The Sari

Description

Drawing on experiences from villagers in Bengal to scientists in Bangalore, this book explores the beauty, adaptability and personality of India's most iconic garment. Banerjee and Miller show why the sari has survived and indeed flourished as everyday dress when most of the world has adopted western clothing. Their book presents both an intimate portrait of the lives of women in India today and an alternative way for us all to think about our relationship to the clothes we wear. A new bride is unable to move from her husband's motorbike as her sari comes undone. A young man wonders how he will cope with the saris complicated folds in a romantic clinch. A villager's soft, worn sari is her main comfort during a fever. Throughout the book, these and other remarkable stories place the sari at the heart of relationships between mothers and infants, mistresses and maids, designers and soap opera stars. Illustrated and rich in personal testimony, The Sari expertly shows how one of the world's most simply constructed garments can reveal the intricate design of life in modern India.

Mukulika Banerjee is Reader in Social Anthropology, University College London and author of The Parthan Unarmed. Daniel Miller is Professor of Anthropology, University College London. Recent books include A Theory of Shopping, The Internet: An Ethnographic Approach (with Don Slater) and Ed. Car Cultures.

'A fascinating look at this great Indian traditional wear told through the voices of women who love and live with it on a daily basis' * G. Chadha, director of Bend It Like Beckham * The Sari is a deeply informative and engaging body of work. Banerjee and Miller allow the reader to gain a stronger understanding of various facets of India through the eye of the sari. Even further, this text also allows the reader to at times, almost feel as if they are wearing this instrumental garment themselves ... Practitioners of global dress studies will want to add this book to their libraries as an important contribution to the cultural study of the sari and the complex historical relationship of a garment and its wearers. * The Journal of Dress History * 'Intellectually compelling and theoretically sophisticated, The Sari will be of great interest to scholars in many disciplines - from anthropology to women's studies. It is also an absolutely fascinating read, which will appeal to anyone with an interest in India.' * Valerie Steele, author of The Corset: A Cultural History * 'A fascinating and original insight into one of the most enigmatic garments in the world' * South Asian Studies Journal * 'This book offers rare and intimate insights into the social life of the sari which becomes a metaphor and tool for understanding the biographies of Indian women.' * Emma Tarlo, author of Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India * 'Provides a visual feast and an easy introduction to the subject.' * Fashion Theory * 'The strength and charm of this book is the ease with which it distils in an extremely readable, vivacious, and often witty manner the ethnographic perspectives set within a broader context of social, political, and religious changes.' * Nira Wickramasinghe, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (Vol. 12, No. 3, Sept. 2006) * "This amazing book shows a fascinating aspect of the lives of so many women of and from the subcontinent. It's a worthwhile and compelling read and encourages one to consider the wearer rather than the worn." * mostlyasianfood.com *