How to Wear a saree in Kerala Style / Mundu Neriyathum saree?

Hope you have seen the Different ways of Draping sarees post. So as promised I will be giving the detailed and step by step demonstration of each saree draping method in individual posts. Here is the method of wearing a saree in Kerala style or Mundum Neriyathum style. 

Other Saree Draping methods include :

1. Classic Indian Drape (Traditional Way)      
2. Gujarati style
3. Maharashtrian style
4. Tamilian version
5. Bengali style
6. Mundu Neriyathum       
7. Coorgi Style
8. Mumtaz style                                                     Check out the Traditional Sarees of India

Wearing a saree in Kerala Style / Mundu Neriyathum way

Mundu Neriyathum is the signature style of Kerala, and is the traditional attire of women of Kerala. This style of saree draping compromises of a Mundu or the lower garment and an upper piece called Neriyathum. Mundu is wrapped around in the lower part and is securely tucked at the waist. The Neriyathum is draped in the upper part over the blouse. 

Mundu Neriyuthum is also called 'settu mundu' or 'set saree'.  The festive variant is called Kasavu munudu which has a golden color border or a broad zari border. 

Following are the step-by-step instructions for wearing this two-piece saree.

1. Mundu or the lower garment is wrapped around and secured at the waist. 
To start with insert one end of the garment into the petticoat (underskirt). Take the rest of the cloth from right hand side and bring it to the front. Make couple of pleates with the other end of the cloth, so that the vertical border is visible on the front side. Insert them at the waist.

Mundu & Neriyathu

2. Now take the Neriyathum or the upper garment and tuck one end of the cloth slightly to your left at the waist. Bring the cloth to right hand side from behind after covering your hips and diagonally put it onto the left shoulder covering the front torso, just a like normal saree. Let the loose end fall over your left shoulder. Make pleates and secure them with a pin on the left shoulder. 




3. In traditional style Neriyathu is tucked inside the blouse, but in the modern style it is worn over the left shoulder. (as in the right pic.)




Want to learn a little bit of Malayalam? A quick dictionary for you here

The following video demonstrates the Mundu Neriyathum drape or Kerala style of wearing a saree.

Know more about the state of Kerala - Must see places, best eating joints, traditional Kerala food, shopping places

Long Lost Childhood Games - Gilli Danda / Chinni Dandu

Get ready for a nostalgic drive, for am taking you to the memory lanes of our childhood days. 

We all have plenty of fond memories attached to those bygone days. Apart from school, one major work we used to do as kids was to play, play and play whether its indoor or outdoor. The  outdoor games have almost become extinct now, thanks to the busy and hectic lifestyle. And we hardly find any unoccupied plots or open grounds like earlier.

These are in fact, the forgotten games which today's kids will never going to play or connect to. However, here is a small attempt to revive those lost childhood games or Indian Traditional games which we used to play and enjoy as kids. 

So far I have covered Channe Mane, Spinning Top (Bugari),  Kancha (Goli), Lagori (Pittu). Next in the series is Gilli Danda . We call it Chinni Dandu in Kannada. 

It is known by various other names like Tipcat in English, dānggűli in Bengali & Assamese, kuttiyum kolum in Malayalam, viti-dandu in Marathi, kitti-pul in Tamil, Gooti-Billa / Karra-Billa / Billam-Godu in Telugu, Gulli-Danda in Punjabi etc. It used to be one of the popular street games of India once upon a time.  

Gilli Danda can be called as the original cricket, but without a ball. It is played with two wooden sticks, a smaller one called the Gilli, of about 3 inches long and the longer one, a Danda which is about 2 feet long. The Gilli is tapered at the ends to get a good grip for striking it. The greatest challenge and fantasy lies in how well and how far one can strike the spinning gilli in air. 

Rules of the game:

Two teams are formed, one team bats, the other fields. The batsman stands inside the circle and the fielders at various positions to catch the gilli. It is also played by individual players. This game has a lot of regional variations. Below explained is one version of the game.

A small circle is drawn and the batsman stands inside the circle with Gilli placed across a small hole dug up on the ground (as in the fig). Sometimes, kids balance the Gilli on a stone in an inclined position, with one end touching the ground and the other in air. (Dont remember exactly, why this difference)

To start with, the first player (batsman) lifts the gilli from its position using danda and quickly tosses in the air and strikes it. If a fielder catches the gilli before it hits the ground, the player is out. Else, the distance is measured from the centre point to the point where the gilli has fallen. They measure this distance using danda. 1 danda = 1 point.

