A textile walk in T. Nagar on a weekend will send even a seasoned shopper into a tizzy. Make that at 3 in the afternoon and you’ll perspire just thinking about it. Sreemathy Mohan, a textile enthusiast curating the experience, starts off with an introduction to the history of the locality before handing over the stage to a reluctant K. Rajaram, who speaks about the shop we begin the walk from — the famed Sundari Silks.
The landmark store was opened in 1998, and named after his wife, Rajaram shyly tells us. “I love the cotton silks on the second floor,” a participant tells me, and Sreemathy points out that the sea foam-green Benarasi cotton with an unusual bull motif she’s wearing was picked up here too. Everyone seems to have a ‘Sundari’ story.
On display, just for the occasion, are a series of specially selected saris hardly seen in stores now. The Koorainadu sari, from Koorainadu near Thanjavur, is better known because wedding saris are often referred to as Koora Pudavai. But the delicately-woven checked saris — red threads across mostly yellow saris, in shades that traditionally range from turmeric to ochre — are better known because they have no contrasting border. Instead ,the checks run till the very edge; this lack of structure makes it stand out. With the warp in silk and the weft in cotton, the sari fuses the lightness of cotton and the grandeur of silk.
Another beauty brought back from oblivion is the Kodalikaruppur sari, whose tradition dates back to when weavers who came with the Maratha rulers settled near Thanjavur. We are shown a gorgeous, garnet-coloured sari made in 1982 — it has a brocade base with Persian motifs and kalamkari work, woven in Jamdani and then resist-printed. Years seem to have dulled the zari to a brushed bronze, giving it an appeal that even its revived version doesn’t have.
We are shown many more — a colourful double Ikat paithani, tribal Bomkai designs woven in cotton, and even one designed by Muthuchettiar, whose saris M.S. Subbulakshmi wore to much acclaim.
We leave reluctantly to our next destination, but not without a useful tip: to take the starch out of a silk sari, soak it in a bucketful of water with two drops of kerosene. Our next stop is a short walk away, at RmKV, where we meet Rm. K. Sivakumar, the son of the brand’s founder. Over nine decades, the brand is known for both its saris and marketing campaigns.
Their saris are sourced from workshops in Arni, where over 10,000 weavers are employed. Displayed like tapestries on the walls are 10 of the brand’s most iconic saris — from the one with Raja Ravi Varma’s Hamsa Damayanti woven onto the pallu and the 50,000-colour checked sari, to the Aishwarya Pookal sari that features flowers from the ceiling of the Padmanabha temple at Thiruvananthapuram and the Kural Ovium, which features the Thirukkural .
What connects both these stores is their love for the quintessential silk sari, but they seem to be working towards it in two very different ways. Between a Lino-light sari, said to be a lighter version of the Kanjeevaram, and the grand reversible sari that can be worn in four different ways, RmKV is finding ways to keep the silk sari relevant. “We have to work for the weavers and wearers,” smiles Sivakumar, summing up his vision.
Sundari Silks, which celebrates and revives the past, on the other hand, seems to support endeavours to recreate the weaves in their original glory, while staying true to the aesthetics of yore. Together, hopefully, the stores will herald the revival of silk weaves.
