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When the fine line between fashion and obscenity thins

As the recent Friday went past us, I was visually feasting on the sea of colourful saree-clad girls and women who took centre-stage. From social media posts and forwarded text messages I learnt that thereafter July 1 would be declared National Saree Day.

Wonderful, but I need to share my two-cents worth here and if indeed my guileless opinion riles certain groups and individuals, I am unapologetic about it.

Was it a week ago that the furore started when a certain city council footnoted in its invitation for the Iftar that as dress code no saree will be allowed.

Indians and women’s groups came out in full force condemning the act and the issue took off into the space and returned with a closure recently when the same council made amends.

Meanwhile, we had all and sundry coming out in the social media unabashedly condemning the local authority for allegedly classifying the saree as “indecent”. The cynics had a field day making references and far-fetched comparisons to women in the olden days in India when they went about their business without blouses claiming it was not even an issue then.

All of these people who jumped on the bandwagon failed to get to the root of the issue. Was it the saree which was perceived as “indecent”, if it was even true, or was it the way it was worn by some individuals that started this needless and fierce wrangle?

It is sad that this simple and innocent apparel fell into a controversy and it took many twists and turns from hearsay. All that you hear and see may not be the truth till it is investigated, clarified and explained.

Reliable sources tell me that that the invitation to have had the exclusion came about because some female staff of the council had on previous occasions turned up in saree, worn in a way not befitting, at official functions.

A mainstream print medium carried a letter from a reader who posed this question as to what is wrong with saree cladders “baring a little flesh”. The question has always been what is “little” and what is “too much”.

Some objective argument is needed here without getting too sensitive and emotionally charged about the issue. Have we not ourselves come across the fairer sex appearing in sarees revealing just too much of everything? If it is at a social event or a wedding I suppose it is fine but when this happens in places of worship or at an event where the attire may be sensitive due to the diverse beliefs of the host, moderation is the all-important word.

The saree, as we know, can be worn in a 100 or more different ways and it is known as one of the most versatile piece of clothing anyone might have ever conceived.

Its infinite adaptability makes the saree, which can be of a length between 5.5 to 9 yards, endearing to the young and old and for the traditionalists, the culturally sensitive and also the fashionistas.

Beyond borders and cultures

The saree is probably the only surviving unstitched garment from the past and it has evolved over the millennia to an extent that it has been become a fashionable wear beyond borders and cultures. The fact that it was left unstitched allows the flexibility and creativity of the saree without limitation. On that same note, it can also be used or misused in any number of ways.

As we know costume is the most visible sign of civilisation and it is adopted during the ancient times according sex, age, class, caste, religion, region, occasion and occupation. It is true that in the olden days, women wore the saree without the blouse, and affordability was one of the reasons.

The girls and women who came up with free-spirited argument and liberated views that women should be unrestricted to present themselves in any manner anywhere, think again. There is a fine line between fashion and tastelessness.

If we do not want to be told off by others, the onus then should be on the women in the family to educate their own kind so that we remain respected first, then admired and adored. Not forgetting also that dressing appropriately to an occasion applies to both men and women.

Fashion does not solely rest in the way we dress, the very state of us being is the unspoken Fashion Statement by itself.

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