As India gathered to participate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 9 baje 9 minute exercise to unite amid the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to decode his sartorial choices for the event. For those unversed, the PM shared pictures of lighting a diya on his Twitter handle, but his outfit has raised many brows.
PM tweeted a Sanskrit shloka, alongside photos of himself, which means: “Salutations to the Light of the Lamp which Brings auspiciousness, health and prosperity, which Destroys Inimical Feelings; Salutations to the Light of the Lamp.”
शुभं करोति कल्याणमारोग्यं धनसंपदा ।
शत्रुबुद्धिविनाशाय दीपज्योतिर्नमोऽस्तुते ॥ pic.twitter.com/4DeiMsCN11— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 5, 2020
Clad in a Gamosa from Assam, Veshti from Tamil Nadu, blue kurta, sandals and not to forget his immaculate beard, it was an unusual way of ‘national integration’ for a photo session during the Diwali 2.0 moment.
What is a Gamosa?
The literal meaning of this word stands for ‘Ga’ meaning body and ‘mosa’ meaning wipe. It is generally a white rectangular piece of cloth with primarily a red border on three sides and red woven motifs on the fourth. The garment is traditional to Assam.
What is a Veshti?
Veshti is closely related to dhoti, chaadra, dhotar or panchey. It is a type of sarong that outwardly resembles trousers. It is wrapped around the waist and the legs and knotted either in the front or the back. It is traditional worn in the southern states of India.
FPJ Fashion Police calls this as a calculative dress-up that represents several parts of India – North to South.
India switched off all the lights for 9 minutes at 9 PM today and lit candles, ‘diyas’, or flashlight, to mark the country’s fight against as appealed by the Prime Minister.
Several of the Prime Minister’s colleagues from the Union Cabinet participated in the drive. The number of positive cases of coronavirus in the country continues to surge. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of confirmed cases is 3,577 including 83 deaths.