Indian Dress Styles

[Shambhu]

'Ayurvedic' burqas a rage in Saudi Arabia
09/11/2008 11:01:36 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...332113.cms


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Age-old Hindu wisdom is now dressing up women in Islamic Saudi Arabia. Burqas made the Ayurvedic way are the latest export from Balaramapuram, a tiny village on the city outskirts made famous by its handloom weavers whose struggle for survival has led to rediscovery of the ancient art of weaving organic clothes.

"In Ayurveda, these fabrics are called Ayurvastra . Only natural cotton and colouring is used so that they are free of toxic irritants. These are also treated with medicinal herbs as prescribed by Ayurvedic texts to improve the healing value," says Rajan, whose family has been in the trade for 600 years.

"In the past few months, we exported about 4,000 burqas to Saudi Arabia," he says. "But the demand for Ayurvastra doesn't stop there. Last year, our Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society exported clothes worth Rs 2 crore to the US, UK, France, Mexico, South Africa and Japan."

Does Ayurvastra really heal? Clinical trials at the Government Ayurveda College Hospital here showed that the fabric was quite effective, especially in cases of skin ailments and arthritis. As part of the test, patients were constantly exposed to Ayurvedic herbs through Ayurvastra for 30 days.

Even the curtains in the room, linen and mattresses, says Rajan, were made as prescribed in the ancient Indian treatise, Charaka Samhita .

[Bodhi]

chAlukya king someshwara describes the women of Andhra, draviDa, gujarAta and marahaTTA countries, and their dresses in mAnasollAsa. He observes that Guajarati and Telugu ladies quite share the sense of dressing, and wear the uttarIya in a way that makes their left arm visible, although in a different way:

gurjaryovanitAH kAshchidApANikR^ita ka~nchukAH, and
Andhra-nAryo varAH kAshchid pasavyottarIyakAH

As to the ladies from Tamil country too he observes similarly: kashchid draviDa kAminyaH prakAshitapayodharAH

[ramana]

Can you translate that please? Otherwise it a private enjoyment only.

[Bodhi]

<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Nov 17 2008, 01:07 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Nov 17 2008, 01:07 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Can you translate that please? Otherwise it a private enjoyment only.
[right][snapback]90261[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->I was not translating... these matters better be read first hand...

gurjaryovanitAH kAshchidApANikR^ita ka~nchukAH

females in gurjara country generally put on their upper garment displaying a hand (or holding it in a hand)

Andhra-nAryo varAH kAshchid prasavyottarIyakAH

ladies of Andhra country don their uttariya garments turned to the left (uttarIya can mean the pallu of Sari or dupatta)

kashchid draviDa kAminyaH prakAshitapayodharAH

some draviDa lasses (wear it in a way) that their breasts are left visible (meaning they wear no dupatta)

[ramana]

bodhi Is there an online version of the book?

Thanks for the translation. Looks like should have been born in the Tamil country of those days!

[Bodhi]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Looks like should have been born in the Tamil country of those days!<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
good for you, but choose carefully what you wish for, since next you would want to shift the same wish for marahaTTa country.

na AndhrI-payodhara ivAtitarAM prakAsho
no gurjarI-stana ivAtitarAM nigUDhaH
artho girAmapihitaH pihitashcha kashchit
saubhAgyameti marahaTTa-vadhU-kuchAbhaH (kAvya-prakAsha)

Now you dont want this translated, for the forum-mods will not listen to Husky's moral advise about not beating and all - they will beat you and me like animals.

reg. "Is there an online version of the book?"

Oh yes... one can read mAnasollAsa from IISC DLI, although only the original in devanAgarI is available. Just search with "mAnasollAsa" string in title. I am not aware of any English translation, though HH might know if one exists. There is one very good research work in Hindi on this subject in DLI: mAnasollAsa ek sAMskR^itika adhyayana by Dr. Shiva Shekhar Mishra of Lucknow University.

[Bodhi]

more on mahArAShTra ladies:

kAshchillalATa-laTabhAH sindUrArUNamastakAH
mahArAShTra striyaH kAshchillambakopala bhUShitAH 1186

on kannaDiga/kuntala females:

kAshchitkuntala kAminyaH kaTisUtra virAjitAH 1185

Of handsome forehead and brows, mahArAShTrian ladies apply vermillion and generally adorn themselves with lambakopala(?). And lovely kuntala ladies sport splendid waistbands.

[Husky]

<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+Nov 17 2008, 01:39 PM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ Nov 17 2008, 01:39 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Now you dont want this translated, for the forum-mods will not listen to Husky's moral advise about not beating and all - they will beat you and me like animals.[right][snapback]90294[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Go ahead, translate Bodhi. I'll protect ya. (But my 'morality' can't: I don't really have any...)

Hey wait, where did I say 'no beating'... I only said I think beating kids and animals is absolutely low.

