Kilts in India

[MacMullen]

I just returned from a month in southern India (Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) and found a couple of things that might interest some of you.

First off, as a lot of you probably know, quite a few of the men there wear the lungi, which is basically a piece of cotton fabric that wraps around the waist and can be worn down to the ankles or can be folded up on itself, knee length, which sort of looks like a kilt. Interestingly, most of the lungis that we saw were tartan. Although, while we were there, I received a black one as a going away gift from some friends.





The second thing that is of interest was the tour of Fort St. George, a former British military post in Chennai that dates back to the 1700's. In one of the museum galleries, I came across two kilts that were worn by military units that were stationed there.

The card next to it reads, "Kilt - Pipe Major and Pipers, Highlanders"


The card reads, "Kilt - Drummers Rank and File, Cameroon Highlanders"