#MadrasInMini | 29 | Madisar/Koshavam saree While this isn’t exclusively Madras a thing, I thought I’d tell you about what I saw growing up, my Madras. You might have seen me drawing women in sarees, I absolutely love them. I wear them every chance I get myself. Sarees are usually 6 yards of cloth but a madisar or Koshavam is a particular way of draping a 9-yard saree particular to the Tamil Brahmin community. This saree is a social mark of marriage and only married women wear this, and it’s usually draped during important festive family events and religious functions. Usually, 6-yard sarees need an underskirt but this can be draped without one. It’s almost draped in a trouser-like style which makes it easy to work and move around in. It’s said that madisar also symbolizes the unity of the male and female principles of the universe. The sari has pleats and the pallu (the upper decorative part of the saree), and the lower part looks like a dhoti, which is like Ardhanareeswara (half man and half woman). You'll see a lot of these sarees in the mylapore and nanganallur neighborhoods in the city. The two main TamBrahm communities drape it differently, too. It’s tying is rather complex and hard to learn and fewer young people know how to tie this saree without assistance. I grew up in a large family, both on my mother’s and father’s side. In the many family functions, I’d see these strong, wonderful women wear this saree and hustle gracefully, it was amazing to watch. When I was 8 years old, I actually wore this saree for a fancy dress competition, went up to the mic and completely messed up the performance.That was funny! There was a sumangali praarthanai in my family today (a prayer seeking blessings for and from all the elder ancestral women in the family who have passed away, by women) and so, I quickly decided to show-off my mother’s aunt in a madisar. This was particularly fun because I did this one front and back! :)) #Madras #Madisar #LocalCulture #Saree (at Nanganallur, India)