Sarees
have been prevalent since ancient times. Several references
to this beautiful costume are found in the Vedas and the Epics-
the Mahabharat and Ramayana. A saree has no form, its just about
yards of material which when draped on a woman's body, is all
about sensuality. A saree is just woven material 51/2mts and
more sometimes. Ask any Indian man about his ideal dress code
for a woman, he'll say 'saree' without batting an eyelid.
Each region has its own particular saree characteristics
through various techniques of weaving, printing and embroidery,
which form an integral feature of this costume. Some of the
most popular sarees come from regions like Maharashtra (Paithanis
and Garas), Orissa (Ikats), Bengal (Kanthas), Andhra Pradesh
(Gadwal, Mangalagiri, Narayanpet), Karnataka (Kashida) and
Madhya Pradesh (Chanderi and Maheshwari). A short note on
each of these beautiful works of art:
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Kashida
(Kasuti) : The word kashida is derived from the Persian
word meaning embroidery. This shows that there were contacts
between Persia and Karnataka during the reign of Chalukyas in
the 6th century A.D. Traditionally designs are worked out on
the web of black Irkal handloom saris-the warp and weft of the
fabrics regulated stitches. It was worked by counting threads
and without knots, hence is identical on both sides. This type
of embellishment is usually done by four varieties of stitches
namely Ganthi- line or backstitch, vertical, horizontal and
diagonal. Murgi- zig zag, it runs up and down like steps of
a ladder. Negi, weaving stitch and Menthe-forked branch or cluster
stitch resembling fenugreek seeds.
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