Happy faces. Bright smiles matching the even brighter hues of the classic drape. The sari. And, hundreds of women of Indian origin marching in them, on the streets of London, and owning them.
The versatile Indian drape which has long caught the world’s imagination, was celebrated recently by ‘British Women in Sarees’, a social media group led by Dr Dipti Jain, on August 6, ahead of National Handloom Day on August 7. The Saree Walkathon also commemorated South Asian Heritage Month in the UK.
All eyes on were on the Jamdanis, Gorods, Balcuhoris, Benarasis, chikankaris, Chanderis, Paithanis, Ilkals, lehariyas and bandhnis and Kanjeevarams, in the British capital. The women walked from Trafalgar Square to the Gandhi Statue at Parliament Square, passing 10 Downing Street, singing and dancing along the way, adding to the carnival feel and championing India’s tapestry of diversity and heritage.
“The idea was born when I attended the London Marathon this year in a sari and everyone was very curious about the drape, which put the idea in my head if only we could do something similar with our handloom weaves and walk on the streets of London.... what better way to capture the attention of the world? And, the idea caught on in our group and the coinage of the word ‘walkathon’ emerged,” said Dipti, a geriatrician and a sari lover, who works with NHS (National Health Service). Her chosen drape for the day was a “beautiful Jamdani from a weaver”, which she paired with temple jewellery from South India, Himachali topi and Maharastrian nath.
Dr Dipti Jain, chairperson, ‘British Women in Sarees’
The aim, said Dipti, was “to bring a group of ladies passionate about our national heritage, the sari, and eager to showcase it but normally would never have mustered the courage to walk on the streets... to unite the regional representation under the aegis of ‘British Women in Sarees’, to showcase the variety of weaves and craftsmanship of our age-old traditional drapes and to raise funds for the weaver and artisan community to support sustainable and eco-friendly businesses”.
And, the ladies made it a gala party with gusto, their verve, palpable in the photographs. “Initially, we had planned with 300 but we couldn’t stop the very eager ladies and on the day we had 700 registered and many hundred supporters who turned up in saris. All walked hand in hand, to represent the idea of India,” said Dipti. There was representation from all over the United Kingdom and from India, Europe, Middle East, United States and Canada.
Meticulous planning went into the making of the Walkathon. “Any event in Central London needs a lot of thought and application processes to various councils, Greater London authorities, Metropolitan Police...,” said Dipti. There were challenges too. “Bringing the ladies together in such a short time, form regional state-wise groups (North, South, East and West) and practise through Zoom... we had practised 21 songs altogether of various genres — folk songs, religious, nationalistic and of course you can’t escape Bollywood songs,” said Dipti.
At the end of it all though, she was left with a feeling of exhilaration alone. “The Indian diaspora has never witnessed a spectacle of this magnitude in the heart of London. My heart swelled with pride and in a quiet moment of reflection while I sat down near the statue of Gandhiji, I understood that we have done the unthinkable. We have celebrated the Swadeshi movement started by Gandhiji from the Town Hall of Calcutta in 1905 in the heart of London. We hope, through this, we will be able to integrate people of Indian origin in the UK and pave the way for the next generation for closer ties with our heritage and roots,” said Dipti, who describes herself as a “passionate sarista”.
Her love for saris was the genesis of ‘British Women in Sarees’. “My love of sari grew over the last few years and my friends are always curious about my social media posts about my ‘Saree Goes International’ project,” said Dipti. The project has combined her passion for travel and sari together. She joined several sari groups and gradually brought UK-wide doctors under the banner of ‘Doctors and Sarees’ later and formed a medicos charity organisation and would do events. Soon many others wanted to join her. So she formed a wider, more inclusive social media group, now 2.6K strong and growing stronger every day. The group organised the Royal Ascot Event Ladies Day last year that saw 1,000 ladies in saris and fascinators. The event grabbed the fashion world’s attention and brought good publicity for the weaver community. “The proceeds went to rural artisans who had embroidered my unique sari with the London skyline and Calcutta skyline on borders and the Union Jack flag... all iconic monuments and a good representation of the Queen’s face. We also prepared a gift for the Queen with her face embroidered!” she added.
Dipti has worn saris extensively for her international travels. “In the last seven-eight years I have taken saris with me on every travel across the world and showcased them in front of famous monuments in Europe, as I am an avid traveller, and taken it far and wide, even in the heart of Slovenia and to countries where they have never heard of an Indian drape called sari... on my treks to mountains, in cruises, beaches... everywhere. I had taken the sari-loving group ‘Sareeing in Keukenhof tulip fields’ to the Netherlands, with the ‘Dekha Ek Khwab’ series and attended the Venice masquerade festival with ‘Mask and Sarees’.... I firmly believe if you need to attract and promote sari, you have to do it in such a way that it appeals to all generations, so I try to use innovative ways to use classic heirlooms and give them a modern twist in the draping style,” said Dipti, who loves “the fusion style”.
And, she has her next sari trip already planned. ‘Sarees with Hot Air Balloons’ in Cappadocia, Turkey, this October, with 100 ladies and maybe the Times Square Walkathon to the Statue of Liberty in New York next year. We say, all the best!