Diwali...

Diwali-
Heart feels joy...
As we have holidays
Heart feels happy...
As we are going to celebrate with family
The fun, the chat, the teasings...
What for we have waited
Is all going to come...

Diwali-
Kids are in the first place of enjoyment
They start celebrating earlier
Wait eagerly for every evenings
They start their fireworks
With little scoldings from elders
That too is full of fun...

Diwali-
Elders start thinking about the snacks
They start to prepare it earlier
They share this snacks with relatives & neighbours
As it creates a nice bond between us...
They are much worried
Especially in the safety of their kids...

Diwali-
On that day...
Everyone in the family wakes up early
Kids get ready soon
So that they can start their fireworks...
Elders prepare many kinds of dishes
They keep everything in front of God & Godesses
Each & every member of that family
Pray with full involvement...
They enjoy being together
Watch TV with many happy comments...

Diwali-
Its like a birthday...
Yes, Diwali festival
Its like a family birthday...
Enjoy....

Traditional Costumes-5

Below is about the traditional costumes of North India..

Punjab:

Punjab & Haryana are famous for the "phulkari" (flower-work) shawls which is worn with a tight-fitting choli & gaghra. Phulkari forms the traditional costume of rural woman of this region.

For ceremonial occasions, a special kind of phulkari known as a "bagh" (garden) was made, in which the whole of the ground was covered with embroidery. On the birth of a baby, the grandmother, after a ceremony of prayers & distribution of sweets to the baby's aunts, would start to embroider a bagh. It would take several years to complete & was embroidered with special care to be used later at the grandchild's wedding, after which it would be kept as a family treasure.

Punjabi girls & women wear salwar kameez's with bright colored duppattas. Kameez is the shirt or top piece & salwar is the pant or bottom piece.

Mens & boys generally wear loose pants or slacks with a collared shirt or t-shirt. Some will wear the kurta pajama.

Rajasthan:

Women's attire

Rajasthani women wear ankle-length long skirts with narrow waist that gain width like an umbrella at the base. It is called ghaghara. The width & the no. of pleats in the ghaghara symbolize ones prosperity. Kurti or choli acts as top/blouse. The odhani is a cotton cloth of about 3m long & about 2m wide that is tucked in the skirt while the other end is taken over the head & the right
shoulder.

Men's attire

They wear a turban of various colour, an angrakha or achakan as the upper garment & dhoti or pyjama as the lower garment.

Jammu & Kashmir:

For many years Kashmiri men & women have worn the same style of dress. The women wear the pheran, the Kashmiri gown, hemmed with a border & hanging in awkward folds. A muslim womans pheran is knee length, loose & embroidered in front & on the edges, a hindu womans pheran touches her feet. For the sake
of smartness & ease it is tied at the waist with folded material called Ihungi. Hindu costume has head-dress called taranga, which is tied to a hanging bonnet & tapers down to the heels from behind.

Dogras

Inhabiting the hilly tract bounding the mountains of the Kashmir valley & extending to the plains of Punjab, wear long, loose tunics, close fitting chudidhars and dupatta or cap to complete their charming ensemble.

Ladakhis

Its a part of Jammu. It is known as "land of the Lamas". Men wear long, grey, woolen gowns fringed with sheep-skin & tied at the waist with girdles of blue colour, multi coloured velvet caps, fringed with black fur earlaps. Women wear colourful clothes. Their special is the turquoise-studded headgear called Perak, is made of red cloth or goat skin.

Uttar Pradesh:

Mens wear kurta-pyjamas & dhoti-kurtas. Womens wear sari, salwar suit, lehangas, shararas & gararas.

Bihar:

Its known for its golden tussar silk weaving saris.

Birthday

Hai friends.... Today (22nd Oct) is my b'day. I feel very happy to share this with u all. This year I got many new friends especially through this blogspot. I should thank blogspot for this. Thanks for being my friend.....

