DOWN THE AGES A Fine Stitch

DOWN THE AGES
A fine stitch
An authentic gara sari is undoubtedly a neighbour’s envy and an owner’s pride,
finds BENAIFER J. MIRZA.
W
hat’s the most beautiful and
memorable gift that any Zoroastrian mother
could gift to her daughter? It’s got to be a
gara sari. An apt heirloom, it is an expression
of the lifestyle of the Zoroastrian community.
It has the elements of grace and dignity,
which come together to etch a sketch of
class with etherealness.
Threads of history
It was the Indo-Chinese trade that resulted in
the tradition of the Parsi gara. Parsi traders,
who were fascinated and enthralled by the
beauty of delicate Chinese embroidery,
bought embroidered silks for their families.
It was common for Chinese embroiderers
to design detailed borders and, sometimes,
the entire field of the sari as well. Zenobia,
the owner of ZS Embroidery, sheds some
light on the history of garas. She shares,
“Parsi traders introduced the gara to India in
the 19th century. They travelled to the Far
East, traded in China and Hong Kong, and
returned with exquisite Chinese artefacts that
are still found in old Parsi homes.”
(Above and below left and below right) Saris designed by Mahavir Embroidery
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August 2011
DOWN THE AGES
Zenobia continues, “It is said that the
first gara sari was made in Canton when
a Parsi trader, who was fascinated by the
beauty of Chinese embroidery, requested
the craftsmen to embroider a six-yard length
that he wanted to send home to his wife.
Soon, the gara became an ultimate fashion
item amongst women, proclaiming both
good taste and social standing.”
The late Naju Daver is a name that is
synonymous with authentic gara work. Her
daughter Farzeen Daver-Boomla is now
taking the legacy ahead. Speaking about
her mother, Farzeen says, “At a time when
most people were cutting their old garas
to make curtains, my mom brought about
an awareness in our community about
our traditional dress. She brought about a
revival of the garas and gave them a whole
Photograph by: Subhash Patil
Trends and touches
Models displaying new styles of the gara designed by Zenobia Davar
Photograph by: Dabboo Ratnani
new dimension, with a variety of colours and
an endless choice in the embroidery patterns
— from the pallav to the border, skirt style
or all over.”
While the traditional designs such as
kanda-papeta (onion-potato motifs), karolia
(spider motifs), chakla-chakli (sparrow
motifs), china-chini (Chinese figures) and
motifs of various flowers and birds are
popular, Zenobia says that there are clients
who like something that stands out. In
fact, she recently created exclusive designs
for one of her clients — a sea-world gara,
which had motifs of a seahorse, tortoise,
lobsters and swordfish. Garas are known to
be highly inspired by nature, but designs
like these take it to a whole new level of
creativity and imagination.
Mehr Jessia-Rampal in a gara sari and blouse
designed by Farzeen Daver-Boomla
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August 2011
The real deal
Farzeen advises, “While buying a gara, it’s
important to know what colour suits you
best; don’t always think of what’s ‘in’, as
what could be in fashion may not necessarily
suit you. Besides, depending on your height
and body structure, different styles and
types of work will suit you. Nobody wants
to buy something that they will just keep
in their wardrobe; it is important for you to
enjoy wearing it over and over again.
Zenobia notes, “One must go in only for
a genuine, hand-embroidered gara. These
days, replicas of rich gara designs are being
done in cheaper machine embroidery and
the aari (hooked needle) technique. Despite
the lower cost, however, it’s always wiser
to invest in a genuine piece. While buying
DOWN THE AGES
a gara, look at its quality and finish. The
finish should be perfect on the right side
as well as on the reverse. A genuine piece,
which is well taken care of, will have a
resale value 50 or even 100 years later.”
Garas, with their beautiful patterns and
painstaking embroidery are indisputably
loved by the young and old alike. And yet,
the number of craftsmen is dwindling,
making gara embroidery a dying art. One
that desperately needs to be revived.
But there is more to the art of gara
embroidery than just saris. “The work can
also be done on sari blouses, skirts, tops,
jablas, ijars, topis, navjote dresses, daglas,
daglis, stoles, kurtis, salwar-kameez suits,
purses and even cushions,” Zenobia notes.
She adds, “Recently, a group of design
students from Symbiosis Institute, Pune,
came to me to learn gara embroidery. To my
astonishment, they didn’t have embroidery
as a subject. They trained under me for a
month, and I also helped them by getting
Photograph by: Subhash Patil
Reviving a dying art
Different kinds of styles, some with heavily done koars (borders) designed by Zenobia Davar
the gara motifs embroidered on pants,
tops, dresses, belts and purses for a
fashion show.”
Recently, Zenobia designed 25 gara
garments for an upcoming film that is
being produced by the National Film
Development Corporation (NFDC) of
India. This film intends to promote
the art of gara embroidery. Efforts like
these do provide a ray of light for the
dying art!
More than just a sari
If you thought that Zoroastrian
women are the only ones who are
aficionados of gara saris and works,
then think again. In fact, many Punjabi,
Maharashtrian, Sindhi and Marwari women
buy gara saris and clothes too, being as
enamoured by the style and work as Parsi
women are.
And, just in case, your favourite gara
piece has gotten a little tattered or ruined,
there are several places, such as Mahavir
Embroidery, which even repair garas.
Isaac B. Singers, Nobel Prize Laureate
in Literature, once said, “What a strange
power there is in clothing.” Well, may I
now say, what a strange power there is in
our traditional gara sari that it can make
every woman look just so elegant and
gorgeous!
Gaga over garas
Dilshad Pastakia, celebrity hairstylist and owner, Dilshad’s Salon: “I love gara
saris! I’ve been lucky enough to have had them handed down to me by both my
grandmothers. The work is exquisite. I also love koars (borders); they are so pretty.”
Gara embroidery on the topi and jabla, as well as
the pallav and koar (border) of a sari, all designed
by Zenobia Davar
Pinaz Masani, renowned ghazal singer: “The gara sari is like a piece of jewellery
handed down through generations. My recollection of my first gara sari, which
I still have, is during my first sari-wearing ceremony. It’s magenta, with creamcoloured birds. The material was Chinese silk, which is impossible to find today. I
remember mom telling me to be very careful…dare I drop any food on it! I have
worn this gara sari for several ghazal concerts; its originality and beauty is a matter
of envy for the audiences. When I was going to receive my Padma Shri Award at
the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, the unanimous decision was that I would wear
this sari!”
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August 2011