A Nine Yard Fantasy

Flashback...

Me: Hi Rahul sir,

Rahul Bhatia: Hello Ramya

Me: Rahul sir, whats the criteria to host a guest post 

Rahul Bhatia: oh why?

Me: No... I dont have many reader so can I still ask for guest post???

Rahul Bhatia: Go ahead, its just to loop the bloggers...

Me: Ok then fine send it to me by afternoon.... and the topic left to you thank u Rahul sir... :D

Introduction...

Just few months ago, I pinged this person to convey my thanks to him as he regularly visited my blog and also was kind enough to comment on the posts with his insights, But then I had least expected that I will soon be pinging this person for various topics. And soon my one stop for Doubts in cooking, Latest News, Gossips, Technology discussions, Health Tips, Writing Tips, Good Old Tales, Indiblogger discussions and most important thing for Travel Queries was "Rahul Sir" and that's Rahul Bhatia who is an exceptional blogger blogging at Rahuls Blog and Collection.

How I laugh now for believing him when he told that he is just a retired sailor but then was totally bowled over to know that he retired as Commander in Indian Navy and is now a man of technology with varied interests like blogging, Cooking and travelling.

So I strongly feel, he is the right person whom anyone would want to hear more and more and so I requested for a guest post and here is how he surprised me again with his vast knowledge on any given topic ... 

A Nine Yard Fantasy... by Rahul sir 

‘You guessed it right’! I am talking about the best and most ethnic wear an, Indian saree. An unusual subject for a man to discuss but anyone who cannot appreciate a saree  is not fit to be a man!! Maybe an overstatement but the truth cannot be denied that the nine yards of fantasy can make even the hardest head turn. One need not walk in saree on the ramp at Cannes or at Abu Jani or Sandeep Khosla haute couture show, but just walk pass on an ordinary road to set the heart aflutter.

 I would like to take you on a short journey with my experiences with regards to this attire starting from the time when I was a young lad and saw my mother draped in this fine piece of clothing, ever since I opened my eyes. Never did she adorn any other clothing so this was my earliest brush with this garb.

I would often accompany my parents when my father bought sarees for my mother so I tried to pick up the nuances associated with purchasing this. First time I left home to travel to Bangalore while still at school, I visited Poornima Saree Shop at Kampegowda Circle to buy a silk saree for my mother. The shop keeper was delighted and helped me in selecting a silk saree which cost a bit over Rs 200/- a fairly hefty sum in those days. It had a golden border a small one, not too loud, and a nice pallu. My mother was overjoyed when I gave it to her.

After getting married, I went around with my wife and slowly learnt more about sarees as she too loved to wear them. On our first trip to Srinagar, we went around the market and I did my first shopping of a Kashmiri silk saree for my wife with a self-print and flowers which she liked and wore for many years.

We travelled to many places and each place has its own unique saree, in India. This may not be something which Indian girls would not have heard of but the aura of saree from each part of the country is unique.

 In West Bengal in the remote villages of Pundibari in Cooch Bihar district I saw the Baluchari, Tangail, Jamdani , being woven on hand looms and even amid so much poverty the weavers create a magic with their looms. The streets of Kolkatta at Park Street,  Garihat and New Market will bend head over heels to entice you to buy Kantha stitch and Taat  sarees .

Not very far in Assam, in Kamrup district, near Gauhati is the Sualkuchi village, by the banks of river Brahamputra. The village is famous for the Muga and Pat  silk sarees. I saw how the silk worms are raised and the thread is extracted, the threads colored to weave sarees which could take anything from a few days to almost 8 to 9 months to create. Ericulture is a household activity in this small village where Muga cocoon to cloth is created in form of mekhalas, chaddars and sarees.  The price range is from a few hundred to tens of thousands of rupees. They create a half saree for unmarried girls, a tradition in common with South India. The cream colored saree purchased here still remains a fond collection.

In Varanasi, silk sarees are as famous as the sweets of the city and the temples. The holy town by the river Ganges produces one of the finest works of silk brocade and Jari work (woven with silver and gold threads). No North Indian wedding of a girl is complete without a ‘Banarsi saree’ as it is fondly called. There are massive stores and small ones in by lanes in town where one can come across sarees stocked in shops.

I got an opportunity to travel to Aurangabad, famous for Ajanta and Ellora temples. While going around and exploring the city I learnt about the village called Paithan which is 56 km away from the city, by Godavari river. My wife insisted that we visit and I knew that a big hole was about to be blown on my pocket. Paithani sarees are known world over for the rich silk sarees produced here with motifs of peacock and birds and frescoes of Ajanta paintings. Every household is engaged in the art of producing the magical sarees on their looms. There was very little time left to see the place as my purse cried aloud after the purchase of a saree at Paithan.

While visiting Bhopal, the visit would have remained incomplete without buying a Chanderi saree, which has a very fine texture and are light in weight. Maheshwari and Tussar silk  are some more exquisite sarees crafted here and are popular.

Another trip to Hyderabad would have been a nonevent without falling for a Pochampalli or a Kanchi Pattu saree. Pochampalli sarees are famous for the intricate geometric designs.

Jamnagar in Gujrat where I served, was a perfect place to buy Bandhini sarees (which use the tie and dye method). It was fun to visit the small shops in lanes where the workers produce the saree by tying knots with thread, to create the designs and immerse them in different colors and dyes to conceive startling designs.  Patola sarees of Surat with geometric designs are even more enticing and expensive. Rajasthan  is  also a stronghold of tie and dye sarees, and no visit to Jaipur is considered fructified without a purchase of ‘tie and dye’ saree.

I will not do justice to the sarees without mentioning about the ever popular Kanjeevaram sarees of pure silk from Tamilnadu, Mysore Silk sarees of Karnataka , and Set Sari of Kerala. These sarees add so much color and have such rich ensemble of sparkle that they require a separate post to describe their beauty. It is difficult to give a miss to stores like Parthas in Ernakulam and Sarthas in Chennai without buying from here. Since I wandered in these states more than anywhere, you can well imagine how my finances suffered during each of these visits.

So next time you want to win a heart of your sweetheart do not forget to buy a saree . Sarees are now conquering the world by being projected by the divas of Indian film industry like Aishwarya Bachhan, Vidya Balan and Sonam Kapoor at international forums. Who wants to be left behind, in the race for grace?

P.S. Rahul sir :D please reply to all the views and comments we get on this post - Thanks