Indian Fashion: Stories of Ancient India

August 7 is observed as "National Handloom day" to encourage the swadeshi movement. This moment began in 1905 at Calcutta Town-hall to protest the partition of Bengal by the British government. This movement was not only a sign of protest for the geographical separation, but also the loss of cultural exchanges due to the separation. The oppressive British government had started shipping raw materials like cotton outside India and sold their products to India with the highest taxes possible. The oppression gave rise to what is called the "Dark and Satanist clothes of Victorian England". India went from being the world famous Exporter of finished clothes to the importers of the British products for clothing. Ironically the confusion created over the oppressive rule in India seems to have influence even now.

A Major part of the country was involved in some or the other process related to producing finished clothes. After their art was abused and misused by British, most of the people turned towards agriculture as an alternative and that's how India became an "Agriculture based country". History seems to have been tweaked by the forces of the west.It is not surprising to know that India has more than 120 different types of cotton Weaves which are still existent in India, most of which is a dying art as is being handled by the last generation of people. Several others are already dead.

From the Royals of England to the richest in America used to wear the famed muslin lightest woven clothes exported by India it used to be said. The glorious emperors of India adored the cotton and silk wearings woven with love from their countrymen, but the forces of time created a turbulence because of which there is an ongoing confusion.

Now is the time to realize the importance of clothing and it's impact on us. The generation seems to see a sense of comfort in Foreign clothing which is not false, but to say that Indian fashion is not comfortable for daily wear is a completely false idea. As it seems to be Indian clothing has become the cloth of ethnic celebration, festive wear and wedding wear. while their importance is magnified during these times their impact cannot be undermined as a regular wear. It is time we stop thinking that wearing Indian everyday is old-school. The sense of formal needs a change in definition in my opinion as Indian wears fit the definition well not only suited shirts with tight ties and formal shoes. The comfort lies in embracing those comfortable cotton kurthas, wearing those loose but fashionable payjamas. During the times where the country is undergoing a revolution called "Vocal for local", it is the best time to roll back the Indian clothing into a structured society. Encourage our weavers to produce clothing of comfort and fashion.The Plethora of choices available in Indian fashion is yet another advantage that no land seems to have. Let's normalize wearing Kurtis, jubbas, saree,etc., everyday. Let's bring back Indian cotton to the glory that it deserves which was disturbed by different situations and forces of time. Let's once again reach the fame of being the world class producer of fashion and clothing.

Today being the 79th death anniversary of Ravindranatha Tagore, it's a perfect tribute to the artists and fashion creators who not only are encouraging Indian fashion but also making it popular on a global level. One such moment is "Save the Weave"! It is a movement initiated by Isha Foundation to bring awareness globally and in India about the need to shift to natural fibres from polyfibres which is used in most clothing these days. The moment goes on explaining the importance of organic clothing, ecological benefits of using natural fibres made clothing. etc., I will leave it to you to decide and encourage you to read further on this. To emphasize to the coming generations and to create awareness regarding the importance of Indian clothing is up to you.

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