By Monisha Shivaraj
Just like every other family heirloom passed down from generation to generation, the heirloom passed down by India for over more than 5 millenia is the saree. The saree is the most ancient and persistent piece of unstitched garment worn by women for eras now. Sarees are seen on the streets to runways and are worn by women of all ages. The word saree comes from the Sanskrit word śāṭī, which means ‘a strip of cloth’.
The saree echoes back to the Indus valley civilisation, and thus, it’s considered as one of the oldest clothes to have lived this long. Even the great epics evidence the existence of sarees for longer than we can presume. Sarees are naturally woven out of fibres such as silk and cotton. There’s an ancient Hindu belief that stitching cloth made it impure, so we can assume why a saree was preferred since it is an unstitched piece of cloth. Either way, I wonder who wore the first saree.
This piece of cloth has the potential to keep you warm during winters and cool during summers. It’s an exquisite appearance with convenience. It qualifies as the most suitable outfit for South Asian women. Sarees vary in colour, design, pattern, spirit, style and sensation. Sarees are worn as attire for every occasion, from politicians to farm works, from weddings to daily wears, they are seen everywhere.
The reality that there is no discrete way to drape a saree makes it extremely unique. Sarees can be worn in more than 100 different drapings.
The same 9 yards in length piece of cloth can be given a different look with a different fold, pleat, tuck or twist. Be it the typical Indian drape, or two-piece Malayali version from Kerala, or even the front to back version from Kodagu, oh, and the pleatless Bengali and Odia version, they all come under the roof of one incredible country, India.
However, as the Mughals entered India, the evolution of the lehenga choli started.
A lehenga choli is a three-piece attire that consists of a long Indian skirt called the lehenga, an Indian blouse called the choli and a dupatta. The lehenga was originally a Mughal design, but now many designers have come up with different designs and patterns. It’s a spectacular transformation, Yet the patterns of the golden Mughal age are not neglected.
As per documentation lehengas only appeared to India with the Mughals, but there are many other sources that prove that such three-piece attires existed much prior to the Mughals.
Although lehenga cholis are very popular these days, sarees are equally popular and I would like to say that lehengas are just a rip off of a saree. I conclude to believe that the woven threads of a saree keep the draped fabric of India together.
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