Sweetheart necklines, boat necks, halter necks — having one’s sari blouse stitched is an experiment in creativity.
You select the pattern, have the measurements taken, add embellishments and then choose the final look.
But only a few decades ago, this ritual did not exist. In ancient India, it wasn’t uncommon to see women comfortable with having the upper part of their torso bare — sometimes as a way of combating rising temperatures.
So, how did a piece of clothing that never existed, so to speak, now have an entire dedicated chapter in the book of Indian fashion?
Turns out, we have Jnanadanandini Debi from the Tagore family to thank for this.
The wife of Satyendranath Tagore, the brother of the famous Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, Jnanadanandini Debi lived under the stringent rules followed by Bengali women.
She wasn’t allowed to step out of the home much and lived confined to the room under the purdah system.
Though Satyendranath was supportive of his wife and advocated for women’s rights, familial rules made it impossible for Jnanadanandini to get her freedom.
Soon, Jnanadanandini moved into a separate house with her husband and children. She began stepping out more frequently.
When Satyendranath was appointed as the assistant collector of Bombay, Jnanadanandini Debi began associating with high circles.
Her travels to Bombay (now Mumbai) broadened her ways of thinking.
During one of her social events, she was trying to get entry into a club under the Raj (British rule) but was refused entry.
The reason was her attire — the Bengali zenana, which did not feature a sari blouse.
The incident compelled her to come up with a way of covering her upper torso, and draping the sari elegantly.
Once she returned to Calcutta, she invited women to learn this new way of draping the sari and hundreds of women turned up at her doorstep!
Picture credits: Capt Navtej Singh
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