Lata Mangeshkar : very old picture with saree

I hated Lata Mangeshkar. She is responsible for the blandness of the Indian female playback singer scene that lasted for at least two decades.

All you need to do is to look at the list of female playback singers and the list of male playback singers during sixties and seventies. There is a HUGE difference! She actively supressed new female artists.

Yes, she sings well; yes, she is a good business woman, but she also deprived me of access to new artists and vibrant sounds.

Back to sarees! I love this picture of three sarees, probably from late forties. As they say, style changes, style stays the same!

Sarees and big pillow; an old picture

Not sure where this picture is from but it is a delightful picture of two women in a saree propped up with a large pillow. I am also intrigued by the blouse design, especially the design of the back of the blouse. It could be a multipiece blouse. I like the arrangement of the picture for sure.

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.

Mona – in a saree from 1937 – Saree History

Mona at her Father-in-law’s place in 1937 – dressed in a saree.

Came across a delightful Retroblog of Najm Tyabji. It is a retroblog of Mark Devereux’s grand father, who lived in India and was married to a Scottish woman, Mona.

It is a fine silk saree and looks like the blouse is more of a european style.

I am still looking for saree pictures from 1880′s- 1930′s; please send me a copy or a pointer if you find any.

Antariaya – saree from early times

an unstitched length of textile was the wearvof Indian women since as early as the Mauryan period (300-185vB.C.), if not before. Worn on body’s lower half, below the waist, the wear was known as antariya.

Men and women continued to wear three unstitched garments, as in Vedic times. The main garment was the antariya of white cotton, linen or flowered muslin, sometimes embroidered in gold and precious stones. For men, it was an unstitched length of cloth draped around the hips and between the legs in the kachcha style, extending from the waist to the calf or ankles or worn even shorter by peasants and commoners. The antariya was secured at the waist by a sash or kayabandh, often tied in a looped knot at the center front of the waist. The kayabandh could be simple sash, vethaka; one with drum-headed knot at the ends, muraja; a very elaborate band of embroidery, flat and ribbon-shaped, pattika; or a many-stringed one, kalabuka. The third item of clothing called uttariya was another length of material, usually fine cotton, very rarely silk, which was utilized as a long scarf to drape the top half of the body.

Remembering Chantal Boulanger – Happy Birthday

This blog is dedicated to Chantal (Sushila) Boulanger, a cultural saree anthropologist, in a true sense of the word. Her work and her book Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of Draping, describes and categorizes more than 100+ ways of draping a saree. She addressed the Saree draping in both artistic and scientific manner and has left a mark on the Saree World. Her work has been inspiring for me and her presence is missed.

She meticulously took pictures and organized information about the saees. This is a picture of a saree from a sculpture from 7th century.

OF ALL the arts that have emerged out of India, one of the least known and studied is that of draping. Chantal Boulanger-Maloney devoted much of her time between 1980 and 1996 to travelling throughout south, central and eastern India researching and documenting 100 different styles of draping saris. She was particularly concerned that many of these styles would be forgotten if they were not documented. Her pioneering research was consolidated and published in her book Saris: an illustrated guide to the Indian art of draping (1997), which included many of her own drawings.

Vintage Saree picture from 1959

From 1959 Life Magazine.

100 year old saree picture : Sri lanka

This is a gem. A picture circa 1908; a saree clad woman tapping a rubber tree.

Seems like a single piece garment as one would expect.