7/10 – My work takes me to many rural areas across Sri Lanka. When in the field, the saree isn’t always my garb of choice. I often settle for a pair of jeans and kurtha or a shalwar kameez. But my work often brings me into contact with amazing Sri Lankan women (teachers, health workers, doctors) who go about their daily work in saree with no discomfort whatsoever. I often felt a little ashamed next to them, especially once when watching a group of teachers in the central hills deftly climb up slippery slopes on a rainy day in saree, handbags slung over their shoulders and files in hand, while I teetered behind them in my jeans and tennis shoes!

So about a year ago I decided I would make the effort, and was surprised to find how easily I managed to travel long hours and work long days outdoors in a saree. This is one such occasion, at a handover ceremony of a rural water supply project in the central town of Nuwara Eliya.