FLAVORS OF FESTIVITY IN INDIA

FLAVORS OF FESTIVITY

In India, the festival season has begun. It all starts when the annual Shraads – a time when we pray for the departed souls in our family – end. The first of the season is Navaratri – literally meaning nine nights. It is a time India celebrates the victory of good over evil. On the 10th day, the celebrations culminate with grand pomp. Different parts of the country celebrate in different ways for India is a land of colours, a land of individuality, a land revered for its culture and yes….its festivals.

Tamil Nadu

Innovative enthusiasm reigns in Tamil Nadu during Navarathri - a ladies festival. The best silks are worn and visits made to friends and relatives homes every single day.

Gollu dolls – brought down on their annual airing from the attic – are passed down from one generation to the next. Naturally, collections grow. Every member of the family gets involved in creative presentations. Some spend hours doing up the house for this grand nine day long festival, creating intricate thematic Gollus that are remembered for years to come.

Karnataka

The first thought that comes to mind when we think of Navarathri in Karnataka is the grand royal procession in Mysore on Vijaya Dashmi day. The king riding on his elaborately decorated elephant and a brightly lit palace. Eagerly awaited classical music and dance performances on the palace premises add to the glamour of the festival, and tradition goes glorious.

Andhra Pradesh

Typically, like most of the South, the dolls come out and get arranged in Andhra Pradesh too. New clothes and jewellery are worn. Instead of the Sundal that is offered to guests in Tamil Nadu, the Telegu ladies make the most delicious sweets – ummmmm. Ladoos, sweet rice and khir are offered to the nine avatars of Durga before being distributed among visiting friends and family.

Kerala

Do the people of Kerala celebrate Navarathri? Do they even have any other festival besides Onam and Vishu? Well, they do. Navarathri is celebrated privately, in the sanctuary of the home, but on Ayudha Puja day, the entire neighbourhood comes together and pays respect to the goddess of learning – Saraswathi. The famous Kerala paayasams are offered to the goddess before being distributed among her devotees.

Punjab and U.P

In the Northern parts of India, Navratri is a huge celebration. The goddess Durga gets worshipped. On Dussera day, a huge effigy of Ravana is filled with fireworks and set on fire. As the gigantic evil monster goes up in flames, good celebrates it victory over evil.

On the ninth day, little girls in odd numbers are invited into homes. Their feet are washed by the male members in the family and the girls are given a meal, and presents.

Gujarat

Oh how the Gujaratis long for these nine days. Wardrobes are planned in advance, and they dance the night away around a kumbh (pot) with a coconut on it, surrounded by mango leaves signifies the mother goddess or Devi. She has nine avatars (incarnations), hence the nine days. Garba and Dandiya competitions, live music and lots more.

Bengal

Goddess Durga is worshipped with pomp, splendour and beauty. No Bengali will miss the Durga Puja as it is called. They have a fair of sorts, with competitions, quizzes and the famous aarati. Women generally dress up – resplendent in their traditional white and red saris, while men tog up in their best ethnic wear.

Dussera, or Vijaya Dashmi, culminates Navratri after which the Northern part of India goes into a gambling frenzy. It is considered auspicious to gamble the night away. Parties, splendid and lavish are held every night at different homes, with guests hoping they will lose, for losing at a temporary den, actually signifies they will win in their business dealings. Any excuse for a little bit of hope, I guess. Money crosses hands, stakes are high, and parties last till dawn, with no one to stop them.

Twenty days later, it is Diwali. It arrives like the grand finale that has been building towards it for nearly a month. The festival weaves its magic every single year. India as a whole celebrates this festival. Only traditions vary from region to region. The spirit remains, intact. Happy, lively and colourful all through.

In the North, Dussera is actually the beginning of Diwali. Clay lamps filled with oil light up homes, buildings and streets. Always doing things with an extra aplomb, the north of India begins its tryst with fire crackers early on too. “To frighten away evil spirits,” laughs an indulgent mother. “I find myself spending a small fortune buying all this noise that simply gets fired away,” she says. Her boisterous sons run in and out of the house in a febrile frenzy. They don’t want to miss a single moment of the fun.

The Ram Lila (an enactment of Lord Rama’s life) is an important part of Diwali, and every street has its own little stage. Budding actors get to show their talent to whoever will watch, and perhaps get that longed for big break into Bollywood, or at least the regional cinema.

Gujaratis celebrate Diwali over five days starting with Dhun Teras, when they buy a small piece of hope – gold. It is believed that gold bought on this day brings in prosperity throughout the year. Some keep the new piece of gold in their cash boxes while others carry it in their purses.

Diwali day is full of festivity. Rangolis are drawn and the goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in the evening, amidst fireworks and prayer. The five days end with Bhai-Dooj when the brother gets to visit his sister for lunch, give her a gift. In some families the brother gets a gift too.

Very much like the West, Assam, the largest state in East India, Diwali is a family affair. Evening is for worshipping goddess Lakshmi, fireworks, lights, lanterns and diyas.

Kali Pooja in Bengal is on the day before Diwali and is held in public places with the devoted staying up all night worshipping Ma Kali.

