Ethereal in all its beauty, sari is forever stylish. Stressing on the need to promote the ethnicity of the garment, when Jiyo celebrated its first anniversary at Nehru Memorial, a discussion on saris and its relevance in today’s times got the audiences thinking. Writer Shobhaa De and Renuka Choudhary shared some of their fondest memories of draping the lovely garment and discussed how it makes for an excellent traditional wear. Shobhaa said, “It is the sexiest outfit made out of a single piece of cloth,
covering and revealing the body at the same time. I don’t know why our tinsel town beauties do not promote saris. They wear weird gowns at international events.”
She recalled some childhood memories of sneaking into her sister’s closet and draping her saris. “As a 12-year-old, I was so fascinated by my elder sister’s collection that whenever she would go out, I would sneak into her room and try different saris from her collection. I remember having worn a sari on a date and it felt so good,” she fondly recollected.
Stressing further on the need to try on the “sexy sari” (as Shobha calls it), she told us how her daughters find the concept of a sari impractical. “She wears a zip-on sari. Young girls think they look much older in saris. My daughters find it uncomfortable to wear,” she said. Shobha regrets not having inculcated the sari-friendly atmosphere at home.
She said, “At the PTAs in school, my kids would never let me wear a sari. They always said, ‘Mom, dress up like normal mothers.’ Till date, I do not know how kids define a normal mother without a sari.”