{{Short description|Type of crop top worn with the sari}} {{About||the villages in Iran|Cheli, Iran (disambiguation){{!}}Cheli, Iran|the village in Cyprus|Choli, Cyprus}} thumb|Woman in choli c. 1872.
A '''choli''' or '''ravike''' is a blouse or a bodice-like upper garment, that is usually cut short or cropped leaving the midriff bare worn by women in the Indian Subcontinent. It is also known as ''ravike'' in South India. It is worn along with a sari in the Indian subcontinent. In northern Gujarat is also known as ''polku''. The choli is also part of the ghagra choli costume in the Indian subcontinent. Some women in Rajasthan wore the kurti on top of their choli after marriage.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ranjan |first1=Aditi |last2=Ranjan |first2=M. P. |title=Handmade in India: A Geographic Encyclopedia of India Handicrafts |date=20 October 2009 |publisher=WW Norton |isbn=978-0-7892-1047-0 |page=273 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UnJEAAAQBAJ&dq=sari+worn+with+kurti&pg=PT80 | title=Indian Sari: Sartoria and Semiotics | isbn=978-1-000-93005-4 | last1=Ranavaade | first1=Vaibbhavi Pruthviraj | date=18 August 2023 | publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref>
==Evolution== [[File:Kutch blouse.jpg|thumb|Choli from Gujarat at the Peabody Essex Museum.]] {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 170 | header = | image1 = Choli.JPG | alt1 = Choli | caption1 = | image2 = Choli2.JPG | alt2 = Choli | caption2 = Traditional choli tied at the back from Braj region of Uttar Pradesh. }} thumb|upright|Woman in an ancient form of long, front-covering choli, tied at the back. [[File:ರವಿಕೆ - ವ&ಅ ಮುಸೆಉಮ್.jpg|thumb|Ravike from Karnataka with Kasuti embroidery c. 1855–1879. V&A Museum.]]
The choli evolved from the ancient ''stanapatta'', also known as ''kurpsika'' or ''kanchuki'', which was one of the forms of three-piece attire worn by women during the ancient period.<ref name="Prachya Pratibha p. 121">Prachya Pratibha, 1978 "Prachya Pratibha, Volume 6", p. 121</ref> This consisted of the ''antriya'' lower garment; the ''uttariya'' veil worn over shoulder or head; and the ''stanapatta,'' a chest band, which is mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century BC.<ref>Agam Kala Prakashan, 1991 "Costume, coiffure, and ornaments in the temple sculpture of northern Andhra", p. 118</ref>
Paintings from Maharashtra and Gujarat from the first millennium BCE are considered the first recorded examples of the choli.<ref name="Prachya Pratibha p. 121"/> Paintings and sculpture indicate that the ''stanapatta'' evolved into the choli by the first century CE, in various regional styles.<ref name="Prachya Pratibha p. 121"/> Poetic references from works such as ''Silapadikkaram'' indicate that during the Sangam period (third-century BCE to fourth-century CE in ancient South India), a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and upper shawl and by 7th century choli bodics are depicted on Kanchipuram murals.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lochan |first1=Pramila |last2=Subbaraman |first2=S. |title=Mural Paintings of Kāñcipuram |date=2019 |publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts |isbn=978-81-942224-2-2 |page=46 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Mural_Paintings_of_K%C4%81%C3%B1cipuram/JEp4zQEACAAJ?hl=en |language=en}}</ref><ref>Linda Lynton, Sanjay K. Singh (2002) "The Sari: Styles, Patterns, History, Techniques.", p. 40</ref> Front-tied choli or rivake finds early mention in the Deccan region in the 1st century CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pillai |first1=S. Devadas |title=Indian Sociology Through Ghurye, a Dictionary |date=1997 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |isbn=9788171548071 |page=381| quote= Author Hala of text Gaha Sattasai written in Maharashtri prakrit in the 1st century, describes a kind of tight bodice (kanchuka) with fastening in front worn by women.|language=en}}</ref> The ''Rajatarangini'', a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir.<ref name="Vijay Singh Katiyar">{{cite book|last1=Katiyar|first1=Vijai Singh|title=Indian saris : traditions, perspectives, design|date=2009|publisher=Wisdom Tree in association with National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788183281225|pages=211|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RjgPQAACAAJ|access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pillai |first1=S. Devadas |title=Indian Sociology Through Ghurye, a Dictionary |date=1997 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7154-807-1 |language=en|quote=Kalhana gives us an idea of what the Deccan fashions were like in his own time and these may not be very different from what King Harsha saw in the Deccan Kalhana says 'They wore their hair in long braids with golden ketaka flowers braided into them, and with bows of strings woven with gold fastened at the ends of the plaits. They wore ornamental pendants on the forehead which rendered the tilaka mark on it unsteady. Over the hair no veil was worn. The long tail-ends of their garments kissed the ground. They joined the corners of their eyes with their eyes with their ears by a line drawn with collyirum. Their breasts were tightly confined in bodices which covered half the length of their beautiful arms'}}</ref>
