White: A Rithihi meditation on the colour traversing funerals, weddings, temples and parliaments

It was 1960, and Sirima Bandaranaike was thrust upon Sri Lanka’s political stage after her husband’s assassination, by his desperate party. They had near zero chance of winning. But, when Sirima took to the stage, dressed in all white, something changed. She was visibly grieving; yet this woman in a white saree, standing firm in her sorrow, became a figure of resilience that many liked to gather around. Although the opposition laughed her off at the beginning as ‘weeping widow’, they were soon taken aback by the white clad lady who appealed to the emotions as much as the logic of the nation. To Sirimavo, white was probably an unrehearsed choice at first; but it soon proved to be a strategic color that helped her occupy room in the public psyche. With the strong South Asian association between white and widowhood, the colour helped her signify the connection to her late husband and symbolize her legitimacy as the successor to his vision. At the same time, this standout colour also fit the image of the uncorrupt, clean, white-clad civil servant. The all-white ensemble is a staple in the playbook of South Asian male politicians; but this woman, consciously or unconsciously, used it to greater effect than all the experienced statesmen around her. We all know the rest. Sirimavo won and became the first woman prime minister in the world. History was made, and the colour white played an unforgettable role in that story.

Colours are potent conduits of emotions and ideas. Among them, white, is particularly heavy with meaning. This April, as Sri Lankans dress in white for the period preceding the solar transition, and to return to work after the traditional new year, gather for Easter, and prepare for Vesak, Rithihi traces the cultural grammar of white: from the almsgiving to the courtroom, the funeral to the sweet sixteen photoshoot, temples and weddings to parliament. In this Rithihi story, we decode the many meanings we wear with the colour white.