The tikli or spangle is worn in the Hindustāni Districts and not in the south. It consists of a small piece of lac over which is smeared vermilion, while above it a piece of mica or thin glass is fixed … Continue reading
I spent some time in Ubud, Bali and despite being overrun with tourists it seemed to suffer little from the usual soulless nature of such places. It helped that I wasn’t in Ubud “proper” though I missed out on a … Continue reading
पुष्पिताग्रांश्च पश्येमान्कर्णिकारान्समन्ततः। हाटकप्रतिसंचन्नान्नरान्पीताम्बरानिव॥ And look at these flower-tipped karnikāras everywhere – they look like men robed in yellow and laden with golden jewellery. [X] Spring (Vasanta) in India is generally in the months of Phalguna and Chaitra (roughly March and … Continue reading
The word spiritual is a rather loose rubric for this post which encompasses women philosophers, traditions of mysticism and wandering minstrels. None of these is entirely exclusive of the other yet they are different ways of pursuing knowledge or the … Continue reading
Srimati paints in water colours, in what can be termed the classical style……The inspiration for this is the Ajanta cave paintings near Bombay-frescoes dating back to the sixth and seventh century of this era. Sandglass, 1966. Saraswati playing a vina, … Continue reading
The vivid colours of Telengana – including turmeric and kumkum on the forehead – in Thota Vaikuntam‘s paintings. Shyam Benegal makes use of the same colour palette in films like Ankur and Nishant. Also [X] [X]
One of the central and much discussed events of the Mahabharata involves the sari – the loss of Draupadi in a game of dice and her disrobing in the royal assembly. Draupadi is in seclusion, her single garment stained with … Continue reading
On the tilaka/bindi/the red dot. I wish I had proper referencing for this but it is a bit difficult since there are stray lines here and there in texts which discuss costume on the whole or the odd artwork and nothing substantive. … Continue reading
A few more posts on modern interpretations of Ancient Indian Costume where the productions depart from fidelity to historical costume, either because the production follows the norms of popular Indian cinema or modern theatre. The full Bollywood treatment (i.e. vaguely accurate) … Continue reading
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Navaratri starts on October 16th. From L to R, the three forms of the Devi worshipped during the 9 days – Parvati/Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati – in differing attire. The three painting styles are Kalighat, Raja Ravi Varma and Kalamkari respectively. … Continue reading
Vintage Indian Clothing 