Sunday, August 10, 2008

Salwars, Mekhelasadors, and Lungis: What are they?

One of the things I like most about this country is the clothes they wear.
Women
The most important rule of clothing for the women is to cover your legs completely, and to cover the chest with 2 layers of clothing. It doesn't matter if the stomach shows. Women in our area usually wear one of 3 things: a sari , a salwar kameez, or a mekhelasador.
Sari: a long piece of cloth (about 9 yards) wrapped around the legs, chest, and then drapes off the left shoulder. Under the sari women wear a petticoat (a long cloth skirt) and tuck the folds of the sari in it so the sari doesn't fall. They also wear a blouse underneath, which is a tightfitting top covering the chest.
Salwar Kameez: If you've seen any of my pictures, this is what I'm usually wearing. The pants are the salwar, the kameez is the shirt, and the churney is the part that drapes over my chest and hangs over my shoulders. The pants are very baggy and have a drawstring, so they never fit your waist, but hang off like pajama pants that are several sizes too big. The shirts usually go down to or past our knees, and the bottom part is useful in the kitchen as a kitchen towel and table rag. The churney is always getting in the way but can come in handy to breath through when going through sooty and smokey traffic.
Mekhelasador: This is traditional dress of the state we live in. Similar to a sari, but two pieces. One piece is the skirt, and they top piece tucks into the skirt and wraps around the chest like a sari. The bottom piece is called the mekhela, and the top piece is called the sador. Traditional sadors have small tassel-type things on the ends for decoration and have a specific gold and red design (see the picture on the top right of my blog!)
Men
Western: Men wearing western clothes almost always have on slacks and a collared, button up shirt, even if they're wearing a lungi. Grown men tend not to wear shorts or t-shirts; they see those items as kid clothes. Some men wear t-shirts, but usually for style.
Lungi: A lot of men still wear lungi, usually a plaid-designed piece of cloth they wrap around their waist like a skirt, lengths varying from mid-calf to really short!

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