[ramana]

Bodhi, The following are the titles in IISC DLI site in English.

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
Chitraikala In Manasollasa., 2040100072367. Dr.P.Arundhati. 2003. english. . 145 pgs.
Manasollasa of King Somesvara., 1990030083631. King Somesvara. 2006. sanskrit. RELIGION. THEOLOGY. 353 pgs.
Manasollasa Of King Somesvara Vol-ii., 6010010077739. . 1939. english. . 376 pgs.
Manasollasa Vol 1., 1990030083632. Gajanan k.Shrigondekar. 2006. sanskrit. RELIGION. THEOLOGY. 165 pgs
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Is there a way to download the pages to a book form?

[Bodhi]

<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Nov 18 2008, 02:08 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Nov 18 2008, 02:08 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bodhi, The following are the titles in IISC DLI site in English.
[right][snapback]90322[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I have seen these, none is an English translation.

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Chitraikala In Manasollasa., 2040100072367. Dr.P.Arundhati. 2003. english. . 145 pgs.
--> covers only one chapter of M

Manasollasa of King Somesvara., 1990030083631. King Somesvara. 2006. sanskrit. RELIGION. THEOLOGY. 353 pgs.

--> Skt text

Manasollasa Of King Somesvara Vol-ii., 6010010077739. . 1939. english. . 376 pgs.
Manasollasa Vol 1., 1990030083632. Gajanan k.Shrigondekar. 2006. sanskrit. RELIGION. THEOLOGY. 165 pgs

--> Both of the above have only Skt text, with only an English introduction/preface.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--QuoteBegin-Husky+Nov 17 2008, 08:46 PM-->QUOTE(Husky @ Nov 17 2008, 08:46 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Go ahead, translate Bodhi. [right][snapback]90308[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

naah, not forum stuff. But here is the diluted general idea:

No women can come close to la-femme-de-Andhra in exposing their beauty, and none can match the ladies of gujarAta in art of covering it. But when it comes to both flaunting it on some occasions and consealing it on other, fate has gifted that mysterious tact only to lovely females of marahaTTa country. somewhat like that states kAvyaprakAsha

[Bodhi]

Interestingly, mahAbhArata mentions clothes ‘made-in-china’ as worthy of royal gifts!

Here we find dhR^itarAShTra debriefing vidura, his half-brother and Prime Minister, about preparations for keshava's imminent visit to hastinApura. He mentions the presents he would like to be prepared for the offering to kR^iShNa when he arrives. The list concludes as follows:

ajinAnA.n sahasrANi chIna deshodbhavAni cha
tAnyapyasmai pradAsyAmi yAvadarhati keshavaH
(udyoga-parvan)

“I shall also present keshava deer-skins produced in the country of chIna, a thousand in number, and also other things worthy of him”

This chinese mention comes at the end of a longish list of other such novelties, therefore probably meant as the best of all.

At another place, in sabhA-parvan the second book of bhArata, we find his eldest son duryodhana describing the gifts that yudhiShThira had received from various royalties around the world, during the rAjasUya feat of the pANdava-s. Describing the presents brought by the vAhlIka-s i.e. natives of balkha region, he mentions among other things:

pramANa rAgasparshADhyaM bAhlI chIna samudbhavam
aurNa.n cha rA~NkavaM chaiva kITajaM paTTajaM tathA
kuTTI kR^ita.n tathaivAnyatkamalAbha.n sahasrashaH
sulakShNa.n vastramakArpAsamAvikaM mR^idu chAjinam
(sabhA-parvan)

“And the vAhlIka-s also presented numerous types of exotic fabrics produced in chIna country: the woollens of finest texture; the fabric manufactured from metal wires (or deer skins); those of jute and others material; the fabric spun from fine silken threads produced by worms; they also gifted thousands of different fabrics, cotton and others, of brilliant colours like the bright lotus flowers, besides thousands of deer-skins, all of the velvety texture!”

Interesting, though not surprising. As we do know, until very recent times, Indians used to consider the skins of Deer (and also Tiger) as auspicious to be used as the bedsheets and cover sheets for religious occasions. Yogins and others even today use these texture as their seat-material and the cloth. Besides the himAlayan regions of India, the regions from chIna to Korea to Siberia is known to even today be a very rich habitation of diverse Deer species. Between China and India, almost all the species of Deer in the world can be found.

Similar is the case of silken and woolen fabrics. chIna is known to be a very old commercial source of the both. (silk route)

Not that the regions of bhArata did not produce these materials indigenously-- the value of the gifts is in these being of foreign origin therefore exotic, and worthy of royal gifts. In both the cases, the import of these chinese goods into India is mentioned as done by foreigners. In the first case, dhR^itarAShTra mentions having received these as gifts himself from a certain hill-tribes, and in the second the gift is coming from Balkhans.

