Impact on garments due to the Corona China Wuhan Virus

With the havoc wreaked by this Wuhan virus – commonly called the Corona virus – many of us have been working from home or studying from home. We barely see our colleagues or classmates in person and most likely, we only see them online. 

This has even resulted in the creation of hilarious fashion choices wherein people wear a blazer and pair it with a pyjama or dhothi or shorts. This is because our online presence usually shows only the upper portion of the body and so our overall sartorial preferences escape the eye of even a wannabe fashion police-person. (Hey I know to type in woke ok). 

But there is one garment that most of us, especially the men, have not been using regularly due to this pandemic. I at least, have not had any valid reason to wear it, because when I am at home, it is not really needed. And remember, I live in Chennai which is one of the perennially warmer and humid regions of planet earth. Let me tell you what garment I am referring to. 

This garment was a vital cog in our daily lives while we were in school, college and even in office. It gave us the necessary support and grip. This garment is the first layer of protection between our skin and the outside world. We rarely, almost never actually, appear in public wearing just that garment. It always has a fair bit of cover from other things that we wear. Of course, at times of stretching, this garment does give a peek-a-boo and in some other instances, you also get to see some skin. 

The garment I am talking about is made of the finest cotton. Sometimes even in nylon, though again, why people in sweaty regions buy that is a mystery. For extreme cold conditions, this garment comes in wool too. 

And in all its avatars, this garment is usually a stretchable entity, with an elastic base at one end. And needless to say, over a period of time, this elastic loosens up and leads to some embarrassing situations in public. And the loss of elasticity also makes it very uncomfortable while we move. It is also one garment that really generates a lot of stench and it is advisable not to wear an unwashed one; even in inside-outside mode though that is a popular mode adopted by students. 

Yes, thanks to the China virus, I have not felt the need to wear any socks. 

Sherwa(r)ni

Last Friday, the 22nd of October, we were requested by our Unit HR at work, to come dressed in "Ethnic Wear" to the office. Such requests do happen once  a month or once in two months and this one was pretty much the first one by our Unit folks in a long time.

I usually don't take part in these events, because I don't have that many options of "Ethnic Wear" at my disposal. I have one Sherwani that I last wore for such an event in Jan 2007 and it is lying inside my cupboard ever since. The only other option is to wear a vaeshti (dhoti), but I am always under a constant fear that when I wear it, the Fall season would start because (a) I would trip and fall or worse, (b) The vaeshti would fall off.

When this "Ethnic Wear" request came up this time, I decided to let the Sherwani see the light of the day, since it has been lying inside my cupboard, wrapped in the very bag that the Dry Cleaners had returned it to me, in Jan 2007. However, I was afraid if I would fit into it and so checked it the previous night. Thankfully, I did fit into it. But I anticipated issues in me being able to stay in it for the whole day at work, because the material was not 100% cotton. So, I packed a spare set of regular clothing in the form of my Jeans and a T-Shirt.

On Friday, I went to the office in the Sherwani, and I must admit that when I went to the Food Court for breakfast, I did get more than my usual share of stares from the members of the opposite sex. At one point I even heard some cat calls, but I quickly realized that it was the ring tone in someone's mobile.

When I went towards my cubicle, a couple of my team members who were standing elsewhere, actually came up to me to see if it really was me! And I got quite a few compliments that it looked good. Some of them were slightly smarter enough to say that I looked very good in it. Someone else first almost guffawed, but quickly recovered himself and said that I looked some 5 years younger! So, he basically complimented me once and ridiculed me twice in a span of 5 seconds (If you are keeping count, the compliment was that I looked younger and the ridicule was the near-guffaw and the fact that he thinks that I am actually old!). My boss even said that I looked like a Groom and I told him that I am treating this as my dress-rehearsal.

But all these compliments aside, there are somethings absolutely uncomfortable in a Sherwani. First of all, the dupatta/Stole or whatever it is called. While it certainly adds some color to the costume, maintaining it one the body is quite difficult. You have to ensure that it is hanging equally on both sides of your shoulder. Or, it should be properly wrapped once around your neck without strangling you. And in any case, irrespective of how you place it, once you sit down, one of its ends somehow manages to find its way into the casters of the chair and you would likely be strangled when you turn around or when you move the chair.

