Resistance of the saaree

Culture Matters

DARA E HEALY

“Essentially, the sari is being radically reimagined…by the work of designers, by wearers and also by makers. I think they are really adapting it for what is a diverse and contemporary world.”

­– Priya Khanchandani, curator of The Offbeat Sari exhibition in London

THERE IS A new conversation happening around an ancient item of clothing, the saaree (Hindi spelling). When our East Indian brothers and sisters first arrived in 1845, undoubtedly they gave little thought to their clothing as symbols of resistance to the cruel system of indentureship or the social alienation it provoked. They simply wanted to make a better life for themselves and their families.

Raviji recalls that traditional forms of clothing like the saaree only saw a resurgence several decades after the end of indentureship. While indentured workers arrived with their traditional clothing, the rigours of working in the cane fields would have demanded a more practical form of dress. “My aajee, my father’s mother and all the grandmothers around me in the village in Caparo and even when I lived in Curepe and San Juan, they used to wear a long kind of dress called ghangaree, with the orhni covering their head and pulled demurely across their breast. At work, it was tied securely on their head.”

In the African community, western clothes were favoured for a while, as citizens in the post-independence era attempted to reconcile political freedom with the ethnic, social, cultural and other concerns of our complex society. Interestingly, the Black Power movement of the 1970s would serve as a catalyst not just for African consciousness, but that of East Indians as well.

Indeed, one of the more famous banners of the era proclaimed, “Indians and Africans, Unite Now." It was displayed in 1970 during an historic march from Port of Spain to Caroni. The movement and global focus on civil rights sparked a new emphasis on identity, influencing the music, Carnival and even the food that was consumed.

Clothing and hair were significant aspects of this awakening and were integral to claiming a particular ideological space. For many East Indian women, their statement of self-determination lay enveloped in the folds of the saaree. There were also practical reasons for the resurgence of this form of dress. The oil boom of the 1970s fuelled greater economic wealth.

Raviji recalls that more East Indians were able to travel to India for pilgrimage and other reasons. They satisfied the growing desire for authentic Indian clothing by bringing back saarees and other items for sale. For the first time, saarees were widely available for purchase here in TT. Interest in Indian clothes surged, with merchants setting up stores across the country.

In an interview with the BBC, Priya Khanchandani talked about the stereotypes associated with the saaree, whether in India or other parts of the world. One view was that the saaree was only typically worn by women from older generations. Further, it came to be seen as symbolic of the “passive female body in a domestic space or the objectified female body in Bollywood.”

As younger generations of East Indian women reimagine this aspect of their heritage, they view the saaree more as “…a symbol of female empowerment which defies the stereotypes of an earlier generation.”

At the 2022 Met Gala, a famous fund-raising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York, businesswoman Natasha Poonawalla captivated the red carpet with a striking metal bustier and long, dramatic saaree by Indian couture designer Sabyasachi. This dress is also on display at the current exhibition in London.

Beyond the glamour, designers and others are choosing to interrogate some of the more urgent issues of our times through the garment. For instance, at the London exhibition, one saaree is made from recycled bottles, decorated with old X-ray films cut into small squares and repurposed as sequins.

And, although historically there were many ways to drape a saaree in India, as Khanchandani points out, today young East Indian women are experimenting with how this ancient garment may be designed and draped. By reclaiming this piece of their heritage, they are choosing to wear the saaree not only as a statement of identity, but as a form of resistance to misconceptions about women.

Blessings to all on the commemoration of Indian Arrival Day. Give thanks for all the expressions of Indian culture that so enrich our nation. Give thanks.

Dara E Healy is a performance artist and founder of the Indigenous Creative Arts Network – ICAN