01-18-2007, 02:55 AM
I agree. Same fate as what has happened to the dressing sense of men in India. Has undergone overall transformation in a matter of less than a century. Just two generations back, majority Hindu men, including urban educated youth, preferred to wear Dhoti-kurta. 1 generation back, majority still wore Dhoti at least on occasions like festivals or weddings. Today, Dhoti is largely lost forever except for a few pockets.
Direction of cultural trend comes largely from the trend leaders like actors, intellectuals, wealthy, politicals, other succesful people. Whatever is made out to be hip gets set as trend and glamorous - and drives traction for the rest of the soceity. Look at our prime ministers. Out of the long list only Shastriji, Chandra Shekhar, HD Devegoda, AB Vajpayee wore dhoti as the common dress. No chief minister wears dhoti any more other than Mulayam Singh probably. Howmany intellectuals do you see wearing dhoti any more? Literary circle has taken to Kurta-Pajama. I have not seen a movie in a long time with hero wearing a dhoti.
Dhoti is less useful, due to work reasons? A friend of mine told me a story about his college. One new lecturar (Bengali) used to wear dhoti to college. This is a top engineering college in India. After a few days, department head called him and asked not to wear dhoti to college - in pretext of laboratory safety regulations.
Air India still has Sari as dress code for its staff? Or changed?
Direction of cultural trend comes largely from the trend leaders like actors, intellectuals, wealthy, politicals, other succesful people. Whatever is made out to be hip gets set as trend and glamorous - and drives traction for the rest of the soceity. Look at our prime ministers. Out of the long list only Shastriji, Chandra Shekhar, HD Devegoda, AB Vajpayee wore dhoti as the common dress. No chief minister wears dhoti any more other than Mulayam Singh probably. Howmany intellectuals do you see wearing dhoti any more? Literary circle has taken to Kurta-Pajama. I have not seen a movie in a long time with hero wearing a dhoti.
Dhoti is less useful, due to work reasons? A friend of mine told me a story about his college. One new lecturar (Bengali) used to wear dhoti to college. This is a top engineering college in India. After a few days, department head called him and asked not to wear dhoti to college - in pretext of laboratory safety regulations.
Air India still has Sari as dress code for its staff? Or changed?