A collection of sarees, the passion of a lifetime

Shobha Deepak Singh has restored antique sarees and has put them up in an exhibition, which opened today at her home on the Sardar Patel Marg. The exhibition, on till February 7, has on display more than 500 sarees, both the antique pieces and her own creations, all spread out in the basement of her opulent house. Since this is her fourth exhibition since last year, Singhpresented the exhibits, recreating the traditional era. As one alights down the stairs to the basement, sarees hang from the railings, displaying the intricate work of Benarsi zardozi. Bandhini patterns on Benarsi sarees, Singh’s own creation are next in line. Dupattas of different materials and designs were scattered on the tables in the room, to make the ambience informal. The scent from the agarbatis added the final touch to the already traditionally decorated room.

Taking off from her daily visits to the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, Singh was today directing her exhibition. She sat in one corner holding her favourite piece from the collection, a South Indian temple dupatta: “The antique sarees are more than 50 years old. It took a lot of money to restore them.” Despite the cost, Singh has ensured that the collection is affordable. “I purchased these sarees at very low rates. The costs are a cover-up for the money which I have spent in restoring them.”

The history of these sarees and the dupattashowever remains a mystery. Shobha does not know the history nor the owner. But she claims:“Some of them could be belonging to erstwhile royal families.” Pointing towards the temple dupatta she says:“South Indians do not wear dupattas any more. Which means that this piece could be as old as 75 to 80 years. This square pattern, in the centre, is generally seen on the South Indian temple walls. Even if you go to any shop in a South Indian city, you will not find this exclusive piece.”

The desire to preserve antique sarees started about six years ago. a woman came to my house to show some old sarees. I was surprised to see the intricate work. I purchased the sarees for a very low price and gave them to a specialised team of restorers. The sarees were sent to Benaras for polishing. Later, I placed orders for sarees bearing the same designs.”

Since then, Singh has also forayed into designing sarees. For this she studied books on textile. This not only harnessed her designing skills, but also helped her topurchase antique sarees. “Today there are machines for embroidery and cut-work but still we can never find such a piece of work,” Singh explained. The next piece of exclusivity was the Pakistani dupattas. Singh recalled with amusement. “When I started to collect and got in direct touch with the weavers more people came with the antique stuff. One day a woman came with about 25 pieces of black net. The nets were embroidered, but with unusual stars. They were, however, too thin to be worn.”

Singh stitched some of the net pieces to silk, making them more durable. Singh says she is selling her collection because of a space crunch. Singh has one desire now. To open up a museum, study the history behind the sarees and put them up only for exhibition. “It is a sad feeling when I see people taking away my prized collection in packets."