Of saints and saris: Teresa's famous blue-rimmed sari trademarked
Nuns former lawyer says action will be taken against unauthorised use (Photo courtesy: AFP)
(Web Desk) - Saint Teresa, one of the most famous humanitarians ever to have lived, just had her famous blue sari trademarked.
According to a report by The Guardian the design of the white and blue sari is now the property of the Missionaries of Charity, the order Teresa founded nearly 70 years ago.
Biswajit Sarkar, a lawyer for the Missionaries of Charity said that the trademark has been applied for in 2013 due to the “misuse” of the saint’s reputation that was being done mostly for commercial gain. The trademark had been granted after 3 years but the order has publicised the information only recently. Biswajit said that now the trademark has been granted, “severe” legal action could be taken against anyone who was using the design without authorisation.
He said that even charitable organisations would not be spared and it would not matter the sari design was being used to make a profit or not. “Commercial gain or not is not the issue. We are thinking about our identity. If the blue pattern, which is unique in the world, is diluted or used by the public, then one fine morning the organisation will lose their identity.”
Biswajit also told The Guardian that originally the nuns of the order had objected to copyrighting the uniform as they did not like to take court cases but that such a step has been necessary to stop the misrepresentation of the Missionaries of Charity. He gave several examples of such misrepresentation saying that a cooperative bank had been established in the nun’s name without the order’s knowledge and in another instance religious books were being published with the blue-striped trimming, implying to viewers that they were somehow connected to the Missionaries of Charity.
Saint Teresa is one of world’s most famous figures. She had been born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 and had joined a Kolkata convent at the age of 21. Later on she had been shocked by the poverty in the city and had left her convent to try to better the lives of the city’s poor.
The Missionaries of Charity had been founded by her in 1950.Over the years the organisation has spread and now runs homes, hospices and shelters in 139 countries.
