Train to Mailani finally leaving the dense core region of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary and proceeding towards the Ghaghra Barrage.

This lake is full of lotus in monsoons…

Sant Kavi Jagjivan Das (or Jagiwan Das, 1727 Sardaha, Chas - 1761) is the founder of the Satnami denomination of Hinduism in Upper India.

Das was born on the banks of the Ghaghra River at the village of Sardaha. However, he made Kotwa his spiritual and literary birthplace and meditorium. He founded the Satnaami sect, popularly known as Kotwa Dham, 6 km southeast of Kotwa in Badosarai.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rajasthan has great variety of dances, which are simple rustic expressions of celebration and festivity. The dancers, with their vibrantly colored costumes have make Thar the most colorful desert in the world with each region adding on to the tradition, its own form of dance styles and performers.

The dances of Rajasthan trace religious traditions, royal legends and myths, while some other are performed with the simple idea of celebrating a particular festivity or fair.

The popular Ghoomar Dance in Rajasthan India is the characteristic dance of the Bhil tribe. However, it is largely associated with the royal ladies of Jaipur, who perform it on certain auspicious occasions. The Kachhwaha Clan of Rajputs who ruled Jaipur, defeated the Bhils and later acceded to a peaceful coexistence. It is therefore normal that the royalty would pick up some of the Bhil traditions and practices. The Ghoomar dance is a essentially a women's dance performed by the women for exclusively ladies’ gatherings. The women performing the Ghoomar Dance Rajasthan dance in circles.

They are dressed in the traditional ghaghra and choli with chunaris. They deck up in traditional silver jewelry and glass bangles. The Ghoomar is performed during women’s gatherings like the ritual of haldi during a wedding, or to entertain a queen in her personal quarters, etc.

The Bhils were an indomitable war-like tribal race. Initially they made the highways and roads a dangerous place for Jaipur’s traders and commoners. Whenever the Kachhwahas tried to discipline them, they simply disappeared into the nooks and corners of the Aravallis which have been their home for centuries. Realizing the futility of this exercise, the Kachhwahas sued for peace and exempted the Bhils were from paying tribute which was however, not a very big deal since the Bhils were most unlikely to pay. In any case, after this incident, the Kachhwahas accepted the Bhils as friends of the royalty.

Total length 3,695 feet - 1,126 meter

Opened 18 December 1896 in Meter Gauge

Re-open on 1990 in Broad Gauge

A second one under contruction

Ghaghra...a place with a beautiful forest ,waterways and so many waterfalls....

We were walking through the waterways. It was a great experience to walk with a group of brilliant photographers..... the whole team of \TTL/.

Suddenly I found this cool place and took some photographs of it...

and with three of them made a HDR.

+/-2ev 3shot...

used photomatrix pro to marge all three photographs...!!

Location :: Ghaghra, Kaptai, Rangamati, Bangladesh.

Bridge Number 58A on the Gonda Mailani Section.

This Canal originates from the Girijapuri Barrage on the Ghaghra River near Bicchia and crosses the tracks there itself, then further turns around to cross the tracks here near Kakraha Rest House.

The Canal then further crosses the Nepalganj Road branch line just near Nanpara Jn. and further continues East of Nanpara, where it bifurcates into two tributaries.

One of them continues Eastwards and mixes into the Rapti river further and continues from the other bank further east upto somewhere near Pachpedwa (on the Gonda-Gorakhpur Loop line), mixing with Rapti and Kuano rivers in between a few times. After Pachpedwa it is a bit dried up and cut up in patches but still it runs futhermore east where it finally ends up into the Rapti River again between Parsa and Mahtha Bazar Halt Stations.

The other tributary from Nanpara comes further South towards Chilwaria (On the Gonda-Bahraich line) and is distributed and few more tributaries which are scattered over the length of the Gonda Bahraich line and most of them end up further downwards into the Ghaghra itself - the river from which they were originated!

One of them crosses the tracks right after Bisheshwarganj towards Bahraich.

You can find various photos of this canal at different places in my photostream - If you're willing to search!

Against the backdrop of dusty land and sun-soaked skies, Rajasthan is filled with opulent colours, the sparkle of mirror and silver and precious stones, and the sheen of silk and vivid kaleidoscope of cotton. The exotic and vividly colourful state of Rajasthan is synonymous with majestic forts, stately palaces, lakes, sand dunes, camels and people dressed in brightly coloured costumes.

To add a dash of colour and life to the barren, colourless landscape and the monotonous, cloudless sky, the people of Rajasthan show a distinct preference for bright costumes. From the simple village folk or tribal belle to the royalty, the preferred colours are bright red, dazzling yellow, lively green or brilliant orange, highlighted by a lavish use of sparkling gold and silver 'zari' or 'gota'.

Costumes of Rajasthani inhabitants are colourful, gaudy, bright and elegant. In fact the state of Rajasthan owes its vibrancy to the attire of the natives. The dull-coloured monotone of the sands and hills appear cheery with the vibrant spirits of the people who wear bright colours to make up for the absence of blossoming flowers. Interesting costumes and jewellery of these desert people are not mere ornaments for them. Everything from head-to-toe including the turbans, clothes, jewellery and even the footwear establish the identity, religion, and the economic and social status of the population of Rajasthan.

The women dress in either sarees or ghaghra cholis. Sarees may be either cotton or silk and are generally embroidered. Colored stones, tinsels and silken threads are used to create beautiful floral patterns and traditional motifs and enhance the rich look of the saree. Depending on the economic ampleness of the family the embroidery or zari work may be done with golden and silver threads and semi precious gems may replace the showy colored stones. Tie and Dye, Bandhani and block printed textiles are the common choice.

Costumes Of Rajasthan

A Symphony Of Colors

The study of the people of Rajasthan is incomplete without the knowledge of costumes and ornaments. The costumes of the present have the reflections of the costumes of the past. Clothes express one's personality and distinguish people of different places from each other.

The Brilliance Of Hues

Both males and females dress in the customary dresses fully influenced by climate, economy, status and the profession. The common dress of the women constitutes (i) sari or 'odhani', (ii) 'kanchli' or 'kunchuki' or 'choli' (iii) 'ghaghra' or 'ghaghri' or 'lahanga'. Besides, the women of high status and ranks wear 'dupatta' and 'patka'.

Royal Wardrobe

Women's Attire

The standard design is a four-piece dress which includes the 'ghagra' (skirt), the 'odhni' (head cloth), the 'kurti' (a short blouse) and the 'kanchi' (a long, loose blouse).

Odhni

It is 10 feet long and 5 feet wide, One corner is tucked in the skirt while the other end is taken over the head and right shoulder. Colours and motifs are particular to caste, type of costume and occasion. Both Hindu and Muslims women wear 'odhnis'.

Pila

An 'odhni' with a yellow background and a central lotus motif in red called a 'pila', is a traditional gift of parent to their daughter on the birth of a son. The vibrant and colourful land of Rajasthan, with hospitable and well-attired men and women add a splash of colour to the otherwise parched landscape.

Common name: Common Cocklebur, broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Gujarati: godrian • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi

Botanical name: Xanthium strumarium Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family)

Synonyms: Xanthium indicum

All of us have known this plant from our childhood. One can’t miss it when the seeds are ripe. The fruits are covered with numerous hooks and kids have fun throwing it at people and sticking it to their woollen clothing. It is assumed the plant originated in Central America, but is widely naturalized world over, probably because of its ingenious technique of transporting its seeds on animal fur. The plant has large and broad leaves, light and bright green in color in an alternate pattern with irregular lobes and relatively inconspicuous teeth. Stems turn maroon to black when mature, with an elliptic or egg shaped fruit clusters growing nestled around the stem. Common Cocklebur is an annual herb with a short, stout, hairy stem. Flower heads occur in racemes in leaf axils or at the end of branches. The flowers are white or green, numerous, male upper most, female ovoid, covered with hooked bristles. Fruit is obovoid, enclosed in the hardened involucre, with 2 hooked beaks and hooked bristles. Flowering: August-September.

### ........must view as slide show.......##

Near banks of Ghaghra River

Ranchi - Nagri - Bero - Sisai - Ghaghra - Bishunpur - Netarhat Road Trip via NH 43

Netarhat is a hill station in Latehar district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also referred to as the "Queen of Chotanagpur", and is a hill station.The town is also famous for Netarhat Residential School, set up in 1954.

Elevation: 1,071 m

District: Latehar

Block: Mahuadanar

(Wikipedia)

Chalet House Netarhat :- "Chalet" is a French word which means a wooden dwelling .

This is a historical building of Netarhat is made up of logs of wood .

It was established during the period of Sir Edward Gate, L.G of Bihar and Orissa in early 20th Century.

Initially, it was used as summer exodus by British Officer for discussion with local influential village chiefs.

Now it is being used as the camp office of D.C Latehar.

tourism.jharkhand.gov.in/destinationDetails/142

A Symphony Of Colours

Against the backdrop of dusty land and sun-soaked skies, Rajasthan is filled with opulent colours, the sparkle of mirror and silver and precious stones, and the sheen of silk and vivid kaleidoscope of cotton. The exotic and vividly colourful state of Rajasthan is synonymous with majestic forts, stately palaces, lakes, sand dunes, camels and people dressed in brightly coloured costumes.

To add a dash of colour and life to the barren, colourless landscape and the monotonous, cloudless sky, the people of Rajasthan show a distinct preference for bright costumes. From the simple village folk or tribal belle to the royalty, the preferred colours are bright red, dazzling yellow, lively green or brilliant orange, highlighted by a lavish use of sparkling gold and silver 'zari' or 'gota'.

