Saree Challenge: What Is It and Why Is Everyone Doing It

Social media challenges such as the trendy saree challenge where women post their picture in a saree and tag others can bring a smile, a bit of happiness, and make us cheer in otherwise dark times. Sari is a symbol of walking into adulthood for many, a blessing in the form of attire. In the recent grim times, we need everything positive that we can count on. Embracing the saree during the lockdown like never before, Indian Women proved that they are unstoppable.

Saree challenge is an online social media challenge during 2020 and 2021 lockdowns where women would post their images with sarees in trendy ways and tag 25 more people. And then it goes like a chain, the tagged people in turn would post and tag and some more people. 

Who started the saree challenge?

The show went on! When the government declared lockdown, we were advised to maintain social distancing. But, India is a country where social acceptance comes first. Nothing could stop people from coming together, and this time too, they came closer through various online sites. The internet was full of multiple challenges where people worldwide participated, so they started their own #SareeChallenge. 

Soon, this was all over social media. It was a saree they draped in style, flair, and confidence and posted online to bring something colourful to the social media feed, which was usually filled with anxious news. To continue this beautiful way of spreading some positivity, this woman tagged their friends and family to post their picture in a saree and repeat the process of tagging. This was super fun and exciting.

Women no longer had free time in their hands, nor were they bored anymore. They kept searching for their best picture, clad in 9 yards, and those who didn’t have any went to the extent of ordering a new saree and accepted the challenge. The Social media feed was filled with all the lovely alluring pictures of the beautiful woman challenging other bold women to do the challenge. Different colours- blue, yellow, pinks, reds teamed up with different styles, bandhej, mermaid, dhoti style, 8 poure, mekhla, patola, etc., were seen representing the myriad colourful Indian cultures. A woman who used social sites could no longer wait for their turn to be tagged. Everyone, including all the famous celebs, started accepting the challenge. Even Men Joined in with their version. 

Why do people do the Saree Challenge?

The message was simple. To eliminate negativity- of bad news, of sitting alone far from home, of uncertainties that followed, fear of life, and- building back hope through small initiatives. It was sure to bring a cheerful attitude from the continuous chain of dark thoughts if nothing else. The challenge is fun, a mood lifter, a chance to drape your culture in style while bringing together our communities and instilling a sense of normalcy in them.

Numerous ladies who have acknowledged the challenge attempted to blend things up and split away from exhausting, boring daily routines as they were continuously limited to the four dividers of their homes. It’s additionally an approach to associate and bond over something positive. As days progressed, people took the challenge to the next step by making it contemporary. Many other forms of saree challenge emerged. Videos of women in saree and sneakers hoop dancing to famous Bollywood music came to light, thus breaking the stereotype of saree being restrictive in movement and being free-flowing and easy to carry; Images of couple ski dancing in ice-clad mountains were all over the internet, giving a breath-taking proud moment to all the saree lovers out there.

Why is everyone doing saree challenge?

Now not every dressing piece suits everyone, unlike Saree. It suits any kind of body type, height, and age. This is why everyone was accepting the challenge and the compliments that came along. Instead of complaining all the time, people shifted their focus to different activities and revisited their hobbies. 

The onset of lockdown brought to the forefront many talents and challenges such as making Dalgona coffee, fitness challenges, and saree challenge. It seemed that unitedly the country opted to fight the pandemic by coming together and spreading joy and love by being creative. The dismal hour brought out the artistic side. All our evenings were filled with accepting nominations of our friends and family members.

Who won the #sareechallenge?

It was evident that the next question will be – So if it’s a challenge, then who is the winner? What is the prize? How to reimburse it? Everyone who participated in the challenge is a winner. The goal of this challenge was to bring together every woman in different parts of the country through social media and spread a positive message. The award is spreading positive vibes throughout our society. Continuing to maintain social distancing is how we reimburse it further.

This wasn’t a competition but an attempt to help every woman break their standard life patterns, take a break and celebrate her femininity. From celebrities and influencers to the common woman of Indian, everyone participated in the challenge. Instagram Posts and Whatsapp status became raging platforms where women uploaded their pictures with a beautiful message and tagged other gorgeous women to do the same. We loved this chain of positivity, beauty, creativity and fashion that spread like wildfire.  

Breaking the Norms

To make the Saree challenge more fun and interesting, Women didn’t stick to the status quo. There are two ways to enter the challenge – Either you post a picture wearing a Saree the traditional way, or you jazz it up by adding a pair of jeans, adding accessories that stand out, following a different draping style or creating your look. This is one of the main reasons why the Saree Challenge got trending. 

