Adi Dhakeswari Bastralaya

Adi Dhakeswari Bastralaya is a saree house in Kolkata founded in 1945 by Netai Lal Saha, whose family had come from Dhaka and settled in Kolkata before Partition. The first shop opened at Gariahat Junction that year and built its name on Benarasi and Tant sarees along with silk and other handwoven cloth. The second generation, led by the late Nirmal Saha, carried the business forward. In 2007 the third generation under Sanjoy Saha opened a second store at Triangular Park, which the house describes as Kolkata's first fully air-conditioned multi-storey saree mall. The range today runs across weaving traditions from Bengal and beyond. Cotton counts include Dhakai, Jamdani, Khadi and Bengal handloom. Silks include Katan, Kanjeevaram, Garad, Paithani and Assam Muga. Tassar comes plain or printed, embroidered or worked in Kantha stitch, and there are Ikkat, Bomkai, Patola and Chanderi weaves as well. Lehengas and other traditional attire sit beside the sarees, and the house shows an exclusive bridal collection of red and rani pink Benarasi. An online store is announced as opening soon. Three generations and two stores stand behind a business that counts more than 75 years of trade in the city.