The Indian Attire of Men…

Till now I have been writing lot about Indian women attire. In India not only women but also men have different attires. Although, now a days mostly men wear western outfits ie.trouser or jeans and shirt. But these are not a part of Indian culture. The Indian men's traditional attire consists of the kurta and pajama, dhoti, lungi and other dresses. Worn on both formal and informal occasions, kurta and pajama are quite popular dress of Indian men. A sherwani is generally wear for special occasions. Usually the lungi is worn in many parts of India like south india, but depending on the social practices of the region it may be restricted to indoor-wear.

Kurta Pajama -Kurta is a loose collarless shirt worn by both men and women. Generally, it’s worn with pajamas, a shalwar, or churidars. This ensemble also includes a bandi (short jacket or waistcoat) and a dupatta.

Lungi –The custom of wearing lungis varies by state. Lungi is generally woven from cotton and is available in many designs, patterns and colors. ,the most commonly worn are those with checks or the ones in a single dark hue. In southern state Kerala Lungi is worn as a casual dress.

Lungi in plain white hue is called a Mundu. For ceremonial occasions like weddings, Mundus often bear golden embroidery, known as kasavu.In Karnataka colored lungi is called mundas whereas plain white cloth smilar to lungi is called a panche generally used for formal ceremonies.In the state of Tamil Naidu lungi’s are worn in similar way as Kerala and they are called Kaili or Saaram.In the eastern state of West Bengal and Bhiar Lungi are primiraily home wear of men of all classes of the society.In northern state of Punjab lungis are worn both by men and women.
Not only India,lungis are worn in Bangladesh,Sri Lanka,Myanmar,Indonesia,Malaysia,Singapore,the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Pensuila. Mostly lungis are popular in heat and humidity prone areas.

Dhoti- Dhotis are traditional Indian wear that is quite popular among rural men. Dhotis flaunt one’s eminent status and love for Indian culture. Great men like Mahatma Gandhi used to wear dhoti. Even today Indian men wear dhoti as ethnic attire It is a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually around 7 yards long, wrapped around the waist and the legs, and knotted at the waist. The Dhotī or Doti in Hindi, called Dhotiyu in Gujarati, Suriya in Assamese, Vaytti or Veshti in Tamil, Dhuti in Bangla, Dhoti or Kachche Panche in Kannada, Dhotar, Angostar, Aad-neschey or Pudve in Konkani, mundu in Malayalam, Dhotar in Marathi, Laacha in Punjabi and Pancha in Telugu.Dhoti is generally worn with Kurta's.

Sherwani -The word Sherwani immediately crops up the picture of India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, as it used to be his favorite attire. Sherwani is a long coat resembling achkan in styling. It is buttoned upto the collar and lengthwise it is usually below the knee. It is supposed to be worn over a kurta and a churidar, or khara pajama or a salwar and at times, even a dhoti. A part of men's clothing in India, the traditional Sherwani happens to be an ultimate wedding and party attire. The origin of sherwani can be traced back in Central Asia during the times when it was the dress code of the Turkish and Persian nobles in the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. In the late eighteenth century, almost every man wore sherwani, as this attire did not restrict itself only to the nobles, but became the traditional dress of common man. Sherwani is the national dress of men in Pakistan.

Achkan –The Achkan is a full sleeved tunic with a high round neck ,length which falls 3-5 cms above the knee.It has a full front opening in the center and is fastened with buttons and button holes.It is on the smilar pattern of Sherwani.The Sherwani differs from Achkan in length and flares.

Angarakha : It is worn in the upper part of the body. It comes in different colors and also in different cuts. Two main types are long angarakha reaching below knees and the other is frock style and is waist length.This Rajasthani costume is also popular in some parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh as well.