Gagra choli garment, the "uttariya" veil worn over shoulder or head and "stanapatta" a chestband, which finds mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century B.C. A "choli" (Hindi: चोली, ), ("ravike" in South India Telugu: రవికె, Kannada: ರವಿಕೆ) is a midriff-baring blouse commonly worn with the Indian sari costume (worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and other surrounding countries). It evolved from the ancient "Stanapatta" (also known as "Kanchuki") and is cut to fit tightly to the body with its short sleeves and low neck. The choli is usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel;
Sari of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the sari. Early Sanskrit literature has a wide vocabulary of terms for the veiling used by women, such as "Avagunthana" (oguntheti/oguṇthikā), meaning cloak-veil, "Uttariya" meaning shoulder-veil, "Mukha-pata" meaning face-veil and "Sirovas-tra" meaning head-veil. In the "Pratimānātaka", a play by Bhāsa describes in context of "Avagunthana" veil that ""ladies may be seen without any blame (for the parties concerned) in a religious session, in marriage festivities, during a calamity and in a forest"". The same sentiment is more generically expressed in later Sanskrit literature. Śūdraka, the author of