional throw-shuttle loom, its natural sheen left undyed so the gold deepens with every wash. A single Muga saree can pass through three generations, and is often woven with an extra-weft border of traditional Assamese motifs.
Provenance
Origin
Sualkuchi, Assam
Fibre
100% Muga silk
Colour
Undyed, natural
Weave
Plain & extra-weft
Weaver
NEHHDC cluster
Dimensions & Care
Length: 5.5 m (approx.) · Width: 46" (approx.) · Blouse: 1 m (approx.). Dry clean only for the first wash; thereafter hand wash in cold water with mild detergent. Dry in shade. The lustre improves with age and gentle care.
An initiative of NEHHDC

Bought here. Woven there.

Every order arrives with a handwritten note from the loom and a QR code that traces your cloth back to the weaver, the village, the fibre and the dye. Proof that your money reached the maker, not a middleman.

QR
Traceable to the hands that made it
Eight
North East states, one marketplace
Natural
Undyed Muga, golden by nature
Direct
Fair earnings to the weaver
The story of Muga

A silk found nowhereelse on earth.

For centuries, Muga silk has been woven only in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, the rare golden thread that gives this saree its name.

Muga is reeled from the cocoon of the semi-domesticated Antheraea assamensis silkworm, which feeds on the som and soalu trees of Assam and refuses to thrive anywhere else. The silk it spins is naturally golden, needs no dye, and grows more lustrous each time it is washed, a quality unique among the silks of the world.

Historically it was the cloth of the Ahom court, reserved for royalty and nobility, and woven in the riverside town of Sualkuchi, often called the "Manchester of the East" for its centuries-old clusters of handloom weavers. In 2007 Assam Muga silk was awarded a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, formally recognising that this golden silk belongs to Assam alone.

Golden Muga silk handloom saree
13th c.
The Ahom Court
Muga becomes the cloth of Assamese royalty, woven for kings and nobles.
Sualkuchi
The weaving town
Whole villages on the Brahmaputra turn to the loom, clusters that still weave today.
2007
GI recognition
Assam Muga silk receives its Geographical Indication tag, protecting its origin.
Today
Through NEHHDC
Weaver clusters reach you directly, each saree traceable to its maker.
1
Valley on earth it grows
3
Generations it can last
0
Dye, golden by nature
2007
GI tag of Assam
The land it comes from

North East India,where the loom is home.

Seven sister states, cradled between the Himalaya and the Brahmaputra, where weaving is woven into daily life.

Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya make up India's North East, a region of mist-covered hills, great rivers and more than two hundred indigenous communities. It holds one of the highest concentrations of handloom weavers in the world, with a loom standing in the courtyard of nearly every village home.

Here, cloth carries meaning. The gamosa of Assam, the rani phi of the hills, the intricate motifs of Naga and Mizo weaves, each pattern records a community, an occasion, a story. This saree is part of that living tradition: not manufactured, but inherited, and made entirely by hand.

Loktak Lake in Manipur, the floating wetlands of North East India
How it is made

Rearing

The Muga silkworm is reared on som and soalu leaves along the Brahmaputra, in the open Assam air.

Reeling

Cocoons are boiled and the golden filament is reeled and spun by hand into fine, even yarn.

Dressing the loom

Thousands of warp threads are mounted on the throw-shuttle loom, a task of days before a single weft is thrown.

Weaving

The weaver works the saree by hand over weeks, adding extra-weft motifs along the border and pallu.

◆ GI-protected · Assam Muga Silk

"We do not make fashion. We keep a six-hundred-year-old conversation going, one golden thread at a time."

The weavers of Sualkuchi
New to the saree?

How to wear it,in four steps.

A saree is a single piece of unstitched cloth, about 5.5 metres long, and far simpler to drape than it looks. This is the classic Nivi style, the most widely worn across India.

Tuck & wrap

Tuck one end into your petticoat at the right hip, then wrap it once fully around your waist.

Drape the pallu

Take the decorative end, the pallu, across the front and over your left shoulder, letting it fall to about knee length.

Make the pleats

Gather five to seven even pleats of the remaining cloth at your waist and tuck them in neatly at the navel.

Pin & finish

Pin the shoulder pleats in place, adjust the length, and pair with a fitted blouse and petticoat.

Care & keeping
First wash
Dry clean only
Thereafter
Hand wash cold, mild soap
Drying
In shade, never direct sun
Storage
Wrapped in muslin cloth
With age
Muga grows more lustrous
From our customers

Loved, worn, handed down.

4.9
★★★★★
36 verified reviews
★★★★★

The gold is real.

"Bought for my mother's sixtieth birthday. Photographs don't do the sheen justice. After the first gentle wash the gold actually deepened, exactly as promised."

Meghna S. · Mumbai✓ Verified buyerMay 2026
★★★★★

Traceable, truly.

"We scanned the QR tag and saw the weaver's name and her village near Sualkuchi. My daughter will inherit this saree, and now she will know who made it."

Priya R. · Bengaluru✓ Verified buyerApril 2026
★★★★★

Packaging worthy of the cloth.

"Arrived wrapped in muslin with a handwritten note from the loom. The drape is feather-light and the extra-weft motifs on the pallu are exquisite in person."

Ananya D. · New Delhi✓ Verified buyerFebruary 2026
★★★★☆

Beautiful, even overseas.

"Shipped to London in nine days with duties handled at checkout. The saree is luminous. I only wish the blouse piece were a little longer."

Sarah W. · London✓ Verified buyerDecember 2025
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