Joie de weave of the six yard wonder

Three textile loving friends, with a serious case of wanderlust found themselves immersed in personal stories — stories of struggle and triumph around sarees.

Influenced by the different histories, skills, expertise, cultures and the artisan weavers that create a single saree, these Bengaluru girls have set out to educate themselves by knocking on the doors of specialists in different areas of the six yard wonder.

Taking the #100sareepact to the next level, is TRS, The Registry of Sarees with learning engagement by Ashdeen Lilaowala, who will trace the history of the gara and its direct influence through trade, culture, art and even food in India. We chat up with the saree-licious trio Kausalya Satyakumar, Ally Matthan and Apoorva Sadanand on their aspiration to share this process of learning with others through events with experienced Indian craft and textile speakers.

Ashdeen’s work The Registry of Sarees is considered influential. Kausalya Satyakumar, a textile expert who has worked at the grass root level with weaving communities, believes that preserving ancient art forms in our sarees is crucial to our future. Kausalya says, “Our skills and textile heritage is firmly rooted in centuries of innovation and development. I have a penchant for exotic textile travel and am bringing to TRS a curated selection of one of a kind sarees that connoisseurs crave for their collections.”

Giving a whiff of the plans ahead, Apoorva Sadanand adds, “The quality reflects the nature of TRS values, bringing weavers to consumers with the objective that all revenue goes to them. I believe that an appreciation and love for our roots must extend across boundaries and the best way to do this is to build economic bridges by commerce and enterprise.”

Ally Matthan who spends stolen time pulling sarees out of her cupboard and imagines herself  as a “Kanjeevaram Rani” on another planet feels that social change starts with knowledge creation. “We plan to engage with weavers, to help them open up consumer interactions with weaving communities. These experiences help in exchange of ideas, cultural sharing and travel to remote parts of the country that so many of us know only through our drapes. I like to go on textile trails and converse with weave dreamers and makers to know more on the value added to the repertoire of Indian weaves,” states the quirky Ally, who also loves to obsess over her family, dogs, shoes, arts and crafts and excercising.” Together, Kausalya, Apoorva and Ally have chosen the Yali to represent their passion for sarees — an ancient mythological creature often represented in stone sculptures in Indian temples.