SAREE - An unstitched fabric of feminine elegance

The saree is the quintessential Indian Female Garment. Nothing identifies a woman as being Indian so strongly as the saree. The saree is known not only by different names in various parts of the country, but it is also conceived differently in form and structure, in usage and custom. It is a stretch of fabric that becomes long or short, wide or narrow according to who wears it and the way in which it is worn. There is in fact no one type of saree.

Dimensions of saree: The actual length and width of the saree varies by region and by quality. Traditional saree dimensions are also influenced by regional and community draping styles. But the standard saree that is commonly available is a length of cloth measuring from about a length of 5.5 to 6.25 meters by about a width of 120 centimeters 17 to 20 feet by about 4 feet), which is draped around the entire body. Most of this fabric is pleated at the waist and then wound round to make a skirt with the remaining few yards swept across the upper half of the body, covering at least one shoulder and sometimes veiling the head.

The pleasure of wearing a saree: The personal pleasure of draping this unstitched fluid garment over and around the body, adjusting it with little tucks and pulls to suit one's

INNER END: The inner end-piece is the most essential part of the saree with which the winding starts. It is the first anchor to the body, tied either with a knot around the waist or tucked into the underskirt (petticoat).

PALLAV (outer ornate end): The outer end-piece is known as the Pallav on which the drape ends in sequential winding, and is usually highly embellished with designs and patterns. The Pallav is a woman's veil of modesty or flirtation as need be.

BORDER: Borders delineate the upper and lower edges and are thereby crucial to the design, drape and function of the saree. The borders mark the contours of a saree's river-like flow, over and around the body, through the pleats and along the curves, till it climbs the shoulder and falls beyond.

BODY: The body of the saree is the mass that is found between the borders, inner and outer end of the saree; it sculpts itself into a definite form without breaking the link between one voluminous space and the next.

Other uses of a saree: Possession of a saree will never be waste. The cloth is convertible to any fancy wear like frocks, skirts, churidar-kurta, sarong and the like. The creatively adventurous can use it as a curtain, a table cloth, pillow covers, etc., to brighten up that colourless