Network Past Issues

Through tinted lenses

 Colour is endemic to Indian attire. So, let’s not try to ape the West in a zeal for power dressing

In the early nineties, when I was a post-doc at Yale University, I was determined about not shifting to Western attire. “We are proud of our culture and will stick to it” was my attitude. And that was it! I wore long-sleeved salwaar kameezes all through the four seasons. As summer set in, the secretaries on my floor started to shed their apparel and were soon down to short skirts, hot pants, and much less. I continued to attire myself in long-sleeved clothes. One day one of them could not resist her curiosity and asked, “Do you not feel hot?”

“Hot or not,” I retorted, “these are the clothes we wear. The maximum that changes is the fabric, silk in winter and cotton in summer”. And so it went on till a little over a decade ago. During my travels to the West I started to notice greater attention directed towards me or my salwaar kameezes. Living in Washington DC for a few months I had borrowed my d a u g h t e r ’ s trousers and T-shirt to wear at home once. I had to walk down to do my laundry at the laundromat. Another time, due to sheer laziness I walked down the street to do my shopping at the usual local store in borrowed trousers and T-shirt. Suddenly, I felt that I was invisible. No one was looking at me. I seemed to melt into the surroundings. What was it? Obviously, neither the colour of my skin nor the colour of my hair attracted attention, it was my clothes! So, finally the patriot in me has resigned to the idea of western clothes, at least in public places while travelling in western countries.

 Living inside a top management school campus for two decades I have always been struck by the sudden change in attire of the young student community, both boys and girls during the insane period of placements. All the multi colours on the campus suddenly seem to disappear to be replaced with black and white, or, at best grey or blue. Not nly is the colour gone but the whole world collapses into a unisex dress code of black trousers, black coats, and white shirts. The guys infuse some colour with a tie sometimes.

What is the psychology/sociology/ economics (?) behind this phenomenon, I have often found myself wondering. They call it corporate culture in that top management school of India. Is it corporate culture or just a copy of the West? The place reminds me of the western local airports and some local stores in Europe during placements. Completely devoid of colour. Competition is intense for acquiring top consulting jobs (PwC, MacKenzie, or E&Y) or investment banks (Goldman Sachs or Deutsche Bank) so why take the risk, I suppose, is the attitude. Girls in particular tend lose out more- no gorgeous silks, dupattas, or aanchals flowing! Not professional, I suppose is what they think, wishing to conform to the idea of corporate culture.

And then the women embark on their careers, management or otherwise. The dress code remains in place. I recently read an article on women entrepreneurs and incubation in the US. The same struggle exists for Western women. I recall one quote “I spent many years wearing trousers and being, trying to be one of the boys and I think as I’ve got a bit older and I’ve matured in my own sense and belief in my own abilities, I’ve decided that I can dress a bit more girly and get away with it”.

Recently, I came across a number of tweets on the wardrobe of Asian women. They swung on both sides of the pendulum. Some were appreciative of how Asian women managed to maintain a balance between western and eastern attire. And some were, well... Here is something that ran as follows: “Sometimes I really question the wardrobe of middle-aged Asian women! Are Asian women born with an incredible wardrobe?” Given the range of comments, I am not sure whether this was a compliment or a shot at sarcasm? We appreciate colour and this reflects in our dress sense; hence my earlier apprehension regarding the disappearance of colour from campuses. This becomes the butt of various not so nice comments.

Then I joined IRMA. And was I relieved to see girls on campus in various forms of Indian attire. I walked into class one day to find the kids dressed rather formally. “What is the matter today?” I discovered that they were being photographed for the placement brochure. Many girls were in saris. One descended from the steps of the aisle hobbling along in a sari. “What is the matter? Have you hurt yourself?” I asked. Another student, sitting in the front row, quipped, “No Ma’am, she is wearing a sari!!”

“ G o o d heavens, is this where we have got to? You cannot walk around in a sari?” 

“ N o M a ’ a m ” , replied a girl sitting in the front row, also in a sari, “I am comfortable”.

Great, I felt a little relieved. We’ve not lost everything yet!

Come placement time and madness hits the boys and some girls. IRMA tries to imbibe the Indian rural ethos. The recruiters are different here; not many corporate firms flood the campus and the system is able to infuse enough ‘ruralness’ allowing some students to stand up to the corporate culture. As a matter of fact, it is very heart warming to see some boys in the traditional north Indian kurta! Still, the ‘culture’ is creeping in!

The academic world is a small space where women have not given up on the Indian style of dress and colour. Academic conferences are where you still see a full range of saris and latest fashion wear in salwaar suits. My preference is for crisp cotton, preferably handloom saris. Yet, increasingly, I find that the sari – especially the cotton sari – is not the most visible attire.

My patriotism extends to the traditional handloom weavers. I do find that they are also trying to merge styles and weaves in order to remain a t t r a c t i v e a n d r e l e v a n t . The salwaar suit is also being modified to give a more p a n t - l i k e effect, but without losing the charm of flowing dupattas and the full range of colour. So there is still hope with regard to the charm and colour of Indian wear!

Also at Unni-Verse, www.jeemolunni. blogspot.com dated May 2016

By - Jeemol Unni

Professor

Institute of Rural Management Anand

Email: jeemol@irma.ac.in