Thread it from trad to haute couture

The janeu – sacred thread – like a pair of Aviator glasses or a branded pair of jeans, is a sought-after piece of accessory. Or, it should be. There are some legacy issues. Wearing a janeu means ticking a few boxes, all of which are caste-related. Perhaps one can sidestep that without breaking its ‘sacredness’. In (‘decadent’) Western culture, a Black or a White or person wearing a bindi is cited as ‘cultural appropriation’ – along the lines of Brown people wearing ties, which somehow never gets nabbed by the same ‘attire police’. The fact of the matter is, the multiple threads, worn like a holster across the shoulder, should be male haute couture. That details in the Manusmriti may be holding it back does it injustice.

The diagonal positioning of nine threads and a single knot – and, if one is not a bachelor, three knots – is stylish, yet-undiscovered beyond the Upanayan landscape. Traditionally, it’s a brahmanic, not necessarily brahmanical – in the same sense that the LBD is a D (dress), without being spectrally stapled to B (black). Like yoga is too precious to be kept under the hangars of yogis, the janeu, too, should, in its form as a secular accessory, be available to all and sundry. Surely, it would be lovely to spread the fashion quotient of something a few wear, to more people who can appreciate – or afford – it.