Gujrati Saris

On popular demand, I am reviving the sari series before moving on to the next step in the sequence. Today I shall talk about a Sari that is simple, practical and immensely popular; the Gujrati sari.

There are different varieties of saris, made in different states in India. Each state has its unique saris and they all are so beautiful that it is difficult to choose from amongst them. The state of Gujrat in Western India is known for its rich cultural heritage, and its saris are quite popular in the country and beyond. The state of Gujarat produces many beautiful saris like the bandhani sari, the bandhej sari, the panetar sari and the famous gharchola sari.

Creating the bandhani sari is an ancient art that has been passed down for generations. It involves a tying and dyeing technique, in which materials like beads, grains, and grams are used to tie the fabric in intricate patterns. This prevents the color from seeping into the areas which are tied. It is then dyed in one or more colors and when the tied cloth is opened a beautiful, abstract design is formed. They are dyed in bright colors and may have a zari border. The sari may be further decorated with mirror work and gota patti.

The panetar sari is a variation of the bandhini sari. It has a white ground with a red bandhani border, and is popular amongst the locals. Its contrasting rich colors make it an interesting part of any sari lover’s collection.

The most elaborate of Gujrati saris is the Garhchola. A Gujrati bride usually wears the gharchola sari for her wedding. It is a traditionally a red bandani sari with golden squares woven in it, having beautiful motifs woven between the squares. The number of squares have a ritual significance and are in the multiples of 9, 12, or 52. These days’ gharcholas are available in different colors also such as green and yellow. The traditional gharchola saris were earlier made of cotton but now silk is also used to give it a richer look.

These saris may be bought across the counters at sari showrooms or they can be bought online from India specific online sales portals like indiaselections.com.

Significance Of Colors Of Wedding Saris

In the last of the series on Indian Saris, I shall talk about the significance of the color of the wedding sari. This color is not something picked out of the blue, and signifies different things for different people.

The Indian sari is a marvel. It is decent, graceful, and an enchanting garment. Indian women are admired for their beauty all over the world and this dress adds to the beauty of the Indian women. It is a decent, enchanting and graceful garment, and women find their aesthetic appearance very appealing.

The sari is an essential part of an Indian bride’s trousseau. Contrary to popular belief, red is not the only color worn by all brides in India on their wedding day. Different cultures have different colors which are significant to their regional customs or caste.

The brides of North India, Brahmins brides of south and those of Bengal wear red, which is considered a symbol of blood and marital bliss which are related to qualities of emotion and fertility.

Another color considered auspicious is yellow, which is related to a good harvest of wheat and mustard and is considered as a sign of prosperity. It is worn by the brides of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where this wedding sari is known as ‘piri’, gifted by their grandmothers.

Brides of Maharashtra also wear yellow saris gifted by their maternal uncles for the wedding puja, but green is the color of their wedding saris, with a red border. Green is considered the symbol of fertility and prosperity. Brides of certain castes of Tamilnadu and Kerala also wear saris dyed in turmeric which gives them a yellow color.

White, which is considered a peace in some cultures and of mourning and widowhood in other Indian ones, is also used in some wedding saris. The brides of Assam wear their traditional Makhla Chaddar which is white with a zari border. Brides of the Santhali tribe wears a four meter white sari with a purple border. The Malyali bride wears a creamy white sari with a zari border.

Today brides has a vast variety to choose from banarsis, kanjiveerams, mysore silks, tanchois and many more. The choice is so vast that it becomes difficult for her to choose one for the most important day of her life, when all eyes are on her.

Whatever she may wear, though, she will still look resplendent, such is the glow of happiness that lines the face of the bride on her wedding day. Am I not correct?

The Exquisitely Beautiful Banarasi Sari

The banarasi sari is in vogue since the Mughal era. It is sleek, elegant and is widely appreciated and popular among the women all over the world. This sari is made in and around the holy city of Benaras in Uttar Pradesh in India. Wearing the sari is an old tradition and children as young as ten years old start learning this art. It is mostly woven by Muslim weavers on handlooms across the length and breadth of the region.

Banarsi saris are quite expensive as they are quite heavily embroidered, and are generally preferred to be worn on formal occasions like weddings and festivities. These saris are very famous and are exported all over the world. They are mainly divided into four categories; pure silk, organza with zari, shattir and the georgette. Earlier during the Mughal period the natural silk for the silk saris used to come from China but nowadays it is obtained from Bangalore in South India.

The discerning factor of the banarsi saris are decorations with embroidery and rich paisley motifs. They have elaborate embroidery all over, or only along the border. The motifs are in the form of flowers, foliage, scenes of village fairs, dancing monkeys and many more. During the Mughal era beautiful Persian designs were fudged with Indian designs to form elaborate flowery patterns, which are visible in the modern designs as well. A simple sari takes up to 15 to 30 days to be completed, but some may even take six months or even more. The saris are hand woven, and it normally takes as many as three persons to work on one sari. If the sari has very heavy embroidery, and the cost of the saris can run up to several thousand Indian Rupees.

