134-581: Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul FRAS TC ( / ˈ v ɪ d j ɑː d ər ˌ s uː r ə dʒ p r ə ˈ s ɑː d ˈ n aɪ p ɔː l , n aɪ ˈ p ɔː l / ; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienation in the wider world, and his vigilant chronicles of life and travels. He wrote in prose that
268-650: A B. Litt. post-graduate degree at Oxford in English Literature . In December 1953, he failed his first B.Litt. exam. Although he passed the second written examination, his viva voce , in February 1954, with F. P. Wilson , an Elizabethan scholar and Merton Professor of English Literature at Oxford, did not go well. He was failed overall for the B.Litt. degree. With that also ended all hopes of being supported for academic studies at Oxford. Naipaul would later say that he 'hated Oxford'. "The freelancers' room
402-459: A Pan Am flight to New York, continuing the next day by boat to London. He left Trinidad, like the narrator of Miguel Street , hardening himself to the emotion displayed by his family. For recording the impressions of his journey, Naipaul purchased a pad of paper and a copying pencil , noting, "I had bought the pad and pencil because I was travelling to become a writer, and I had to start." The copious notes and letters from that time were to become
536-491: A robe , with one end attached to the waist, while the other end rests over one shoulder as a stole , sometimes baring a part of the midriff . It may vary from 4.1 to 8.2 metres (4.5 to 9 yards) in length, and 60 to 120 centimetres (24 to 47 inches) in breadth, and is a form of ethnic wear in Bangladesh , India , Sri Lanka , Nepal , and Pakistan . There are various names and styles of sari manufacture and draping,
670-428: A 3,000-word story. It was based on the memory of a neighbour he had known as a child in a Port of Spain street, but it also drew on the mood and ambience of the freelancers' room. Three fellow writers, John Stockbridge, Andrew Salkey , and Gordon Woolford, who read the story later, were affected by it and encouraged him to go on. Over the next five weeks, Naipaul would write his first publishable book, Miguel Street ,
804-533: A British-run plantation economy of slaves and indentured workers. Central to Naipaul's history are two stories: the search for El Dorado , a Spanish obsession, in turn pursued by the British, and the British attempt to spark from their new colony of Trinidad, even as it was itself becoming mired in slavery, a revolution of lofty ideals in South America. Sir Walter Raleigh and Francisco Miranda would become
938-510: A blockbuster, one relieving him of future money anxieties. As it turned out, The Loss of El Dorado sold only 3,000 copies in the US, where major sales were expected; Naipaul also missed England more than he had calculated. It was thus in a depleted state, both financial and emotional, that he returned to Britain. Earlier, during their time in Africa, Naipaul and Pat had travelled to Kenya, staying for
1072-479: A calamity and in a forest ". The same sentiment is more generically expressed in later Sanskrit literature. Śūdraka , the author of Mṛcchakatika set in fifth century BCE says that the Avagaunthaha was not used by women everyday and at every time. He says that a married lady was expected to put on a veil while moving in the public. This may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on
1206-481: A change of dress. Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar popularised the chiffon sari. She was widowed early in life and followed the convention of abandoning her richly woven Baroda shalus in favour of the unadorned mourning white as per tradition. Characteristically, she transformed her " mourning " clothes into high fashion. She had saris woven in France to her personal specifications, in white chiffon, and introduced
1340-525: A collection of linked stories of that Port of Spain street. Although the book was not published right away, Naipaul's talent caught the attention of publishers and his spirits began to lift. Diana Athill , the editor at the publishing company André Deutsch, who read Miguel Street , liked it. But the publisher, André Deutsch , thought a series of linked stories by an unknown Caribbean writer unlikely to sell profitably in Britain. He encouraged Naipaul to write
1474-423: A complete world." The writing of the book consumed Naipaul. In 1983, he would write: The book took three years to write. It felt like a career; and there was a short period, towards the end of the writing, when I do believe I knew all or much of the book by heart. The labour ended; the book began to recede. And I found that I was unwilling to re-enter the world I had created, unwilling to expose myself again to
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#17327823707601608-455: A grocery store proprietor in the "heart of the sugarcane area"; a driver, or "sub-overseer," in a dark, damp and overgrown estate; and a reporter for The Trinidad Sentinel . What ambition or resourcefulness Mr Biswas possesses is inevitably undermined by his dependence on his powerful in-laws and the vagaries of opportunity in a colonial society. His in-laws, the Tulsis, with whom he lives much of
1742-658: A hijab with her sari while in Parliament. Sari is the national attire for women in Bangladesh , Although Dhakai Jamdani (hand made sari) is worldwide known and most famous to all women who wear sari but there are also many variety of saris in Bangladesh. There are many regional variations of them in both silk and cotton. There are many regional variations of saris in both silk and cotton. e.g., Dhakai Banarasi sari , Rajshahi silk , Tangail sari , Tant sari , Tassar silk sari, Manipuri sari and Katan sari. The sari
1876-586: A history student. Hale and Naipaul formed a close friendship, which eventually developed into a sexual relationship. With Hale's support, Naipaul began to recover and gradually to write. In turn, she became a partner in planning his career. When they told their families about their relationship, the response was unenthusiastic; from her family it was hostile. In June 1953, both Naipaul and Hale graduated, both receiving, in his words, "a damn, bloody, ... second ." J. R. R. Tolkien , professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, however, judged Naipaul's Anglo-Saxon paper to have been
2010-417: A house, with money borrowed from a friend, and moves into it with his wife and remaining children, and in small measure strikes out on his own before he dies at age 46. According to the author Patrick French , A House for Mr Biswas is "universal in the way that the work of Dickens or Tolstoy is universal; the book makes no apologies for itself, and does not contextualize or exoticize its characters. It reveals
2144-751: A knighthood in Britain in 1990, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. "Where there had been swamp at the foot of the Northern Range , with mud huts with earthen walls that showed the damp halfway up ... there was now the landscape of Holland ... Sugarcane as a crop had ceased to be important. None of the Indian villages were like villages I had known. No narrow roads; no dark, overhanging trees; no huts; no earth yards with hibiscus hedges; no ceremonial lighting of lamps, no play of shadows on
2278-471: A mere ten weeks, the salary of £1,000 a year provided financial stability, allowing him to send money to Trinidad. The C&CA was also to be the office setting for Naipaul's later novel, Mr Stone and the Knights Companion . Around this same time, writer Francis Wyndham , who had taken Naipaul under his wing, introduced him to novelist Anthony Powell . Powell, in turn, convinced the publisher of
