Sari in Nepal) and petticoat called "parkar" or "ul-pavadai". In the modern Indian subcontinent, the sari is considered a cultural icon. The word "sari" described in Sanskrit शाटी which means 'strip of cloth' and शाडी or साडी in Pali, and which evolved to in modern Indian languages. The word 'Sattika' is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist literature called Jatakas. This could be equivalent to modern day 'Sari'. The term for female bodice, the "choli" evolved from ancient "Stanapatta". Rajatarangini (meaning the 'river of kings'), a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the
Midriff 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