Inside an exhibition documenting South India’s silk legacy

If you have ever pondered about the silk sari going obsolete someday, a chat with Rohith C. Ramesh and Dhiren C. Ashok will dispel that notion in no time. As managing partners of Bengaluru-based legacy brand Vijayalakshmi Silks, the brothers have seen trends rise and fall. The one thing that has remained constant is the enduring love for the six-yard drape. “The sari has evolved, no doubt, and you do have newer variations like lightweight Kanjeevarams or ready-to-wear saris but to say that it will get obsolete is far-fetched,” says Ramesh. The fact that their brand marks its 105th anniversary this year is proof enough. Now, to celebrate this milestone, they are hosting an exhibition, Loom, Legacy & Landmark (open to public on 23-24 April), at the cultural venue Sabha, through a collection of 105 saris called the “Royal 105”.

Inspired by heirloom saris of the royal Mysuru family, the oeuvre includes Kanjeevarams, Mysore crepe, and Banarasis that have been specially created for the occasion. “Think of it as an art exhibit but for saris,” says Ramesh. Photographs of the collection reveal Kanjeevarams richly adorned with traditional motifs like the ganda berunda (two-headed eagle), the yali (a mythical creature) and the kuyilkan (cuckoo’s eye) paint the potential of saris as canvases for experimentation.

With a repertoire spanning over 100 years, the saris on display showcase designs revived from older techniques, and contemporary interpretations of traditional weaves. While the idea sounds imaginative, executing it meant trawling through old photographs and ledgers, reaching out to family members and loyal patrons to loan their saris, and reconnecting with master weavers who had created the originals some 50-60 years ago.

“One of the most special tasks in this project was recreating a 60-year-old sari for the Mysuru royal family. What made it more meaningful was that the weaver who recreated it was the grandson of the original weaver. His father had worked on a similar piece for us decades ago, so it became a full-circle moment across generations, both for us and for them,” Ashok recalls.

As for reviving weaving techniques, Ramesh says they chose to commission the korvai or kuttu Kanjeevaram sari (where the body and contrasting border are woven separately and interlocked by hand on a loom) and a Kanjeevaram tissue sari (woven with fine metal threads and silk). “Making these saris involves time-consuming, labour-intensive and expensive processes, which is why they are slowly dying out but we decided to recreate them for the show because they represent an important part of the region’s textile heritage,” Ashok adds.

For Ahalya ‘Ally’ Matthan, the founder of Registry of Sarees, working on the project as a researcher also offered a lens into the evolution of retail culture itself. “Starting out as a store in Chickpete, they have grown alongside Bengaluru’s retail landscape: from the traditional pete market to the commercial hub of MG Road and today’s multi-format retail spaces across the city,” she notes.

Another exciting aspect was stumbling on an old ledger from as far as 1920 that had handwritten vendor invoices. “Seeing accounts written by hand is such a stark contrast to today’s digital accounting softwares," says Matthan. While they may seem trivial, it is bits and pieces of papers like bills, invoices, tickets along with photographs put together that act as living archives for a brand. And yet this aspect continues to be overlooked for the most part in the country.

“While we cannot call ourselves diligent documentors like most brands in the West, we have started documenting across departments: from our commercial photoshoots and marketing campaigns to our production processes,” says Ashok. “Today, from colour coding yarns to sari design and the final weave, we are also trying to capture the entire lifecycle of a sari, in collaboration with our weavers.” The long-term goal, he adds, is to build an archive that serves as a memory box of this period. For legacy silk textile brands who want to continue to stay relevant, there may be a lesson here in recording history as it unfolds.