Eighteen classical dancers and musicians, including Aruna Sairam, Bombay Jayashri, Malavika Sarukkai, Nityasree Mahadevan and Priyadarsini Govind, donated their saris to an online auction — “6 Yards of Hope”.
The auction, held over two weeks, fetched around ₹2.5 lakh.
The proceeds will go towards “Funds For Folk”, a fundraiser to support disadvantaged artistes from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The idea was conceived by dancer Christopher Gurusamy, along with the “Funds for Folk” team, comprising Shreya Nagarajan Singh and Tenma.
The team chose to join hands with Panjavarnam silks as they felt they were the right collaborator in terms of platform, textile and classical arts.
Fully sold
The eighteen saris that were donated were put up on Panjavarnam Silks’ Instagram profile. “All saris that were put up for auction have been sold,” Vijayalakshmi Ganesh, founder of Panjavarnam Silks, said.
She added that they were open to do more such activities in the future.
“Panjavarnam has been supportive of causes that help artistes and artisans,” she added.
Shreya Nagarajan Singh from “Funds For Folk” said. “The sari with the highest bid was Bombay Jayashri’s, at ₹26,500. This was bought by a bidder in the United States, who chose to stay anonymous.”
