Wanted an incarnation of Yves Saint Laurent in India

By

Shamoli Sarkar

Recently the world mourned over the passing away of the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.    What was so unique about him?  He was special because he never looked at the clothing of the women through the eyes of a man.  He could see women from inside as well.  A head seamstress remembers him by saying, “Monsieur Saint Laurent detested constraints.  He hated to see a woman impeded in her movements.  He wanted that women must forget what they are wearing, feel supported yet unrestrained.”    Monsieur Saint Laurent called it “THE TOTAL SILENCE OF CLOTHING”.

An incarnation of Monsieur Saint Laurent in India will certainly make the Indian women more efficient because he will undoubtedly   redesign the sari. 

Today I post this blog inspired by Kamala Balchandran’s column “Save the Sari” (June 16, 2008) in The Times of India.   A year back I posted a similar blog.

Below I copy/ paste my previous blog.

‘Why has this masterpiece of feminine attire (Sari) begun fading from our streets----- public places, and workplace?’

By

Shamoli Sarkar.

[As the title suggests this blog is written in response to Mr. Shashi Tharoor’s famous column 'Save the sari from a sorry fate' (March 25, 2007) in The Times Of India]

   What is forcing the Indian woman to change her wardrobe?

   We know, all the women have not conspired to go against their traditional attire – the sari; they love it too. They know the ‘aesthetic merits’ of this attire. Why are they not able to make use of it?

I think the answer is hidden in the question only:

1.   Our streets

2.    Our public places

3.    Our workplace

   If you have ever escorted your sister, daughter, female friend or any other (‘under 30’) woman to her college, office or anywhere, you might have experienced, how insecure she is in the public transport, on the street, in a few work places. Only the extreme cases are reported in News. Every woman, if she goes out of her home, to study or work, has experienced, at some time of her life, some sexual harassment.

   What is the woman supposed to do, to survive? The easy answer is – Take care of herself. What would you suggest her to do in a difficult situation, - - Defend herself? Fight back? Run away? Escape? To do anything possible at the time of danger? - - - But not to become a prey of the evil mind.   All these things are difficult, if she is wearing a sari. Even if she is an expert in martial art, she will be able to do very little to help herself, if she wears ‘all five or six or nine yards’ of sari, ‘the defining drape of Indian womanhood’, that obstructs her movements. Today, whenever she leaves her home, she should be mentally and physically ready to face, without getting nervous, any unfriendly situation. I think, this is one of reasons, for her not wearing the sari every day.

   The sari not only restricts the legs of the wearer from ‘moving   briskly’ but also sometimes occupies her hand. Watch carefully, any lady wearing a sari, climbing stairs, you will see that with one hand, she holds the front pleats of her sari, otherwise she may fall.

Observe a woman, wearing a sari, dragging her two-wheeler; she has to tuck her front pleats quite high, exposing her petticoat, to step properly.

   A woman, in a sari, while driving a four-wheeler, pulls her pleats again pretty high. If she does not do so, there are all chances of accident, as the sari comes between her toe and the accelerator/brake/clutch.

   The poor condition of the streets, also forces her to wear some clothes that make her movement easy and safe. A woman in a sari, in the rain is a favorite shot for the Hindi Cinema directors, but ask a woman all drenched in a sari, at a public place or on the street; what she feels. The wet sari clings to her legs, the edges of the sari gets so dirty that some time mud stains do not get cleaned at all. Besides, she can not fold her sari half, up to her knee, as a man does with his mundu. A woman demands her equality with man, but she knows, she is different, not similar to a man.

   Maintenance of the sari is also more expensive & time consuming than salwar-kameez or trousers-shirt that she wears. The small apartment, in which the urban woman lives, does not give much scope to dry, washed saris easily.

    Saris are not only ‘a hassle to wear, and less convenient to get around in,’ but also more time consuming to wear. If life is time, why should one waste 15 to 30 minutes daily in wearing ones clothes? A woman today wants to contribute to her Nation, in many other ways than what her ancestors did.

Besides why should we fear to change?
“Old order changeth yielding place to new
Lest, one good custom should corrupt this world.”

   The Indians believe in “Vasudeo Kutumbakam” - Universal Brotherhood. What is the problem, if the Indian woman imitates a few practical, useful things from her sisters living in some other part of the world?

NOTE: In West Bengal, even a newborn baby girl is addressed as “MA”, a replica of the Devine Mother.   I dedicate this blog to all mothers, on Mother’s Day, 13th May 2007