Cuppa Tea Chai Rajasthan India Udaipur
by Sue Jacobi
Title
Cuppa Tea Chai Rajasthan India Udaipur
Artist
Sue Jacobi
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Photography - Digital Art
Description
Cuppa Tea Chai Rajasthan India Udaipur.
At a quaint little temple or "Mandir" along the shores of Lake Pichola in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, I came across Dayaram. On a winter�s morning, he was sipping a cup of tea, squatting next to his friends, a local couple: Ramji is a musician and plays traditional Rajasthan music. He even has a CD containing his music, that one can buy from him. Ramji�s wife Swati sells costume jewelry and little trinkets.
Tea, known locally as chai or tchai, is the most popular beverage in North India. (In south India, on the other hand, that would be coffee). Having a cuppa tea together, along with a snack such as samosas or pakoras, is one of the most usual forms of social get-togethers.
The folk musical instrument that Ramji was playing is called Ravan Hatha or Ravanahatha. It is believed to have originated among the Hela civilization of Sri Lanka in the time of King Ravana. The bowl is made of a cut coconut shell that is covered with goat hide. A Dandi or pipe, made of bamboo, is attached to this shell. The two principle strings are made of steel and horsehair, respectively. The long bow has jingle bells.
Throughout the medieval history of India, the kings were patrons of music; this helped in increased popularity of ravanhatta among royal families. In Rajasthan and Gujarat, it was the first musical instrument to be learned by princes. The Sangit tradition of Rajasthan further helped in popularizing ravanhatta among ladies as well.
Dayaram and Ramji were wearing the typical traditional colourful turban on his head. Also known as pagdi,pagari or pagdi. It is a long strip of cloth tied in a specific way according to the profession and social status of the wearer.
The attire of Rajasthani women are very much focussed on colorfulness. The seasons, emotions, moods as well as status of people are displayed by the costumes of females of Rajasthan. The everyday costume worn by Rajasthani women are very unique to the Indian State of Rajasthan. Most commonly, it consists of an upper garment called a kurti, kanchali or puthia, while the lower garment comprises of skirt or ghaghra. The third component is a veil which is draped around the skirt from lower side to upper part of the body. A number of additions and variations exist in different communities, depending, however, on the social position of the wearer. But these 3 items of clothing are usually included in the costume which is generally worn by Rajasthani women even today.
The attire of women in Rajasthan indicate their social status too. For instance, in the old days, the Rajput (royal) females who belonged to the affluent social order mainly followed the parda system. Here the women were restricted in their movement and were not allowed to show off much. Their dressy clothes were kept in private women�s quarters where the women were decorated elaborately without any limitation. The female ghagras were very short displaying the exquisite leg ornaments, and they are even now displayed in the paintings from those days. But now as this parda system is becoming out-dated, the Rajasthani women's clothes are seeing a lot of transformation. The length of the ghagras (skirts) has been increased, out of a sense of modesty, to hide the legs and feet. Now days the Rajput ghagra trails all over the ground, making the women appear more beautiful and lavish. Women who work in fields, wear ghagras which stop 10cm above their ankles. Many times they even wear ankle and leg bracelets, not only for the adornment, but also for protecting the women against bites and brambles when they walk down the fields.
The rich textures, colors and forms found on the walls and architecture of most temples, are characteristic in Rajasthan and many other regions of India. Generally a variety of locally mined stones are used, yielding rich textures and colors in the architecture. The stones are often carved into various shapes representing gods, human beings and animals etc.
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January 3rd, 2015
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