Where: FL-1A, 29/1B Ballygunge Circular Road, opposite Tripura House 
Open: 9am to 9pm, all days
Contact: 2475 4567

It’s been a long, long wait but the Calcutta sari lovers’ prayers have finally been answered. Nalli, the 80-year-old iconic sari store headquartered in Chennai, has set up shop on Ballygunge Circular Road. 

For Niranth Nalli, the vice-chairman of Nalli, it was all about finding the right place. “We wanted to come to Calcutta for a really long time. A lot of customers come to Chennai and they always ask us why we don’t open a store in Calcutta. Finding a good place took some time but now we are happy to be here. I see a lot of potential as people here are passionate about saris. In future we will look at expanding in the city,” said the fifth-generation member of the brand. 
The two-storeyed shop has on offer saris in cotton, silk and blends — apart from dupattas and dress material — in a variety of weaves like Pochampally, Uppada, Narayanpet, Venkatgiri, Mangalgiri, Benarasi, and, of course, Kanjeevaram. There’s something for every pocket and every taste.

A NALLI FAN’S CANDY-STORE MOMENT ON LAUNCH DAY

I make lists all the time. Lists of things to do. When I drew up a to-do list for a trip to Hyderabad recently, on top of my agenda was a visit to Nalli. But much as I love striking off things done on my list, this is one must-do that remained unchecked. Some things in life remain a dream, as this one did. 

But dreams are fulfilled too. My mother greeted me with a beaming smile a few mornings ago — “Nalli’s coming to town,” she announced. And right there, plans were made to shop at Nalli for Puja. 

I may never have been inside a Nalli store but I do have some in my wardrobe, each of them a gift and each with its own special memory. A sea-green poly silk that my little sister bought me with her first salary and which makes me proud every time I drape it. Or a blue-green single-colour silk with thin stripes and a slim zari border — my absolute favourite — that my aunt gifted me on my cousin’s wedding. I had just started wearing saris and had only a couple of my own, so I would wear this sari to almost every wedding I went to and every time, some friend would request to borrow it. 

The queen of these saris is a rich cherry-coloured silk with yellow and black Ganga Jamuna border. The sari is my mother’s, a gift my father had brought her from (then) Madras, but I too have worn it many times. It’s been two decades, but the colour is as bright and the threads as strong. 

My latest Nalli sari is a magenta cotton silk that I am yet to wear. This one is extra-special as it’s a gift from a friend I met after 14 years. Each thread in that sari bears a story of a time gone by, of playful laughter and shared tiffin. 
Ever since I joined the #100sareepact, I have been admiring the gorgeous Nalli saris that so many fellow pacters keep posting. With Nalli in town, I can’t wait to flaunt my first very own, self-bought Nalli sari. I am getting there, thread by thread, yarn by yarn.

Sohini Bhattacharya