Sari - Origin, Wearing Styles and Types

Do you know what a sari is? You may have seen this garment worn by women from the Indian subcontinent and wondered about it. I, coming from India, grew up surrounded by my mom and relatives wearing saris am habituated to it. But having started this edublog recently, I thought “Sari” might be a very interesting topic to write about.  I discussed this with wife (the model in the attached pictures) and her enthusiasm for this topic sealed the deal for me.

The origins of sari could be traced back to the 2800-1800 BC Indus Valley Civilization centered around the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is a very long strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine meters in length, and can be draped in various styles. The most common style is wrapping a saree at the waist and draping the rest over the shoulder. Other garments like viel, stoles, shawls etc have also been derived from sari.
Saris are made by weaving one plain end and two long decorative borders running the length of the sari. Then there is about one to three foot long section, which also have very elaborate decoration at the end; this is part that is draped over the shoulder and is called pallu. Saris were commonly made from silk or cotton, but nowadays other cheaper alternatives made from terrycloth (commonly called “terecot”) and polyester ( also called “kela-silk”, remember Bollywood movie Guru based on Dhirubhai Ambani?) are also available. Warp and weft threads are sometimes tie-dyed and then woven, creating ikat patterns (threads of different colors) which are adapted into numerous designs. More extensive and elaborate patterning made from woven gold and silver (zari work), embroidery, pearls and precious stones can further raise the pricing of saris.
The styles of draping can be as varied as types of saris with modern fashion designers further evolving new variations to wearing this traditional garments. However, generally speaking the styles of wearing a sari can be broadly categorized into the following ways:

• North India: Sometimes described as the “Modern Style” is the most common way of wearing a sari. The sari is circled once around the waist, pleated and makes one more half circle, with the loose end or “pallu” going over the left shoulder. This style is worn in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, and Uttarakhand.
• Nivi (sari drape): This is a style worn in Tamil Nadu where the pleats are passed through the legs and tucked into the waist at the back ( a bit like ‘dhoti’)
• Gujarati: This style differs in how the loose end is draped. It’s draped around the right shoulder, unlike the standard left, and is done back-to-front rather than the other way around.
• Maharashtrian/Kache: This drape is very similar to make Maharashtrian dhoti. And is primarily worn by Brahmin women of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
• Mundum neryathum: is a two piece variation worn in Kerela. This is usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or colored stripes/borders.

There are also other styles of wearing saris, namely Dravidian, Madisaara, Kodagu, Gond and many tribal variations.
Depending upon how it’s made there are following broad types of saris available:

• Kantha from West Bengal
• Northern styles
• Chikan from Lucknow
• Banarasi from Varanasi – this subsequently have various sub variations like Tant, Jamdani, Tanchoi and Shalu
• Eastern Styles
  • Baluchari from West Bengal
  • Ikat from Odisha
  • Jamdani, Rajashahi Silk, Tangail Tanter Sari and Katan Sari and Dhakai Benarosi from Bangladesh
• Western Styles
  • Pathani and Lugade from Maharashtra
  • Bandhani from Gujarat and Rajasthan
  • Kota doria from Rajasthan
• Central Styles
  • Chanderi from Madhya Pradesh
• Southern Styles
  • Venkatagiri, Guntur, Mangalagiri from Andhra Pradesh
  • Pochampally, Gadwal, Narayanpet from Telangana
  • Coimbatore, Kanchipuram (also called Kanjivaram), Kandagi from Tamil Nadu
  • Mysore Silk and IIkal saree from Karnataka
  • Mundum neryathum from Kerela

Whichever the style or type of sari one speaks about, the elegance and grace of a sari stays unparalleled in the world of garments. I hope you got inspired as well and try out a sari too in the future too.

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