Once the saris are ready, the artisans come and sell them in the wholesale markets of Benaras, from where they are sent all over India and even exported. These saris can be bought from emporiums, or in sari showrooms, and no sari showroom worth its name is complete without the banarsi sari in its ranks. They can even be bought online from select online stores like indianselections.com

The Kanjeevaram Sari, Graceful, Famous and A Proud Possession

Saris express the essence of womanhood. An Indian woman looks gorgeous when draped in this beautiful garment. Saris are available in a vast variety of materials such as cotton, silk, georgette, and chiffon. Saris are manufactured in many places in India; Gujarat in the West, Assam in the East, Rajasthan in the North and Bangalore in the South, thus covering practically the whole of India. One of the famous saris of South India is the Kanjeevaram sari.

Kanjeevaram saris are made in a small town Kanchipuram or ‘Kanchi’ as it is popularly called, which is situated near Bangalore. It is a 150 year old weaving tradition. The name of this sari is derived from the name of this town. These fine silk saris are simply gorgeous, with bright and bold colors. The wedding trousseau of a South Indian bride is incomplete without one of these saris. In fact, it would be the proud possession of any woman from any part of India.

The magnitude of colors, designs and variety in which these saris are available are incredible. The price of these saris vary from $50-100 for the simple ones up to $1500-1750 for the top quality ones.

The preparation of Kanjeevaram natural silk saris takes anything up to 25 days for the intricately designed silks. This sari is characterized by gold dipped silver thread that is woven on the silk. The thread is prepared first on the weavers loom, and then dyed in bright, beautiful colors before being dried in the sun. This sari is made in parts; the body, border and the pallu are made separately, and then they are interlocked together. The motifs used on these saris are mostly figures of animals and birds like peacocks, deer, elephants, swans etc. Scenes from great Indian Epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, and even The Bhagwad Gita are also woven to make special pieces.

The Kanjeevaram saris are traditional and never go out of fashion, even today they are in great demand and are very popular at the time of weddings.

I am going to start a series on fashions in India. My aim would be to tell you about the various garments that are used in India, that have regularly made their own statement in the world of fashion. To start with, I shall give here a series about that very famous Indian dress, the Sari.

Hope you enjoy reading..... Here goes..,

The Indian Sari, Traditional Yet Chic

One of the most important reasons for the popularity of the sari among Indian women is its simplicity of draping. Being a loose, unstitched garment, it can be worn by women of all sizes. Such are the wonders of the garment that it shows the beautiful, slim figure of a shapely woman and hides the extra fat of a heavily built one.

It is said that an Indian women looks most graceful in an Indian sari. It is the national garment of women in India. The sari is an ethnic Indian attire which, though traditional, is worn by the modern woman as well. In fact it has been seen draped by some Hollywood celebrities as well. The sari is also popular in other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The origin of this marvelous garment goes back to over 5000 years. There is mention of it in the ancient Vedas also, though the wearing style may have varied. In earlier times, this garment was worn by members of both the sexes, but is now limited to the fairer sex.

This gorgeous nine yard or six yard garment has so much versatility that designers love to experiment with it. They continue to find out different styles to drape this ethnic Indian creation. In fact, designers have sometimes drawn flak for making this ethnic creation look too ‘sexy’, even though the very nature of the garment makes a woman look sensuous and graceful.

A word about wearing the sari. Proper draping of the sari is very important a simple inexpensive sari can look smashing if it is draped properly, whereas an expensive one can look flat if not draped well. The sari is worn with a long underskirt or ‘Petticoat’ and a ‘Blouse’ for the upper body. It is wrapped around the waist with one end, the ‘Pallu’ draped over one shoulder, generally the left one, left flowing free.

Saris are available in different materials like cotton, silk, georgette, chiffon, and many more. Their price range starts from as low as just a few dollars for simple saris to over several thousand dollars for the more exclusive ones. There are plain saris, Mysore silks with borders, printed saris, and embroidered saris. The embroidery on saris are done with zari, resham thread, using beads, stones, dubka, to name a few. Then there are varieties of saris such as chickenwork sari, bandani, gottapatti saris, and many more.

The latest high quality designer saris can be bought across the counter, or also online from online stores like indianselections.com. Go ahead and enjoy your encounter with the lovely sari.

Indian traditional products have been the favorite of all people who visit this beautiful country. With its vast ensemble of cultures that encompass the entire spectrum of people who form this country of over a billion people, there is something for nearly everybody here. Where else can you find the dialect of people changing every fifty miles, for an astonishing 114 recognized languages, with varying cultures to match.
The land that has brought yoga to the world will never cease to astonish you if you make a visit. The numerous states of India present a wide kaleidoscope of pictures of different cultures. Cultures that are resurgent and irrepressible, such as the traditional handcraft industry of Gujrat that rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the destructive earthquake of 2001, and has now provided a living to thousands of village women. Or the radiant colors that dot the clothes and products of the drab landscape of the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Few know that one of the largest producers of traditional handmade paper is a nondescript place called Sanganer near Jaipur, Rajasthan. Similarly, Jaipur quilts are reputed to be amongst the lightest in their class, weighing just a few ounces while retaining all the warmth of their heavier cousins by using a special natural fiber that grows wild in the countryside.
Then there are the huge varieties of Indian clothes, from traditional Kurtis, to Salwar Kameez, to the graceful Saree, to the modern look jeans and tops that are produced at amongst the lowest rates in the world thanks to cheap labor and abundant raw materials. The beauty is that now you no longer have to travel thousands of miles to get these attractive items, as they are all available online at select stores such as http://www.indianselections.com . Shopping at these online stores offers you the convenience of buying things at the click of a mouse sitting in the comfort of your home.