Sari - Veiling the Feminine Mystique

Sari, the traditional frock of women is exotic, sensuous, seductive and feminine. These are just some of the aglow footing attributed to the sari; but why is it that we glorify only women's traditional frocks this way? Why can't women transgress the cultural norms and wear more comfy frocks without inviting snide remarks? Probably women, because of their child-bearing and raising role, incarnate the continuance of culture. They are more than symbolic. Are sari, the traditional Indian women's dress, six paces of sensuousness or six paces of bonds to bind them into a cultural image?

For today's woman, the pick of wearing a saree would depend on the occasion. For an eventide or a late nighttime political party or a wedding, sarees - may be a epicurean chiffon or silk georgette in soft chromaticities or ablaze colours - would be great. But a adult female hopping into a crowded moving autobus to travel to college or business office - an mundane scenario in any typical Indian metropolis - would definitely prefer a frock offering better mobility. A survey on "South Asiatic Women in the Workplace" by the Harvard University Business School states that most companies considered a traditionally dressed women as inactive and submissive, unambitious and unassertive, despite being technically adept. A sari, worn with a matching blouse and a bindi, however beguiling otherwise, could thus be an mistiming in a highly competitory planetary work environment.

That said, we can glorify the bewitching six paces of cloth as a equivalent word for elegance, beauty and style. Sari is as old as the civilisation of India. Cotton was grown and woven into cloth in Republic Of India five thousand old age ago. There are many sculptures of Graeco-Indian Gandharan civilisation which demo a assortment of different saree draping styles. Today, the saree is worn by women in the Indian sub-continent, from Kingdom Of Nepal to India, Pakistan, People'S Republic Of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Always in style, it is a forgiving garment that conceals a woman's imperfectnesses and heightens her assets. As an incarnation of feminine mystique, it entices by telling just adequate to maintain you guessing; yet, probably by its association with virtuous womanhood, pulls off to remain away from giving a come-hither look. Even today for a immature girl, draping a saree for the first clip is the ultimate coming-of-age experience.

A saree is a very long strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from five to nine metres in length, which can be draped in assorted styles. The saree is first lesion around the waist, before being pleated seven or eight modern times at the centre and tucked into the waistband. The remaining sari, called the pallu, is then pleated again and draped across the left shoulder to fall gracefully behind. The saree is usually worn over a petticoat, with a blouse known as a choli forming the upper garment, baring the midriff. The choli have short arms and a low cervix and, as such, is particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asiatic summers. Cholis may be "backless" or of a hackamore cervix style.

Each part of Republic Of India have its ain distinct style of wearing a sari. In Maharashtra, women have on the nine-yard saree which is passed through the legs and tucked in at the back. This, or similar sort of parting-at-the-legs style, somewhat trouser-like, is usually worn by working women, as it doesn't hinder movement. In Gujarat, the pallu come ups from the back, and curtains across the presence over the right shoulder. In Tamil Nadu, Brahman ladies have on a nine-yard madisaar-style saree with no petticoat, with a 'pinkosavam', or pleated rosette, at the dorsum of the waist. Particularly beautiful is the saree worm by women in the Kodagu territory of Karnataka. In this style, the plaits are created in the rear, instead of in the front. The loose end of the saree is draped back-to-front complete the right shoulder, and is pinned to the remainder of the sari. Mundum neriyathum is the traditional clothes of women in Kerala; the mundu is simply wrapped like a towel at the waist, and is the surviving word form of less garment of the ancient clothes referred to as antariya, and the neriyath is the modern version of a thin scarf worn from the right shoulder to the left shoulder, referred to in ancient Buddhist-Jain textual matters as the uttariya.

While the sari lives on in small towns and metropolises and is worn by a bulk of aged women, immature urban women have got restricted it to formal occasions only. Young advanced interior designers in India, like Rohit Bal, J.J. Valaya, Rina Dhaka, Suneet Varma, Tarun Tahiliani, Sandip Khosla and Ritu Kumar have got now given it a fresh life and a new turn for the new generation. These interior designers have got revitalized the sari, adding heavily embroidered blice to apparent saris and re-styling the pallu to expose the flop enticingly. There are zip-on saris for misses who may have got got problem handling all those pleats!

Styling a saree with tassled patchwork, applique, mirror work, Bengali kantha-work, Kalamkari paint-work and zardozi have provided employment to rural weavers and artisans. As Indians have got got distribute around the world, they have taken the sari with them. Saris are a common sight in London, Johannesburg, Trinidad, Toronto, Hong Kong and Singapore. In fact, sarees are large concern in states like Hong Kong, Capital Of Singapore and Japanese Islands which bring forth thunderbolts of synthetics like chiffon, satin and nylon which are bought in six-yard lengths by Indians as saris.