Dhoti

The dhoti, also known as mardani, jaiñboh, or panche, is a piece of cloth arranged around the waist and the legs, in resemblance to the shape of trousers.^[1][2][3] The dhoti is a lower garment forming part of ethnic wear for men in the Indian subcontinent.^[4][5] The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually around 5 ft to 4.5 metres (15 ft) long.

The dhoti is considered to be the male counterpart of the saari worn by females to religious and secular ceremonies (functions).^[6] A pitambar is a yellow silk dhoti worn on auspicious occasions.^[7][8] Dhotis must not be confused with "readymade panchakachams"^[9] or "dhoti pants", which are a new ready to wear trend, popular among women and typical of children.^[10][11][12] Although the terms mundu or veshti are used interchangeably with "dhoti",^[13] they are different from the dhoti, which is "looped" or wrapped around the legs, in the form of trousers or pants.^[14] The dhoti is better known as panchakacham in South India, which may even be worn while doing dances such as moonwalks, but the skirt-like form of the veshti has its limitations, according to fashionistas.^[15] While the saari is still draped by women as daily wear, most Indian men no longer know how to wrap the dhoti,^[16] as it has been displaced by "English clothes" of the British, in urban areas or cities such as Bombay (Mumbai).^[17]

It is also referred to as "dhautra" (IPA: /dʱɑwtɽɐ/) in Sanskrit, which means rope or cord. The dhoti evolved from the ancient antriya which was passed through the legs, tucked at the back and covered the legs loosely, then flowed into long pleats at front of the legs, the same way it is worn today as formal dhoti.^[18]: 130 While a casual and short dhoti wraps around both legs firmly, in this style the back side of the dhoti is pulled to the front and tucked at the waist, before tucking the two loose ends at back, creating firmly fitted trouser-like dhoti that wraps around both legs. This style is more commonly worn by farmers and martial artists.^[19][20]

The garment is known by various names based on language, such as:

A Chakravati wears a pancha in an ancient style. First century BCE/CE. Amaravathi village, Guntur district (Musee Guimet).

The Didarganj Yakshi depicting the dhoti wrap

The pancha is worn by many conservative Jain men when they visit Derasars or Basadis for puja; unstitched clothing is believed by some Jains to be "less permeable to pollution" and therefore more appropriate for religious rituals than other garments.^[21] They also wear a loose and unstitched cloth, shorter than the pancha on top.

Hare Krishna, known for its distinctive dress code, prompts Western adherents to wear pancha, usually of saffron or white cloth folded in ethnic Bengali style. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was known for wearing a white silk dhoti.^[22]

The dhoti has been ethnically worn by farmers, pehlwano (wrestlers) and shepherds (grazers) of the Sikhs in the Punjab region; it was discouraged during the Punjab Subah Movement, owing it to the inter-communal tensions prevalent at the time.^[23][24] The dhothi was also worn by South Canarese Christian men to their pre-nup ceremonies, Church weddings and receptions until the 1960s, when they fell out of favour; since then grooms have been styling the black suit and tie instead.^[25]

There's a distinction between the lungi, a similar garment often worn by people at their homes, as it is more casual and comfortable, dhoti is sometimes even worn by secular politicians.^[26]

At the height of the Indian Independence Movement, weaving was a symbol of the Swadeshi Movement. In 1921, the famed M K Gandhi himself championed only the dhoti often topless and without a kurta, to promote and identify with the weaves and handicrafts, produced by the rural and the poor of his homeland.^[27][28][29]