My Saree Stories: Part 8
It is festival time in India, and every week you have one celebration after the other. This is a good time for sarees to be aired. And no one minds if you choose to wear something over…
Sujani: Embroidery from Bihar
One of the many diverse art forms that lie relatively undiscovered in Bihar is the Sujini or Sujani embroidery. The earliest known examples of Sujani embroidery date back to the mid 1920s. Women hand embroidered these masterpieces…
Pola: The bullock festival
Pola is a two-day traditional festival celebrated in Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Telangana at the end of the Shravan month, which is usually in the last week of August or in the early part…
My Saree Stories: Part 7
Part seven of the series contains some trivia about saree motifs from Kanchipuram, some more trivia about the weaving of mulmul, and an invaluable lesson from my Dad when I went saree shopping. Saree #71: A Kanchi…
The Sa-Sha-Sh Conundrum
I often wonder what makes parents decide the names of their children. Our parents named the three of us- Anshu, Manish and Ashish. Now there is nothing wrong with that. In fact when you say the names…
My Saree Stories: Part 6
The saree obsession now takes greater heights. I had bought this black saree last year in November from a stall outside a conference in Nagpur. I wore it but for the life of me couldn’t remember what…
The meaning of freedom
The main road near my house has been dug up for major repair work. Vehicles have to navigate trepidatiously as only half the narrow road is available for movement. It is expected to take almost four months…
My Saree Stories: Part 5
I’m back with more saree stories, this time with stories about typical Bihari traditions and some lesser known handlooms. Saree #41: A green leheriya from Rajasthan This was a very special moment for us in 2014. My…
Never say never
As a child I detested dahi (curds). I used to eat dahi but something happened which put this food item off my list of edible things. One afternoon after school, as I was eating off my Dad’s…
Khenda: The saree quilt
The house has become quieter. The mourning rituals ended last evening. Most visitors have left. Even people of the house are beginning to travel. Work beckons. Subodh and one of my nieces together come to me. “Do…
