Alka Joshi's Blog - Posts Tagged "sari"
The Sari vs. Modern India
Earlier this year, Architecture faculty at Ansal University in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi, received an email from the registrar to attend a convocation. It requested formal dress: "trouser, coat and tie for men" and "saris for women." This sparked a lively, funny, albeit very polite, conversation on WhatsApp among the female faculty, who normally wear trousers, Western shirts/tops, or salwar kameez most days.
"I may not wear a sari...I don't even own one!"
"I do not even know how to wear a sari."
"[I'm] not against saris. But 7:30 in the morning, especially when I'm not used to it is definitely a challenge."
"Can't tie one at 7am and drive...and get through the day!"
"No sari. Impossible to wear and report at 7:30 in the morning."
"Why a sari at all?"
"If we're wearing a sari, wouldn't a dhoti be more in sync for the men?"
(Now mostly worn by village men, a dhoti is a white cloth from five to seven yards in length, wrapped loosely around the legs and tied in a knot at the waist. While dhotis have gone out of fashion, saris are still a mainstay of style magazines, weddings and family gatherings.)
"We are all sensible enough to know what to wear. Most of us might even have worn saris to the event without being asked. But when you tell us exactly what to wear, we are going to have something to say," laughs Monisha Sharma, associate professor. "Our Dean told us to just look as smart as we do every day, so that's what we'll do."
In addition to teaching, these women are working architects. Already at construction sites they are greeted with curious expressions: Can women really be architects? Another professor told me that she had organized a site visit to a factory for her students. When they got to the site, the founder only interacted with the junior male faculty who had accompanied her. Similarly, a female architect who was managing a project for her father's structural engineering firm was not being consulted by the construction team until her father ordered them to talk only to her. She was, after all, the only one who could answer their questions.
To a Westerner like me, it's surprising that the women's reaction is not anger. They laugh it off. "We have all made our mark in our profession," they say.
At the convocation, the female faculty wore Western trouser suits. Not a sari in sight.
There's more than one way to make a statement.
"I may not wear a sari...I don't even own one!"
"I do not even know how to wear a sari."
"[I'm] not against saris. But 7:30 in the morning, especially when I'm not used to it is definitely a challenge."
"Can't tie one at 7am and drive...and get through the day!"
"No sari. Impossible to wear and report at 7:30 in the morning."
"Why a sari at all?"
"If we're wearing a sari, wouldn't a dhoti be more in sync for the men?"
(Now mostly worn by village men, a dhoti is a white cloth from five to seven yards in length, wrapped loosely around the legs and tied in a knot at the waist. While dhotis have gone out of fashion, saris are still a mainstay of style magazines, weddings and family gatherings.)
"We are all sensible enough to know what to wear. Most of us might even have worn saris to the event without being asked. But when you tell us exactly what to wear, we are going to have something to say," laughs Monisha Sharma, associate professor. "Our Dean told us to just look as smart as we do every day, so that's what we'll do."
In addition to teaching, these women are working architects. Already at construction sites they are greeted with curious expressions: Can women really be architects? Another professor told me that she had organized a site visit to a factory for her students. When they got to the site, the founder only interacted with the junior male faculty who had accompanied her. Similarly, a female architect who was managing a project for her father's structural engineering firm was not being consulted by the construction team until her father ordered them to talk only to her. She was, after all, the only one who could answer their questions.
To a Westerner like me, it's surprising that the women's reaction is not anger. They laugh it off. "We have all made our mark in our profession," they say.
At the convocation, the female faculty wore Western trouser suits. Not a sari in sight.
There's more than one way to make a statement.
