Saree Stories

In 2025, at the 18th-century temple at Degaldoruwa in Sri Lanka, a monk pointed out a woman in one of the murals whose saree was draped differently. The way she wore it showed she was from India. Like me, he said, with a smile.

That detail stayed with me. One length of cloth, but the way it is woven, worn, folded or draped can tell you where someone comes from. For a project about Unity in Diversity, it was the right place to begin.

I didn’t want to present the saree as one neat story, because there isn’t one. I wanted a space where people could meet different histories and bring in their own memories, questions and experiences.

Every workshop opened with a storyteller. Beginning with someone saying “this is what this cloth meant in my life” gave everyone else a way in, through colour, pattern, family memory or simple curiosity.

Then everyone made. I designed a simple mini-saree format and a table full of colour, pattern, drawing, collage and embellishment materials, with no right way to make one. Some people worked meticulously, some quickly. People borrowed ideas, compared colours and helped their neighbours, and every finished piece was different: the same basic cloth, interpreted in entirely individual ways.

I also made a small concertina zine as a visual prompt. It set out to be a brief introduction to the saree and became something more honest: a collection of folds, facts and fragments.

I conceived and led Saree Stories, from writing the funding bid to running the evaluation. I developed the concept and the storyteller format, designed the mini-saree activity and the concertina zine, coordinated the partner venues and facilitated every workshop.

My role was to hold the creative direction while keeping each session open enough for people to bring their own stories in.