Drawing on experiences from villagers in Bengal to scientists in Bangalore, this book explores the beauty, adaptability and personality of India's most iconic garment. Banerjee and Miller show why the sari has survived and indeed flourished as everyday dress when most of the world has adopted western clothing. Their book presents both an intimate portrait of the lives of women in India today and an alternative way for us all to think about our relationship to the clothes we wear.
A new bride is unable to move from her husband's motorbike as her sari comes undone. A young man wonders how he will cope with the sari's complicated folds in a romantic clinch. A villager's soft, worn sari is her main comfort during a fever. Throughout the book, these and other remarkable stories place the sari at the heart of relationships between mothers and infants, mistresses and maids, designers and soap opera stars.
Lavishly illustrated and rich in personal testimony, The Sari expertly shows how one of the world's most simply constructed garments can reveal the profound complexities of modern India.
About the Author:
Mukulika Banerjee is Lecturer in Anthropology at University College London. She is the author of The Pathen Unarmed.
Daniel Miller is Professor of Anthropology at University College London. Recent books include A Theory of Shopping, The Internet - An Ethnographic Approach (with Don Slater) and Ed. Car Cultures.
Dixie is a photographer who has traveled extensively in India, Bolivia and South East Asia. His exhibition on the Kumbha Mela was held at Brunei Gallery, London.
Oroon Das is a designer working in graphic and performance arts.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 | Minas Story
CHAPTER 2 | The Intimate Sari
CHAPTER 3 | Possession
CHAPTER 4 | The Youthful Sari
CHAPTER 5 | The Married Sari
CHAPTER 6 | The Working Sari
CHAPTER 7 | Growing Old Together
CHAPTER 8 | The Problem of What to Wear
CHAPTER 9 | The Pleasure of What to Buy
CHAPTER 10 | Producers and Designers
CHAPTER 11 | Arbiters of fashion
CHAPTER 12 | Modern Clothes
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY
INDEX
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