We must also add another caveat. “chIna” of the itihAsa-purANa-s is not the China of today. Most commonly chIna is used to refer to the North-west region neighboring the Balkh, around the modern turkmenistan and east, and border areas of modern chIna. it is mahAchIna, that is often used to refer to the China-proper.

[ramana]

Bodhi, Also wanst a fabulous pearl necklace one of the first things that Yudhistir pledges in the dice game? Pearls are from Basra region of Persian Gulf.

[Bodhi]

Ramana, I shall check that. But as far as I know, the most famous pearls came from south India. In arthashAstra kauTalya describes various precious gems, and mentions a great catalogue of pearls in it. Source is the Southern shores of India. rAjashekhara, the famous poet, in karpUrama~njarI too mentioned the famed pearls of the south India. Marco Polo visiting rAma setu mentions the neighbouring sea between SL and India as the source of the best and largest and finest pearls in the whole world. Same fact is recorded by several missionaries.

[ramana]

You are right. The southern shores between India and Sri Lanka are famous pearl fisheries.

[Bodhi]

Ramana, this is what I had written elsewhere:

"Then the pearl addressed the emperor: Rajan, endowed with merit I was born as a raindrop, and carried away by the massive clouds to the seas in south, where they began to rain, and a graceful oyster rising from those seas absorbed me in her belly, and in due course I became this, a great pearl that you hold." - From karpura-manjari written by Rajashekhara in around 900 CE.

"When you depart from Seilan (as Sri Lanka was known to the Europeans back then), and go westwards about sixty miles, you come to the extensive province of Maabar, on the mainland called India the Great, and which is indeed the noblest and richest country in the whole world. The largest and finest of pearls, best in the world, are found in this gulf between this continent and the island of Seilan". – From the travelogue of Marco Polo written around 1276 CE.

The waters between Sri Lanka and India have been generously gifted with enormous wealth of nature. The written historical accounts, spanning over several centuries, are full of description about how the unique types of pearls and conch-shells used to be gathered from these waters and distributed far and wide, and how the activity was a large industry supporting the foreign-trade economy of the South India and Sri Lanka. The trade of pearls from here to the Roman Empire has been reported from as early as the first century CE. Catholic evangelist Francis Xavier has also provided extensively detailed accounts of the pearl and conch gathering activities of this region when he lived amidst the fishing community of Sethusamudram in the 16th century.

For many centuries, just like the Saligrama stones coming from the Gandak river-beds of Nepal, Shankha conches coming from these seas have been an integral part of the Indic culture. Even in the excavated finds from the ancient Saraswati civilization sites, the traditional continuity of the importance of Shankha spanning over several millennia is amazingly evident.

Today, pearl fishing is not done here since last four decades. However, the marine biology of the region continues to support a vast industry of fishing and Shankha gathering, and provide livelihood to hundreds of thousands of people, thanks to the waters of Sethusamudram and the unique paradise of nature that it nourishes.

[Capt M Kumar]

<!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> A practical constraint or a colonial hangover? That’s the question the Capital’s night birds are grappling with after a woman was denied entry into a discotheque because she was wearing a sari.

Col (Retd.) D. K. Dass, 53, a Patparganj resident, went with his wife Madhumita, 48, to the discotheque Black at Pacific Mall in Kaushambi last weekend. But the couple was not allowed in for being dressed in violation of club rules. The club manager even told Madhumita her sari would invite “unnecessary attention” from other patrons.

http://www.itgo.in/index.php?option=com_co...d=1&sectionid=9

[Guest]

from Capt Kumar's link in above post:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The retired colonel gave the example of the Army, where it is common for the wives of personnel to wear saris to social gatherings.

“Even the President of India loves to wear the sari. Does that mean she too won’t be allowed entering somewhere some day? This is nothing but a colonial hangover,” he added.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I trust Renuka Choudhary who too wears only sari will be ejected from this discotheque. No 'discotheque baro' andolan by Renukaji?

[ramana]

Indian dress styles:

Pugree

A memoir to Roshan AlKazi the great costume chronicler.

Stitch in Time

[ramana]

On the demise of the Benarasi Sari:

A weave like no other

Lots of good info in the article.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->On the demise of the Benarasi Sari:<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They started using substandard threads. Lot of women are allergic to new kind of thread. Quality is really bad now.

and another tit-bit
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Varanasi, June 22.(ANI): No doubt, Indians mind are sharp. It might be a shock for many, but it is true. Millions of condoms are distributed free in India to combat AIDS and a soaring population, most of which are for commercial purposes. <b>The saree weavers in Varanasi are taking advantage of the free distribution and have made the contraceptives a viatal part of their garment production. The lubricated condoms having soft edges, speed up the weaving and prevent the yarn from snapping, making handlooms work much easier</b>. This is not the first time that condoms have been misused in India. Villagers use them to carry water, waterproofing ceilings, mixed with tar and concrete to give smooth finish to roads. BG<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->