The great sari debate

No, it is not a Hindu garment but a symbol of Indic civilization

The sari is our civilisational thread and is deeply encoded in our genetic heritage. So the recent New York Times column, which describes wearing it as part of India's neo-nationalist cause and by implication becoming a tool of cultural revisionism, is nothing short of crude reductionism. Rather, it reeks of an arrogance and jealousy about the ease with which India keeps tradition contemporary. It shows that despite the crossflow of ideas and trade with a resurgent India, the Western media still likes to keep to stereotypes in the popular culture space, which is dominated by their self-serving grammar of standards and brand acceptance. So exotic India it still is, be it our gods on a coffee mug or, as in this case, a rant against the sari as a manipulative political device. The fact that the article was written by a Kashmiri might have given the fallacious argument weightage enough for the paper to run it the way it did. Would you ascribe a Japanese kimono or a South Asian sarong as easily to an upsurge of pop nationalism? 

Truth be told, the sari has been the most inclusive symbol of the Indic civilisation and is just a variation of wearing unstitched drapery that has been in use in all ancient civilisations, Grecian included. And if brand-toting young women are wearing it today or posting their pictures with a hashtag campaign of #100 saris, they are just telling the world that they are not only proud of their heritage and identity but are comfortable with going about their humdrum lives in their traditional weaves as well, simply because the sari is beautiful and a comfortable tropical wear. In fact, this self-propelling campaign by women on social media had nothing to do with the Government, which has been promoting weaver clusters and skill development for contemporising our craftsmanship and making it marketable. If anything, it has promoted handloom textiles, which happen to involve a large part of our rural populace, including a significant number of skilled Muslims. Even the most ardent critic of the Government or activist would not think twice about wearing the sari to get their point across. The adaptability of the sari has gone beyond borders, mutating in its folds and wraps across South and southeast Asia. It is a subcontinental legacy with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka endorsing it. The Bangladeshi jamdani and dhakai are as much a rage in India. International designers like Zandra Rhodes and fashion houses like Hermes have recast and reinterpreted the sari, which has been endorsed by Hollywood stars themselves, the icons of a new world. And if India is now a viable market for foreign fashion brands to stake an entry every month, then it shows how comfortable we are with our own while coursing with the ways of the wider world.