JOIN USWelcome, India’s first Saree festival in Delhi! Red Earth – a cultural organisation in the city - is hosting a three-day festival celebrating the national Indian costume for women.
Unlike several other saree expositions, which glorify either only the traditional hand-woven pieces or the more fashion-forward designer sarees, The Saree Festival by Red Earth marks an all-encompassing love for the six-yard drape.
Red Earth’s curated exhibition includes the traditional designs, the more modern interpretations as well as the latest digital prints in sarees.
Not just this, the three-day fest also comprises a series of talks, seminars, film screenings as well as music and dance performances glorifying the saree.
Catch this fest at Alliance Francaise, May 2 to 4, from 11 in the morning to 8 pm.
Himanshu Verma, curator of the fest, informs us, “This event is an extension of my own research on the saree.
India has countless number of fabrics, weaves, designs and even drapes of the saree.
Tangail, Jamdani, Paithani, Patola, Kanchipuram, Mysore Silk, Banarasi, Phulkari – all have lent their own flavour to the saree and evolved a whole universe of the elegant drape.
Surprisingly, till date, we had had no single festival celebrating the attire in all its forms.
I am glad that we are doing that now in Red Earth.”
Red Earth’s Saree exposition will be especially curated to include a wide range of varieties.
Weavers from across the country, several NGOs and designers have been invited to showcase their works on the yards-long canvas.
They will be accompanied by stalls of sari-friendly jewellery and handbags/stoles. Some very interesting events are lined up for the three days.
A seminar ‘Love Saree: Notes from my love affair with the drape’ will feature “India’s leading saree lovers”: David Abraham (of Abraham and Thakore), Geeta Chandran (Bharatanatyam dancer), Laila Tyabji (Dastkar), Rajeev Tandon (Ushnak Mal Mool Chand), Rita Soni (CEO, Nasscom Foundation) and Tritha Sinha (musician).
Then there is a story-telling session on the saree by writer Noor Zaheer, a talk by Rupika Chawla on ‘The Saree as a visual device in Ravi Varma’s paintings,’ film screening Gangoobai on a woman who falls in love with a Parsi gara saree, and much more.
Don’t miss this festival for anything!