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Sharbari Datta is
possibly the only lady in the country who designs exclusively for
men.
Dusky Sharbari Datta uses
Chinese silk, tussar, matka, Cuttack, raw silk, and sometimes
even jute fabrics to create fantasies in traditional ethnic wear like
dhotis, sherwanis, kurtas, chaddars, phirans, jackets and
angarkhas.
Daughter of poet Ajit
Dutta,Sharbari grew up in an environment steeped in poetry, music and
dance. A couple of years ago she revolutionized traditional men’s
wear and has not looked back since. Originally from erstwhile East
Bengal, as a child she imbibed, a feel for culture and tradition and
poured it into her products. How did she venture on this unusual
path? “I just thought that so much has being done for women’s
wear but the man was totally neglected . Under British rule it was
fashionable to wear the sahib attire Slowly, after
independence, we realized the value of our heritage. In our
traditional wear, we have so much for men to suit either the casual
or the very formal occasions. Indian men look so good in their
ethnic clothes.”
And so, fired with a
passion for doing something different and yet drawing from our own
rich treasure trove of art, she gave the relatively unexplored world
of men’s fashion something to rave about. Each piece is
original and unduplicated. She draws freehand directly on the
fabric. “Even if you want me to, I cannot make two pieces the
same. When you buy a kurta you buy the design too. I prefer to work
on silk because it gives my customers good value for money. These
are special attires and they last longer on silk. It is a piece of
art in your wardrobe.”
Has she ever received any
special training in designing? “Oh no. I am totally self
trained. Like a Bengali house-wife who draws alpanas on the
floor, I draw on cloth. I use all kinds of stitches. ‘Kantha’
is very popular nowadays, but I mix stitches if a particular design
shows off better that way. I am like a folk artist who draws
spontaneously and from memory. But my advantage is that I am an
educated urban person and so I am also aware of the art and
aesthetics of the world. So I don’t get limited in my concepts.
I use traditional Indian folk patterns and also Egyptian, Mexican
and Roman designs. I don’t like to conform to any one style. I
also use abstract patterns. Hussain’s horses and the paintings
of Jamini Roy have inspired me too. There are Roman lettering,
Egyptian graphics, the Arabic and Persian script and even the
Calcutta skyline and views of old Calcutta with gas lights, vintage
cars, British officers and zamindars. An artist might
criticize my lines because many may be wrong in terms of style, but I
do whatever I find aesthetically pleasing.”
She is happy at the
rediscovery of our heritage through this move towards ethnicity.
“There is a jwar, a wave in favour of ethnicity and that
is very good for us.”
Like everything else,
there are some negative points too as is the case when people distort
our traditions. But the original art will always remain because
there will always be people who recognize and appreciate it. The
rigidity between provinces is breaking down. We are borrowing freely
from all parts of India and improvising to create new things.
Even our habits and our
interior décor has undergone so much change. Sharbari herself
has done up her house very much in the ethnic style with terracotta
murals, straw mats, on the floor, folk murals drawn by her on the
walls. Even the marionettes wearing and displaying her creations are
made of straw.
A group of seamstresses
work under Sharbari’s directions. They are needy women with
talent and skill who have got the opportunity to prove their worth
and also earn a living. Helping them was also an important reason
why Sharbari took on the project. As she says, it is her own small
way of accepting social responsibility. Some distinguished clientele
who wear the Sharbari label are Bikash Bhattacharya, M.F. Hussain,
and Sumit Gangopadhyaya. Major buyers are also Rakhe for Gulzar and
Shobha De for Dilip De.
Fashion is
capricious—there today, gone tomorrow. But the advantage of
Sharbari’s products is that there is nothing that she does which
is in any way bizarre to be exclusive. She concentrates on time-old
wear, suited to our land and climate which has lasted through
centuries. She gives them a fresh and distinctive look and a new
lease of life—elevating them to the status of ‘Fashion
Wear’.
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