Was watching Sonia Gandhi protest outside the Parliament last week. She was wearing mostly checks, and one she wore perhaps on the#NationalHandloomDay was an Andhra double ikat. Not sure if she has ever talked about sarees, or told anyone about what she likes, or what she inherited, learnt from her mother in law on the Indian handlooms of which she was great patron and together with Pupul Jayakar did quite a lot of work on government support to handlooms and handicrafts. Not to forget the veteran who was there in the field much before IG and Pupul, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya. A digression - Gopal Gandhi's 'Of a Certain Age' has a nice sketch of Chattopadhyaya. One leisurely Saturday afternoon as I shopped while waiting for my friend Indhu Radhakrishnan to come to M.G.Road, at Prasiddhi, the only place I have bought sarees from in Bangalore. The shop is proud of its legacy as a supplier to Gandhis starting with IG. But, IG used to visit Bangalore, personally buy sarees, but we have never met or had Sonia or Priyanka here, the person at the counter said. Well, here is one I bought that evening from Prasiddhi #100Sareepact, a simple half and half south cotton (for lack of a particular label, a complaint I have against many popular shops), matched with khun blouse.
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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