Farshi Pajama (also Paijama) (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

: , Bengali: ) is a woman's dress that was worn between early 20th centuries in Muslim courts of Oudh by royalty and ladies from privileged classes of Uttar Pradesh (formerly

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1921; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province had been ...

in North India). Modeled after the flowing

gown A gown, from the Saxon word, ''gunna'', is a usually loose outer garment from knee-to-full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the term ''gown ...

s worn by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

noblewomen, the complete outfit consists of three basic parts – the kurta or a long shirt, the

dupatta The dupattā is a Hindu shawl traditionally worn by women in Indian subcontinent to cover the head and shoulders. The dupatta is currently used most commonly as part of the women's shalwar kameez outfit, and worn over the kurta and the gharara. ...

or the long stole (an essential piece in traditional Indian wear covering the head and chest), and the third and most important, the farshi pajama, which is a flowing two-legged skirt held by drawstrings. It falls straight to the ankles from where it starts flaring flowing copiously onto the floor. The farshi pajama in this era is often called Farshi Gharara, a term not used before the mid-20th century and is considered a distortion. The confusion is said to be because of the Farshi Pajama's similarity with the

Gharara A gharara (Urdu: , Hindi: ग़रारा, Bengali: ঘারারা) is a traditional Lucknowi outfit, traditionally worn by Muslim women of the Hindi-Urdu Belt region of India. It consists of a kurti (a short, mid-thigh length tunic), a ...

. Farshi means "associated with the "farsh" or floor (for example ''farshi baithak'' which is associated with sitting on the floor). When combined with the word Pajama, the term evolves to mean a bottom-wear garment that falls generously on the floor and trails as one walks. In reality, when walking, an expert wearer holds the dress by carefully pulling up and folding the excess flaring trail and holding it in her left hand, keeping the right one free. The large quantity (historically, 9–15 yards) of expensive cloth, embroidered using the art of

goldwork (embroidery) Goldwork is the art of embroidery using metal threads. It is particularly prized for the way light plays on it. The term "goldwork" is used even when the threads are imitation gold, silver, or copper. The metal wires used to make the threads have ...

and

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. '' Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, i ...

wire threads ( Karchob/ Zari/ Zardozi etc.), used to make a farshi gharara mainly reflects the grandeur and extravagance of the nobles and rulers of that era. Different eras brought changes to the fashion and cuts of the dress. These variations were also dependent from one princely state's court to another. Modified, smaller-length versions are still, but rarely, worn by women in weddings in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

to recreate bygone elegance. Movies such as '' Umrao Jaan'' (1981) and ''

Shatranj Ke Khilari ''Shatranj Ke Khilari'', also subtitled and later internationally released with the translated title ''The Chess Players'', is a 1977 Indian film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name ...

'' (1977) that depict Muslim culture of 19th-century Lucknow show noblewomen and royal courtesans wearing farshi pajamas.

References

17th-century fashion 18th-century fashion 19th-century fashion 20th-century fashion Dresses Indian clothing Bangladeshi clothing Pakistani clothing {{fashion-stub