Sherwani

Achkan sherwani and churidar(lower body) worn by men during a Hindu wedding in Rajasthan, India.
The two founders of Aligarh movement wearing sherwani, Nawab Mohsin ul Mulk, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Justice Syed Mahmood.

Sherwani (Hindi: शेरवानी; Urdu: شیروانی‎; Bengali: শেরওয়ানি) is a long coat-like garment worn in the Indian subcontinent, very similar to a British frock coat or a Polish żupan. It was traditionally associated with the aristocracy of the Indian subcontinent. It is worn over a kurta with the combination of either churidar, dhoti, pajama, or a salwar as a lower-body clothing. It can be distinguished from the achkan by the fact that it is shorter in length, is often made from heavier suiting fabrics, and by the presence of a lining.

History

An 18th century British style frock coat, on which the sherwani was based.

The sherwani originated in 18th century British India as the European style court dress of nobles and royals of the Mughal dynasty,[1] before being more generally adopted in the late 18th century. It appeared as a fusion of the British frock coat with the kurta and pajama. It was gradually adopted by rest of the Indian royalty and aristocracy, and later by the general population, as a more evolved form of traditional attire.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the sherwani or achkan is worn by people on formal occasions such as weddings and eid.

India

Jawaharlal Nehru (left) wearing an achkan sherwani.

In India, the achkan sherwani is generally worn for formal occasions in winter, especially by those from Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Jammu, Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad. The achkan sherwani is generally associated with the Hindus while the simple sherwani was historically favored by Muslims. The two garments have significant similarities, though sherwanis typically are more flared at the hips and achkans have are lengthier than simple sherwanis. The achkan later evolved into the Nehru Jacket, which is popular in India and Bangladesh.

The Hyderabadi sherwani was the dress of choice of the Nizam of Hyderabad and Hyderabadi nobles. The Hyderabadi sherwani is longer than normal sherwani, reaching below the knees.[2]

Pakistan

Jinnah (right) addressing the Constituent Assembly on 14 August 1947, wearing a sherwani.

After the independence of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah frequently wore the sherwani and made it the national dress of Pakistan.[3]

Following him, most government officials in Pakistan such as the President and Prime Minister started to wear the formal black sherwani over the shalwar qameez on state occasions and national holidays. But as Dr Tariq Rahman writes about the European style officers that "the impeccably dressed South Asian officers, both civilian and military, never wore in public till the 1970s when Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave respectability to this dress by wearing it in public".[4] However, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq made it compulsory for all officers to wear sherwani on state occasions and national holidays.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, it was generally worn as the formal uniform of Mudaliyars and early Tamil legislators during the British colonial period. The diplomatic service had incorporated its use for formal occasions overseas.

Modern sherwanis

Achkans and sherwanis are worn by many Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi grooms as wedding dress. These garments usually feature detailed embroidery or patterns. One major difference between sherwani wearing habits is the choice of lower garment, while in India, the dress is distinguished by their preference for churidars or dhotis, in Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is mainly worn with shalwar instead.

Sherwanis have been designed by the Indian designer, Rohit Bal for British Airways cabin crews serving on flights to India.

Music director A.R. Rahman appeared in a black sherwani to receive an Academy Award.

See also

Notes

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