Punjabi Tamba and Kurta

Punjabi kurta and tehmat

Milk vendor with typical traditional brass containers, Gagar, used in Majha Region of Punjab wearing traditional clothes

The tamba, which is also called tehmat[1][2] is the Punjabi version of the lungi which has folds at the front and is the traditional dress for Punjabi men. The tamba is worn by Bhangra dancers. Although the use of the Punjabi tehmat in East Punjab has declined in recent years, being replaced by the pyjama, men can be seen wearing the tehmat and its use has not completely stopped.[3] The tamba or the lungi can also be seen on Punjabi men in West Punjab[4][5] and the Punjabi men of adjoining Hazara, Pakistan (in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).[6] A tehmat is of one colour and has no border. The tehmat or laacha can be long reaching to the heels. It can also be short to just below the knees.[7]

A laacha differs from the tehmat in that it has a border and is variegated so that it has more than one colour.[8] The laacha is popular in West Punjab.[9] The laacha is worn in a like manner to the tehmat except it has more folds. Women in some parts of Punjab wear the tehmat and the laacha, especially the districts of Gujarat, Gujranwala, Shahpur and Muzzafargarh.[10]

The term kurta is a generic term to cover different types of upper garments worn by men. Kurta refers to the upper garments worn in South Asia inspired from garments worn by Central Asian Turks who spread their use beyond their region, reaching the Indian sub-continent.[27]

The traditional male attire for men in India consisted of the dhoti and an unstitched[28] cloth draped around the shoulders extended to cover the upper body.[29][30][31]

However, men in North India especially Rajasthan and the Punjab region[32] wore the jama of the Rajput type, the chola (robe)[33] (which in the Punjab region remained popular in some parts as recent as the 1980s),[34] the Mughal jama and the angarkha as upper garments, which eventually led to different versions of the kurta being developed, such as the Punjabi angarkha, Punjabi kurta, the Gujarati angarkha and the Rajasthani angarkha, also termed ‘kurta’.[35] A non region specific angarkha is also worn in various areas such as in Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The Punjabi kurta also draws inspiration from the Mughal kurta,[36][37] which was in common use in the region.[38] However, The Mughal kurta was much looser than the Punjabi kurta, had no side slits and the upper part of the Mughal kurta was also very loose.

The other inspiration for the Punjabi kurta is the Punjabi angarkha which was called the old kurta in the early 20th century A.D.[39] and is a loose tunic[40] which falls to below the knees.[41]

During the 11th century C.E., AL Biruni noted[42] women in north India wore the kurtaka which was a short shirt, with sleeves extending to the shoulders, to the middle of the body, and had slashes on the left and the right sides.[43] Thiis similar to the modern Punjabi kurta worn by women[44] and men which has side slits rather than slashes. The use of shirts and trousers was earlier observed in the Punjab region in the 7th century by Hsuan Tsang and I-Tsing.[45]

In modern usage, a short kurta is referred to as the kurti. However, traditionally, the kurti is a short cotton coat[46][47] (without side slits) and is believed to have descended from the tunic of the Shunga period (2nd century B.C.).[48] The kurti is front opening and is buttoned. Traditionally, a chain of gold or silver called zanjiri is woven into the buttons.[49] The use of the kurti by women has been noted during the 1600s[50][51] to the present day. The kurti can be front opening from below the neck to the waist, or cover the back but leave the stomach exposed. Some styles fasten at the back or are worn as pullovers with no side slits and font opening.

The kurti also forms part of male dress as a waist coat worn over the kurta.[52]

Before the use of the kurta, people in Jammu traditionally wore the peshwaj[53] which flowed to the ankles. However, the traditional attire now is the kurta and Dogri pajjamma. The use of the kurta was very rare in Kashmir until Kashyap Bandhu encouraged its use in the 1930s cultural revolution.[54]