From geometric patterns to flowy, feminine designs that make you want to drape yourself in those six yards of fabric – all the way to pan Indian sarees that have no regional identities and yet, are beloved throughout the country for their simple designs – the reign of the saree isn’t over. And never will be, said Sumithra Dawson, an associate professor of Fine Arts at Stella Maris College, during her lecture on Sunday at Apparao Galleries, on the narratives of the woven saree and its design innovations.
In Tamil Nadu, sarees and saree weaving have always been regimented with the ‘sanctity’ and factors of the auspicious, said Dawson. “The designs or motifs were cultural signifiers. Like the traditional stripes and checks, the hamsa, the rudraksha and the annam patterns,” she said and added, “What triggered the need for ‘new designs’ is the change in the design mindset of the people.” And two major reasons for the shift were the development of T Nagar and technological advancements.
“Setting up of stores by weaver capitalists, corporate branding strategies and a really competitive environmen set off a boom that pressed people into innovation. And now T Nagar draws some of the world’s biggest crowds, especially during festival time,” she added. While the development of the shopping area is one aspect, the improvement in the technology of weaving has also contributed a major chunk in the changing narratives of the woven designs. The single fly shuttle technique – what is known as the ‘thallu machine’, the Reku weaving technique, the petni technique, the jacquard technology and the Textile CAD technology, which has given rise to some of the city’s most innovative designs are all technologies that have vastly improved the narrative canvas of the six yard drape, Dawson went on to explain.
Dawson also touched upon the story of the saree’s fascinating shift from geometry to abstract designs. “From Nalli’s 1980 Ramayana border with its rigid geometrical designs, we came to images of full figured human images on the saree,” she said. RmKV’s stunning Chinnanchiru Kiliye saree with its Bharatanatyam dancer on the pallu and 33 different abinayas on the border is a prime example, she said, of the shift from what was seen as traditional to the modern day interpretation of tradition. “From there, the designs evolved from figurines to myth and literature to architecture – like the Mamallapuram saree and the Pothys’ Kajuraho saree – both aren’t traditional in the design sense but the very images themselves are traditional and that feels like going back to the classical era of the saree,” she added.
Add to that the 50,000 colours saree, the grand reversible saree, the Cinderella saree and the colour changing saree, the simple saree has transformed into a dynamic space and has provided a new playing field for the designers to explore, she concluded.