Dhoti

The dhoti, also known as veshti, mardani, chaadra, dhontar, jaiñboh & panchey, is a type of sarong, fastened in between the legs in a manner that it outwardly resembles trousers, sometimes loose but other tighter fittings are worn as well. It is a lower garment forming part of the folk costume for men in the Indian subcontinent. The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually around long, wrapped around the waist and the legs and knotted, either in the front or the back. The dhoti is touted as the male counterpart of the saari worn by females to religious and secular ceremonies (functions). Pitambar is a yellow silk dhoti worn on auspicious occasions. The dhoti worn over the lower waist and drawn up in between the legs, is a 5-yard-long piece of woven fabric; it must not be confused with prestitched "dhoti pants", which are a new ready to wear trend these days, popular among women and typical of children. The word dhoti is derived from dhauti (Sanskrit: धौती), translated "to cleanse" or "to wash". In the context of clothing, it simply refers to the cleansed garment which was worn as part of everyday attire The dhoti evolved from the ancient antriya which was passed through the legs, tucked at the back and covered the legs loosely, then flowed into long pleats at front of the legs, the same way it is worn today as formal dhoti. While a casual and short dhoti wraps around both legs firmly, in this style the back side of the dhoti is pulled to the front and tucked at the waist, before tucking the two loose ends at back, creating firmly fitted trouser-like dhoti that wraps around both legs. This style is more commonly worn by farmers and martial artists. The garment is known by various names based on language, such as: The pancha is worn by many conservative Jain men when they visit Derasars or Basadis for puja; unstitched clothing is believed by some Jains to be "less permeable to pollution" and therefore more appropriate for religious rituals than other garments.