gadwal. when i was too young to know anything about sarees other than all women – yes, it was practically all the women i knew or saw around me – wore them, that word always intrigued me. spending a lot of time in delhi while growing up, i was aware of garhwal, near the himalaya mountains in the north, a hilly place with lots of nice small towns and warmhearted people… many of whom came to delhi in search of…
i have grown up around these light, floaty, slightly see through sarees in beautiful colours, or a typical ivoryish off white with woven borders, sometimes little bootis or motifs all over them, sometimes plain. taanter sharee. sarees of the loom. for hundreds of years and more – shantipur goes back 500 years i read – across weaving centres in bengal, both west and east (now bangladesh) cotton sarees have been woven by hand by ordinary people, no designers they, the…