Saree comes of age, yet again

ABC news told me last night that my blackberry has staphylococcus, micrococcus and bacillus. Soon after, my laptop (machine version of my life) got attacked by a virus and died an abrupt and untimely death. They gave it some CPR this morning and got it up just enough to recover my data. Also, this morning a rather sweet pediatrician diagnosed my baby with some spring virus. Why on earth is my life suddenly brimming with bacteria and viruses? I'd instead like my world to be filled with fragrant spring flowers, delectable mango salsa and occasional soothing rain droplets to counter the heat. Is anyone listening?

I'm so behind on a multitude of things this year. Finally got around to checking out Sabyasachi Mukherjee's collection from Lakme Indian Fashion Week. One of the reasons I wanna visit Kolkota is to see Sabya's showroom and soak it all in with my own eyes. Of course the other is to compare notes from 'A city of Joy' and I'd really like to see Durga Puja in all it's splendor someday. Back to Sabya... if you follow Indian fashion, it is hard to miss this accomplished designer who's won many coveted awards since graduating from NIFT. He describes his own collections as 'an International styling with an Indian soul’ and his apparel speaks volumes about that. From India Fashion Week to Milan Fashion Week, Sabya is the undisputed king of Indian couture and does modern with an Indian flair with such elegance and ease.

I saw the same fabulous dreams that he had weaved with his magic wand in the past and a few new ones with a wild streak from his runway collection for '09.

Which reminds me, I've often noticed the not-so-fashion forward Indians argue vehemently about the absurdity of runway collections and it's 'unwearability' factor. Barkha Dutta once made it a topic of her popular 'we the people' series and I witnessed a hundred loud voices screaming in unison about how they'd never give an over-the-top runway outfit for 15 grand even a second look. What escapes most people's grasp is that a large percentage of these runway outfits are never sold as-is. It's purely meant to display a designer's deepest inspiration. If what you see in Pantaloons is what you saw on the runway, it'd just be another regular spot and not the coveted Fashion Week.

Sabya's collection was quite remarkable and out of the ordinary. He brought to life the concept of short sarees (remember mein-maike-chali-jaoongi-tum-dekhte-rahiyo?), turbans for women (perhaps after the success of 'Singh Is King'?), dhotis (I still remember cheap looking dhotis in china silk from 15 years ago hanging on the streets of Linking Road), transparent lehngas (this one is really new!), dupatta-covered heads (perhaps to prevent sun-burn) and strapless khadi tops (but of course).

Another designer, Anamika Khanna, also went with the same theme, and paired up short sarees with tiny shoulder-padded cholis and leggings!!! Now that's something for those of us who really wanna stand out in a crowd.

And how can I not mention Pussycat Dolls who have been bitten with the saree bug? Nicole (the lead singer) wears it in her 'Jai Ho' video and many other international celebrities have been spotted wearing it.

So our good old saree seems to have travelled far, undergoing major transformations from 'cover-up saree' to 'elegant saree' to 'hide-a-little-reveal-a-litte saree' to 'work-of-art saree' to 'out-and-out-sensous saree' and is now comfortably resting as 'make-a-statement' saree.

Any takers?

Photo credit: nachofoto.com