Royal Blue, and the Weight of the Weave
A Banarasi silk saree does not ask to be noticed — it simply occupies a room differently from everything else in it. Shalini Dixit's choice of royal blue makes this particular truth very plain. The body of the saree is scattered with small gold buti motifs — each one a tiny burst of zari, the repeat unhurried and even — while the border carries a wide gold woven scroll of dense floral-vine forms that belong entirely to the Varanasi tradition. The blouse matches in blue, its short sleeves edged with the same gold zari border, the neckline finished with a delicate pearl trim. Multi-tier chandelier jhumkas in gold and blue, a thin gold chain bracelet, a ring. The gaze turned away from the camera, entirely at ease with what she is wearing: a saree that has been making this statement for three hundred years and sees no reason to stop.
