My maternal grandmother wore a “thotti kasi” saree at her wedding reception, sometime in the mid-1930s. A deep dark shade of green, it is covered with ornate gold leaves. The “zari” in the leaves is made of gold thread. I do not doubt that it is indeed gold!. In the old days, I have heard of “zari” in sarees being melted down to get silver and some gold. Perhaps more gold went into the making of this saree, making it one of the heaviest sarees I have ever worn!!
\nI looked for a photograph of my grandmother wearing this saree, but could not find one. Alas! Instead, I am posting one of her taken a few days after her wedding, in a studio! I like the languid way her saree sits on her. And don’t miss my grandfather’s hat!!!
\nAs a child, I remember my mother, Suseela Pani showing it to me: “my mother’s wedding saree”, she would say. I do not remember seeing her wear it ever! Perhaps because she lost her mother when she was only two years old, to pneumonia, a few short months before penicillin was discovered. The saree was her link to a mother she never knew.
\nA few months before I was married, the saree became mine! I wore it on the day of the “pandakaal”, the first day of the wedding. My mother recalls that someone from “Radha Silks” saw the saree and borrowed it to copy the design!
\nI too never wore the saree thereafter. It stayed in my cupboard, folded and refolded away. It took me back to my maternal grandmother every time I looked at it… until some months ago, I decided that it was time it was handed over to the next generation!
\nThe saree now belongs to my niece, Vaishnavi Sivasankar. Four generations of women…the saree has connected us all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My maternal grandmother wore a “thotti kasi” saree at her wedding reception, sometime in the mid-1930s. A deep dark shade of green, it is covered with ornate gold leaves. The “zari” in the leaves is made of gold thread. I do not doubt that it is indeed gold!. In the old days, I have heard…<\/p>\n