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.