Saraswati Pooja...

Friends, Wish u all a very happy Saraswati Pooja.... Enjoy it well.....
Be happy always.... Keep smiling....

Traditional Costumes-4

Here are the costumes for East India...

West Bengal:

"Catching the cold" comes easy to Bengalis. Wrapped in layers of warm clothing even if the sun is boiling the mercury, a baby learns quickly that his chances of survival in a Bengali household depend on how tightly he can wrap himself in cotton, linen & wool. Bengalis have almost romanticised warm clothing, so much so that Bengali art has found eloquent expression in a form of quilt-stitchwork called Kantha.

(Kalyan-this post remains me about u...)

Assam:

The traditional costume of the Assamese women is known as the "Mekhala & Chadar". The women of Assam weave fairy tales in their looms. Skill to weave was the primary qualification
of a young girl for her eligibility for marriage.

Gandhiji, during his famous tour to promote khadi & swadeshi, was so moved that he remarked "Assamese women weave fairy tales in their clothes!".

Traditionally men folk of plains wear mill- made dhoties & small or big sized sola/fatua (shirt) & vest or eri-chaddar.

Assamese women use riha-mekhela-sadar. The long flowing skirt up to the ankles is known as mekhela and the upper garment riha. The red coloured pattern at the end of the riha is graceful and symbolic. It is said that the dress of mehkela & the riha chaddar has been adopted from the Tibetan & Burmese women.

Orissa:

Odissi is the traditional dance of Orissa. The costume is similar to that of traditional Bharathanatyam costume. The Orissa saris were draped around the dancers in a specific manner for the costume.

Orissa is a thickly tribal inhabited state, consisting of 62 tribes living in different parts of the state. to the tribals, dress is a cultural need & it is also a part of their tradition. The tribals use separate costumes at the time of festivals & ceremonies. In a specific tribe the dresses from birth to old age has immense variety.

Traditional Costumes-3

The following are the traditional costumes of West India.

Gujarat:

Male-Chorno & Kediyu.

Female-Chaniyo & Choli.

The dresses worn by males in rural areas consists of cotton drawers called "Chorno" & a short "Kediyu" or "Angarakhu" covering the upper part of the body.

Women put on "Chaniyo" the coloured petticoat often embroidered with "abhala" or glass pieces, a similarly embroidered blouse or bodice called "Choli" or "Polku" along with "Odhani", a coloured piece of coarse cloth covering the body and the head.

Ras and Garba Costumes

The Ras dance is considered to be the form of Ras Leela, which Krishna used to perform when he was leading the life of a cowherd boy at Gokul and Vrindavan. The Ras is by itself very simple and is generally performed by a group of youthful people who move in a circle to measured steps, marking time by sticks called dhandias keeping in their hands & singing in chorus accompanied by dhol, cymbals, flute or shehnai.

The costumes for this dance is a small coat called keviya with tight sleeves and pleated frills at the waist with embroidered borders & sholders, tight trousers like chudidars & colourfully embroidered cap or coloured turban & coloured kamarbandha i.e. waistband.

The traditional dress for Gujarati women is the lehenga choli or ghagra choli.

Abhas-Traditional costume of Kutch region

The women looked beautiful in their fabulous Abhas as they swayed to the music. The twinkling lights played over the gold & thread emboridery while the sequins & badla work sparkled continuously.

Goa:

Cotton clothes are the best option during the warm and sunny days. Woolen clothes are rarely needed. If you feel cold all you need is a light wool jacket or sweater.

Maharashtra:

Men wear dhoti and shirt with a headress known as the "Pheta", & women wear sari with a short-sleeved "Choli" (blouse). The sari is 9m long and is worn tucked between the legs. Sari in Marathi is known as "Lugade" or "Sadi".

Traditional Costumes-2

The following are the traditional costumes of Central India.