Here are some of our favourite styles from the Saree Challenge:

1. Saree with a Pair of Jeans – This style has been adopted by several women, especially the modern divas. One such example is Actress and Anchor Jyotsna Priyadarshini, who didn’t stick to the traditional outlooks. She broke the pattern by pairing a yellow saree with jeans. It gave a sleek look and stood out. There are many other examples of how the challenge became a platform for showcasing your styling talent by integrating different garments.

2. Styling a Saree with Shirt – This style was worn mainly by women who like a chic look but at the same time need a formal touch to their overall style. Pairing your Saree with a shirt adds to the overall outfit look, giving that slender, sleek style. Here is an example of one of the participants who paired the Saree with a white-full sleeves shirt. Such techniques made the challenge more interesting for the viewers as well as for the Women who participated. 

3. The Belted Half Saree – This saree style was picked up by Women who love wearing something ethnic with bold colour and pattern. A belt on the waist is modelled as a style statement. So, you can either wear the belt separately or get it stitched, so it matches with your blouse and saree borders. We cannot stop obsessing over the saree challenge and how versatile styles came in front of the world. 

What is the Whatsapp saree challenge?

Similar to Facebook and Instagram, Whatsapp status became a platform for such challenges. People resorted to some exciting ways to stay entertained during the lockdown, making them sit at home and practice social distancing. Whatsapp saree challenge was sent ablaze too in this buzz of positive challenges. The trend to start was to add a little bit of enjoyment in the otherwise monotonous life apart from the sole cause of spreading positivity through the hashtag.

Nominating other women to accept the challenge is a subtle way of expressing that they care for them. The woman who hardly had the habit of wearing a saree is now challenging themselves to wear it every day. Further, it feels good with all views and those soul-lifting comments when we share our WhatsApp status in a saree, and this was the primary motivation behind starting this stimulating challenge.

How did the Women feel about the Saree challenge?

Many women who accepted the challenge were trying to get a break from their routine life. This challenge trending over social media became a tool for women to develop a bond over something positive. Kevinda Borges Krishnan, a dance instructor, said, “All of us are under lockdown. There’s a lot of negativity doing the rounds. This challenge aims to spread positivity and seemed like a fun exercise, which is why I decided to accept it, and also challenged my friends to try it.” Aruna Joshi is an entrepreneur who felt that she accepted the Saree challenge for two reasons – because you feel good when someone compliments you, and the saree has become rare among modern women. It was difficult for her to find a solo picture in a saree that made the challenge more fun.

News Coverage – #Trendingsareechallenge

While the Saree Challenge was just an attempt to create a positive environment, it spread like wildfire, becoming a trending challenge. Several News outlets such as Times of India, Orissa Post and FreePressJournal covered the challenge and wrote stories about the challenge and how you can become a part of it. 

The News stories usually revolved around, ‘How An outfit challenge is helping women to beat the lockdown blue.’ Since women cannot go out and get dressed or socialize, they get ready at their home to click pictures and upload them over social media platforms. Who wouldn’t love getting dressed, and moreover, who wouldn’t miss prepping for a social gathering? The #Sareechallenge was one such attempt to bring together women and celebrate their femininity. 

Things to be aware of while doing the saree challenge

While the concept of work from home crept in, people starting using online portals to work, and using cyber hygiene was practised. The lack of safeguarding information is vital. As such, it is always better to be careful. Specific sites can morph pictures and catfish women and blackmail them. So practice safe cybersecurity. 

• Don’t share your Facebook password with anyone. 

• Don’t share your WhatsApp number with a stranger.

• Don’t open unknown vague links 

These are some basic rules to follow, making sure there is no misuse of all the hard work done.

Best saree challenge quotes

As this challenge was gaining popularity, many women started writing different captions and their pictures. Some just used the quotations used by the celebrities, while some came up with their creative sides:

Here are a few of the famous quotes used by the ladies who were involved in this trend:

• The confident Meera- “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” 

• The fashionista Radha- “I think a woman looks best in a sari.”

• The bold Vidya – “I could live in a sari; I was born to wear a sari.” 

• The traditional Yashodha – “I feel more comfortable in saris than gowns.” 

• The young Subhadra- “To be very honest, I cannot drape a saree myself. I have never draped one on my own, ever. But it has been done on me so many times that now I have memorized all the steps, and if someone challenges me, I will surely be able to do it.” 

Conclusion

The Saree Challenge that took a storm over Social Media was one of the most trending lockdown challenges. Thousands of Women participants from different states celebrate their different ethnic styles. The goal was to send a reminder to everyone to stay positive and cheer up in these difficult times because this will pass.