You can overcome the problem with the casters, by placing it on the table while sitting. But, the sitting itself is the next problem. You see, the way the Sherwani is designed, the leg portion of it is rather tight to avoid making it look like a pyjama. And yet, the upper portion of it is pretty much at the same shape and patter as the regular pyjama. This design, my friends, makes it extremely difficult to sit. Because, the tighter portion of the costume, actually starts around the knees. And due to the "tightness", there is way too much pressure on the slightly looser upper segment of the same piece of clothing. This means that you cannot simply plonk yourself onto a chair and have to gracefully ease yourself into that piece of furniture. If you sit down in any other fashion, those around you may hear a Big Rip! 

BUT, the real big problem with the Sherwani, is the sheer inconvenience it brings to the wearer, when the wearer has to make use of a restroom. Irrespective of whether you are inside for minor reasons or major, the sheer number of pieces of garments that need to be aligned properly, makes it imperative that you reach the venue slightly earlier than your regular routine. In fact, you need to strategise what you eat and how much of liquid you drink, so that the trips to the restroom can be well regulated and planned out as well.

So, in my opinion, this costume must be worn when you know for sure that it would not be on you for more than say 2 hours and also, when you don't have to sit that much. Its purpose is to make you look good and it sure does. So, my suggestion would be to go with a friend to a shop that sells costly Sherwanis. Try out one of them and get your friend to take pictures when you come out of the changing room. Then tell the shop guys that you didn't like it!

The mini pilgrimage in March 2010 – Day 1 Part 1

contd. from previous post

We reached our Hotel - Hotel Dayalan - by 5:10 AM by walking from the bus stop. After we checked in, all 3 of us caught up with some pending sleep till about 6 AM. Afterwards, we started getting ready to visit the main temple on the agenda - Thirumananchery.

With the help of the Hotel guys, we hired a taxi and set out by 9ish AM. The main thing to note is that, for the first time in my life, on a day other than Aavani Avittam, I ventured out in public in a vaeshti. I had planned this even while packing my stuff for the trip.

We reached the temple by 9:40 or so. I may have mentioned this earlier, but doesnt hurt to repeat it. The temple at Tirumananchery is reknowned for having special powers that cater to the needs of the people who are having trouble getting married. Like me! And the popularity of this temple has apparently increased manifold in the last 50-60 years only.

The rituals to be followed in the temple are quite simple actually. You just need to buy a flower garland and get an archanai performed to the uthsava moorthies of the deities Sundareshwarar and Kokilambaall. During the course of this archanai, the priests first place the aforementioend garland near the deity and then they give it to you for wearing for a short while before the ritual comes to an end.

Once the prayers are all done, the head priest gave directions on what needed to be done with the prasadams. The prasadams are essentially a garland (referenced recently), viboothi, kungumam, manjal and a lemon. The viboothi and kungumam have to applied daily. The lemon is supposed to be extracted into a concentrate and that has to be consumed first thing in the morning of the day we return home. The manjal is to be used by women. And the garland has to be kept at home and the belief is that by the time it decomposes, a wedding would be fixed. And after the wedding is done, the couple is expected to visit the temple and then throw off the garland (or whatever is left of it) into a pond adjoining the temple.

Anyways, after completing the prayers, lighting of lamps at a couple of places and taking few mandatory pictures, we were out of the temple. Our next stop was Vaitheeshwaran Kovil. There was no big agenda at the temple and so it was a very business-like visit there. Once we were done with the prayers at the sannidhis of Vaitheeshwaran and Thaiyalnaayagi, we headed out for a much needed lunch.

Lunch was at a place called Hotel Sadabhishekam and we had a pretty good meal. We resumed our trip back to the Hotel and just as we left the Hotel, the driver said he was going to fill up fuel at the station next door. He asked us for 50% of the agreed amount and during the process of handing over the cash to him, my mother found out that she was missing a "loaded" purse that she had brought along from Chennai.

To be continued....

Buckle of my belt buckled under pressure

Something happened last week that gave me a whole new perspective about the phrase "buckle under pressure".

