Punam Madhok
Associate Professor of Art History
East Carolina University
Detail of silk sari border from Kolkata, Bengal (India)
Story of the block
Silk saris with ornate borders are worn by women generally during festive occasions such as marriages in the cooler months of India–November to January or so. The peacock brings warm memories to mind because it reminds me of yearly visits to my grandparents’ house at Jullundur, a town in the state of Punjab, in the north-western part of India. Every summer I would travel from Calcutta (now called Kolkata), a city in the state of West Bengal, in the eastern part of India, by train with my family to spend a month with my grandparents. They lived in an enchanting, palace like house with a wide, open terrace. Summers in Jullundur are hot and dry.
