Hats Off

When Dadasaheb Dashrath More decided to replace his white topi, worn by three generations of his family, with the more colourful nine-yard pheta (turban), sniggers greeted his decision. A month later not only the men in his family, but friends and neighbours in the village have switched over to pheta. That was two years ago.

Today, in the More household and its off-shoots, the pheta has been unofficially crowned the traditional headgear for family functions and other auspicious days. For the rural areas in Maharashtra the transition from the simple topi, popularly known as the Gandhi topi, to the more elaborate pheta is not a minor change. Considering the topi’s pride of place in rural and semi-urban wardrobes, it is as good as defending the identity of Maharashtra. It’s a well known fact— when you see a Gandhi topi you know you’re in Maharashtra.

Following the transition, the topi is fading out from the wardrobes of even the state’s politicians. What once symbolised a politician’s bonding with the villagers they visited and interacted with, is now on an exit march.

The 70-year-old curator of Gandhi Darshan at Kora Kendra in Borivali, Shashikant Shah, agrees that the villages of Maharashtra are taking to the pheta in a big way. ‘‘Lack of advertising has decreased the popularity of the Gandhi topi. On the other hand television has made pheta a household name in the villages. Topi was a symbol of revolution and the pheta is seen as a symbol or royalty. So, when dressing styles changed the headgear also changed,’’ says Shah.

Says 38 year old Vasantrao Bhausaheb Dhangat, resident of Khed and a pheta convert, ‘‘I wear long kurtas and narrow cut pyjamas, so I thought the pheta is more stylish. It gives one a powerful personality.’’ Wrong, says corruption crusader and one of the active proponents of the Gandhi topi Anna Hazare. ‘‘The topi is the symbol of our freedom. The runaway acceptance in the villages gave it a different dimension. Even in the villages people want something more fashionable, so pheta is the natural choice,’’ says Hazare. So would he trade the topi for the pheta? The answer is an emphatic no.

The topi is now worn by Maharashtra politicians only during election campaigns—otherwise it is the elite pheta they have all settled for. Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar prefers the Kolhapuri pheta, while Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi dons a plain saffron pheta with zari work at functions. Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is keen on the Rajasthani chundari pheta, his deputy Chhagan Bhujbal likes the Kolhapuri pheta, while Bharatiya Janata Party vice president and Maharashtra state unit president Gopinath Munde prefers the green and saffron striped pheta.

Elaborating on the mass appeal of the topi Shah says it is one of the biggest tribute to a man who never wore it. ‘‘It came to be known as the Gandhi topi though Gandhiji wore a nine yard Kathiawadi turban. During his struggle to help the poor, a Britisher told Gandhiji that he only talked and did not preach what he practised. A stunned leader asked him for an explanation. The Britisher pointed out that three shirts could be made out of the nine-yard turban. Gandhiji gave it up and wore a topi very briefly. He later gave that up too saying it was not needed,’’ says Shah. ‘‘Though Jawaharlal Nehru wore it more it came to be known as the Gandhi topi.’’

While the topi is either made with less than a metre khadi, exclusive pheta manufacturers are located at Ichalkaranji in Maharashtra, Pali in Bihar and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. While people in the Marathawada and Khandesh regions prefer pink phetas, western Maharashtra likes the Chundari— the colourful bandhani variety. Red is a popular colour in Solapur district, in Sangli and Kolhapur maroon or brown rule.

Significantly, in the political circles of Maharashtra the Gandhi topi is worn only by Congressmen. While the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders wear the lehari pheta—yellow, green and saffron stripes —the Shiv Sena leaders wear saffron pheta with slight zari work, says Girish Padmakar Murudkar, a third generation pheta maker from Pune.

Since the styles of politicians are the benchmark of high fashion in Maharashtra, the already waning influence of the topi may fade away altogether as the state’s younger crop of hip brand-loyal politicians prefer the pheta.