My Saree journey – Sonali Saxena

My love for saree began early. My mum used to only wear sarees and it was fascinating for a young girl to play with the beautiful six yards in her Godrej Almirah. It was the 80s and while there was not a lot of money floating around, it was quality over quantity. My mum used to buy beautiful silks and cotton handlooms which was an infrequent affair but an event on its own.

I wore my first saree at my year 10 farewell. It was a garden vareli floral print and was much admired on my 16year old self.I wore my mum’s wedding saree at my cousin’s wedding and while my wardrobe still consisted majorly of jeans and skirts, my love for saree was growing. In the next few years I wore a few of mum’s sarees to special events - my college farewell, my best friend’s wedding and so on. It was slowly becoming my garment of choice.

There is a funny story when I wore my mum’s wedding saree. My mum got married in the 70s, so her saree was pure chiffon in deep magenta with heavy embroidery all over. I died when I looked at the blouse - till that time I had this image of my mum as a boring, chaste woman. The blouse was sheer material, teeny weeny and fashionable and it gave me insight into the fun loving fashionista my mum was - a real blouse defining moment for both of us!

When it came time for my own wedding, I ensured that saree made up most of my trousseau. In fact I even wore it on my honeymoon, something that was not common in those times.

And then we moved to Australia and I left me treasure behind because I wasn’t sure if I will get a chance to wear it in this new country. For years, my sarees and I were estranged friends. I did not know many people in Australia and did not feel confident or comfortable to wear them. I

missed my saree wearing days.

I was fortunate to meet Poornima and we developed a deep friendship over our common values, outlook towards life and of course love for sarees, no one can love sarees the way she does but she was instrumental in bringing back my confidence and my sarees back in my life.

I not only brought a lot of my sarees back but invested in some beautiful pieces since then. Our estrangement is over and sarees are firmly back in my life as my choice of garment for the special occasions. It is also heartening to be part of a wider community who all share the love and are proud wearers of this beautiful garment.

I will end my saree journey with a quote I read somewhere which summarises my love for it

“A saree is not just a garment - it is a power, an identity and a language of its own!”

My college farewell Honeymoon in Mount Abu