Sarees and Women – Part 3

Moving on with my endeavour to inspire women to wear sarees I have covered six more women. These women understand how a saree is such an important part of the Indian culture and are doing their bit to preserve it. They are all achievers in their fields from the corporate world to education to entrepreneurship. Read on to know why they wear sarees and why they find them so comfortable.

And look how beautifully they drape the six yards!

Priya Saxena

I am a deeply committed passionate early years educator. I have high EQ and an immense growing desire to make an impact in early years education. I love running and trekking and hoping to add golf to the list.

Why she loves wearing sarees?

I love to wear Sarees on special occasions because I know I look good in them and secondly I feel a saree is the most feminine attire for a woman.

The handloom weave she loves

My favourite handloom weave is Upadda. I just love the subtlety of the design: understated yet making a statement!!!

Dr. Preeti Singh

I am an educationist having taught at the university level for almost fifty years. Having recently retired from active service I have now taken to blogging and writing.

Why she loves wearing sarees?

I love sarees. I am comfortable wearing them in summer & winter. I have collected them from the different states of India.

The Handloom weave she loves

In summer, I love the pure Dhakai weave. It is fine muslin, very thin fabric and cool and comfortable. It looks very elegant. I find it to be very good for parties and professional work.

Purnima Das

My corporate career of twenty years across Bata, Unilever Arabia and Kelly Services as MD India was extremely rewarding. With growing up kids who needed my time, I began handling the family business.

Currently, I am a consultant on Trust Advisory and Estate Management with a Pvt Bank besides being extremely involved with community work.

Why she loves wearing sarees?

My father is an Oriya married to a Maharashtrian, which makes me a proud product of India’s East meets West, integrating two beautiful and diverse cultures. Graduating in Textiles steered me towards our rich heritage of fabrics and the magic that was woven through them which was so typical and unique to each state.

I have loved the traditional saree forever and have managed to collect and own one from each Indian state.

The Handloom weave she loves

Being married to a staunch Oriya, I have developed a bias to weaves from Odisha. Nabakothi is one of my favourites. “Naba” means “nine” and “Kothi” means “house”. These sarees have nine boxes or houses vertically, depicting different motifs ranging from flowers to birds to symbols.

While this one has played with two colours, the weavers have become very innovative and creative with multi colours and motifs and even fabric from silk to tissue.

Raka Khashu

A corporate professional I have been in the space of Marketing for the last twenty years. I have worked for various organisations and am currently working with CBRE heading Marketing and Communication for India and South Asia.

Why she loves wearing sarees?

Is there a sexier outfit than a saree? I feel so confident wearing one. I love teaming it up with silver jewellery for the office. I pride myself on the collection that I got from my grandmother & mother…I stole them:

I take a lot of pride is wearing sarees and not today but for over twenty years:)

The handloom weave she loves.

Different saree for different occasions..Mul cotton works the best for me for the office…love the way it drapes, the way it falls, effortless and manageable for the office…given that I walk around a lot in the office (but not fall). For formal gatherings – it is the timeless silks or Chiffons…with gold or pearls:)

Anamika Bajpai

I’m Anamika Bajpai, a home chef, specialising in Awadhi cuisine.

After a six-year plus successful span as a corporate employee, I decided to pursue my dream of bringing a little bit of my beloved Lucknow ka zaika to Gurgaon, which is now my home, away from home.

The lockdown was instrumental in making this happen. With insecurity but courage, I took the plunge.

Time did fly, and now my darling Arq- A House of select Awadhi delicacies is into its tenth month of a successful and rewarding run.

I’m filled with gratitude and feel humbled.

Why she loves wearing sarees?

I wore my very first saree at the age of fifteen at a school fair and ever since there has been no looking back.

Sarees for me are grace and elegance personified and that’s what I want to feel, every time I dress up.
The most comfortable attire I can ever wear.

The handloom weave she loves

Despite having a beautiful collection of Kanjivarams, Maheshwari, Banarsis, exquisite, hand-embroidered Chikankari, Parsi and Paithini silks, my heart belongs to pure, printed chiffons with floral or Samudra feni prints.

My gorgeous pastel collection of printed Jaipur chiffons is the pride of my wardrobe. My love for chiffon remains unchanged from the tender age of fifteen until now. It is like my second skin.

Pallabi Dey

Traveller by Heart, Crafter by Passion, Analytics Lead by Profession (currently on career break)…

• Strong believer in ‘Live and Let Live’ and ‘A smile is a curve that sets everything straight’
• Love capturing everything beautiful that I see around…

Why she loves wearing sarees?

My wardrobe is full of all kinds of outfits, western, Indian, formal, and so on…but Sarees always hold a special place…Being a Bengali, and seeing my mom being so comfortable in sarees, I always felt the beauty and elegance of an Indian woman is enhanced by manifolds when they are Saree clad…

Though I prefer western outfits for regular rushed days, when it comes to any special occasion or celebration, it’s always a saree…

The Handloom weave she loves

I always prefer cotton or linen sarees as they are super comfortable and can be managed easily for long hours…But Silk sarees are for very special occasions…

My favourite cotton sarees are Ikkat followed by Sambalpuri Silk…