Lehenga
Lehenga or lehnga or langa (Hindi: लहंगा Urdu: لہنگا lahangā, Punjabi: ਲੇਹੇਂਗਾ lēhēṅgā, Gujarati: લેહગા lēhagā, Bengali: লেহেঙ্গা lehengā, Telugu: లంగా Kannada: ಲಂಗ laṅgā), Ghagra or gagra (Hindi: घाघरा Gujarati: ઘાઘરા Urdu: گھاگھرا ghāghrā, Punjabi: ਘਾਗਰਾ ghāgrā), also Chaniya (Gujarati: ચણિયા) {Pavadai (Tamil: பாவாடை) and Lacha (Malayalam: ലഹങ്ക)[1] in South India} is a form of skirt from the Indian subcontinent which is long, embroidered and pleated. It is worn as the bottom portion of a Gagra choli or Langa Voni. It is secured at the waist and leaves the lower back and midriff bare.[2] In India and Pakistan various types of traditional embroidery work are done on lehenga, with Gota patti embroidery being one of popular types for the festivals and weddings.
History
The ancient version of skirt or Ghagri evolved from Bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the Antriya when stitched 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 stitched skirt. It was worn using drawstring or nada. Although used synonymously since ancient times, the lehenga came to be considered a more lavish form of the ghagra dating back to the Mughal era and in modern times, unlike the ghagra, is reserved for special occasions.
Variations
The ghagri was a narrow skirt six feet long the same length as original antariya. This style can still be seen worn by Jain nuns in India.
In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka it is known as Langa and part of the dress Langa Voni. Lehenga choli, ghaghara are famous from Rajasthan and Gujarat in India, where women wear them in various folk dances and traditional parties, marriages. You can find the best collection of Lehengas at Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata. Best designers in India for Lehengas are Anita Dongre, Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, Masaba.
References
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