Women's Attire

The standard design is a four-piece dress which includes the 'ghagra' (skirt), the 'odhni' (head cloth), the 'kurti' (a short blouse) and the 'kanchi' (a long, loose blouse).

Odhni

It is 10 feet long and 5 feet wide, One corner is tucked in the skirt while the other end is taken over the head and right shoulder. Colours and motifs are particular to caste, type of costume and occasion. Both Hindu and Muslims women wear 'odhnis'.

Pila

An 'odhni' with a yellow background and a central lotus motif in red called a 'pila', is a traditional gift of parent to their daughter on the birth of a son. The vibrant and colourful land of Rajasthan, with hospitable and well-attired men and women add a splash of colour to the otherwise parched landscape.

Colours, Hues & Themes

Against the backdrop of dusty land and sun-soaked skies, Rajasthan is filled with opulent colours, the sparkle of mirror and silver and precious stones, and the sheen of silk and vivid kaleidoscope of cotton. The exotic and vividly colourful state of Rajasthan is synonymous with majestic forts, stately palaces, lakes, sand dunes, camels and people dressed in brightly coloured costumes.

To add a dash of colour and life to the barren, colourless landscape and the monotonous, cloudless sky, the people of Rajasthan show a distinct preference for bright costumes. From the simple village folk or tribal belle to the royalty, the preferred colours are bright red, dazzling yellow, lively green or brilliant orange, highlighted by a lavish use of sparkling gold and silver 'zari' or 'gota'.

The common dress of the women constitutes (i) sari or 'odhani', (ii) 'kanchli' or 'kunchuki' or 'choli' (iii) 'ghaghra' or 'ghaghri' or 'lahanga'. Besides, the women of high status and ranks wear 'dupatta' and 'patka'.

The use of chappals or sandals or 'jutees' is also common but ladies of high families use coloured sandals studded with gold threads and stars.

Total length 3,695 feet - 1,126 meter

Opened 18 December 1896 in Meter Gauge

Re-open on 1990 in Broad Gauge

A second one under contruction

The Ghoomer dance is a very famous and a community dance of women in Rajasthan. It is performed on various auspicious occasions like fairs & festivals. It is called as `Ghoomer`, from the `ghoomna` of Ghaghra i.e. the flowing of Ghaghra, a long skirt of the Rajasthani women. There is an amazing grace as the skirt flair slowly while the women folk twirl in circles, their faces covered with the help of the veil. The performers in Ghoomar dance sway their colorful ghagras that are rich in embroidery work and it is also embellished with mirror-work.

The Ghoomar dance is the characteristic dance of the Bhils and a community dance of the Rajputs, also which only the women traditionally perform. It is considered as one of the traditional rituals among this community. So, on the occasion of marriage, a bride is expected to dance Ghoomar after being welcomed at her husband`s home.

Rajasthan has great variety of dances, which are simple rustic expressions of celebration and festivity. The dancers, with their vibrantly colored costumes have make Thar the most colorful desert in the world with each region adding on to the tradition, its own form of dance styles and performers.

An exposition of stillness of the desert evening and the upsurge of life in the short-lived rainy season or spring are filled with rhythmic dance found in almost limitless variations in Rajasthan. The colourful people of Rajasthan live life to the hilt. After hard work in the unrelenting, harsh desert sun and the rocky terrain, they seek a respite from their exhausting work by letting themselves enthrall in gay abandon. Their evocative and soulful music provides the perfect accompaniment to their vigorous and unsophisticated dancing. The dances of Rajasthan trace religious traditions, royal legends and myths, while some other are performed with the simple idea of celebrating a particular festivity or fair.

The popular Ghoomar Dance in Rajasthan India is the characteristic dance of the Bhil tribe. However, it is largely associated with the royal ladies of Jaipur, who perform it on certain auspicious occasions. The Kachhwaha Clan of Rajputs who ruled Jaipur, defeated the Bhils and later acceded to a peaceful coexistence. It is therefore normal that the royalty would pick up some of the Bhil traditions and practices. The Ghoomar dance is a essentially a women's dance performed by the women for exclusively ladies’ gatherings. The women performing the Ghoomar Dance Rajasthan dance in circles.

They are dressed in the traditional ghaghra and choli with chunaris. They deck up in traditional silver jewelry and glass bangles. The Ghoomar is performed during women’s gatherings like the ritual of haldi during a wedding, or to entertain a queen in her personal quarters, etc.

The Ghoomer dance is a very famous and a community dance of women in Rajasthan. It is performed on various auspicious occasions like fairs & festivals. It is called as `Ghoomer`, from the `ghoomna` of Ghaghra i.e. the flowing of Ghaghra, a long skirt of the Rajasthani women. There is an amazing grace as the skirt flair slowly while the women folk twirl in circles, their faces covered with the help of the veil. The performers in Ghoomar dance sway their colorful ghagras that are rich in embroidery work and it is also embellished with mirror-work.

Sant Kavi Jagjivan Das (or Jagiwan Das, 1727 Sardaha, Chas - 1761) is the founder of the Satnami denomination of Hinduism in Upper India.

Das was born on the banks of the Ghaghra River at the village of Sardaha. However, he made Kotwa his spiritual and literary birthplace and meditorium. He founded the Satnaami sect, popularly known as Kotwa Dham, 6 km southeast of Kotwa in Badosarai.

A bell hangs at the gate of many Hindu temples, which is rung at the moment one enters the temple.

Wikipedia

A Sari, saree, sadi, or shari is a South Asian female garment that consists of a drape varying from 4.5 metres to 8 metres in length and 60 cm to 1.20 m in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff.

The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (called 'parkar' (परकर) in Marathi lahaṅgā or lehenga in the north; seelai in Tamil, pavada (or occasionally langa) in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, chaniyo, parkar, ghaghra, or ghagaro in the west; and shaya in eastern India), with a fitted upper garment commonly called a blouse (ravike in South India and choli elsewhere). The blouse has short sleeves and is usually cropped at the midriff. The sari is associated with grace and is widely regarded as a symbol of Indian, Nepalese, Bangladesh, and Sri Lankan cultures.

ETYMOLOGY

The word sari described in Sanskrit शाटी śāṭī which means 'strip of cloth' and शाडी śāḍī or साडी sāḍī in Prakrit, and which was corrupted to sāṛī in Hindi. The word 'Sattika' is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in Buddhist Jain literature called Jatakas. This could be equivalent to modern day 'Sari'. The term for female bodice, the choli is derived from another ruling clan from ancient Tamil Nadu, the Cholas. Rajatarangini (meaning the 'river of kings'), a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the Choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir.

ORIGINS AND HISTORY

In the history of Indian clothing the sari is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800–1800 BC around the western part of the Indian subcontinent. Sari draping leaves back, cleavage, and side view of belly bare. The origin of such exposing attire can be attributed to humid climate of the land. The earliest known depiction of the sari in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape.

Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari. The ancient stone inscription from Gangaikonda Cholapuram in old Tamil scripts has a reference to hand weaving. 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 sari.

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 called 'Kurpasika' or 'Stanapatta' and occasionally a wrap called 'Uttariya' that could at times 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 for lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garment called 'uttariya' for upper body, have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years. In ancient couture the lower garment was called 'nivi' or 'nivi bandha', while the upper body was mostly left bare. The works of Kalidasa mentions 'Kurpasika' a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts. It was also sometimes referred to as 'Uttarasanga' or 'Stanapatta'.

The tightly fitted, short blouse worn under a sari is a choli. Choli evolved as a form of clothing in the 10th century AD, and the first cholis were only front covering; the back was always bare but covered with end of saris pallu. Bodices of this type are still common in the state of Rajasthan.

In South India and especially in Kerala, women from most Hindu communities wore only the sari and exposed the upper part of the body till the middle of the 20th century.Poetic references from works like Silappadikaram 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 midriff completely uncovered. Similar styles of the sari are recorded paintings by Raja Ravi Varma in Kerala. By the mid 19th century, though, bare breasted styles of the sari faced social revaluation and led to the Upper cloth controversy in the princely state of Travancore (now part of the state of Kerala) and the styles declined rapidly within the next half a century.

In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible. By which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was concealed.

Red wedding saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, colour options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crepe, Georgette, charmeuse, and satin are used, and colours have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).

STYLES OF DRAPING

There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari. Fashion designer Aaditya sharma declared, "I can drape a sari in 54 different styles".

The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff. 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 categorised 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 Odia style.

- Gujarati/Rajasthani/Pakistani – after tucking in the pleats similar to the nivi style, the loose end is taken from the back, draped across the right shoulder, and pulled across to be secured in the back

- Maharashtrian/Konkani/Kashta; this drape is very similar to that of the male Maharashtrian dhoti. The centre of the sari (held lengthwise) is placed at the centre back, the ends are brought forward and tied securely, then the two ends are wrapped around the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth of nine yards 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 Goa.

- Madisar – this drape is typical of Iyengar/Iyer Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu. Traditional Madisar is worn using 9 yards saree.

- 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.

- Gobbe Seere – This style is worn by women in the Malnad or Sahyadri and central region of Karnataka. It is worn with 18 molas saree with three four rounds at the waist and a knot after crisscrossing over shoulders.

- 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.

- Malayali style – the two-piece sari, or Mundum Neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or coloured stripes and/or borders. Also the Kerala sari, a sort of mundum neryathum.

- Tribal styles – often secured by tying them firmly across the chest, covering the breasts.

