Vintage Sisters in Sarees

These portraits were made in England in 1927, the year the younger sister married at about age 16, if the dates I found online are correct.  They were Lalitarni, above, probably in gold (b. 1911), and Sudharani in white, (b. 1907), daughters of the royal family of Sir Bijay Chand Mahtab, Maharaja Bahadur of Burdwan.  Elegant and composed as they look in fashionably narrow sarees, each one’s marriage failed, and they died young - in their late thirties.

The younger sister has very pretty hands; the elder wore gloves to the studio.  I know it’s knowledge confirmed today, but both princesses had such a haunting look that I wondered what happened to them and what their lives were like.

Do you feel the sari will ever become an international drape?

Answer from Sabyasachi:

It can’t be. You need a lot of patience to wear a sari. It is in our DNA here in India. In the West, women wouldn’t understand how to wear and move in a sari.

Do you agree?

With readymade sarees and lahenga, I am not sure the patiece part is correct.

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