Sisterhood of the travelling sarees: From Delhi to Chennai, with love

Just when you almost give up on social media, vexed with the constant pings on multiple Whatsapp groups, the petty fights on Twitter or the aimless preening on Facebook, something like Gift a Saree pact comes along. And, faith is restored. Armed with a heavy Facebook profile and an instinctive reason to help women who lost everything in the Tamil Nadu floods, Puneet Chadha Khanna started this "Sisterhood for flood victims" movement around the country to collect sarees for Chennai women as Pongal gifts.

An idea

The December flooding in parts of Tamil Nadu and Chennai left a trail of destruction behind; many families lost most of their belongings along with severe damage to their homes. Delhiite Puneeta Chadha Khanna called up her Chennai-based friend to find out if she and her family were doing okay. Her friend told her that relief and aid were indeed coming in but there was a problem. Most of the clothes and aid were wet or spoilt or just couldn't be reused.

The process

Khanna, who refers to herself as a passionate saree-lover, had a moment of inspiration on a December night. At 12.30 am, she made a page on Facebook where she called on her numerous friends to put aside sarees they would like to give victims of the Chennai floods as Pongal gifts. When she checked in the morning, the page had 200 members!

Her idea was simple. Pick out a saree that they would be happy to receive, and give that as a gift. But she was also clear that this wouldn't be described as charity. It was just helping a sister in need and spreading joy on a festival.

Of friends and friends

As the days passed, the group and its effort gained attention. Khanna's house became a collection centre of sorts where women from across the city came to drop off brand new or almost brand new sarees. Word of mouth certainly seemed to help. "Friends of friends of friends liked the idea and decided to be a part of this sisterhood," gushes Khanna. Another friend's house in Mumbai too became a collection centre.

The Pune team of Gift A Saree Pact at work. Photo: Facebook

In the meantime, the page already had around 6,000 members.

But collection wasn't the only part of the job. Khanna and her friends-turned-volunteers and family put in their combined efforts to get all the sarees dry-cleaned, ironed and folded. And then individually packaged. Her 12-year-old twins too became a part of the drive and helped her out.

"A group of 10-year-olds spent the entire day at my house, volunteering to fold and package these sarees. Moments like these make the effort beautiful," shares Khanna.

Logistics

Khanna and her team managed to collect, package and take 4,000 sarees and 2,800 petticoats to Chennai. Khanna, who is in Chennai right now to oversee the distribution process, was helped out by Jet Cargo for transporting the goods and she managed to team up with Action Aid to help out with the distribution.

On 15 January, during Thai Pongal, Khanna and her partners distributed sarees and sisterhood to thousands of women who arrived in Stella Marie's College.

Women at Stella Marie's College, Chennai, stand in a line to pick up their gifted sarees. Photo: Facebook

Was it worth it?

"I aimed for at least 10,000 sarees but 4,000 isn't a bad number. When I handed over the saree to this elderly woman, she caught my hand and blessed me in Tamil. That was a very emotional moment for me. The entire one-month production process was clearly, worth it," says Khanna.