On wearing a saree

   On the morning of the celebration, we went to AIM early. Dr. Geo had brought a couple of sarees with him. In a back room of the building I was wrapped in a saree, with the help of faculty member Indu George and two female students. As I did not have a blouse, my t-shirt had to suffice. But as it  was wide and relatively long, it did make the dressing a bit more difficult. It's quite a bit of material that has to be tucked into the skirt. I stood gthere, feeling like a princess with three women fussing over my clothes. Nowadays, women make abundant use of safetypins to keep a saree in place. That was one of the reasons I felt quite comportable wearing a saree that evening at the festivities.

   I had a choice of two beautiful solk sarees: One was red interwoven with gold thread, the other a peacock blue accentuated with some hot pink. There was a unanimous vote for the peacock. All I needed to do was buy a matching underskirt and readymade blouse. Two students were sent with us to the shop. Usually, a blouse is made from an extension of the saree, and made to fit the lady. But at Seematti, a huge clothing store, you could buy readymade choli. Finding the right colour was a challenge. Should we go for blue? Or green? Or rather hot pink? And one with a motiff, or rather plain? The dear students were a great help in all this, especially when I could not fit into the blouse we finally selected. Seematti has their own stitching department, which could alter the blouse to fit.

   While we were waiting for my blouse to be stitched, we went looking for a traditional dhoti for Simon, in the typical Kerala colours offwhite with a gold bais. Plus a matching shirt. Those were the conditions I set for wearing a saree. Again the students were of invaluable help. One thing we learned, is that the Indian style of clothing usually is quit a bit tighter than we are used to. Simon in particular found that uncomportable. He was afraid of bursting out of his clothes when moving too much. But I too, had a problem. The remade blouse still did not seem to fit. That is, until the desgner who too my measurements entered the changing room with me, and put it on me. With some pushing and pulling she managed to close the hooks. Perfect fit, she said. This is how it is done.

   All in all it took over two hours, but we both found what we needed. But just the clothing wasn't enough. When wearing a saree, you need jewellery. That is so not me. But I let the young ladies persuade me into buying two bangles and a pair of earrings, matching the saree. 

   The party would start at vife, so by three thirty I was expected back at AIM, showered and refreshed, to be dressed. I could do the underskirt and the blouse myself. Then again two new students came, to fold the saree and pin it in place. Then a girl cam to do my hair. In the end there were three of them: one doing my hair, one handing the hairpins and one checking if all went well. But I wasn't finished until they had applied some lipstick and a bindi between my eyebrows.  The result can be seen in the picture