Saris

One of the most vivid visual pieces of ancient Indian, as well as present day culture, are the beautiful and intricately designed saris. Saris have been prevalent in Indian history for at least 2000 years, perhaps even longer,as the practice of growing, and then weaving cotton into fabric has been around for over 5000 years. While the origins of the sari are a bit obscure due to lack of written records, but the first visual record of a sari is Northern Indian terra cotta from 100 b.c. of an Indian woman. While now the sari is an entirely female garment, originally it was worn by both men and women, although the method of winding them around the body differed for the genders. The colors and motifs used in the saris all had deliberate significance, the designs woven into the saris stood for specific religious aspects, and could vary from village to village. More universal in meaning were the colors the saris were dyed. The colors white and black were avoided, as they were associated with Ill omens and death. White saris were only worn by widows mourning the passing of their husbands. Red was the color of the warrior class, and was associated with valor. But due to it's symbolizing luck and fertility members of all the castes wear red saris on their wedding days. The merchant class wore saris of green, although today the color is popular along the Muslim population of Indii. The color blue was worn by artisans, farmers, weavers, and manual labourers. Both blue and green were avoided by the higher caste members as they were beneath their station, as well as the process of preparing the indigo dye was seen as impure. The Color yellow was the Color of religion and asceticism, yellow saris were traditionally worn by expectant mothers for seven days prior to the birth of the child. In today's culture the sari is perhaps the most well known aspect of Indian art and culture, as well as being a timeless piece of practical artwork.

Bhajans

This is an example of a bhajan, or a Hindu religious song.

This is another bhajan, this one specifically for the god, Shiva. It is called a Shiv Bhajan.

Henna designs

One of the most striking and well know parts of Indian culture is the henna designs inked most notably on the hands of brides. This ancient practice of temporarily tattooing designs has been around for centuries. One of the oldest practices is known as rangoli, a strictly female form of decoration. The art first evolved as a floor decoration in the home temples, where the women of the family would go to reflect and meditate on their lives. This role of decorator mostly fell to the elderly women of the villages who no longer had children and homes to keep up, and so the practice of rangoli soon became associated with the wise women of the area. In rangoli the area to be painted is filled with infinitesimally large geometric patterns sometimes with influences ranging from animals and gods, to the large mango leaf patterns which decorate paisley ties today. Over time the same good luck symbols painted on the floors began to appear on the body, used as decorations for festivals such as Diwali, portents of good fortune in the coming year. Over the centuries Rangoli has evolved for use in many important rituals. Before a wedding a bride is painted with elaborate designs to bring good luck, and happy life and marriage, and of course children. During the eight month of pregnancy the expectant mother's belly is painted with designs to celebrate the child. This ancient practice is one of the most well known today, prevalent in Bollywood movies and in art and design, the ancient practice of henna designs is one of the first things to come to mind when thinking about Indian art.