Madhya Pradesh:

Its India's largest state, it literally means the "Central Province", an apt name as it is situated in the centre of India.

Summer-Light clothes preferably natural fibres.

Winter-Light woolens for the day and heavywoolens for the night.

Madhya Pradesh is known for its fine Chanderi Pagadi or safa, bandi and dhoti among males and kanchli, ghaghara, lugada (lehnga) among females is the dress of common village folk. School going boys wear chaddi and shirt and the girls, polka, ghaghri or frock.

Tribals wear short dhotis. In jungles their men-folk wear shorter langot.

Chattisgarh:

India's 26th state which was carved out of Madhya Pradesh on 1st November 2000. This state is known for its tribal weaving. Chattisgarh is formerly known as Southern Kosal. Chattisgarh is derived from the ancient dynasty South Kaushal taht.

Women are fond of "Kachhora" a typical manner of wearing saree. Women wearing "Lugda" (saree) and "Polkha" (blouse) with a set of attractive ornaments are symbolic of tradition and heritage of Chattisgarh.

Abhuj Maria Tribals (Bastar)

Their dressing needs are very small and money they do not covet at all. Both men & women wear only a piece of cloth round the waist.

Folk Dance Costumes

Gaur Dance Costumes

Men put head-dresses with stringed "cowries" and plumes of peacock feathers and make their way to the dancing ground.

Kaksar Dance Costumes

Boys put on a peculiar costume of a long white robe while girls are clad in all their finery.

Iam tagged...

Hai...I was tagged by my friend "Jeevan".

If u r tagged, here are the rules,

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My name is Kalaiselvi, it refers to "Kalaivani" (Sarasvati) Goddess of learning and arts. I heard from many saying that people should have "Kalai" in their face apart from their fair features, i had in my name itself. My name has been called as kalai, selvi, chellam (my mom), ammu, ammachi (my dad, it refers to grandma), etc...

K for Kindness:

I always try to understand others situation. I will help as much as possible. I can adjust to any kind of people. Though I suffered, I will try to make my surrounding feel happy & comfortable in my presence...

A for Affection:

I can easily shower my affection even to an unknown person. I will do anything for them. But, If they are not true to me, I will be upset to such an extent that I cant control myself...

L for Love:

Iam having a separate respect to the true lovers. Love, its different from all others. According to me, Love shows and needs something in return. Only the person who is in love, can realise the actual feel...

A for Anger:

This is my main negative point. Iam always straightforward. Whatever I feel wrong, I will say it directly. I wont see whether they are my elder/younger. This creates a lot of problems. So, now Iam trying to control it...

I for Involvement:

I will be perfect in my work. Whatever it is, I will try to do it sincerely. I will learn any new work with full involvement though others hurt me for not knowing that work. As a challenge, I will do that same work well in front of them...

I would like to tag my friends, Karthik (expertdabbler), Sundarvathi, Senthil (Omen), Seraphine & Priya (Kuttipriya). I hope u will enjoy it....

Traditional Costumes-1

Tamil Nadu:

Women wear sari and blouse and men wear lungi along with a shirt and 'Angavastra'.

Kerala:

The traditional dress forms are the 'Mundu and Neriathu' (a white piece of cloth with golden zari border symbolising royalty) for men; and 'sari' (a 5-6 metres long piece of cloth embroidered with golden border) with jacket for women.

Karnataka:



The main dress of the men is a 'lungi' worn below the waist beneath a shirt. A 'angavastram', a silk or cotton muffler is sported on the neck covering the shoulders. Women wear sarees, the unstitched piece of cloth used to drape the body.

The Kodavas or the people of Kodagu have their own distinct dresses. The men wear their native costume with pride, resplendent with ornamental sashes, swords and daggers, black robes or tunics and gold trimmed turbans for festivals or weddings. Kodava women drape the saree in reverse, with the pleats at the back, pallu pinned on the shoulder, the fringe to the front. Decorative headscarves are worn on formal occasions.

