Celebrating Saree

From actress Yami Gautam to politicians like Priyanka Chaturvedi, Nagma and Nupur Sharma, Twitter is flooded with pictures of women draped in nine yards of elegance. The hashtag #SareeTwitter continues to trend since Monday and is brightening the social media platform with saree pictures of women from all walks of life.

The Vicky Donor actress Yami showed her support for the hashtag by tweeting a picture donning a black and golden saree. She wrote, “I completely agree with this trend, nothing can match the elegance and beauty of a Saree! So sharing my most special saree moment #SareeTwitter (sic).”

Yami Gautam

While the actress asserts that nothing can surpass the grace of a saree, for Shiv Sena spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi, a saree inspires a sense of comfort and pride. For someone who would never drape a saree to making it her primary choice of apparel, Chaturvedi has grown quite comfortable with the garment.

“It looks elegant and gives a sense of formality when a person is participating in important events. It is the easiest choice to make when you are heading out for an important event. It makes you believe that some values, traditions, as well as the entire Indian culture,  continue to live on as we move forward,” shares the politician, who posted four pictures in a saree.

Thirty-six-year-old Yaman Banerji, for whom the saree became a part of her daily wear after she tried to make the most of her wardrobe, says that the garment is an extension of herself. “Gradually as I started wearing sarees and travelled in the local train, I realised it is not very uncomfortable,” she says.

Nagma

Banerji, a visiting faculty at Sir JJ College of Architecture and mother of a five-year-old, feels that sarees give her strength to be who she wants. “When I wear a saree, it lets me be what I want to be at that particular moment or day without any restrictions. That is one of the dominant reasons why I took to sarees,” she explains, adding, “The same saree is something to me today, and tomorrow it can be something else. From fearful to sophisticate, it will change the way I drape it. And when I drape a saree, I am taking forward a bit of my heritage and memories for the future generations for sure.”

Fashion expert and designer Amy Billimoria proclaims that sarees are pieces of cultural heritage that can never go out of sight. “It can make women of any body type, nationally or internationally, camouflage any flaws and yet look sexy,” says the designer, who always prefers to dress anyone in a saree.

“I think that there is something incomparable about a saree, it is my heritage and I am proud to make anyone wear that,” adds Billimoria. The celebrity designer further urges women to ditch the floral dress, and rather pick a floral chiffon saree that one can easily pull off all year round in the Indian climate.

The saree has held its roots tight and has evolved positively with the times, making it a daily apparel choice for women across ages. “The way people are draping sarees now has changed. Some combine it with shirts, crop tops or t-shirts. The entire idea of finding a matching blouse and the traditional way of draping the saree is being challenged by women, and they are adapting it for their comfort zones,” declares Chaturvedi, who is most comfortable in a handloom or cotton saree.

Veteran fashion designer Ritu Kumar, who has also closely watched the saree evolve from a day-to-day garment to formal wear and back to everyday wear, is happy about the variations that the garment has been through over time.

“People are wearing it with jeans, which in a way is quite natural because a saree is a hugely versatile garment which you will get between nine to three-and-a-half yards. The evolution means you are appreciating one of the most classic garments in the world that is unstitched. Earlier, how you wore it used to be a matter of tradition, but now it is a matter of your individuality,” she concludes.