Some early cholis were front-covering and tied at the back. Cholis of this kind are still common in state of Rajasthan.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_Rl5c_v1-kC&q=India:+past+%26+present+By+Prakash+Chander|title=India: past & present – Prakash Chander |isbn=9788176484558 |via=Google Books|access-date=13 November 2011|last1=Chander |first1=Prakash |year=2003 |publisher=APH }}</ref> In Nepal, the garment is known as a ''cholo'', and in Southern India as a ''ravike.'' Both of these styles are tied at the front, unlike Northern Indian cholis, which are tied at the back. In parts of the Hindi Belt, mostly in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, women wore vest-like garments, known as ''kanchli'', over choli; this complete costume is known as the ''poshak''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nckSAQAAIAAJ|title=Costume, textiles and jewellery of India: traditions in Rajasthan|last=Bhandari|first=Vandana|publisher=Mercury Books|year=2005|isbn=9780811810845|page=84}}</ref>
===Historical art=== <gallery> Image:Ajanta Paintings.jpg|Women in Choli and Antariya CE 320 Gupta Empire. Image:Aj2.jpg|Women in Choli CE 320 Gupta Empire. The early form of Choli tied at the back with the front covering. Image:Iacuci11d0b62ppy.D.0.Ajanta-Cave-painting-Painting-Dance.jpg|Dancing girl in Kurta/Salwar-like Choli Gupta Empire. File:Krishnacart.jpg| Plaque depicting ancient form of long choli and gagra worn during Gupta Empire File:(Detail) Goddess Tara, 8th century, India.jpg|Choli garments, antariya and uttariya (veil), bronze, 8th century File:(Detail) Ratnagiri ei3-30.jpg|Choli, antariya, uttariya 7th-10th CE. File:Kanchipuram Murals 7th century CE (2).jpg|Choli or Rivke bodic, antariya, uttariya 7th century CE. File:(Detail) Prajnaparamita Sutra, Folios from a Dharanisamgraha, circa 1075.jpg|Choli, antariya, uttariya fragmented palm-leaf manuscript, 10th century CE File:Detail of a leaf with the birth of mahavira.jpg| Kalpasutra Manuscript c. 1375–1400. Example of early form of full sleeve choli. File:Detail from Kalpa Sutra Manuscript, c.1375–1400.jpg|Woman dressed in choli, antariya and uttariya (veil), ca. 1375–1400 File:Krishna Dancing with Gopis in Vrindavan, Folio from a Balagopalastuti (Praise for the Young Lord of the Cowherds) LACMA M.88.49.jpg|Manuscript folio, ca. 1450–1475 File:Krishna_defeats_Trinavarta.jpg|Bhagavata Purana manuscript c. 1525–40 File:Manuscript Folio.jpg|Bhagavata Purana manuscript c. 1525–40 File:Vasant Rangini, Detail 15th century.jpg| Detail of Vasant Ragini, Rajastani painting 1500s showing early form of choli tied at the back. File:Bhairavi Ragini, Manley Ragamala, an album painting in gouache on paper.jpg|Bhairavi Ragini, Manley Ragamala manuscript c. 1610. File:Lady being offered wine, Deccan, 1600 AD.jpg|Lady being offered wine, Deccan, 1600 CE. File:Lovers in graden, Deccan, 1600 CE.jpg|Women dressed in choli and sari, Deccan, 1600 CE. File:Details from cotton tapestry, ca.1640-50 (3).jpg|Women dressed in ravike/choli, ca. 1640–50 File:Female musicians wedding of Aurangzeb.jpg|Female musicians at Aurangzeb's wedding - Mughal c. 1636. File:Kangra Painting.jpg|Krishna flirting with the Gopis, to Radhas sorrow - Kangra Painting c. 1760. Full sleeve choli and bodies are worn in Himalayan states of India. </gallery>
===Historic photographs=== <gallery> File:Ghagra Choli1.jpg|Woman in gagra choli File:Woman wearing court dress and Indian jewelry LCCN2001705685.jpg|Woman dressed in gagra choli File:Lowana Women (9938634413).jpg|Women dressed in sari and choli (1855) File:Bhattia Women (9938694664).jpg|Women dressed in sari and choli (1855) File:Marathi Women.jpg|Marathi woman in choli File:Tamil Sari.jpg|Tamil women in choli File:Bengali Sari.jpg|Bengali girl in full sleeve choli (1880) File:Ceylon India 1880.jpg|Sri Lankan woman in choli (1880) File:Sindhi lehenga, choli and Sindhi traditional pantaloon shalwar.jpg|Woman in Sindhi choli 1845 </gallery>
==Changing times== thumb|upright|Model wearing a choli at a fashion show, India.
