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Power of pinkreaches Britain
London Design Museum to exhibit pink sari worn by a member of Gulabi Gang to celebrate this all-women vigilante group from the badlands of central India
Lucknow: The sari, the six-yard drape which has been Indian women’s attire for centuries, has now gone a long way from being mere clothing. It has come to symbolize feminine power through sisterhood, courtesy the Gulabi Gang.
The Gulabi Gang members, wearing pink saris, fight against oppression, beating pink sticks on the ground.
Small wonder this extraordinary women’s movement started by Sampat Pal in 2006 has drawn global attention.
The Design Museum of London, in an obvious bid to celebrate this movement and the women’s empowerment that comes with it, has decided to exhibit the ‘pink sari’ in an exhibition on Indian fashion “Offbeat Sari” to be opened in May 2023.
“Our fight (Gulabi Gang’s) has reached foreign lands. I was happy when called to France for the first time in 2008. We have now grown to 11 lakh members. I am sending my sari along with blouse, petticoat and stick to London by a courier to be displayed there,” said an elated Sampat Pal on phone.
To note, the Gulabi Gang is a popular vigilante movement in villages of Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh. It was launched to seek justice against those accused of “committing atrocities against women” or indulging in corruption etc. Sampat Pal had launched the movement in Banda in in 2006.
“Dear Gulabi Gang, I have followed your incredible work for up to a decade now and hope you don’t mind me getting in touch... I’d love to include a pink sari belonging to the Gulabi Gang in the exhibition as an example of the sari as an object of resistance and wondered if you might be able to lend a pink sari worn by one of your members to us. Would you be willing to lend us a sari worn by Sampat Pal or another key member of the group?” said Priya Khanchandani, the curator of the exhibition in an email, according to Sampat Pal (Sampat has made a copy of the email message).
“I would be honoured to tell the story of the Gulabi Gang’s work to audiences here in the UK and to display the sari among a carefully chosen selection of saris reflecting the story of contemporary India today,” said the curator, adding, “The exhibition, titled ‘The Offbeat Sari’, focusses on the sari as a contemporary fashion garment. It celebrates the sari as an innovative, forward-thinking object which has been absorbent of cultural influences and been a vessel for the expression of identity.”
Priya Khanchandani was not available for comments. Allice Bell, who is in touch with Sampat Pal for coordination to get the sari, refused to comment and said the Design Museum’s media team would provide any further details or information on the issue.
About the “Offbeat Sari” exhibition, Priya Khanchandani tweeted, “When you curate an exhibition behind closed doors for so long, it’s always exciting to share a glimpse of what’s in store! A labour of love for me, ‘The Offbeat Sari’, a major gallery exhibition coming to the Design Museum in May.”