2412-709: A month in Mombasa on the Indian Ocean coast. They had travelled in rural Uganda to Kisoro District on the south-western border with Rwanda and the Congo. Naipaul showed interest in the clans of the Bagandan people. When Uganda's prime minister Milton Obote overthrew their ruler, the Kabaka of Buganda , Naipaul was critical of the British press for not condemning the action enough. Naipaul also travelled to Tanzania with
2546-626: A monthly "Letter from London" for the magazine. Naipaul accepted for a fee of £30 a letter. He wrote a monthly letter for the next two years. It would be the only time he would write regularly on the contemporary culture in England, his country of domicile. The topics included cricket , The Beatles , the Profumo affair , advertising in the London Tube , and the Queen. "Coconut trees and beach and
2680-620: A narrative history of Trinidad based on primary sources. Pat spent many months in the archives of the British Library reading those sources. In the end, the finished product was not to the liking of Little, Brown, which was expecting a guidebook. Alfred A. Knopf agreed to publish it instead in the United States as did Andre Deutsch later in Britain. The Loss of El Dorado is an attempt to ferret out an older, deeper, history of Trinidad, one preceding its commonly taught history as
2814-597: A novel. Without enthusiasm, Naipaul quickly wrote The Mystic Masseur in Autumn 1955. On 8 December 1955, his novel was accepted by Deutsch, and Naipaul received a £ 125 payment. In late August 1956, six years after arriving in England, three years after his father's death, and in the face of pressure from his family in Trinidad, especially his mother, to visit, Naipaul boarded TSS Cavina , an Elders & Fyffes passenger-carrying banana boat , in Bristol . From on board
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#17327823707602948-464: A popular garment among the middle and upper class for many formal functions. Saris can be seen worn commonly in metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Islamabad and are worn regularly for weddings and other business types of functions. Saris are also worn by many Muslim women in Sindh to show their status or to enhance their beauty. Phulkari , Kota doria , banarasi , Ajrak are the most worn. The sari
3082-512: A request for assistance and made a quick escape. But in a letter, he also wrote: "As you can imagine I fell in love with these beautiful people, their so beautiful women who have all the boldness and independence ... of Brahmin women ... and their enchanting fairy-tale village." Just before he left India, Naipaul was invited by the editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India , a prominent, established, English-language magazine, to write
3216-524: A serious interest in Asian Studies", considered regularly, and processed within two months. Students are also eligible to become Student Fellows if they are enrolled in an established course of education. Sari A sari (sometimes also saree or sadi ) is a women's garment from the Indian subcontinent . It consists of an un-stitched stretch of woven fabric arranged over the body as
3350-731: A shirt/blouse and resemble a sarong , as seen in the Burmese longyi ( Burmese : လုံချည် ; MLCTS : lum hkyany ; IPA: [lòʊɰ̃dʑì] ), Filipino malong and tapis , Laotian xout lao ( Lao : ຊຸດລາວ ; IPA: [sut.láːw] ), Laotian and Thai suea pat ( Lao : ເສື້ອປັດ ; pronounced [sɯ̏a.pát] ) and sinh ( Lao : ສິ້ນ , IPA: [sȉn] ; Thai : ซิ่น , RTGS : sin , IPA: [sîn] ), Cambodian sbai ( Khmer : ស្បៃ ) and sampot ( Khmer : សំពត់ , saṃbát , IPA: [sɑmpʊət] ) and Timorese tais . Saris, worn predominantly in
3484-531: A single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and head covering, leaving the midriff completely uncovered. Similar styles of the sari are recorded paintings by Raja Ravi Varma in Kerala. Numerous sources say that everyday costume in ancient India until recent times in Kerala consisted of a pleated dhoti or ( sarong ) wrap, combined with a breast band called kūrpāsaka or stanapaṭṭa and occasionally
3618-435: A special blouse for the campaign trail which is longer than usual and is tucked in to prevent any midriff showing while waving to the crowds. Stylist Prasad Bidapa has to say, "I think Sonia Gandhi is the country's most stylish politician. But that's because she's inherited the best collection of saris from her mother-in-law. I'm also happy that she supports the Indian handloom industry with her selection." Most female MPs in
3752-568: A special ethnic group as he had in Trinidad or England and this made him anxious. Second, he was upset by what he saw was the resigned or evasive Indian reaction to poverty and suffering. After a month in Bombay and Delhi, Naipaul and Pat spent five months in Kashmir, staying in a lakeside hotel, "Hotel Liward," in Srinagar. Here, Naipaul was exceptionally productive. He wrote a novella Mr Stone and
3886-453: A three-floor house on Stockwell Park Crescent . In late 1964, Naipaul was asked to write an original script for an American movie. He spent the next few months in Trinidad writing the story, a novella named, "A Flag on the Island," later published in the collection, A Flag on the Island . The finished version was not to the director's liking and the movie was never made. The story is set in
4020-476: A veil. This form of veiling by married women is still prevalent in Hindi-speaking areas, and is known as ghoonghat where the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head to act as a facial veil. Based on sculptures and paintings, tight bodices or cholis are believed to have evolved between the 2nd century BCE to 6th century CE in various regional styles. Early cholis were front covering tied at
4154-495: 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
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4288-495: A wrap called uttarīya that could at times be used to cover the upper body or head. The two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (mundu, a dhoti or sarong, neryath, a shawl, in Malayalam ) is a survival of ancient clothing styles. The one-piece sari in Kerala is derived from neighbouring Tamil Nadu or Deccan during medieval period based on its appearance on various temple murals in medieval Kerala. Early Sanskrit literature has
4422-469: A writer aroused more creative energy: The Suffrage of Elvira was written with great speed during the early months of 1957. In June 1957, The Mystic Masseur was finally published. The reviews were generally complimentary, though some were also patronising. Still shy of his 25th birthday, Naipaul copied out many of the reviews by hand for his mother, including the Daily Telegraph 's, "V. S. Naipaul
4556-401: A year-long visit. It was Naipaul's first visit to the land of his ancestors. The title of the resulting book, An Area of Darkness , was not so much a reference to India as to Naipaul's effort to understand India. Soon after arrival, Naipaul was overwhelmed by two sensations. First, for the first time in his life, he felt anonymous, even faceless. He was no longer identified, he felt, as part of
