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History of a Saree

A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff.

Due to the lack of written records, we do not know how ancient Indians came to make a fashion out of a fabric ranging from 5 to 9 yards. We do know, however, that their specialty in weaving cloth with sophisticated patterns and vibrant colors has long captivated people's fascination.

The Legand:

Legend has it that when the beauteous Draupadi - wife of the Pandavas - was lost to the enemy clan in a gambling duel, the Lord Krishna promised to protect her virtue. The lecherous victors, intent on "bagging" their prize, caught one end of the diaphanous material that draped her so demurely, yet seductively. They continued to pull and unravel, but could reach no end. Virtue triumphed yet again in this 5,000 year old Indian epic, the Mahabharat. Legend, fantasy, history or fact, it is the first recorded reference to the enduringly attractive SARI - the longest, most popular style in the history of women's fashion.

What we do know:

The artisans make the cotton thread by high reeling and weave cloth. The method of dying is practiced by making vegetable dyes from the locally available plants mainly of katha colour. The border of the saris and motifs are woven with the colourful thread which are dyed by the local method. The clothes are quite durable and the motifs are quite peculiar.

Sari is as old as the civilization of India. Known records date back to at least before Christ. Cotton was grown and woven into fabric in India five thousand years ago. The concept of beauty in ancient India was that of small waist and large bust and hips, as is evident in the sculptures of those times. And Sari seemed to be the perfect dress to flaunt those proportions as it exposes the waist of a woman and emphasises the waist and bust with the pleated fabric. Sometimes women wore accesories like Girdle(a belt) with elaborate design around their waist to emphasize the hip area.

The Indian Saree (a.k.a. Sari, Seere, Sadi) boasts of oldest existence in the sartorial world. It is more than 5000 years old! It is mentioned in Vedas, the oldest existing (surviving) literature (3000 B.C.) Patterns of dress change throughout the world now and then but, the Sari has survived because it is the main wear of rural India. 75% of the population (now a billion as per official estimate) wear versatile sari. We can certainly call this cloth versatile because it could be worn as shorts, trousers, flowing gown-like or convenient skirt-wise--all without a single stitch!

Saree (original--Chira in Sanskrit, cloth) is of varied length. From 5 yards to 9.5 yards tied loosely, folded and pleated, it could be turned into working dress or party-wear with manual skill. For day today dress of middle class women, 5-6 yard sari is comfortable to manage household chores. Working class tucks the same length above the ankles and if they have to work in water or fields, they would tuck the front pleats between the legs to the back, and tie the upper portion round the waist. This left them free movement of hands and legs.

A nine yard saree used to be a connoisseurs pleasure with embellishments, embroidery and gold designing. At the same time it was as safe a dress as trousers. It was worn in the similar way as working saree. But, some pleats covered the ankles as well. A gold silver or cloth belt was fastened which kept pallu, (upper cover) pleats and folds in tact. Jhansi's Queen Laxmibai, Belawadi Mallamma and Kittur Chennamma fought enemy troops on horseback, wearing saree this way. Tight tucking of the front pleats in the back was called Veeragacche or soldier's tuck.

Generally the climate of Indian subcontinent is warm and humid. Saree and its male counterpart dhoti was most suited for this land. Earlier there was hardly any difference between Saree and dhoti because men also liked to flaunt colorful Sarees with brocaded borders (see: Sarees for Men!). They could perhaps be interchanged in needy times. Only the upper portion of the saree-length which covers the chest, left shoulder and at times head, is missing in saree for men.

Styles in wearing saree vary from region to region. Gujarat style and Bengali style are different. So are Mangalorean, Kannadiga, Kodava, Tamilian, Malayali, etc. The Saree is worn in at least 10 to 15 styles throughout the India, though the ways of wearing above used to be common. In Maharashtra and North Karnataka region, wearing a nine yard saree (without a petticoat -- long underskirt --which was superfluous) was in vogue till 20th century. My mother who was a good swimmer, used to wear a nine yard saree tightly and swam in Kali river or Arabian sea along with my father. Wearing swimming costume could just not be dreamt of. But the versatile saree was good enough to move through the waves.

Some people think that Indian saree is influenced by Greek or Roman toga which we see on ancient statues. This is not correct. Saree is essentially Indian and designed to suit local conditions. Cotton was cultivated in India centuries before Alexander the Great landed on the borders of India and Indian cloth (chira or Saree) was a wonder to Greek eyes. In fact, Herodotus and other ancient western historians thought there were cloth-growing trees in India!

Raja Ravi Varma, the distinguished painter of 19th century, toured the entire sub-continent in search of the ideal female-wear. He wanted the best dress for the various goddesses he was asked and commissioned to paint. He selected the a nine yard saree which drapes the body beautifully at the same time exhibiting contours of female anatomy--bust, waist, hips. Most of the female deities he painted are in this style.

AAshima's Boutique

This is an excellent local shop to go to, but Ruby doesn't speak English, so you need to take a translator with you.

While in Dubai, Sayeed Sheik gave me some material to make an Indian dress.