Kunbi style or denthli:Goan Gauda and Kunbis,and those of them who have migrated to other states use this way of draping Sari or Kappad, this form of draping is created by tying a knot in the fabric below the shoulder and a strip of cloth which crossed the left shoulder was fasten on the back.

NIVI STYLE

The nivi is today's most popular sari style from Andhra Pradesh. The increased interaction with the British saw most women from royal families come out of purdah in the 1900s. This necessitated a change of dress. Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar popularised the chiffon sari. She was widowed early in life and followed the convention of abandoning her richly woven Baroda shalus in favour of the traditional unadorned white. Characteristically, she transformed her "mourning" clothes into high fashion. She had saris woven in France to her personal specifications, in white chiffon, and introduced the silk chiffon sari to the royal fashion repertoire.

The chiffon sari did what years of fashion interaction had not done in India. It homogenised fashion across this land. Its softness, lightness and beautiful, elegant, caressing drape was ideally suited to the Indian climate. Different courts adopted their own styles of draping and indigenising the sari. In most of the courts the sari was embellished with stitching hand-woven borders in goldfrom Varanasi, delicate zardozi work, gota, makaish and tilla work that embellished the plain fabric, simultaneously satisfying both traditional demands and ingrained love for ornamentation. Some images of maharanis in the Deccan show the women wearing a sleeveless, richly embellished waistcoat over their blouses. The Begum of Savanur remembers how sumptuous the chiffon sari became at their gatherings. At some courts it was worn with jaali, or net kurtas and embossed silk waist length sadris or jackets. Some of them were so rich that the entire ground was embroidered over with pearls and zardozi.

Nivi drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat, usually a plain skirt. The cloth is wrapped around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats below the navel. The pleats are 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, pallav, seragu, or paita depending on the language. 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. The long end of the pallu hanging from the back of the shoulder is often intricately decorated. The pallu may be hanging freely, tucked in at the waist, used to cover the head, or 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, coming from the back over the right shoulder with one corner tucked by the left hip, covering the torso/waist. The nivi sari was popularised through the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. In one of his paintings, the Indian subcontinent was shown as a mother wearing a flowing nivi sari. The ornaments generally accepted by the Hindu culture that can be worn in the midriff region are the waist chains. They are considered to be a part of bridal jewellery.

PROFESSIONAL STYLE OF DRAPING

Because of the harsh extremes in temperature on the Indian Subcontinent, the sari fills a practical role as well as a decorative one. It is not only warming in winter and cooling in summer, but its loose-fitting tailoring is preferred by women who must be free to move as their duties require. For this reason, it is the clothing of choice of air hostesses on Air India. This led to a professional style of draping a sari which is referred to "Air-Hostess style sari". An air hostess style sari is tied in just the same way as a normal sari except that the pleats are held together quite nicely with the help of pins. A bordered sari will be just perfect for an Air-Hostess style drape where the pallu is heavily pleated and pinned on the shoulder. Even the vertical pleats that are tucked at the navel are severely pleated and pressed. Same goes for the pallu pleats that are pinned at the shoulder. To get the perfect "Air-hostess" a complimentary U-shaped blouse that covers the upper body completely is worn which gives a very elegant and formal look. Mastering the "Air-hostess" style drape helps to create the desired impact in a formal setting like an interview or a conference.

Saris are worn as uniforms by the female hotel staff of many five star luxury hotels in India as symbol of culture. Recently, in a makeover design, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, decided the welcoming staff at the group's Luxury Hotels would be draped in the rich colours and designs of the Banarasi six yards. The new saris were unveiled at the Taj property in Mumbai. It will be subsequently replicated at all 10 Luxury Hotels of the group across the country for duty managers and front office staff. Taj had adopted three villages in Varanasi and employed 25 master weavers there for the project. The vision finally took shape after 14 months, once the weavers had a good work environment, understood the designs and fine-tuned the motifs.

Similarly, the female politicians of India wear the sari in a professional manner. The women of Nehru–Gandhi family like Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi wear the special blouse for the campaign trail which is longer than usually and is tucked in to prevent any midriff show while waving to the crowds.Stylist Prasad Bidapa has to say, "I think Sonia Gandhi is the country's most stylish politician. But that's because she's inherited the best collection of saris from her mother-in-law. I'm also happy that she supports the Indian handloom industry with her selection." BJP politician Sushma Swaraj maintains her prim housewife look with a pinned-up pallu while general secretary of AIADMK Jayalalithaa wears her saris like a suit of armour.

SARIS IN INDIAN LAW

In 2014, an Indian family court in Mumbai ruled that a husband objecting to his wife wearing a kurta and jeans and forcing her to wear a sari amounts to cruelty inflicted by the husband and can be a ground to seek divorce. The wife was thus granted a divorce on the ground of cruelty as defined under section 27(1)(d) of Special Marriage Act, 1954.

BANGLADESH

Sharee or saree (in Bengali=শাড়ি) is the national wear of Bangladeshi women. Most women who are married wear sharee as their regular dress while young-unmarried girls wear sharee as an occasional dress. The shari is worn by women throughout Bangladesh. Sari is the most popular dress for women in Bangladesh, both for casual and formal occasion. Although Dhakai Jamdani (hand made shari) is worldwide known and most famous to all women who wear shari but there are also many variety of shari in Bangladesh.There are many regional variations of them in both silk and cotton. e.g.- Tanta/Tant cotton shari, Dhakai Benaroshi shari, Rajshahi silk shari, Tangail Tanter shari, Tassar silk shari, monipuri shari and Katan shari are the most popular in Bangladesh.

PAKISTAN

In Pakistan, the sarees are still popular and worn on special occasions. The Shalwar kameez, however, is worn throughout the country on a daily basis. The sari nevertheless remains a popular garment among the middle and upper class for many formal functions. Sarees can be seen worn commonly in metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Islamabad and are worn regularly to weddings and other business type of functions. Sarees are also worn by many Muslim women in Sindh to show their status or to enhance their beauty. The sari is worn as daily wear by Pakistani Hindus, by elderly Muslim women who were used to wearing it in pre-partition India and by some of the new generation who have reintroduced the interest in saris.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles. 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.

The Kandyan style is considered the national dress of Sinhalese women. It is the uniform of the air hostesses of SriLankan Airlines.

During the 1960s, the mini sari known as 'hipster' sari created a wrinkle in Sri Lankan fashion, since it was worn below the navel and barely above the line of prosecution for indecent exposure. The conservative people described the 'hipster' as "an absolute travesty of a beautiful costume almost a desecration" and "a hideous and purposeless garment".

NEPAL

The sari is the most commonly worn women's clothing in Nepal. In Nepal, a special style of sari draping is called haku patasihh. The sari is draped around the waist and a shawl is worn covering the upper half of the sari, which is used in place of a pallu.

AFGHANISTAN

Sari's have been worn by the Afghan royal family house and upper family classes as well by Muslim women at special functions.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES WITH OTHER ASIAN CLOTHING

While the sari is typical to Indian traditional wear, clothing worn by South-East Asian countries like Burma, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore resemble it, where a long rectangular piece of cloth is draped around the body. These are different from the sari as they are wrapped around the lower-half of body as a skirt, worn with a shirt/blouse, resembling a sarong, as seen in the Burmese Longyi, Filipino Malong, Tapis, Laotian Xout lao, Thai Sinh's, and Timorese Tais. Saris, worn predominantly in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal are usually draped with one end of the cloth fastened around the waist, and the other end placed over the shoulder baring the midriff.

SAREE ORNAMENTATION AND DECORATIVE ACCESSORIES

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 colours 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 bhuttis (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 coloured 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 fibres, 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 overall 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.

SARI OUTSIDE SOUTH ASIA

The traditional sari made an impact in the United States during the 1970s. Eugene Novack who ran the New York store, Royal Saree House told that he had been selling it mainly to the Indian women in New York area but later many American business women and housewives became his customers who preferred their saris to resemble the full gown of the western world. He also said that men appeared intrigued by the fragility and the femininity it confers on the wearer. Newcomers to the sari report that it is comfortable to wear, requiring no girdles or stockings and that the flowing garb feels so feminine with unusual grace.

As a nod to the fashion-forward philosophy established by the designs of Emilio Pucci, the now-defunct Braniff International Airways envisioned their air hostesses wearing a more revealing version of a sari on a proposed Dallas-Bombay (conceivably via London) service in the late 1970s. However this was never realised because of Halston's resistance to working with a palette outside of his comfort zone. The former Eagan, Minnesota–based Northwest Airlines considered issuing saris to flight attendants working the Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Delhi route that began in the 1990s. This never occurred largely because of a union dispute.

The sari has gained its popularity internationally because of the growth of Indian fashion trends globally. Many Bollywood celebrities, like Aishwarya Rai,[48] have worn it at international events representing the Indian culture. In 2010, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone wanted to represent her country at an international event, wearing the national costume. On her very first red carpet appearance at the Cannes International Film Festival, she stepped out on the red carpet in a Rohit Bal sari.

Even popular Hollywood celebrities have worn this traditional attire. Pamela Anderson made a surprise guest appearance on Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, dressed in a sari that was specially designed for her by Mumbai-based fashion designer Ashley Rebello. Ashley Judd donned a purple sari at the Youth AIDS Benefit Gala in November 2007 at the Ritz Carlton in Mclean, Virginia. There was an Indian flavour to the red carpet at the annual Fashion Rocks concert in New York, with designer Rocky S walking the ramp along with Jessica, Ashley, Nicole, Kimberly and Melody – the Pussycat Dolls – dressed in saris.

