{"id":1507,"date":"2025-06-03T13:41:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T12:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/heritagemag\/?p=1507"},"modified":"2025-06-03T13:41:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T12:41:08","slug":"the-cultural-heritage-of-sarees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/heritagemag\/2025\/06\/03\/the-cultural-heritage-of-sarees\/","title":{"rendered":"The cultural heritage of sarees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Charlotte Colley talks with Sarees Designer Rashika Sharma about the threads of femininity, discipline and community interwoven throughout India\u2019s national garment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says: \u201cThe first time I wore a saree, and I felt the presence, the power, I wasn’t just wearing six\u00a0yards of cloth.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashika Sharma established her brand in 2020 after working with designers such as Gaurav  Gupta and has since expanded to worldwide capitals, including London and New York.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite catering more to a western audience, Rashika still specialises in Indian and \u2018Indo western\u2019 women\u2019s occasion wear, committed to incorporating aesthetics that honour the regions of her home country.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashika Sharma, an Indian fashion designer from Delhi, wore her first inherited saree when she was 17 at her high school graduation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many other South-East Asian women, wearing a saree signifies familial bonds, culture and womanly strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarees, spelt in the Indian English version, are perceived as links to ancestry and are often passed down generations from mother to daughter on their wedding day or when stepping into womanhood.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashika says: \u201cMy mother got our family saree when she was getting married from my grandmother, and now when I get married, I’ll have that same saree passed down to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ll add heavy embroidery, so I look like a bride, but I\u2019ll have my mother’s side of heritage  with me, to hopefully receive blessings and have an equally happy married life as these women  have lived.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alterations made to a family saree tell stories about their ancestors, who often added embroidery that aligned with their beliefs, such as a lotus flower symbolising the power of life.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds: \u201cThey’re not just clothes but woven heirlooms, and they hold different stories and memories for families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a tradition meeting personal expression, each woman brings her own story and how she  wears it.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst Sarees follow down the maternal line, they often also preserve heartfelt memories for the men of the family.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men typically gift sarees out of love or respect to the special women in their lives, and more often gifted as a wedding tradition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashika said, \u201cI wish I could articulate my father’s reaction when he saw me in my mother\u2019s saree. He said I looked just like my mother when he saw her for the first time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot just for the women of the house, but also for the men. They’re a whole family\u00a0experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image courtesy: Rashika Sharma, all rights reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, sarees are gifted to mark many milestones. In India, for example, a common tradition is for a man\u2019s first paycheck to be spent bestowing his mother with a saree as a sign of gratitude and financially giving back.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The significance of sarees is also reflected in their colour, an aspect designers like Rashika are dedicated to preserving, even while embracing Western influences.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In North India, red is the wedding colour for symbolising marital bliss and harmony, while in\u00a0South India, it represents fertility and purity associated with the Hindu Goddess Durga.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor many women, wearing a saree is a way of connecting with their roots. They represent\u00a0 tradition, heritage, regional identities, where everybody has a different community.\u201d Rashika\u00a0says\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen they wear a saree, they’re representing an identity that they belong to a different kind  of \u2018tribe\u2019.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the southern state of Kerala, white and gold sarees, known as Kasavu sarees, represent purity and harmony between Kerala\u2019s diverse communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gold embroidery and borders embody wealth and mark sacred rituals, such as Onam,  the harvest festival of Kerala. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0However, in northern and eastern Indian states such as West Bengal, white sarees are worn for 13 days during the mourning period by widows out of respect for the deceased.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashika says: \u201cWe are in the same community and country, but we have different cultures altogether.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A saree’s symbolism extends beyond just its fabric, its embroidery is also a testament to the artistic craftsmanship of the designer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image courtesy: Rashika Sharma, all rights reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Originating in the village of Lucknow, India, Chikankari is a popular embroidery motif which involves white on white handmade floral patterns that would offer women both economic and social empowerment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, Chikankari embroidery was reserved for royalty, but is now used for events ranging from weddings, festivals or daily wear.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashika says: \u201cWe take the ancestral motifs from paintings or the artwork inside the Taj  Mahal, and we keep on developing them, so we produce different kinds of embroidery inspired by them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe picked up the scenes they painted on our monuments because we have a lot of rich  cultural history, and then we depict the art, and we keep on improvising it generation by  generation in our garments.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zardozi, a technique Rashika uses in her sarees, is a gold thread embroidery mainly used for ceremonial wear to symbolise opulence.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technique first gained popularity in the Mughal Empire in the 17th century when saree designers would use real gold.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Zardozi is practised across South Asia, including in Pakistan, Iran, and Bangladesh,  to uphold the cultural art form, but is now usually made with gold-plated copper threads.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embroidery and embellishments have also gained popularity, particularly when decorating and personalising wedding sarees.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more stories on saree<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n