A field guide to Banarasi silk

Katan is the workhorse: twisted mulberry threads, weight and warmth, the silk of alta-red ceremony sarees. Kora is katan's undyed sister, raw and crisp and ivory by nature, the base that lets zari do the talking. Tissue is the show pony: silk warp, zari weft, a fabric that behaves like late evening light.

Hold any of the three to a window. Real zari warms as it turns; imitation flashes white. A kadhua motif is identical on the reverse; cutwork shows its shorn floats. The cloth never lies. You only have to ask it.