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• Blog,Fashion
• Sep 20, 2020

Is India Westernizing? Or Is The World Indianizing?

From the Gupta dynasty to the current times, India has undergone changes in its culture, outlook, lifestyle etc. But the most stunning change has occurred in the clothing of the Indian women and their psychology. Till recent years, India was called an orthodox nation, but have you ever given a thought how did we end up in this position? We belong to the land which was the origin of Kamasutra, country where the sculptures of Khajuraho Temples exist, where women once wore strapless blouses on top of short lehengas or short dhotis.

Let us take you a step further and present our perspective on this. From the time of Indus Valley Civilization till date it is very evident, that the clothing patterns have changed strikingly as the eras changed.

Here’s what can be one side of the story!

Post the Indus Valley Civilization, India was flourishing and was ruled by the Guptas and the Mouryas. The culture and the traditions were followed and preserved and women enjoyed freedom and equal rights, more. Post this the Mughals entered India and the era changed. The Mughal women used to wear long lehengas and blouses with dupattas and niqaabs. Our basic human nature is very typical and we are inquisitive to know and try anything that is not usual. As the women from the royal family wore those type of clothes, the common Indian woman’s aspirations changed and hence the trend changed to long lehengas or ghagras with blouse and dupattas.

Now, post the Mughal period, came the British reign. When Britishers entered India, they were shocked to see the openness of the Indian community. They considered this as a sign of poverty and illiteracy. During that time, the British women dressed very conservative. They wore full length gowns with gloves covering their hands, over-sized hats with heavy jewelry and stockings. As they belonged to a foreign country and their dressing was considered classy by the society, the women from the Indian royal families followed it. This brought a change in the actual traditional clothing and a common woman’s aspirations changed its course. Their approach became more conservative. Their thoughts and ideologies began to reform and take a new shape. And hence, the shift to long lehengas, fuller blouses, covered bodies and ornaments was observed in their clothing.

If we analyze the entire fashion and its trend in this manner, we can give it a very fresh perspective. The trend that the west world is apparently setting for us, is taking us towards square one. Now probably this can be a vicious fashion circle. But it can also be so, that the clothing and fashion that India introduced to the world, is repacked and given back to us in a technologically up-to-date form. It just has a big brand name attached to it. And so, we believe, that India is not adopting the western culture, the western world is adopting the Indian culture, in its raw unaltered manner. We are not westernizing, the world is Indianizing!

Have you observed any other such trends? If the west world is the origin of fashion and trend setting, then why is it pointing back to the Indian Origin? If the fashion or trend that originated in India was to come back, why are we letting the west world show us the way, when we have the roots to find it for ourselves? Put your thinking caps on and let the thought linger in your head!

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