For the love of saree

Gurnaaz Kaur

The silent achievers, ‘women’, who support their families, even when it comes to forsaking personal ambitions and career, are the epitome of grace. Nari in a Sari is honouring these everyday divas, who embrace tradition and elegance, through a fashion show exclusively for and by the women. It’s not just another fashion show. In this one, over 100 women will present sarees and its numerous weaves on the ramp.

The initiative is a brainchild of Seema Sharma, a Chandigarh-based entrepreneur. “Right from a labourer to women in corporate houses, I observed that a saree brings along with it a lot of grace, elegance and ease. To further strengthen my affection for sarees, I started supporting a non-profit organisation known as Rehwa, which promotes weavers.” Soon, she took it upon herself to promote saree as an everyday garment. “The passion and dedication that I have put into it is evident from my page Nari in a Sari. Annually, under this initiative, I bring weavers from across various states to Chandigarh to sell their artisanal goods.”

Today, the group has almost 300 members who are simply promoting and celebrating the beautiful drape. “It signifies and accentuates the poise of us women.” Trying a new drape or just sharing how gorgeous every woman looks in a saree, all of them upload pictures so that someone, somewhere gets inspired and gives the garment a chance. All women are free to send in pictures in the saree they are wearing. Instead of waiting for an inspiration, I encourage them to be the inspiration.”

In this pursuit, Seema has hosted many exhibitions. At tfirst, it was about two every year and today she has expanded to holding one circuit almost every quarter. “The circuit includes Chandigarh, Panchkula, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Alwar.”

The growth is for all of us to see. It’s the fourth edition of the fashion show. Not just this, at one point where she was only promoting Maheshwaris, today the expansion includes, Chanderi and Maheshwari from Madhya Pradesh, Ikkat, Gadwal, Paithani, Bengal weaves that include Jamdaanis, Dhakai, Matka Silk, Eri silk, Ajrakh prints and lots more.”

The fashion show is at Hyatt Regency on Monday.

gurnaaz@tribunemail.com