Today churidar-kurta has become universal. It is a favoured dress for young college-going girls. Known by various names, predominant being “Punjabi dress”, it can be seen displayed tantalisingly at shops in different parts of India.
Clothing has been a source of information regarding social customs and practices of all nations. Though India’s political boundaries changed from time to time, the country has always been home to people of various ethnic origins and cultures.
Before even considering influences from various cultures and peoples on attire, the one important determinant is the climate. The demand of clothing for hot weather is entirely at variance with the demands of clothing to suit a cold winter. And northern regions of India experience cold winter that require body-hugging clothes with more material to keep the body warm as against to light and airy clothes suited to a warm and hot climate.
In addition, Dravidians, Aryans, influences of the Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Mughals, Turks and the English, have left a rich heritage of clothing and designs.
In the chequered history of India, many thoughts and beliefs have been propounded regarding clothes worn by different groups. Some of the most common notions that are going around are that the dhoti style of wear was common for both men and women in ancient Hindu India; That kurta-pyjama was unknown to ancient Hindu or Buddhist India and that this apparel was brought by the Muslim invaders during the medieval period of Indian history; that the sari, as we know today, came about as a result of gradual evolution of the ghagra-choli in late medieval period.
These beliefs indicate that the art of sewing was unknown in ancient India. Scriptures and texts of ancient India, however, indicate the knowledge of the art of sewing. This is evident from the following verses.
The Rigvedic verse “seevyatvapah soochya achhidyamanaya” mentions the needle, i.e., soochya, for joining together two pieces, while verse II.32.4 from Aitareya Brahmana clearly mentions two pieces of cloth being joined together by a needle. Further, a tailor has been mentioned in the Amarkosha, again an indication towards sewn clothes.
The observation of Itsing, the Chinese traveller, reveals the popularity of shirts and trousers in 7th century AD in Kashmir and Punjab. The Buddhist and Jain clothing for the nuns permitted samghati for the lower part, antarvasaka for the upper part and uttarsang as a covering garment. The young nuns could also wear kanchuki (a kind of bodice).
Even a cursory glance at existing sculptural finds from 3rd century BC and 5th century AD reveal the presence of a variety of costumes popular among Indians ranging from tight pants (pre-cursor of churidar) with a flared frock (precursor of the angarkha), to kurta-pyjama, including a “Lucknavi-cut kurta”, the lehenga-choli-odhni and the dhoti.
A Maurya period sculpture, popularly known as the “pirouetting Nati”, is housed in Patna Museum, while the Deogarh sculptures from the Gupta period can be admired at the National Museum, Delhi.
Comments recorded by the chroniclers accompanying invaders in 10-11th century AD also record the culture and costume of people of ancient India.
Al-Beruni, who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni, while describing the costumes of Hindu-India throws light on the kurta (called “kurtaka” by him), the chadar (called “sidar” by him) and on the dhoti and the salwar (or is it the lehenga?) amongst others.
On the kurta, Al-Beruni says that “the lappets of the ‘kurtakas’ (short shirts with sleeves, a female dress) have slashes both on the right and left sides”.
Here the description plus the appearance of the term “kurtakas” suggests that the shirts worn by the Hindus those days is exactly similar to the kurtas worn today, for the present-day kurtas too have slashes both on the right and left sides. It could also be indicating the short blouses worn by women of Haryana and Rajasthan which have slits on both sides. These too are called kurtas.
Even before Al-Beruni’s time, the Gupta period provides a number of interesting sculptures that bear out the observations of Al-Beruni.
The sculptures from Deogarh indicate the presence of three types of clothing, namely the “tight pyjama-kurta”, the lungi or sarong, as well as the dhoti. Even the term angarkha is a Sanskrit derivative — from anga-rakshaka! Another sculpture from 5th century AD Bikaner clearly shows a farmer couple with the woman clad in a lehenga-choli and a dupatta over her head. The man wears a short dhoti and sports a turban on his head.
So the question is, what contributed to the popular notions that the kurta-pyjama and angarkha-churidar costumes came to us during the Mughal period? One is unable to comprehend, especially when sculptural evidences speak otherwise.
Contacts and exchanges between India and the West were not unknown. Exchange of ambassadors during the Maurya rule between Greece and the Mauryan Empire also led to interactions between the two countries. Did such exchange influence the clothing? Some may argue that the face of the “pirouetting Nati” is not very Indian, but the dancer in the lehenga-choli holding a damaru is clearly Indian. It is equally indisputable that the dancers in churidar-kurta, including the one in a “Lucknavi-cut kurta” from the Gupta period, have Indian faces.
Delving further into ancient India, the genesis of the sari is clearly visible. Yakshi of Didarganj (3rd century BC, Mauryan period), found near Patna, seems to be wearing a dress that is reminiscent of the sari without the pallav draped over the upper part of the body.
However, it is the statue of a female figure in red terracotta, found at Ter (Tagara, Maharashtra) from the Kushan period, that is of great interest for here the lady is clearly shown draped in a sari as worn today. Similarly, the 5th-6th century AD statue of Skandamata from Tanesara-Mahadava in Rajasthan shows her wearing a sari and holding a child in her arms.
To counter Aurangzeb, the Marathas became a strong warrior force. Women rulers faced all odds bravely, even on battlefields.
Perhaps, the need for horseback riding led to the development of the sakachha style of wearing the sari, i.e. between the legs, like a dhoti.
The spread of Maratha rule over Tamilkam (the regions of present day Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala) in 17th and 18th centuries saw many Maratha practices influencing local customs, including adoption of the Maratha-sakachha style of wearing the sari.
Only a few sculptural evidences have been discussed here for it would be next to impossible to discuss the whole lot of them. These examples as well as Al-Beruni’s comments clearly indicate that even at the start of the medieval period in Indian history, ancient India was wearing not only the dhoti but also the salwar-kurta-dupatta, the churidar-kurta, the lehenga-kurta-dupatta and the sari. In few areas all these varieties co-existed while in few areas there was a predominance of one or two of these.
In the field of dance, sculptures indicate the practice of co-existence of all. Like its philosophy, in the realm of costumes too, India has always indicated its belief in “plurality”!