Of late, I have been using a belt that is black on one side and brown on the other. So all one needs to do is to switch the buckle and you get to wear the color of your choice.

These belts come with two methods by which the switching of sides happens. In the most common method, the buckle clamps on to one end of the belt strip. To switch sides, you push a small "lever" and un-clamp it from the belt strip. You then clamp it back to the same end of the belt strip, but you would have first changed the sides.


In the second method, the buckle itself comes with a small bearing and is tightly nailed on to the belt strip. So to switch sides, one simply has to rotate the buckle along this bearing and you are done. It is quite simple.


The belt that I have, belongs to the first type. So, after the excess usage over the last 2 years, the portion of the belt strip where the buckle clamped itself, started to get thin.

It was not just the age factor that caused this erosion, but also the sheer pressure that was being exerted on the belt whenever it was on my waist. Clearly, the buckle could not handle this extra pressure and it started clawing away the portion of the belt with its clamp made of metal teeth.

And one fine day last week, when I stepped out to work, I noticed that the buckle had detached itself from one end and was hanging in front of me, still holding on to the other end. The 3 images below would convey the situation clearly.



I quickly corrected the situation and went to office.

Things seemed fine till I reached work. After having my breakfast, I went to wash my hands and found that the belt was back to the unwanted state that it attained earlier in the day.

To avoid any further embarrassment, I took out the belt and went belt-less the whole day. I came home and cut off the portion of the belt that was losing its thickness. Now, the buckle was back, clamping itself on to a fresh portion of the strip. And to be on the safer side, I let the buckle remain as is and went without a belt for another day.

I felt really odd on both the days without the belt. Wearing formal shirts tucked into formal trousers somehow felt incomplete without a belt. There was also the perennial problem of the trouser not being held at the waist - or the neighborhood on my body that may have been classified as a waist when I was born.

Anyways, I am now back to normal with my belt in place. But I need to plan for a backup and get 2 new belts. I think I am pretty much done with the two-sided belts, unless of course, I get one with the buckle of the aforementioned second type.

Wardrobe malfunction - a la Janet Jackson

This morning started off on quite an interesting note.

I was a minute or so late for my bus and so was hurrying towards the bus stop. But by the time I reached the main road, the bus was already steaming towards the stop. Luckily (at that point in time) the driver noticed me and pulled over, so that I didn't have to run till the bus stop (the way I do almost once in 7 days or so).

I boarded the bus and headed towards my usual seat. Just before I reached that, I heard a noise, a loud one and it sounded like a big piece of velcro being opened. I started wondering as to what velcro i was carrying and looked down.

Lo! There was a big tear in my trouser. The front pocket on the right. Actually not the front pocket per se, but more like the material in front of it. L shaped tear. Easily 2-3 inches on each angle.


Since it was loud and since I have a fully functional larynx and also because I am quite expressive with my face during such situations, I was sure that all the 10 people already seated knew what happened.

I had no option but to get down, go home, change and go to office by car. So before the bus reached my stop, I told my friends about my decision and was about to get down. The driver asked me what happened and I showed him! He said he would wait. I said its ok and that I'd come by car. He insisted that he would wait for me. So I asked him for 2-3 minutes and started running back home.

The distance between home and bus stop is around 175-180 metres. I am not going to say that I covered it in 21 seconds, but I made decent time. Considering that I was running with the laptop bag still attached to my body, I think you will surely applaud my effort.

Of course, you might wonder why I ran with that bag and why I didn't leave it in the bus. You see, in such moments where your dignity is being put to test and that too in front of so many girls, your brain doesn't really process much logic.

Anyways, I came back home gasping for breath. Gave a quick update about the events. Rushed to my room and changed to another trouser. Then it was once again a dash back to the bus.

All in all, it must have taken close to 5 minutes and I really thank the driver for waiting even when I didn't want him to.

When I boarded the bus, I definitely felt that around 15 pairs of eyes were all focused on me. It may not have been the case, people do sometimes have better things to do. But I had the nagging feeling that people were watching me. And I know for sure that there were 2 people who definitely ensured that an eye contact was made with me. The reaction on their face was a combination of a smirk, pity and other disparate emotions.