TYPES

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 other well-known varieties, distinct on the basis of fabric, weaving style, or motif, in South Asia:

CENTRAL STYLES

Chanderi Sari – Madhya Pradesh

Maheshwari – Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh

Kosa Silk – Chhattisgarh

Dhokra Silk – Madhya Pradesh

EASTERN STYLES

Tangail Tant Saree – Bangladesh

Jamdani – Bangladesh

Muslin – Bangladesh

Rajshahi Silk (Eri Silk) – Bangladesh

Tussar Silk Saree – Rajshahi Bangladesh

Dhakai Katan – Bangladesh

Khadi Saree – Comilla Bangladesh

Jute Cotton – Bangladesh

Mooga Silk – Assam

Mekhla Cotton – Assam

Dhaniakhali Cotton – West Bengal

Shantipuri Cotton – Shantipur, West Bengal

Phulia Cotton – Phulia, West Bengal

Begumpur Cotton – Begumpur, West Bengal

Garad Saree (Korial) – Murshidabad, West Bengal

Tant Saree – Farshganj, West Bengal

Murshidabad Silk – West Bengal

Baluchari Silk – Bishnupur, Bankura West Bengal

Kantha Silk & Cotton Saree – West Bengal & Bangladesh

Batic Saree – West Bengal & Bangladesh

Sambalpuri Silk & Cotton Saree – Sambalpur, Odisha

Bomkai Silk & Cotton Saree – Bomkai, Ganjam, Odisha

Khandua Silk & Cotton Saree – Nuapatna, Cuttack, Odisha

Sonepuri Silk & Cotton Saree – Subarnapur, Odisha

Berhampuri Silk – Behrampur, Odisha

Mattha Silk Saree – Mayurbhanj, Odisha

Bapta Silk & Cotton Saree – Koraput, Odisha

Tanta Cotton Saree – Balasore, Odisha

Manipuri Tant Saree - Manipur

WESTERN STYLES

Paithani – Maharashtra

Bandhani – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Pakistan

Kota doria – Rajasthan, Pakistan

Lugade – Maharashtra

Patola – Gujarat, Pakistan

SOUTHERN STYLES

Mysore Silk – Karnataka

Ilkal Saree – Karnataka

Molakalmuru Sari – Karnataka

Venkatagiri – Andhra Pradesh

Mangalagiri Silk Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Uppada Silk Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Chirala Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Bandar Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Bandarulanka – Andhra Pradesh

Kuppadam Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Dharmavaram Silk Saree – Andhra pradesh

Kanchipuram Sari (locally called Kanjivaram Pattu) – Tamil Nadu

Kumbakonam – Tamil Nadu

Thirubuvanam – Tamil Nadu

Coimbatore Cotton Tamil Nadu

Chinnalampattu or Sungudi Tamil Nadu

Balarampuram – Kerala

Mundum Neriyathum – Kerala

Mayilati Silk – Kerala

Kannur Cotton – Kerala

Kalpathi Silk Sarees – Kerala

Maradaka Silk – Kerala

Samudrikapuram Silk and Cotton – Kerala

Pochampally Sari or Puttapaka Sari – Telangana

Gadwal Sari – Telangana

Narayanpet – Telangana or Maharashtra

NORTHERN STYLES

Banarasi – Uttar Pradesh

Shalu – Uttar Pradesh

Tanchoi – Uttar Pradesh

Bagru – Rajasthan, Pakistan

WIKIPEDIA

A Sari, saree, sadi, or shari is a South Asian female garment that consists of a drape varying from 4.5 metres to 8 metres in length and 60 cm to 1.20 m in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff.

The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (called 'parkar' (परकर) in Marathi lahaṅgā or lehenga in the north; seelai in Tamil, pavada (or occasionally langa) in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, chaniyo, parkar, ghaghra, or ghagaro in the west; and shaya in eastern India), with a fitted upper garment commonly called a blouse (ravike in South India and choli elsewhere). The blouse has short sleeves and is usually cropped at the midriff. The sari is associated with grace and is widely regarded as a symbol of Indian, Nepalese, Bangladesh, and Sri Lankan cultures.

ETYMOLOGY

The word sari described in Sanskrit शाटी śāṭī which means 'strip of cloth' and शाडी śāḍī or साडी sāḍī in Prakrit, and which was corrupted to sāṛī in Hindi. The word 'Sattika' is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in Buddhist Jain literature called Jatakas. This could be equivalent to modern day 'Sari'. The term for female bodice, the choli is derived from another ruling clan from ancient Tamil Nadu, the Cholas. Rajatarangini (meaning the 'river of kings'), a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the Choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir.

ORIGINS AND HISTORY

In the history of Indian clothing the sari is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800–1800 BC around the western part of the Indian subcontinent. Sari draping leaves back, cleavage, and side view of belly bare. The origin of such exposing attire can be attributed to humid climate of the land. The earliest known depiction of the sari in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape.

Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari. The ancient stone inscription from Gangaikonda Cholapuram in old Tamil scripts has a reference to hand weaving. 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 sari.

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 called 'Kurpasika' or 'Stanapatta' and occasionally a wrap called 'Uttariya' that could at times 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 for lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garment called 'uttariya' for upper body, have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years. In ancient couture the lower garment was called 'nivi' or 'nivi bandha', while the upper body was mostly left bare. The works of Kalidasa mentions 'Kurpasika' a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts. It was also sometimes referred to as 'Uttarasanga' or 'Stanapatta'.

The tightly fitted, short blouse worn under a sari is a choli. Choli evolved as a form of clothing in the 10th century AD, and the first cholis were only front covering; the back was always bare but covered with end of saris pallu. Bodices of this type are still common in the state of Rajasthan.

In South India and especially in Kerala, women from most Hindu communities wore only the sari and exposed the upper part of the body till the middle of the 20th century.Poetic references from works like Silappadikaram 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 midriff completely uncovered. Similar styles of the sari are recorded paintings by Raja Ravi Varma in Kerala. By the mid 19th century, though, bare breasted styles of the sari faced social revaluation and led to the Upper cloth controversy in the princely state of Travancore (now part of the state of Kerala) and the styles declined rapidly within the next half a century.

In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible. By which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was concealed.

Red wedding saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, colour options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crepe, Georgette, charmeuse, and satin are used, and colours have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).

STYLES OF DRAPING

There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari. Fashion designer Aaditya sharma declared, "I can drape a sari in 54 different styles".

The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff. 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 categorised 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 Odia style.

- Gujarati/Rajasthani/Pakistani – after tucking in the pleats similar to the nivi style, the loose end is taken from the back, draped across the right shoulder, and pulled across to be secured in the back

- Maharashtrian/Konkani/Kashta; this drape is very similar to that of the male Maharashtrian dhoti. The centre of the sari (held lengthwise) is placed at the centre back, the ends are brought forward and tied securely, then the two ends are wrapped around the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth of nine yards 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 Goa.

- Madisar – this drape is typical of Iyengar/Iyer Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu. Traditional Madisar is worn using 9 yards saree.

- 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.

- Gobbe Seere – This style is worn by women in the Malnad or Sahyadri and central region of Karnataka. It is worn with 18 molas saree with three four rounds at the waist and a knot after crisscrossing over shoulders.

- 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.

- Malayali style – the two-piece sari, or Mundum Neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or coloured stripes and/or borders. Also the Kerala sari, a sort of mundum neryathum.

- Tribal styles – often secured by tying them firmly across the chest, covering the breasts.

Kunbi style or denthli:Goan Gauda and Kunbis,and those of them who have migrated to other states use this way of draping Sari or Kappad, this form of draping is created by tying a knot in the fabric below the shoulder and a strip of cloth which crossed the left shoulder was fasten on the back.

NIVI STYLE

The nivi is today's most popular sari style from Andhra Pradesh. The increased interaction with the British saw most women from royal families come out of purdah in the 1900s. This necessitated a change of dress. Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar popularised the chiffon sari. She was widowed early in life and followed the convention of abandoning her richly woven Baroda shalus in favour of the traditional unadorned white. Characteristically, she transformed her "mourning" clothes into high fashion. She had saris woven in France to her personal specifications, in white chiffon, and introduced the silk chiffon sari to the royal fashion repertoire.

The chiffon sari did what years of fashion interaction had not done in India. It homogenised fashion across this land. Its softness, lightness and beautiful, elegant, caressing drape was ideally suited to the Indian climate. Different courts adopted their own styles of draping and indigenising the sari. In most of the courts the sari was embellished with stitching hand-woven borders in goldfrom Varanasi, delicate zardozi work, gota, makaish and tilla work that embellished the plain fabric, simultaneously satisfying both traditional demands and ingrained love for ornamentation. Some images of maharanis in the Deccan show the women wearing a sleeveless, richly embellished waistcoat over their blouses. The Begum of Savanur remembers how sumptuous the chiffon sari became at their gatherings. At some courts it was worn with jaali, or net kurtas and embossed silk waist length sadris or jackets. Some of them were so rich that the entire ground was embroidered over with pearls and zardozi.

Nivi drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat, usually a plain skirt. The cloth is wrapped around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats below the navel. The pleats are 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, pallav, seragu, or paita depending on the language. 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. The long end of the pallu hanging from the back of the shoulder is often intricately decorated. The pallu may be hanging freely, tucked in at the waist, used to cover the head, or 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, coming from the back over the right shoulder with one corner tucked by the left hip, covering the torso/waist. The nivi sari was popularised through the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. In one of his paintings, the Indian subcontinent was shown as a mother wearing a flowing nivi sari. The ornaments generally accepted by the Hindu culture that can be worn in the midriff region are the waist chains. They are considered to be a part of bridal jewellery.

