Joining in the saree soiree
Have you ever felt that tingling excitement while putting together all that it takes to wear a saree? This magical six yards of unstitched fabric is probably the most versatile garment a woman can wear. The best part of it is that the saree that fitted you when you were sixteen would still fit you when you turn ninety… If you do! You are never too fat for it! I have experienced the joy of wearing my mother’s sarees and the nostalgia is overwhelming. My most precious one is my wedding saree given to me by Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
We would often visit Puttaparthi, the ashram of Baba. At the age of 13, my sister and I enrolled in the Seva Dal, wherein we would offer seva at the Puttaparthi ashram. The rule was for all Seva Dal volunteers to wear white sarees. That is when I learnt how to wear and pin my saree such that I could cook, clean, serve drinking water to devotees, run and even sleep in a saree. The ashram rules were strict and we had to drape the pallu around the shoulders so that there was no skin show. The ashram rules taught me the latter and the habit remains.
Indian women are spoilt for choice with sarees ranging from the classic silk Kanjeevarams, Gadwals, Pochampallis, Bandhanis, Chanderis, Banarsis to the Chikankaris of Lucknow embroidered on chiffons and georgettes embellished with sequins, beads and the oh-so-delicate mukaish! The embroidered Kanthas and the Tangails of Kolkata are beauties of their own genre. The simple cottons of numerous styles and weaves that are native to each state of central and southern India are beautiful beyond compare.
In the fast pace of life that we live, it is most convenient to pull on a pair of jeans and a kurta or a T-shirt, but when it comes to elegance and grace, nothing beats a saree.
I make it a point to wear a saree for formal occasions, weddings and festivals. Despite the time required to accessorise a saree with the right make-up, jewellery, bangles, lip colour, bindi and footwear, I really feel that once you are done, it’s all well worth the effort.
There are stitched sarees now for those who do not know how to tie a saree. And for those novices who are adventurous, there are saree-tying tutorials on YouTube!
I hope this beautiful garment shall not become a thing of the past with the passing on of our generation and that the generations to come shall treasure these works of art made by the artisans of our country. If only we continue to wear what they produce, shall their art survive the plethora of jeans, T-shirts, skirts, crop tops and what not. Let us try to wear our sarees sometimes, if not all the time.
Let’s wake up to the richness of this iconic apparel and salvage it before it exterminates. Today is ‘World Saree Day’. I plan to wear a saree then, just to show that I love wearing our national dress with pride and aplomb. Join me in my saree soiree!