The game continues, with a bowler tossing the gilli (standing from the position where it had fallen) to the batsman and he tries to hit it. If he misses to hit while it is in the air, he will tap the tapered end and tries to hit it from the ground. He gets 3 chances to hit. If he misses or gets caught, the next player will bat. The game continues till all the players of one team are out. 

Next, the other team bats in the same way and the team with highest points wins the game.  

Variations of the game:

Shorter one is Gilli and longer one is Danda

In another variation of the game, scoring depends on how many times the gilli was hit in the air. If the player strikes two mid-air strikes, the points get doubled. 

In some versions, the player who has hit the gilli initially is required to run and and reach the pre-set position outside the circle, before the opponents retrieve the gilli. (similar to cricket!)

Found a cute little video on Youturbe, of guys playing Gilli Danda on road....watch it!

Do share your experiences if you have played this game. Tune in for more such games!

Other Long Lost Childhood Games - Channe Mane  |  Kancha (Goli)  | Spinning Top (Bugari)  |  Lagori (Pittu)  |Hide-and-Seek / Chuppa Chuppi

Theme Party - Valentine's Day

The Theme parties series continues..the month of February has romance in air and no points for guessing the theme for the month of Feb. Yes, it obviously has to be Valentine's Day theme, the theme of love and romance. 

So, here we will discuss Valentine party ideas and some details about hosting a valentine theme party. As usual we will start with the decoration part. 

Decoration :

Create a lovely ambience for the party with lots of red and pink. Red, white and pink balloons, roses and cute teddies form the basic decoration ingredients for this theme. Try and get heart shaped balloons if you can. Use beautiful and aromatic candles in red or any other color in decorating the party hall. 

Make small and big cut outs of heart shapes and cupid's arrows and hang them from the ceiling. You can even write cute Love messages and place them on tables or hang them. Put red silky cushions and bolsters for the seating arrangements. Place rose vases on tables. 

Hand over a rose to each lady as she enters the party hall. Make the entrance of the hall in a heart shape or an arch with balloons, something like shown below. 

Dress Code :

The usual dress code for the Valentine's day theme party is red dress. But ladies also prefer to be in pretty pink. You can chose to wear anything in red, a long red gown or a short little red dress. Ideal dress for men is black and white, but no hard and fast rule, they can also experiment with red. A red shirt or coat will also do. 

Music :

Music is definitely forms an integral part of the Valentine theme party. Choose soft romantic numbers as well as romantic dancing numbers. 

Juke Box : Set up a juke box with a good collection of romantic numbers. Guests can give a surprise valentine gift to their spouses by dedicating their favourite song and expressing their love for each other.  Other gifts which you can gift your spouse on Valentine's day are a jewelry box, photoframe, vintage watch box, mercury vases, chocolates and teddy bears. Checkout some of the inexpensive valentine gifts. 

Games :

Plan some interesting and romantic Valentine Day party games for couples and guests for the evening. 

1. If the party is only for ladies, you can put up a big message board in the, with little hearts stuck on it. Ask your guests to write a romantic message for their spouses. Later remove them and send them to their respective spouses. They will really appreciate this gesture. (Similarly you can collect messages from their spouses couple of days earlier and read them out to ladies. Let them guess the message before you disclose the name!) Try it out, its really cute and romantic.

2. What more apt game than a cupid's arrow game to play on a valentine day theme party. 

3. I have listed some Couple games like Balloon dance, paper dance, couple dress up game, compatibility test, three legged race, instant reaction, ball balancing etc. You can check the details here

4. I have been asked by many readers to form a Valentine based Tambola, but unfortunately, have not been able to do. Will build one soon. However, if you want you can play a Bollywood Based Tambola

Have you checked these Themes yet?  Bollywood Night | Casino Night | Christmas | Floral |  Rainbow | Mirch Masala | Sports Day | Arabian Nights  |  Election Theme  |  Independence Day Theme

More Party Games

Couple Games  |   Party Games for Individuals  |  Party Games for Kids  |   1 Minute Games  |  General Party Games  |  Tambola | Song Translation Game  |  Group Games