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Lehenga or lehnga or Ghagra in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati and Kashmiri or Pavadai in Tamil, Lacha in Malayalam or Langa in Telugu and Kannada is a form of skirt from the Indian subcontinent which is long, embroidered and pleated. It is worn as the bottom portion of a Gagra choli or Langa Voni. It is secured at the waist and leaves the lower back and midriff bare. In India and Pakistan various types of traditional embroidery work are done on lehenga, with Gota patti embroidery being one of popular types for the festivals and weddings.
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History
The ancient version of skirt or Ghagri evolved from Bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the Antariya when stitched on one side became tabular and was worn gathered together at the waist, and held by a girdle. This was one of the earliest forms of a stitched skirt. It was worn using drawstring or nada.
Variations
The ghagri was a narrow skirt six feet long the same length as original antariya. This style can still be seen worn by Jain nuns in India.
In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka it is known as Langa and part of the dress Langa Voni. Lehnga choli, ghaghara are famous from Rajasthan and Gujarat in India, where women wear them in various folk dances and traditional parties, marriages. You can find the best collection of Lehengas at Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata. Best designers in India for Lehengas are Anita Dongre, Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, Masaba.