PROFESSIONAL STYLE OF DRAPING

Because of the harsh extremes in temperature on the Indian Subcontinent, the sari fills a practical role as well as a decorative one. It is not only warming in winter and cooling in summer, but its loose-fitting tailoring is preferred by women who must be free to move as their duties require. For this reason, it is the clothing of choice of air hostesses on Air India. This led to a professional style of draping a sari which is referred to "Air-Hostess style sari". An air hostess style sari is tied in just the same way as a normal sari except that the pleats are held together quite nicely with the help of pins. A bordered sari will be just perfect for an Air-Hostess style drape where the pallu is heavily pleated and pinned on the shoulder. Even the vertical pleats that are tucked at the navel are severely pleated and pressed. Same goes for the pallu pleats that are pinned at the shoulder. To get the perfect "Air-hostess" a complimentary U-shaped blouse that covers the upper body completely is worn which gives a very elegant and formal look. Mastering the "Air-hostess" style drape helps to create the desired impact in a formal setting like an interview or a conference.

Saris are worn as uniforms by the female hotel staff of many five star luxury hotels in India as symbol of culture. Recently, in a makeover design, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, decided the welcoming staff at the group's Luxury Hotels would be draped in the rich colours and designs of the Banarasi six yards. The new saris were unveiled at the Taj property in Mumbai. It will be subsequently replicated at all 10 Luxury Hotels of the group across the country for duty managers and front office staff. Taj had adopted three villages in Varanasi and employed 25 master weavers there for the project. The vision finally took shape after 14 months, once the weavers had a good work environment, understood the designs and fine-tuned the motifs.

Similarly, the female politicians of India wear the sari in a professional manner. The women of Nehru–Gandhi family like Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi wear the special blouse for the campaign trail which is longer than usually and is tucked in to prevent any midriff show while waving to the crowds.Stylist Prasad Bidapa has to say, "I think Sonia Gandhi is the country's most stylish politician. But that's because she's inherited the best collection of saris from her mother-in-law. I'm also happy that she supports the Indian handloom industry with her selection." BJP politician Sushma Swaraj maintains her prim housewife look with a pinned-up pallu while general secretary of AIADMK Jayalalithaa wears her saris like a suit of armour.

SARIS IN INDIAN LAW

In 2014, an Indian family court in Mumbai ruled that a husband objecting to his wife wearing a kurta and jeans and forcing her to wear a sari amounts to cruelty inflicted by the husband and can be a ground to seek divorce. The wife was thus granted a divorce on the ground of cruelty as defined under section 27(1)(d) of Special Marriage Act, 1954.

BANGLADESH

Sharee or saree (in Bengali=শাড়ি) is the national wear of Bangladeshi women. Most women who are married wear sharee as their regular dress while young-unmarried girls wear sharee as an occasional dress. The shari is worn by women throughout Bangladesh. Sari is the most popular dress for women in Bangladesh, both for casual and formal occasion. Although Dhakai Jamdani (hand made shari) is worldwide known and most famous to all women who wear shari but there are also many variety of shari in Bangladesh.There are many regional variations of them in both silk and cotton. e.g.- Tanta/Tant cotton shari, Dhakai Benaroshi shari, Rajshahi silk shari, Tangail Tanter shari, Tassar silk shari, monipuri shari and Katan shari are the most popular in Bangladesh.

PAKISTAN

In Pakistan, the sarees are still popular and worn on special occasions. The Shalwar kameez, however, is worn throughout the country on a daily basis. The sari nevertheless remains a popular garment among the middle and upper class for many formal functions. Sarees can be seen worn commonly in metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Islamabad and are worn regularly to weddings and other business type of functions. Sarees are also worn by many Muslim women in Sindh to show their status or to enhance their beauty. The sari is worn as daily wear by Pakistani Hindus, by elderly Muslim women who were used to wearing it in pre-partition India and by some of the new generation who have reintroduced the interest in saris.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles. 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.

The Kandyan style is considered the national dress of Sinhalese women. It is the uniform of the air hostesses of SriLankan Airlines.

During the 1960s, the mini sari known as 'hipster' sari created a wrinkle in Sri Lankan fashion, since it was worn below the navel and barely above the line of prosecution for indecent exposure. The conservative people described the 'hipster' as "an absolute travesty of a beautiful costume almost a desecration" and "a hideous and purposeless garment".

NEPAL

The sari is the most commonly worn women's clothing in Nepal. In Nepal, a special style of sari draping is called haku patasihh. The sari is draped around the waist and a shawl is worn covering the upper half of the sari, which is used in place of a pallu.

AFGHANISTAN

Sari's have been worn by the Afghan royal family house and upper family classes as well by Muslim women at special functions.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES WITH OTHER ASIAN CLOTHING

While the sari is typical to Indian traditional wear, clothing worn by South-East Asian countries like Burma, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore resemble it, where a long rectangular piece of cloth is draped around the body. These are different from the sari as they are wrapped around the lower-half of body as a skirt, worn with a shirt/blouse, resembling a sarong, as seen in the Burmese Longyi, Filipino Malong, Tapis, Laotian Xout lao, Thai Sinh's, and Timorese Tais. Saris, worn predominantly in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal are usually draped with one end of the cloth fastened around the waist, and the other end placed over the shoulder baring the midriff.

SAREE ORNAMENTATION AND DECORATIVE ACCESSORIES

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 colours 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 bhuttis (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 coloured 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 fibres, 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 overall 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.

SARI OUTSIDE SOUTH ASIA

The traditional sari made an impact in the United States during the 1970s. Eugene Novack who ran the New York store, Royal Saree House told that he had been selling it mainly to the Indian women in New York area but later many American business women and housewives became his customers who preferred their saris to resemble the full gown of the western world. He also said that men appeared intrigued by the fragility and the femininity it confers on the wearer. Newcomers to the sari report that it is comfortable to wear, requiring no girdles or stockings and that the flowing garb feels so feminine with unusual grace.

As a nod to the fashion-forward philosophy established by the designs of Emilio Pucci, the now-defunct Braniff International Airways envisioned their air hostesses wearing a more revealing version of a sari on a proposed Dallas-Bombay (conceivably via London) service in the late 1970s. However this was never realised because of Halston's resistance to working with a palette outside of his comfort zone. The former Eagan, Minnesota–based Northwest Airlines considered issuing saris to flight attendants working the Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Delhi route that began in the 1990s. This never occurred largely because of a union dispute.

The sari has gained its popularity internationally because of the growth of Indian fashion trends globally. Many Bollywood celebrities, like Aishwarya Rai,[48] have worn it at international events representing the Indian culture. In 2010, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone wanted to represent her country at an international event, wearing the national costume. On her very first red carpet appearance at the Cannes International Film Festival, she stepped out on the red carpet in a Rohit Bal sari.

Even popular Hollywood celebrities have worn this traditional attire. Pamela Anderson made a surprise guest appearance on Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, dressed in a sari that was specially designed for her by Mumbai-based fashion designer Ashley Rebello. Ashley Judd donned a purple sari at the Youth AIDS Benefit Gala in November 2007 at the Ritz Carlton in Mclean, Virginia. There was an Indian flavour to the red carpet at the annual Fashion Rocks concert in New York, with designer Rocky S walking the ramp along with Jessica, Ashley, Nicole, Kimberly and Melody – the Pussycat Dolls – dressed in saris.

TYPES

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 other well-known varieties, distinct on the basis of fabric, weaving style, or motif, in South Asia:

CENTRAL STYLES

Chanderi Sari – Madhya Pradesh

Maheshwari – Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh

Kosa Silk – Chhattisgarh

Dhokra Silk – Madhya Pradesh

EASTERN STYLES

Tangail Tant Saree – Bangladesh

Jamdani – Bangladesh

Muslin – Bangladesh

Rajshahi Silk (Eri Silk) – Bangladesh

Tussar Silk Saree – Rajshahi Bangladesh

Dhakai Katan – Bangladesh

Khadi Saree – Comilla Bangladesh

Jute Cotton – Bangladesh

Mooga Silk – Assam

Mekhla Cotton – Assam

Dhaniakhali Cotton – West Bengal

Shantipuri Cotton – Shantipur, West Bengal

Phulia Cotton – Phulia, West Bengal

Begumpur Cotton – Begumpur, West Bengal

Garad Saree (Korial) – Murshidabad, West Bengal

Tant Saree – Farshganj, West Bengal

Murshidabad Silk – West Bengal

Baluchari Silk – Bishnupur, Bankura West Bengal

Kantha Silk & Cotton Saree – West Bengal & Bangladesh

Batic Saree – West Bengal & Bangladesh

Sambalpuri Silk & Cotton Saree – Sambalpur, Odisha

Bomkai Silk & Cotton Saree – Bomkai, Ganjam, Odisha

Khandua Silk & Cotton Saree – Nuapatna, Cuttack, Odisha

Sonepuri Silk & Cotton Saree – Subarnapur, Odisha

Berhampuri Silk – Behrampur, Odisha

Mattha Silk Saree – Mayurbhanj, Odisha

Bapta Silk & Cotton Saree – Koraput, Odisha

Tanta Cotton Saree – Balasore, Odisha

Manipuri Tant Saree - Manipur

WESTERN STYLES

Paithani – Maharashtra

Bandhani – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Pakistan

Kota doria – Rajasthan, Pakistan

Lugade – Maharashtra

Patola – Gujarat, Pakistan

SOUTHERN STYLES

Mysore Silk – Karnataka

Ilkal Saree – Karnataka

Molakalmuru Sari – Karnataka

Venkatagiri – Andhra Pradesh

Mangalagiri Silk Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Uppada Silk Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Chirala Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Bandar Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Bandarulanka – Andhra Pradesh

Kuppadam Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Dharmavaram Silk Saree – Andhra pradesh

Kanchipuram Sari (locally called Kanjivaram Pattu) – Tamil Nadu

Kumbakonam – Tamil Nadu

Thirubuvanam – Tamil Nadu

Coimbatore Cotton Tamil Nadu

Chinnalampattu or Sungudi Tamil Nadu

Balarampuram – Kerala

Mundum Neriyathum – Kerala

Mayilati Silk – Kerala

Kannur Cotton – Kerala

Kalpathi Silk Sarees – Kerala

Maradaka Silk – Kerala

Samudrikapuram Silk and Cotton – Kerala

Pochampally Sari or Puttapaka Sari – Telangana

Gadwal Sari – Telangana

Narayanpet – Telangana or Maharashtra

NORTHERN STYLES

Banarasi – Uttar Pradesh

Shalu – Uttar Pradesh

Tanchoi – Uttar Pradesh

Bagru – Rajasthan, Pakistan

WIKIPEDIA

Two beautiful girls at the banks of Ghaghra River.

