Sakhi Fashions: Hot Designs

Sakhi by Chandras features a number of funky, unique saree designs. The patterns, colors, and blouse designs on these sarees are bold and set their own trends. Here is what the site has to say:

“Sakhi celebrates the new-age woman and is committed to unveil her real beauty and progressive personality. Sakhi combines traditional fabrics and craftsmanship with contemporary themes to create an ensemble that embodies the values of the modern Indian woman.”

This Kanchivaram silk number sells for $422 approximately. The kalamkari motifs give the saree an antiquated look but the blouse is strikingly modern. Actually, I’m not sure what to make of this single sleeve style blouse though my gut is telling me that it pulls the wardrobe together and livens up this otherwise classic looking saree.

This crepe silk Sakhi saree costs $75 approximately. The zig-zag design throughout gives it a playful and fresh feel while the black hand block printed section tones down the busy print just enough.

Affordable and Stylish Sarees

Here are a few curious blouse and saree combos that I stumbled upon at yourdesignerwear.com. These designer looks are classy with a little spunk to make you stand out in a crowd. The best thing is that they are both affordable. After all, not everyone can afford to shell out $500 on a new saree.

My initial reaction to this one is that the saree color and resham work are gorgeous. The blouse, while at first striking me as having a green tissue stuffed inside for later use, after a second look now seems to add a cute feminine frill to the outfit. This georgette saree goes for $55.80.

I admit that this blouse style is nothing new but I love the sequins and spaghetti straps. It is a seductive and elegant look. The saree’s sequence and resham work throughout the body and pallu is dazzling and well balanced. Saree costs $33.

Sarees for Wedding Season

Wedding season is in the air. Every time I step outside I hear drums and wedding bands playing. In case you didn’t know, it is common to hire a brass band to play at your wedding. They band members wear uniforms that resemble the ones my high school marching band used to wear and they play lively Bollywood hits. The biggest sign that it is wedding season is that all of the homes of people tying the knot are lit up, inside and out, with twinkle lights. It almost feels like Christmas time, but not quite.

Anyway, in light of the season, here are a few interesting wedding saree designs that I’ve picked out from vasansi.com’s new wedding collection.

I love the long sleeved blouse and the vibrant orange-pink combination. $71.28

A soothing sea green faux georgette saree with a classy resham and gotta border. Again, I love the color combination. $78.04

There is a lot going on with this saree but it meshes together nicely. The vivid colors and detailing would make any lady stand out in a crowd. The cut of the blouse is also unique and flattering. $228.82

Fresh Looks in Georgette Sarees

I am partial to georgette sarees because they are lightweight, easy to wear, and always drape nicely. Here are a few of my picks for the season. These are available at kaneesha.com.

This unique black georgette saree with metallic brasso printing and a gold sequin border has a look that is a nice combo of classy and modern. $189

A beautiful maroon Banarasi georgette saree with gold zardosi embroidery with the traditional 9 yards of fabric – $394

This off-white pure georgette saree has a modern sophisticated look with silver zardosi embroidery other silver embellishments throughout. $179

Ah.. The saree seductress

I love this saree; I love the drape, I love the kanchivaram silk, I love the colors, I love the blouse design, I love the silhouette, I love the jewels, I love the seductive pose, I love the majesty of the pallu almost touching the ground, I love the way it covers everything and yet reveals al, I love the fashion background that gives depth to this image and I love this saree seductress!

In case you were too busy looking at the picture and didn’t read a word I said, yes, I like this saree!

From Sakhi Fashion About $500, if you must know.

If looks can kill, saree is an accessory to the crime!

Saree that won ballroom dance prizes

This dashing young Air Force officer (those days Royal Air Force) and his gorgeous wife were fabulous dancers and won many a prizes!

This is such a delightful picture, it is easily one of my most favorite picture on this site.

Picture Circa 1940’s.

Admiring Neera Chopra – the true Mother India

Pooja Chopra, Miss India, might be getting all the attention, but the true hero is Neera Chopra – mother of Pooja Chopra.

Read this heart wrenching story about Pooja Chopra’s mother and her courage!

WHEN Pooja Chopra was 20 days old, her mother Neera was forced to make a choice – kill her child or forfeit her marriage.

Neera decided to keep her daughter, defying the wishes of a bullying husband who wanted the baby destroyed. She knew she would be thrown out of the family home.

Twenty-three years later, Pooja’s survival is being celebrated throughout India. Now a vivacious young woman, last month she won a beauty contest to become Miss India World. She has also become a symbol for the campaign against a tradition that values boys above girls; it is said this has led to an imbalance in the ratio of Indian men to women and to social problems.

“When my mum walked out on my dad, she said to him, ‘One day this girl will make me proud’. All my life I’ve wanted my mum to be proud of the decision that she chose me,” Pooja said last week.

Neera has been thrust into the limelight by her daughter’s success. She has been dubbed Mother India and has already been approached by one Bollywood director who wants to film her story.

For Neera, the memory of her husband’s cruelty remains a “nightmare”. He had a respectable job but was a philanderer, prone to domestic violence. After the birth of her first child, a girl named Shubhra, he made her life a misery.

When she became pregnant again, seven years later, Neera clung to the hope that if the baby was a boy her marriage could be saved. Instead she had Pooja. Her husband and his relatives refused to visit the baby in hospital.

“I had to make a choice,” Neera said. “I left the house with my girls and I haven’t seen my husband since.”

He married another woman and refused to give any financial support to his daughters. Neera worked incessantly to provide for them: “I used to struggle for shoes, socks, uniforms. Sometimes I couldn’t put two square meals a day on the table.”

Pooja had nothing to say to her father, who “does not exist” for her. “I don’t even know if my father knows it is me, his daughter, who has set out to conquer the world,” she said.

“Today, when people call to congratulate me, it’s not me they pay tribute to, but to [my mother’s] life and her struggle. She’s the true woman of substance.”

Source : TimesOnline

I couldn’t agree with Pooja more: I pay tribute to her mother and mothers all over south Asian subcontinent who have to face such cruel sophies choice and shame on men who let this happen.

That is why I support Save the girl child campaign and will always be on the side of making this scar go away from our collective consciousness.

We have to face it that the dismal girl-boy ratio in India is not due to some subtle indirect effect; it is a conscious effort by some, forced by the ignorance, the environment and the mind-set that makes this happen. I strongly deplore it and celebrate each and every mother like Neera Chopra.

It is not a coincidence that Pooja won the pageant; her mother’s determination, conviction and strength made it possible.

Beautiful girl, beautiful saree, beautiful tulips equals one beautiful picture

This is so darn amazingly beautiful picture; stunning! I don’t think the masters of Bollywood be able to create something as genuine as this one.

Sayanthiny, a 12-year-old girl of Sri Lanka origin living in France, walked in a field of tulips in the Keukenhof flower garden, near Lisse, Netherlands, Monday.

source: Wall street Journal : Picture of the day.

Happy Easter to all our readers.