6 Yards of Nostalgia | The Story Behind The #100SareePact

Sarees are one of my most favourite attires amongst Sourtheast Asian women and yet it appears that it is only worn at special occasions such as weddings and parties and for the rest of the days of the year it hangs in the wardrobe in its special designated spot. I always did find it a pity that such beautiful creations are only worn a handful of times. However, when I came across, what has taken the women of this region and beyond by storm, i.e. the #100SareePact, I was completely blown away with joy. 

The ladies behind the saree challenge

 Who started the #100sareepact?

Two amazing ladies from India, namely Anju Maudgal Kadam and Ally Matthan started the #100sareepact

Anju Maudgal Kadam is in the television industry as a business journalist & director of programming.On top of being the founder and director at WebTv, she is also an amateur photographer, a yogini and a devoted mother.

Ally Matthan is a perfumer. She has set up two brands Areev which is a bath and skincare line, and Ally Matthan Fragrances.

Ally Matthan and Anju Maudgal Kadam wearing saree

An extract from their website where the ladies shared how they started the saree pact.

How did the #100sareepact begin:

It all started with an innocent nostalgic conversation between Anju and Ally about how their sarees, which they refer to as their “beautiful hidden treasures” were sitting in their closet, now and then aired out to keep them beautiful and fresh but as dear as those sarees were, they were hardly worn. This phenomenon is common among most modern women of this day and age actually. Due to the hustle and bustle of modern life which involves studies, travelling and working, the practice of wearing the ethnic clothing, saree is nearly lost.

As reminiscing about the value of sarees in their minds, as each saree is so special to the lady owning it that each saree is tied with a particular memory and while chit chatting about this, the two ladies sealed a pact which is basically that they will make an active effort to bring saree back into their lives by wearing sarees 100 times that year. Therefore, if they wore saree two to three times a week they will easily fill their quota.

Find below the first picture of Ally wearing saree for the 100 saree pact challenge:

Ally Matthan's first picture wearing saree doing the #100sareepact challenge

So what started as a whisper between two friends, spread around the social media such as facebook and twitter with #100sareepact. The photographs of these two ladies in sarees ignited a fire in other women from the region and around the world with roots tied to saree. Ladies were not just wearing sarees and posting them on facebook and twitter with the hashtag, rather they were captioning the pictures revealing a bit of their past, how the sarees are special to them. This movement made many revisit their past, whether it be with fondness, sadness, love or pain.

Enjoy the photographs below of women doing the #100sareepact challenge and bringing saree back to their lives by wearing saree to work and regular wear.

 

Lemon yellow silk kota saree. It has gold and silver border. Matched with Benares cream blouse

Gorgeous Priya Shah doing the #100sareepact in a beautiful ash and blue saree

#100Sareepact Day #73. Lady in beautiful bright yellow Lucknowi organdy saree

This awesome and sophisticated lady has outdone herself. this is her 110 times wearing saree this year.

Even lovely young Nishtha is doing the sareepact. Ladies look so beautiful in saree

This is Ms. Anjali Sharma's 50th time wearing saree during the saree challenge and she's overjoyed. Wearing saree makes a woman feel very special and beautiful

Lady in chundri saree in ash and purple on a tear shaped swing

Pug with a lady in purple and violet saree

Sophisticated lady in saree

Red raw silk saree picture

This challenge made her realise that chiffon sarees are not just for aunties, they can be trendy

Lady wearing offwhite saree with gold border

Lady wearing tussar silk saree in red and off white check for the #100sareepact challenge

So ladies I will also encourage you all to embrace is 6 yards of nostalgia and wear the saree with love and passion. If you want you can send me your photograph doing this challenge at my facebook page, “Saree Blouse Designs”.