At over 5,000 years of existence, the Indian saree is undoubtedly one of the oldest garments existing in the world. Worn by those of the ancient Indian civilization and our grandmothers, and even on ramps to Bollywood movies, its popularity can never wither. However, what is interesting is that modern young women also seem very interested in this garment, be it six yards or nine yards, they all want to own some exquisite sarees that can be worn in various ways to express an identity of their own.

Niketa Malhotra from The Indian Draping Company is conducting a one-day New Year special workshop ‘‘Dare to Drape’’ on the art of draping the saree in various draping styles from different regions of India. Rooted in the balanced mix of culture and modernity, The Indian Draping Company is a movement to revive the ancient wisdom in the traditional drapes and infuse them with a modern perspective.

Each region has a native garment that evolves from local sensibilities, as well as the occupation and culture of the wearer. The garment adapts to suit the local context, weather and geography. The Indian Draping Company takes its roots from the unstitched garment, the saree.

Niketa tells us that since a young girl she was always amused by the long garment that would be wrapped around. Besides, she often saw her mother drape a saree frequently for functions and events. But it wasn’’t until she got married to a Bengali and got many sarees as gifts that she decided to embark on this fascinating journey of understanding and experimenting with the saree. “It was a struggle. But I learnt how to drape it. There was always an interest in learning to drape the saree and then I gave myself a challenge to learn the drape. But on the day of Durga Puja, I would realise that there wasn’’t just one kind of drape, so that’’s when I got intrigued by the diversity of drapes and how it works in particular regions.”

It was for a campaign about creating videos for different drapes in India by renowned textile and saree scholar Rita Kapur Chisthi that she underwent a workshop and learnt the classic drapes of India. Thereon she began understanding classic drapes and giving them a contemporary twist. This was because Niketa realised that there are more people than before who are interested in sarees.

Till date Niketa has draped sarees on over 100 people by using 30 drapes rooted across regions using multiple variations. Talking about why people get attracted to this garment she says: “There are lots of people who are driven to wear sarees for various reasons. There are some who like it for culture, like in the East or in Maharashtra or those who have never had an exposure to sarees and want to drape it, or because of the handloom and colours or prints.”

She believes that youngsters are into sarees and want to experiment with them, though they prefer to focus on minimalism and use it differently. There are many young women who attend her workshops. Niketa says: “Working with youngsters is very refreshing as they don’’t have a background of how it’’s supposed to be draped and thus are open to all kinds of drapes. They are more experimental and they even prefer not wearing a blouse or brassiere to convert the saree into a halter.”

Many women belonging to the older generation prefer the traditional or the popular Nivi drape, and would rather not see women draping the saree in contemporary ways. Niketa feels that there is always this sense of familiarity associated with the popular style Nivi, and most drapes follow this style in some way of the other.

She says her favourite drape is Venuka Gundaram from Andhra Pradesh which has pleats at the back and is short so that the ankles are visible in the front. Talking about variations in using it she says: “It can be made in to a formal saree with a pallu for a formal event. I use it as a skirt where I tuck the pallu into my waist and sometimes it can also be converted in to a halter gown by taking the pallu around the neck. While the root is still the same, what changes is how you express yourself through it.”

The Indian Draping Company seeks to revive, archive and reuse the sarees through workshops, personalised sessions, collaborations and at the workshop on Friday Niketa will show participants five to six different drapes with about three variations.

Niketa believes there is a drape for every occasion and every person. She uses the fluidity of the saree to touch on themes such as self-expression, gender-fluidity, minimalism, sustainability and fashion. “I believe in working with the saree to create drapes for different occasions, be it a party, a formal event, driving long distance or even climbing a tree!”

(Workshop ‘‘Dare to Drape’’ on the art of the saree draping styles will be held at Musuem of Goa on Friday, December 29 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. For details call: 91 7722089666)