London:
Hundreds of women, mostly doctors and bankers, showed up at Britain’s most esteemed Royal Ascot race meeting today, in traditional saris. This event is often attended by the Queen who recently celebrated her platinum anniversary. The saree-clad women of Indian descent showcased Indian culture on a global platform of fashion to highlight the plight of Indian weavers, especially after the Covid pandemic.
The sarees had a variety of themes ranging from health workers to hijab. The diversity of India’s states was fully manifested at Britain’s Ascot, an event where the world’s most fashionable people meet.
Sanchita Bhattacharya, a media professional, wore a Madhubani handmade silk saree depicting the Pandavas and Krishna from the epic Mahabharat. Chinu Kishore, a civil engineer with British Railways, wore a ‘Mekhala sador’, an Assamese traditional weave, to represent her northeastern state on a global platform.
A young woman wearing a white saree with a tricolor trim said, “They call me Miss India here because I have the flag and the tricolor on my saree, I’m so proud.”
More than 1000 NRI women, most of them NHS doctors or bankers and professionals, took a day off to attend the event and demonstrate the sarees.
Every saree in today’s Ascot had a story to tell. “We are here to represent two things: diversity and inclusion,” said Rina Dhaka.
The saree show is the brainchild of NHS Doctor Dipti Jain. “We are sari-loving girls and the idea came about after setting up a charity to help artisans and weavers especially after the pandemic in India,” said Ms Jain.
