Awesome outfit & eternal in thing: Demand outstrips supply of Mysore silk sarees

Bengaluru: Mysore silk sarees are known for their premium sheen and texture, often unique to the GI-tagged home-woven saree of Karnataka.

With growing demand for Mysore silk sarees, videos of hundreds of women thronging Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) Limited outlets in Bengaluru are going viral on social media platforms. 

KSIC dealers in the city say that in the last three years, the demand for Mysore silk sarees has grown exponentially. However, they note that the supply has been stagnant.  

A salesperson at the MG Road outlet said that every Saturday, a pack of 250 sarees arrives at the store – the biggest KSIC outlet in Bengaluru.

“But customers stand in queues outside the store 8.30 am onwards and the package from the factory arrives only at 10 am. The lot gets over within 10 minutes to 1 hour,” he said. 

Aditi Shastri, a Mysore silk saree lover based in Bengaluru, shared her experience of buying sarees from KSIC. 

“I always dreamt of having a wardrobe full of Mysore silk sarees even as a young girl. My grandmother had a parrot green Mysore silk saree with a pink border. It’s part of my childhood memory now. I think I even wore it for a collage event. After getting married, I got a lot of occasions to buy sarees and I mostly bought from KSIC. It holds sentimental value. But lately, there is a shortage of supply,” she said. 

“When I wanted to gift one for my mother, I couldn’t find a saree of my liking. There were only five sarees left in one of the stores I visited. And eight in another. The minimum price of these sarees is Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000. When we spend so much on it, what is the point in buying the leftovers? This made me question my own obsession with Mysore silk saree,” Aditi said. 

“Yet, I’m a fan of KSIC mark sarees for the thread, shine, texture, feel and the rare colours that we see only in Mysore silk.”  

Similar is the scene at the Gandhi Bazar and Jayanagar outlets, which receive 170 to 200 sarees per week.

A salesperson at Jayanagar outlet told DH, “In olden days, only elderly women had the privilege of wearing Mysore silk sarees. Today, each and every woman of the family wants to wear one. And people can afford these expensive outfits. But the supply doesn’t meet the demand any more.”

The sarees run “out of stock” within three hours after they arrive, she said. 

Officials at KSIC did not respond to repeated calls from DH, to get details of production.