26/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories

Lehenga matched with crop top choli. I plan to try this choli with saree as well.
Story: I am not going to tell you story today. Instead each one of us will listen to ourselves to remind what story we want the world to remember of us! And to think what story we would like to write in the coming year(s). #flab2fab #fitmycholi Mine is to get fit.

To stop lazing around with genetic blessings but instead get up and get going! For some it is to travel, work, study, settle down, financial independent, new home, new baby, family, sports, gardening...or even to fit into that old choli. No matter what, we all have hard work lined up. All I can say is nothing is impossible. If we stop making excuses and actually take ourselves and our health seriously. My new year wish? This group is awesome .. whenever you work out and then post choli pic let's start tagging #fitmebabyonemoretime #getfit Let's do it for ourselves, let's flaunt our fitness and cholis together. Game???

25/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories

Saree: bandhani; choli: mirror shibori choli
Story: my sister and i plan visiting home around same time so the kids can have fun together.... while ahem ahem moms can play dress up and photoshoot.. from past few years we have been trying to buy matching sarees and cholis so we could capture memories. This one's from this summer.. Rewind ..... as sisters five years apart we had different groups of friends until we both got into teenage zone. Suddenly all gaps seemed to vanish. We became friends. Suddenly the overprotective mommish elder sister opened up and became her best buddy!! We became each other's confidante... we would watch each other's back.. we knew to give each other the much needed cover from parents 😉 Rewind even further.. it was my fifth bday. I woke up to wear my pink frill frock tailors by saheb tailor at ammamma place. Amma was not around. I dressed up and went to see Amma in hospital. Beside her was a baby just born. My fifth birthday gift.. my buddy. My Siri. 💕

24/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: simple kota saree, blouse: again very simple silk blouse ... bead lined around princess cut

Story: one may love soda and beverages but nothing like water when it comes to quenching thirst... one may love fancy restaurant food but nothing like simple home cooked meal on a hungry day..similarly one may go as fancy as wished but nothing comes close to the simplicity of Saree draped in its original form.. akhir dil hai hindustani

24/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories

Saree: plain chiffon, Choli: yet another velvety crop top
Story: end of year craziness or what ! Time does fly. I mean really!! Whooosh! The year went by and we couldn't tell. Reminder for us to savour every moment, reminder for us to pause and gather those moments and treasure them Reminder that life can be colorful amidst shades of grey.. reminder of the reality of nature. Reminder there is so much color to see.. to explore.. to enjoy.. to experiment ..to chase dreams.. to mark milestones and celebrate life. Come on new year. We are ready for you

23/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories #sareeswag
Saree: beige silk kota; Choli: offwhite velvety crop top
Story: swag se karenge sab ka swagat !! Video-bombed when family was watching swag video instead of clicking my pics! 😉😉😉 Aisa kaun karta hai bhai???!!! Priorities you see!

22/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: black phulkari sari;
Choli: copper sequin crop top; accessories incude red cape

Story: Merry Christmas to you all! May there be abundant love around the world just like sunshine. May the red of love spread across all horizons and spread joy. Experimented contemporary look today although accesorizing with red cape gave it authentic Indian touch. ... thoughts?

Disclaimer: gentlemen and brothers - pics posted in this group are personal and not to be reused, reproduced, misused in any manner. So.. kindly excuse yourselves from solicitation, 'pp' messages with mobile numbers. Consequences may not be pleasant so peace out!

20/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: Sungudi saree, Choli: simple kanchi cotton blouse.
Story: long day at work but was thinking of Margazhi Thingal throughout (posh mash monday).. Margazhi and Madras are inseparable just like Sungudi Saree, Nalli, filter kaapi, kolam... endless list. As a kid every day throughout Margazhi, I would wake up early amidst foggy mist to do my kolam.. it "had" to be special (unspoken competition and creativity you see) .. and of course Narayanan mama would of course stop by and mention " kozhandha yours is the best kolam of the colony da chellam".. big moral boost for the little eleven year old me.. 🤗🤗 I am still "kozhandha" for Narayanan mama even now. some things in life don't and must not change. Madras, Margazhi, Malligaipoo, Kolam and Kaapi. With so much nostalgia within me I could not stop myself from coming home and draping this Saree choli and feeling the misty Margazhi around me.

