An Ode to the Humble Kurta Pyjama and Salwar Kameez!
This is an ode to one of the oldest traditional dresses to adorn the Indian sub continent...the humble kurta pyjama (कुरता प्यजमा) along with its variants; the salwar kameez (सलवार कमीज़)and the churidar कुरता (चुरीदार कुरता). I call it humble as it has never really been given its due unlike the Indian saree (सारी)which receives a lot attention word wide and is hailed as the sacred unstitched seven-yard clothing that seems to epitomize the Indian woman. In a week that saw Aishwarya Rai Bacchan adorning an elegant churidar kurta at an award ceremony in Mumbai, I try to showcase just why the churidar kurta/salwar kameez is one of the most under-rated garments ever and why me and my kurtis are simply inseparable! Why I love the Kurta Pyjama/ Salwar Kameez? The first reason is because I belong to Lucknow, the city of Nawabs and also the city of Chikankari -चिकनकारी (traditional hand-embroidery) which meant that I saw a lot of the kurta pyjamas and the salwar kameezes on both men...