Step by Step Sari

Katrina and I were invited to a wedding, so we decided to wear saris. We had never put on one of these long, flowing pieces of cloth before. Luckily, our neighbor Sangita (Sari Master from Nepal) lent us a hand.





















1. Put on your petticoat and sari top. These custom-made pieces are worn under the sari, preventing immodesty and flashing of people. Relish the fact that this is the one time you are able to show your belly in Bangladesh--and still be socially acceptable. Break into a belly dance if the mood strikes you; however, do this only in the privacy of your home.






















2. Find someone who knows how to specially wrap the sari around you. As an American from Kansas, you will have no clue how to ever replicate this delicate art.

















3. Make sure your pet cat is placed in a secure, locked room. Otherwise he may claw or pee on your sari. He thinks it is a play thing. Little does he know that it is not a giant green and blue snake--it is your ticket to being accepted as a legitimate foreigner.






















4. Stand still while the knowing Sari Master continues to wrap you. Yes, you feel like you have been standing in the same spot for a very long time. And you can't understand how there is any more cloth to wrap. Keep your mouth shut and your body still--the Sari Master knows.






















5. Remind yourself to wear deodorant the next time the Sari Master wraps you.






















6. Do not shriek when you are pricked by safety pins for the fifth time. The pins hold your sari--and your pride--in place.






















7. Try not to shiver too much as your skin tingles with excitement at being free for the first time in months.






















8. Ask yourself again, "How on earth am I gonna do this when I am in the United States--without Sari Master--and want to wear a sari?!?" Refer to step number 2.






















9. Tell the Sari Master "but that fold looked fine." Prepare to be met with a "stupid foreigner" look.






















10. Say, "Damn, I look good!" You are now sari-d. Within the next hour you will look like a crinkled, wilted, stepped-on flower. So revel in your moment of sari hotness. Or dream of when you can finally take this thing off.

For full documentation of the "sari-ing": Picasa Web Album