Bridal Decline

I was so sorry to read about the plight of sari weavers in Varanasi in the Washington Post this morning. Both realities exist in my native land. On the one hand, there is the relentless upward march of the middle class and on the other, there exists also the downward spiral of some of the most beautiful traditions of the country. I'm so glad that I bucked the trend of wearing purple - or whatever the couleur du jour was - and decided to wear a beautiful, traditional red Benarasi sari for my wedding all those years ago. Here in New England, I wonder what handicraft traditions went for a toss as the age of plastic and cheap imported clothes caught on. Anyone knows?