|
India saree, sari -- a brief History by
Anshu's Designer Studio....
A sari or saree or sari is a female garment in the Indian
Subcontinent. A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from 5.30 to nine
meters in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most
common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then
draped over the shoulder baring the midriff.
The sari is usually worn over a petticoat ( pavada/pavadai in the
south, and shaya in eastern ....India....), with a blouse known as a choli
or ravika forming the upper garment. The choli has short sleeves and a low neck
and is usually cropped, and as such is particularly well-suited for wear in the
sultry South Asian summers. Cholis may be "backless" or of a halter
neck style or regular one (visit www.anshusdesigns.com
for different patterns). These are usually dressier with a lot of
embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery and may be worn on special
occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a
half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist. The saree was born in both South and North
India and is now a symbol for all of ....India..... Origins and history
The word 'sari' evolved from the Prakrit word 'sattika' as mentioned in
earliest Jain and Buddhist literature.
The history of Indian clothing trace the sari back to the Indus Valley
Civilization, which flourished during 2800-1800 BCE around the western part of
the Subcontinent. The earliest known depiction of the saree in the Indian
subcontinent is the statue of an ..Indus.. valley
priest wearing a drape.
Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Kadambari
by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or saree. In ancient Indian
tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient
dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the
source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the
saree.
Some costume historians believe that the men's dhoti, which is the oldest
Indian draped garment, is the forerunner of the sari. They say that until the
14th century, the dhoti was worn by both men and women.
Sculptures from the Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta schools (1st-6th century AD)
show goddesses and dancers wearing what appears to be a dhoti wrap, in the
"fishtail" version which covers the legs loosely and then flows into
a long, decorative drape in front of the legs. No bodices are shown.
Other sources say that everyday costume consisted of a dhoti or lungi
(sarong), combined with a breast band and a veil or wrap that could be used to
cover the upper body or head. The two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (mundu, a
dhoti or sarong, neryath, a shawl, in Malayalam) is a survival of ancient Indian
clothing styles, the one-piece sari is a modern innovation, created by
combining the two pieces of the mundum neryathum.
It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments, shawls, and veils
have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in
their current form for hundreds of years.
One point of particular controversy is the history of the choli, or sari
blouse, and the petticoat. Some researchers state that these were unknown
before the British arrived in ....India....,
and that they were introduced to satisfy Victorian ideas of modesty.
Previously, women only wore one draped cloth and casually exposed the upper
body and breasts. Other historians point to much textual and artistic evidence
for various forms of breast band and upper-body shawl.
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is indeed documented that women from many
communities wore only the sari and exposed the upper part of the body till the
20th century. Poetic references from works like Shilappadikaram indicate that
during the sangam period in ancient Tamil Nadu, a single piece of clothing
served as both lower garment and head covering, leaving the bosom and midriff
completely uncovered. In Kerala there are many references to women being
bare-breasted. Even today, women in some rural areas do not wear cholis.
Styles of draping (http://www.anshusdesigns.com/differentways.html)....
The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with
the loose end of the drape worn over the shoulder, baring the stomach. However,
the sari can be draped in several different styles, though some styles do
require a sari of a particular length or form. The French cultural anthropologist
and sari researcher, Chantal Boulanger, categorizes sari drapes in the
following families.
- Nivi styles originally worn
in Andhra Pradesh; besides the modern nivi, there is also the kaccha
nivi, where the pleats are passed through the legs and tucked into the
waist at the back. This allows free movement while covering the legs.
- Bengali and Oriya style.
- Gujarati this style differs
from the nivi only in the manner that the loose end is handled: in
this style, the loose end is draped over the right shoulder rather than
the left, and is also draped back-to-front rather than the other way
around.
- Maharashtrian/kashta; this
drape (front and back) is very similar to that of the male Maharashtrian dhoti.
The center of the sari (held lengthwise) is placed at the center back, the
ends are brought forward and tied securely, and then the two ends are
wrapped around the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth is used
and the ends are then passed up over the shoulders and the upper body.
They are primarily worn by Brahmin women of ..Maharashtra..,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- Dravidian sari drapes worn
in Tamil Nadu; many feature a pinkosu, or pleated rosette, at the
waist.
- Madisaara style This
drape is typical of Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu and Kerala
- Kodagu style This drape is
confined to ladies hailing from the Kodagu district of Karnataka. In this
style, the pleats are created in the rear, instead of the front. The loose
end of the sari is draped back-to-front over the right shoulder, and is
pinned to the rest of the sari.