Andhra Pradesh:




Sari & blouse for women. Dhoti & kurta for men & Lambadi dresses.



Lambadi are a common tribal group in Andhra & are famous for their colourful costumes. The Lambada men have adopted the regional dress but the women have to this day retained their attractive colourful & heavy garments, with lot of mirrors and beads studded on them.

Pappu.. hey keyaaa...

Recently, I came across an article which I enjoyed a lot. I thought to share with u all. Here it is...

That was an Apartment which had different cultured people. One newly married telugu lady came to that Apartment. In Hindi, kids are referred as pappu, babblu, munnee (i think so). One north Indian lady came to that telugu lady's house & asked her "Pappu.. hey keyaaa..." (Is pappu here?). That telugu lady know some hindi. In telugu pappu means paruppu (dhal). So she went & came with a box which had dhal in it. She showed it to her & asked her to take it. That north Indian lady got confused & again asked her "pappu... nahee hey.." (Is pappu not here). Telugu lady thought that she is asking ghee (she took that "nahee" as "neiy"). Again she came with two boxes, one containing dhal & other with ghee. That north Indian lady got tensed & thought she is insulting her..

At that time, another lady came their to ask whats going. This lady know both the languages & explained each with their own mother tongue. They cant help laughing about what they did...

Traditional South Indian Dresses....

Kids used to wear "Pattu Paavaadai"



Teenage used to wear "Half Saree"



Adults used to wear "Saree"



This is "Pattu Sarees" which we wear during functions.

Double Weight....

When I did my schooling, my school was very near to my house. It takes just 5 minutes to walk. I used to come to home for lunch. We enjoyed a lot. We were lucky....

But now the type of schooling in main cities seems to be very difficult. Students are carrying a bag which weigh double their actual weight. Iam sure that they had to eat extra for carrying their bags. Those who are travelling in buses (especially government buses) are suffering a lot. They get more scoldings in addition to their pain y bcoz they occupy more space in the bus. Just imagine how they manage in a overcrowd bus...

How sad it is? Due to the technology improvement, students are forced to study more in their school days.... Something should come to reduce their bag weight like having CDs.....

This remains me about a song in "Mugavaree".

Our Culture...

One of our friend in our hostel thought to see separate house for her and her friends. When our sister (Warden) heard this, she told her about another girl who is at present staying alone in a house. Though she felt something wrong, she had no choice to avoid this. She went with the sister to see that house. She liked that house and the girl moved well. She got information from the sister that the girl was staying with her brother and at present he went for onsite. So the girl is staying alone and she is so scared of that.

At last, our friend said ok and she told she will shift soon. But within a day, the girl talked to our friend to come and stay that night as she is alone. So our friend went to stay with her that night. The way she dressed and the way she talked with our friend seemed to be very odd. Our friend felt very shy. For this the girl coolly replied "whats wrong with u". The girl even added that chennai girls will be like this only. The girl threatened our friend not to use mobile. Our friend didnt slept that night and she came to hostel early in the morning itself.

See, we are coming from different places to chennai particularly for our studies,
employment, etc. We have to pick the right one from others not the bad one. Now, the modern culture has become very worst.

Being a girl, I felt ashamed in the culture the girls are following now. Boys wont tease us if we dress properly.

Our Nation is respected for our culture too. Many foreigners like our culture. They are transferring to our culture. This is a good one. But, what we are doing?.... Simply moving to their culture in the name of modern culture....

Girls... please think for a while... If I hurt anyone, I apologies....

Sorry... Iam late...

Hai friends... Sorry, I missed u all for nearly a week... Its all bcoz of my health problem. Now feeling better....

Belated Gandhi Jayanthi wishes...

Buddies... my kind request is just take care of ur healths. Try to take more fruits and fresh juices. Pls avoid taking drinks which comes in bottles. Its dangerous for us... Take care friends....