Farah Ruma – Bangla Deshi Saree

Other day I was at a Bangladeshi restaurant in Los Angeles, a place that is perfectly nestled in the Little Bangladesh area, and I watched the Bangladeshi satellite channel. Interestingly, all the newscasters and almost all of the female guests were wearing sarees, or sharis as they call it.

And it occurred to me that except for showcasing Bibi’s designs off and on, I haven’t been posting any pics from Bangladesh.

It is interesting to see how the sarees are adopted to local culture. The most notable element that changes is the color combination and this saree reflects that as well.

Hair donation in south India

I love this picture – especially the sign “inspiring growth” in the background.

People believe if they pray for something and get it they owe god their hair. They also believe if they sacrifice their hair their prayers will be answered. The Venkateshwara Temple, at Tirumala in the south Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, probably attracts more pilgrims than Jerusalem, Rome or Mecca combined. 12,000 people a day have their heads shaved at the temple. The devotees who come here want to donate their hair, because a Hindu feels giving hair to the Lord is more important than giving money. People will repeat this practice at various times in their lives.

The image is by Nisheedhi

Of course these hair get transformed in to hair extensions for women in other parts of the world.

I find this whole cycle fascinating and very purposeful. The spiritual needs of the women in south India is met and at the same time, it brings joy and beauty to women all over the world.

A little too much red, a little too much blush.. Saidah Jules

Saidah Jules, a European actress of Pyar Impossible fame.

Saidah will next be seen in Sunny Deol and Irfan Khan starrer ‘Right Ya Wrong’ where she has a meatier role. Saidah is also taking Hindi lessons as she is taking her career in Bollywood quite seriously. “I can understand about 70% of the language. And most of my dialogues in Right Ya Wrong are in Hindi and I managed it well,” she says.

Thiruvalluvar Tirukkural Saree – 1330 Tamil verses saree

Coimbatore, June 6 (ANI): Silk handloom weavers in Coimbatore have woven a resplendent new Saree with 1,330 Thirukurals or couplets from holy scriptures in Tamil spun into the silk.

The Thirukurals were written by legendary Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar and reportedly date back to the 4th century AD.

“We have accommodated all the aspects of the holy Thirukkural (Tamil couplets) in this silk saree (drape). The length of this saree is 6 1/4 metres and breadth is 48″ inches and it weighs 1 1/2 kilograms, ” said Balasubramanian, a silk handloom weaver.

The wonderful Saree comes with a price-tag of Rs100,000 ($2134) and has attracted a stream of visitors ever since it went on display.

“I was amazed to see a saree which has been specially made to be displayed in World Tamil Conference. It is an excellent piece of work of artwork done by the weavers and this is a rare thing that one could witness. There is no word to describe the intricate artwork. We salute the creator of this wonderful work,” said Lalithaa Krishnan, a visitor to the showroom.

The saree, which was made over a span of four months, will be exhibited at the World Classical Tamil Conference 2010, to be held in Coimbatore between June 23 and 27. By Jehovah.G (ANI)

Source The Hindu

Love, Love, Love this picture of a saree clad woman praying at the Jain temple

A woman prays at 41-foot-tall statue of Jain sage Lord Bahubali carved out of a single block of granite. Thanks to Ajit Solanki / Associated Press for the picture.

Jainism, which originated in India, has nearly 4 million followers in the country. It is an ancient religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings – it is one of the gentlest of the religion. It regard every living being as oneself, harming no one and requires the followers to be kind to all living beings.

When I was growing up, I was told that the Jainism started in the 6th century BC with Mahavir Jain, but I think the religion is much older. It is more spiritual in nature and had its roots from much earlier times.

One of the other features that I like in the Jain philosophy is that Jains are usually very welcoming and friendly toward other faiths and often help with interfaith functions. Several non-Jain temples in India are administered by Jains. There is no agenda for trying to convert others to Jainism.

And of course, the most interesting thing is the cuisine. It is interestingly restrictive.

Jains do not consume root vegetables such as potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, but dried ginger is OK. The reason? the (non-dry) root vegetables have more bacteria than other vegetables. Also, no yogurt for the same reason and no leftovers either. Eggplants are avoided because of the large number of seeds in the vegetable, as a seed is taken to be a form of life. At least some thought has gone in to being as respectful to life as possible and that is inspiring.

This beautiful picture has suggests creating another category for saree and religion. I think it will be interesting to follow the use of saree as religious symbol and how it integrates in to various religious activities.

Russian Model in saree pictures – Neha Delva

Yup, all over the internets, saree pictures of Neha Dalvi are being peddled as Russian model in a saree picture…

I find it kind of amusing – she can’t possibly be India because she is so.. fair complexioned…

Being Desi has nothing to do with the complexion of the skin – it is all about the shared values and common experiences.

Quiet Heroes Over 80

Mariyayee Chidambaram, 80, who was born in India and immigrated to the US in 1982, poses with her portrait.

LA Times has a nice article on Quiet Heros Photo Exhibit