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Five yards of delightful designer sarees

MDN

A breathtaking collection of sarees with traditional embroideries done to add a new dimension to a host of fabrics is on offer at Sakhi in Indiranagar.

Neeta Rajendran arrived to collect me in her sleek black Honda City exuding attitude and confidence way beyond her 23 years. A full fledged telecommunications engineer, Neeta quit her job to join her mother Chandra who was initially selling sarees out of their home in Malleswaram. The elegant new boutique in Indira Nagar is as artfully designed as the collection it houses. Taking me through the collection, Neeta explains that they purchase white crepe silk in bulk of only the finest quality and get the cut-work done on it in Kerala.

Variations on the cutwork has been done on this saree she says, lifting up a blue crepe silk with silver tissue filling in the cutwork. An organza silk saree with lock prints enhanced with shadow work catches the eye. Every saree comes with a matching blouse piece to make the ensemble complete. ìOur collection consists of block printed tussar, crepes, georgettes, chiffons and silks on which we use acid dyes, not vegetable dyes,î says Neeta

Obviously partial to Tussar silk a collection of tussar silks with stories embroidered in Kantha work are on wide display along with ornate chikan worked cottons and georgettes. The prices are reasonable and as Neeta explains, “we cut out the middle man and source directly from the artisan. We pass that advantage on to our buyers.”

A few Khaddar sarees from Hyderabad and Mangeshwaris from Andhra are also seen. What catches the eye are the breathtaking Kalamkari sarees on georgette which they source from Kalahasti in Andhra Pradesh. Throwing one open dramatically Neeta explains that the intricate paintings on the saree are all hand done with vegetable dyes and then processed in cows milk. “That is why there is a gentle odour of milk when I lay out the saree,” she explains.

There is no woman’s wardrobe that is complete without a Kanjeevaram silk saree. At Sakhi tradition gets a pleasant twist with the Kanjeevarams embellished very subtly with Arni embroidery. Cut work on Kanjeevaram? Check it out here, you will be amazed the lift it gives an otherwise drab saree!

The silk organza collection is delightfully feminine where there is a combination of block prints and shadow work. One saree had the whole body in ice pink with off white columns with shadow work done with shaded pink. The cholie is made of georgette.

Neeta displayed a set of machine embroidered sarees with embroidery done perfectly across the pieces. “The design is flawless as it is fed into a computer and then reproduced perfectly all over the fabric.”

Neeta says it’s a myth that tussar can only be obtained in beige. She show me a collection of tussar made softer with tussar in the warp and tissue silk in the weft making the finished fabric smoother. Ganga Jamuna in tussar, a weaver in Chattisgarh creates little buttis all over a tussar silk saree finishing it with two borders, a temple and thread.

A tussar silk saree with kutch work is thrown open by Neeta, a feast for the eyes in rust and beige. The miniscule stitches are perfection itself and would drape any woman with sensuous appeal.

Neeta has a collection of salwar sets and stoles too with all the traditional work. They have a range of pure gold jewellery as well as other semi precious accessories. The range begins from Rs 400 and goes up to Rs 12,000. Visit them at Sakhi, 305, 6th Main, HAL 2nd stage, Indiranagar, Phone 51155551, 25252007.