A number of fashion blogs feature couture, pretty stuff, beautiful fabrics, embellishments, trends and women admired for their beauty. Which is fine for the most part, it is what elevates clothing above the mundane. Once in awhile though it is more interesting to look at everyday, hard working clothes. The way they speak to us about the dignity of the women who wear them, the feminine embellishments incorporated in it and the beauty of worn and sparse clothing.

Today’s post is on the Ayah. A term prevalent during the Raj that is no longer used but once a catch-all term for the domestic help ubiquitous in Indian households, especially with regard to the care of children.  I myself had an ayah as a child. She was a Burmese Indian who had been expelled in 1962 and quite old when she began working for my parents. I still remember her sweetness and warmth, the comforting smell of her much worn sari. These posts are dedicated to her.