<![CDATA[Six yards of cloth. That is not all there is to the saree. This dress worn by millions of Indian women is, by far, the most elegant. It is not merely an outfit but an ornament, lending both grace and glamour to the person who wears it. More important, the saree epitomizes the continuity of an age-old tradition that has withstood the onslaught of many different cultures, to emerge today as a visible symbol of the resiliency, continuity and timelessness of the Indian way of life.
The saree speaks for itself of so many things. Every rustle of this unique garment has a story to tell — stories both of happiness and of sorrow. For the saree has seen it all. It has shared, with the wearer, every nuance of human experience — the joy and happiness of marriage, as well as the sorrow of parting, the pleasures and satisfaction of motherhood, the happy times when the life dealt kindly, the trying times when adversity was met with typical Indian stoicism.

The mood, the occasion, the event can all be conveyed through the saree. The colour reflects the occasion. The way it is draped signals the community. Brocades speak of happy times, an event of celebration — the birth of a baby, the marriage of a dear one. Festivals life Diwali or Durga Puja, are occasion to bring out colourful dreams in gold woven in-between vibrant rainbow-hued skeins of silk. Solemn white speaks of death, of the parting of a loved one. For those in the immediate family it indicates a state of mourning and for those who come to offer condolences it is a sign of their empathy with the bereaved. For the bride it is always, in almost all communities, a bright red.
So interwoven is the saree with the life and traditions of the people that each region of the country has developed a weave of its own. Each is a unique expression of the skills of the weavers and dyers, which have been handed down the generations. The exquisite Kota Doria weave, and the bandhej style of dyeing comes from the west. Weaving silks in vibrant colours, some weighing as much as 10 kilograms is a speciality of south India. Silk sarees embroidered with the kantha stitch, a speciality of the Bengal region in the east, is a typical example of the perseverance of the Indian craftsman. He puts in as much as six months of labour to create a single saree. and the brocades from Benarasi Georgette are equally representative of the continuation of the age-old crafts.
Then again, each region displays a different style of draping the saree. This is shaped by the lifestyle and the religious inclination.

India is a country of diverse culture and land, where distinct caste and creed live together. Similar are the way they dress up but still the regions are vast and hence the dresses are diverse. Different places in India are famous for manufacturing different types of clothes, which have developed due to the regional, geographic and climatic differences of the regions. Silk, Georgette, Crepe,Chiffon,Bandhej,Cotton are a few types of sarees frequently asked about by the ladies. This ethnic dress is worn by ladies in most parts of the country. Ladies all across India look forward for designer brands; still there are different brands, designs and draping styles in vogue. There are several styles to drape this contemporary attire, most popular two are the Gujarati "seedha pallu" style and Bengali style. One of the most happening and classic design of embroidery is zardosi, which today is done in Georgette, Chiffon and Crepe Sarees as well. It was a part of mughal designs and was quite popular at its time and immemorial.

The urban Indian style is by far the one most common seen.Elegant chiffons, embroidered georgette and heavy brocades — all of them can be easily draped into various styles. Tied around the waist, the saree forms a skirt with the pleats positioned in front thus allowing for free movement. The pallu or the part draped over the left shoulder is either pleated and pinned up as per the convenience, or is left flowing loose for glamour.

Author is a fashion expert from India .For more information on
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