The Saree

Growing up in Malaysia meant being surrounded by a diverse society made up of various ethnicities as well as cultures that have existed many millennia ago; from traditional customs, beliefs, languages, food and dressing, these are but a few aspects of our heritage that we’ve retained. In fact, despite our differences, not only have we managed to maintain ancestries unique to our own cultures, we celebrate them with ethnicities other than our own, even during the years prior to our nation’s independence in 1957.

The saree, one of the oldest forms of Indian clothing, is one such ancestral artefact that has been maintained over 5,000 years and is worn as a traditional costume in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Derived from the Sanskrit word, ‘sati’, which means ‘a strip of cloth’, accounts of this handloom marvel date as far back as the Indus Valley civilisation