- Gond sari styles found in
many parts of ..Central India... The cloth is
first draped over the left shoulder, then arranged to cover the body.
- The two-piece sari, or mundum
neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated
with gold or colored stripes and/or borders.
- Tribal styles often secured
by tying them firmly across the chest, covering the breasts.
The nivi style is today's most popular sari style.
The nivi drape starts with one end
of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat. The cloth is wrapped
around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats just below the
navel. The pleats are also tucked into the waistband of the petticoat. They
create a graceful, decorative effect which poets have likened to the petals of
a flower.
.. ..
After one more turn around the
waist, the loose end is draped over the shoulder. The loose end is called the
pallu or pallav. It is draped diagonally in front of the torso. It is worn
across the right hip to over the left shoulder, partly baring the midriff.The
navel can be revealed or concealed by the wearer by adjusting the pallu,
depending on the social setting in which the sari is being worn. The long end
of the pallu hanging from the back of the shoulder is often intricately
decorated. The pallav may either be left hanging freely,tucked in at the waist,
used to cover the head, or just used to cover the neck, by draping it across
the right shoulder as well. Some nivi styles are worn with the pallu draped
from the back towards the front.
The Nivi saree was popularized through the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. By
modifying the south indian saree called mundum neriyathum. In one of his
painting the Indian subcontinent was shown as a mother wearing a flowing nivi
saree.
In ....Bangladesh....
The Sari is worn by women throughout ....Bangladesh..... There are many regional
variations of Saris in both silk and cotton. But the Jamdani Tanta/Taant
Cotton, Dhakai Benarosi, Rajshahi silk, Tangail Tanter Sari and Katan Sari as
the most popular in Bangladesh.Popular actresses Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri
Dixit wore the Dhakaiya Benaroshi Sari in the song"Dola re Dola" of
the film "devdas".
In ....Pakistan....
In ....Pakistan....,
the wearing of saris is less common than the more traditional shalwar kameez
which is worn throughout the country. The sari does however remain a popular
dress for formal functions such as weddings. The sari is sometimes worn as
daily-wear, mostly in ..Karachi.., by those elderly
women who were used to wearing it in pre-partition ....India.... and by some of the new
generation who have re-introduced the interest in saris. The reason why the
sari lost popularity in ....Pakistan....,
was due to it being viewed as a Hindu dress. Although she was seen wearing
them, Fatima Jinnah, the "Mother of the Nation", called the sari
"unpatriotic" and the wife of former ....Pakistan.... President Pervez Musharraf
stated that she never wears the garment.
In ....Sri
Lanka....
Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles. However, two ways of draping the
sari are popular and tend to dominate; the Indian style (classic nivi drape)
and the Kandyan style (or 'osaria' in Sinhalese). The Kandyan style is
generally more popular in the hill country region of ....Kandy.... from which the style gets its name.
Though local preferences play a role, most women decide on style depending on
personal preference or what is perceived to be most flattering for their
figure.
The traditional Kandyan (Osaria) style consists of a full blouse which
covers the midriff completely, and is partially tucked in at the front as is
seen in this 19th century portrait. However, modern intermingling of styles has
led to most wearers baring the midriff. The final tail of the sari is neatly
pleated rather than free-flowing. This is rather similar to the pleated rosette
used in the 'Dravidian' style noted earlier in the article.
Kandyan style is considered as the national dress of Sinhalese women. It is
the Uniform of air hostesses of Sri Lankan Airlines.
In ....Nepal....
In ....Nepal....,
a special style of draping is used in a saree called Haku patasi. The saree is
draped around the waist and a shawl is worn covering upper half of saree which
is used in place of "pallu".
.. ..
The sari as cloth
Saris are woven with one plain end (the end that is concealed inside the
wrap), two long decorative borders running the length of the sari, and a one to
three foot section at the other end which continues and elaborates the
length-wise decoration. This end is called the pallu; it is the part
thrown over the shoulder in the Nivi style of draping.
In past times, saris were woven of silk or cotton. The rich could afford
finely-woven, diaphanous silk saris that, according to folklore, could be
passed through a finger ring. The poor wore coarsely woven cotton saris. All
saris were handwoven and represented a considerable investment of time or
money.
Simple hand-woven villagers' saris are often decorated with checks or
stripes woven into the cloth. Inexpensive saris were also decorated with block
printing using carved wooden blocks and vegetable dyes, or tie-dyeing, known in
....India....
as bhandani work.
