Wearing a Panchakacham is more than putting on a traditional outfit; it’s about embracing culture, tradition, discipline, and devotion. Wearing Panchakacham is an art; that holds deep significance in tradition, symbolising purity and respect. Have you ever wondered how to wear Panchakacham? You’re in the right place! Whether you get ready for a religious ceremony or want to honour tradition, mastering the art of wearing Panchakacham is easy. At first, it may sound challenging, but with the right guidance, patience, and a little practice, you can wear Panchakacham like a pro. The blog is a comprehensive guide on correctly wearing Panchakacham. Let’s explore the steps to ensure you wear it correctly and gracefully.

What is a Panchakacham?

Before learning how to wear Panchakacham, let’s first know what it is. So, what is panchakacham? A panchakacham is a traditional garment for men. It has a big rectangular piece of unstitched fabric, which is folded knotted at the waist and draped around the legs. Panchakacham is worn for special occasions, like marriage ceremonies, religious events, festivities, and formal get-togethers. Since the Pancha is a big piece of cloth, knowing how to drape and tie it can be challenging if you have not worn it earlier. But can master the art of wearing it with proper guidance and practice.

The Panchakacham has different names in different Indian states. Commonly, it is called dhoti, but it has other names, some of which are as follows:

• Lacha (Punjabi)
• Dhuti (Bengali)
• Panache (Kannada)
• Veshti (Tamil)
• Pancha (Telugu)
• Mundu or veshti (Kerala)
• Dhoti (Marathi)

How to Wear Panchakacham: A Step-By-Step Guide

By now, you have understood what panchakacham is. It’s time to learn and grasp how to wear Panchakacham. You can wear it in 2 ways: Brahmin Style and Vrindavan Style. Both these styles are explained in detail below:

Brahmin Style Panchakacham

There are different ways of wearing Panchakacham, and Brahmins have special variations. To wear Brahmin-style Panchakacham, follow the steps mentioned below:

• Step 1: Hold the garment horizontally behind you. Ensure that the coloured bands are at the top facing outwards.
• Step 2: Drape the garment from the back to the front and hold the fabric on the front. Ensure you have an equal amount of the cloth on both sides.
• Step 3: With the fabric from the left, pull and drape it around your waist. Hold the fabric on your waist’s right side, and allow the excess part of the cloth to flow down to the ground.
• Step 4: Drape the fabric from the right side around your hip and hold it at the left side. Pull the cloth so it comfortably snugs around your hip.
• Step 5: Now pick the part hanging on your waist’s left side and fold the cloth back towards your body. Make 3 neat folds. Ensure that all the folds are smooth and not twitched or bunched up.
• Step 6: Grab the folds, bring them from the back to the front through your legs, and pull them over the top of the cloth tucked in at your waist.
• Step 7: Finally, bring the top of the folds, and tuck it at your waist. Ensure that the folds are even and neat

Vrindavan Style Panchakacham

The Vrindavan style is another way of wearing Panchakacham. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to wear Panchakacham in Vrindavan style:

• Step 1: Hold Panchakacham horizontally behind you. Drape the garment around your waist, and bring it to the front. Adjust the garment and ensure you have equal portions of the cloth on both sides.
• Step 2: Pull the cloth around your body. Hold the fabric in such a way that you have sufficient fabric to drape around, and tie a knot at the navel. Let the remaining fabric hang.
• Step 3: Grab the cloth from the left side, hold the top-left corner, bend down, and hold the bottom left corner.
• Step 4: Release the top corner and make pleats. Fold the material backwards towards the top corner on the left side, so you can fold that corner on the fabric itself.
• Step 5: Keep holding the folded part so the folds don’t come off. Now pull the folded fabric through your legs, and tuck the fold into your waist at the centre of your back.
• Step 6: Grab the cloth on the knot’s right-hand side. Hold the top right corner, and make 6 pleats so you can fold the fabric back on itself.
• Step 7: Fold the fabric on the right side of the knot and tuck it at your waist.
• Step 8: Now it’s time to tuck the pleated fabric again. Hold the first 2 layers of the folded fabric from the front. Hold these layers to the height of your upper thighs. Fold the pleated fabric towards your waist, and tuck it slightly off-centre.

How to Wear Panchakacham and Style It?

Now you have learnt how to wear Panchakacham, it’s time to understand how you style it and make a fashion statement. Here is how you can style your outfit and elevate your traditional look:

• First of all, choose the colour and fabric. Since panchakacham is available in various colours like white, cream, black, saffron, and blue and materials like cotton, art silk, and ready-made garments, choosing the right one is necessary.
• Panchakacham is worn on several occasions, including weddings, festive celebrations, religious ceremonies, cultural events, and traditional family occasions. So, know when and how to wear Panchakacham so you can style your look and stand out.
• You can pair your pachakacham with a kurta, Angavastram or the chokka as you like. Do you want to opt for a typical and elegant South Indian traditional look? Go for Angavastram or the chokka, which are unstitched cloth pieces. You can drape them around your shoulders and make a fashion statement. Or if you want to opt for a North Indian look pair your pachakacham with a kurta.

Conclusion

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