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.
Tailored clothes arrived in India with the arrival of Muslims. Hindus beleived that any cloth pierced by needles was impure.
It is commonly beleived 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 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 earliest documentation of woven fabric in the Indian subcontinent is found on the sculpted bust of King-Priest of Mohenjo Daro-Indus Valley Civilization-2200-1800 B.C.The 3 sun shaped discs "Trefoil" show the unity of sun earth & water gods .This shawl pattern is still reproduced today in Sindh , Pakistan. The same trefoil was found on the Hathor cow and on the bodies of Sumerian bulls in Mesopotamia.
Buddhist literature chronicles the work of the skilled weavers and spinners of Kashi who excelled in fine muslin, so fine that oil could not seep through. It was women who spun, and the cotton cloths were washed, calendered, starched and perfumed. Fine cotton muslin was used to wrap the bodies of emperors and also the Buddha when he attained enlightenment nirvana.
The woven cloth, textile design and iconography in early India was based on the principles of different Vedas - hence the trefoil motif of the King Priest from Mohenjodaro showing the unity of sun, earth, and water gods.
The mystique of the weaver is rooted in custom and ritual of religion. This created a relationship between him and the cloth that he wove. The cosmos, the ordered Universe, was seen as an endless and continuous fabric with its grid pattern of warp and woof over which is painted life in all its cycles, illusions and dreams.
In the olden times when weaving was done manually, the Master weaver was celebrated as an artist, a musician, and his loom an instrument of music. He memorized the patterns. The raga was established as he threw the shuttle through the tautly stretched warp threads, back and forth, over and over again. He beat the warp rhythmically, keeping taal. The wooden pedal was depressed to synchronize the throwing of the shuttles.
SOUTH Asians have had a simple answer to Cinderella's fairy godmother for a long time now, and this is the sari. It is amazing how a simple piece of cloth measuring roughly 12 yards in length and requiring no form of stitching can transform a woman into a symbol of femininity and grace. Saris have been the attire of choice for our women folk since ages ago, and are still reigning today for their ability to bring out the best in a Bengali woman. These magic outfits come in a wide range of fabrics and designs.
In a country where jamdani and silk is only for the rich but not necessarily famous, hand woven saris are the choice apparel for those on a budget. It has been in use during the English rule when all else was considered a threat to the English cloth industry. For both the weavers and the common people this type of sari became their preferred material. Taat or handloom materials have a rather heavy texture. These came in solid colours or in simple designs known as Dhakai Biti and Pabna Biti. Check and stripes were the prevalent patterns in a market that was starting to become crowded with Indian and Pakistani brands.
I am sorry I cannot hide my tears from you
If you remember me, put on your beautiful sari
and mascara on your eyes, braid your hair properly.
Jasim Uddin - The Field of the Embroidered Quilt
The Indian sari with its long history is one of the most ancient dresses that have been designed since ages. With its simple elegance it has is one of the most expressive clothes of woman’s femininity. Over centuries, this dress has changed in form and content. It has varied in designs and colors so that other dresses have come out of it even across the Indian borders as well as in other parts of the world of international fame.However, the first proof that the Indian sari was worn was found with the small statues of Sumer that goes back to 2000-3000 B.C. This was the time of the Indus valley civilization. There are many references to the Sari in the premier works of Sanskrit literature. The “Rig Veda” book that goes back to 1200 B.C. tells about the golden bright Sari and perhaps about the brocade. In the heroic poem of Mahabharata, there is a reference to the pearl-embroidered Sari. Mural-paintings in Ajanta caves featured the Bandana Sari or the warp and weft weave.
Every part of the Sari expresses many things and tells pleasant and sad stories. Moreover, it shares the pleasure and sadness of a woman who wears it. It accompanies her in all different stages of her life, in marriage and motherhood as well as many other human experiences. It also represents her mood and tells about the occasion for which it is worn. The way in which it is tied tells the woman’s social class. Since the Sari is strongly connected to people’s life and their traditions, every area of India has its own way of weaving it that explains the skills of its weavers and of those who tainted it. Bengal is known for the silk Sari that is tied in Kantha that gives a classic example of preserving Indian skillful handcraft. Making only one of these Saris takes six months. The silk Sari and the brocade clothes of Banares embody the continuity of old handcrafts. Women from Bengal in Eastern India are strongly abided by traditions. Their life style is simple. Their festival day reflects their keenness on traditions. They tie the Sari without folds.
History of Sari
History of Sari,History Saree,Sari History,Saree History
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
DACCAI JAMDANI
Nestling in rural Bengal, amidst lush green paddy fields, punctuated by picturesque pukurs (ponds) are entire weaver villages engaged in creating the equivalent of poetry on fabric. Triumphing over the trauma of partition, weaver families which migrated to West Bengal in the 1950’s have helped keep alive a priceless heritage of highly stylized weaving techniques honed over generations. The handloom industry in the eastern region has had its share of bumpy rides, but Bengal handlooms have survived the ups and downs to become a household name among connoisseurs of textiles.
There are at least six varieties of Bengal handlooms, each deriving its name from the village in which it originated, and each with its own distinctive style. The undisputed queen of the range, however, is the fabled Jamdani, which in all its myriad local avtars continues to retain its original grandeur and sophistication. The original version is referred to as Daccai jamdani, although it is now produced in Navdeep and Dhattigram, in West Bengal.
Daccai Jamdani is distinguished from its mutant cousins by its very fine texture resembling muslin and the elaborate and ornate workmanship. In Bangladesh, weavers use fine Egyptian cotton, while the Indian weavers use only indigenous raw material. The single warp is usually ornamented with two extra weft followed by ground weft. While the original Bangladeshi sari is almost invariably on a beige background, the Indian weavers are a little more adventurous in their choice of color schemes. The gossamer thin black Jamdani with its splash of multi colored linear or floral motifs sprinkled generously all over the body and border and crowned with an exquisitely designed elaborate pallu is a feast for the eyes.
The Daccai Jamdani is woven painstakingly by hand on the old fashioned Jala loom, and many take even up to one year to weave a single sari. It feels supple to the touch and drapes gently to reveal the contours of the wearer.
Historians cannot exactly determine when jamdani came about but it is well known that the descendants of the muslin weavers kept this trade alive. Jamdani also needs climatic conditions for proper development. It also requires a humid environment and that is why many weavers set up their business alongside riverbanks. Its creation is different from other fabrics in the sense that it does not use needles or the jacquard process. The craftsmen use tiny wooden or bamboo spikes to draw the intricate designs that consist of geometrical shapes.