More expensive saris had elaborate geometric, floral, or figurative
ornaments or brocades created on the loom, as part of the fabric. Sometimes
warp and weft threads were tie-dyed and then woven, creating ikat
patterns. Sometimes threads of different colors were woven into the base fabric
in patterns; an ornamented border, an elaborate pallu, and often, small
repeated accents in the cloth itself. These accents are called buttis or
bhutties (spellings vary). For fancy saris, these patterns could be woven
with gold or silver thread, which is called zari work.
Sometimes the saris were further decorated, after weaving, with various
sorts of embroidery. Resham work is embroidery done with colored silk
thread. Zardozi embroidery uses gold and silver thread and sometimes pearls and
precious stones. Cheap modern versions of zardozi use synthetic metallic thread
and imitation stones, such as fake pearls and Swarovski crystals.
In modern times, saris are increasingly woven on mechanical looms and made
of artificial fibers, such as polyester, nylon, or rayon, which do not require
starching or ironing. They are printed by machine, or woven in simple patterns
made with floats across the back of the sari. This can create an
elaborate appearance on the front, while looking ugly on the back. The punchra
work is imitated with inexpensive machine-made tassel trim.
Hand-woven, hand-decorated saris are naturally much more expensive than the
machine imitations. While the over-all market for handweaving has plummeted
(leading to much distress among Indian handweavers), hand-woven saris are still
popular for weddings and other grand social occasions. A prominent weaver who
designs brocades, Paithani and other types of saris is Meera Mehta.
Types of saris
While an international image of the 'modern style' sari may have been
popularised by airline stewardesses, each region in the Indian subcontinent has
developed, over the centuries, its own unique sari style. Following are the
well known varieties, distinct on the basis of fabric, weaving style, or motif,
in ..South Asia..:
·
.. ..
.. ..
Eastern
styles
- Baluchari ..West
Bengal..
- Kantha ..West
Bengal..
- Ikat Silk & Cotton Orissa
- Cuttacki Pata Silk &
Cotton Orissa
- Sambalpuri Pata Silk &
cotton Saree Orissa
- Bomkai Silk & Cotton Orissa
- Mayurbhanj Tussar Silk Orissa
- Sonepuri/Subarnapuri Silk Orissa
- Bapta & Khandua Silk
& Cotton Orissa
- Berhampuri Silk Orissa
- Tanta/Taant Cotton Orissa, West
Bengal & ....Bangladesh....
- Jamdani ....Bangladesh....
- Jamdani Khulna ....Bangladesh....
- Dhakai Benarosi ....Bangladesh....
- Rajshahi silk ....Bangladesh....
- Tangail Tanter Sari ....Bangladesh....
- Katan Sari ....Bangladesh....
Western styles
- Paithani ..Maharashtra..
- Bandhani ..Gujarat..
and Rajasthan
- ....Kota.... doria Rajasthan
- Lugade ..Maharashtra..
Central styles
- Chanderi Madhya Pradesh
- Maheshwari Madhya Pradesh
- Kosa silk Chattisgarh
Southern styles
- Kanchipuram (locally called
Kanjivaram) Tamil Nadu
- ....Coimbatore.... Tamil Nadu
- Chinnalapatti Tamil Nadu
- Chettinad Tamil Nadu
- ....Madurai.... Tamil Nadu
- Arani Tamil Nadu
- Pochampally Andhra Pradesh
- Venkatagiri Andhra Pradesh
- Gadwal Andhra Pradesh
- ....Guntur.... Andhra Pradesh
- Narayanpet Andhra Pradesh
- Mangalagiri Andhra Pradesh
- Balarampuram Kerala
- ....Mysore.... Silk Karnataka
- Ilkal saree
- Valkalam saree
.. ..
.. ..
For more details, please visit www.anshusdesigns.com
.. ..
Anshu's Designer Studio
G3, Shivalik Complex, Opp. AMA, ....IIM Road....,
Panjrapole, Ahmedabad - 380 015
. ....Gujarat..,
..India.....
Contact Nos.:
+91-79-3298 1545
+91-98252 61254
.. ..
.. ..
Anshu's Designer Studio ( Chennai )....
3A, ....100 Feet Tharamani Link Road....,
Tansi Nagar,
Velachery, Chennai - 600 042
|
Post Free Ad
User Informatio
Ad Options
Share To :
Tell -a-Freind
Flag Listing
