India

From Tradition To Innovation: The Journey Of Muga Silk In Assam

The properties that make Muga silk unique could see it being used in the biofuels and medicines of the future

Muga silk is known for its naturally lustrous gold sheen Photo: Shutterstock
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The biodiversity hotspot of Assam is home to a curious silkworm that founded a textile heritage as far back as 321 BCE. Its creations spawned an industry alluded to in the pages of the Ramayana, where travelling east took you through “the country of cocoon rearers,” and the accounts of French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from 1662.