A Sari, saree, sadi, or shari is a South Asian female garment that consists of a drape varying from 4.5 metres to 8 metres in length and 60 cm to 1.20 m in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff.

The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (called 'parkar' (परकर) in Marathi lahaṅgā or lehenga in the north; seelai in Tamil, pavada (or occasionally langa) in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, chaniyo, parkar, ghaghra, or ghagaro in the west; and shaya in eastern India), with a fitted upper garment commonly called a blouse (ravike in South India and choli elsewhere). The blouse has short sleeves and is usually cropped at the midriff. The sari is associated with grace and is widely regarded as a symbol of Indian, Nepalese, Bangladesh, and Sri Lankan cultures.

ETYMOLOGY

The word sari described in Sanskrit शाटी śāṭī which means 'strip of cloth' and शाडी śāḍī or साडी sāḍī in Prakrit, and which was corrupted to sāṛī in Hindi. The word 'Sattika' is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in Buddhist Jain literature called Jatakas. This could be equivalent to modern day 'Sari'. The term for female bodice, the choli is derived from another ruling clan from ancient Tamil Nadu, the Cholas. Rajatarangini (meaning the 'river of kings'), a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the Choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir.

ORIGINS AND HISTORY

In the history of Indian clothing the sari is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800–1800 BC around the western part of the Indian subcontinent. Sari draping leaves back, cleavage, and side view of belly bare. The origin of such exposing attire can be attributed to humid climate of the land. The earliest known depiction of the sari in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape.

Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari. The ancient stone inscription from Gangaikonda Cholapuram in old Tamil scripts has a reference to hand weaving. 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 sari.

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 called 'Kurpasika' or 'Stanapatta' and occasionally a wrap called 'Uttariya' that could at times 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 for lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garment called 'uttariya' for upper body, have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years. In ancient couture the lower garment was called 'nivi' or 'nivi bandha', while the upper body was mostly left bare. The works of Kalidasa mentions 'Kurpasika' a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts. It was also sometimes referred to as 'Uttarasanga' or 'Stanapatta'.

The tightly fitted, short blouse worn under a sari is a choli. Choli evolved as a form of clothing in the 10th century AD, and the first cholis were only front covering; the back was always bare but covered with end of saris pallu. Bodices of this type are still common in the state of Rajasthan.

In South India and especially in Kerala, women from most Hindu communities wore only the sari and exposed the upper part of the body till the middle of the 20th century.Poetic references from works like Silappadikaram 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 midriff completely uncovered. Similar styles of the sari are recorded paintings by Raja Ravi Varma in Kerala. By the mid 19th century, though, bare breasted styles of the sari faced social revaluation and led to the Upper cloth controversy in the princely state of Travancore (now part of the state of Kerala) and the styles declined rapidly within the next half a century.

In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible. By which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was concealed.

Red wedding saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, colour options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crepe, Georgette, charmeuse, and satin are used, and colours have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).

STYLES OF DRAPING

There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari. Fashion designer Aaditya sharma declared, "I can drape a sari in 54 different styles".

The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff. 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 categorised 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 Odia style.

- Gujarati/Rajasthani/Pakistani – after tucking in the pleats similar to the nivi style, the loose end is taken from the back, draped across the right shoulder, and pulled across to be secured in the back

- Maharashtrian/Konkani/Kashta; this drape is very similar to that of the male Maharashtrian dhoti. The centre of the sari (held lengthwise) is placed at the centre back, the ends are brought forward and tied securely, then the two ends are wrapped around the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth of nine yards 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 Goa.

- Madisar – this drape is typical of Iyengar/Iyer Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu. Traditional Madisar is worn using 9 yards saree.

- 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.

- Gobbe Seere – This style is worn by women in the Malnad or Sahyadri and central region of Karnataka. It is worn with 18 molas saree with three four rounds at the waist and a knot after crisscrossing over shoulders.

- 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.

- Malayali style – the two-piece sari, or Mundum Neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or coloured stripes and/or borders. Also the Kerala sari, a sort of mundum neryathum.

- Tribal styles – often secured by tying them firmly across the chest, covering the breasts.

Kunbi style or denthli:Goan Gauda and Kunbis,and those of them who have migrated to other states use this way of draping Sari or Kappad, this form of draping is created by tying a knot in the fabric below the shoulder and a strip of cloth which crossed the left shoulder was fasten on the back.

NIVI STYLE

The nivi is today's most popular sari style from Andhra Pradesh. The increased interaction with the British saw most women from royal families come out of purdah in the 1900s. This necessitated a change of dress. Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar popularised the chiffon sari. She was widowed early in life and followed the convention of abandoning her richly woven Baroda shalus in favour of the traditional unadorned white. Characteristically, she transformed her "mourning" clothes into high fashion. She had saris woven in France to her personal specifications, in white chiffon, and introduced the silk chiffon sari to the royal fashion repertoire.

The chiffon sari did what years of fashion interaction had not done in India. It homogenised fashion across this land. Its softness, lightness and beautiful, elegant, caressing drape was ideally suited to the Indian climate. Different courts adopted their own styles of draping and indigenising the sari. In most of the courts the sari was embellished with stitching hand-woven borders in goldfrom Varanasi, delicate zardozi work, gota, makaish and tilla work that embellished the plain fabric, simultaneously satisfying both traditional demands and ingrained love for ornamentation. Some images of maharanis in the Deccan show the women wearing a sleeveless, richly embellished waistcoat over their blouses. The Begum of Savanur remembers how sumptuous the chiffon sari became at their gatherings. At some courts it was worn with jaali, or net kurtas and embossed silk waist length sadris or jackets. Some of them were so rich that the entire ground was embroidered over with pearls and zardozi.

Nivi drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat, usually a plain skirt. The cloth is wrapped around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats below the navel. The pleats are 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, pallav, seragu, or paita depending on the language. 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. The long end of the pallu hanging from the back of the shoulder is often intricately decorated. The pallu may be hanging freely, tucked in at the waist, used to cover the head, or 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, coming from the back over the right shoulder with one corner tucked by the left hip, covering the torso/waist. The nivi sari was popularised through the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. In one of his paintings, the Indian subcontinent was shown as a mother wearing a flowing nivi sari. The ornaments generally accepted by the Hindu culture that can be worn in the midriff region are the waist chains. They are considered to be a part of bridal jewellery.

PROFESSIONAL STYLE OF DRAPING

Because of the harsh extremes in temperature on the Indian Subcontinent, the sari fills a practical role as well as a decorative one. It is not only warming in winter and cooling in summer, but its loose-fitting tailoring is preferred by women who must be free to move as their duties require. For this reason, it is the clothing of choice of air hostesses on Air India. This led to a professional style of draping a sari which is referred to "Air-Hostess style sari". An air hostess style sari is tied in just the same way as a normal sari except that the pleats are held together quite nicely with the help of pins. A bordered sari will be just perfect for an Air-Hostess style drape where the pallu is heavily pleated and pinned on the shoulder. Even the vertical pleats that are tucked at the navel are severely pleated and pressed. Same goes for the pallu pleats that are pinned at the shoulder. To get the perfect "Air-hostess" a complimentary U-shaped blouse that covers the upper body completely is worn which gives a very elegant and formal look. Mastering the "Air-hostess" style drape helps to create the desired impact in a formal setting like an interview or a conference.

Saris are worn as uniforms by the female hotel staff of many five star luxury hotels in India as symbol of culture. Recently, in a makeover design, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, decided the welcoming staff at the group's Luxury Hotels would be draped in the rich colours and designs of the Banarasi six yards. The new saris were unveiled at the Taj property in Mumbai. It will be subsequently replicated at all 10 Luxury Hotels of the group across the country for duty managers and front office staff. Taj had adopted three villages in Varanasi and employed 25 master weavers there for the project. The vision finally took shape after 14 months, once the weavers had a good work environment, understood the designs and fine-tuned the motifs.

Similarly, the female politicians of India wear the sari in a professional manner. The women of Nehru–Gandhi family like Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi wear the special blouse for the campaign trail which is longer than usually and is tucked in to prevent any midriff show while waving to the crowds.Stylist Prasad Bidapa has to say, "I think Sonia Gandhi is the country's most stylish politician. But that's because she's inherited the best collection of saris from her mother-in-law. I'm also happy that she supports the Indian handloom industry with her selection." BJP politician Sushma Swaraj maintains her prim housewife look with a pinned-up pallu while general secretary of AIADMK Jayalalithaa wears her saris like a suit of armour.

