Heirloom Tales

Four women unveil the stories behind their priceless inheritance of the sari, an eternal Indian bequest and prospective boon for posterity

- Tanya Mehta

AARTI PATKAR, FOUNDER, THE VINTAGE GARDEN

“As a child, I remember the supple mul mul saris my grandmother used to wear, they were so soft I recall wiping my hands on them and snuggling next to her during afternoon naps. We even had a caretaker who would wear beautiful kashta saris,” says Aarti Patkar. On a warm afternoon, in the sunlit expanse of her maternal bungalow in Mumbai, Patkar dons her nani’s temple sari, burnished with real gold zari work, the delicate drape worn down by age, fraying at the seams. “These saris are actually offered to the deities at the Balaji temple in Tirupati. They are typically in red, only worn by brides and my grandmother wore this sari to her wedding.” Patkar routinely interacts with several emerging designers and artists to whom she lends out her space for exhibitions expertly curated by her, “I’ve always leaned towards banarasis, Maharashtrian paithanis and patolas, my nani was Gujarati and she had an inherent eye for collecting the best jewellery and saris.” She also regards the sari wore a sari on Teacher’s Day at school, I was an awkward teenager and I didn’t even have a blouse short bob and wearing cotton saris all the time. As for this sari, I’d like to pass it on to my niece, she lives abroad but it would be endearing to have the piece stay within the family.”

GAYATHRI RANGACHARI SHAH AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST