Fashionista

Perhaps the most significant difference between humans and animals is the fact that the former wear clothes and the latter does not. A vital and a significant part of our civilized lives, clothes in some way set the tone for our personalities. A saree or a salwar-kameez would lay the foundation of someone recognizing you for being an Indian. It is not only the nature of the attire worn but also the manner in which it is put on that is important. A smart fitting suit would beat any expensive but shabbily worn tuxedo.
At the recently concluded Gardenia Internationale- Confluence 2007, the annual international students' fest at Garden City College, we set out to discover the national costume of the students from various countries. The fascination for the different types of dresses stems from the fact that being Indians, we felt it is in our blood to experiment with various dressing styles. Let us take the example of our national costume for ladies, the ever fascinating – Saree. Just a piece of cloth, varying in length from 5 meter to 9 meter depending on the state you come from, it can be draped in more than 10 styles. Made from silk, cotton, chiffon etc, it can be worn on any occasion. A casual day at home or a business meeting, a saree has a way of making you feel graceful and elegant.

So much about India, let us know more about other countries.
Says Aiswath Najwa Waheed, a Maldivian, “In my country, the ladies wear a long dress with a big collar, usually made out of silk. The dress has long sleeves and is accompanied by the veil on the head. Lot of jewellery is preferred. One interesting fact to note about Maldives is that people in some parts of that country speak Bhojpuri and also perform the Bhojpuri dance.”

People in Mongolia have an awe-inspiring costume. The dress for females is called 'Deel' and is more often than not made out of silk. Ariunaa, a Mongolian student from BCA states that Deel has a skirt and the top is in form of a jacket. A cap made out of velvet and fur completes the outfit. The dress is supposed to represent at least one element of nature. This can be done with a choice of ribbons and the colour of the silk out of which the dress is made.

Bhutan, our neighbouring country, has Gho for men and Kira for women. The dress for both is made of the handloom cloth and is thick as it is made out of wool and silk. And how can we forget Sri- Lanka, the country so similar in culture and climate. Nemanthee, a student of journalism states: “Our national costume for women is called Osaree. Draped a tad differently than the Indian saree, it does look beautiful. A hair ornament called Havariya is quite popular too. Men mostly wear Batik that is made out of silk and is white in colour in most cases.

Want to know about West Indies? Says Jaya, a student from Guyana: “Our country has six different races, each with their own style of dressing. But most of us follow the South American or the Latin- American style of clothing. Also a shawl is tied at the waist in case women.” Chips in the three girls from Ivory Coast, Amichia, Ane and Estella, “we wear a lot of skirts and spaghettis. Our national costume is called 'Bobo' and is similar to Maxi.”

Thus, we learnt immensely about the costumes so different from our own. And it definitely was an experience worth remembering.