SARIS IN INDIAN LAW

In 2014, an Indian family court in Mumbai ruled that a husband objecting to his wife wearing a kurta and jeans and forcing her to wear a sari amounts to cruelty inflicted by the husband and can be a ground to seek divorce. The wife was thus granted a divorce on the ground of cruelty as defined under section 27(1)(d) of Special Marriage Act, 1954.

BANGLADESH

Sharee or saree (in Bengali=শাড়ি) is the national wear of Bangladeshi women. Most women who are married wear sharee as their regular dress while young-unmarried girls wear sharee as an occasional dress. The shari is worn by women throughout Bangladesh. Sari is the most popular dress for women in Bangladesh, both for casual and formal occasion. Although Dhakai Jamdani (hand made shari) is worldwide known and most famous to all women who wear shari but there are also many variety of shari in Bangladesh.There are many regional variations of them in both silk and cotton. e.g.- Tanta/Tant cotton shari, Dhakai Benaroshi shari, Rajshahi silk shari, Tangail Tanter shari, Tassar silk shari, monipuri shari and Katan shari are the most popular in Bangladesh.

PAKISTAN

In Pakistan, the sarees are still popular and worn on special occasions. The Shalwar kameez, however, is worn throughout the country on a daily basis. The sari nevertheless remains a popular garment among the middle and upper class for many formal functions. Sarees can be seen worn commonly in metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Islamabad and are worn regularly to weddings and other business type of functions. Sarees are also worn by many Muslim women in Sindh to show their status or to enhance their beauty. The sari is worn as daily wear by Pakistani Hindus, by elderly Muslim women who were used to wearing it in pre-partition India and by some of the new generation who have reintroduced the interest in saris.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles. 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.

The Kandyan style is considered the national dress of Sinhalese women. It is the uniform of the air hostesses of SriLankan Airlines.

During the 1960s, the mini sari known as 'hipster' sari created a wrinkle in Sri Lankan fashion, since it was worn below the navel and barely above the line of prosecution for indecent exposure. The conservative people described the 'hipster' as "an absolute travesty of a beautiful costume almost a desecration" and "a hideous and purposeless garment".

NEPAL

The sari is the most commonly worn women's clothing in Nepal. In Nepal, a special style of sari draping is called haku patasihh. The sari is draped around the waist and a shawl is worn covering the upper half of the sari, which is used in place of a pallu.

AFGHANISTAN

Sari's have been worn by the Afghan royal family house and upper family classes as well by Muslim women at special functions.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES WITH OTHER ASIAN CLOTHING

While the sari is typical to Indian traditional wear, clothing worn by South-East Asian countries like Burma, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore resemble it, where a long rectangular piece of cloth is draped around the body. These are different from the sari as they are wrapped around the lower-half of body as a skirt, worn with a shirt/blouse, resembling a sarong, as seen in the Burmese Longyi, Filipino Malong, Tapis, Laotian Xout lao, Thai Sinh's, and Timorese Tais. Saris, worn predominantly in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal are usually draped with one end of the cloth fastened around the waist, and the other end placed over the shoulder baring the midriff.

SAREE ORNAMENTATION AND DECORATIVE ACCESSORIES

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 colours 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 bhuttis (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 coloured 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 fibres, 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 overall 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.

SARI OUTSIDE SOUTH ASIA

The traditional sari made an impact in the United States during the 1970s. Eugene Novack who ran the New York store, Royal Saree House told that he had been selling it mainly to the Indian women in New York area but later many American business women and housewives became his customers who preferred their saris to resemble the full gown of the western world. He also said that men appeared intrigued by the fragility and the femininity it confers on the wearer. Newcomers to the sari report that it is comfortable to wear, requiring no girdles or stockings and that the flowing garb feels so feminine with unusual grace.

As a nod to the fashion-forward philosophy established by the designs of Emilio Pucci, the now-defunct Braniff International Airways envisioned their air hostesses wearing a more revealing version of a sari on a proposed Dallas-Bombay (conceivably via London) service in the late 1970s. However this was never realised because of Halston's resistance to working with a palette outside of his comfort zone. The former Eagan, Minnesota–based Northwest Airlines considered issuing saris to flight attendants working the Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Delhi route that began in the 1990s. This never occurred largely because of a union dispute.

The sari has gained its popularity internationally because of the growth of Indian fashion trends globally. Many Bollywood celebrities, like Aishwarya Rai,[48] have worn it at international events representing the Indian culture. In 2010, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone wanted to represent her country at an international event, wearing the national costume. On her very first red carpet appearance at the Cannes International Film Festival, she stepped out on the red carpet in a Rohit Bal sari.

Even popular Hollywood celebrities have worn this traditional attire. Pamela Anderson made a surprise guest appearance on Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, dressed in a sari that was specially designed for her by Mumbai-based fashion designer Ashley Rebello. Ashley Judd donned a purple sari at the Youth AIDS Benefit Gala in November 2007 at the Ritz Carlton in Mclean, Virginia. There was an Indian flavour to the red carpet at the annual Fashion Rocks concert in New York, with designer Rocky S walking the ramp along with Jessica, Ashley, Nicole, Kimberly and Melody – the Pussycat Dolls – dressed in saris.

TYPES

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 other well-known varieties, distinct on the basis of fabric, weaving style, or motif, in South Asia:

CENTRAL STYLES

Chanderi Sari – Madhya Pradesh

Maheshwari – Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh

Kosa Silk – Chhattisgarh

Dhokra Silk – Madhya Pradesh

EASTERN STYLES

Tangail Tant Saree – Bangladesh

Jamdani – Bangladesh

Muslin – Bangladesh

Rajshahi Silk (Eri Silk) – Bangladesh

Tussar Silk Saree – Rajshahi Bangladesh

Dhakai Katan – Bangladesh

Khadi Saree – Comilla Bangladesh

Jute Cotton – Bangladesh

Mooga Silk – Assam

Mekhla Cotton – Assam

Dhaniakhali Cotton – West Bengal

Shantipuri Cotton – Shantipur, West Bengal

Phulia Cotton – Phulia, West Bengal

Begumpur Cotton – Begumpur, West Bengal

Garad Saree (Korial) – Murshidabad, West Bengal

Tant Saree – Farshganj, West Bengal

Murshidabad Silk – West Bengal

Baluchari Silk – Bishnupur, Bankura West Bengal

Kantha Silk & Cotton Saree – West Bengal & Bangladesh

Batic Saree – West Bengal & Bangladesh

Sambalpuri Silk & Cotton Saree – Sambalpur, Odisha

Bomkai Silk & Cotton Saree – Bomkai, Ganjam, Odisha

Khandua Silk & Cotton Saree – Nuapatna, Cuttack, Odisha

Sonepuri Silk & Cotton Saree – Subarnapur, Odisha

Berhampuri Silk – Behrampur, Odisha

Mattha Silk Saree – Mayurbhanj, Odisha

Bapta Silk & Cotton Saree – Koraput, Odisha

Tanta Cotton Saree – Balasore, Odisha

Manipuri Tant Saree - Manipur

WESTERN STYLES

Paithani – Maharashtra

Bandhani – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Pakistan

Kota doria – Rajasthan, Pakistan

Lugade – Maharashtra

Patola – Gujarat, Pakistan

SOUTHERN STYLES

Mysore Silk – Karnataka

Ilkal Saree – Karnataka

Molakalmuru Sari – Karnataka

Venkatagiri – Andhra Pradesh

Mangalagiri Silk Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Uppada Silk Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Chirala Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Bandar Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Bandarulanka – Andhra Pradesh

Kuppadam Sarees – Andhra Pradesh

Dharmavaram Silk Saree – Andhra pradesh

Kanchipuram Sari (locally called Kanjivaram Pattu) – Tamil Nadu

Kumbakonam – Tamil Nadu

Thirubuvanam – Tamil Nadu

Coimbatore Cotton Tamil Nadu

Chinnalampattu or Sungudi Tamil Nadu

Balarampuram – Kerala

Mundum Neriyathum – Kerala

Mayilati Silk – Kerala

Kannur Cotton – Kerala

Kalpathi Silk Sarees – Kerala

Maradaka Silk – Kerala

Samudrikapuram Silk and Cotton – Kerala

Pochampally Sari or Puttapaka Sari – Telangana

Gadwal Sari – Telangana

Narayanpet – Telangana or Maharashtra

NORTHERN STYLES

Banarasi – Uttar Pradesh

Shalu – Uttar Pradesh

Tanchoi – Uttar Pradesh

Bagru – Rajasthan, Pakistan

WIKIPEDIA

Colorful Rajasthan is a vibrant patchwork of ancient traditions and culture and of course the clothes and dresses worn by the people of Rajasthan,

Rajasthani women wear ghagra choli's, saris, lehangas and dupattas. The women who belong to rich families wear special chappals that are decorated with sequins and gold threads.

Costumes of Rajasthan are extremely bright, colourful and elegant. The beautifully designed and vibrantly coloured clothes lend cheerfulness to the dull-coloured monotone of the sands and hills. Interesting costumes and jewellery of these desert people are not mere ornaments for them. Everything from head-to-toe including the turbans, clothes, jewellery and even the footwear establish the identity, religion, and the economic and social status of the population of Rajasthan. The clothes worn by the people of Rajasthani people have been designed keeping in mind the climate and conditions in which they live.

