Global Tamilian: Sarees in US malls make lives of Indian women abroad colourful

In times when jeans and crop tops are becoming the fashion norm in India, the tradition of wearing sarees is gaining welcome space in the US world of fashion. Are the NRIs the real heroes of upholding the age-old Indian tradition on a global platform? Yes, it seems to be the case for sure!

Why would I say that because, you may soon find the legendary Indian outfit being sold in the retail outlet chains as popular as Macy’s in the US. “Plans are on to sell Indian sarees in these showrooms soon, said Andrew Brahuer, executive at Macy’s. This is all moved by the popular demand from the large section of people of Indian origin that attended the Macy’s Deepavali event organised earlier in November at North Point Mall, Georgia, said Andrew. The beautifully dressed mannequins draped in sarees displayed at Macy’s Deepavali event was an eye-catching moment for the retail business strategists.

Saree is attractive not just for the Indian Americans, even others find this outfit to be inviting and pretty. The wonderful print designs, the texture options, the colour combinations and the elegant looks, all make sarees popular in the West. “More than buying and wearing one; a global acknowledgement to the rich Indian tradition is what all that matters, said Gomathy Eashwar, who moved to the US in early seventies. Sharing her nostalgia, she said buying a saree was just a luxury. “We had to wait for trips to India. Every time I visited my place, I would feel jealous of my sisters and cousins as their life seemed to be decorated with things that I could not reach. It felt so dry and incomplete without wearing pattu saree or smelling jasmine flowers. Even if we manage to buy a couple of sarees and bring it to the US, we could hardly wear it anywhere as there were not many Indians or Indian associations back then.”

Today the scene is quite different. Thanks to the mushrooming temples and cultural associations in the states like New Jersey, New York, California, Texas, Delaware, Chicago, Pennsylvania where the Indian population is dominant, women dress in sarees on all special occasions. “Even in 2006 when we came to the US we had to wait for the weekends to celebrate Deepavali, Pongal or any other cultural event. Special poojas were organised for the weekends marking festivals. Most of these we missed due to other competing weekend commitments,” said Arun Rajendra.

“With the influx of more Indians in the recent years and with more cultural associations and temples around the areas, special pujas are being organized on the very same day of the festival even if it happens to be a weekday,” he added “We are now excited to buy new traditional clothes for each occasion and saree is topping our shopping list for sure,” said Girija Shankar, a corporate executive resident in the US. “With Nalli opening shop in New Jersey the thought that I could walk into a shop to touch and feel the silk saree that I want to buy is just priceless,” said Girija.

Young girls in the teens are not shying to wear half sarees for special occasions. “Many of the Indian American kids are pushed to learning the traditional art forms of music and dance and one definite attractive reason is the opportunity for my children to wear the traditional pavadai and half saree or kurtas for classes and for stage events,” said Jayashree Raghunathan, mother of two girls. 

Then comes the booming home business opportunities for Indian fashion jewellery and Indian dress materials that make it so easy for anyone to keep adding to their wardrobe. Social media and WhatsApp groups, online sales model that connect vendors with customers in the US help the trend.

“Private courier services are also a booming business here, aiding in the sale of sarees. There used to be time when we have to look for someone travelling and request them to squeeze my saree into their luggage,” recalled Sandhya Manikandan. Another promising profession is that of a tailor to skillfully design and stitch blouses. “Most often we buy the sarees in the last minute and there is a huge demand to stitch our blouses,” added Sandhya.

There used to be times when wearing saree invited stares when you walked around in the streets of these US cities, but not anymore at least in select cities. Hopefully, like many traditions, that is copied from the West we may not end up on a day to lure our Indian fashion industry to copy the tradition of wearing a saree from the West!  Life is certainly more colourful for people settled there now!

If you are one who believes that eating sugarcane is the highlight of Pongal celebrations then you will not miss the celebrations even if you live in New Jersey. Yes, you can find the local grocery shops are stocked with sugarcane, fresh turmeric, fresh jasmine flowers, mango leaves and banana leaves, haldi kumkum packs! Everything to remind one of the festival spirit around.  If you are lucky your child can even stay at home after getting a holiday from school as some US states have passed proclamation accepting Pongal as the Thanksgiving festival of the Indians! This allows the child take an excused absence in school to celebrate the festival. And upon that you also have the option of buying nice pattu saree from one of the local Nalli shops! These things mean a lot for Indians in the US for whom until recently celebrations of Indian festival in a traditional fashion was a distant dream. Yes, this also shows how organised and well poised the NRI population is in carrying on their traditions and celebration where ever they live. Perhaps it is all in the numbers. According to the statistics published by Center for Immigration Studies, between the period 2010-2017 Native Tamil speakers in the US have grown by 55 per cent at 2,80,000.  One can clearly see pre and post 2010 period as having different stories to tell. Many audible demands that are very specific to festivals and celebrations are quite visibly met now.