A 6 yard of exquisite drapery is what the sari is all about. It is feminine garment that is a long strip of unstitched cloth, which can be draped in diverse styles. Its extensive usage can be seen in the Indian subcontinent. An attire worn primarily by Hindu women; once draped about the lower body it gathers in the front in a graceful and decorative effect like the petals of a flower .
The word 'sari' germinated from the Prakrit word 'sattika' as mentioned in ancient Jain Buddhist scriptures. Its history can be traced back as early as the Indus valley civilization that prospered during the early 1800 BC. Archeological artifacts testified to this, in the statue of a priest wearing a drape.
Saris consist of one plain end and one decorative end. The plain end is the one that is wrapped around the body while the decorative end is the one that falls as pleats on the front or as a veil (pallu) on the shoulder depending upon the style in which the sari is adorned.
The sari is believed to have originated from the men’s dhoti which is one of the oldest versions of draped garment in India. It was considered as a unisex garment worn by both men and women alike. In those times saris were hand woven. They were tailored either in silk or in cotton. While the rich could afford the gossamer silk ones but the poor resorted to the cotton ones which in most occasions were very coarsely woven. Earlier saris were hand woven which naturally made them more expensive and a considerable investment in money and time. The advent of the British saw the start of the modern era wherein saris were increasingly woven on mechanical looms and made of artificial fibers, such as polyester, nylon, or rayon. This greatly reduced the cost of production which caused the handloom industries huge losses.
There is however some light controversy surrounding the drapery of saris amongst costume historians. Some historians believe that before the modern period women only wore one draped cloth that casually exposed the upper body. Others wish to differ as there are a lot of textual and artistic grounds for various forms of breast band and upper-body shawl. They believe that ancient artifacts do show existence of bandeau and shawls that were exclusively used by the women. But certain sculptural carvings do not manifest the aforementioned. It is also believed by some, that only as respect to the queen did the women in ancient India commence wearing upper body shawls and blouses as a bid to live up to the modesty of the Victorian era.
Some ancient works of art and poetry demonstrate women in dainty drapery.
For instance the Gandhara and Mathura schools of art (which flourished in the 1st to 4th century) described the goddesses and dancers wearing a sari that flowed as a long decorative cloth in front, in all their sculptures. Even the carvings adorning the walls of the Hindu temples stand as a classic illustration to the ancient history of the sari. Thus it is accepted that wrapped sari-like garments, shawls, and veils have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years.
What so ever be the style of draping, the sari has had a long history. The 9 meters of wonder when donned really accentuates the beauty of women. Saris however made are still a common facet in the Indian subcontinent. The sari was stemmed in both South and North India and is now a symbol of India.
Ritu Naiya
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