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Society
The Whole Nine Yards
 Rama
Bharadwajan, 48, a bank employee in Hyderabad, is readying her stock of
nine-yard saris for a special puja (prayer) before her daughter's wedding.
Tradition demands that each of the six women who will assist her in the
puja wear the nine-yard madisar (Tamil word for sari). Grumbling about the
discomfort of wrapping the cumbersome yardage around their resistant
limbs, the women nevertheless acquiesce, in deference to tradition and
succumbing to their belief that things must be done "the right way".
The "right way", in most orthodox Tamilian Brahmin (the highest caste)
households, dictates that for important ceremonies - like weddings and
death anniversaries - the woman of the house must wear the nine-yard sari
draped in the complex manner that has been handed down through
generations. The man, too, is expected to wear the equally complex
panchagatcham - five-pleated dhoti (short sari).
Until a few decades ago, the beautiful madisar was obligatory wear for all
married women, all the time, just as the panchagatcham was worn by all
married men. "It is still considered a social mark of marriage," says
Rajam Venkatraman, 78, a homemaker from Chennai and an avid follower of
religious traditions.
Even today, the Tamil Brahmin bride customarily wears a red koorai - a
silk nine-yard sari - that she ties for the first time with the help of
her sister-in-law just before the kanya daanam (the ceremony in which her
father gives her away in marriage).
The madisar is not just a garment or a style. "The madisar has both
symbolic and practical meaning," says Seetha Anand, a young educator from
Hyderabad, who says she "loves the look of the madisar - when worn well,
it is so flattering". The nine yards of the sari function as the
all-inclusive garment. It is worn without a petticoat or underskirt -
unlike the normal six-yard sari - and, if wrapped properly, requires no
other undergarment or upper garment (such as a blouse). "With one of the
folds pulled through between the legs (and tucked into the back on the
belt), the style fulfils the requirements of modesty and protection," says
Anand.
The trouser-like style also made it easy to work and move around in. In
fact, the tradition of a nine-yard sari was prevalent in many other Indian
states like Maharashtra and Karnataka. History even mentions several women
soldiers draped in a nine-yard sari going to war. Women like Jhansi's
Queen Laxmibai fought enemy troops on horseback, wearing a nine-yard sari.
In South India, the nine-yard madisar also symbolizes the unity of the
male and female principles of the universe. "The sari has pleats and the
pallu (the upper decorative part of the saree), and the lower part looks
like a dhoti," says Venkatraman. "This is like the ardhanareeswara (half
man and half woman)," she says.
However, the sari is not an easy garment to wear. "It's good exercise
every morning, because you have to bend, twist around, move your arms
every which way...it is a good 10-minute workout!" laughs Venkatraman.
The complex manner in which it is tied makes it difficult to learn, and
the length of the sari makes it difficult to maintain - both factors that
have contributed to the madisar's decline in recent times. Fewer and fewer
young people know how to tie the sari without assistance.
In fact, you don't see the madisar much these days - not unless you walk
the streets of Panagal Park and Mylapore in Chennai, or perhaps in the
smaller temple towns of Tamil Nadu.
A few enterprising retailers in Chennai have introduced "ready to wear"
madisars, complete with stitched pleats, hooks and belt, "mainly to cater
to the tradition-conscious NRI market," says one observer. But these have
not really taken off, and hardly any of the mainline sari shops carry
them. Nalli, one of Chennai's most popular saree shops, once did brisk
business in nine-yard saris all year round. "Now, sales are mainly
restricted to the marriage season and festivals like Deepavali (festival
of lights)," says Jaganmohan, the manager of the Hyderabad branch of
Nalli.
The nine-yard saris that are popular in the south come mainly from
Kancheepuram and Arni, from special looms earmarked for the purpose.
"There is some trade in such saris in Maharashtra and Karnataka, but the
majority of buyers are still Tamil Brahmins," adds Jaganmohan. "But
overall, yes, I suppose we sell fewer nine-yard saris today than we did 10
or 15 years ago."
As Bharadwajan's relatives prepare for the marriage ceremony, most of them
will need help wearing the sari today. Most will not be able to pass on
the art of wearing it to the next generation... The future of the madisar
seems bleak.
– Usha Raman
December 11, 2004
By arrangement with
Womens Feature Service
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