2/100 ‪#‎100sareepact‬‬ A Book Launch in Summer.I’m a cookbook magnet, so when my friend and her 83 year-old mother launched their cookbook on Saturday, of course I was there. It was a particularly hot summer evening, but the room was a sea of saris – such a beautiful sight.There were gorgeous kanjeevarams and maheshwaris, chanderis and tussars, and Geetha Rao, who was launching her book wore the most exquisite kasuti embroidered silk. Every woman present made the sari she was wearing her own with individual touches. Geetha happens to be the Chairperson of the Crafts Council of Karnataka, and that made me think of so many other women who dedicated their lives to keeping textile and craft traditions alive: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. Rukmini Devi Arundale. Pupul Jayakar. Rta Kapur Chrishti. And so many others. I chose a cool zari kotah, which I love for its colour and airy beauty, the chequered tracery of its weave so perfect for our hot summers. It literally seems to catch the breeze – or maybe that’s my imagination! I also thought it was the perfect choice – a sari weaving technique that, we are told, travelled from Mysore to Kotah with a Mughal general, and a group of weavers that he took with him. It was known as Masuria, after its place of origin. What a perfect way to bridge the North-South divide!