Indian culture has always been one of the oldest and most complex cultures in the world. Civilization here emerged long before that in Europe, and thus, Indian traditions are deeply rooted and highly respected by the citizens. The country is so populated that it manages to combine hundreds of distinct cultures within itself. Of course, Indian clothing is something that represents the whole country. One can barely find a person who wouldn’t recognize an Indian dress among other cultures. It is so special because it has existed forever, and throughout history, it has intertwined with people’s lifestyle. However, in the era of the Western development, it is extremely hard to avoid its influence. Nowadays, Indian apparel is affected by the Western culture, and Indians’ view of this occurrence is different. It varies depending on many factors, including religious beliefs and social status. But what kind of changes has the West brought here? This paper explores the attitude of Indian people towards the influence of the West, primarily on traditional clothing, and answers the questions of why and how Indian apparel has been changing together with the people.
Many Indian authors describe in their novels how Indian culture has struggled throughout the ages to preserve its significant qualities. However, when the Westerners got on the land of the country and made it a colony, it was impossible to develop independently. Western attitude to life had then reached the minds of many Indians. They too started to value comfort, and many of those who lived in big cities changed their sarees to business wear. During colonization, India was forced to learn to respect its rulers. This respect stayed after the country became independent, and, as Anita Desai claims in her novel called “Bye Bye Blackbird”, turned into fanaticism. One of the characters called Adit says, “Do you think you can get into an English college by sending the Principal a basket of mangoes? All you can do is fill in the form and pay the entrance fees. There is no such thing as bribery here, you know” (Desai 1971) This remark made by the main character points out the fact that Indians typically think that in the West, there is no corruption, and people are generally honest, which is why they are superior (Sharma 1991) The novel is about Indian immigrants who moved to London and are adjusting to the culture, which is new for them. In spite of the fact that India has never welcomed westernization, the people there usually look up at the newcomers from the developed countries.
The West has always been more wealthy, and people there have had access to almost anything they wanted. They are the people who could afford not following the rules that they consider to be archaic and dress according to their comfort. As it was already mentioned before, may Indian women went the same direction; they didn’t see anything wrong wearing suits, skirts or jeans when working in an office or driving a car. However, the experts’ opinions vary. “Rohit Bal, a reputed name in the fashion world, says, “Indian woman has neither figure nor attitude for western clothes.” Differing with Bal, Jatin Kochchar, another famous name in the fashion world, believes that our women should definitely have the option to choose.” (Chandra 1998) For a contemporary reader, Bal’s opinion might sound wild and archaic. First and foremost, because this is only applied to females. During my research, I haven’t encountered a single line, which would express a negative attitude towards Indian men wearing Western clothes (which happens way more often). Indian society is patriarchal, and women often don’t get to say a word, unlike men, who can afford caring about their comfort. In distant cities and villages, Western clothes is considered too revealing. “Indian costume, being fundamentally gravitational and concealing, is the opposite of European costume which is anatomic and emphasizing” (Ghurye 1966) In less conservative parts of India, women emphasize their body shapes on special occasions, such as for their husbands in private settings, but never in public. However, in public or even while traveling overseas, they are not allowed to wear very open clothes that would expose bare hands, legs and stomachs unlike American women, for example.
But is this occurrence something that Indian women can avoid? In the era of technological development, is it possible to keep traditions the way they have been throughout history? Chandra says that this is a “need-based change rather than just a craze”. With this statement, she claims that it’s impossible to ignore the changes that are coming from the West, and that the Western style allows Indian women look trendy without much effort. The author is a female, and almost every chapter she reminds the readers that she is “very Indian” and never opposes the protection of traditions. However, she doesn’t see anything wrong in her co-citizens who adopted business wear for comfort. Being a religious country, India still doesn’t allow a woman to wear Western clothes for the purpose of revealing herself, and thus, she chooses a classier, humbler style when dressing up for work.
This everlasting misunderstanding between the West and the East lies in different views on apparel. “Generally, European society looks upon costume not only as an item of personal attractiveness but also as a fashioner of personality () Indian society, on the other hand, looks upon costume as an insignificant appendage, which is at its best a decoration and at its worst a deception” (Ghurye 1966) Although Indians do worship high quality fabrics with rich ornaments, they don’t pay as much attention to their appearance as the Westerners do. In the West, many people are fond of brands as they demonstrate one’s status and taste. The decorations usually draw attention to certain body parts, and clothes consist of many pieces, unlike sarees that don’t emphasize bust and waist, but are seen as an inseparable piece of fabric.
“No other country takes as much pride in her traditional, aesthetic apparels as India”, says Chandra, a proud Indian. However, even such traditional country was influenced by the West. “The younger among the youth seem to be more focused on dressing up. Nearly 40 per cent of those in the 14 to 19 years age bracket feel that dressing up is very important” (DeSouza 2009) Of course, by dressing up the author means wearing trendy, up to date Western clothes. How does it change Indian culture? It would surely be frustrating to see beautiful sarees vanish in time and being replaced by black and white suits or pants. It would be sad if we could no longer see a woman so vividly representing her culture. However, the idea of comfort is important, as nowadays the way of living changed. Unlike in the past, women now have to drive cars and spend hours in offices. They have to look presentable but also feel comfortable enough not to lose their confidence and pleasure gotten from work. That is why the controversy stays, and the experts will keep arguing about this change brought by the West.
Reference:
DeSouza, P. R., Kumar, S., & Shastri, S. (2009). Indian youth in a transforming world: Attitudes and perceptions. New Delhi, India: Sage Publications.
Chandra, A. (1998). The Portrait Of The Complete Woman. Pustak Mahal.
Ghurye, G. S. (1966). Indian Costume. Popular Prakashan.
Sharma, K. (1991). Symbolism in Anita Desai's novels. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications.
Desai, A. (1971). Bye-Bye, Blackbird. Delhi: Hind Pocket Books.
