Carefully, Rajini Sarma Balachandran unfolds a lustrous fawn-coloured silk sari with beautiful red, yellow and green bird motifs woven using the intricate adai technique. She displays another creation with pink pinstripes on pristine white and talks passionately about how a traditional silk sari can be updated for the boardroom. Her son Siddharth Kashi, who looks on lovingly at the silk showcase, opens out a ‘mixed media’ piece on a low-slung table. This one, an inventive blend of Tussar and Kanjivaram weave, reflects a painterly approach to colour and texture.
At Jari: The Sari Studio in Chennai, newness is a norm and culture a recurring thread in the multi-metre narrative on silk. A self-proclaimed “sari warrior”, Rajini chose to connect with her roots and rearticulate Kancheepuram weaves within the framework of tradition. “Mine is a classic immigrant tale,” says Rajini. “When I returned to Chennai after living in the U.S. for over 40 years, I didn’t want to be here, but belong elsewhere. I needed to be rooted, firm and solid, like the Adyar banyan tree! Kanjivaram weaves satisfied my thirst for the old and the familiar since they capture diverse strands of Tamil ethos in silk.”
Rajini migrated to the U.S. in the late 1960s. After her Masters in Comparative Politics at the Georgia State University, she went on to do her Ph. D in International Relations at New York University and taught at different institutions in the U.S. from 1981 to 1993. “But all along, art was a driving force in my life. I couldn’t resist the call of the canvas.” She specialised in varied genres and techniques at the University of Wisconsin and Parsons School of Design. So the eloquence with which she quotes Gandhiji, Salman Rushdie, political leaders or Frida Kahlo isn’t surprising.
“When I returned to India, I looked at everything with nostalgia. Design helped me engage in a dialogue with a tradition untouched by time. So many lived experiences come together in a tangible manner when I design a Kanjivaram sari. As a student of Art History, I felt a kind of academic thrill to passionately explore art, architecture and the myths surrounding the traditional motifs of the silk sari. Jari: The Sari Studio was opened in 2011 with the aim of linking fine arts to Kancheepuram design. As its Founder-CEO, I have been researching and experimenting with new weaves, palette and motifs, meeting artisans, dyers and weavers and collaborating with NGOs. The painter in me also pushed me to evolve my own vocabulary in Kalamkari, Shibori and Bandhani,” she says, showing her “Sari Safari” collection in the studio’s second level. “Only when you understand other textile traditions can you appreciate the uniqueness of the Kanchi weave.” Sari Safari is a showcase of major weaving and hand-skill traditions of the country — from Kolkata to Maharashtra and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu.
The aesthetics of what goes into the making of a pattu pudavai (silk sari) fascinates Rajini. “The designs are drawn from patterns carved on temple walls and sculptures. Just like the sculptor, the weaver too is inspired by Nature. The temple façade, creepers, trumpeting elephants, flying parrots and strutting peacocks chiselled by the sthapathis find resonance in the silk sari. The grammar of ornamentation that inspires the sculptor is a point of reference to the weaver, who intertwines his salutation to the divine into his creations. Rudraksham, uthiri poo, pavun , temple reku … the designs have a spiritual connect.”
For any tradition to live on, change is imperative. Understanding this, Rajini believes that any experiment has to enhance traditional identity within predetermined norms. “It’s important to break stereotypes. New has to be blended with the old, but not in a self-conscious way. The memory and romance of the past has to be preserved while bringing in newer references,” she explains, unfolding a new collection with charming motifs of music instruments, stylised manga motifs, corporate Korvais and saris with gold-and-silver Ganga-Jamuna borders. Her son, a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is her creative partner. “His science background is a big plus in exploring new structures in weave and design.”
Talking fervently about the sari, the unstitched tradition that has survived time, she says, “It’s amazing how this six-yard fabric moves, pleats, sits, drapes, folds and swirls. With one swish of the pallu you can make it sexy or conservative, formal or casual. It’s sad that it’s being deemed unfashionable and impractical. But the Rani of Jhansi led a battle in a sari! Though the post-modern world is all about multi-culturalism and inclusiveness, there’s a prosaic sameness when it comes to dressing. Powerful women like Aung San Suu Kyi, Winnie Mandela and Indira Gandhi made fashion choices that underscored their national identities. Why must ethnic clothing be labelled conservative? But having said that, it’s heartening to see some shifts in the Western perception of Asian fashion and textiles. It is certainly the age of the neo-drape. Oprah Winfrey and Madonna have flaunted the alluring and versatile sari in their public appearances. We must take this opportunity to re-invent our fashion choices to include the sari as a strong cultural identity.”
Rajini Sarma Balachandran’s artistic oeuvre spans over 200 works in oil and mixed media. From Marc Chagall and Frida Kahlo to the miniature paintings of India and the frescoes at Ajanta and Ellora caves, her inspirations are eclectic. A seemingly simple women-centric selection displayed in her gallery space in Jari has deep symbolic significance. Displacement, emancipation, relocation, longing, discovery are some of her themes. Her artistic journey is apparent from the entrance of the studio, where she has painted beautiful Rukmini Devi Arundale-inspired motifs. It doesn’t end with the works on canvas. In a new line of saris, she plays with painting-like shaded mobaggam alai borders. “The sari is my canvas,” she smiles. “The warp yarns were divided into three parts and dyed into shades of varying intensities of the same colour. It was then loaded on the loom. The colours were toned down with a white weft. As the alais (waves) swirl at the end of the pallu, they form an auspicious kolam design and the water (body of the sari) is strewn with flowers.”
