elegant burkha

Afshan, is a third-year MBBS student is a resident of Wallajah Road. She does not wear a burkha usually. She has however chosen to buy an abaya or burkha from Saudi Arabia, where she was born. She delightedly shows off the intricate embellishment of maroon sequins sewn on the sleeves and hem of her burkha. “Wearing an adorned burkha on social occasions is more of a fashion statement than a compulsion,” said Afshan.

A burkha shopper’s paradise, Triplicane High Road is dotted more than ten shops which sell burkhas. Exquisitely embellished black burkhas slung on hangers adorn the entrance to these shops. Burkhas with heavy embroidery, sequin work and embossed crystals are selling like hot-cakes in Chennai. “I sell around 10 of these adorned black garments per day,” said Imtiaz Ahmed, owner of the first exclusive burkha shop in Chennai, the Burkha Collection, which was opened fifteen years ago on Triplicane High Road. Adam’s Collection and Ar Rayyan are two new burkha shops that have opened here in the last three months.

According to Ahmed, college girls prefer sequin work or bead work in bright colours on their burkhas; they also prefer the outer garment with a cut that complements their figure without being provocative.

Some women, however, follow a more conservative path and wear strictly plain-black burkhas. Fatima Akbar, a homemaker and a resident of Triplicane, feels that decorations and body-hugging cuts completely undermine the religious meaning of the burkha, which symbolises modesty in Muslim women. Her eight-year-old daughter was clad in a cream coloured hijab, or head scarf, and a small black burkha.

While the conventional plain black burkha is still a norm among older Muslim women, Ahmed informed that over the last five years, even they now seem to favour brightly adorned burkhas. These burkhas are worn only during weddings and social functions.
“Coloured  abayas, almost always made of synthetic chiffon with heavy work, are preferred by the Tamil speaking Muslim ladies from Tirunelveli and Madurai while Urdu speaking Muslims adhere to austere black,” said Muneer, a wholesale burkha supplier on Triplicane High Road, who has been in the business for 16 years. “We supply burkhas to all parts of Tamil Nadu,” said Muneer.

Of course, every additional touch of beauty to a plain black cloth comes at an added price. The more embellished burkhas are priced between Rs. 1100 – Rs. 6000 at Ness, a shop selling burkhas and hijabs in City Centre. While the basic black burkhas cost Rs. 500 at Ness, they only cost Rs. 300 in shops on Triplicane High Road. The imported abayas, however, can cost anytwhere between Rs. 900 and Rs. 2800.

The cost of a burkha also depends on the pattern and fabric. An abaya, which is usually  what a burkha is called in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, gets a new definition in India. Here, burkhas which can be buttoned on the left collar-bone of the wearer is called an abaya.

Single-coti patterned burkhas have an opening in the front, while maxi burkhas are patterned like frocks, without any opening on the front or in the sides.

The double-coti or the double piece burkha which has an ankle length inner layer is setting a trend in Chennai with its elegant body-fitting cut. This pattern may cost a little more since four meters of crepe or georgette fabric are stitched into a single burkha.

Imported crepe-georgette abayas are especially popular among the women in Chennai, due to their rich black shade and weightlessness. “A burkha from Saudi Arabia or Dubai is a prized possession among the women in the city,” said Afser Jehan who runs an exclusive burkha shop named Ar Rayyan, with her spouse, in Triplicane. The stunningly embellished burkhas here cost between Rs. 900 and Rs. 4000.

Whether embossed with crystals or not, Muslim girls in Chennai love wearing burkhas, especially those with little splash of colour. These girls are working out a balance in their dressing without compromising the religious tenets of Islam.