I loved this saree when I went to the exhibition. There was another in shades of green and off white. And I chose this instant mood lifter combination between the two.

Pavi Aunty said it was too simple and I should look at more. Which I did and bought too. But I kept circling back to this one which was lying inside the cupboard. Pavi aunty & Vipra then told me the story of this saree.

This saree is a prototype. Just like in any science that requires design, a model and documentation of the work in progress from the start to finish, weaving too builds layers and requires intricate detailing.

The story goes that Pavi aunty went to Calcutta, last year, to work with some weavers. While there, she was asked to meet another group of weavers who were in abject poverty, low in skill, but needed sustenance. Her challenge was to get them to start weaving again. But begin with something simple.

Checks and using two colours, and creating a third, was a good point to start with. But there was a problem. They didn’t understand anything but Bengali, and their mentor, Pavi aunty, did not speak it. So she wrote down all the instructions on paper, got it translated to Bengali, then had someone explain the process to them. A little twist in the tale, quite literally, is the twisted thread lines in the Pallu, that looks like a herring bone stitch, and gives texture to the plain cloth. The checks too were tweaked in size to make them smaller than what this community of weavers used to weave in the past.

This saree was then sent to Bangalore for her to inspect. And that is when I saw it.
I bought it.

It’s a new saree. But it will always remain special. It’s a simple weave, with plenty of “imperfections’. I see a couple of places where a black thread has been woven in. The yellow thread pops up in the shot combination blocks sometimes. But to me this saree stands for the process of learning.

Breaking down a complex, scientific problem. Going back to the drawing board and equipping the labour with skills that form the base of the saree. Then building in complexity, layer by layer, as the weavers get more confident in their art.

I cannot wait to see what will emerge over the next year from these weavers as they continue to weave more intricately keeping this design as a base.I’ve told Vipra that the final product, the saree that comes from this refining process, already has a buyer. Me.

We are all custodians of age old skills & art, wisdom from mentors and the hours spent on the loom weaving the saree, and when we drape each saree, we stand testimony to the process of learning.

The weavers story is intertwined with the yarns in this saree. By draping it, I am the teller of their story. And my story begins today.

My prototype saree.

Saree #53 #100sareepact