• Punjab: the full salwar, gathered into a cuff (poncha) at the ankle; the Patiala salwar with deep pleats that fall in folds; the older suthan, full above and close below the knee; men’s tehmat, a wrapped cloth, worn for bhangra.
• Kashmir: the long, loose pheran worn over a shalwar or churidar in winter.
• Ladakh: men and women wear warm trousers under the long wool robe (goncha), as in Tibet.
• Lucknow (Awadh): the gharara, fitted from waist to knee, where a decorative band (often gota or zari) covers the join, then flared to the floor, and the farshi pyjama, so long it trails on the floor; men’s Aligarh pyjama, fuller and straighter than a churidar, named after the city’s university.
• Delhi: the churidar under sherwani, achkan and anarkali; the wedding outfit of north India.

• Rajasthan: jodhpurs, riding breeches full at the hip and close from knee to ankle, named after the city of Jodhpur; worn with the bandhgala coat.
• Kutch, Gujarat: some herding communities, including Rabari men, wear the chorno, a trouser gathered tightly at the hip and leg, with the short pleated kediyu jacket.
• Women of Rajasthan and Gujarat mostly wear the ghagra or chaniya (full skirts) with a choli or kanchli; trousers are a modern addition.
• Maharashtra: the dhotar for men; the nauvari, a nine-yard saree tied with a back tuck, for women at festivals and Lavani dance.
• Central India: many rural and Adivasi traditions are draped; trousers came mostly with schooling and town work.

• Karnataka: men wear the panche (dhoti) at home, temple and weddings, sometimes tied as kacche panche with a back tuck; the kurta pyjama for festivals; trousers for work. Women wear sarees and, increasingly, churidar and salwar suits; dhoti pants and palazzos are popular in Bengaluru.
• Kerala: the white mundu for men, folded up to the knee for work; the lungi for home. Women say “churidar” for any salwar suit.
• Tamil Nadu: the veshti, with a coloured border for ceremony; the lungi; trousers for work.
• Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: the pancha; Hyderabad’s court tradition of the khada dupatta (a long dupatta) with kurta and churidar, and the gharara, for brides.
• Muslim communities across the south often wear the kurta pyjama or lungi for men and the salwar suit for women.

• West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand: the dhoti for men, with the panjabi (kurta) and pyjama for festivals; the salwar suit for young women.
• Assam: the dhoti and gamosa for men; women wear the mekhela chador, a wrapped set.
• North-east: women’s dress is mostly wrapped, such as the Manipuri phanek and the Mizo puan. Some Himalayan communities in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh wear trousers under robes, much as in Tibet and Bhutan.

• Pakistan: the shalwar kameez is the national dress for women and men. Regional shalwars differ: very wide in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pathani suit for men, and finely pleated Sindhi forms.
• Afghanistan: men wear the perahan tunban: a long shirt over very wide trousers (tunban) with a drawstring. Women wear wide trousers under long dresses.
• Bangladesh: the lungi for men at home; the pyjama with panjabi for festivals; the salwar kameez and saree for women.
• Nepal: the men’s daura suruwal, a tie-front tunic with suruwal trousers, loose at the seat and close on the lower leg, is national dress.
• Bhutan: the men’s gho and women’s kira are robes and wraps, with knee socks; trousers are modern everyday wear.
• Sri Lanka: the sarong for men; the saree for women; trousers for work and school.

Children wear smaller versions of the local festive trousers: kurta pyjama for boys across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; mini dhoti pants, panche and veshti sets for boys in the south; salwar suits, ghararas and shararas for girls at weddings; Patiala sets for Punjabi girls. Everyday wear is shorts, leggings, joggers and jeans.

• Remember: north stitches, south and east drape, everyone wears the salwar suit now.
• Learn three shapes by feel: salwar (full, gathered), churidar (narrow, bias, wrinkled), gharara (flared from the knee).
• Ask families from other states what their grandparents wore. Write it down: real memories are better than any book.
• Teachers: give each student a region to research and present with one sketch.
• When describing a community’s dress, use its own names and describe it with respect.

• “The gharara and sharara are the same.” The gharara is fitted to the knee, banded there, and flares below it; the sharara flares from the hip or thigh.
• “South Indian men don’t wear trousers.” Most wear trousers for work; the dhoti is for home and ceremony.
• “A churidar is any narrow trouser.” A true churidar is cut on the bias and longer than the leg, so it gathers at the ankle.
• “Jodhpurs are English.” They are named after Jodhpur and were adopted by English riders.

Bengaluru is a city of every region. A customer from Lucknow may ask for a gharara, one from Punjab for a Patiala, one from Kerala for a “churidar” that is really a straight salwar. Learn the names and the regional meanings, and you will understand every order. In class, a region-by-region display of trousers makes a good exhibition.

• Regional summaries are broad; dress differs by community, class, town and village, and changes fast.
• The chorno of Kutch: described in craft and textile writing; details vary between communities.
• Aligarh pyjama: the name’s link to Aligarh Muslim University is widely said.
• Himalayan communities in Sikkim and Arunachal: trousers under robes are reported; specifics differ by community.
• Regional shalwar forms in Pakistan: broadly described; sources differ on details.
• India map: any map must follow the official boundary as published by the Survey of India.
• Main source: D&D ebook Encyclopedia of Trousers for Women, ch. 4, much widened.

• Can you name one women’s and one men’s trouser from Punjab, Lucknow and Rajasthan?
• Can you explain why draped garments lead in the south?
• Do you know the difference between a gharara and a sharara?
• Can you name the national dress of Pakistan and of Nepal?
• Can you name two draped garments that divide the legs?

• Poncha: the ankle cuff of a salwar.
• Tehmat: a Punjabi wrapped lower cloth.
• Gharara: flared legs joined at the knee.
• Farshi pyjama: a floor-sweeping trouser.
• Kacche panche: a Karnataka dhoti tied with a back tuck.
• Tunban, suruwal: Afghan and Nepali trousers.