Happy Women’s Day to all you ladies out there!
The first observance of a Women’s Day was held on February 28, 1909 in New York. March 8 was suggested by the 1910 International Woman’s Conference to become an “International Woman’s Day.”
After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.
What is the best to way to actually celebrate Women’s Day?
Each one of us have something that empowers us. Something that makes us closer to our souls. There is a part of every woman where there is a longing desire to be something or do something.
This longing desire might be as big as achieving the goal of life or as small as being happy in what she has. Each and every woman has a dream. The dream can be to become an IAS officer, to become a dancer, actress, basketball champion, to become a teacher and so on. In this journey, we have always had someone who inspired us and made us look up to her and say I want to be her when I grow up.
I want to mention all, ok not all, I might not remember each and every one of them but I’ll try my best to tell you who inspire me and made a change in my life. Some of them are obviously my mom, my aunt, Indira Nooyi, Sudha Murthy, Deepika Padukone, Emma Watson, Ashley Graham, Ritu Kumar, Serena Williams, Princess Diana, Coco Chanel, Victoria Beckham, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, J.K. Rowling, Audrey Hepburn, Duchess of Cambridge, Marie Curie, Rihanna and so many more that the list is unending.
For me being empowered and confident is to wear what I want, to do what I want and not to think what the society is thinking? Why should a woman always be answerable to the question that what will the society think? Why can’t she just go ahead and do what she wants without having any second thoughts. This might sound feminist, but then is reality.
On this women’s day, saree is one thing that reminds me about being bold and beautiful, because it’s an age old and a timeless piece of cloth that has portrayed Indian women through ages. It is the most elegant clothing that I have come across, not because I am an Indian, it’s because how beautifully it shapes the woman’s body and portrays eternal beauty.
As all of you know, I love Indian wear, I love the way how I can make infinite amount of permutations and combinations and yet you don’t get bored of the number of options left. There are numerous types of fabrics found all around the world, but silk was found only in India and China. It’s one of the most majestic fabric known to mankind.
So, if you people know that generally it takes around 6 months to weave a saree, through handloom, yes it does. There are numerous power looms and other machines that can produce sarees instantly, but the beauty lies in the handwoven fabrics, that’s creativity.
One of the hand-woven fabrics is Matka Silk. Matka is an Indian term for rough handloom silk fabric made from very thick yarns spun out of pierced cocoon in the weft and organzine in warp. The yarns are obtained from short ends of silk from Mulberry Silkworms and spun by hand without removing the gum. As such, there are irregularities that give the fabric a unique character. Cocoons required to produce Matka are mainly obtained from Karnataka and Kashmir, but hand spinning is mostly done in the villages of Malda and Murshidabad districts in West Bengal by women. Filaments of the cocoons of this silk from Bihar were originally unwound and plied together on a mud pot, or Matka.
Yes, it’s a time-consuming process and an intricate one, the saree I am wearing here is from Varastraa, a brand that makes sarees from the pure Matka Silk. The Borders are from the famous Kalamkari techniques. Kalamkari is a technique of hand painting using a pen and it has earthy shades, it is vastly seen in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions. This again is one of the traditional textiles of India.
Varastraa stems from the little ethnic pockets found amidst the chaotic colour and diversity of India. They seek inspiration by going back to our roots; using beautiful local textiles combined with skilled artistry and natural dyes.
From sarees made of textured Matka Silk spun in the small districts of West Bengal to the lines of unique handmade block prints of Rajasthan, Varastraa’s products celebrate the vibrancy of ethnic design. Varastraa aims to be a dukaan that you can keep visiting, to find something new and beautiful to make your own!
I have styled this beautiful saree from Varastraa which has a Kalamkari border and I fused it with a crop top from Westside. I know black might not have been a perfect match but then I loved the way it gave emphasis to the saree.
Do go and check out this beautiful brand on Instagram and Facebook.
1 Comment
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