21/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: Tussar silk, Choli: my jharoka choli 😋
Story: Absolutely none except lots of enthu to wear saree, roam around the house and feel good :) oh well! Forgot to mention- my face was so oily that the bindi wont stick, kajal pencil did not work, they all decided to be cranky but thanks ton to timer pics! zindabad!!!!

19/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: from Madras.. random pick window shopping with sis. CHOLI: ikat top
Story: surprise baby shower for a friend in our neighbourhood. Idea was to drape Gujarati style ... I went beyond my boundaries to abandon my regular choli (too much ventilation for a chilly windy evening 😋!!) to go for a cotton ikat shirt (officewear) instead. I would not have tried this but for all the collective inspiration from all of you from this group. All compliments are yours. Me overwhelmed, 🙏🙏🙏 THANK YOU gals!💕💕💕

17/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: extremely simple plain cotton Saree . Choli: orange and red combo silk cotton (self design)

Story:The saree I am wearing is Deedha's (ma's mom). Rewind August 2007. Me to ma: will he forget me if I go to work? How will he know it's me his mom? How can I focus on work at all when my thoughts revolve around him? Ma tried her best to boost and cheer me up. After all so many moms have been there and done this before but my questions kept me disappointed. Deedha calls me. Deedha says - I hear that you are nervous getting back to work... shon chinni.. I have worked all my life until retirement so let me tell you this much.
1. You must of course get back to work. Being a mom means stepping up not giving up, this is just the beginning.
2. You being mom now doesn't mean you will give up on your mothers (Amma and ma) dreams about you.
3. No one can ever take your position in your son's life. Never. Ever. Boka mey.. Etaei prithvir niyam.. keo bodlate parbena. Ma tho ma i hoche. So cheer up! She was so right as it is today!!! It was indeed priceless wisdom from so many years that cheered me up. Deedha was in IAS until retirement and very forward thinking yet humble lady. She was way ahead of her time. Love you Deedha. Miss you. Hope you are in peace wherever 💓

 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: white linen with magenta and orange contrast; magenta linen with orange thin border. Choli: the one I am wearing with white saree actually came with the magenta Saree and I don't remember what came with the white saree🤔🤔🤔.. nevermind
Storyline is simple: iski topi uski sar. 😎 and yes tonnes of love for linen. Such easy drape and classy feel.

#100cholicraze #debsaristories Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai... The crop top choli is so versatile.. blends with a chevron print dress equally well as with chevron print ikat saree. Anmol ratan paayo. Thats the saree and the story - short and sweet. 🍬

#100cholicraze #debsaristories )

Saree- last in series of florals for the year I guess. The red georgettes saree was love at first sight. Choli: after contemplation I chose to team the dull gold sleeveless choli (when in doubt I pick this)

Story: Typically on weekends even now I shower and wear saree so it doesn't become a 'fancy dress' in my son's mind as he grows up! I like to tuck in the pallu around my waist as I do my chores just like how amma and ma do and been doing :) I chose to wear sarees almost everyday during my visit home this summer... casual ones, comfy ones and to even meet greet shop and roam around. This one actually did not bother me one bit the entire day.. 🤗

11/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: gadwal silk. Blouse: raw silk in magenta red with orange brocade.

It was supposed to be puff sleeves but the tailor forgot about it and made it the usual.way. I was upset a bit but .. he is human too! First time trying a waist belt too.. alpasandosham (pleasure of small things :p)
Story: this was on varalakshmi vratham. Although a Bengali now, this is one custom I carried on.. even as kid I was fascinated by this festival because of dressing up goddess Lakshmi with my own tiny hands... which I equally enjoyed too.. and I wanted to continue it forever.. Now even ma looks forward to it and we do this together. We read both Telugu and Bengali versions of Lakshmi strotram... twice as merry! With more and more such marriages happening in India our culture grows only stronger and richer each day.. key to the success though is acceptance and tolerance with underlying rock solid foundation of love, trust and respect.

