Understanding Alia Bhatt’s Mysore silk saree for the Ram Mandir event, “Draped in Heritage”

Alia Bhatt’s style choices have consistently generated the appropriate amount of attention.The actor was back at it earlier this week at the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Bhatt was dressed in a turquoise-colored Mysore silk for the auspicious occasion.

The saree was created by Madhurya, a city-based revival store for Indian weaves, and was dressed by famous stylist Ami Patel. Depicted on the saree are elaborate scenes from the Ramayana, including the breaking of Shiva’s bow, the vow made by King Dasharatha, the voyage of Lord Rama with Guha, the golden deer, crossing the Laxman Rekha, the Ram-Setu in all its grandeur, the coronation of Rama, and Lord Hanuman giving Lord Rama’s ring to Sita.

Traditional artists Sujit Behera (a Pattachitra artist) and Sashi Bala (a Kalamkari) are the ones who gave this saree its life. “Day and night, we had to paint the saree continuously.” This was merely a temporary problem. We are traditional painters with years of experience painting epics. However, such detailed work requires time, as stated by Behera, who notes that while it often takes ten to fifteen days, this particular project was completed in three to four days.

Sapphire-hued Mysore silk
Sapphire-hued Mysore silk

The designer, Patel, describes it as “an iconic saree for an epic event.” “It’s fantastic that Alia is promoting traditional textile art made by hand in India. This will support our indigenous textile and art industries as well as inspire the future generation to wear these kinds of artworks. Before, the number of persons with an interest in textiles was rather modest. However, this has just raised awareness, so I applaud Alia for that! Patel recalls, adding that she also created the purse (batwa) that matched for her.

Patel accessorized the whole ensemble with a blue Kashmiri shawl from Dusala. The objective was to paint pictures from the Ramayana in the 3–4 inch gaps between the zaris on Mysore silk, according to Madhuri Bharathy Harish. “We simply selected the key incidents that immediately spring to mind when contemplating the lives of Lord Rama and Sita,” she explains.