The famous traditional double-ikat silk weave of Gujarat is known as:

Patola (singular: patolu) is a famous double-ikat silk sari woven in Patan in north Gujarat. It is regarded as one of the finest and most difficult handwoven textiles in the world.

What makes Patola special:

It is made by the "double ikat" technique. In ikat, the threads are tie-dyed (resist-dyed) in a pattern before weaving. In double ikat, both the warp (lengthwise threads) and the weft (crosswise threads) are tie-dyed separately with great precision, so that when they are woven together, the pattern appears perfectly. This takes enormous skill and patience.

As a result, the design looks exactly the same on both sides of the cloth, with no "right" or "wrong" side.

A single Patola sari can take six months to a year to make, so it is very expensive.

The designs include geometric patterns, elephants, parrots, flowers, dancing figures and the "nari kunj" (women and elephants).

Natural dyes are traditionally used, and the colours are believed to last for a very long time; a Gujarati saying states that "Padi Patole bhaat, phate pan fite nahi" ("the pattern of Patola may tear but will never fade").

The Salvi family of Patan is the most famous family of Patola weavers, and only a few families still practise the double-ikat technique. Patola was historically exported to Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, where it was highly valued. The "Patan Patola" received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2013. A single-ikat version, the "Rajkot Patola", is made in Rajkot.

Other double-ikat weaves in India include Pochampally (Telangana) and Sambalpuri (Odisha) ikats, though those are mostly single ikat.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Paithani is a silk sari from Paithan, Maharashtra, with peacock motifs.
• ✗Kanjeevaram is a silk sari from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
• ✗Baluchari is a silk sari from Bishnupur, West Bengal, showing epic scenes.