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LEGENDS OF
THE SAREE
Indian myths often use weaving as a metaphor for the
creation of the universe. The sutra or spun thread was the foundation,
while the sutradhara (weaver) or holder of the thread was viewed as
the architect or creator of the universe.
ORIGIN OF THE
TERM
The etymology of the word sari is from the Sanskrit word 'sati',
which means strip of cloth. This evolved into the Prakrit 'sadi' and
was later anglicised into sari.
HISTORY OF THE SAREE
There are also several references to the fact that in South India
the sari had been for a long time one piece of material that served as
both skirt and veil, leaving the bosom and midriff bare. Even today in
some rural areas it is quite common for a woman not to wear a choli.
It still survives in its original form in the traditional saree of
kerala the mundu and neryathu. There is ample evidence of the sari
in the earliest examples of Indian art. Sculptures from the Gandhara,
Mathura and Gupta schools (1st- 6th century AD), suggest that the sari
in its earlier form was a briefer garment, with a veil, and usually no
discernable bodice. In extant North Indian miniature paintings,
(particularly Jain, Rajasthani and Pahari schools from the 13th to the
19th centuries) it seems to consist of the diaphanous skirt and an
equally diaphanous veil draped over a tiny bodice. This style still
survives as the more voluminous lehanga of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Gradually this skirt and veil were amalgamated into one
garment, but when and how this happened is not precisely clear. One
theory, not fully substantiated, is that the style was created by Noor
Jahan (d. 1645) wife of the Mughal emperor Jehangir (reigned.
1605-27). Perhaps it would be more accurate to speculate that the
confrontation between the two cultures, Islamic and Hindu, led the
comparatively relaxed Hindus to develop a style that robed the person
more discreetly and less precariously.
Some costume historians
believe that the men's dhoti, which is the oldest
Indian draped
garment, is the forerunner of the sari. Till the 14th century the
dhoti was worn by both men and women. Thereafter it is conjectured that
the women's dhoti started to become longer, and the accessory cloth
worn over the shoulders was woven together with the dhoti into a
single cloth to make the sari.
SAREE THE UNSTITCHED
GARMENT
Indian civilization has always placed a tremendous
importance on unstitched fabrics like the sari and dhoti, which are
given sacred overtones. The belief was that such a fabric was pure;
perhaps because in the distant past needles of bone were used for
stitching. Hence even to the present day, while attending pujas or
other sacred ceremonies, the men dress up in dhotis while women wear
the sari. Thus even though the different waves of Islamic expansion
(13th - 19th century AD) resulted in new versions of stitched
garments, the primacy of the sari and its gently changing form
couldn't be changed. Even today, when the Islam influenced
Salwar-kameez (loose trousers with a tunic) is an increasingly popular
garment, the Sari continues to hold its sway. The flow it confers to
the natural contours of the female form enhances the gracefulness of
the fairer sex, as no other apparel can.
THE ASPECTS OF SAREE
CLOTHING
The Sari, like so many other textiles, gives the lie to
the hierarchical
distinction made between fine arts and crafts. The
approximate size of a sari is 47 by 216 inches. Although it is an
untailored length of cloth, the fabric is highly structured and its
design vocabulary very sophisticated. The main field of the sari is
framed on three sides by a decorative frieze of flowering plants,
figurative images or abstract symbols.
PALLAV OR PALLU
Two
of the borders define the edges of the length of the sari and the
third comprises the end piece, which is a visible, broader, more
complex version of the other two borders. This end piece is the part
of the sari that is draped over the shoulder and left to hang over the
back or front, known popularly as the Pallav. The pallav has to be
symmetrical in the manner in which it hangs from the shoulder. It has
to be placed completely on the shoulders, and not hanging outside the
shoulders. Neither should the pallav be draped covering the navel. The
pallav hanging outside the shoulders, and covering the navel, makes
one of the shoulders look longer than the other and thus
asymmetrical. The symmetrical form is what makes the essence of the saree.
The pallav usually elaborates the theme found in the two borders
and the actual field of the sari, a sort of repetition and
amplification in the manner of the Indian musical mode, the raga. The
raga has a set number of notes and these are intoned in a form of
verbal mnemonics, before the song is actually sung. No new notes other
than those in the introduction are used, but improvisation is allowed
and results in endless permutations and combinations. This beautiful
metaphor thus compares the two narrow borders to the introductory
recital of the pure notes and the pallav to the song.
PALLU DESIGN
The design, whether woven, embroidered, painted or
block-printed, needs to
maintain the proportion and balance between
the actual field of the sari, the borders and the pallav. The pattern
creates its own rhythm. For instance, the scattering of spot weft gold
dots increase in the pallav for a denser, richer pattern and gradually
and softly decrease on the actual ground of the sari.
SARI
PATTERNS
Pattern and content are often dictated by the traditions
of the region where the sari is produced. The great sari capitals are
Varanasi (Banaras), by the sacred river Ganga, Chanderi in Madhya
Pradesh and Kanjivaram in South India.
TYPES OF SAREES
Banaras is renowned for its silk and gold brocades. The weavers
who are usually Muslims, are famed for producing brocades so stiff
with gold that they cannot be used as garments and are reserved wholly
for ritual use. The Banaras sari itself is ubiquitous in India. No
bridal trousseau would be complete without a 'Banarasi' brocade which
is available within a broad price range. Along with their very
intricate patterns, the most interesting aspect of Banaras brocades is
the tremendous variety of silk yarns with which they are woven.
Ranging from heavy silks such as 'Jamawars' and 'Tanchois' to gossamer
fine organzas and tissues, the choice is mind-boggling.
