I wore this saree to the Bangalore wedding of a friend’s sister in January 2015. With me are my dear friends Krittika, Malavika and Ganesh (from left to right), in a spontaneous reunion.

The saree has classic Ganga-Jamuna borders of hot pink and leaf green against a background of unbleached silk, woven in Kancheepuram. I can reverse and wear it just as easily.

My Ma gifted me this about 30 years ago when Prabhaben (one of the leading figures of the post-independence handloom renaissance, alongside Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Pupul Jayakar) brought a collection of weaves from her Sohan boutique in Mumbai to Chennai. It was love at first glance when my eyes fell on this saree.

Prabha Shah and Sohan were the stuff of legends in Bombay/ Mumbai. I did a sparkling interview with her for Indian Express in the 1980s.

I didn’t wear this saree often enough though I love its classic look, so I chose it for this wedding. It added to the joyous reunion because I had met each of these three young friends separately over the years, little realizing that they had been classmates at the local Chitrakala Parishad or art school. I love it when the world shrinks and circles coincide in this magical way.