Ally Mathan, one of India’s few women perfumers, was known for starting Areev, her brand of fragrances and personal care products. But now Ally’s name is invariably associated with the 100 Saree Pact that she started with Anju Maudgal Kadam over a casual conversation two years ago.
Ally had just inherited some of her grandmother’s Kanjeevarams that she wore to the incense factory which she ran. Ally wanted to make the saree a part of her everyday life. Thus the pact was born, to wear 100 saris in a year. Called the #100sareepact, its presence on Facebook was initially meant to keep track of how many saris they had worn. Soon, with word spreading about the pact, friends and relatives joined in and in no time the pact was being shared and more pacters were added. The crusade that began as a personal goal had grown beyond the two of them. Even today, Ally wears the sari to work. “As I work with my hands in a laboratory and in the factory, it’s important for me to fit in with my factory workers and the sari works best for me,’’ she says.
A year after the 100sareepact, Ally has joined hands with two friends, textile expert Kausalya Satyakumar and Apoorva Sadanand, to form the Registry of Sarees. This takes the engagement with saris beyond the wearer to the weaver, and everything in between. Ally and her partners believe that "social changes start with knowledge creation".
The Registry of Sarees thus organises talks with weavers and sari experts apart from selling saris online. Says Ally, "The online platform sells saris (beautiful ikats, benares, patolas, Kancheevarams and other varieties), and the entire proceeds of these sales go towards funding the learning events (speaker fees, airfare, stay, venue etc) and weaver engagement programmes (looms, yarn etc)."
We asked Ally Mathan to tell us where she picks up her saris from and she generously shared this:
Dipak Jain - Folds, Copper Arch, Infantry Road, Bangalore
Dastkari Haat Samhiti - Khan Market, Delhi
Sundari Silks - Chennai
Thulasi - Chennai
And now The Registry of Sarees (straight from the Weavers)