The literature of Nama Sahit and traditional Punjabi dress

نامہ ساہت تے پنجابی پہراوے

Abstract

This study examines various literary works known as clothing namas that reflect the social and cultural aura of British India, considering various articles related to clothing, these writings express profound concerns regarding gender roles, ethical values, class tensions and changing cultural values.  The BURQA NAMA for example reveals the contradiction experienced by a woman who intends to wear burqa but restriction imposed on her by her husband to not wear it. KHADDAR NAMA reflects the spirits of swadeshi movement which not only encourages the use of local fabric but also reject to foreign imports. Moreover, the GHAGRI NAMA criticize the moral downfall related to the arrival of modern government facilities such as electricity and water taps. The DHOTI NAMA express the loss of traditional culture as people adopt new fashions morally out of imitation. Finally, the SARHI NAMA focuses the class-based aspiration specifically the lower-class woman wishing to ambulate the dressing style of wealthy woman. Inclusively, these namas show that clothing is not merely a collection of fabric. It is a deeper cultural symbol to which society express issues of identify modernity, cultural ethics and social standards.