Recently, Styling My Handloom chronicled the efforts of 15 individuals who have preserved rare textiles from the Subcontinent. It included the nearly-forgotten East Indian Lugra that was once a permanent presence in family wardrobes. It’s seeing a revival, thanks to a few custodians
The lugra is a sari garment typical to the East Indian communities in Thane, Vasai, and Mumbai. Pic Courtesy/@mobaigaothanpanchayat
The first time Reena Almeida wore a lugra was for her Moya (a pre-marriage ceremony) 10 years ago. “I wanted my wedding to include as many traditions as possible — I was migrating to a new country, and the lugra would always remind me of my East Indian identity. Even within the community, the lugra is a novelty. Like many brides-to-be, I wanted one of my own to cherish forever,” she reminisces. She was disappointed to find that the way the 10-yard garment draped against her body felt alien, despite her lugra being draped by an aunt who was an expert draper. Like most other East Indian women, she never wore a lugra again until she decided to embark on a research project as part of East Indian Memory Co, an archival project dedicated to her native culture, which she founded. Her curiosity was driven by the fact that after shunning the lugra for years, women were now eager to wear one for a community event or festivities.
Of and by the people
“I learned then that the lugra used to be a simple garment and in the old days — women would wear it from morning to night. It was worn by peasants, fisher folk and the well-to-do alike. No one thought twice about stepping out in one, and wearing a lugra was never meant for special occasions.
Vasai-resident Saloni Carvalho purchased her first lugra at the age of 19, and has been wearing it ever since
The lugra was always intended to be adaptable to the lifestyle of the wearer. From the Koli women who wore it tucked tighter between their legs, to the paddy farmers who wore it shorter, and the ladies who wore it to church,” she adds. Textile heritage expert Savitha Suri, who has spearheaded a revival initiative with researcher Mogan Rodrigues and recently authored a chapter about the textile in Styling My Handloom, a book published by the Union Ministry of Textiles and National Instiute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), explains that the lugra follows a similar trajectory in terms of its design language and utility as Goa’s kunbi kapor.
(From left) A family photograph of Cecilia Coutinho (second from right) wears a lugra at her wedding
“The difference lies in who wore these textiles — in Goa, we see that it was worn by women who worked in paddy fields, which was why the length and the width of the garment was shorter. The kapor was not designed to extended below the knee. In Mumbai, the lugra was worn by the East Indian community, which has a different socio-economic status and hierarchy. All the vintage samples we see here are nine, 10 or even 11 yards. The manner in which the garment was draped by the East Indian community, would typically require a little more than six yards. The saree would reach the ankles and sometimes, just below the ankles as well,” she elaborates.
A more recent picture of Coutinho (far left) with her sisters. pics courtesy/East Indian Memory Co
Woven heritage
“Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa have a lot of shared history, especially in terms of textile design. When we investigate the origins further, we find that all these textiles have their roots in North Karnataka. While we cannot say for sure who wove the lugra back in the day, it is said that the Hindu weavers wove cotton, and the Muslim weavers worked with silk and brocade,” Suri elaborates. Her research indicates that weavers from Telangana and North Karnataka adopted these weaving techniques, made them their own and soon began selling lugras at a much lower cost In fact, “JD Mahimwala & Company in Mahim’s Kapad Bazar, which still stocks the East Indian lugra, admitted during the course of our research that the little demand that exists is primarily led by senior citizens and is met by looms in Telangana.”
A view of Savitha Suri’s book
The effects of Anglicisation and, later, Independence and modernisation, have sadly, led to the dilution of traditional design elements. “The Sonkari lugra, which was traditionally worn at weddings, has now been replaced by the white gown. Such changes from within the community have led to a decline in the original design language of the lugra. But I believe this is a trajectory that all community textiles experienced,” Suri says. Almeida recalls her conversations with Cecilia Coutinho, a Bhandari East Indian from Mumbai’s Amboli Gaothan who is hailed as an expert lugra draper among East Indians of the area.
Savitha Suri
“Cecilia had once draped over a thousand women in lugras in a single afternoon for an event. While she had worn a lugra for her wedding in 1963, she also wore the white bridal gown. Amazingly, the lugra was costlier than the gown — Rs 400 and Rs 70, respectively. She wore a lugra for her first banns too — without the padar though — as per the custom followed by unmarried East Indian girls. When she shifted to Amboli, her daughter who was a very accomplished fashion designer, persuaded her to give up wearing it as she thought it stood out in a largely Hindu populated neighbourhood. In fact, an East Indian gentleman once remarked, “Where are these junglee people going?” when she passed by him in a lugra. She recalled the incident with such outrage!” Suri reveals.
Hearteningly, traditional cuisine, festivals, music, dance and wedding rituals are being revived in community strongholds, especially in the north of Mumbai, where there still exists a strong visual and narrative memory of the past. This, Suri notes, is unlike other East Indian clusters such as the one in Khotachiwadi: “When I say visual memory, I mean that no one remembers their grandmother dressed in a lugra, for instance. Neither are there photographs of relatives in a lugra with hand-embroidered velvet slippers.” And while documentations and archives have a role to play in preserving these vital cultural memories, a real revival would be when an East? Indian bride actually wears the red lugra for her wedding. Or wears the green with the red on the third day of her marriage, when she’s going to her marital home. There’s still a long way to go before that happens, but it’s something we aspire towards,” she concludes.
Wearing a legacy
Ivana Dinis lives in Pali, which lies north of Uttan. A Kunbi East Indian, she is one of the few lugra sellers in the locality. She began selling these traditional sarees five-six years ago, but has been wearing them nearly all her life.
Keepers of memory
In addition to JD Mahimwala, the traditional East Indian lugra can be purchased at these locations:
>> S & J East Indian Outfits by Savina Patil, Bhayandar.
>> Gaothigiri East Indian streetwear, Kala, Kolivery Village, Santacruz East.
>> The East Indian Edit by Your East Indian Girl, Kandivli.
>> Velankanni Textiles by Palmira Dalmet, Uttan, Mumbai
>> Monthly East Indian Bazaars organised by Mobai Gaothan Panchayat,(@mobaigaothan panchayat)
Courtesy: East Indian Memory and Co.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
