---
title: The male and female dress of Odissi Dance – An comment on the Literature on the web
author: rhnvrm
type: post
date: 2017-10-28T21:15:43+00:00
url: blog/2017/10/28/the-male-and-female-dress-of-odissi-dance-an-comment-on-the-literature-on-the-web/
categories:
  - uncategorized
tags:
  - odissi

---
I was reading an [article][1] about Odissi and I found that the perpetuation of stereotypes do actually come into picture in the case of the content that is written on it. The following is a description of the Dress worn by the dancers:

> The female dancers wear brightly coloured sari usually made of local silk adorned with traditional and local designs such as the Bomkai Saree and the Sambalpuri Saree. The front part of the sari is worn with pleats or a separate pleated cloth stitched in front to ensure flexibility of movements of the dancer while showcasing excellent footwork. Silver Jewellery adorns her head, ear, neck, arms and wrists. Musical anklets called ghunghru made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped in her ankles while her waist is tied with an elaborate belt. Her feet and palms are brightened with red coloured dyes called alta. She wears a tikka on forehead and outlines her eyes prominently with Kajal so as to make her eye movements more visible. Her hair is tied in a bun and beautified with Seenthi. A moon shaped crest of white flowers or a Mukoot that is a reed crown with peacock feathers symbolising Lord Krishna may adorn the hairdo.

The same article describes the male dress in a single line.

> A male dancer wears a dhoti neatly pleated in the front and tucked between the legs that cover his lower body from waist while the upper body remains bare. A belt adorns his waist.

It is upto the reader how to interpret this.

 [1]: http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-dance/classical/odissi.html