A decade or so back, a Senior journalist (of Economic Times) (who
lives in Triplicane) was denied entry into a Star hotel – citing that his
attire will not be allowed ! …. South Indians, wear dhoti
(famous politicians wearing dhoti would include Rajaji, Kamaraj, Karunanidhi,
MGR, Mooppanar, P Chidambaram, Narasimha Rao, Deve Gowda and many more) – there
are distinctly different styles in which it is worn in various parts. Dhotis come in various hues – 4 muzham, 8
muzham, 9X5; 10X6; cotton; synthetic, silk and more…. by some estimates, the
Ramraj group — which is into dhotis, shirts and innerwear — has 50 per cent
market share for dhotis in South India. Of the 10,000 looms in the Coimbatore region, about
8,000 are reportedly with them doing job works.
Ramraj prides itself on having given “status and dignity” to the dhoti,
began an ad campaign to reinstate its image as an apparel of choice. ” In mid 1990s, they launched an aggressive TV
ad campaign which showed men of “substance and status… film stars,
industrialists” dressed in dhotis and alighting from shiny cars at banks,
five-star hotels and other prominent places.
We call it veshti (dhoti – locally various
other names too) (a few decades ago, most teachers used to wear it to work) is
a traditional men's garment worn in India. It is a rectangular piece of
unstitched cloth, usually around 4.5 metres (15 ft) long, wrapped around the
waist and the legs and knotted at the waist.
In India, the garment
is predominant in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra,
Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar,Madhya Pradesh, Assam,
West Bengal, Odisha and Konkan and Goa.
The ubiquitous veshti might have disappeared in the modern
World, where people walk out in shorts and tracks. It has been a strongly favoured dress of the
tinseldom – Sivaji & MGR wore it in
many; Rajni in Annamalai; Yajaman and more .. Kamal in Devar Mahan; Ajith in
few including Veeram – and Raj Kiran,
gave a new twist to the way it was to be worn
– its popularity in no doubt ! but here is some news for wrong reasons
….
A sitting judge of the Madras High Court, a
senior advocate practicing in the same court and a lawyer from Madurai were on Friday denied entry into the
Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) Club, venue of a book release function,
in Chennai for having come in ‘dhoti.’
The Justice is quoted as stating “The British rulers prescribed dress codes in
the clubs started by them. It is very unfortunate that even after Independence, the same
dress code is continued in the present clubs and our traditional Indian dress
is prohibited,” he said.
The judge had been invited for the release of the book ‘Legal Fraternity
Embraced Me’ penned by T.S. Arunachalam, former Acting Chief Justice of the
Madras High Court.
The respected Justice D. Hariparanthaman reportedly
reached the TNCA club premises at 5.30 p.m in his official car and got shocked
when the club staff refused to allow him inside citing that he was wearing a
‘veshti.’ It is reported that senior advocate R. Gandhi and Madurai-based
lawyer G.R. Swaminathan were also not allowed inside the club for the same
reason. Perhaps this is not the first of
its kind (I remember the incident of the journalist denied entry into a famous
hotel in Chennai for wearing veshti – though web search do not turn any
positive results for the same) – earlier former Supreme Court judge V.R.
Krishna Iyer was denied entry in the 1980s into the Gymkhana Club. Then, he
wrote a note of protest in the guest book.”
The refusal of entry to a dhoti-clad judge of the Madras
High Court has stoked a controversy, with political parties including DMK
condemning the incident, as CPI(M) vowed to take up the issue in the Tamil Nadu
Assembly, which is in session, tomorrow. Karunanidhi said 'vetti' (dhoti) was a
symbol of Tamil culture and it was 'condemnable' that one was barred entry at a
public function for wearing the traditional attire. PMK founder S Ramadoss wanted an end to such British-era practices. He demanded that the state government move
necessary amendments to ban clubs that do not honor Tamil culture.
Veshti (pancha kacham) is also the dress of orthodox (both Saivaite and
Srivaishnavaite) …. Here is a photo of goshti in front of the purappadu of Sri
Parthasarathi at Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
14th July 2014.