Bengal has a great tradition of textiles and weaving, and I was happy to see my friend Sutapa Mukherjee in a saree after a long long time on a post here (facebook). It was a coincidence I had picked up a saree she got for me from Kolkata that day and wish she can at least take up a 12 saree a year pact, if not #100SareePact . Except for some government offices, sarees have vanished from our offices mostly. So, it is going to be a lot of hard work to make that attire accepted as "professional" wear. The other coincidence that day was the khun blouse I had matched. I was going for the Press Club function to celebrate a milestone in the life and career of journalist friend Olga Tellis. Half way to the club I thought Olga regularly wears khun blouses. She is highly eclectic in the way she dresses, from chic western wear to very ethnic sarees matched with khun blouses. That day too she was in a red cotton, typical Maharashtrian saree with a khun blouse. This saree has a unique shooting arrows kind of pattern not very visible in this photo.
Dhonekali or Didi sarees
Incorrigible preserver .... I can't throw away things that easily. This is a Dhaniakhali (I mostly hear it as Dhonekali when spoken) #100Sareepact was bought long before it got branded as Mamta saree. They are cool, simple and inexpensive, at least not those elaborately woven Tants. Though Mamta is supposed to have revived the fortunes of these plain sarees. they are not easily available, for even in Kolkata during my last trip one had to seek them out...the shopkeeper at Gariahat asked "railway minister sarees?", (yes in 2010 she was still a railway minister). This blue and white has been with me since 1993, bought at Cottage Industries on Chowringhee...Dhaniakhali' s are special to me - the first long distance trip I ever made in life was to Kolkata in 1985, and bought two of them for a princely sum of 55 and 60 rupees. Now, I sound like "andha kalathula naan collegela padikkarppo...."
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