VADODARA: Rama Malik, a city-based textile designer, had to attend a wedding this month but she had no time to go shopping for that perfect sari. Rama simply walked into a ‘sari library’ on the Old Padra Road, picked up a few saris she liked the most and, wrapped in them, she wowed everyone at the wedding.
“Wedding rituals in our country last for three to four days and women are expected to wear a new outfit for every function. It’s very difficult to take time out from busy schedules for shopping, especially when we are working. The sari library gives us an easy and immediate solution. Also, the process of getting saris is quite simple,” Rama told TOI.
The sari library, a first-of-its-kind initiative, was started by eight city women — a mix of entrepreneurs and housewives — around two months ago. The saris that the library has have all been donated and they are rented out for free.
“Women love to wear different saris on different occasions. But not all women, especially those from middle class or lower middle class, can afford to buy expensive saris that are worn hardly a couple of times,” said Hema Chauhan of Ashta Saheli Group that has started the library.
“Also, there are working women from well-to-do families who can’t shop much due to their busy schedules. So, we decided to start a library where women can get the best of saris as well as dresses for free. They can wear the sari or the dress and return it within a week,” Chauhan added.
All that they have to do is pay a deposit fee and take the saris home. Once they return the saris, the deposit is returned and only dry-cleaning charges are taken from the women. “Since it was started, over 200 women from all walks of life have taken home some of the choicest outfits from the sari library. Our library has nearly 300 saris and dresses, all of which have been donated by women,” Chauhan added.
She recalled how a widow, working as a maid in the city, had walked in their library and donated her saris some weeks ago. “Our library has some of the best and expensive Banarasi and chiffon saris,” she said.
