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The `pavaadai' makes a comeback
A wide choice among the range.
`PAAVAADAI', THE traditional skirt that is increasingly becoming passé among today's jeans-clad girls, is finally getting a face-lift. And the credit goes to RmKV, a leading textile trader, who has unveiled `Cinderella Paavaadais' a range specifically targeting children.
So what's new about this, one might wonder. This traditional part of dress now sports designs and motifs from a popular fairy tale - Cinderella.
If you have been a keen observer of hoardings dotting the Chennai's skyline, you couldn't have missed the one in which a girl is featured in an exquisitely designed silk `Paavaadai'. Well that's just one of the many silk skirts in the Cinderella collection.
Launched a fortnight ago at RmKV's showroom in T. Nagar (Chennai), the shop soon ran out of stock as people queued up to book the Paavaadais in advance even for the next festival season - Christmas.
Amidst jostling crowds who made a beeline to purchase clothes for Deepavali, several stopped by to look at mannequins draped in Cinderella Paavaadai. Adults and children alike seemed engrossed in admiring the silk motifs depicting 10 scenes from the fairy tale.
R. Sneha and her elder sister had come from Mylapore to purchase the Paavaadai. But like many of the customers, they had to return disappointed after the shop ran out of stocks. Available in olive, fluorescent green, magenta, maroon and aqua blue, the Paavaadais are priced between Rs. 1,490 and 1,990. K. Viswanathan, one of the RmKv proprietors, said the collection was not merely about popularising the traditional form of attire but also improving the lot of weavers. "We wanted to come up with something unusual to catch the attention of the public and also benefit traditional weavers." Hence we decided to utilise a Western concept (Cinderella) for promoting (Paavaadai), a traditional South Indian dress. On the wide gap between demand and supply, he said RmKV sold only traditionally hand woven silk materials. "The demand is around 100 Paavaadais a day but only 15 can be produced. Those unable to purchase Cinderella Paavaadai go in for other traditional varieties," he said.
By K. Lakshmi
Photo: K.V. Srinivasan
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