LAUNCHARI - The Pride of a Gaddan

Gaddan - Painting by Sir Sobha Singh

My beautiful friend - Shweta with little Ashwith

Gaddans of Bharmour - Internet

During my early days of living in Dharamshala one of the images that got imprinted on my mind – was the painting of a village girl by Sir Sobha Singh – titled Gaddan -  with her sheep, her kambal (quilt) and sweet expressions against the backdrop of snow clad mountains. Gaddi – people who rear sheep, sell wool and lead a nomadic lifestyle. They are considered to be humble, hardworking, with a natural sense of hilarity and steeped in traditional ways of living and dressing. Theirs is a remarkable race with a distinct identity in Himachal. They arouse curiosity in many ways.

For me what caught my attention was the beautiful dress and jewellery of the Gaddan women and their smiles – definitely the most colorful and beautiful in Himachal. The Gaddi jewellery is now the trade mark of Himachal

With my interest in everything traditional; I obviously yearned to wear it myself someday. The opportunity came when I visited Chamba last year and my young sweet friend Shweta Devgan arranged the entire costume for both of us and what an experience it turned out to be.

Now a little about Gaddis – who are they?

Gaddi is a semi pastoral nomadic tribe who mainly live in Himachal and Jammu. They are basically transhumant with majority having their homes in Bharmour (sub division of Chamba). With changing times some have left their pastoral lifestyle and have joined government jobs and other professions but still maintain their linkages with their tribe and their native place. Gaddi is a generic term for variety of castes – mainly Brahmins and Rajputs and some other castes as well. They migrate from higher altitude to lower for want of better fodder as according to the weather conditions. Have deep knowledge of mountain systems, medicinal herbs, local flora and fauna and are quiet in sync with nature.

And where have they come from?

If we look into the history of Gaddis - there are three or four theories about their origin, but the most accepted is that the ancestors of the present day Gaddis probably were nomadic pastoral community of Indian plains who mainly lived around Barmer area of Rajasthan. With Muslim invasions increasing they initially took refuge in Kangra valley, but as Kangra itself was not safe from Muslims; they probably crossed over to Chamba and Bharmour and also to Jammu for a safer place to stay with their flock. Their Rajasthan connect is very much evident in their dress – hand printed colorful cloth, use of mirrors, embroidery, cowries and shells - so unlike rest of Himachal.

Gaddis have many distinctive features to write about – but this blog is dedicated to Launchari – the formal female attire of Gaddi women and their jewellery.

Launchari and its uniqueness -

Gaddi women mostly wear salwar kameez – but their formal dress – Launchari - is simply gorgeous and unique and worn on all occasions – happy or sad. It is the dress for a married woman and is gifted from both sides - the bride and the groom's family. It is a full pleated long skirt or lehnga with a top of different color stitched to it as a one piece dress. The waist is accentuated with a black woolen rope – known as dori. The dress is ornamented with embroidered lace (earlier hand embroidery) and mirrors and shells. The Gaddi women wear it with lots of pride irrespective of the fact whether they are nomadic or not. It’s almost mandatory to wear it  during weddings in the family. 

Wearing it with full jewellery- the Gaddi women look like queens, they feel like queens of their homes and portray the deep bond of the community with their culture and heritage. 

The full swirl of the skirt 

Design and Fabric - 

Though Bharmour is a cold area but Launchari mainly is made of cotton cloth with a particular style of prints. The reason as stated by historian Mr. O. C. Handa, is that the ancestors of present day Gaddi women in their native Rajasthan used a particular type of hand printed cotton fabric dyed by Chhimbas caste of Barmer. With the exodus of Gaddi tribes, some of the Chhimbas also moved and settled in Jammu region and also in Shapur – Hatli to cater to the needs of Gaddi community. The Gaddi women are so fascinated by this hand printed cloth that they use it for their traditional dress and why not – for this provides them the uniqueness.

Launcharis are also made with woollen cloth and plain fabric for winters and for sad occasions. These are layered with colourful scarves and shawls. 

The main parts of the dress are -

Skirt and top – made of cotton chintz and requires 11 to 21 meters depending on the swirl of the skirt. It is worn over the normal salwar kameez and during winters over a woolen salwar kameez. It is open from one side - length wise -and is adorned with lace.  

                                                                                 

Dora or Dori – is an extraordinary part of this dress and is made of sheep wool and is hand woven. It is also called Gatri. For a women it is almost 120-150 feet long and weighs 1.5 kgs. It goes around the waist and requires help in tying it. This rope is convenient for carrying loads on their backs, securing money bags in it, tying sickle, hukka or flint. Also used for tying sheep and goats together and other items. It keeps the back straight and stomach in. And most important it has got religious value as well. The rope is taken as Shivari - Seli (Shiva’s sign) and is auspicious. 

Dori being tied around my waist 

Chadru – mostly made of cotton – can be of any colour but red, pink and white are preferred.

Jutti – made of leather called Desi jutta. Chamba chappals are also worn.

The most popular Chaddar - pink 

Chamba Chappal and Jutti 

Launchari in Art and History –

Launchari can be seen in the miniature paintings of Chamba and Kangra, in Chamba Roomal and paintings of Sir Sobha Singh. The most prominent of Gaddan image from history is of Nokhu Gaddin whose beauty captivated the Katoch King Raja Sansar Chand’s heart and he married her. Their standing image can be seen in the fort of Sujan Pur Tira’s temple – representing Shiva and Parvati.

Jewellery –

Gaddi women have an inherent love for jewellery and have the most elaborate and gorgeous jewellery in Himachal. Silver, gold, precious and semi-precious stones and enamel work is the main stay of jewellery. The designs are mainly drawn from the nature and from all the places they wander into.

Head Ornaments – Chak, Chiri, jinjroo, Litki, Nam Tikka

Ears – Juke, Kaante, Boonde, Bali, Bor, Pher,

Hand and arms- Gojroo, Toke, Churiyan, kangna, thoti and many kind of angoothi

Neck – Chandrahaar, Chamkeli, Gal sari, Kapoor ri mals, Singi,Dulsete, Jau mala, athanni ki mala

Nose – Balu, Phulli, Tilli, long

Foot – Tore, Jhanjhar, Panjeb, Patadi, Phuloo

Beautiful Gaddi Jewellery in Gold and silver - the Nath is the most famous of all jewellery. 

Kishori Lal ji and his wife helping us 

And I simply loved wearing the Launchari and traditional jewellery with Shweta. Special thanks to her. 

Also to Kishori Lal ji and his wife – themselves Gaddi and traditional dress makers. They helped us in dressing up and also taught us the traditional dance steps of Gaddi’s.  The jewellery was loaned (though I purchased most of it for personal use) by Satnam Jewellers of Chamba. The best part was going round and round for getting the dori tied and getting a photo shoot done at the beautiful heriatge house of the Deputy Commissioner Chamba.

It’s a different feeling to be dressed in a finery which has such a long history and has been preserved in its design for ages. Felt really special and created memories for life.

                                                                        Pics curtsey Internet 

Kishori Lal ji, his wife and sister, Ritika Jindal (an IAS officer), the staff of the DC Residence - all helped us in wearing this beautiful ensemble