The Veshti and Lungi Conundrum

One of the perils of working from home for an extended period of time is the ‘wear and tear’ of casual clothes. What was once used moderately, became the permanent fixture on the body especially with the strict lockdown restrictions kicking-in. My mom was insistent that along with the regular Shorts I also try to wear a Lungi at home sometimes. I decided to step out of the house on a Monday morning, when the restrictions were relaxed between 9 AM and 7PM on weekdays, to do some shopping.

I entered a leading textile brand showroom to buy a Lungi and there was utter confusion ! The salespersons in the floor themselves were not aware of what a Lungi is. I tried to show what their Brand’s website describes a Lungi as but unfortunately the website had a message “No Products to show at the moment” under ‘Lungi’. I had to explain to them and then thought let me put it here for the benefit of those who do not know the difference between a Vaeshtee/Panche/Dhothi and Lungi. Though both of these are essentially “wrap around” clothing below is the difference according to me.

Veshti/Vaeshtee OR Panche OR Dhothi – This type is a “wrap around” for the lower part of the body, usually worn by men in the southern part of India. It is usually White in colour (there are coloured variants for religious ceremonies and purposes). This wrap around usually has a coloured borders lengthwise and breadthwise. There is also a version where there are special coloured stripes/borders breadth-wise, known as Kara Vaeshtee in Tamil Nadu. These are usually worn by Politically affiliated members with the coloured stripes showing the flag colours of their political outfit and hence their allegiance to it. This type of wrap around, the normal Vaeshtee, is worn both casually and formally, with the latter being of a premium fabric (Cotton or Silk) and golden coloured borders across the length and breadth. Due to the open ends, there is an opening across the length of one’s legs when worn, thought concealed between the layer of the clothing. The Vaeshtee comes in noticeably two sizes – 4 Muzham (~ 2 meters) and 8 Muzham (~ 4 meters).

Steps to wear a Veshti/Vaeshtee:

1. Wrap the cloth around from the back so that the open ends are held by both the hands at the front, held parallel to each other
2. Ensure the cloth is above the waist level over the stomach
3. With two open ends, one end is first covered over the waist – open end from the left side is covered over the waist towards right 
4. Then the other open end is wrapped towards the opposite end 
5. Lock at the waist by rolling the length of the cloth down together, twice or thrice, to make a “belt” like formation that holds the Vaeshtee tight against the waist

**The Left/Right can be switched to attain similar results with the opening on the other side

The Casual variant

The Formal variant with Golden coloured borders

Lungi OR Kaili – This type or wrap around is also for the lower part of the body and also usually worn by mean and like the Vaeshtee this clothing is also usually used in the southern part of India. But the main differences are that a Lungi is usually not white; they are commonly found in coloured patterns. Also unlike the Vaeshtee they do not have open end; the open ends are stitched together. It is available both in the unstitched and stitched version, but for the purpose of a Lungi the open ends are expected to be stitched together. So essentially it’s a wrap around clothing, with coloured patterns, with the loose open ends stitched together to form a tubular (or cylindrical?) clothing. The Lungi is worn in a more casual or informal setting like home or while running errands near home. It is never worn as a formal wear and might offend people if done so.

Steps to wear a Lungi:

1. Step into the tubular clothing and stretching the cloth with both the hands, held parallel to each other
2. Ensure the cloth is above the waist level over the stomach
3. Use the left hand to push the cloth towards the right, inside the left hand, around the waist 
4. Then use the cloth held by the right hand to cover the waist over the cloth from the Step# 2 
5. Lock at the waist by rolling the length of the cloth down, twice or thrice, to form a belt like formation that holds the Lungi tight against the waist

**The Left/Right can be switched to attain similar results

The Informal wear – Lungi

Popular cinema has wrongly depicted the Lungi to be worn by a certain section of people in the society or the henchmen of the antagonist. It is not correct and it is a casual wear that is preferred by many compared to the more “formal” white Vaeshtee. Unlike the Vaeshtee, the Lungi when worn does not have an opening across one’s legs when worn.

The next time you are talking about a Vaeshtee or a Lungi, I hope this post would have helped you to make sure you are talking about the right clothing.

~ by Jayanthan Ravi on July 5, 2021.