Authenticity, no apologies…
When in Rome, be a Roman. However, when the Brits occupied a foreign land, they instead carried the anglosphere to wherever they went. Putting it simply, they didn’t adapt to us. They instead turned us into confused half baked Englishmen. I am grateful for the language, though we do not sound anything English and to this day pronounce our water with a ‘r’ and could rightly argue that there isn’t a correct way to pronounce it. Maybe it sounds uncool. Well, who cares! Certainly not us.
I digress. Today, English is an universal language of communication and if not for it, everything that we attempt to convey will be lost in translation. For the most part at least. We didn’t just imbibe the language, we soaked in their culture too or rather turned into a cacophonic mix of the two worlds.
We traded our dhotis for patloons/pants and white handwoven cotton shawls and elegant kurtas for shirts. India is a tropical nation and the summers are scorching hot, but we still sport our Allen Solly’s and Peter Englands rather than what makes sense for the climate and doesn’t give one an itchy skin. Nothing against any of the brands here. Only using it as a metaphor for fine clothing.
Even today, we consider the suit to be the gentleman’s attire. When Raymond advertises it’s suiting and shirting brand as one for ‘The Complete man’, it reinforces the insecurity that one of the things that make you complete is being dressed dapper. I would both agree and disagree. Being presentable is necessary, being suited up is not. The Indian women on the other hand stood their ground and continue to do so till date. The six meter long garment is elegant, super feminine and mighty uncomfortable at the same time. My mother and the women folk who swear by it may feel differently(about the comfort aspect), but as someone guilty of being in jeans and T shirts for the most part, I would argue otherwise.
Indian women can sport a saree in the scorching heat for office wear, to a casual outing and also make it a mandatory part of their wedding trousseau. Only the material of the cloth if may change. From modest cottons, khadi silks, georgettes, nylons to the high end gold embroidered exquisite silks, the occasion decides what one chooses to flaunt. Speaking logically, cotton frocks and dresses are more suited to the Indian weather, but we for the most part stuck to salwar kameez and sarees and when we did transition to adopt the western dressing style, it initially made it’s appearance in the form of trousers and blouses.
For a long time in ancient Southern India, women seldom covered their upper torso. Yes, they walked bare chested. It soon evolved to a zari/gold embroidered cloth being used to cover one’s modesty. The blouses underneath the saree are a recent addition(maybe in the last century or so).
Ironically however, stripping on the beach or sun bathing is not a very Indian thing to do. When I generalize, I am talking about the common masses. It could be a celebrity thing to do here, but most others would be dressed more modestly even on a beach. No judgement whatsoever. It is just that culturally we evolved not needing that extra melanoma inducing tan on our bodies. Even cosmetically, most of us are already as brown as brown can get. If anything, the scorching heat is a pass and so is the pressure to have a bikini perfect figure. A judgmental crowd(for the lack of a politer phrase) would be another point of contention. We are just not comfortable in our own bodies or the people we are surrounded with.
I love beaches and recently happened to visit Pemuteran. A quaint little beach away from the bustling town of Bali. Most people who visited the place were Non Indian and spent most of their time soaking in the pleasant weather and sunbathing either on the beach or by the pool. The pool now happened to be just adjacent to the restaurant and my dad decided to wear his mundu/dhoti for the dinner much to my mother’s chagrin. She categorically told him that he should dress the part. Her logic being that when one is in a new place they should dress like they belong there. My dad’s retort was “People are barely even dressed here. What makes that appropriate and me sporting a mundu inappropriate?”
He had a point though. While I do agree that you should be dressed for the occasion, there needs to be a sweet middle spot of acceptance of each others cultural differences. It would be absurd to be dressed in a suit on a beach or in a bikini in a boardroom. Not because it is uncool, but because it makes no sense or is not befitting the weather or the occasion. A bikini in a pool is appropriate and so should be a mundu in a restaurant in a tropical country. #justmyPOV
We also saw a young lady waltz her way into one of the temple premises wearing (again) barely something. I leave you to judge the situation here. Although on a holiday island, it was a place of worship where you are required to be modestly dressed. If you wore that to a church back home, you would probably be required to make a U turn or at least garner some rolling eyeballs. I must say the Balinese are extremely polite and thankfully didn’t make a big deal of it. The only drama I wanted to watch was the one I had taken tickets for.
The point I am making is, Indians may have a more modest upbringing, but when we visit a foreign land, we dress like them from sporting Western wear to bikinis on beaches and try hard to fit in. When Westerners visit our land, they too dress like them.
Our Western friends with a certain pride carry their accent, comfort and culture wherever they go and we somehow live being apologetic of ours.
