In India it is absolutely absurd if a person is dressed like an Indian. A doctor is not a doctor if he is dressed in a dhoti-kurta. He must wear a white coat. A lawyer isn't worth his salt if he is not dressed in black. A few years ago a Sardarji retired from a senior post in Punjab. It became a news as he wore only Kurta Chadra and similar Punjabi clothes throughout his career. When I was employed with Modi Xerox as an Engineer in the early nineties it was treated blasphemous to come to office without a neck tie even during the summer season.
It was the year 1980 in Delhi when a new chemistry teacher joined our school. He was dressed in spotless white Kurta and Churidar pyjama along with the white coloured canvass shoes. Even his handkerchief was a symbol of white purity. He was indeed a spectacle to behold. With very nicely groomed hair and trimmed beard he had a very saintly look. His language was dignified and manners very gentle. All his cleanliness and purity put together could not earn him any respect. Rather he was a laughing stock of the school. Children never remained silent in his class. Once I joined a technical college at Ajitwal in Punjab. I went to the interview in white Kurta Pyjama. Surprisingly I was selected. I started taking classes in the same dress. It was a very tough thing to remain as a simple dressed person in a college without being humiliated. Within a fortnight I changed my dress code into a western one. As a tuition teacher, I always maintain a western hue in my clothes with a T- shirt, Capri. Short pants etc. A Sardar with flowing beard and Indian dress cannot be easily accepted as an English teacher just as a person in Kurta Chaadra cannot be accepted as a heart surgeon.
The picture below is a parody on formality. It is a screenshot from the website of 'The Tribune'. In the picture you can see a foreign delegate wearing a neck tie along with the winter suit in the punishing heat of July. On the top of it he is smiling and waving his hands. He can be excused for his ignorance about our country but an Indian walking along side is aping him in a warm dress and is thoroughly suffocated by a neck tie.
Gandhiji who attended the round table conference in a dhoti was indeed a hero. I salute him.
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