This picture collection from my personal and professional life shows my deep love for Sarees. This piece of cloth is inextricably linked to me and my feelings. In my childhood I wore the saree happily at parties, in adulthood I discover it in my own way. For me, Sarees mean comfort, warmth, space and nonchalance. – Ritu Arya

Sarees  – Ritu Arya

The love that I’ve for Sarees isn’t something that developed in the last couple of years and it sure took some time to turn so profound. During my teens I would eagerly wait for festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, etc. so that I could wear a Saree, and it was either borrowing one from Ma’s wardrobe or throwing tantrums until she bought me a new one. Somewhere after college, after suppressing the urge for a while, I decided to start wearing Sarees more often, to meetings, grocery errands, shoots; almost everywhere. Comfortability has always been my priority when it comes to clothing and Saree to me now is the most relaxed piece of fabric I could be clad in.

Although after years of pondering, I’ve also come to understand that things I wear, be it Sarees or XXL shirts [from the men’s section] are very closely related with this one constant state of my mind and it’s an attempt to hide. In both Sarees and these slouchy shirts there’s just so much fabric that it engulfs me and it feels as though I am invisible. With Sarees there’s also a subconscious connect with the comfort that a hug from my ma [in her old cotton sarees] brought to me, especially during my school days before I moved out. Apart from all this, I think I have started to deeply enjoy the surprise/frown it generates in the ‘society’, when you exhibit counterculture characteristics while choosing to wear something as traditional as a Saree. The automatic assumption and the immediate disappointment is both amusing and infuriating.

In an attempt of moving away from the topic before it turns into a rant, have I told you that over the past few years I’ve almost completely stopped buying new clothes and have overcome the shame of repeating them? I did have that complex, no denying it, primarily around the time I was moving quick with my blog, which now brings me to my blogging days. Apart from a couple of personal images here, the rest are from some commissioned projects or feature shoots done with magazines/brands where I was asked to just be myself, to express the emotions & ideas via my usual style. I very often look back at my blogging days and still come across these kind articles about me and my blog that I haven’t read and I cannot help but think of it’s absolutely unexpected start. One of my closest friends, Debjyoti, [a talented photographer & music artist and also my partner at Drum and Bass India], suggested I should start sharing images I take, with the world, via a blog, during one of those very boring summer breaks in college. It was in 2011 [my second year], before the internship race started, so there was an abundance of energy and time. It soon turned into an outfit/mood/music blog, where I would click a few pictures, and talk about a variety of things, and share some tracks to resonate with what I was feeling. Before I knew it, a couple of brands approached for collaborations & commissioned shoots and honestly I had no idea that it would become the only thing I would do for the next six years – not complaining for I have been incredibly blessed to have worked with and have my work/style appreciated by some of the finest & kindest brands/magazines.

Eventually it all started to become a tad redundant over time and even though I was doing selective projects I started to miss the simpler initial days, when there were no expectations or clients to be in touch with. Or maybe I had too much of seeing my own face, I am not sure. I knew I needed a break, because at one point it felt like a relentless race with projects and deadlines, with days laced with constant emails/calls where all kinds of brands approach you without doing much research, and it all started to get to me. So, as I finished the ongoing projects and declined the new ones, I decided to take a long break and left for a few months. All the while thinking I would get back and feel like picking things up from where I left them. Three years and I still haven’t felt so.

But yes, I wear Sarees almost everyday now, regardless of what the day or occasion is, as I look forward to my favourite ones becoming only more softer with each wash, while I also manage to pull a smile at the stereotypical comments and questions it brings in today’s time – a time where they say you can be whatever you want to be.