Chanderi is primarily a weavers town. It produces fine
shimmering cottons with pale delicate zari borders and motifs of the
utmost delicacy. The characteristic feature of the Chanderi sari is
the quality of the gold thread that is used. Early craftsmen have even
gone to the extent of describing it as the gold thread that shone like
a mirror. Kanjivaram is synonymous with hand woven silk saris and
known for its dark, heavy silks, usually with flat stripes of gold
decorating the borders. These conservative designs are considered to
be more restrained and dignified than the occasionally flamboyant
Banarasi sari. Kanjivaram silk also has a reputation for durability. A
very distinctive feature of these saris, as opposed to those from
other parts of India, is the contrasting color of the border and the
pallav, as compared to the body of the sari.
SAREE AND ITS
TEMPERS
Such a restricted mention of sari capitals is invidious
for it overshadows other regions with equally sophisticated textile
traditions. Almost every district and sometimes even different
villages have their own sari tradition which employ a complex language
of symbols. But though characterized by geographical considerations,
all Indian symbolism, abstract or figurative, is rooted in the natural
or physical world. The purist often bemoans the fact that the
traditional borders, the field and the end piece motifs have been
interchanged between the regions, creating an unwelcome hybrid and
often destroying the fine balance and subtle harmony between the
three. Yet innovation, not stagnation is the hallmark of the weavers
and artists engaged in the creation of these magnificent textiles.
Even in the 19th century, the Baluchari sari of Bengal introduced
images of British sahibs and memsahibs in railway carriages, thus
expanding a traditional vocabulary, which was almost exclusively drawn
from religious epics, and making the sari a vehicle for social satire
and a mirror of the times. Ingenuity too is a frequently employed
device. The Orissa calligraphy sari has coded love messages in the
shape of puzzle poems. Thus with the sari, pattern and content also do
frequently inform one another.
The material always light enough
not to interfere with the fluidity of the drape is another source of
varied tactile delight - cottons, silks, cottons mixed with silk,
chiffons and tissues are some of the preferred mediums. But in recent
times, to the dismay of the weavers, synthetic polyester has made
inroads into the fashion world of the sari. There are several reasons
for this. The number of women who now have careers of their own has
increased dramatically in the last twenty-five years. Handloom cotton
normally used for everyday wear, requires a tremendous amount of
maintenance. After each wear the sari has to be laundered and starched
since unstarched cottons have an unattractive limpness. Ironing such a
sari is a laborious process and not everyone can afford a laundry
service. The drip dry polyester, which requires no ironing has
presented itself as an attractive alternative.
ART OF DRAPING THE
SAREE
The sari takes final shape in visual terms only when it is
draped on a person. The slightly off-center fan of pleats in the
front, the floating pallav with the intricate border thrown over the
shoulder and the relatively smooth drape of the material at the back;
the wound, pleated, tucked and coiled material give the proportions an
aesthetic and intelligent rationality. To an unaccustomed onlooker, a
draped sari seems an insecure affair, in danger of coming undone at
the slightest movement. Actually, this apparently flimsy concoction is
buttressed by a stout, distinctly unromantic, cotton petticoat. The
top edges of the pleats are tucked into the waistband of this nether
garment, thereby almost eliminating the risk of the sari coming
adrift.
THE NAVEL PRINCIPLE AND THE PRINCIPLE OF THE
SYMMETRY
The fundamental beauty of the saree derives from the symmetry that
is attained by the unstiched garment. For this symmetry to be
attained. The pallav has to be symmetrical in the manner in which it
hangs from the shoulder. It has to be placed completely on or within
the shoulders, and not hanging outside the shoulders. Neither should
the pallav be draped covering the navel. The pallav hanging outside
the shoulders, and covering the navel, makes one of the shoulders look
longer than the other and thus asymmetrical. The symmetrical form is
what makes the essence of the saree. Also The lower part of the saree has
to be below the navel. This further enhances the symmetry of the
pallav or pallu and the entire saree, and the garment becomes embodied
in symmetry. which makes the saree the most magnificent costume.
THE SAREE AS AN EXPRESSION
The art of draping the sari is
in itself an expression of a woman's creativity. In urban India, saris
tend to be draped in four or five styles requiring approximately six
yards of material. It is, however, immensely versatile, and there are
a surprising number of regional variations of draping. Women working
in the fields of Maharashtra, drape the sari in the kasota fashion,
not unlike a pair of trousers, enabling complete freedom for the
limbs. Rita Kapur and Amba Sanyal in their book on the saris of Madhya
Pradesh document at least ten distinct styles of draping the sari in
that state alone.
For an unstitched length of material, the
wearing of a sari entails a lot of preparation. Most saris have a fall
made of cotton attached to the inside lower border, and the choli or
bodice that teams up with the sari should match the ground color of
the sari, or at least echo one of the tints in the borders or motifs.
The sari follows the shape of the body, yet conceals, it is often
said, a hundred imperfections. It is true that not only is it one of
the most graceful of garments, but also one of the kindest. This perhaps
explains its perennial charm. Not only beautiful, it is compassionate.
The success of the sari through the ages is attributable to its
total simplicity and practical comfort, combined with the sense of
luxury a woman experiences. Though men are intrigued by the demure,
floor-length attire and tantalizing display of a bare midriff at the
back, it is said that sari rarely fails to flatter a woman, making her
feel fragile and feminine. It is an instant fashion, created by the
hands of the wearer and subject to none of the vagaries and changes
which plague the modern fashion scene. But ironically this flowing
luxuriousness of the sari does lead to a corresponding restriction on
physical activity and has prompted critics to describe the sari as "a
51/2 meter cloth entangling the woman with serpentine viciousness". |
