Saree is one of the most well-known silhouettes of Indian fashion.  By Barkha Rani and Anitha Rangaswamy.

The beauty of the saree is unparalleled and the way it beautifies Indian women is why all of us admire sarees. Saree is the identity of Indian women and sets them apart. 

Most foreigners upon seeing a woman wearing a saree would instantly recognise that the woman belongs to the Indian subcontinent.

'Saree Speak' has created a platform to celebrate this beautiful garment and the ladies who wear them. 

'Saree Speak' is an informal Facebook group created by an Indian lady called Vini Tandon. 

It has more than 110 thousand members all over the world mainly from the Indian subcontinent.

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The numbers are growing across the globe and women from the Indian diaspora are more enthused now to celebrate their sarees.

In Preston, a group of women who were inspired by 'Saree Speak' decided to celebrate the essence of womanhood and their love of sarees. 

Sixty five ladies attended this event held at the Xavierian mission spirituality centre in Fulwood.  It is thought that there are more than 100 different types of sarees and ladies came wearing varied types of sarees from all over India. 

These included Paithani from Maharashtra, Pochampally from Andhra Pradesh, Kanjeevaram from Tamil Nadu, Kasavu from Kerala, and Bandhani from Rajasthan.

Ladies also wore sarees in different styles.  Apart from the conventional style, there were women wearing sarees in Gujarati, Bihari, Navvari style and some experimental ladies wore trendy frill saree and fusion saree. 

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There were women who spoke about their fond memories of wearing a saree, their strong emotional attachment to saree and their admiration for strong loving women in their lives who wore sarees and passed it on to them like mothers, mothers in law and grandmothers. 

A lady spoke of her pride about buying sarees for her daughter’s wedding, one spoke about being brought up wearing saree in Gujarati style and marrying a boy from Karnataka where saree is worn in a completely different fashion.

Another explained how the Navvari style of wearing saree evolved. 

Children and youngsters also talked about how they feel when they see their mother in a saree and how in the future they might consider wearing a saree.

Ladies exhibited their singing and dancing talent. There was a dance medley of various dance forms from across India. 

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The crowd was allowed to hone their dancing skills by a Bollywood dance tutorial.A highlight was the fashion show where all ladies walked the ramp exhibiting their proud saree.

The evening ended with a scrumptious Indian Buffet dinner and an open dance floor where the ladies danced away to pure happiness in their lovely sarees.

We all got to know a little bit more about each other, mingled and laughed and celebrated womanhood and regaled in the one thing that bound us all together for that evening – saree!

In this women dominated event, there was one man who aided the event by letting us use the venue and helping with the organisation. A big thanks to dear Father Cosmito. 

Elegance is the only beauty that never fades and saree is one of the most elegant of fashion garment across the globe.

Let us celebrate this lovely garment today and every day.