Professional Documents
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agic
ndian
By
Tan Huaixiang
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The pallu, the decorative end-piece of the sari, is often pulled over the
head to protect the wearer from the sun or wind.
Copyright 2005 United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.
loth
sewing them back together in functional, sometimes formfitting, and often purely aesthetic ways.
In India, however, the fashion industry has never lost
its devotion to the whole cloth. Many garments, including
the sari, mundu-veshti, dhoti, sari-pants, and turbans, are
amazingly held together by rolling, tucking, pleating, and
folding. These types of Indian garments are functional,
simple, elegant, sophisticated, and practical. One piece of
cloth fits allI call it the magic Indian cloth.
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Sari Cloth
cotton saris, they hesitate to sit down because they dont want
to mess up or wrinkle their saris. Synthetic saris have disadvantages too: if they are kept in the heat, the pleats may come
undone; when covering the head, synthetic fabrics tend to slip
off easily (some Indian women hold the pallu in place with a
safety pin fastened to their hair at the crown of their heads).
Silk saris always look beautiful, but they are more expensive
and need ironing and special care for cleaning.
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SOURCES
Banerjee, Mukulika and Daniel Miller. 2003. The Sari. Oxford, U.K.: Berg
Publishing.
Boulanger, Chantal. 1997. Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of
Draping. New York: Shakri Press International.
Fabri, Charles. 1961. A History of Indian Dress. India: Orient Longmans.
Kindersley, Dorling. 2002. Eyewitness Travel Guides India. New York:
DK Publishing, Inc.
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