4690-755: A young American he had met in Kampala, Paul Theroux . It was upon this African experience that Naipaul would draw during the writing of his next book, In a Free State . In the title novella, 'In a Free State', at the heart of the book, two young expatriate Europeans drive across an African country, which remains nameless, but offers clues about Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda. The novella speaks to many themes. The colonial era ends and Africans govern themselves. Political chaos, frequently violent, takes hold in newly decolonised countries. Young, idealistic, expatriate whites are attracted to these countries, seeking expanded moral and sexual freedoms. They are rootless, their bonds with
4824-463: Is a young writer who contrives to blend Oxford wit with home-grown rambunctiousness and not do harm to either." Awaiting his book royalties, in summer 1957, Naipaul accepted his only full-time employment, the position of editorial assistant at the Cement and Concrete Association (C&CA). The association published the magazine Concrete Quarterly . Although he disliked the desk job and remained in it for
4958-402: Is an imagined version of his father's life as fashioned from childhood memories. The story as it evolved became so real for Naipaul, that he later claimed it had "destroyed memory" in some respects. The protagonist, Mohun Biswas, referred to throughout the book as Mr Biswas, is propelled by the forces of circumstance into a succession of vocations: apprentice to a Hindu priest; a signboard painter;
5092-697: Is called sāyā ( साया ) in Hindi , parkar ( परकर ) in Marathi , ulpavadai ( உள்பாவாடை ) in Tamil ( pavada in other parts of South India: Malayalam : പാവാട , romanized : pāvāḍa , Telugu : పావడ , romanized : pāvaḍa , Kannada : ಪಾವುಡೆ , romanized: pāvuḍe ), sāẏā ( সায়া ) in Bengali and eastern India, and sāya ( සාය ) in Sinhalese . Apart from
5226-500: Is called the pallu ; it is the part thrown over the shoulder in the nivi style of draping. In past times, saris were woven of silk or cotton. The rich could afford finely woven, diaphanous silk saris that, according to folklore , could be passed through a finger ring . The poor wore coarsely woven cotton saris. All saris were handwoven and represented a considerable investment of time or money. Simple hand-woven villagers' saris are often decorated with checks or stripes woven into
5360-541: Is embroidery done with coloured silk thread. Zardozi embroidery uses gold and silver thread, and sometimes pearls and precious stones . Cheap modern versions of zardozi use synthetic metallic thread and imitation stones, such as fake pearls and Swarovski crystals. In modern times, saris are increasingly woven on mechanical looms and made of artificial fibres, such as polyester , nylon, or rayon , which do not require starching or ironing . They are printed by machine, or woven in simple patterns made with floats across
5494-439: Is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff. However, the sari can be draped in several different styles, though some styles do require a sari of a particular length or form. Ṛta Kapur Chishti , a sari historian and recognised textile scholar, has documented 108 ways of wearing a sari in her book, 'Saris: Tradition and Beyond'. The book documents
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5628-570: Is known today known as dupatta and ghoonghat . Likewise, the stanapaṭṭa evolved into the choli by the 1st century CE. The ancient Sanskrit work Kadambari by Banabhatta and ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram , describes women in exquisite drapery or sari. In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that
5762-531: Is mentioned as describing women's dharmic attire in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist literature called Jatakas . This could be equivalent to the modern day sari. The term for female bodice , the choli evolved from ancient stanapaṭṭa . Rajatarangini , a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana , states that the choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir. The petticoat
5896-422: Is popular form of traditional embroidery used on saris for formal occasions, various other types of traditional folk embroidery such mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are also commonly used for both informal and formal occasion. Today, modern fabrics like polyester, georgette and charmeuse are also commonly used. There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari. The most common style
6030-426: Is reserved as the dress of choice for important occasions and events. In 2013, the traditional art of weaving jamdani was declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity . In 2016, Bangladesh received geographical indication (GI) status for Jamdani sari. Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles. Two ways of draping the sari are popular and tend to dominate: the Indian style (classic nivi drape) and
6164-483: Is the most commonly worn women's clothing in Nepal where a special style of sari draping is called haku patasihh . The sari is draped around the waist and a shawl is worn covering the upper half of the sari, which is used in place of a pallu . In Pakistan, the saris are still popular and worn on special occasions. The Shalwar kameez , however, is worn throughout the country on a daily basis. The sari nevertheless remains
6298-505: Is the uniform of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Air India uniform for air hostesses . An air hostess-style sari is draped in similar manner to a traditional sari, but most of the pleats are pinned to keep them in place. Bangladeshi female newsreaders and anchors also drape their sari in this particular style. Saris are worn as uniforms by the female hotel staff of many five-star luxury hotels in India , Sri Lanka , and Bangladesh as
6432-492: Is the uniform of the air hostesses of SriLankan Airlines . During the 1960s, the mini sari known as 'hipster' sari created a wrinkle in Sri Lankan fashion, since it was worn below the navel and barely above the line of prosecution for indecent exposure. The conservative people described the 'hipster' as " an absolute travesty of a beautiful costume almost a desecration " and " a hideous and purposeless garment ". The sari
6566-1257: Is traditional form of embroidery used for cholis in this region. In Nepal, choli is known as cholo or chaubandi cholo and is traditionally tied at the front. Red is the most favoured colour for wedding saris , which are the traditional garment choice for brides in Hindu wedding . Women traditionally wore various types of regional handloom saris made of silk, cotton, ikkat, block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles. Most sought after brocade silk saris are Banasari, Kanchipuram (Sometimes also Kanchipuram or Kanjivaram ), Gadwal, Paithani, Mysore, Uppada, Bagalpuri, Balchuri, Maheshwari, Chanderi, Mekhela, Ghicha, Narayan pet and Eri etc. are traditionally worn for festive and formal occasions. Silk Ikat and cotton saris known as Patola, Pochampally, Bomkai, Khandua, Sambalpuri, Gadwal, Berhampuri, Bargarh, Jamdani, Tant, Mangalagiri, Guntur, Narayan pet, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Nuapatn, Tussar, Ilkal, Kotpad and Manipuri were worn for both festive and everyday attire. Tie-dyed and block-print saris known as Bandhani, Leheria/Leheriya, Bagru, Ajrakh, Sungudi, Kota Dabu/Dabu print, Bagh and Kalamkari were traditionally worn during monsoon season. Gota Patti
6700-424: Is worn across the right hip to over the left shoulder, partly baring the midriff. The navel can be revealed or concealed by the wearer by adjusting the pallu , depending on the social setting. The long end of the pallu hanging from the back of the shoulder is often intricately decorated. The pallu may be hanging freely, tucked in at the waist, used to cover the head, or used to cover the neck, by draping it across
