Sarees
The
idea that you can buy something to wear which simply no one else
has the identical garment is an anathema to the average Brit and
is the privilege of the very wealthy.
Here
in Incredible India in the course of a day, week or month you
will see a myriad of sarees worn by the very rich to the most
poor and you simply will not see the same colour.
Marks
and Spencer eat your heart out!
The
quality also is different for each part of the country, being
made of silk, chiffon, synthetic in the north, light cotton as
in the east in Kolkota area or heavy silk as in the south of the
country.
I
spoke to Anju, a girl from Kolkota, who we met on the toy train
to Shimla from Kalka, about this subject and she agrees it is
almost impossible to see someone else wearing the same colour.
However, having observed this, as always there is an
exception.
At
festival time in the holy cities e.g. Haridwar on the road to
Lucknow in Uttaranchal, North India, when whole families arrive
for the holy fortnight Sept - October, then you will see up to a
dozen of the same village/family wearing the identical sarees.
How
they maintain the cleanliness of these garments is also a matter
of intrigue, especially while out scything and threshing barley
in the fields or doing the washing on a muddy river bank!
(more
details will be added later)
|