The Flapper Post

Posted on 04/10/2012 by Anu M

Though the Tagores had been at the forefront of dress reform in Bengal and in devising a new form of saree and blouse suitable for appearing in public, by the time Shesher Kabita came to be written in 1928, you can sense a distinct disapproval on the part of Rabindranath Tagore for the new Westernised woman.  This passage describes the hero Amit Rai’s sisters, Cissie and Lissie. His fiance, Ketaki “Katie” Mitter meets with similar disapproval.

Several decades later you can’t help feeling a little sorry for them….perhaps fuckyeahindianflapper.tumblr.com is in order! Or at the very least Cissie and Lisse are definitely the Calcuttan counterparts of Eloise and Ramona and need to be  similarly illustrated.

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The Movie Adaptation Post

Posted on 04/10/2012 by Anu M

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Cissie and Katie in a new film adaptation of Shesher Kabita. The few pictures around don’t seem entirely authentic but its hard to tell at this stage.

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The Westernised Woman

Posted on 04/10/2012 by Anu M

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The modern girl in another Tagore’s illustration is again the subject of satire. This is from Gaganendranath Tagore’s cartoons. At least for a period of time socks and shoes worn with a sari seems to have been very popular. 

(Source: artnewsnviews.com)

 

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The Corset Sari

Posted on 03/10/2012 by Anu M

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The corset is †a mutilation, undergone for the purpose of lowering the subject’s vitality and rendering her permanently and obviously unfit for work.

British India at times seems like a marriage of opposites, the often uncomfortable melding of extreme corsetry with pure fluidity.  To me this seemed like a modern take on those very contradictions.

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2 Oct 2012

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Anu M

Up in the Air, a cosy scence of domesticity with Mrs. Shastri in a saree draped UP style.

Also Mr Lal Bahadur Shastri’s Birthday

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Gandhi Jayanti

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Anu M

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Gandhi Jayanti today.

The book excerpt demonstrates Gandhi’s anxiety regarding the proper attire for his family on the eve of leaving for South Africa in 1897.  The picture is taken on their return to India in 1915. Gandhi seems to have switched to Indian attire. Kasturba still wears her saree Parsee style but the shoes seem to have been discarded.

(Source: mlbd.com)

 

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The Postcard Post

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Anu M

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Vintage Postcards

Posted on 30/09/2012 by Anu M

I came across a number of postcards – which actually boast a number of blouse styles (you can follow the link if interested) – of which I will post a few today. Most are pictures of pretty women intended as New Year cards and the like and are largely skewed towards representations of Bombay/city women though the picture of the lady with the bird indicates that she is a Calcutta beauty.

The woman in a gold and red saree – I don’t see too many pictures of sleeveless blouses and she seemed to me to have a degree of resemblance to Aishwarya Rai. Plus I have a weakness for pictures of people reading books 🙂

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Posted on 30/09/2012 by Anu M

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The Postcard Post

Posted on 30/09/2012 by Anu M

This gallery contains 2 photos.

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