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Lehenga Choli Biography

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Gagra choli
Gagra choli or Ghagra choli, which is also known as Lehenga choli, is the traditional clothing of women in Rajasthan Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Sindh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu & Hindi speaking Terai region of Nepal. It is a combination outfit of a Lehenga, tight Choli and a Dupatta.

Choli
A choli (Hindi: चोली), (ravike in South India Telugu: రవికె, Kannada: ರವಿಕೆ) is a midriff-baringblouse shell garment in the Indian sari costume worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,Bangladesh, and other countries where the sari is worn. The choli is cut to fit tightly to the body and has short sleeves and a low neck. The choli is usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel; the cropped design is particularly well-suited for wear in the hot South Asian summers.

Lehenga

Lehenga or Ghagra is a form of skirt which is long, embroidered and pleated. It is worn as the bottom portion of a Gagra choli. It is secured at the waist and leaves the lower back and midriff bare. The ancient version of skirt or Ghagri evolved from Bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the Antariya when stitched on one side became tabular and was worn gathered together at the waist, and held by a girdle. This was one of the earliest forms of a clumsily stitched skirt. It was worn using drawstring or nada. The ghagri was a narrow skirt six feet long the same length as original antariya. This style can still be seen worn by Jainnuns in India.
Until early 20th century, women irrespective of class largely wore gagras which reached down to ankles, especially in Hindi belt. This was largely due to jeweled toes showed martial status of women as both married and unmarried women observed Ghoonghat. Gagras were made out of two to three layers of coarse khadi fabric which created large flared look and remained largely undecorated but were decorated with gota strips along the border on special occasions. Most commonly used dyes were Indigo, Lac and Haldi. This style can still be seen in rural areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh particularly during folk festivals.
Ancient unstitched form of gagra has survived in folk theater costumes across India, particularly in Kathakali of Kerala, where layers of pleated khadi fabric are laid over a nada and tied around the waist creating layers of flared skirt. This reflects simplistic early style of unstitched gagras worn in ancient times

Evolution

Choli from Gujarat at the Peabody Essex Museum
Traditional form of Choli tied at the back from Braj region ofUttar Pradesh.
Women in ancient form of long front covering choli tied at the back
The term "choli" is derived from another ruling clan from south, the Cholas. Rajatarangini(meaning the 'river of kings'), a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the Choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order of Kashmir.[1] The first cholis were front covering, with choli tied at the back with four strings. Choli of this type are still common in state of Rajasthan. Pre-Christian era paintings of Maharashtra and Gujarat are considered the first recorded examples of choli. Poetic references from works likeSilapadikkaram indicate that during the Sangam period 3rd century BC - 4th century CE in ancient South India, a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and upper shawl. In Kerala, paintings by Raja Ravi Varma indicate women being topless. On the contrary,other historians point to much textual and artistic evidence for various forms of breastband and upper-body-shawl.

Changing times

During the 1960s, a woman was still not considered a 'lady' if her neckline was cut too daringly and bared too much, especially if she wore her sari pallu pulled to one side, giving a glimpse of her bosom. A lady of honour ideally covered her back and upper arms with a blouse made of a thicker fabric. Of course, not every woman followed the norm. In the 1970s and 1980s, the blouses went knotty, criss-crossed with a deep cut, and even shone through the sheer saree. Anupama Raj, a boutique owner commented, "There is a very real need to re-invent the choli so that it can be worn with a variety of outfits. Just as we see the choli to be a deconstructed form of the blouse, we need to deconstruct the choli. Only then, will it be acceptable internationally." Bobby Malik, an exporter-turned-designer commented,"The choli is the most sensuous of all garments created for women. It not only flatters the feminine form, but also brings out the romanticism in a woman. But where Indian designers have failed is at giving it an international look and making it still more beautiful."