6834-478: Is worn as daily wear by Pakistani Hindus , by elderly Muslim women who were used to wearing it in pre-partition India and by some of the new generation who have reintroduced the interest in saris. Black Sari Day, is a celebration of Iqbal Bano a woman who fought in a Black sari in Lahore against Zia. She sang Hum Dekhenge . Although this event is to bring family closer and to enjoy the day of Iqbal Bano. While
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#17327823707606968-575: The New Statesman , Kingsley Martin , to give Naipaul a part-time job reviewing books. Naipaul would review books once a month from 1957 to 1961. With many West Indian writers now active in England, Caribbean Voices was judged to have achieved its purpose and slated to terminate in August 1958. Naipaul's relations with his BBC employers began to fray. Despite three years of hosting the programme and three completed novels, he had been unable to make
7102-549: The Pussycat Dolls – dressed in saris. in 2014, American singer Selena Gomez was seen in a sari for an UNICEF charity event at Nepal. In the United States , the sari has recently become politicised with the digital-movement, "Sari, Not Sorry". Tanya Rawal-Jindia , a gender studies professor at UC Riverside , initiated this anti- xenophobia fashion-campaign on Instagram. While an international image of
7236-517: The Royal Asiatic Society to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science literature and the arts in relation to Asia". The Society has around 700 fellows, half of whom reside outside Britain. It is administered by a council of twenty fellows. The Society was established in 1823 and became "the main centre in Britain for scholarly work on Asia" with "many distinguished Fellows". Fellows use
7370-604: The Somerset Maugham Award in 1961, W. Somerset Maugham himself approving the first-ever selection of a non-European. Not long after Naipaul began writing A House for Mr Biswas , he and Pat moved across town from their attic flat in Muswell Hill to an upstairs flat in Streatham Hill . It was the first home in which they felt comfortable. In his foreword to the 1983 Alfred A. Knopf edition of
7504-723: The post-nominal letters FRAS . Past and current fellows include leading scholars, writers, and former politicians and governors who have made significant contributions to Asia and their respective fields. Previous Fellows have included British explorers Sir Richard Francis Burton , and Laurence Waddell , Officers of the British East India Company such as Sir Henry Rawlinson , Chief Justice of Ceylon Alexander Johnston , first Asian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore , and many more. Fellows can be nominated by an existing Fellow, or they can submit an application for fellowship; applications are open to "anyone with
7638-585: The 19-year-old Derek Walcott and, earlier, Naipaul himself, was being transferred to Accra to manage the Gold Coast Broadcasting System . Naipaul would stay in the part-time job for four years, and Pat would remain the critical breadwinner for the couple. In January 1955, Naipaul moved to new lodgings, a small flat in Kilburn , and he and Pat were married. Neither informed their families or friends—their wedding guests were limited to
7772-408: The 6th century BCE. Ancient antariya closely resembled the dhoti wrap in the "fishtail" version which was passed through the legs, covered the legs loosely and then flowed into long, decorative pleats at front of the legs. It further evolved into Bhairnivasani skirt, today known as ghagri and lehenga . Uttariya was a shawl-like veil worn over the shoulder or head. It evolved into what
7906-495: The British crown colony of Trinidad and Tobago . He was the couple's second child and first son. Naipaul's father, Seepersad, was an English-language journalist. In 1929, he had begun contributing stories to the Trinidad Guardian , and in 1932 he joined the staff as the provincial Chaguanas correspondent. In "A prologue to an autobiography" (1983), Naipaul describes how Seepersad's great reverence for writers and for
8040-576: The British Empire such as Trinidad, British Guiana , Jamaica , Fiji , Mauritius , Natal , East Africa , Malaya , the French colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe , and the Dutch colony of Suriname . Although slavery had been abolished in these places in 1833, slave labour was still in demand, and indenture was the legal contract being drawn to meet the demand. According to the genealogy
8174-420: The Indian subcontinent are usually draped with one end of the cloth fastened around the waist, and the other end placed over the shoulder baring the midriff. Saris are woven with one plain end (the end that is concealed inside the wrap), two long decorative borders running the length of the sari, and a one to three-foot section at the other end which continues and elaborates the length-wise decoration. This end
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#17327823707608308-513: The Kandyan style (or Osariya in Sinhala). The Kandyan style is generally more popular in the hill country region of Kandy from which the style gets its name. Though local preferences play a role, most women decide on style depending on personal preference or what is perceived to be most flattering for their figure. The traditional Kandyan (Osariya) style consists of a full blouse which covers
8442-456: The Knights Companion , set in London, and based, in part, on his experiences working for the Cement and Concrete Association, and, in part, on his relationship with Pat. He wrote a number of short stories which were eventually published in the collection A Flag on the Island . His evolving relationship with the hotel manager, Mr. Butt, and especially his assistant, Mr. Aziz, became the subject of
8576-535: The Naipauls had reconstructed in Trinidad, they were Hindu Brahmins —embraced from the knowledge of his mother's family; his father's background had remained less certain. Their ancestors in India had been guided by ritual restrictions. Among these were those on food—including the prohibition against eating flesh—drink, attire and social interaction. In Trinidad, the restrictions were to gradually loosen. By
8710-542: The Sri Lankan Parliament wear a Kandyan osari. This includes prominent women in politics, the first female premier in the world, Sirimavo Bandaranaike and President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga . Contemporary examples include Pavithra Wanniarachchi , the sitting health minister in Cabinet . The adoption of the sari is not exclusive to Sinhalese politicians; Muslim MP Ferial Ashraff combined
8844-469: The United States during the 1970s. Eugene Novack who ran the New York store, Royal Sari House commented that he had initially been selling mainly to Indian women in the New York area. However, many American business women and housewives soon became his customers, favouring styles resembling western attire such as gowns. He also said that men appeared intrigued by the fragility and the femininity it confers on
8978-461: The University of Birmingham, moved out of her parents' flat to independent lodgings where Naipaul could visit her. For the remainder of 1954, Naipaul exhibited behaviour that tried the patience of those closest to him. He denounced Trinidad and Trinidadians; he castigated the British who he felt had taken him out of Trinidad but left him without opportunity; he took refuge in illness, but when help
