From hula-hooping and back-flipping to performing kalaripayattu, these iconic women are winning the Internet, clad in a saree
Eshna Kutty
"Woh stree hai, woh kuch bhi kar sakti hai," Pankaj Tripathi's iconic dialogue from the film Stree struck this writer after she stumbled upon a video of hula-hoop dancer, flow artiste and movement therapy practitioner, Eshna Kutty. The Delhi-based hooper was clad in a saree, flowing through the hoop, twirling it beyond her waist, legs, arms, back, and even doing the iconic butt pass, to the beats of the Desi girl chant by Kumari Suraj. The video has raked in thousands of views.
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"While I have hooped in a saree many times before, I had never recorded a video. For the longest time, the global hooping community assumed that India didn't have a hooping culture. When I shot the video and created the hashtag #sariflow, I wanted to highlight Indian hoopers," says Kutty. The hashtag kick-started an online revolution as women donned traditional handloom sarees from their geographies and recorded videos at home as they hooped to popular beats, tagging Kutty, who plans to continue putting out more #sariflow videos.
Parul Arora and Michael Hoshiyar Singh attempt a back-flip
Log on to @eshnakutty on Instagram (IG)
In style
Kerala-based psychologist and saree exponent, Jaseena Backer started a private Facebook (FB) group, Saree in Style in 2016. Now 12,000-members strong, this tribe of women will not only give you a full education on types of drapes, handlooms and weaves but also make your jaw drop with their videos. "From wearing our cotton handloom saris on a desert safari to doing zumba, skipping, yoga and even performing kalaripayattu stunts, our members have participated in virtual contests during the lockdown. Our grandmothers and mothers lived, worked, travelled and even slept in them. We find it restrictive because we have alternatives," explains Backer.
Log on to Saree in Style on FB
Back-flipping in a saree
Parul Arora, a national level gymnast went viral when she and her friend, Micheal Hoshiyar Singh did a back-flip. While Singh wore a suit, 23-year-old Arora had draped an eye-catching blue saree. The 15-second Insta reel shows her not only attempting the flip but also making the perfect landing. The Ambala-based gold-medalist recently re-created the iconic backflip in another beautiful red saree and has also done a series wearing different outfits.
Log on to @parul_cutearora on IG
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