Festivities begin early on Deepavali morning down south. Dawn is special. Families wake up before dawn breaks. The traditional oil bath follows. New clothes are donned and the Deepavali Lehiyam (a bitter concoction) keeps tummies working efficiently as all those sweets need to be eaten. A little bit of bitterness followed by tons of fun. Everybody gets on to the streets to scare away evil spirits lurking in the air, and killing demon king Narakasur with our fire crackers. Sweets and savouries are distributed among friends and family.

Newly weds have a special Deepavali lined up. The first after their wedding is also the most memorable. They get to be the VIPs in the bride’s paternal house. Along with the traditional gifts of clothes and jewellery, the couple burn the first fire crackers. If possible his family come over to join the celebrations.

Gifts get distributed to friends, family and business associates. indianselections.com has gone to great lengths to bring to you unique and interesting gifts created especially for this awesome festival.

And a new tomorrow is born, filled with hope of health, happiness and prosperity

by Indian Selections Press Bureau
www.indianselections.com
... bringing India to you.

The Splendor Attire- SARI (SAREE)

One of the most sensuous of attire- the sari, adorns a woman to become modest and attractive in it. It is not cumbersome but a great antique that suits to any occasion. The great Indian women in different spheres of life, the rich and the poor admire and appreciate the style and strength of the sari.
Though one of the oldest apparels, there is something mystical about the way one wraps, folds, tucks and drapes a seamless piece of cloth: creating a form from the formless. The sari both conceals and reveals, depending on the weaver’s whim and conditioning. The versatile sari has its variety fashion in adorning in this multicultural society of India . The Style, texture varies from south to north and east to west in India . The latest trend in sari-blouses has become a style of added value to the wearer with a magnetic grace and attraction.
Saree is a rectangular piece of unstitched fabric which is draped in a very fascinating manner. The length of the this fabric is 6 yards ( 5 meters) long. This is a one piece of clothing which fits all.. fat or thin short or tall!!! The traditional 6 yard saree allows for generous pleating, and draping around the body and over the shoulders almost Grecian in style. The loose end of the fabric, which is thrown over the left shoulder, is known as ‘Pallu’. Pallu usually has extensive design or embroidery woven into it. There is a petticoat , or a slip, which is worn under the saree which holds the saree in place.Along with the saree is a blouse, which unattached to it. The blouse is a tight fitting item of clothing, and adds a fashion statement to the saree. The sleeve length of the blouse is dictated by the hottest Indian film stars. The sleeve length travels from full sleeves to half sleeves to sleeveless over a period of time. Saree is very flattering to all shapes and sizes and forgiving of the various flaws. It can ingeniously conceal the extra flab of fat, or it can accentuate the well proportioned curve -- It is just a matter of how you drape the saree. This garment is in style for over 5000 years for the simple reason of its simplicity and practical usage.
This demure garment is a very versatile garment too. The pallu has a very multi-purpose use to it. In case of slight chill in the air, put it around the shoulder like a shawl, if it gets very cold wrap it around the head like a scarf. The saree is so practical to wear that you can even run a marathon in it with out any problem


The Sari resembles as a canvas to the weaver, the block printer, the textile designer or the mill hand. A hand woven sari is the most organic attire one can wear. When you wear that hand-woven sari, you are paying your tribute to our craft persons who have stubbornly struck to the skills and traditions thousands of years old. It is too easy to look to modernity and risk losing one’s poetry.
Thus sari is not just attire but it embodies the warp and weft of life itself. The essential simplicity of the sari—an untailored length of cloth measuring between four and nine meters long by approximately one meter wide—is set against a wonderful variety of fabrics, colors, patterns, and draping styles. It displays the rich diverse regional traditions of color, pattern, and weave. The etymology (origin) of the word sari is from the Sanskrit word 'sati', which means strip of cloth. This evolved into the Prakrit 'sadi' and was later anglicised into sari.

How to drape

A charming folktale explains...
"The Sari, it is said, was born on the loom of a fanciful weaver. He dreamt of Woman. The shimmer of her tears. The drape of her tumbling hair. The colors of her many moods. The softness of her touch. All these he wove together. He couldn't stop. He wove for many yards. And when he was done, the story goes, he sat back and smiled and smiled and smiled."
History of Sari
saris origins are obscure, in part because there are so few historical records in India. Yet, we know that Indians were wearing unsewn lengths of cloth draped around their bodies long before tailored cloths arrived.
One of the earliest depictions of a Sari-like drape covering the entire body dates back to 100 B.C. A North-Indian Terracotta depicts a woman wearing a Sari wound tightly around her entire body in the trouser style.
This elaborate body-hugging style represented in the terracotta may have evolved among India's temple dancers in ancient times to allow their limbs freedom of movement while at the same time maintaining their standards of modesty.
There are many sculptures of Graeco-Indian Gandharan civilization which show a variety of different Sari draping styles.
It is commonly believed in India that today's petticoat or "Ghagra" and the blouse or "Choli" which are worn under the Sari are later additions which started with the coming of British in India. Increasing number of upper class women in the early 20th century did adopt items of European style clothing as the fitted blouse and slim petticoat. This was also adopted due to the fashion of transparent chiffon Saris during that particular period. Some of the wives of Indian Kings draped themselves in Saris that were made by Parisian designers.
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 emphasizes the waist and bust with the pleated fabric. Sometimes women wore accessories like Girdle belt) with elaborate design around their waist to emphasize the hip area.