9112-597: The back of the sari. This can create an elaborate appearance on the front, while looking ugly on the back. The punchra work is imitated with inexpensive machine-made tassel trim. Fashion designer Shaina NC declared, "I can drape a sari in 54 different styles". Hand-woven, hand-decorated saris are naturally much more expensive than the machine imitations. While the overall market for handweaving has plummeted (leading to much distress among Indian handweavers), hand-woven saris are still popular for weddings and other grand social occasions. The traditional sari made an impact in
9246-413: The back; this style was more common in parts of ancient northern India. This ancient form of bodice or choli is still common in the state of Rajasthan today. Varies styles of decorative traditional embroidery like gota patti, mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are done on cholis . In Southern parts of India, choli is known as ravikie which is tied at the front instead of back, kasuti
9380-411: The base fabric in patterns; an ornamented border, an elaborate pallu , and often, small repeated accents in the cloth itself. These accents are called butti or bhutti (spellings vary). For fancy saris, these patterns could be woven with gold or silver thread , which is called zari work. Sometimes the saris were further decorated, after weaving, with various sorts of embroidery. Resham work
9514-635: The basis for the chapter "Journey" in Naipaul's novel The Enigma of Arrival written 37 years later. Arriving at Oxford for the Michaelmas term , 1950, Naipaul judged himself adequately prepared for his studies; in the judgment of his Latin tutor, Peter Bayley , Naipaul showed promise and poise. But, a year later, in Naipaul's estimation, his attempts at writing felt contrived. Unsure of his ability and calling, and lonely, he became depressed. By late March 1952, plans were made for his return to Trinidad in
9648-486: The best in the university. In Trinidad, Naipaul's father had had a coronary thrombosis in early 1953, and lost his job at the Guardian in the summer. In October 1953, Seepersad Naipaul died. By Hindu tenets, it fell to Naipaul to light the funeral pyre—it was the mandatory ritual of the eldest son. But since there was not the time nor the money for Naipaul to return, his eight-year-old brother, Shiva Naipaul , performed
9782-551: The book was "one of the clearest and subtlest illustrations ever shown of the effects of colonialism ...." In his Trinidad Guardian review, Derek Walcott, judged Naipaul to be "one of the most mature of West Indian writers". In 2011, on the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of A House for Mr Biswas , and ten years after Naipaul had won the Nobel Prize for Literature, he dedicated the book to his late wife Patricia Anne Hale, who had died in 1996. In September 1960, Naipaul
9916-512: The book, Naipaul was to write: "I had more than changed flats: for the first time in my life I enjoyed solitude and freedom in a house. And just as, in the novel, I was able to let myself go, so in the solitude of the quiet, friendly house in Streatham Hill I could let myself go. ... The two years spent on this novel in Streatham Hill remain the most consuming, the most fulfilled, the happiest years of my life. They were my Eden." The book
10050-475: The car trip and the conversation during it become the means of exploring these themes. The short life and career of Michael de Freitas, a Trinidadian immigrant in the London underworld of the late 1960s, who returned to Trinidad in the early 1970s as a Black Power activist, Michael X , exemplified the themes Naipaul had developed in The Mimic Men and In a Free State . In late December 1971 as news of
10184-452: The cloth. Inexpensive saris were also decorated with block printing using carved wooden blocks and vegetable dyes, or tie-dyeing , known in India as bhandani work. More expensive saris had elaborate geometric, floral, or figurative ornaments or brocades created on the loom , as part of the fabric. Sometimes warp and weft threads were tie-dyed and then woven, creating ikat patterns. Sometimes threads of different colours were woven into
10318-472: The descendants of the slaves to idealise European civilisation and to look down on all others; and that the debasement of identity has created racial animosity and rivalry among the brutalised peoples. As Naipaul does not see nationalism as having taken root in these societies, only cults of personality, he does not celebrate the coming of independence, though he does not suggest a return to colonial subjecthood. In early 1962, Naipaul and Pat arrived in India for
10452-484: The dying light. No coconut now, but mangrove, tall on the black cages of their roots. From the mangrove swamps channels ran to the ocean between sand banks that were daily made and broken off, as neatly as if cut by machines, shallow channels of clear water touched with the amber of dead leaves, cool to the feet, different from the warm sea." — From, The Mimic Men (1967). Naipaul had spent an overwrought year in India. Back in London, after An Area of Darkness
10586-642: The emotions that lay below the comedy. I became nervous of the book. I haven't read it since I passed the proofs in May 1961. The reviews of the book both in the British press and the Caribbean were generous. In The Observer , Colin McInnes wrote that the book had the "unforced pace of a masterpiece: it is relaxed, yet on every page alert". Francis Wyndham, writing in the London Magazine , suggested that
10720-427: The fictional tropical island of Isabella. The subject of sex appeared explicitly for the first time in Naipaul's work. The plot, to the extent there is one, is centred around a protagonist, Ralph Singh, an East Indian - West Indian politician from Isabella. Singh is in exile in London and attempting to write his political memoirs. Earlier, in the immediate aftermath of decolonisation in a number of British colonies in
10854-505: The final rites of cremation. "The event marked him," Naipaul wrote about his brother. "That death and cremation were his private wound." Through the summer and autumn of 1953, Naipaul was financially depleted. His prospects for employment in frugal post-war Britain were unpromising, his applications to jobs overseas repeatedly rejected, and his attempts at writing as yet haphazard. Working off and on at odd jobs, borrowing money from Pat or his family in Trinidad, Naipaul reluctantly enrolled for
10988-462: The fluid, open racial attitudes of Naipaul's childhood—and there was violence. In the elections of 1956, the party supported by the majority blacks and Indian Muslims narrowly won, leading to an increased sense of gloom in Naipaul. Naipaul accompanied a politician uncle, a candidate of the Hindu party, to his campaign rallies. During these and other events he was gathering ideas for later literary use. By
11122-464: The following families: The Nivi is the most common style of sari worn today. It originated in the Deccan region. In the Deccan region, the Nivi existed in two styles, a style similar to modern Nivi and the second style worn with front pleats of Nivi tucked in the back. The increased interactions during colonial era saw most women from royal families come out of purdah in the 1900s. This necessitated
11256-430: The human faces of these stories. Although slavery is eventually abolished, the sought-for social order slips away in the face of uncertainties created by changeable populations, languages, and governments and by the cruelties inflicted by the island's inhabitants on each other. Before Naipaul began writing The Loss of El Dorado , he had been unhappy with the political climate in Britain. He had been especially unhappy with
