The Kurta

(Picture1890, Kashmir)

कुरता kurtā: a collarless shirt-McGregor's Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary.

According to author Roshen Alkazi, stitched (i.e. cut and sewn) attire came to South Asia from Central Asia. There was a trickle during the Scythian/Parthian/Kushan invasions of the late ancient period, which markedly increased after the incursions of Mahmud of Ghazni, the floodgates opening with the Muslim conquests of the late 12th century until the kurta became an item of common attire during the Mughal period.

In the Ghaznavid period, we have only one clear visual reference to their actual costume, those worn by the Mamluk (slave) palace guards of Mahmud of Ghazni, in the wall paintings of Lashkari Bazaar in Afghanistan. They wear rich patterned textiles. This was a mid-calf length tunic with long narrow sleeves. The opening is from right to left and has a small loop for closing it higher at the left shoulder. This closing at the left shoulder was one of the earliest forms of neck closing and a relic of this is still seen in the Russian tunic and in the contemporary kurtas used in certain parts of India, both of which close at the left shoulder

The kurta is traditionally made of cotton or silk. It is worn plain or with embroidered decoration, such as chikan; and it can be loose or tight in the torso, typically falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer. The sleeves of a traditional kurta fall to the wrist without narrowing, the ends hemmed but not cuffed; the kurta can be worn by both men and women;

A traditional kurta is composed of rectangular fabric pieces with perhaps a few gusset inserts and is cut so as to leave no waste fabric. The cut is usually simple, although decorative treatments can be elaborate.

Victoria and Albert Museum

The front and back pieces of a simple kurta are also rectangular. The side seams are left open for 6-12 inches above the hem, also referred to as the chāk, which gives the wearer some ease of movement. (Note: chāk derives from the Persian "چاك ćāk, Fissure, cleft, rent, slit, a narrow opening intentionally left in clothes).

The kurta usually opens in the front; some styles, however, button at the shoulder seam. The front opening is often a hemmed slit in the fabric, tied or buttoned at the top; some kurtas, however, have plackets rather than slits. The opening may be centred on the chest or positioned off the centre.

A traditional kurta does not have a collar.

Kurtas are typically fastened with tasselled ties, cloth balls, and loops, or buttons. Buttons are often wood or plastic. Kurtas worn on formal occasions might feature decorative metal buttons, which are not sewn to the fabric, but, like cufflinks, are fastened into the cloth when needed. Such buttons can be decorated with jewels, enamelling, and other traditional jewellery.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Regional styles

The Bhopali kurta (taking its name from Bhopal) is a loose kurta with pleats at the waist, flowing like a skirt reaching midway between the knees and the ankles. It is worn with a straight pyjama.

The Hyderabadi kurta is named after the former royal state of Hyderabad and is a short top that sits around the waist, with a keyhole neck opening. It was popular with the local royal households. Traditionally, the Hyderabadi kurta was of white material but modern versions can be of any colour. Over the kurta, some versions have net material, the combination of which is called jaali karga, worn by men and women. 

Victoria and Albert Museum

The traditional Lucknowi kurta can either be short or long, using as much as 12 yards of cloth. The traditional Lucknowi kurta styles have an overlapping panel. However, the term "Lucknowi kurta" now applies to the straight-cut kurta embroidered using local Chikan embroidery. 

Another style is the kali or kalidar kurta which is similar to a frock and has many panels. The kalidar kurta is made up of several geometrical pieces. It has two rectangular central panels in the back and the front. The kali kurta is worn by men and women.

The straight-cut traditional kurta is known as a punjabi in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The use of side slits in the straight cut kurta can be traced to the 11th century C.E.Worn in parts of north India was a short shirt, with sleeves extending from the shoulders to the middle of the body, and had slashes on the left and the right sides. This is the same as the modern straight cut kurta which has side slits and worn by women in Punjab.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Local embroidery designs give a regional outlook to the traditional kurta. In Assam, the Punjabi is worn with a scarf (Gamosa) using local prints. Other designs include Bengali Kantha embroidery; Multani crocheted designs of Multan (Punjab, Pakistan); the Phulkari kurta using the Phulkari embroidery of the Punjab region; Bandhani tye-dyeing of the Cholistan Desert; Delhi style kurtas which include the wooden beaded kurta and a kurta heavily laden with embroidery; and the Sindhi kurta made out of heavy local material called rilli. Sindhi kurtas utilise mirrors and the local art of bandhani (creating patterned textiles by resisting parts of fabric by tying knots on it before it is dyed)- believed to have spread to Gujarat via Rajasthan

The traditional Punjabi kurta of the Punjab region is wide and falls to the knees and is cut straight. The modern version of the regional kurta is the Mukatsari kurta which originates from Muktsar in Punjab. This modern Punjabi kurta is famous for its slim-fitting cuts

Kurti

In modern usage, a short kurta for women is referred to as the kurti. However, traditionally, the Kurti refers to waistcoats, jackets and blouses which sit above the waist without side slits, and are believed to have descended from the tunic of the Shunga period (2nd century B.C.). Kurtis are typically much shorter than traditional garments and made with lighter materials.

kurta, A shirt worn outside the drawers; a frock, a kind of tunic; a waistcoat or jacket." Platt's, A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English, 1884

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