“I’m not concerned about being completely individual. My concern is meeting certain aesthetic principles,” observes the director of the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) in Kathmandu.[break]
Born in Bengal of India, Sen has traveled throughout her home country and visited several countries during her work and studies. When asked whether traveling has influenced her style, she says, “It has opened me to the fact that sari is not only the garment to wear.”
“Sari is the classic garment I feel comfortable in if I’m attending gatherings or hosting one but I like to lounge around in sarongs,” adds Sen, who first visited Nepal during the 60s. She also came to Nepal in 1985 to lecture at Nepal Academy on scholar Lain Singh Bangdel’s invitation.
Sen, who has been working in Nepal for past 14 months, likes surfing through Ason bazaar for knick knacks. Along with it, she likes strolling around Thimi, Bhaktapur, to pick up terracotta products. At present, however, Sen is more focused in beautifying her home. So furniture tops her shopping list.
Talking about Bhaktapur, this art historian and critic says that she loves traditional Newari haku patasi (black sari with red borders). “Bhaktapur sari is similar to what we wear in Bengal—the combination of black and red,” informs Sen, “I have lot of black saris with red border but not red with black.”
For Sen, sari is sacred and she feels that sari should not be cut or tailored. “It’s like cutting a body.” While talking about Nepal’s trend, she says that the way Nepali women are adorned with red saris amuses her. “It’s something that I have not seen anywhere.”
In her 30-year-long career as an editor, lecturer and professor, Sen also has taught art history and fashion at National Institute of Fashion Technology, India, from 1987 to 1990 and interned with Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
Apart from her love for saris, Sen is quite into funky brass and silver jewelries. She always wears a cuff gifted by Bollywood actress Rekha on her right wrist. However, she has an aversion to gold. “Following my principle, I stopped wearing gold because in India a woman’s value is assessed in terms of gold that she brings during her marriage,” she says.
This art historian and critic also loves getting into tailored skirts and boots. “I love Yasmine’s tailored outfits, mainly the long skirts,” shares the author of several books including “Paintings from the Akbar Nama,” “Image and Imagination,” “Five Contemporary Artists in India,” among others. She recently got two skirts stitched out of Dhaka fabric from Yasmine’s.
During the 70s and 80s, when denims were the newfound love worldwide and western fashion was making its presence felt in this part of the world, Sen opted for more of an ethnic look rather than jumping into the bandwagon. Though she grew up in the UK and US and belonged to a westernized Indian family, she wore more of khadi sarees (handspun saris).
“The fact that I lived abroad made me realize the value of being an Easterner,” says Sen, who has worked as the chief editor of publications at the India International Centre, New Delhi.
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