11390-412: The increasing public animosity, in the mid-1960s, towards Asian immigrants from Britain's ex-colonies. During the writing of the book, he and Pat sold their house in London, and led a transient life, successively renting or borrowing use of the homes of friends. After the book was completed, they travelled to Trinidad and Canada with a view to finding a location in which to settle. Naipaul had hoped to write
11524-546: The island's social problems. This theme, indirectly developed in the story, is one to which Naipaul would return again. Not long after finishing A Flag on the Island , Naipaul began work on the novel The Mimic Men , though for almost a year he did not make significant progress. At the end of this period, he was offered a Writer-in-Residence fellowship at Makerere University in Kampala , Uganda. There, in early 1966, Naipaul, began to rewrite his material and went on to complete
11658-566: The killings at Michael X's commune in Arima filtered out, Naipaul, accompanied by Pat, arrived in Trinidad to cover the story. This was a time of strains in their marriage. Naipaul, although dependent on Pat, was frequenting prostitutes for sexual gratification. Pat was alone. Intensifying their disaffection was Pat's childlessness, for which neither Pat nor Naipaul sought professional treatment, preferring instead to say that fatherhood would not allow time for Naipaul's sustained literary labours. Naipaul
11792-499: The land tenuous; at the slightest danger they leave. The older, conservative, white settlers, by contrast, are committed to staying, even in the face of danger. The young expatriates, though liberal, can be racially prejudiced. The old settlers, unsentimental, and sometimes brutal, can show compassion. The young, engrossed in narrow preoccupations, are uncomprehending of the dangers that surround them. The old are knowledgeable, armed, and ready to defend themselves. The events unfolding along
11926-438: The languages of India. Naipaul and his siblings were encouraged to speak only English. At school, other languages were taught, but these were usually Spanish and Latin . Naipaul's family moved to Trinidad's capital Port of Spain , at first when he was seven, and then more permanently when he was nine. Naipaul was enrolled in the government-run Queen's Royal College (QRC), an urban, cosmopolitan, high-performing school, which
12060-493: The late 1950s and early 1960s, Singh had shared political power with a more powerful African Caribbean politician. Soon, the memoirs take on a more personal aspect. There are flashbacks to the formative and defining periods of Singh's life. In many of these, during crucial moments, whether during his childhood, married life, or political career, he appears to abandon engagement and enterprise. These, he rationalises later, belong only to fully made European societies. When The Mimic Men
12194-488: The lower garment was called ' nivi ' or 'nivi bandha', while the upper body was mostly left bare. The works of Kalidasa mention the kūrpāsaka , a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts. It was also sometimes referred to as an uttarāsaṅga or stanapaṭṭa . Poetic references from works like Silappadikaram indicate that during the Sangam period in ancient Tamil Nadu in southern India,
12328-468: The middle section of An Area of Darkness , Naipaul bringing his novelistic skills and economy of style to bear with good effect. During the rest of his stay, his frustration with some aspects of India mounted even as he felt an attraction to other aspects. Gorakhpur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh , he wrote later, had "reduced him to the early-Indian stage of (his) hysteria". During his visit to his ancestral village, soon afterwards, Naipaul impatiently turned down
12462-465: The midriff completely and is partially tucked in at the front. However, the modern intermingling of styles has led to most wearers baring the midriff. The final tail of the sari is neatly pleated rather than free-flowing. This is rather similar to the pleated rosette used in the Pin Kosuvam style noted earlier in the article. The Kandyan style is considered the national dress of Sinhalese women. It
12596-429: The midriff region on top of a sari are waist chains . They are sometimes worn as a part of bridal jewellery. Because of the harsh extremes in temperature on the Indian subcontinent, the sari fills a practical role as well as a decorative one. It is not only warming in winter and cooling in summer, but its loose-fitting tailoring is preferred by women who must be free to move as their duties require. For this reason, it
12730-448: The modern style sari may have been popularised by airline flight attendants , each region in the Indian subcontinent has developed, over the centuries, its own unique sari style. Following are other well-known varieties, distinct on the basis of fabric, weaving style, or motif, in the Indian subcontinent. Handloom sari weaving is one of India's cottage industries . The handloom weaving process requires several stages in order to produce
12864-782: The most common being the Nivi style. The sari is worn with a fitted bodice also called a choli ( ravike or kuppasa in southern India, and cholo in Nepal) and a petticoat called ghagra , parkar , or ul-pavadai . It remains fashionable in the Indian subcontinent today. The Hindi word sāṛī ( साड़ी ), described in Sanskrit śāṭī which means 'strip of cloth' and शाडी śāḍī or साडी sāḍī in Pali , ಸೀರೆ or sīre in Kannada and which evolved to sāṛī in modern Indian languages. The word śāṭika
12998-496: The national costume. On her first red carpet appearance at the Cannes International Film Festival , she stepped out on the red carpet in a Rohit Bal sari. Many foreign celebrities have worn traditional sari attire designed by Indian fashion designers . American actress Pamela Anderson made a surprise guest appearance on Bigg Boss , the Indian version of Big Brother , dressed in a sari that
13132-407: The navel would never become visible, which may have led to a taboo on navel exposure at some times and places. It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments for lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garment called 'uttariya' for upper body, have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years. In ancient couture
13266-403: The navel. The pleats are tucked into the waistband of the petticoat. They create a graceful, decorative effect which poets have likened to the petals of a flower. After one more turn around the waist, the loose end is draped over the shoulder. The loose end is called the aanchal , pallu , pallav , seragu , or paita depending on the language. It is draped diagonally in front of the torso. It
13400-411: The novel quickly. The finished novel broke new ground for him. Unlike his Caribbean work, it was not comic. It did not unfold chronologically. Its language was allusive and ironic, its overall structure whimsical. It had strands of both fiction and non-fiction, a precursor of other Naipaul novels. It was intermittently dense, even obscure, but it also had beautiful passages, especially descriptive ones of
13534-409: The present time—1964—in a Caribbean island, which is not named. The main character is an American named "Frankie" who affects the mannerisms of Frank Sinatra. Frankie has links to the island from having served there during World War II. He revisits reluctantly when his ship anchors there during a hurricane. Naipaul wilfully makes the pace of the book feverish, the narrative haphazard, the characters loud,
