City's changing trend: The 'Sari' culture

The 6-yard drape, in or out?: THE INDIAN sari is apparently 5000 years old! Dress patterns keep changing almost everyday, but the sari has somehow managed to stay, in one form or the other, because most women in rural India remain unaffected by the changing fashion trends, or for that matter don't even go by what is comfortable for them. Jyotsna Kamat, in her essay on the sari, calls it versatile "because it could be worn as shorts, trousers, flowing gown-like or convenient skirt-wise — all without a single stitch!" And so, the seamless sari has survived, even when there is a large group that argues that the sari is on its way out.

Changing trends: With a woman having to juggle between two worlds, sometimes even more, there is hardly any time left for a woman to painstakingly drape a sari. So, a salwar suit is any day a better bet, just slip into it, and you're ready in two minutes. Nevertheless, sari shops make a strong case for the good old saris, and insist that women are still in love with this six-yard wonder. It is just that now they want textures that are easy to handle and hassle free.

The New Avtars: Some even think that the New Age jobs are a reason for the unpopularity of the sari. With IT companies, call centres, and medical transcription centres taking over the job market, they have not only brought a dramatic change in the job culture, but they have also brought in a change in the traditional dress code. Probably, when one works in an educational institution or a hospital, they are probably governed by a dress code,

"but there is no such binding in the New Age jobs. And therefore, a woman's wardrobe is now full of the more comfy counterparts of the sari — salwar, jeans, trousers, and skirts. Saris are for occasional wear," says Gayathri S.R., who works for a multinational bank.

Some jobs demand saris. For instance, hotels, travel desk in airlines, and some management and marketing organisations insist on saris as it gives the women a more formal look.

The salwar is suitable for those who have a desk job, says Janaki Rameshwaran, employed in a private bus booking office where she has no interaction with customers.

"The moment we are asked to attend to customers, saris are preferred. Women in saris are somehow looked upon with more respectability, even when it comes to difficult customers."

Men at work prefer women in saris because they feel it is a blend of modernity, modesty, and femininity. Salwars are more a casual wear, however expensive the attire is. Even an inexpensive sari draped in elegance looks charming, say a section of officers in a private bank.
The banking and insurance sector has a lot of women in saris. According to them, saris are for office wear and salwars are more of home and casual wear. In hospitals and private health clinics, doctors prefer to wear a sari so as to instil confidence in patients. However, there are young doctors who are seen in salwars as they feel saris are cumbersome.

In a salwar, body flab is concealed. Even when a salwar is crumpled, it can pass off as casual wear. But saris keep women conscious of their figure, according to models. While salwars are popular with working women, they wear saris on formal occasions, says Revathi H.R., who works for aeronautical agency. But in terms of affordability, the saris come in a range of prices, from as reasonable as Rs. 50 to the exorbitantly priced ones. Of course, one cannot get a salwar for Rs. 50! There is a section of women who favour the salwar strongly and say that it is easier to maintain them. The argument does not stop here, there are women who oppose this and give 100 marks to the cotton sari, even though it requires tough maintenance.

As an afterthought, maybe the sari is not so unpopular after all. Didn't Mandira Bedi (and her non-blouses!) get so many viewers glued to the television?