India, Aug. 16 -- Shantilal Bhandge tugs ever so slightly at a gold filament, adjusting a bobbin on a hand loom he has worked for 65 years. It's week five and the 85-year-old master weaver has yards to go before he completes his work of art, a sari so exquisite it was called "dev vastra" or "fabric of God" 2,000 years ago, when the shimmering fabric made its way across ancient trade routes, fetching its weight in gold.

Now a ripple of nervousness has gripped the 600 master weavers in Yeola in Nashik district as they ponder an existential question: When does a Paithani sari stop being a Paithani sari?

The debate centres on a unique fusion drape that has emerged in Yeola, the hub of the Paithani sari, whose origins go back to Paithan, the...