Saris: The Glory of Tradition And The Soul of Today

By Meena Wadhwa-Nuetzel
June 2000

"He wove many yards. And when he was done,
he back and smiled and smiled."

A mélange of cultures and intriguing customs of provocative bellybuttons, dusky kohl-eyed women, and the sinuous silhouettes draped in ‘Saris’ enchant and leaves you wanting for more. Fashions change, styles come and go, but elegance accomplished through the ‘Sari’ knows no seasons. The ‘Sari’ has very often been described as “the apparel that covers all…yet reveals all”. What is it about this length of cloth wrapped around a woman’s body that adds so much allure?

Since time immemorial, bewitching Indian women clad in ‘Saris’ have tantalized visitors from distant kingdoms and empires to India. Legends, parables, fantasies, or historical truths!?! These are customarily the first thoughts that flex my mind as and when I acquire a low-down about the origins of the ‘Sari’. I’m going to share a few of these revealing statistics here with you, starting with my personal-all time favorite summary, entwined and woven into charming foretold folk tale

The ‘Sari’, it is said, was born on the loom of a fanciful weaver. “He dreamt of an exquisite woman; The shimmer of her tears; The drape of her tumbling hair; The colors of her many moods; The softness of her touch.

All these he wove to together. He couldn’t stop. He wove for many yards, and when he was done, the story goes, he sat back and smiled and smiled and smiled.” But the first recorder reference of the ‘Sari’ is the ‘Draupadi-Vastrahran’ in the 5000 years old Indian epic – the ‘Mahabharata’. The story has it that when the ‘Pandavas’ lost, their beautiful wife ‘Draupadi’ to their enemy, in a gambling duel, ‘Lord Krishna’ wowed to protect her virtue. The lusty and immoral victors intent on claiming their winnings, caught hold of one end of the unsullied material that draped her so demurely, yet seductively. Their attempt to disrobe ‘Draupadi’ however attained no visible end, and virtue once again triumphed over the evil. Since then the Indian civilization has somehow given sacred overtones to an un-stitched fabric – the ‘lungi’, the ‘dupatta’, the ‘dhoti’, the ‘daavani’, and finally the ‘Sari’. The belief that the un-stitched fabric is pure, still holds true with multitudes of Indians, till this day.

Though the ‘Sari’ is possibly the only draped garment in the world than transcends time, age or body structure, it is believed that the Greeks brought the concept of draping to India. Thereafter, an extraordinary amalgamation of Indian and Greek craft was evident in women’s costumes. A generous flow and an extension were added to the drape, the outer fold of which draped the chest and the shoulders. This classic art of draping was fully mastered by the Indian women, and the cast the archetype of the modern day ‘Sari’.

Yet, of the many arts of India, draping alone has never been fully researched and even less exhibited, and the extraordinary variety of the drapes have remained as much an enigma as the mystical success of the five meter long ‘Sari’ itself. Typical to other Indian traditional studies, ignored by locals, but arousing the interest of an outlander, the most wide-ranging study on the drapes this time too has been made by a non-native a French scholar, curator and cultural anthropologist Chantal Boulanger. Her research reveals and records more than 100 different styles of draping, and opens different how most ‘Saris’ correspond to ethnic origins, making the Indian culture approachable through an analysis of traditional garment. During the process of her extensive study, Mrs. Boulanger’s also discovered that the draping style and the ‘Sari’ textiles provide ample clues to antecedents of the wearer.

During the 19th century colonial period, the government required individual to “declare their place in ranked caste lists in front of the general public”. The number of draping style during this period increased, as caste prejudice and upward mobility affected fashion in ‘Sari’ draping. It was not difficult to discern the caste, class, marital status, and even the religion, occupation or regional origin by observing the drape of the ‘Sari’. But, as the economic situation of the individuals of lower status improved, draping fashion finally evolved, and no longer was it a symbol of one’s clear place in the social hierarchy. The women made a strong break from the last century, and moved into the 20th century with an emphasis to equality. Today’s women are inclined to stop wearing their traditional drapes, and let some draping styles go down the “caste ladder” and adopt the modern ‘Sari’ “family”.

According to the study done by Madame Chantal, the ‘Sari’, based on the similarities and differences in draping technique, fit in, and belong to a few ‘families’. The “families” often reflect similarities in region or historic time period of the origin of the ‘Sari’. She has aptly divided the most common styles of ‘Sari’ drapes prevalent in India today, into five distinctive “families”.

Dhoti Family

The ‘dhoti’ is the oldest Indian draped garment. Both men and women in India wore it until the 14th century, when the women’s ‘dhoti’ started to become longer. All ‘dhoti’ styles of draping wrap each of the legs separately with some part of the ‘Sari’, creating a loose trouser like garment. An elegant Telugu Brahmin Sari’ is a distinguished example of the ‘Dhoti Family’.

Dravidian Family

The historical ‘Dravidian’ ‘Sari’ was originally draped in two parts. This particular style is today draped with one piece of cloth, but is adapted clearly from the two piece set, and is prevalent in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as in northeastern India, mostly in Bengal and Orissa.

Gond-Related Family

Moving northwest to Maharashtra, we come to another treatment of the ‘Sari’, The six yarder becomes a ‘nav-vari’ (nine yards), and this is a drape at it’s naughtiest. The drape is created by first arranging the cloth on the left shoulder, and then the cloth is draped clockwise from the shoulder to around the hips. This style requires either the ‘Sari’ with two elaborate ‘pallavs’(the fancy end, of the ‘Sari’ that often falls on the outside where its design can be seen) or no marked ‘pallav’ at all.

Tribal Family

The various draping styles of this family belong to the communities that have been called ‘tribal’. The geographical isolation has preserved some historic Indian trends in draping styles, which include a rolled or knotted closure above the breasts or over the shoulders. Between the ‘Coorgese’ tribal women and the ‘Coorgese’ ‘Sari’, one doesn’t really know whom to admire more.

Nivi Family

This drape is by far the most predominant and widespread, and surpasses caste, religion, and socio-economic status, is rightfully termed as the ‘Modern Sari’. This mode is used extensively by women all over India, as well as in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is also the style adopted by emigrants and their descendants around the world. Common to this draping style are the multiple pleats that fall from the center front waist.

And how the fashion dictates the sensual fantasy…!

Though the claim on the sari is that it exceeds all fashion and ages, does it actually remain rigid and stagnant in the fashion movement? Heavens forbid  no! The affair of the ‘Sari’ with fashion has been long standing and passionate. Never has it ever been that a single apparel be the focus of the attentions of so many. The ‘Sari’ is fidelity to art as much as to craft  a freedom from rigid dictates. A sensual fantasy of diverse extravaganzas crafted in the finest of textiles and designs. The sense of aesthetics is finely honed, and each exquisite creation in most cases, is hand crafted to perfection, with meticulous attention to detail. It is the glory of piction in Hindu paintings dating back to 3000 BC, to villages where local craftsmen weave dreams with magic fingers, to textile factories, to fashion moguls, and even to the recently sighted sari draped pop idol Madonna, the ‘Sari’ has come a long way.

Published in Roving Insight Magazine