9/100 #100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: red muslin silk jamdani. I wore it twice this year. On Ganesh chaturthi (paired with green) and Durga Puja (paired with dull gold and brocade)

Story: the free and best teacher ever is - Life! If only we notice the subtle opportunities for self enrichment and learn as we go. RED signifies power, strength, courage, individuality and the like. Most of all.. it's festive, it's color of life and what keeps us alive too! Mohe rang do laal. If humans were created to be divided from one other, what flows within would have been differently colored for each, not just skin! The external differences were the Creator's way of adding drama and action to the universe.. to watch one battle with their own kind! And alas homosapiens were silly enough to fall prey to this trick.. Blood is red - not black, blue, grey, brown or white! In my childhood, Ganesh chaturthi means kaliman pillayar (clay idol of Ganesha), Kodai, kozhukattaei... and dussehra was time to dress up it pattu skirts or like I did.. grab chance to wear mom's sarees. Thanks to the day, I love attending Ganesh arati at my friends' whose Marathi "Sukh karta dukh harta" chorus brings immense peace just as the language-agnostic daak, dhol, dhunuchi of Durga pujo energizes one's self.. just as all those occasions which bring humans together and keeps humanity intact!!!

#100cholicraze #debsaristories my first current post, not retrofit!

Saree: simple chiffon in sunshine yellow. Choli: offwhite with pearl.work (had to get jugaad because the back neck line was deeper than what I usually wear ... hence the patchwork)

Story: nah! Happy Sun(shine) day! Nothing intense and senti this time.. this is inspired by Kajol's Gerua Dilwale look! Such sunshiny, such complimentary!! Implemented the no-need-of-reason to wear saree strategy today.

#100cholicraze #debsaristories
Saree: floral, flowy, dreamy georgette in my favorite color- white! Peace out! Choli - simple sleeveless boat neck, triangle neck at the back. No need to yell when whispers can do wonders!
Story: Switching back to May this year, this was for son's school year end classroom open-house and of course I am the only one that shows up in saree - but oh well - I can't be anyone else except myself!! At times I wonder if i am taking too much liberty doing what i am doing, considering where i live... but... just like how i have accepted, learnt, admire and appreciate differences --- i expect reciprocation. Its the differences that make it stronger, heart and brain are purposefully designed to function differently so they can work well together.
I wear saree in three occasions--
1. I am happy because I am
2. I am sad and I want to cheer up
3. All except 1 & 2

#100cholicraze #debsaristories phew! Those of you counting towards hundred hats off to your memory, I am lost after five :)

Saree: Gadwal silk teamed up with the magenta choli (This one in multitasking already)
Story: I chose this Saree for ma (mil) and she saved it for me thinking she would rather see me draping this than herself 😗 so that ended up being my Durgashtami Saree. Love comes in all shapes, sizes, forms.. we just need to be ever ready to welcome it, thats all

#100cholicraze #debsaristories

Saree: dull gold tussar silk bought three years ago. Blouse.. My fav fab 'chabir gocha' bought earlier this year and eureka- match fixing done!! I saved this for Bijoya Dashami to do 'Devi boron' and 'shidur khela' in bengali drape.
Story: ya devi sarva bhuteshu, SHAKTHI rupena samsthaye, namastasyay namastasyay namastasyay namo namah! Of all the forms of Devi (ma, mitr, shanthi, etc) I am particularly inclined towards her Shakti roopa. The power to be yourself, to protect yours and others can only be unique to us women - shakthi to fight, shakthi to be kind, shakthi to let go and so on.. And of course to wear sarees and cholis 🤗

#100cholicraze #debsaristories Moved on from November, back into October. Ah, the festive season!! Picked my favorite Saree to post for the first of many from festive times..
The saree: Authentic unbeatable incomparable temple border kanjivaram. Intentionally paired with green pure silk long sleeved blouse with subtle kundan piping. Nothing could and must steal the show from the showstopper.. the kanjivaram herself!! The story: love teaches you to be patient. As chennai girl, I dreamt of kanjivarams and wished to one few dream creations. I did not want to rush, I did not want to settle for anything other than my dreams. It took few years, but like I said finding your love and sustaining it always requires double extra dose of patience. The wait was all worth it. The black, the right tone of maroon, the size of temples in border and the gorgeous pallu. #dreamsdocometrue I adore the artists that creates such masterpieces. O podu!!!

#100cholicraze #debsaristories - Growing up, I was always fascinated by Garden Vareli sarees at the time! I love the fussless simple georgettes and chiffon for a day any time! One can literally live and breathe in these, low maintenance way!

#100cholicraze #debsaristories - I am certain I wore 100 saree,choli combos in 2017 But have started my account only today!! This pic is proof to me sari craziness! Wore Saree to Yosemite national forest California just so I could enjoy two things I love most- nature and of course saree!!! Will try to retro-post as much possible, perhaps count(less)
Fun fact: Yosemite National Park, California is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more! Every visit brings new surprises and discoveries!!