Nalivu began long before it had a name and it comes from something very personal to me.
I grew up fascinated by sarees. My mum wore them every day to work, and as a kid, the moment I got back from school, I'd go straight for her wardrobe. Draping them wrong, tripping over them, trying again. It was my thing. That never changed. If anything, it grew into a deeper love for fashion and slowly shaped who I am today. And sarees, to me, have always felt like they flow the way we’re meant to move through life, and I find so much beauty in that.
Years later, when I left the corporate world to pursue fashion, I started seeing clothes differently. The beauty still mattered to me, it always will, but I also became more curious about where they came from. How long they took. Who made them. The skill behind them. Why certain crafts had survived for centuries while others were slowly disappearing. The more I learnt, the more I realised how Indian textiles have a way of pulling you in!
Around the same time, I found myself thinking about something else. The same sarees my mum and aunts wore every single day, to work, to a friend’s place, or simply to be at home, had somehow become "occasion wear" for the next generation. For many of us today, sarees have become something we wear only for weddings, festivals or family functions. Something beautiful, but intimidating. Something we have to "know how to wear and handle."
I don't think a saree should wait inside a wardrobe for the "right day." Nalivu is my attempt to make sarees feel more approachable. We don’t have to change what a saree is. We just have to make it easier to wear, easier to style, and easier to say yes to. I want you to wear one to work. To brunch. To a coffee date. To a friend's birthday. Or simply because you woke up and felt like wearing one.
All of that, while honouring the craft behind it. I want every saree to remind us that it wasn't made overnight. Whether it's Ajrakh, Kalamkari, or another Indian craft, every piece carries the time and skill of the people behind it. Every block print, every brushstroke, and every naturally dyed fabric has a story behind it. Those stories deserve to be seen just as much as the saree itself.
Nalivu means joy in Kannada. And if there's one thing I hope every Nalivu saree brings, it's that feeling. Not worrying about the pleats being perfect or thinking you have to save it for one special day. Just the simple joy of reaching for one because you felt like it. The joy of knowing who made what you're wearing. The joy of choosing something that was made with care and meant to last.
In hindsight, Nalivu feels like the coming together of everything I've loved for years - fashion, sarees, styling, and Indian craft. The idea of starting a brand itself came unexpectedly, almost out of nowhere but it had been a long time in the making. This isn't a business idea I landed on. It's the thing I actually care about. And I think that shows in what I want Nalivu to be: a space where women dress for themselves, stay true to their own taste, and feel completely at home in what they're wearing.
If you've ever looked at a saree and thought, "Maybe that's not for me," I hope Nalivu changes your mind.
And if you've always loved sarees, I hope you find one here that becomes your repeat saree.
Thank you for being here at the very beginning.
I can't wait to see where we take Nalivu together.