Originally worn as a symbol of modesty, Indian women currently wear it as a simply decorative accessory, traditionally placed over their shoulders and wrapping around the head and also as a layer around the torso.

Beautifully embroidered or made with a contrasting pattern on linen, cotton, silk, and other materials, the dupatta is manufactured of different colors to complement the attire.

The first vestiges of these outfit date back to the old civilization of the Indian Valley, according to a sculpture of a king-priest whose left shoulder is covered by a kind of chaddar, a cloth to cover the head of Muslim and Hindu women, suggesting that the emergence of dupatta dates back to early Indian culture.

Archaic Sanskrit literature includes a word stock of terms for veils and scarfs worn by women in the south of Asia during that past period, such as the avagunthana (cloak-veil), the uttariya (shoulder veil), the mukha-pata (face veil) and the siro-vastra (head veil) and the dupatta is believed to have evolved from the old uttariya.

In today’s fashion, the dupatta is often placed over one shoulder, or even just over the arms, but there is no single way to wear it, as it is also hung around the neck and draped over the back.

Some women wear two garments of this type, one to cover the head and the other over the shoulders, and it is better if they are of different colors. In another style, there are Indians who place the dupatta around their hips, giving it a full turn so that the fabric falls loosely down the back.

Another way of wearing it is for the veil to cover the head, while one end falls down the front and ends up draped over one shoulder while the other end is draped over one arm.

Indian and South Asian women also place the useful dupatta around the head to protect themselves from choking air pollution or simply to hide from intense sunshine.

Taken from Orbe

By Alfredo Boada Mola, Chief Correspondent/New Delhi