33/100
A sunshine yellow bagru print Maheshwari silk cotton with maroon and chocolate brown prints on the pallu and a zari border picked up ten years ago from the small town of Mhow in Madhya Pradesh where we had gone for a short course.
Maheshwari sarees originated from the town of Maheshwar in MP, hence the name. The interesting legend behind these sarees is of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar who ordered various craftsmen from Malwa and Surat to design a special saree with nine yards which were supposed to be a special gift for the royal relatives snd guests who visited the palace. The colours of these satees are made using natural vegetable dyes.
This remains one of my favourite sarees as it is light weight and can be worn both formally and casually.
As fauji wives we travel to so many different places and gather information from each other on what to shop.. from where. …we even find out the prevailing prices…so no shopkeeper can ever cheat us. So when I was leaving for Mhow I was told by ladies who had already been there to stock up on Maheshwaris and Chanderis. So the first thing I did on reaching was exactly that. They even advised me to pick up stuff within a week or so because towards the end of the course ….the shopkeepers are hardly left with any stock. And I actually fell in love with the fabric and colours and prints and have over time collected four Maheshwaris.
Wore it today for a Parents Orientation programme in school where I was to speak on the topic “School’s expectations and support from parents”