A deep maragathapachai silk shimmers under warm lights, its gold zari catching everyone’s eye as the sari was laid. People move closer, drawn to the pallu, where the detailing begins to come into view. Each motif on its surface holds layers of history and culture in depth waiting to be revealed.
Titled ‘Meenakakshi’, this pure silk zari Kancheepuram sari was showcased at an event hosted by House of Tuhil at its Adyar space on Sunday. The co-founder S Jayakumar delivered a talk on Madurai and the cultural and historical significance of Meenakshi, setting the context for the weave. The piece was specially commissioned and earlier featured in the exhibition ‘Unstitched’ at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco on March 29.
“We wanted to have the elements of Tamil, Madurai, and Meenakshi woven onto the sari, that’s how you see the pallu,” Jayakumar said. The sari comes together through its motifs, each drawing from Madurai’s history and symbolism. The fish (inai kayal), drawn from the Pandya insignia, also ties back to Meenakshi herself, the fish-eyed goddess, bringing in both royal and divine references. Alongside this, the rudraksha motif brings in a direct reference to Shiva as Sundareswarar of Madurai, while the lotus reflects the city’s traditional layout built around the temple. The parrot, seen in Meenakshi’s iconography, appears as a recurring element, and the jadai nagam draws from the serpent ornament worn in her braided hair. All of this is set against a supreme maragathapachai (emerald green), closely associated with Meenakshi, grounding the sari in her visual identity. Together, these details anchor the sari firmly in Madurai’s cultural and religious landscape.
The sari was woven over seven-and-a-half weeks, with artisans working on the loom to bring the design into silk, following the Kancheepuram style of weaving. “We took the route of revival through recreation as a way to return to a grammar that has existed for over 2,000 years but has faded in the last two decades,” said Varsha Kumar, curator of House of Tuhil. Elements like korvai (an ancient handloom technique) interlocking borders and double warping come through in the structure, reflecting the precision involved in the process. For the showcase, the team also presented three additional saris in the same design, each in a different colour, offering variations while retaining the core motifs and structure.
As only a section of the original sari was on display, the full piece remaining in San Francisco, people gathered around it, leaning in to look closely at the motifs and the detailing on the silk. “Azhaguna apdi oru azhagu,” a few said, pausing at the pallu where several of the elements came together. Conversations lingered around the fish, the parrot, the jadai nagam; visitors tracing them with their eyes, trying to place each reference within the weave.
When seen in full, the sari brings together its visual, historical, and cultural embodiments in a single weave, drawing from Madurai’s mythology and the iconography of Meenakshi. From the motifs to the colour palette and the craft involved, each element builds on the other, as the piece was viewed and discussed during the showcase at House of Tuhil.