The Rajasthani female`s attire includes Ghaghra (long skirt), kurti or choli (tops and blouses respectively) and odhna. Most of the Rajasthani women wear the ghagra which is a long skirt that reaches up to the ankle. It has a narrow waist which increases in width and flares towards the base. The skirt is usually not folded at the lower end like normal skirts but a broad, coloured fabric known as `sinjaf` is sewn below to make it stronger. The width and the number of pleats in the `Ghaghra`, are said to symbolise the wealth of a person. The ghagra comes in many colours and styles. The ghagras which are most popular among Rajasthani women are those which are cotton ones which are coloured or printed with mothra, chunari and laharia prints. Much like the pagaris of the men folk.

The Odhni is a specialty of Rajasthani costume. It is a piece of cloth which is about10 feet long and 5 feet wide. One corner of the Odhni is tucked in the skirt while the other end is taken over the head and right shoulder. The colours and motifs which are found on the Odhnis are particular to caste, type of costume and occasion. Both Hindu and Muslims women wear `odhnis`. An `odhni` with a yellow background and a central lotus motif in red called a `pila` is a traditional gift of parent to their daughter on the birth of a son.

A Sari, saree, sadi, or shari is a South Asian female garment that consists of a drape varying from five to nine yards (4.5 metres to 8 metres) in length and two to four feet (60 cm to 1.20 m) in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff. The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (called 'parkar' in Marathi lahaṅgā or lehenga in the north; pavadai in Tamil, pavada (or occasionally langa) in Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, chaniyo, parkar, ghaghra, or ghagaro in the west; and shaya in eastern India), with a fitted upper garment commonly called a blouse (ravike in South India and choli elsewhere). The blouse has short sleeves and is usually cropped at the midriff. The sari is associated with grace and is widely regarded as a symbol of grace in South Asian cultures.

Family of three on a bicycle. The wife is dressed elegantly even though this is taken in a dusty road where cyclists have to dodge trucks and cars every minute.

A sari or saree is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine yards in length that is draped over the body in various styles which is native to the Indian Subcontinent. The word Sari is also supposedly derived from chati or shati – an aboriginal Indian word. The term for female bodice, the choli is derived from another ruling clan from south, the Cholas. Rajatarangini (meaning the 'river of kings'), a tenth century literary work by Kalhana, states that the Choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir. The concept of Pallava, the end piece in the sari, originated during the Pallavas period and named after the Pallavas, another ruling clan of Ancient Tamilakam.

The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (called laha?ga or lehenga in the north; langa, pavada, or pavadai in the south; chaniyo, parkar, ghaghra, or ghagaro in the west; and shaya in eastern India), with a blouse known as a choli or ravika forming the upper garment. The blouse has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped at the midriff, 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. These are usually more dressy, with plenty 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 short-sleeved shirt tucked in at the waist. The sari developed as a garment of its own in both South and North India at around the same time, and is in popular culture an epitome of Indian culture. The sari signified the grace of Indian women adequately displaying the curves at the right places. - wikipedia

Ghoomar Dance , Rajasthan

The Ghoomar dance is a very famous and a community dance of women in Rajasthan. It is performed on various auspicious occasions like fairs & festivals. It is called as `Ghoomar`, from the `ghoomna` of Ghaghra i.e. the flowing of Ghaghra, a long skirt of the Rajasthani women. There is an amazing grace as the skirt flair slowly while the women folk twirl in circles, their faces covered with the help of the veil. The performers in Ghoomar dance sway their colorful ghagras that are rich in embroidery work and it is also embellished with mirror-work.

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: Flowers of India • NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow ... Dave's Botanary

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods) ... Dave's Botanary

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Distribution: widely distributed; exact native range obscure

References: Flowers of India • GRIN • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: Flowers of India • NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: Flowers of India • NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Ranchi - Nagri - Bero - Sisai - Ghaghra - Bishunpur - Netarhat Road Trip via NH 43

Netarhat is a hill station in Latehar district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

It is also referred to as the "Queen of Chotanagpur", and is a hill station.

The town is also famous for Netarhat Residential School, set up in 1954.

(Wikipedia)

Elevation: 1,071 m

District: Latehar

Block: Mahuadanar

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- meaning, yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- meaning, swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Afrikaans: kankerroos • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Portuguese (Brazil): carrapicho-de-carneiro • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: Flowers of India • NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow ... Dave's Botanary

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods) ... Dave's Botanary

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Distribution: widely distributed; exact native range obscure

References: Flowers of India • GRIN • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- meaning, yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- meaning, swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Afrikaans: kankerroos • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Portuguese (Brazil): carrapicho-de-carneiro • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

... flowers are of two types: one, in short terminal branches, produces only pollen ... other, in clusters in the axils of the leaves, produces seed.

References: NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Attention all online shoppers! search out ready to grab season an excellent offer from Jugniji.com. Get Sale on Various Types of Bridal Sarees, designer Sarees, Salwar Kameez, ghaghra & lehenga choli from jugniji.com.

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: Flowers of India • NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: Flowers of India • NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Portrait of Traditional Indian Woman in contemporary style with acrylic on canvas by Ramavath Srinivas. In his all paintings, you will see a married Rajasthani rural woman with colorful Ghaghra and beautiful ornaments with ivory bangles on her entire hands. Using the right color combination in a different style makes the artwork so attractive and is worth buying for a home!

Visit here to get more details- www.indigalleria.com/artists/ramavath-srinivas-212

The Ghoomer dance is a very famous and a community dance of women/men in Rajasthan. It is performed on various auspicious occasions like fairs & festivals. It is called as `Ghoomer`, from the `ghoomna` of Ghaghra i.e. the flowing of Ghaghra, a long skirt of the Rajasthani women. There is an amazing grace as the skirt flair slowly while the women folk twirl in circles, their faces covered with the help of the veil. The performers in Ghoomar dance sway their colorful ghagras that are rich in embroidery work and it is also embellished with mirror-work.

The Ghoomar dance is the characteristic dance of the Bhils and a community dance of the Rajputs, also which only the women traditionally perform. It is considered as one of the traditional rituals among this community. So, on the occasion of marriage, a bride is expected to dance Ghoomar after being welcomed at her husband`s home. The performers move gracefully on the beat of the songs in synchronizing steps. As the tempo of the dance increases, the dancers swirl fleetly.

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- meaning, yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- meaning, swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Afrikaans: kankerroos • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Portuguese (Brazil): carrapicho-de-carneiro • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- meaning, yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- meaning, swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Afrikaans: kankerroos • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Portuguese (Brazil): carrapicho-de-carneiro • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

Bridge Number 58A on the Gonda Mailani Section.

This Canal originates from the Girijapuri Barrage on the Ghaghra River near Bicchia and crosses the tracks there itself, then further turns around to cross the tracks here near Kakraha Rest House.

The Canal then further crosses the Nepalganj Road branch line just near Nanpara Jn. and further continues East of Nanpara, where it bifurcates into two tributaries.

One of them continues Eastwards and mixes into the Rapti river further and continues from the other bank further east upto somewhere near Pachpedwa (on the Gonda-Gorakhpur Loop line), mixing with Rapti and Kuano rivers in between a few times. After Pachpedwa it is a bit dried up and cut up in patches but still it runs futhermore east where it finally ends up into the Rapti River again between Parsa and Mahtha Bazar Halt Stations.

The other tributary from Nanpara comes further South towards Chilwaria (On the Gonda-Bahraich line) and is distributed and few more tributaries which are scattered over the length of the Gonda Bahraich line and most of them end up further downwards into the Ghaghra itself - the river from which they were originated!

One of them crosses the tracks right after Bisheshwarganj towards Bahraich.

You can find various photos of this canal at different places in my photostream - If you're willing to search!

Original Write-Up.

The Ghoomer dance is a very famous and a community dance of women in Rajasthan. It is performed on various auspicious occasions like fairs & festivals, There is an amazing grace as the skirt flair slowly while the women folk twirl in circles, their faces covered with the help of the veil. The performers in Ghoomar dance sway their colorful ghagras that are rich in embroidery work and it is also embellished with mirror-work.

They are dressed in the traditional ghaghra and choli with chunaris. They deck up in traditional silver jewelry and glass bangles. The Ghoomar is performed during women’s gatherings like the ritual of haldi during a wedding, or to entertain a queen in her personal quarters, etc.

Asteraceae (aster, daisy, or sunflower family) » Xanthium strumarium

ZAN-thee-um -- meaning, yellow

stroo-MAR-ee-um -- meaning, swelling (tumor in reference to the seedpods)

commonly known as: broad bur, burdock datura, clotbur, rough cockleburr • Afrikaans: kankerroos • Gujarati: godrian • Hindi: छोटा धतूरा chota dhatura, छोटा गोखुरू chota gokhuru, घाघरा ghaghra, संखाहुली sankhahuli • Kannada: ಮರುಳೂಮ್ಮತ್ತಿ maruluummatti • Marathi: घागरा ghagara, शंकेश्र्वर shankeshrvar • Portuguese (Brazil): carrapicho-de-carneiro • Sanskrit: अरिष्ट arishta, मेध्य medhya, सर्पक्षी sarpakshi • Tamil: மருளூமத்தை marul-umattai • Telugu: మరులుతీగె marulutige

Native to: the Americas, eastern Asia

References: NPGS / GRIN • Purdue University • Wikipedia

_FABRIC DETIALS_

Top :- Fox Gerogette With Santoon inner With Heavy Embroidery With Heavy Stone Work+Pearls

Top height :- 55"

Ghaghra :- Heavy Jaipuri Silk With Santoon Inner

Sleeve:- Fox Georgette with embroidery Stone Work+ Pearls

Duptta :- Heavy Mono Net With Four Side Pearl less

Size:- Upto 48

Type:- Semi stiched (material)

Weight :- 2 kg