The Saree: The Six-Yard Story

The saree's roots are ancient and debated, widely traced to the Indus Valley Civilisation - often described as going back around 5,000 years. That figure is broad rather than precise, but draped cloth has certainly been worn in the subcontinent for millennia.

Textile scholar Rta Kapur Chisti has documented over a hundred distinct regional draping styles across India. Well-known ones include the Nivi, Bengali (Atpoure), Nauvari (Maharashtrian) and Gujarati drapes.

The Nivi drape has pleats tucked at the waist with the pallu over the left shoulder and is the most common today. The traditional Bengali (Atpoure) drape is pleatless, wrapped and brought over the shoulder, and is iconic to Bengali culture.

The right blouse is what makes a saree work - fitted precisely, with a neckline and back chosen to suit the saree and the occasion. A well-finished fall and pico edge on the saree also matter.

Kantha is a traditional hand-embroidery from the Bengal region built on the simple running stitch. It began with rural women layering old saris and stitching them into quilts, and grew into an art form used today on saris, dupattas and designer wear.

Kantha originates in rural Bengal — today's West Bengal in India and Bangladesh. In 2008, Nakshi Kantha received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for West Bengal, associated especially with the Birbhum district near Shantiniketan.

The running stitch — the simplest of all embroidery stitches. Repeated with skill, it outlines motifs and fills areas, creating Kantha's soft, rippled, textured surface. Every piece is slightly different because it is entirely hand-worked.

Yes. Kantha and Kantha-inspired detailing appears today on blouses, saris, dupattas, kurtas and jackets. Being hand-done, it gives each garment a genuinely one-of-a-kind, heritage character.