How the Parsee gara, or sari, has Chinese influences and history woven into its fabric

Nineteenth century Parsee traders returned to India from Canton with embroidered silk cloth which was fashioned into unique saris which came to be known as garas

Traditional Parsee embroidery has its roots in ancient Persian culture and Silk Road influences, with proponents of the craft hoping to popularise it globally

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A gara with multicoloured embroidery of Chinese motifs and initials in gold on the border (kor) and front (pallav). Photo: Courtesy of Zenobia Davar

Published: 2:00pm, 25 Apr 2021Updated: 2:15pm, 25 Apr 2021

One of the first questions many people ask when meeting a Parsee woman is “How many garas do you own?” The intricately-designed sari is considered the small Indian community’s traditional dress and has long been admired for its unique handiwork.

There are fewer than 90,000 Parsees remaining across the world, with most living in India after they migrated there in the 7th century following the Islamic conquest of Persia (Iran). They are known for their contributions in fields from the economy to the arts, and their fabrics are just as significant.

The gara, draped like a Gujarati sari, is considered their pièce de résistance in the world of textiles. But they are more than just yards of cloth – garas are an amalgamation of many cultural worlds woven into one fabric.

A dark green sari with a white floral border from Ashdeen’s Emperor’s Garden Collection. Photo courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala

How did this mix come to be? During the early 1800s, Parsee traders frequented the ports of Canton (Guangdong), Hong Kong, Macau and Shanghai to sell Indian cotton, opium and spices in return for Chinese tea, porcelain and silk. Rumour has it that one of these traders asked a Chinese craftsman to embroider six yards of silk cloth for his wife, to fashion as a sari. This was well received and more Parsees started wearing these pieces, which came to be known as garas – the wooden frame within which the weaving is done.

Parsee embroidery style has its roots in Persia, though, and only later absorbed influences from Chinese needlework and designs, as well as Indian and European motifs. “Since Zoroastrianism [the religion Parsees follow] spread right to the borders of China during the Achaemenid Empire till 330BC, there was a lot of intermingling of culture, style, symbol and stitch,” explained Dr Shernaz Cama, director of the Unesco Project for the Preservation and Promotion of Parsee Zoroastrian Culture and Heritage (ParZor).

“With the emergence of the Silk Route, Persians and the Chinese began looking to one another for their wealth of embroidery,” she said. The Chinese chain stitch, along with the satin, long and short stitches, remain popular methods of needlework on garas, originally made from mulberry silk.

When 19th century Parsee traders began returning from China with embroidered silk, the first garas had Chinese motifs like the Divine Fungus, the Endless Knot, roosters, pagodas, foliage and butterflies. Soon, as more women took interest in these garments, they adapted them to their tastes and traditions. Instead of the multicoloured Chinese fabrics, they would ask for embroidery in white and cream on dark colours to match with their sudrehs – a muslin undergarment worn by all Zoroastrians, visible from underneath the sari.