adoption of English measures (Was: How long is "the length of a bow"?)

[Guest guest]

"When the refugees from Sindh arrived in our region, many Sindhi

women used to work as seamstresses. They used to measure a gaj

(yard) as the distance between the tip of the nose and tip of the

middle finger of the extended hand, in addition to using angul etc.

 

I don't remember people complaining about the fit."

 

An American lady who had spent many years in Indian remarked on the ability of

Indian tailors to do a choli that fit perfectly purely by sight of the client,

without any measurement, however gingerly and modest.

 

Allen

 

 

 

 

Allen W. Thrasher, Ph.D.

Senior Reference Librarian

Southern Asia Section

Asian Division

Library of Congress

Jefferson Building 150

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington, DC 20540-4810

tel. 202-707-3732

fax 202-707-1724

athr

The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Library of

Congress.