Walk into a margazhi concert and you will instantly feel like the magic wardrobe in The Chronicles of Narnia has transported you to a South Indian wedding. December in Chennai usually signifies two things in fashion: trendy earmuffs and the return to traditional outfits.
At the sabha, there’s a dazzling array of silk saris where women are elegantly draped in resplendent pinks, reds and greens men in nondescript kurtas and veshtis, little girls in pavadai chattai and hair neatly combed into two plaits, and expats in contrasting kurtas, pyjamas and stoles. On stage, the scene is no different. Artistes like Bombay Jayashri, Aruna Sairam or Sudha Raghunathan are all gracefully adorned in stylish, vivid saris.
Govindaraj of Sundari Silks says that while the store doesn’t stock any special saris for the season, their pattus are widely preferred. “Some of our customers are renowned singers and they usually prefer bright colours and thick borders. Men opt for silk kurtas and veshtis.” Ahalya of Ahalya Bespoke has a slightly different take on the fashion: “Everyone goes for kanjeevarams as December is synonymous with this pattu . It’s the season for festivity, gatherings and a time to dress up and meet people.”
Bharatanatyam dancer Aarabi Veeraraghavan identifies with tradition during the season. Even though she isn’t performing this time, the 27-year-old says that for the last 20 years, dressing up has been the norm. “When I’m performing, I’m in my dance costume that is usually made by cutting up an old silk sari. When I’m attending kutcheris, I prefer to wear cottons (of late, Maheshwaris and Chanderis) with big traditional borders or tussars for evening concerts as they are dressy.” Jewellery is something she experiments with. Terracotta, brass and temple jewellery is what she wears when she’s performing, but she keeps it to a minimum. Her musician husband Swarna Rethas, however, doesn’t share Aarabi’s fascination for colours, fabrics and jewellery. “I’m always in a white veshti with a cream, tan or brown shirt. I prefer a neutral palette; this is formal enough for the occasion” he laughs.
For the Trichur Brothers, who always turn up in colour-coordinated outfits, the kurta-pyjama is the obvious choice. Ramkumar Mohan says that in the 10 years that they have been performing, they’ve found it more comfortable than the kurta-veshti combination. “This outfit is also more stylish; we put ourselves in the audience’s shoes and visualise what they would best like to see us in. Again, we do wear dhotis, but only when we’re performing at temples,” he says. Ramkumar says that he prefers fabrics with a cotton blend. “When you sit for a long time under the lights, you want a breathable fabric.”
While they don’t shop specifically for clothes during the season, there are specific places that the artistes go to. According to Aarabi, Rangachari in Mylapore stocks the best cotton saris and Aishwarya and Tulsi have a great collection of silks. She also suggests shopping in various exhibitions and crafts bazaars for handloom material. Ramkumar says that he and his brother mostly shop at Manyavar and Pothys for comfortable kurtas. But the one thing that the men have in common is their preference to attend other concerts in casual wear. “It’s either T-shirt-jeans or usually what I have been wearing the whole day as I come from work sometimes,” says Rethas.
Twenty-three-year-old academic author and content editor from Bangalore, Nikhil Jois, who will be in the city to attend a few kutcheris, also prefers to keep it simple. “I almost always wear a kurta and a pair of jeans,” he says. He, however, adores Bombay Jayashri’s choice of saris. About dressing in a kurta, he says, “It has just become customary to not show up at a kutcheri in a T-shirt that makes me look like I belong in a conference room. A kurta helps ‘fit in’.”
