![]() The post-Vedic texts gives us a somewhat clear views about the techniques of clothing and its development though there is no visual evidence of the Vedic times. By the end of the Vedic period, with the establishment of the Maurya empire there was also a boom in the trade and commerce of the country. A lot about the clothing of this period is learnt by the sculpture and other forms of art prevalent in this period. Dominated by the representations of nature and fertility, the yaksha is shown wearing an antariya, with a kayabandhan and an uttariya, the heads are invariably turbaned. While the Satvahanas controlled some parts ofcentral and south India, the north was invaded by various tribes. Like the Kushans , descendants of the Yue-chi tribe of North - Western China, had established a kingdom which extended as far as Sanchi in the South and Varanasi in the East. The consolidation and control of trade routes between India, Central Asia, China and the West brought prosperity to the Kushan empire and resulted in a thriving textile trade. The uttariya, antariya and kayabandhan feature alongside gowns, tunics, blouses with buttons, skirts and paijamas, quilted coats, Greek chitons, kaftans, and high boots. Kushan kings preferred the structured forms of their Scythian clothes to the looser Indian styles. They introduced a new structural dimension to the organic styles of Indian clothing. Uttariya as the draping material is known since ages has been connected with the royal dressing as well as religious accessory in different ways. Before talking about the usages and other details it would be necessary to comment on the origin of uttariya in the Indian way of life. Lets begin from the ancient times of the Mauryan, Kushana, Sunga periods [321-72 BC]. Among the three unstitched garments from the vedic times - the antariya, kayabandh and uttariya , uttariya is the one which still at present times carry huge significance in our Indian tradition. Uttariya was of usually fine cotton, very rarely silk, which was utilized as a long scarf to drape the top half of the body. The gupta dynasty, established after many years of Buddhist dominance brought a resurgence in Hindu culture as well as religion. The queens of this dynasty mostly dressed in antariya and uttariya sometimes tunics as well. ![]() This was a very brief history of the uttariya in our Indian tradition but then its utility does not end with the ancient times when it occupied eminent position in the attires of royal households as well as the commoners. Even now at present uttariya has gained grounds as an important symbol for honour. In numerous occasions an uttariya is offered to personalities conferring honour on them by various authorities. This is also a part of clothing used in many Indian dance forms. Seems that it has embraced centuries of Indian tradition and culture and is still continuing to remain as the cynosure in various traditional ceremonies and art forms. With changes in time there has been numerous developments in weaving techniques and often this has served to be a boon for many fashion designers at present who can present Indian tradition to the masses outside India who are eager to know about this great cultural heritage. Clothing has now gone places by mingling with different cultures India and abroad and may be we have lost the predominance of uttariya as an important part of draping but then the essence of it still remains and hopefully the younger generations would not let it perish with the waves of change that has taken ovr since centuries. No doubts the uttariya has triumphed the recklessness of time and continues to uphold the tradition and values of the Indian culture to its ultimate heights. Hence in this new progressive era too we see how an uttariya is still a part of our modern lifestyle and how we have still harked back to our ancient past even in this age when most of the tradition and values are somewhat fading. |
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