posted By : Ashley Dsouza
AMISH - The Amish are a Group of Traditionalist Christian Church Fellowship
Beginning with the Mayor’s Court Established in 1727 for civil Litigation in Bombay Calcutta and Madras justice in the interior comes under the East Indian Company’s Jurisdiction , Future generation of East Indians will take to practice of law and many of them will rise to position of Esteem and distinction as solicitors , lawyers and Judges
The first Amish Settlers are known for simple living , A Strict Dress Code and For Resisting Modern Conveniences The Amish are known for simple living , Plain Dress and Reluctance to adopt many conveniences of Modern Technology
A visit to typical Amish Village today shows a striking resemblance with the East Indians way Of Life in terms of Household Utensils and Accessories
The most popular of all attire is the LUGRA worn by East Indian women. It is no different from a Saree. It is only its fabric design and the way its worn that sets it apart. The lugra is available in a range of colors, however the two most popular colors of a lugra are a red and blue. Regardless of the color, it is important to note that the fabric is a chequered design with gold or complimenting border work. East Indian women wore a blouse and cotton lugra, with the back pleats tucked into the waist; women did not use of the upper portion of the sari (covering the head and breast) until they were married. This mode of wearing the sari is known as Sakacch Nesane
Gol Nesane, a cylindrical style, is popular with young girls and women.
Traditional dress for men are khaki shorts and a white banian OR Surkas
The traditional dress of the East Indian women is called a Lugade or Lugra
It is a nine yard hand woven cotton sari with faintly visible checks from afar
Draping the lugra is an art which has to be mastered I do agree
Or else you will have to call the ‘lugrawalli’ who will do it for a fee
The lugra has two lengthwise borders of a pattern in a different color
It is in a sharp contrast to the background color which is usually duller
The border has a specific design known as ‘Comreche Pai’ (chicken feet)
It also has two parallel lines of red and white color which do not meet
The colors of the lugras are usually red, dark blue or green
But today there is a choice of various hues and colors which have sheen
Brides wear the color red to show that they are newly wed
While widows wear the dark blue to signify that their husbands are dead
The front of the Lugra when draped resembles a pleated skirt
The number of pleats (Miris) that you can get depends on one’s girth
The centre of the pleats are pulled through the legs this is clear
The hind pleats are then tucked securely into the waist at the rear
The Padara or Pallu is draped neatly over the left shoulder
You can now also get it with a rich embroidered Zari (gold) border
For Special occasions there were beautiful hand woven silk lugras called ‘Sarah’
They are rarely seen today being heirlooms they belonged to another era
The old lugras were recycled into BALOTA’S Baby Wrappers or Soft Quilts
Today one can get shirts, kurtis and dresses fashioned out of new lugras without any guilt
Another Echo of the East Indians Culture is The Amish Tradition of Quilt Making , Where Women meet in groups to gather for a Quilting Bee , The Bee is a form of Socialzation and Relaxation for these women , Webster’s definition of the BEE is an assembly of ladies to Sew for the Poor
In East Indian Households Quilt Making or GODRIS as we call it has also been an Art practiced over generations , Pieces of left over cloth from dresses sewn at home or cold clothes , Are recycled and put together to form a quilt , Smaller pieces of cloth are used as Bharan or filling so that the quilt is thick and can also be used as a comforter .
Yes the Val was stitched by attaching the two selvedge edges i remember my Mama used to make that " kanta" - centre lines 4, or 5 lines on the two selvedge edges n joined tog - it took long hours labour's job no doubt but it's beauty no lace can match it not even crochet work or d ready made lace. The Val was worn by folding or by overlapping one corner end leave the other n hold the third corner end n was then placed over d head covering the forehead n then pinned below the chin leaving only d face open. Where is all that gone. Even the Paan or chundri very few wear it. V remember the lugriwala km from Mahim during noon time n went fm door to door selling the lugras the cotton n jaari ones n even if u had no money to pay he would come month after month to collect whatever even Rs.10 or Rs.50 n happily go, never a word to say y only so much or pay next month. Such was the trust n honesty. Our parents didn't go to work as they only cultivated veg. like ghosala, sheer-ghosala, parwal, pumpkin, brinjal, papri, ghevra, etc.marigold flowers for toran during Dasera/ Diwali. Then we collected shells/shimpies from d sea n stitched quilts. We recited Rosary at the Cross every month of May. There was no TV only the radios where we could ut up song requests for b'days. Each fly was so huge. V reared pigs, ducks, hens, etc.etc.
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