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I wear the national dress because it is the most natural and the most becoming for an Indian.

I appreciate art in any form. So it applies to clothes as well. On stage, I think people prefer me in Indian outfits... in fact, it goes with the kind of songs I sing as well. Indianness in the form of a sari, or a chaniya choli or jeans with something interesting, matches my style of singing.

Indian clothes are usually tight.

Indian women love to dress up like princesses. In India, people still go to the market to buy fabrics, garments are made-to-order, and friends come with you to the fittings.

The idea that you can dress up in some kind of a fake Indian outfit and get on stage is somehow acceptable in this country. That has to do with the fact that you have the Redskins, the Braves, you have people who dress up like Indians, people dress up like Indians on Halloween. That is acceptable.

I don't wear much make-up in my non-working life, though I love to dress up and put on a face for a special occasion. As I get older, I see less of the fantasy 'Indian' self I inherited from my father, and I see my mother looking back at me.

The Indians have such strong traditions and aesthetics, and the people are beautiful, as are their goods.

The grass is always greener on the other side. We are busy applying fairness creams while people in the West go bare-bodied on the beach to get a tan. Indian girls have ruled the roost when it comes to beauty pageants. I flaunt my complexion, and I am proud to be noticed as an Indian wherever I go.

Indian-styled garments are very popular in the U.S., especially in areas near the beach, like Hawaii and Los Angeles.

People want to be in their own fashion tribes, so they want to wear the same clothes to be connected to everyone else in that tribe. But they want to be different from other tribes.