The Parsis are the followers of Zarathushtra and originally lived in Iran. When Islam spread to Iran, rather than accept conversions and the religious persecutions that followed, many Zoroastrians fled the country in 800 AD. Some landed on the western shores of India (in Gujarat) where they were allowed to practice their own religion and kept up their traditions. Here they mingled with the Indians, adapted their ways and culture and lived in harmony with the local population.
The gara’s history is as colourful as the garment is to behold. The gara was probably introduced in India by Parsi traders in the 19th century who used to travel to China to trade. Originally, it was an item that was normally a labour of love created by the Chinese. Patronized by the Parsi and worn for weddings and Navjote (a ceremony for young Parsi boys and girls in the Zoroastrian faith) ceremonies it is treasured and worn by girls of all ages and is today considered a rare fashion item worth possessing, informs Naju.
Making a hand embroidered gara takes 2 to 8 months on an average, depending on the complexity and density of the design. The workmanship is most vital as the embroidery is so closely done, that the background color surfaces as an outline.
The making of a gara starts with drawing of a design of paper. After that, a small sample in the actual colors is prepared. This is then given to craftsmen to study. The design is then traced onto the sari.
A single design is repeated several times on a sari but is adjusted perfectly to blend into each other. Each sari is put on a loom at which 4-6 artisans work.
Although the motifs are hand embroidered, the finish is superb on the right side as well as the wrong. Each gara has its own story in the form of pictures embroidered across the length of the sari. The popular motifs are trees, flowers leaves, birds, figures, houses, bridges, each coming alive with the help of vivid colours and stitches. There are distinct scenes of Chinese life-pagodas, shrines, boatment, river banks, soldiers and cranes. The embroidery is very close to each other and the more intericate the design the more expensive the gara becomes. There also are several types of garas with quaint names like kanda and papeta gaga which literally means onions and potatoes that resembled large pink and yellow polka dots, where the pink denotes onions and yellow the potatoes. The karolia or spider design is actually a flower. The chakla/chakli motif (male/female sparrow) and the more(peacock) are some of the other variations. There are still some Parsis who do not wear a peacock design as they consider it inauspicious.
Since the embroidery is specialized and intricate, after every few days the craftsmen are given a simpler sari to work on. This breaks the monotony of the hard work and the craftsmen return refreshed to the complicated motifs.
With the use of silk threads and synthetic fast colours that can be washed, garas are somewhat easier to maintain. Even so, the best way to store a gara is to wrap each one separately in white muslin and place it flat. They must not be hung. Silks, and particularly garas must never be stored in plastic. Buying a new gara is like purchasing jewelry which can be handed down to the next generation as an heirloom. When well looked after and properly stored, a gara can last about 300 years.
A gara is not an easy piece to purchase. In fact it is well-night impossible because nobody makes such saris any more in China. During the Mao regime it was a banned craft since they preferred manual labour to artistic talents. For the last 50 years no garas have been produced in China and Parsis who owned a few family heirlooms have either sold them or cut them up due to disintegration