Sari and the Narrative of Nation in 20th-Century India

Kawlra, Aarti

doi:10.2307/j.ctvh1dpz7.26

Cited by 3 publications

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“…As part of this movement, women additionally represented idealised symbols of the ‘nation’ and ‘tradition’ that were distinct and superior to their Western counterparts (Chatterjee, 1993). The saree was central to this nationalist narrative, and the construction of womanhood and was ‘employed to create the persona of a “proper” Indian woman within the frame of increasingly gendered societal norms’ (Kawlra, 2014: 215). The highly ‘decorous’ (Loomba, 1997) and pan-Indian Nivi style of saree emerged as a ‘mark of an emancipated modern woman’ (Bhatia, 2003: 336) – who was ‘now increasingly educated and urbanized unlike her still “traditional”, often rural counterpart’ (Kawlra, 2014: 216).…”

Section: A Brief History Of the ‘Modern’ Saree And Online Saree Pactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The saree was central to this nationalist narrative, and the construction of womanhood and was ‘employed to create the persona of a “proper” Indian woman within the frame of increasingly gendered societal norms’ (Kawlra, 2014: 215). The highly ‘decorous’ (Loomba, 1997) and pan-Indian Nivi style of saree emerged as a ‘mark of an emancipated modern woman’ (Bhatia, 2003: 336) – who was ‘now increasingly educated and urbanized unlike her still “traditional”, often rural counterpart’ (Kawlra, 2014: 216). This national ideal of feminine beauty was further promoted and popularised by the indigenous print and visual culture of the time (Kawlra, 2014: 216).…”

Section: A Brief History Of the ‘Modern’ Saree And Online Saree Pactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The highly ‘decorous’ (Loomba, 1997) and pan-Indian Nivi style of saree emerged as a ‘mark of an emancipated modern woman’ (Bhatia, 2003: 336) – who was ‘now increasingly educated and urbanized unlike her still “traditional”, often rural counterpart’ (Kawlra, 2014: 216). This national ideal of feminine beauty was further promoted and popularised by the indigenous print and visual culture of the time (Kawlra, 2014: 216).…”

Section: A Brief History Of the ‘Modern’ Saree And Online Saree Pactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When sarees speak: Saree pacts and social media narratives

Sandhu

2022

Feminist Theory

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Through an ethnographic study of online saree pacts and social media groups, this article charts the emergence of digital saree storytelling as women from India and the global South Asian diaspora post stories about their personal and professional lives while also talking about their sarees. The article examines how saree stories are told and consumed in these online spaces, and the role new media plays in encouraging individual and collective self-expression through fashion. In doing so, it highlights how saree pacts allow for alternative models of fashion opinion leadership and style to emerge in ways that are uplifting and empowering for women who are otherwise underrepresented in print and popular fashion media. It argues that such sites are critical spaces shifting the narrative around women in the Global South from victimhood to pleasure. Additionally, saree pacts represent a new form of digital community formation centred around the appreciation of traditional fashion, which can alter our perception of the intersection of traditional fashion and feminism while also decolonising fashion's existing Eurocentric frameworks.

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Section: A Brief History Of the ‘Modern’ Saree And Online Saree Pactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Brief History Of the ‘Modern’ Saree And Online Saree Pactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Brief History Of the ‘Modern’ Saree And Online Saree Pactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When sarees speak: Saree pacts and social media narratives

Sandhu

2022

Feminist Theory

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“…Even when living abroad they are still proud and in love with their traditional clothes. The sari was vital to this project of the shaping of the modern Indian woman now increasingly educated and urbanized unlike her still 'traditional', often rural counterpart [18]. There are no fixed rules that determine formal clothes or not.…”

Section: Advances In Social Science Education and Humanities Researcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sinta and Social Criticism of the Wayang Tavip

Hikmatyar¹,

Prawira²

2020

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Arts and Design Education (ICADE 2019)

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This study aims to uncover the messages and social criticisms conveyed through the Wayang Tavip in Rahvayana's play. Wayang Tavip is a contemporary wayang from Bandung that presents Rahvayana's story based on Rahvayana's novel by Sujewo Tejo. The appearance of the Wayang Tavip began when the creators experienced concerns about the lack of youthful interest in Indonesian local wisdom. Environmental issues such as plastic waste did not escape observation. The method used is descriptive-qualitative. The visual meaning is analyzed using Charles S. Peirce's semiotic theory through icons, indexes, and symbols. The results revealed that Every artist has a creative courage that it is sourced from his environment and his frame of mind. The frame of mind of academic artists can raise sociopolitical issues as part of social criticism in their innovations. Cases of corruption and the behavior of a contemporary society that is increasingly deviating from Islam and eastern norms are common topics discussed in Rahvayana's play through the main figures, for example, is Sinta. This method is considered quite effective as a medium of education, propaganda, as well as interesting entertainment for the younger generation.

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“…The nationalist dilemma of repudiating colonial narratives about Indian women (as oppressed, backward and victimized) whilst preserving the traditional, spiritual core of the nation (embodied in its women) was most visibly resolved in the matter of women’s dress, through the nationalization of the sari as a sartorial code for traditional feminine respectability (Bhatia, 2003). The nationalization of the Nivi sari (Banerjee and Miller, 2003; Kawlra, 2014) was further consolidated through cinema and popular culture in urban India (Ramamurthy, 2008; Tu, 2009). Women, as custodians of domestic life and consumers, were ripe targets for nationalist messages about the morality of consumption practices (Tusan, 2003).…”

Section: Nationalism Womanhood and The Discourse Of ‘Crafts Difference’mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hand-crafted identities: Sartorial taste and belonging amongst elite women in urban India

Sharma

2019

Journal of Material Culture

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Craft in contemporary India is a loaded signifier of the handmade, the vernacular, the traditional, and the authentic. Handloom saris, as part of a pan-Indianized repertoire, index the virtues of traditional femininity, local patronage and craft-based aesthetics. However, a decline in their consumption has led to revival projects centred on addressing concerns of livelihoods, markets, and consumer identities. This article presents a historically contextualized study of elite women who are engaged in handloom sari revival. Through an analysis of their sartorial preferences and interventions in handloom revival, the author suggests that their involvement in the field of craft is a performative strategy that consolidates their elite status. These actors affirm belonging in elite spaces using the discourses of crafts difference, biomoral consumption, and aesthetic taste. Moreover, revival is always presented as on the verge of happening but never actually achieved, justifying the need for sustained elite intervention, in turn cementing elite status.

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Sari and the Narrative of Nation in 20th-Century India

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

When sarees speak: Saree pacts and social media narratives

When sarees speak: Saree pacts and social media narratives

Sinta and Social Criticism of the Wayang Tavip

Hand-crafted identities: Sartorial taste and belonging amongst elite women in urban India

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