The silk thread used to weave this Kanjeevaram saree is made up of three single threads twisted together.The threads are dipped in rice water and dried in the sun. The twisted yarn is said to be so strong that it will last for over forty years.
The Zari in this saree is a silk thread twisted with thin silver wire and then immersed in pure gold. The quality of the Zari really defines any Kanjeevaram saree’s grandeur.
The weave is special too, as is the weaver. It can take as long as twenty days to weave designs in the intricate Korvai technique native to the Kanjeevaram saree.
I had written about attending my niece’s wedding early on in the pact. Bangalore Maasi going to Delhi wedding, I’d said. And I had decided that Southern India, that we call home now, must be represented through my sarees. So Kanjeevaram saree shopping happened. And in the midst of grander sarees, I sneaked in this black beauty. I knew I wouldn’t wear it at the wedding, but, really, look at it, would you have the heart to leave it behind ?
I’d also written about smiling right through the wedding keeping my secret, of being pregnant with my daughter, close to my heart and the family.
Khayaal was born in May. And though I went about life and school drops for my son soon after, our first invite to dinner came from my friend Arpita, and coincided with the forty fifth day of Khayaal being born. It is customary in the Hindu tradition to step out of the house with child only after forty five days. This tradition was probably rooted in the fact that child and mother stayed away from catching any infections in the olden days.
Anyway, this coincidence of the invite being on the forty fifth day had to be celebrated. So out came my black beauty, I dressed up. As did my Mom and my husband and young son.
Miss K was placed in a bassinet, dressed in red checked little shirt dress, with a round white collar and a white & red ribbon tied on her head, and carried along a few buildings away.
We rang the bell, and as the door opened, we stepped into a circle of warm friendship, with a room full of people who had seen us through the pregnancy.
It was celebration time. It hasn’t stopped since.
Silk from Karnataka, where the mulberry leaves grow the best, zari from Surat, a weaver in Kancheepuram, an age old tradition of weaving, and a saree was born to celebrate the birth of my second child.
Arpita & Pratima, I know you will remember this. Thank you, for always being there for me.
saree #52 ‪#‎100sareepact