Six yards of history

THE UNSTITCHED garment has draped ancient civilisations, from Mesopotamia to Egypt, Greece, Rome and India. The grace of the sari still holds sway, unchanged in its essence from the `kachcha' style sari draped around a terracotta Shunga statue, circa 200 BC.

In tune with Hindu philosophy, the sari, like human life, is ephemeral. The six yards are a celebration of life and skills — of textures, weaves, colours and embellishment, many even 3,000 years old!

The walls of the Ajanta caves depict beautiful women in `arrow' ikkat saris (still woven in that region), Megasthenes spoke of the `fine flowered muslin of India' and Mughal and Rajput miniatures depict women in diaphanous, woven drapes. In her book Saris, Chantal Boulangar comments on the grace, practicality and the varied styles of a sari. To quote Boulangar: "Draping is in the minds and skills of the individuals and is passed on by demonstrations alone. Why do we allow this essential part of our costume history to vanish? Many ancient ways of draping a sari are forgotten today. The art may soon vanish completely."

Manasthala's "Vasso jhari: The drapes of India" offers glimpses of the history of the Indian sari. Apart from outlining the history of the sari and its many fascinating styles, the exhibition includes photopanels of the stunning sari wealth of India, many totally lost to us. Alongside is another exhibition of antique saris, in unusual textures, weaves and styles.

Did you know that there are three basic styles of draping the sari: the `nivi', the northern and the Maharashtrian `kachcha'?

Each State has its variations depending on the different communities. Bihar has more than a dozen ways of draping a sari, while Tamil Nadu has definitely more than three or four, Bengal and Coorg their own style and so on.

The lack of pictorial representation makes it impossible to fix the age of the drapes and very few saris have survived even from the early 19th century. For instance, the style of the odhni worn with a ghagra may have been an adaptation of the Gandharan sari. The petticoat came with the Muslims in the form of a ghagra and the tailored choli with the British...

The `Vasso jhari' exhibition displays many aspects of the sari heritage in beautifully produced photographs. There is an incredible representation of a rare Gopalpur tussar sari and tissue ikat, which have vanished as a craft form.

A richly woven tissue Benares holds one spellbound with its intricate workmanship, a black and white Patola exhibits the stunning design sense and harmony of the traditional weaver. Brocaded `suti' or cotton saris from Varanasi, rare Kanchipurams, Kalamkari Biblical panels, rare bandhinis and a brightly hued Paithani are simply riveting. Many of the saris have disappeared from the country's textile heritage, along with the weaving techniques. Many others continue, but in a totally different form. Yet others flourish. The exhibition of saris includes rare Pochampallis, Kanchipurams

and Benaresis, the elegant Chanderis, the good old Sungudis and interesting Narayanpets. If the collection of Bengali tangails is a wee bit pedestrian and the representation of saris, by and large, a little disappointing, a tribal Gond wedding sari more than makes up for it all. In off-white with deep brown border, it could give any designer sari a run for its money!

Then, there is this lovely `pankha' silk sari from Himachal Pradesh.

Heir to one of the oldest weaving traditions of the country, the `pankha' weaver does not use a shuttle, but throws the yarn ball across the weft, somewhat reminiscent of chik-weaving techniques.

And yet, what a superbly sophisticated weave is produced, a product of the perfect blend of skill, design integrity and aesthetics...

"Vasso jhari: The drapes of India", an interesting exhibition, is on till October 19.

PUSHPA CHARI

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