Traditionally, the choli has been made from the same fabric as the sari, with many sari producers adding extra length to their products so that women can cut off the excess fabric at the end of the sari and use it to sew a matching choli.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} For everyday wear, cotton-based materials and silk cotton are widely considered the most comfortable. Chiffon and silk are best suited for formal occasions.<ref name=hind>{{cite news|first=Neeti | last=Sarkar | title=Choli ke peeche | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/article485880.ece |access-date=21 March 2012 | newspaper=The Hindu | date=June 26, 2010}}</ref> The ideal fabric for cholis in the summer is chiffon and georgette.<ref name=ad>{{cite news| first=A. D. | last=Singh| title=Summer breezers | url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/lifestyle/fashion/summer-breezers-695| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310101153/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/lifestyle/fashion/summer-breezers-695| url-status=dead| archive-date=March 10, 2012|access-date=21 March 2012 | newspaper=Deccan Chronicle | date=March 10, 2012}}</ref>
Designers have experimented with the choli, influencing pop-culture fashion in the Indian subcontinent, with adventurous tailoring and innovative necklines, such as halter, tubes, backless or stringed.<ref name="vidya">{{cite news|title=Vidya Balan puts plunge cholis on fashion map |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/buzz/Vidya-Balan-puts-plunge-cholis-on-fashion-map/articleshow/10983079.cms|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701175127/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-20/trends/30474361_1_cholis-corsets-neeta-lulla|url-status=live|archive-date=July 1, 2012|access-date=12 April 2012 |newspaper=The Times of India |date=December 20, 2011}}</ref> Anupama Raj, a designer and boutique owner, commented that "there is a very real need to re-invent the choli so that it can be worn with a variety of outfits. Just as we see the choli to be a deconstructed form of the blouse, we need to deconstruct the choli." Bobby Malik, an exporter-turned-designer commented "the choli is the most sensuous of all garments created for women. It not only flatters the feminine form, but also brings out the romanticism in a woman. But where Indian designers have failed is at giving it an international look and making it still more beautiful."<ref name="chdes">{{cite news| first=Sumona | last=Roy|title=Deconstructing the choli into daring designs |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020831/windows/fashion.htm|access-date=13 April 2012|newspaper=The Tribune|date=August 31, 2002}}</ref><ref name=str>{{cite news|last=Nimisha Tiwari |title=The choli lowdown!|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/buzz/The-choli-lowdown/articleshow/8134198.cms|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103172821/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-19/trends/29493005_1_choli-saree-blouse|url-status=live|archive-date=3 January 2013|access-date=19 July 2017|newspaper=The Times of India |date=19 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="vidya"/>
==Recent styles== <gallery> File:Sherlyn Chopra at Playboy press meet 05.jpg| File:Priyanka Pripri photograph.jpg File:AmeeshaPatel04.jpg File:Sofia hayat arjun.jpg File:Kajol at Shantanu-Nikhil's store launch (42).jpg File:Woman wearing sari (31000048043).jpg File:Koppikar.jpg </gallery>
==See also== * Blouse * Bralette * Gagra choli * Sari
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Embroidery}} {{Sri Lankan clothing}} {{Clothing in South Asia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choli}} Category:Embroidery in India Category:Embroidery Category:Indian clothing Category:Kerala clothing Category:Midriff Category:Needlework Category:Pakistani clothing Category:Saris Category:Sri Lankan clothing Category:Tops (clothing)