To,
My high school economics’ teacher’s saree collection, because those chiffons…
“She was dressed in a turquoise-blue chiffon sari with silver sequins sparkling like stars on a moonless night. She looked around with her large almond eyes. Everyone stood up. As Hillaire Belloc once described someone, ‘her face was like the king’s command when all the swords are drawn'.” (- A New York Times magazine reporter)
This ‘dream in sari and jewels’, to quote Vogue, Maharani Gayatri Devi- the daughter of the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, was born in 1919 to the lavish palace life of extravagances. By her own account, in A Princess Remembers: The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur, her childhood was marked by exotic privileges and fantastical trinkets- be it her mother's pet turtle whose shell was encrusted with emeralds, diamonds and rubies, the elephant belonging to her grandfather whose tusks were studded with diamonds for his diamond jubilee, or the trained parrots riding bicycles with their own retinue of parrot doctors and parrot stretcher bearers. When the Princess was 3, she went on a shopping spree at Harrods which went undiscovered for weeks; when she was 12, she secured her first shot at a panther; and when she was 19, Jai proposed to her in the back seat of his Bentley as it circled Hyde Park in London, successfully concluding Gayatri Devi’s infatuation harbored since age 12.
However, Sawaii Man Singh II, the Mahajara of Jaipur, despite his even more glittering inheritance and luxury than what the princess was accustomed to, was not a match that appealed to her parents. Not only was the Maharaja already wed, twice, but more importantly, Indira Devi (Gayatri Devi’s mother) worried, Jaipur with its customs of purdah and excess propriety would prove stifling to Gayatri Devi’s adventurous brashness accustomed to a tomboyish upbringing in company of brothers. Gayatri devi though, true to her outspoken and independent nature, paid them little heed. And as the couple came to tie the knot in 1940, her family’s apprehensions proved to be for naught. Though she did partially observe purdha in her initial years in Jaipur, the maharani was anything but hidden from view.
Quite willful and independent in her thoughts and actions, she not only refuted the custom of purdha herself but also got thousands others liberated from the veil by actively propagating women education. A ‘people’s princess’, Gayatri Devi continued to amass support and appreciation from populace of Jaipur even as the princely state came to be integrated with the democratic union of India after 1947. A popularity that shaped her political agency as her victory in lok sabha elections earned her recognition from Guinness World Records for world’s largest landslide victory in a democratic election.
In a personal capacity too, the maharani led an unusually emancipated lifestyle for the customs of the time. Not only did she enjoy days out on shikars but was also a particularly avid equestrienne and a skilled polo player. Such unflinching independence further reflected in and asserted by her style as she took to fields, donning a pair of khaki slacks whilst sporting her iconic bob.
Even so, it was the romantic drapery of yards of chiffon that the maharani was most often spotted and remembered in. Crediting her mother for her this dreamy signature look she writes in her biography, “My mother has been my role model and icon. When I was young, I watched her dress. Ma was very fussy about her clothes. Did you know, she was the first person to start wearing saris made of chiffons? ...She always knew the best place to buy anything and she shopped all over the world. I guess, I learned about style from her. She taught me all about style.” Indeed, while chiffon had been in use around Europe since 1700s as a luxury fabric denoting wealth and status, it was Indira Devi of Cooch Behar that first adapted it to a sari format and brought it to India.
Actually referring to a weaving format, Chiffon is a process which uses a combination of s-twist and z-twist crepe yarns, twisting them counter-clockwise and clockwise respectively, to create a slightly puckering lightweight and shiny fabric with a subtle stretch that drapes beautifully. Though today it is produced from a variety of yarns including both silk and synthetic threads like nylon, rayon or polyester, this is only a late 20th century phenomenon. Originally it was produced exclusively from silk and as such was an expensive affair; hence the connotations of high status. This first silk chiffon originated in France, the word ironically deriving from ‘chiffe’- French for ‘rag’. It was here in Paris only that Indira Devi’s love affair with chiffon began during one of the many European trips undertaken by the royal family. The Maharani loved the material, and on her insistence, it was made to 47 inches in width, and thus the soft flowing chiffon saree migrated to India, eventually becoming a trademark of her daughter and Indian royalty at large.
Sweltering heats of Thar especially proved conducive for rajmata of Jaipur to exchange her zaris and zardosis for the sheer pastels of chiffon. Further, to a princess born in London and accustomed to a ‘western’ way of living, French chiffon adapted to a traditional silhouette allowed a fusionist expression of style that resonated with her.
In accordance with the heat of Jaipur and dignity of her own position, soft pastels were her shades of choice; paired with modest long-sleeved blouses sewn in with handmade buttons.
Though chiffon became her signature look, she did not abandon zari, zardosi, gota patti and bandhini altogether; sometimes even integrating them with chiffon.
Quoting her grandmother she shares the wisdom of accessorizing in her memoir, “Never wear emeralds with a green sari as I had, they look so much better with pink.”
The smart bob coiffed to perfection, eyes minimally touched by kajol, lips accentuated by a deep red stain, and signature pearls adorning the neck, maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmata of Jaipur, was not only people’s princess but also queen of poise. A ‘dream’ draped in chiffon, she would inspire generations to come, not only in style but also in unflinching independence of expression.