1. RESEARCH REPORT:
Mihika Shaunik and Revati Anand.
How many differentusesofSaafas are there?How do colors associate withdifferentoccasions?
The saafa is a traditional Rajasthani head-gear,solelywornbythe menfolkof Rajasthan.Itvariesinsize
and color.Womendon’twearsaafasdue to the existence of ghungats.The mostcommon,traditional
and economical clothusedtomake the saafaare cotton andkota, the newlycreated,more expensive
onesare chiffon,Voil,Silk,Zari,satinandOjaria.Itisan extrememlylongpiece of clothwhichcomes
primarilyintwosizes,82 feetlengthby2/3 footwidthand30 feetlengthby4 feetwidthbutthere is
scope for alternatives,the bride groomsaafais27 feetlengthby3.5 feetwidth.
The coloursof a saafa representthe saafawearers,caste,creedandregion.It’sasignof honor,
brotherhood,respectandchivalry.The stylesof asaafa are knownto change every15km thus there can
be more thana thousandtypes.Eachcommunityhastheirownparticularcolour,patternsandstyles,
due to thisit’seasyto recognize the originsof aman and hisoccupation.Farmersandshepherdswear
looselytiedsaafas tokeepthemselvescool inthe Rajasthani heatwhile dancersandmusicianshave
themtiedthemtightlywrappedaroundtopreventthemfromfallingoff thusitalsoshowsthe
occupationof the wearer.
Othertraditionsthatwe foundrelatedtothe practice of wearingsaafasinrajasthanwere thatit isa sin
to touch or remove anotherperson’ssaafaandit’sasignof grosslybadbehaviorif itsnotworn. While
talkingtothe oldergenerationabouttheirtake onthe modernizationof indiaandthe the issue of the
newupcominggenerationnotfollowingthe traditionof wearingsaafasdailytheysaid“onlythe smart
and respectable boyswill carrythe traditionon,theyare the sensible ones.”It’swornwhenstepping
out of the house and generallyafterthe father’sdeathotherwisewhentheyhitadolescence aroundthe
age of 16.
Since the targetaudienceswere villagersandwere notverywell read,the onlyoptionforus tocontinue
our researchinthese villages wasinterviews.Itwasan interestingexperience goingtotheirlocal
hometownaway fromthe cityto interview them. Whenwe triedtalkingtopeople living inthe citywho
were fromRajasthan,we realizedthatthiscultural traditionwasalreadygettinglost.Youngboyswho
movedawayfromtheirparents to workin the citywhowere originallyfromthese local villagesfoundit
hard to relate tothe traditionandpracticescarriedon back home eventhoughtheywere exposedto
these traditional valuesall throughouttheirchildhood.
The followingtable representsthe informationfoundafterlonghoursof conversationwiththe villagers
inRajasthanand online research.Interestinglythe informationfoundfromthe internetdidnot
particularlymatchthe informationwe gotaftertalkingtothe villagersonaone on one basis.
2. Colour Month Occasion Tribes
Yellow January
Light orange February
Light pink March Sharad Purnima
Pink April Brahmins
Dark yellow May
Lighter pink June
White July Death Bishnoi’s
tribe
Lehriya of yellow, red,
pink, white and green
August
Brown September
Maroon October
Safron November Worn by the
Bride groom
during feras
Dussehra
festival
Bandhani of
yellow, maroon, red,
green,pink and purple
December
Florescent yellow Daily use
Red Shepherds
Ochre Medicant
Pechdaar/panchangi
saafa(Red, yellow,
pink, green, orange)
Daily use,
jodhpuri
Wedding festivals
Khaki Worn by the
villagers
Formal
with the
jodhpuri/
sherwani
Black and red Diwali
Red and white spring Holi Marraige
Dark blue Condolence visit
Yellow,green and pink Monsoon
Red bandhani Rakshabanshan
White with tiny prints Worn in ajmer
3. Talkingabouthowthe interview,wellitwasa little toughdue tothe language butthe menwere very
helpful l andenjoyedgettingpicturesclicked.Theywere extremelyhappyaboutthe factthat someone
had come all the way to talkto themabouttheirtradition.
It was a greatdifference ininterviewingthe peopleinthe cityandthe villagersasthe villagerswentalong
withthe ideathat a movie will be made while the citypeople thoughtof itasyetanotherpersoncoming
all the way justfor some randominformation,thusrefusedtohelpoutalot.
The traditional saafasare supposedtobe onlydyedeitherbysingle colourlehariyaorbandhani butthe
modernday,elitesaafashave embroideryandsequence onthem, theyare soldonline
byhttp://www.monarch-garments.com/turbans.asp. The elite Saafasare more visuallyextravagant and
ornate than the commonman’sSaafa.
Accordingto RohitParihar’sarticle calledthe Artof TwistsandTurns in the june 2007 issue of indiatoday
“Rajasthanis a landof variedheadgears,whichidentifythe wearer'sethnicity,economicstatusand
community.The favouredturbanformarriagesisthe six- toeight-yardlongandone yardwide saafa,while
the groom and hisclose relativeswearthe phenta.The saafaisalsowornby royals;for ceremonial
occasionsitis the moliyon.Castescanbe identifiedbypagdistoo-Mahajanswearthe Mahajanpaag while
for Maheshwarisitisthe Maheshwari paag.ChudawatRajputswrapthe chudawatshahi,andforevery
region,the pagdi takesona newname.The people of Oswal communityinJhunjhunuweara22-yard-long
turban."Thisis the mostdifficultsaafatotie as it involvescertainreverseknotsforaspecial look,"says
Vyas.The price for a turban starts at Rs 200, increasingwithitscomplexity,lengthandthe occasionitis
meantfor.”
Accordingto our primaryresearchMahajanPagri isnot wornanymore.It’sbecome endangeredthrough
the ages.It is alsoapparentlyverydifficulttotie.
Besidesbeingusedto protectthe headagainstclimaticconditions,the saafaisalsousedforvariousother
make shiftsotherwiseknownasjugaad.Bythe nomadictribesitisusedas storage for combsand mirrors
while theireatingplatesare putonthe headbefore wearingthe saafa.Itisalsousedas a rope to pull
waterout froma well.Otherusesof the saafaare as a pillow,ablanketandatowel.
While talkingaboutsecondaryresearchwe feltthatthe informationfoundonthe internetwasnotenough
and mostof the informationwe foundonthe internet,whencrosscheckedwiththe villagersinthe
villagesof Rajasthan,were incorrect.
The villagesthatwe visitedduringthisresearchwere Ajmer,Pushkar, Jaipur,andthe villagesaroundlike
kayadand chachiawas.
Attatchedare some reference photographsthatwe tookduringthe trip.PhotographycourtesyAngadand
MihikaShaunik.
