Sarees are just attire, sarees are emotions. They are often passed down from one generation to the next, as part of a wedding trousseau or given as gifts for milestone moments. As well as being purely functional garments, like many aspects of our clothes, saris are deeply connected to our memory and identity. As we celebrate World Saree Day on 21st December renowned singer and painter of International repute Soumita Saha announced her Solo Exhibition “Saree Rigmarole”. Saree Rigmarole is a tale singing praise of saree and certainly an unsung folklore that depicts how the unstitched piece of cloth we call ” saree ” becomes emotion. One of the special feature of this virtual exhibition is that the Artist pays tribute to World famous painter “Amrita Shergill”.
“She is one of my favourite muse in saree, wardrobe was a haven where she could dig for self-expression. Being born and brought up in an environment that’s hundred percent filled with essence of Bengali culture, I have seen so many pretty women drapped in saree. But whenever I see Shergill’s photographs dressed in saris, it seems that draws all attention to her exoticism and showed that she embraced it. She is not only one of my favourite painter, but I must say she makes an irreplaceable muse” adds Soumita. Soumita’s paintings are not exhibited in the country but also got exhibited in many countries around the world. The journey started with her painting ” conscience of India ” travelling to Portland’s Art Reach gallery followed by her recent work ” Bharat Mata ” being exhibited at Venezuela.
The modern way of draping Saree was invented by Gyanadanandini Devi. She was wife of Satyendranath Tagore, first Indian ICS Officer and elder brother of R.N. Tagore, first Asian to win Nobel. After becoming an ICS officer, Satyendranath Tagore and his wife needed to socialize with English officers. The women of Tagore house did not want to adopt Western cloth totally, but the then prevalent way of wearing one-piece saree was not very civil for that Victorian age. Remember till then women used to stay inside their own home rarely seen by any male beside their immediate family, so the one piece saree was kind of adequate. To suite with the prevailing era, Gyanadanandini Devi started wearing Saree with Blouse, and semeez, which gradually became the Saree we all know now. Saree isn’t just an apparel but emotion for many of us, Soumita’s virtual solo exhibition Saree Rigmarole shall continue from 21st December ( World Saree Day) to 27th December.
“All of my muse shall be seen sporting the style that Gyanadanandini Devi initiated. Basically it’s what we resonate with, I have always seen my mother drapping saree in that style. Even I stick to that style when I wear saree. I have always been a sareenista who is unaware of trends. Fashion isn’t my thing. Therefore all of my muse sticks to simplicity and sings praise of saree” adds Soumita.
Soumita being a saree Evangelist is most seen sporting saree in her Music Videos and Posters. Soumita’s recently unleashed poster of her upcoming song all set release from Raga Music.
