Gagra choli Or Lehenga choli

Gagra choli Or Lehenga choli

Gagra choli is the traditional clothing of women in India. Ghagra choli is also known as Lehenga choli and locally it is called as Chaniya choli.

lehenga

Choli

A choli is a midriff-baring blouse commonly worn with the Indian Sari costume. It evolved from the ancient Stanapatta(also known as Kanchuki) and choli is cut to fit tightly to the body of women with its short sleeves and low neck.

Gagra

Lehenga, Gagra/Ghagra is a form of long skirt which is embroidered and pleated. It is secured at the waist or hips and leaves the lower back and midriff bare. The ancient version of skirt or Ghagri evolved from Bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the Antriya when stitching 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 a nada or drawstring.

Dupatta

The dupatta  is a scarf that is like a shawl and is worn with the gagra and choli. It is also used as part of the women's shalwar kameez costume. It is an evolved form of the Uttariya. Until the early 21st century, the dupatta was the most decorative part of gagra choli, while the rest of the garment was plainer, especially the gagra was an everyday one. Dupatta is worn in many regional styles across India. The most common style since early medieval times was to pleat the dupatta on one end, so it can be anchored by tucking it into the front waist of the gagra. The loose end is then wrapped across the waist and/or draped diagonally across the upper body to fall over the shoulder, or up and over to cover the head. This is similar to the way a sari is generally worn. Women farming or doing manual work tuck both ends of the dupatta into their choli.

 

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