01-18-2007, 05:13 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Is the dhoti dying?
This month's feature stories hail the fact that most Hindu women, to this day, maintain traditional dress and are proud of it--an ancient legacy standing tall above masses of world fashions that have come and gone. Sadly, it is not the same with men's apparel.
Ananda Coomaraswami, the Anglo-Sri Lankan art critic and philosopher, returned from England to Sri Lanka at age 25. He was horrified upon seeing mens' "vulgar imitation" of the West. In 1905 he published the book Borrowed Plumes, describing adoption of European dress as "destruction of national character, individuality and art." He set aside his own pants and suits and adopted a dhoti (waist-cloth) kurta (Indian-style long shirt) and turban--ironically imitating the natives he had been urging not to imitate his English brothers. His campaign failed, as any subsequent visitor to Lanka can testify.
Similarly, during India's struggle for independence from Britain, Mahatma Gandhi changed from a lawyerly South African suit to a dhoti, urging others to "follow suit." He generally failed too--today most Indian men wear borrowed plumes. But he was successful in keeping the indigenous textiles industry in India alive and competitive with British fabrics. On an optimistic note, the dhoti recently appeared in a Paris fashion show. It is a glimmer of hope for renewed use among Hindus themselves.
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/19...6-09.shtml<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Kumaraswami was half Tamil and half English, he was born in Jaffna and had a life long admiration for Sanatana Dharma and Indian culture, he wrote many interesting books on Indian art and also religion.
This month's feature stories hail the fact that most Hindu women, to this day, maintain traditional dress and are proud of it--an ancient legacy standing tall above masses of world fashions that have come and gone. Sadly, it is not the same with men's apparel.
Ananda Coomaraswami, the Anglo-Sri Lankan art critic and philosopher, returned from England to Sri Lanka at age 25. He was horrified upon seeing mens' "vulgar imitation" of the West. In 1905 he published the book Borrowed Plumes, describing adoption of European dress as "destruction of national character, individuality and art." He set aside his own pants and suits and adopted a dhoti (waist-cloth) kurta (Indian-style long shirt) and turban--ironically imitating the natives he had been urging not to imitate his English brothers. His campaign failed, as any subsequent visitor to Lanka can testify.
Similarly, during India's struggle for independence from Britain, Mahatma Gandhi changed from a lawyerly South African suit to a dhoti, urging others to "follow suit." He generally failed too--today most Indian men wear borrowed plumes. But he was successful in keeping the indigenous textiles industry in India alive and competitive with British fabrics. On an optimistic note, the dhoti recently appeared in a Paris fashion show. It is a glimmer of hope for renewed use among Hindus themselves.
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/19...6-09.shtml<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Kumaraswami was half Tamil and half English, he was born in Jaffna and had a life long admiration for Sanatana Dharma and Indian culture, he wrote many interesting books on Indian art and also religion.