I do not know of any Indian woman who cannot tell you a sari story, or 10. Some will recall a purchase from a first salary, others will remember a graduation gift, and almost all will tell you of what they wore at their wedding.

Across generations, regions, religions, and socio-economic status, this unstitched garment has endured for 5,000 years through handloom and polyester, hand-embroidered to mass produced, nine-yards to pre-stitched, paddy field to Met Gala. In a country where we speak in many tongues and the imposition of one can be fractious, the single unifying dress of Indian women is the sari.

My first was a navy blue with what was then a fashionable polka dot blouse. I was being uprooted from a fairly anglicised education in Mumbai to study in the........

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