Where else would I have it sewed up, except in India. Who do I ask? Jyoti works at the office so she was the lucky one. I was lucky that she had a very good seamstress "Ruby Taneja" at the Aashima's Boutique, 6 Satellite Shopping Center Nr Mansi Complex, Vasrapur. Her shop was full of exclusive dress materials, and alot of them. Jyoti and I jumped in a rickshaw (she wasn't sure that I would enjoy her 2 wheeler) and she took me by her flat and gave me some turquoise and some yellow material to make a couple of more dresses. So I decided that I didn't need 3 dresses, so I have made the yellow for my daughter (we will see which daughter or grand-daughter it fits). It took about 3 weeks to complete.

The day before I was to pick up my dress, Sunny came over and invited us to an Indian wedding on the 23rd & 24th of February. I have somewhere to wear my "Emerald Green Indian Dress". Now I need shoes, necklace, earrings, bangles (bracelets) and my hair done. The wedding starts on the morning of the 23rd at a church, full Indian dress and then the 24th is a parade with elephants, camels to the reception and dance. Sunny said we were going to dance. I said "That will be good, because we couldn't dance before". (LOL)

Shopping in Ahmedabad

This is what the 7Elevens look like. You can find them along any side of the road in the city.

	A few chips, cigarettes, Indian Tea, Something that locals call PAN, they chew it. It comes in those packages hanging on the wall. They have pan shops everywhere. We have never tried it. The couple sitting on the left are smoking cigarettes. You can't buy your eggs at the bazaars. You have to buy them from the chicken man. You can see Bob standing on the right with his hat on, buying us some eggs There is a bread truck that parks next to the egg man, so we usually buy bread there. Most local Indians eat Roti and Nani, it is a flat round bread that they fry, it is REALLY good. You have to use your right hand and tear it off with one hand and eat with your right hand.

	It's a little tricky for me. I keep want to use my left. Most of the people here, just milk the cows that walk by on the street. There are also boys on bikes that bring milk to the apartment in the old milk cans and they go from apartment to apartment and sell their milk. We buy our milk at the bazaars. Milk is kept on the shelves. It is not refrigerated. It is really hard to think of it as real milk. Put it in the refrigerator and it takes really good. You can also get your sewing done while you are shopping for your food. Vegetables are all on carts. They travel around the city and come to the apartment on regular basis. They are found along the streets and there is one spot that there is one whole block of 3 deep carts with the best looking vegetables that you can imagine. Herds of goats are along the edges eating things right off the carts.

Waxing too painful? Try threading, an Indian art of hair removal

	I have first hand experienced this ancient method of hair removal called threading. A beautician holds the end of a thread in her mouth and then uses both hands to make it taut. She quickly winds the strand around individual hairs, like a lasso, twisting and pulling them out of their follicles by the root. Beauty therapists say the technique, which is usually used on the face, rather than the more delicate nether parts, is less painful, more precise and more natural than waxing. Threading is quicker and less likely to irritate the skin. What does threading involve? Threading involves quickly rolling a twisted piece of thread back and forth across clean skin. Hairs become trapped in the string and are ripped out or break off. This process generally needs to be done by a professional, since speed and technique are important - although there are Khite kits out there if you want to learn how to do it yourself. Someone who has done the process many times can manipulate the string expertly, causing most hairs to be ripped out (rather than broken off) and causing hairs to be removed only from those areas they are not wanted. This process is most often used for eyebrows and facial hair.

How threading is done?

In threading the practitioner holds one end of a cotton thread between his teeth and the other in his left hand. Its middle part is looped through the index and middle fingers of the right hand, and the loop used to trap unwanted hair so that it can be easily plucked from the skin.

Though the threading method of hair removal is used mostly in the facial area, it also works on the body parts lower down - from the belly button to the pubic bone and the toes. But remember that threading is an intricate art that must be performed only by a skilled practitioner, and that it takes months to achieve proficiency. Nothing is more painful than threading perfomed by an inexpert hand.

If nothing else, threading is a very interesting and effective way to get rid of facial and brow hair. Watching a professional at work is really fascinating, since the hands basically race across the face, threading and twisting the thread. In many cases, the aesthetician will have the string looped intricately around their hands, to better be able to control the string. Some salons now use machines that hold threads during Khite. This method is environmentally friendly and far quicker than tweezing alone. It is less expensive than waxing. Since many hairs are pulled so quickly, some women find that there is less pain that tweezing, partly because the whole thing is over so fast. Results last up to three weeks or as little as two weeks. If someone who is not very proficient attempts threading, there may be more broken than pulled hairs. The results in this case will last only days.

As with tweezing, skin may be pink and puffy after threading. A simple ice cube can help reduce the temporary problem. More seriously, infection and irritation can follow if area is not clean and hygiene is not properly attended to. Those who live far from metropolitan centers may have a difficult time finding a reputable practitioner.

I highly recommend threading or khite to anyone who plucks their brows and can find a reputable practitioner of this technique. It is a truly unique experience and makes a twenty-minute tweezing chore a fun five minutes!