As Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Ramayana’ revives traditional fashion, meet the woman who gave India the blouse, petticoat and modern Nivi saree

The buzz around ‘Ramayana's trailer has revived the debate about the eternal costumes and drapes of India. The time is perfect to look at the history of the saree, which boasts a critical turning point in its development. The six-yard garment existed for millennia, but the combination of the blouse, petticoat, and Nivi way of draping the saree appeared much later. This was made possible by Jnanadanandini Devi, a social reformer from the Tagore clan in the 19th century. She acted wisely and eventually changed the saree into an attire that combined tradition, beauty, and better mobility.Jnanadanandini Devi was much more than just a member of the famous Tagore clan. As the wife of Satyendranath Tagore, the first Indian to be part of the Indian Civil Service, she became one of the very first Bengali women to travel away from home. Her experiences travelling through different places and communities led her to reconsider the functionality of women’s attire in the colonial period.(Image Credits: Pinterest)It is a common misconception that the saree has been worn in different forms since its inception. Each region had a distinctive draping technique, though women in several communities, especially in West Bengal, used to wear sarees without a stitched blouse or petticoat. Blouses were made by wrapping a piece of cloth around the bust region, but then everything gradually changed. (Image Credits: Pinterest)When Jnanadanandini accompanied her husband to Bombay in the late 1800s, she saw Parsi and Gujarati women wearing their sarees over stitched dresses inspired by British and European women. Impressed by their practicality, she modified the style by creating an assembled garment consisting of a fitted blouse and a petticoat, along with a new arrangement of the pallu and pleats.(Image Credits: Pinterest)The modern saree features neatly folded pleats, a flowing pallu, a structured blouse, and a suitable petticoat. Nowadays, the saree is worn by brides, professionals, politicians, actors, and others. There are many innovative saree blouse designs. It also continues to explore concepts like the pre-draped saree, but the saree’s basic features remain from Jnanadanandini Devi's 19th-century innovation. While interest in ‘Ramayana’ is growing, we must also remember that one of India's significant fashion revolutions did not originate inside a fashion house but was introduced by a woman who changed traditions for a different reality.(Image Credits: Pinterest)