Madurai Sungudi

[4][5] Sungudi is made in Madurai City, which is located in Tamil Nadu on the banks of the Vaigai River.

[5] From the 8th to 11th century, The Saurashtrians from Saurashtra region (present day Gujarat) started migrating towards Southern India due to the frequent Muslim invasions, these merchants upon the invitation of Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara, Nayak and Thanjavur Maratha Kings set up mercantile silk-weaving guilds throughout Southern India and were involved in the trade of silk clothes and diamonds to the royal families of ancient South India, as the silk became the attire of royal families after the period of Gupta dynasty.

In order to please the local kings, the Saurashtrians of Madurai, who were expert craftsmen in fabric weaving and trade of silk garments, created a gift item of cotton fabric suited for use in the tropical conditions, and called it the "Madurai Sungdi.

In this process, the fabric dipped in the solution is tamped well by foot several times and kept in a wet state for 2–3 days.

After washing and drying, the fabric is subjected to dyeing in a vat with a solution of alizarine red and kasa leaves.

[5] A special characteristic of the Sungudi saree is that the knots created along the lines of the fabric cloth with red pigment prevent colours from intruding into the knotted part of the fabric when it is subject to the dyeing process in the vat.