13668-490: The production of other people's goods; he states, "The history of the islands can never be told satisfactorily. Brutality is not the only difficulty. History is built around achievement and creation; and nothing was created in the West Indies." As the narrative progresses, Naipaul becomes more sympathetic and insightful, noting that no African names remain on the islands; that slavery had engendered "self-contempt," impelling
13802-444: The protagonist fickle or deceptive, and the dialogue confusing. Balancing the present time is Frankie's less disordered, though comfortless, memory of 20 years before. Then he had become a part of a community on the island. He had tried to help his poor friends by giving away the ample US Army supplies he had. Not everyone was happy about receiving help and not everyone benefited. Frankie was left chastened about finding tidy solutions to
13936-429: The right shoulder as well. Some Nivi styles are worn with the pallu draped from the back towards the front, coming from the back over the right shoulder with one corner tucked by the left hip, covering the torso/waist. The Nivi sari was popularised through the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma . In one of his paintings, the Indian subcontinent was shown as a mother wearing a flowing Nivi sari. The ornaments sometimes worn in
14070-526: The sari drapes across fourteen states of Gujarat , Maharashtra , Goa , Karnataka , Kerala , Tamil Nadu , Andhra Pradesh , Odisha , West Bengal , Jharkhand , Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Madhya Pradesh , and Uttar Pradesh . The Sari Series, a non-profit project created in 2017 is a digital anthology documenting India's regional sari drapes providing over 80 short films on how-to-drape the various styles. The French cultural anthropologist and sari researcher Chantal Boulanger categorised sari drapes into
14204-531: The sari is typical traditional wear for women in the Indian subcontinent, clothing worn by women in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar , Malaysia , Indonesia , the Philippines , Cambodia , Thailand and Laos resemble it, where a long rectangular piece of cloth is draped around the body. These are different from the sari as they are wrapped around the lower-half of body as a skirt, worn with
14338-514: The ship, he sent harsh and humorous descriptions of the ship's West Indians passengers to Pat, recording also their conversations in dialect. His early letters from Trinidad spoke to the wealth created there during the intervening years, in contrast to the prevailing frugal economy in Britain. Trinidad was in its last phase before decolonisation, and there was a new-found confidence among its citizens. Among Trinidad's different racial groups, there were also avowals of racial separateness—in contrast to
14472-559: The short-lived West Indies Federation , to visit other countries of the region and write a book on the Caribbean. The Middle Passage: Impressions of Five Societies – British, French and Dutch in the West Indies and South America , Naipaul's first work of travel writing, was the result. To gather material for the book, Naipaul and Pat travelled to British Guiana , Suriname, Martinique and Jamaica . The book begins with perceptive, lively, but unflattering and gratuitously descriptive portraits of fellow passengers bound for Trinidad. Although he
14606-512: The silk chiffon sari to the royal fashion repertoire. Under colonial rule, the petticoat was adopted, along with Victorian styles of puffed-sleeved blouses, which was commonly seen among the elites in Bombay presidency and Bengal presidency . Nivi drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the waistband of the petticoat , usually a plain skirt . The cloth is wrapped around the lower body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats below
14740-556: The standard "petticoat", it may also be called "inner skirt" or an inskirt. The history of sari-like drapery can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation , which flourished during 2800–1800 BCE around the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent . Cotton was first cultivated and woven on the Indian subcontinent around the 5th millennium BCE. Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo , lac , red madder and turmeric . Silk
14874-479: The summer. His father put down a quarter of the passage. However, in early April, in the vacs before the Trinity term , Naipaul took an impulsive trip to Spain, and quickly spent all he had saved. Attempting an explanation to his family, he called it "a nervous breakdown". Thirty years later, he was to call it "something like a mental illness." Earlier in 1952, at a college play, Naipaul had met Patricia Ann Hale,
15008-499: The symbol of Indian , Sri Lankan , and Bangladeshi culture , respectively. Similarly, the female politicians of all three countries wear the sari in a professional manner. Bangladeshi politicians usually wear saris with long sleeve blouse while covering their midriff. Some politicians pair up saris with hijabs or shawls for more coverage. The women of the Nehru–Gandhi family like Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have worn
15142-406: The time he left Trinidad, he had written to Pat about plans for a new novelette on a rural election in Trinidad. These would transmute upon his return to England into the comic novel The Suffrage of Elvira . Back in England, Deutsch informed Naipaul that The Mystic Masseur would not be published for another ten months. Naipaul's anger at the publisher together with his anxiety about surviving as
15276-412: The time of Naipaul's earliest childhood memories, chicken and fish were eaten at the family's dining table, and Christmas was celebrated with a dinner. The men wore only western clothes. The women's saris were being accessorised with belts and heeled footwear, their hemlines rising in imitation of the skirt , and they were soon to disappear altogether as an item of daily wear. Disappearing as well were
15410-498: The time, are a large extended family , and are caricatured with great humour, and some unkindness, in the novel. There is a melancholic streak in Mr Biswas which makes him at times both purposeless and clumsy, but it also stirs flashes of anger and of sniping wit. Humour underpins the many tense relationships in the book. Eventually, as times change, as two of his children go abroad for college, and as ill health overcomes him, he buys
15544-568: The transition to mainstream BBC programming. He claimed later that he was told those jobs were reserved for Europeans. In July 1958, after arriving late for a program, Naipaul was reprimanded by the producers, and, in his words, "broke with the BBC". With promotional help from Andre Deutsh, Naipaul's novels would soon receive critical acclaim. The Mystic Masseur was awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1958, and Miguel Street
15678-495: The two witnesses required by law. Pat continued to live in Birmingham but visited on the weekends. At the BBC, Naipaul presented the programme once a week, wrote short reviews and conducted interviews. The sparsely furnished freelancers' room in the old Langham Hotel flowed with the banter of Caribbean writers and would-be writers, providing camaraderie and fellowship. There, one afternoon in the summer of 1955, Naipaul typed out
