Hum Bewafaa hargiz na thhey……

Hello Frnz… this is my first story on this wonderful initiative 100sareepact– a commitment we all have made, thanks to Anju and Ally! Now, you must be wondering about the caption… so here is the story.

Today is a Friday and I have been very religious about wearing jeans on Fridays ever since 1995 when Fridays was declared a casual dressing day in our organization. In fact, I have been so fond of jeans since childhood that when Nazia Hassan , RIP, declared that she would like to wear a pair of jeans for her wedding, my admiration for her increased manifold and I was split between whether to like her more for her album Disco Diwane and Lekin Mera Dil number or for this bold statement she has made to break away from Lehangas!!! All that is , of course, history now. There were only two exceptions till date when I had worn a saree on a Friday and that was because I had gone for an external job interview… so, I would first like to assure my colleagues in my current organization that guys, I have not been for an interview , this is just about 100 Saree Pact 

It is just my Saree # 35 in three months of joining this pact and I still have a long distance to cover before end of 2015 , so today, despite being a Friday, I chose to wear a saree. And I was really in a big kash-mo-kash… infact I was being reminded in my mind, of the time when I was watching Hollywood hit movie “Unfaithful” with my friend Luz Church and Luz commented “who would want to be unfaithful to Richard Gere” and I replied, that I could be unfaithful FOR Richard Gere but certainly not unfaithful TO him! So, today, when I decided to wear a Saree I said to myself that the SAREE must really be worth the Bewafayi I am doing to my favorite Jeans…. One look in my wardrobe and I was compelled to pull out one of my most treasured Ikkats. And now, after this long “bhoomika” let me share the actual story for today and why this saree is so special.

To begin with, this ikkat saree is a gift from Veena Di, my massi, so of course it becomes one of the favorites…. Don’t you love its color and the temple border! But , why I say it is one of my ‘most treasured’ sarees, is , the reason that I wore it for a concert of my childhood heart throb (no, I am not sharing who he is, but can confirm he is a world acclaimed musician) and when I went to meet him back stage, not only did he recognize me from some of the earlier concerts I had been to, but he also immediately commented “Ikkat… beautiful saree”. I was amazed and had it not been for the fact that my heart was already up in my mouth and my tongue was paralyzed by his Charishma and his simplicity , I would have certainly given a tongue-in-cheek reply – seems like you have done multiple masters degrees – in music, stage , and also textile!!! But , I just stood there smiling and absorbing the magic of the moment. SO, this saree became a treasure and I vowed to myself not to wear it again and actually preserve it as part of a valuable collection in the fond memory of those moments. But today, when I decided to pull that out from the hanger to honor my next step on 100 saree pact, it was almost as if Sridevi singing – ‘Tu na ja mere baadshah ek vaade ke liye ek vaada tod ke’!!!

So friends, this is the story of this beautiful Ikkat Saree… my first story on this page. Why have I not posted any story thus far, is partly because I believe each saree is a story in itself… an open mystery which we discover when we fall in love with it. Now, take a look at some of these sarees and would you not agree that a saree, like a picture, is worth thousand words!

Look at this very unusual Kantha saree, and try to imagine the dream the weaver must have dreamt to break away from common tussar colors of beige and browns and go for a green and not to put usual flowers bel-butey pattern and use checks in yellow and red and the finale statement being patola border & pallu! Or, take a look at this Ghatchola… breaking away from traditional white & red in silk, instead opting for a sookha mehndi/olivish green in a modern georgette fabric…does it need any story telling!!!

And last but not the least, one of my favorite stories is this cotton silk from Nallis … simple yet different… basic checks & kairi pattern with paithani pallu and I took the trouble of going hunting for a kalamkari blouse in similar motif to tell its story.

Happy story telling, my friends!!!!