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Journalism of Courage
Soha Parekh can vividly remember the Teachers Day function in her last year at school. I was all of 15 and it was my first time in a sari. I was so excited about it, she reminisces. Since then,the 47-year-old businesswoman she is a director at the Raycon Group of Companies has had a very fulfilling affair with the traditional drape.
It is only now that she has managed to take her love to another level. Her coffee table book Sari: Splendour in Threads will be launched at Mumbais Gallery BMB today with sari lovers Shobhaa De,Sangita Jindal and Pheroza Godrej reading out excerpts. This venture has helped Parekh combine her passion for books and rich Indian culture. She first conceptualised this book around three years ago,after which began a series of visits to different parts of the country from Kutch and Ajrakpur in Gujarat to Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. I traced the evolution of the sari through several legends that I chanced upon during my research,I also dwelt on my interactions with master weavers such as Goverdhan Gajam of Telia Rumal sari fame (from Andhra Pradesh) and the Salvis of Patan Patola (Gujarat), Parekh explains.
The next step for her was to talk with prominent crusaders for the sari (read: Laila Tyabji of Dastkar Crafts Society,designer Rajeev Sethi and conservationist Martand Singh),as well as leading Indian fashion designers who had interpreted the drape in their own trademark way.
The most significant outcome of this venture was that she became more aware of the needs of weavers and printers. Across regions,the craftsmen are not getting their due as the chunk of the money from the sale is being siphoned off by the middlemen. In the future,I plan to hold exhibitions where weavers get paid directly. For now,a portion of the sales proceeds from the book will go to the weavers communities in Kanchipuram and Gujarat, she says.
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