The Sari and veshti
So, we had a small celebration at work last Friday, wherein everyone was supposed to come in their ‘traditional’ dress. No problem! I just picked up a nice ‘veshti’ (dhoti) and a cotton shirt and voila! I was looking as smart as anyone in a pressed pinstripe.
All the ladies were there in their ’saris’, adding glitz here and there… men came in normal shirts with dhotis and some in north indian attire too, though many men/ boys didn’t care about wearing any traditional dresses. Their lack of enthusiasm/ interest in participating in the fun activities was confounding.
Nothing matches the elegance of a woman in a properly selected and worn sari. The same goes for the men too… a good combination of dhoti with good borders and proper cotton shirt has its own commanding appeal.
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I was always under the wrong impression that men never really care about the way they look, unlike women who take special care to look good. But, thats wrong!
In one of these “ethinic wear day” celebrations at work, i saw men acutally ‘adding glitz here and there’ with accessories like a ‘kada’ in their hand, or a duppata around their neck, kolhapuri chapal and earrings too!
Frankly, nothing matches indian traditional wear irrespective of colours, borders and the cloth texture!
The sad thing is that nowadays it has become like an ‘event’ if someone wears traditional dresses.
Modernity is good… but only so much!
Hey Ashwin, so true!!! when ever i wear a saree, i’m questioned if there is an occasion that made me wear a saree! moreover, people complain that either they don’t know how to wear, or give excuses like they can’t handle it, or it’s not as comfortable as formals!
Reminds me of a family friend who works for the world bank in Washington DC. I met her in 2005… she ALWAYS wears sari to work!
“Comfortable as formals” I agree that the new fashions are actually a bit more convenient… not comfortable per se.
Lame excuse?