15812-401: The wall; no cooking of food in half-walled verandas, no leaping firelight; no flowers along gutters or ditches where frogs croaked the night away." — From Enigma of Arrival (1987) V. S. Naipaul was born to Droapatie ( née Capildeo ) and Seepersad Naipaul on 17 August 1932 in the sugar plantation -town of Chaguanas on the island of Trinidad , the larger of the two islands in
15946-529: The wearer. Newcomers to the sari report that it is comfortable to wear, requiring no girdles or stockings and that the flowing garb feels so feminine with unusual grace. The sari has gained its popularity internationally because of the growth of Indian fashion trends globally. Many Bollywood celebrities, like Aishwarya Rai , have worn it at international events representing India's cultural heritage . In 2010, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone wanted to represent her country at an international event, wearing
16080-415: The white of breakers seemed to meet at a point in the distance. It was not possible to see where coconut turned to mangrove and swampland. Here and there, interrupting the straight line of the beach, were the trunks of trees washed up by the sea. I set myself to walk to one tree, then to the other. I was soon far away from the village and from people, and was alone on the beach, smooth and shining silver in
16214-489: The writing life spawned the dreams and aspirations of his eldest son. In the 1880s, Naipaul's paternal grandfather had emigrated from British India to work as an indentured labourer in a sugar plantation. In the 1890s, his maternal grandfather was to do the same. During this time, many people in India, their prospects blighted by the Great Famine of 1876–78 , or similar calamities, had emigrated to distant outposts of
16348-431: Was barely furnished. And I benefited from the fellowship of the room that afternoon. Without that fellowship, without the response of the three men who read the story, I might not have wanted to go on with what I had begun." — From, "A Prologue to an Autobiography" (1983). Naipaul moved to London, where he reluctantly accepted shelter in the flat of a cousin. Pat, who had won a scholarship for further studies at
16482-458: Was completed, he felt creatively drained. He felt he had used up his Trinidad material. Neither India nor the writing of Mr Stone and the Knights Companion , his only attempt at a novel set in Britain with white British characters, had spurred new ideas for imaginative writing. His finances too were low, and Pat went back to teaching to supplement them. Naipaul's books had received much critical acclaim, but they were not yet money makers. Socially, he
16616-527: Was designed and functioned in the fashion of a British boys' public school . Before he turned 17, he won a Trinidad Government scholarship to study abroad. He reflected later that the scholarship would have allowed him to study any subject at any institution of higher learning in the British Commonwealth , but that he chose to go to Oxford to do a degree in English. He went, he wrote, "in order at last to write...." In August 1950, Naipaul boarded
16750-540: Was increasingly ill-humoured and infantile, and Pat increasingly reduced to mothering him. Pat began to keep a diary, a practice she would continue for the next 25 years. According to biographer Patrick French, Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are individuals who have been elected by the Council of
16884-400: Was later criticised for the insensitivity of these descriptions, he stood by his book, claiming it was "a very funny book", and that he was employing a form of irreverent West Indian humour. Naipaul does not attempt to be detached in the book, continually reminding the reader of his own ties to the region. For him, the West Indies are islands colonised only for the purpose of employing slaves for
17018-454: Was like a club: chat, movement, the separate anxieties of young or youngish men below the passing fellowship of the room. That was the atmosphere I was writing in. That was the atmosphere I gave to Bogart's Port of Spain street. Partly for the sake of speed, and partly because my memory or imagination couldn't rise to it, I had given his servant room hardly any furniture: the Langham room itself
17152-628: Was now breaking away from the Caribbean Voices circle, but no doors had opened to mainstream British society. That changed when Naipaul was introduced to Antonia Fraser , at the time the wife of conservative politician Hugh Fraser . Fraser introduced Naipaul to her social circle of upper-class British politicians, writers, and performing artists. In this circle was the wealthy second Baron Glenconner , father of novelist Emma Tennant and owner of estates in Trinidad, who arranged for an unsecured loan of £7,200 for Naipaul. Naipaul and Pat bought
17286-540: Was offered, he rebuffed it. He was increasingly dependent on Pat, who remained loyal, offering him money, practical advice, encouragement, and rebuke. Gainful employment appeared for Naipaul in December 1954. Henry Swanzy , producer of the BBC weekly programme, Caribbean Voices , offered Naipaul a three-month renewable contract as presenter of the programme. Swanzy, on whose program a generation of Caribbean writers had debuted, including George Lamming , Samuel Selvon ,
17420-635: Was published, it received generally positive critical notice. In particular, Caribbean politicians, such as Michael Manley and Eric Williams weighed in, the latter writing, "V. S. Naipaul's description of West Indians as 'mimic men' is harsh but true ..." Back in London in October 1966, Naipaul received an invitation from the American publisher Little, Brown and Company to write a book on Port-of-Spain. The book took two years to write, its scope widening with time. The Loss of El Dorado eventually became
17554-415: Was sounded out about visiting Trinidad as a guest of the government and giving a few lectures. The following month an invitation arrived offering an all-expenses-paid trip and a stipend. Naipaul and Pat, both exhausted after the completion of A House for Mr Biswas , spent the next five months in the Caribbean. In Port-of-Spain, Naipaul was invited by Dr. Eric Williams , Premier of Trinidad and Tobago within
17688-644: Was specially designed for her by Mumbai-based fashion designer Ashley Rebello. Ashley Judd donned a purple sari at the YouthAIDS Benefit Gala in November 2007 at the Ritz Carlton in Mclean, Virginia. There was an Indian flavour to the red carpet at the annual Fashion Rocks concert in New York, with designer Rocky S walking the ramp along with Jessica, Ashley, Nicole, Kimberly and Melody –
17822-604: Was widely admired, but his views sometimes aroused controversy. He published more than thirty books over fifty years. Naipaul's breakthrough novel A House for Mr Biswas was published in 1961. Naipaul won the Booker Prize in 1971 for his novel In a Free State . He won the Jerusalem Prize in 1983, and in 1990, he was awarded the Trinity Cross , Trinidad and Tobago's highest national honour. He received
17956-472: Was woven around 2450 BCE and 2000 BCE. The word sari evolved from śāṭikā ( Sanskrit : शाटिका ) is mentioned in early Hindu literature as women's attire. The sari or śāṭikā evolved from a three-piece ensemble comprising the antarīya , the lower garment; the uttarīya ; a veil worn over the shoulder or the head; and the stanapatta , a chestband. This ensemble is mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during
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