Cocktail dresses, evening gowns, tunics, tops, kimonos and capes… there’s little that can’t be refashioned from a sari. “Sari material has interesting prints and trims. We try to incorporate it into everything we make,” says Linda Mandrayar, founder and executive director of the White Rainbow Project (WRP), a US non-profit which works with widows from Vrindavan. These women, who usually have nowhere else to go, flock to this town where they sing and chant in temples or beg for alms, as they don’t have any opportunities to earn their own livelihood.
The project was started by Linda after she heard about the plight of these widows through her son’s reading assignment ( Homeless Bird , a book by Gloria Whelan) in 2003. “I was very grieved by the circumstances they were allowed to live and die in. When I told my husband, a South Indian, about Vrindavan, he didn’t know anything about the place or the plight of the women who lived there,” says Linda, who was in Chennai recently to showcase some of the designs.
In 2005, her husband, Dharan Mandrayar, made a film titled White Rainbow to raise awareness about the project. And two years ago, she started a crafting centre in Vrindavan to give the women there a sense of self-worth, and to help them create something of value. “Many of the widows have been abused and abandoned; some even have psychological issues. We needed to give them something to make them feel special,” she says, adding that the project is named so because, “White denotes widowhood; we wanted to bring some colour back into their lives.”
This year, WRP roped in five US-based designers, and gave them each a used sari with which they were asked to create something completely new. A fashion show was organised in San Diego to introduce the audience to the work of WRP in India and to vote on the winning entry. Each vote contributed a dollar as donation towards the project. The winner of the competition, Norma Hill, who created an evening gown from a purple Kancheepuram silk sari, complete with a slit and tail, was recently in India to visit the women her work was helping.
Asha James, who works with the 30 widows who come in to the centre thrice a week, says, “We teach them to make paper beads, necklaces, bracelets and scarves. It empowers them and keeps them from begging.” The designs she teaches them are finalised with inputs from Camille Akin, marketing director of WRP, to make sure they are in tune with the trends in the US. The designs are then crafted using repurposed saris, handmade paper and newspaper and sent to the US for sale. In effect, the widows of Vrindavan are taught to create designer jewellery to be worn by women in a foreign country.
“They think we are crazy when we tear the saris to give it a jagged edge,” laughs Asha. “They think it’s ironic that what no one wears here is considered designer wear abroad, but what really adds value is that it is all handmade.” Every time the work from the project is displayed, it is accompanied by material to sensitise people about the plight of the women. “It’s a world away; the women in America don’t understand the concept of widowhood as it is in Vrindavan,” explains Camille.
To get more women involved in the project, WRP encourages them to donate their used saris in good condition so that they can be repurposed for the project. If you have saris you’d like to donate, drop them off at Maalgadi, 4th Main road, Besant Nagar.