Anyways, all this extensive running around with a 15 kg weight did take a toll on me ageing body. After I plonked myself in my seat, I quickly reached for my Polo packet and had 2 wholes with mint. But for the next 10 minutes or more, I was definitely feeling quite exhausted. This very clearly shows how bad a shape I am in.

High time I addressed the issue.

Dressing Trends

I am not able to digest the way some of us dress up. But seeing the sheer number of people who do it (especially at the work place), I've started doubting my fashion consciousness. So can someone please clarify these questions:

1. Is it okay to wear a light colored striped/plain/checked shirt with a darker shaded terri-cotton trouser and a WHITE SNEAKER?
Ancillary questions: (a) Does the tucking in of the shirt change the look here? (b) Sometimes the shirt and trouser are not in color sync too, is that OK?

2. Can I wear a Green checked shirt (FS or HS) with a dark blue trouser and a PURPLE TIE?

3. Should the tie end near your belly button or 4 inches below the belt?

4. How does a girl's Salwar/Churidar without the dhuppatta, become a 'casual dress', whereas the exact same outfit plus a dhuppatta becomes a 'formal dress'?

5. Can I wear a plain colored shirt with matching trousers and accessorise myself with a sports watch?
Corollary question: Can I wear a round neck t-shirt with cargo trousers and strap a gold plated analog watch?

6. Why do some girls, wear sleeveless salwars/churidars and pin the dhuppatta to their shoulder, but on days when they wear regular outfits, they let their dhuppattas flow around all over the place?

7. Should my socks match my trousers or my shoes or neither?

8. Do big and bold checks with more than 3 colors, in a shirt, count as formal wear?

9. If a girl wears any shirt and a non-denim trouser, does it become formal?

10. Oiled and plaited hair (quite often with 1-2 muzhams of malli poo or kanagaambaram) - does it go with jeans and t-shirt?

There are lots more that come to my mind, but I will stop with this.
Please advise...

Why I am unable to wear my new clothes

My parents still follow certain ancient tribalistic rituals. One of the most publicly visible and socially embarrassing ritual is the application of kungumam on new clothes.

I am sure some of your parents do the same. If not, I really really envy you.

I have tried my level best to escape this 'tradition'. But to no avail. The best trade-off I could have was applying the kum kum myself. This way, I used to ensure that some totally minuscule and negligible quantity of the kungumam actually got transferred from the kunguma chimizh to the collar of shirts or the flap of trousers as the case may be.

However, this Deepavali day, things got slightly out of control. I bought shirts and t-shirts for Deepavali and my birthdays (English and Tamizh so to say) - a total of 3. But since the day started too early and also since it had religious overtones to it, I was not allowed to do the kum kum honors. It had to be done by the elders of the house.

My father was not sure which of my shirt/t-shirts I was going to use for the day and played it safe by bringing in all 3 into the pujai - a la Hanuman and the Sanjeevani herb. I have no objection to that. The problem is basically what transpired from that moment on.

Probably because he had to do this application for quite a number of clothes or probably because he had to do all this without his morning cuppa or probably because he had to do all this before sunrise or whatever..... The basic point is, he applied quite a lot on to my clothes.

IMHO, he didnt apply kum kum. He smeared it. Almost equivalent of placing a kai naatu on stamp paper, though why my literate father would have to resort to attesting by not using his signature is a mystery.

A t-shirt and THE CARGOS (sorry Neeluking, I mentioned my cargos only as part of providing inventory) escaped by virtue of being darker shades. But another t-shirt and a shirt were not that lucky. As is evident in the picture.

I also know one thing. My folks arent the only ones who still follow this kungumam stuff. I have seen quite a lot of shirts after Deepavali having these red dots.

So what really bothers me is the funda behind this ritual. Is it yet another of those completely logic-less things we do in the name of religion? Or is it the equivalent of hanging the dhrishti bommai in some road facing part of our homes? If the kum kum application is similar to the dhrishti thingummy, let me tell you this. No one would have actually noticed that you were wearing a new piece of clothing unless you walk around with that red spot on an otherwise perfectly good looking shirt or trouser or whatever it is that girls wear.