Sarees and Stories : Woven with Memories

In our family, once a wedding is fixed, we make a trip to Kanchipuram , seek the blessings of the Paramacharya of Kanchi Mutt, and then begin the wedding shopping. Whenever I drape one of my wedding sarees, I am transported right back to those days, the banter with my parents over which colors to choose, the carefully curated wedding trousseau, deciding what to buy for the rest of the family. 

Wedding shopping in Kanchipuram was an experience in itself. Once the sarees were selected, they were placed beside a picture of Kamakshi Amman and then handed over to us. Even today, that ritual feels special. A Kanjivaram doesn’t become precious simply because it is woven with pure zari or has a pallu crafted using the finest techniques. It becomes cherished because of the memories woven into it. Perhaps that is true of every saree.

The sarees I buy these days don’t quite evoke the same feeling, not yet, at least. Maybe one day, Cupcake will have her own saree stories to tell, about the saree her mom ordered online, the occasions she wore it, and the memories she created in it. Because someday, it won’t matter how or where the saree was bought. What will matter is the story it holds.

In a 30 year pure zari kanjivaram with petni pallu from my wedding trousseau. Petni technique which has become a rarity now is a time consume labor intensive process in which the body of the saree is interlocked with the pallu section, most likely in a contrasting color