Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
‘‘Oh my God Didi, no fall in your sari; how shabby and ugly it looks. Don’t you have any sense? People will laugh at you." And sure enough, some people within earshot turned around to see who was speaking so loudly.
This happened a couple of years ago. While on the mandatory pandal hopping during Durga puja, I bumped into a cousin of mine.
The initial formalities over, this are what she said, ‘‘Oh my God didi, no fall in your sari; how shabby and ugly it looks. Don’t you have any sense? People will laugh at you.” And sure enough, some people within earshot turned around to see who was speaking so loudly.
Years earlier, when I wore fall-less saris to my French class a couple of times, I spotted a few girls whispering and giggling, looking askance at my attire.
Coming to the brass tacks, a ‘sari fall’ is nothing but a sturdy strip of fabric–5 inches in width and 3 metres in length – which is mandatorily sewed onto the hem of a sari; its purpose is to cover the initial drape and pleats area. It is stitched on from the wrong side of the sari, to avoid being visible from the outside.
‘Sari fall’ ushers in multiple benefits. No doubt. The extra fabric lends weight and strength, thus making a sari stiffer.
This ensures easier and better pleats, ultimately resulting in a graceful drop of the sari. Pleats stay in place, weighed down by the fall. The fall supports the hemline as well as the whole fabric, by fighting gravity and preventing scratches or wear and tear, be it from footwear or rough ground surface.
I still have bones to pick with today’s fastidious, fashion-conscious crowds, especially youngsters. The Sari in its myriad avatars has been worn by women of the subcontinent since the dawn of civilization. Indus Valley civilization is 8000 years old!
The accounts of societies and kingdoms that flourished through the subsequent centuries reveal that the sari was the staple attire.
Did fall exist then? No. Who manufactured or marketed them? Nobody. How were the saris maintained or safeguarded during those times? Who knows.
Then why so much hullabaloo about a not-so-significant accessory? By the way, a nonagenarian aunt of mine, highly fashionable during her youth, doesn’t recall the existence of falls. I am in my mid-50s. If my memory serves me right, falls made their debut only during the 80s.
Here is cocking a snook at the fashionista: I can jolly well afford falls and get them attached. The sky won’t fall if I don’t. So I will give it a miss.
Anyway, I am lucky to possess a few resplendent South Indian silk saris and spectacular Bengal handloom saris, both categories with weighty borders that fall will do a fat load of good. Hmph!
Image source: Sakshi Patwa via Pexel, free on CanvaPro
Am a trained and experienced features writer with 30 plus years of experience .My favourite subjects are women's issues, food travel, art,culture ,literature et all.Am a true feminist at heart. An iconoclast read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
Please enter your email address