VARANASI, July 29, 2013: With the time, the dressing trend of Kanwariyas, who move miles on foot to offer Jalabhishek at prominent temples of Lord Shiva during Shrawan month, has undergone a vast change.

The modern day Kanwariyas prefer bermudas and T-shirts instead of the raditional attire of dhoti-kurta for the sake of comfort during the journey. These western outfits are generally prepared of lycra, which, being a light material, takes less time to dry and is much less in weight too.

"Some 10 year ago, Kanwariyas used to don traditional attires, but now with more youngsters involved, the demand for modern attires has set in. As for them, the journey is more about travelling and camping, they look for comfortable clothes for an easy journey," said Sunil Kumar, a wholesaler of thematic clothes at Rajadarwaja market.

"Most of these clothes come from Kolkata and Mumbai. There are Chinese T-shirts too with multicolour offset prints of gods and goddesses and Sanskrit hymns," he added.

With thousands of Kanwariyas, who have reached the city to offer Jalabhishek to Lord Shiva on the first Monday of Shrawan month, markets have come up with a huge variety of designer and thematic dresses for Kanwariyas this year.

Although, for women Kanwariyas, the dress goes still in traditional style mainly omprising of salwar kameez and sarees, men demand six-pocket trousers, track pants, cargo, bermudas and T-shirts. Kanwariya costumes even for kids are available in the market.

"Though, only a few number of kids are involved in the journey but many people buy saffron coloured clothes for their kids," informed Babloo, a shopkeeper at Dashaswamedh road.Considering the huge demand of saffron clothes in the holy month of Shrawan, several makeshift shops have also sprouted in the city. If the shopkeepers in the city are to be believed, the sale and purchase of Shrawan accessories amounts to Rs 1 crore every year.

Sandeep, a shopkeeper said, although, the sale of clothes is not much among Kanwariyas in the city once they set off for they journey, but the city tops the region for supplying clothes to adjoining districts and states.

The business generally starts about 40 to 45 days before the beginning of Shrawan month. Apart from the clothes, accessories, specially designed for Kanwariyas are also available in the market.

Different varieties of bags, backpacks, carry bags, pouch and sacks are available in the market for different requirements of the market. Vijay, a vendor selling hand bags and pouches for Kanwariyas at Dashaswamedh road said, "in order to avoid pick-pocketing, devotees prefer pouch and sacks attached with belts to storeb their valuables and cash along with mobile and other useful things."

A unique cap with a hidden pocket to keep cash and valuables has also arrived in the market, he informed. These bags, caps and pouches etc are prepared by the tailors in the city itself."Tailors start preparing these bags especially for Kanwariyas, about a month before Shrawan. The well prepared stock is then transported to entire area of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and adjoining districts of Bihar. Some of these are also purchased by foreign tourists and backpackers who arrive in the city during this month," Vijay added.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 29, 2013.