Poetic sari quote

I notice clothing and textile references everywhere. I love people watching to observe what’s being worn, I notice the costumes in the entertainment industry, and I love when authors describe what’s being worn in a book.

I found this quote in the book A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam. The description of wearing a sari was valuable to me, never having worn a sari myself, giving me a little window into the ethnic dress of another culture.

“Rehana regarded the saris and tried to recall the feeling they had given her, of being at once enveloped and set free, the tight revolutions of material around her hips and legs limiting movement, the empty space between blouse and petticoat permitting unexpected sensations – the thrill of a breeze that has strayed low, through an open window, the knowledge of heat in strange places, the back, the exposed belly. It was the bringing together, of night and day, the sari: as it concealed the skin, it also released it, so that one body, one woman, would know something of the complications of her sex.”