page_title: Midriff
section_title: Indian culture
hierarchical_section_title: Midriff / Culture and history / Indian culture
caption_attribution_description: Ameesha Patel walks for Rocky S at Aamby Valley City India Bridal Week 2011
context_page_description: In fashion, the midriff is the human abdomen. The midriff is exposed when wearing a crop top or some forms of swimwear. The cholis worn by Indian women expose a thin section of midriff, usually 4 to 5 inches.
context_section_description: Indian women have traditionally worn saris that bare the midriff, especially South Indian women. The gap on the midriff between sari and the choli presented the elegance of a woman's graceful sway of her gait. A possible cultural justification is that in ancient Indian tradition, the navel of the God Vishnu the Protector is considered to be the center of the universe and the source of life. From his navel a new world of the future emerges. This has been depicted in many ancient Indian sculptures as a lotus emerging from the navel on which God Brahma the Creator is seated. Due to this the midriff is set to be left bare in a sari. Another reason could be the hot tropical climate of India. Rathi Vinay Jha, director general of the Fashion Design Council of India told, "The bare midriff keeps you cool".
  The sari adapts to a woman's body, rather than defining it, allowing for pregnancy and otherwise expanding girth. And in a culture where having enough to eat is not a given, rolls of fat around the midriff are a sign of prestige, rather than indulgence. Dr.Torsekar, a paediatrician from India who works in Toledo, Ohio, once told, "It maybe hard for American women to imagine going to work with an exposed midriff, but for Indian women, the midriff is considered no more suggestive than the forearm."
  Other Indian communities that take midriff in their stride include the women from Rajasthan who leave the midriff exposed while wearing Ghagra Cholis. However, these women often cover their heads with a Dupatta and even cover their faces in front of strangers, which enforces the belief that midriff-baring in India has a symbolic, almost mystical, association with birth and life and that the display is meant to emphasise the centrality of nature in the nurture role. In spite of it, some Indian philosophers gave opposition to exposing midriff in saris. They considered it to be a symbol of adultery. The only ornament accepted by the Hindu culture that can be worn in the midriff region are the waist chains. They are considered to be a part of bridal jewellery.
  Due to modern fashion trends, along with saris, the midriff-revealing ghaghra cholis are also popular. Designer Manish Malhotra's Fashion Week collections regularly highlight low waisted ghaghras accompanied by short cholis. Such ghagra cholis are more commonly worn by the Bollywood celebrities in films as well as in real life. For example, actress Malaika Arora Khan featured in midriff revealing ghagra choli without dupatta for the hit songs "Chaiyya Chaiyya" in Dil Se.. (1998) and "Munni Badnaam Hui" in Dabangg (2010).
  Actress Priyanka Chopra featured in a low rise ghagra choli designed by designer Ritu Kumar on the opening show of the HDIL India Couture Week 2008 held in Mumbai. At the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour 2011, she featured in a low rise ghagra choli designed by Neeta Lulla. Recently, actress Amisha Patel walked the ramp in a low rise green Ghagra Choli designed by Rocky S at Aamby Valley City India Bridal Week 2011.
caption: Indian actress Amisha Patel posing in a Gagra choli that bares the midriff
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