Thread by @nikaytaa

#SareeTwitter It is time for some #SareeTrivia. Do you know why the pallu of the Nivi Sari drape is on the left shoulder and not on the right? Cozy up with some chai or the drink of your choice. This history will blow your mind. #SareeTwitter #SareeHistory

The pallu is on the left shoulder as the person who invented the Nivi drape was right handed. She needed her right hand available for work, and handshakes. Therefore the pallu of the Nivi drape is on the left. Simple! So who invented the Nivi drape? #SareeTwitter #SareeHistory

Jnanadanandini Devi Tagore (JDT), wife of Satyendranath Tagore, and sister-in-law of Rabindranath Tagore is credited with the creation of the now Nivi drape. When and why did she have to invent a drape? #SareeTwitter #SareeHistory

Jnanadanandini Devi Tagore invented the drape during the 1860s. There are many currents that were occurring simultaneously that led to the Nivi drape. Let me try my best at breaking them down.

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Firstly, the 18th and 19th century was marked by British colonization of India. This period saw many Victorian morals being imposed on Indian society. One such moral was to be modestly dressed. #SareeTwitter #SareeHistory

The wives of the British officials would be covered neck to toe, without so much as an ankle flashing in front of a gentleman. It would be an embarrassment to all parties if the ankle peeked at the world uncovered.

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This rule, of course, had to be extended to the Indians who would drape the single piece of cloth called the Sari without any undergarments. Their bare shoulders, stomach, ankles, calves, and necks were blasphemy to the Victorian code of conduct. #SareeTwitter

Many lower-income women would live bare-chested and bare-backed. No bra, no blouse and no petticoat! The Indians like all coloured-colonies needed to learn from the British how to live a virtuous, moral, and modest life. #SareeTwitter #SareeHistory

It is believed that the upper and middle-class women of India were not allowed to frequent to British spaces due to their "immodest" Sari drapes.
Attached picture is a reference of the attire at the time. A portrait by Raja Ravi Varma of his daughter Mahaprabha with her son.

In the mid-19th century, Indian reformers such as Ram Mohan Roy and Iswarchandra Vidyasagar were concerned about the emancipation of the middle and upper-class women. This period marked debates on the public attire of women that would stress respectability and modesty.

Jnanadanandini Debi Tagore was deeply influenced by the newly-introduced Parsi gara similar to the one worn by Lady Bachoobai Nowroji Vakil. In the year 1866, JDT travelled to Sourashtra to learn the Parsi way of wearing the Sari. #SareeTwitter

JDT changed the pallu from the Gujarati pallu style on the right shoulder to the now straight pallu over the left shoulder. This freed her right hand for courtesies. This Sari drape began to be known as the Thakurbarir Sari or the Brahmika Sari which gave way to the Nivi drape.

Jnanadanandini Debi Tagore also introduced the underskirt “Petticoat” to make the drape opaque and modest. Ever thought about the etymology of the word “petticoat”? It is borrowed from the English language and literally has no original word in any Indian language. #SareeTwitter

Anyone knows what the word Nivi means? Nivi is the short form for the word Nabeen (Bengali) or Naveen (Hindi) which means new. This drape was a “new drape” for the Indian women and thus they began calling it Nabeen Sari which over time has become Nivi.
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The sari blouse (jama) and petticoat (shaya) were essential for the upper & middle-class Bengali women to participate in public. Ref: An article said to have been written by Jnanadanandini (using a pseudonym) in Bamabodhini Patrika, a women's magazine.

The author commented on a new mode of dress that took from English, Muslim, and Bengali traditions and yet retained a Bengali essence. JDT published advertisements in the Bamabodhini Patrika to teach other women to wear the sari in her novel style with a petticoat and a blouse.

The Independence movement marked a turning point for Indian attire especially the Sari. Political leaders sought the refuge of the Indian Sari to distinguish themselves from the British and give the people and the movement a national identity.
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Indira Gandhi and many of the then political leaders further popularised the Nivi drape as a symbol of independent India and its attire by wearing the Sari across the globe. Today, it is the most popular way of wearing a Sari.
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So to sum it up, the Nivi drape is the new-est drape in the Sari trousseau; a change in Indian culture as a result of colonization and women’s liberation in the 18th century. The history (and future) of the fluid Sari is intrinsically linked with colonization, gender, & politics.

I am a Sari Researcher working to decolonize the Sari. I teach women, gender-fluid folks, men and children to drape the Sari w/o a petticoat & blouse. Check out my book 'The Fluid Zine' and website for draping how-tos: bit.ly/FluidZine
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Thanks to the many contributors and to @Wikimedia and @creativecommons for the pictures used in this thread. ♥️

In the absence of a petticoat, the Sari drapes are safely supported by a (small) knot at the waist. You can check out this video to see what I mean: ... (Intro ends at 8mins)

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