Nehru Collars

Taking its inspiration and name from the clothing of former Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the collar stands straight up from your shirt or jacket, has slightly rounded edges and doesn’t quite meet when fastened together. It is also referred to as the Mandarin Collar.

The Nehru jacket is a variation of the Jodhpuri where the material is often khadi (handwoven cloth). The Jodhpuri itself is an evolution from the Angarkha. Also called Bandhgalas which literally means closed neck.

Unlike the achkan, which falls somewhere below the knees of the wearer, the Nehru jacket is shorter. Jawaharlal Nehru, notably, never wore a Nehru jacket.

 

The strangest part of the story is that Nehru had never worn the popular, modified ones named after him, but always preferred the traditional models more akin to Achkan or Sherwani which are longer.

The jacket began to be marketed as the Nehru jacket in Europe and America in the mid-1960s. It was briefly popular there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, its popularity spurred by the growing awareness of elite foreign cultures, by the minimalism of the Mod lifestyle and, in particular, by the Beatles and subsequently the Monkees.

The Jodhpuri and Angarkha

A Jodhpuri suit or Bandhgala suit is a formal suit from India. It originated in the Jodhpur State and was popularized during mid 19th - mid 20th century in India. It consists of a coat and trousers, sometimes accompanied by a vest. It brings together a shorter cut with hand-embroidery. Normally, the material is lined at the collar and at the buttons with embroidery. 

History

Angarkha (Sanskrit: अंगरक्षक, anga-rakshaka 'body protector')

Angarkha is considered the predecessor of the Bandhgala. An angrakha was a traditional court outfit in ancient and classical India that a person could wrap comfortably around and offering flexible ease with the knots and ties. Bandhgala emerged as a shortened version. Somehow Humans need formality so Bandhgala quickly became a popular formal and semi-formal uniform across Rajasthan and eventually throughout India. Formal wear such as the Bandhgala are evolutions of a costume legacy that is 6,000 years old.

The development of the first-ever Jodhpuri suit was accidental. The design was due to a wardrobe malfunction of Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jodhpur, whose luggage went missing when he was on a tour of England. 

Maharaja Pratap Singh went to London to attend the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria. The vessel which had Maharaja’s attire disappeared on the course of the journey. However, the Maharaja chose not to wear Western attire for the occasion. He himself designed the new attire and got it stitched from a Savile Row tailor.  When asked what the garments he ordered were called, Maharaja misunderstanding the question replied “Jodhpur”. 

The Nehru Rose

Pandit Nehru wore a red rose every day. His wife Kamala Devi passed away when he was 50. The Rose became his daily memorial to her. Their only son survived only a week. Their daughter was Indira Gandhi

Credits

Rajanyas

Wikipedia

Medium.com

Sabafatima

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