"A king turns from crown to calm,
Echoes of dharma in each palm,
Threads that trace a mindful path,
Departure framed in timeless craft."
The Great Departure
Sari ID: 26 GARG TGD AAM
By Sanjay Garg, Raw Mango
Collection: Journey and Exile
Created by: Sanjay Garg, Delhi
Medium: Iconography custom-woven in Benares satin silk brocade, 2026
Latest Exhibit: Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (March 2026)
Includes: Blouse kit (materials for two blouses) and certificate of authenticity
Care: Dry clean only by a textile specialist
Status: Available for sale
The Artist
Sanjay Garg is a textile designer and founder of Raw Mango, a design house that draws from the colors, philosophies, and cultures of India. Raw Mango creates saris, garments, and objects with weavers across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Varanasi. Sanjay’s designs have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
The Inspiration
The Great Departure is inspired by the Ajanta murals and the Mahajanaka Jataka story, where a king renounces sovereignty to pursue the discipline of dharma. This renunciation echoes the archetypal departure of the Buddha—a voluntary exile, not of banishment, but of awakening.
The sari traces the journey of this idea across time, from frescoes painted on Ajanta’s walls to the continuity of handwoven cloth. Every detail reflects this dialogue between past and present, exile and volition, certainty and discovery.
From Sari to Art
The design was developed specifically for Banaras silk, respecting the logic and structure of the weave. The motifs and tonal variations were carefully planned, with multiple rounds of sampling to achieve subtlety and balance.
The sari draws from the visual language of French toiles and the frescoes of Ajanta, translating the frescoed narrative into the fluid, wearable form of silk.
Every thread and fold carries the weight of history, while remaining elegant and drape-friendly.
Message for the World
The sari carries memory and history, allowing the wearer to feel connected to centuries of storytelling and the passage of ideas.
It helps one reflect that ‘Every journey, whether of kings or ideas, shapes the present.