Sarees have been an integral part of my growing up. Be it the half saree or the reason to sport one when the marriage proposal kit is incomplete without a picture in a saree.

But this story is different. This is about the role of saree in my corporate life. I have always felt confident when sporting a saree and the reason is simple. For the chubby person I am standing at 5ft 6in and broad shoulders, this was a great way to hide the handles. I grew up seeing my mom wear sarees and sport them with the pallu falling absolutely stiff on her shoulders and give this small lady an incredible look of respect which she has commanded for close to 40 years from her students. I wanted to emulate one element because only that was possible! She also had a thumbrule, blouses will come till the waist. Not an inch of skin would be visible because she had to raise her hands to write on the board and she didnt want any distraction.

This is how I was introduced to sarees, the power attire. My first day at work in my current firm, 14 years ago, was in a saree. I loved the attention I got from everybody. IT then didnt see too many sarees on the campus. I loved the warm approval smile from the security team and the ‘ahem’ look from my seniors. IT made me feel good, very good. Because till the time I didnt open my mouth, I needed something to be taken seriously.

Since that day, I have always relied on sarees to get me through client presentations, hosting events, meeting important people or simply to feel good and confident within. I have had an instance when I wore a salwar to a client interaction and they dismissed me as a nobody (maybe I was not sitting at the table or leaning in enough!). The next time I fell back on my saree and trust me there was never a doubt.

As I reach here, I realize I could be giving a negative impression about my self esteem or maybe some mindsets. I dont know. I am not in judgement of how it was perceived. But deep within I know when I am dressed in a saree, the world is waiting to be conquered by me. So I have maintained a regime of sporting sarees twice a week and more if the work demands.

I used to love only polycot sarees for the fact they didnt move an inch throughout my 12 hour grill. But recently I have found that silk and jute sarees are awesome too. I love earth colors and am now opening up to brighter colors. I still need 3 safety pins to see me through and 6 minutes to drape it *that can reduce a lot more*

This has been my saree story so far. I hope you see the happiness and confidence in sporting one and may you always have the happiest 9 yards in your wardrobe.