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Sarees - a story of serenity

Saree is one of the world’s oldest and perhaps the only surviving unstitched garment which is still keeping eternal charm of Indian womanhood alive and fresh. It’s an unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine meters in length and is draped over the body in various styles. Depending upon the regions, we have variety of sarees which depicts the culture, art and history of that region. Few of the very common sarees are:

  • Kanjeevaram saree (Tamil Nadu)
  • Paithini Saree (Maharashtra)
  • Muga Silk (Assam)
  • Bomkai and Sambalpuri Saree (Odisha)
  • Kasavu Cotton or Kerala Cotton (Kerala)
  • Tant, Kantha saree, Jamdani , Baluchari silk saree (Bengal)
  • Bhagalpuri (Bihar)
  • Bandhini (Gujrat)
  • Chikankari saree (Lucknow)
  • Kalamkari and Lehariya saree (Rajasthan)

Who was the first woman to wear a saree? Nobody knows. It’s hard to believe but there are some evidences that suggest that the saree was originated long time back, in the Indus valley civilization in 2800 to 1800 BC. It was a belief that stitching cloth made it impure. Hence came the basic wrap of a sari, usually involves winding it around the waist first then wrapping it around the upper body.
In the past, sarees were generally woven of silk or cotton. Silk sarees were so costly that only the rich people afforded them. The poor people had to do with coarse cotton sarees. Days past and so do the trends of sarees. Besides silk and cotton, various mixed fabrics were born which are not only comfortable and good for daily use, but also very pocket friendly.

It’s really astonishing to think that from the ancient to today, saree has zero impact in its popularity. Still omnipresent – on ramps at leading fashion shows, in bollywood, on streets of rural and urban India, on college students and their conservative grandmothers – the saree is as entrenched in our culture as it ever was. That’s the beauty of saree.

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