Don't miss this showcase of Indira Gandhi’s saris at Prasad Bidapa's institute in Bengaluru 

Indira Gandhi is remembered for many things, some good, some not so much. But one aspect of her life that is a great topic of conversation, especially in fashion circles, was her fondness for authentic handwoven saris. Fashion consultant Prasad Bidapa and writer and designer Malvika Singh, join hands to host an exhibition and sale of handwoven replicas of saris worn by Indira Gandhi. The month-long event is part of a series titled The Saris of Memory. 

“This is an attempt to recreate the saris from the collection of women who were known for their fabulous and impeccable taste. Many traditional saris from these collections are antiques, with their designs in danger of being lost or forgotten. We thought it would be a great way to introduce a new generation to the beautiful saris that were no longer available,” explains Prasad, adding, “Indira Gandhi’s collection was curated by the textile expert and cultural icon Pupul Jayakar, who acquired masterpieces for her from the master weavers of India. Mrs Gandhi’s sophisticated style of wearing the sari was much lauded, with perfectly matched cholis and simple, tasteful jewelry. Mahatma Gandhi’s wedding gift to her was a classic khadi sari he had woven from thread he had himself spun on a humble charkha, and she is said to have treasured it.”

On display are some of the former political figure’s most iconic saris that range from Banarasi brocades and heavy Kanchipuram weaves to coarse cottons from Northern Karnataka and delicate silks from Mysore. “Malvika Singh is from the Thapar family, and her family were close to many influential people in post-independent India. She requested Mrs Sonia Gandhi to let her borrow the saris. We then got textile expert Pavitra Muddaya to re-weave the saris at the relevant clusters, and under her supervision, the master weavers started recreating the original together with eight colour variations each,” reveals Prasad. Previously held at Bikaner House in Delhi, the saris were so beautiful that Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi visited the exhibition and bought some saris to add to their own personal collections.

One of the highlights from this collection are the Karnataka saris Mrs Gandhi wore on one of her visits to Chikmagalur. “The Karnataka cottons are simply beautiful. She wore them during the Chikmagalur elections when she came back after the Emergency. We were student volunteers in charge of publicity at the elections, and I often saw Mrs Gandhi wear the classic maroon and saffron-checkered saris woven in North Karnataka. In the evenings, we would gather around Mrs Gandhi at the Travellers Bungalow and Mrs Mohsina Kidwai used to regale us with beautiful Hindustani songs, for she had a lovely singing voice,” he recalls. 

The saris will be on sale at The Prasad Bidapa Institute on Church Street until the end of July or till the collection sells out.