Traditional Indian Footwear And Their Modern Renditions.
Why should the ‘jutaa’ be ‘Japani’ if our ‘dil’ is ‘Hindustani’? Let the ‘jutaa’ be Hindustani too, if the ‘dil’ is so! On that note, traditional Indian footwear has a charm of its own. Laced with history, culture and aesthetics, traditional Indian footwear has come a long way from remaining only traditional, in contemporary India. They may be varied in terms of pattern, style and material but there is a spirit of elegance that is common in them. Till date these shoes serve as the epitome of arduous work of the Indian artisans. Below are short descriptions of three kinds of authentic, traditional Indian footwear and their journey over the time.
1) PADUKAS – Having a close relation with the Indian epic Ramayana, Padukas are the most ancient Indian footwear. They have flat soles and elongated knob attached to them which remains in between the bigger and the second toe fingers. Etymologically speaking Padukas is a conglomeration of two Sanskrit words, ‘pada’ meaning ‘foot’ and ‘ka’ meaning ‘diminutive’ or ‘small’. Though there can always be a debate about the literal meaning that blossoms from above (‘small foot’- meaning all Indians has/ had small feet), yet history proclaims that Padukas were made in the exact size of one’s feet. Traditionally they varied in shape, from being in the shape of an actual foot or being in the shape of a fish. Originally made of ordinary wood, Padukas were meant for the commoners and the elaborate ones bejeweled with ivory and ebony depicted the higher social status of the one to wear it.
Quintessential Ancient Padukas
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Ancient Padukas in Shape of Fishes
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Ancient Padukas Inlaid with Ivory
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These days the traditional Padukas are mostly, if not only, worn by the religious upholders like the Hindu, Buddhist or Jain saints or by spiritual minstrels like the Bauls or the Sufis. However, this certainly does not mean Padukas have gone out of vogue. In fact it becomes extremely interesting to trace the journey that traditional Padukas have undertaken. The modern-day Padukas are thus a more viable and sustainable version of the ancient Padukas. Though the post and the knob are still there, a strap is usually added for better grip around the toes. Moreover, the material used for the modern-day Padukas is no more wood. It is generally made out of leather or faux leather. However, the change that has occurred over time has not pushed away the Indian spirit from it. In fact, the modern-day Paduka sandals are funkier, carrying the optimum desi vibe with it and is increasingly becoming a favorite among the fashion fanatics!
Funky neon yellow modern Padukas
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Modern embellished Padukas
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Modern classy black Padukas
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2) MOJARI- Mojari is another example of traditional Indian footwear which had evolved during the Mughal era in India. This unique footwear has travelled a long way with the waves of time. It first blossomed from the palace of Mughal emperor Saleem Shah (Jahangir) who appointed special artisans to make this leather footwear, encrusted with precious jewels, gold and silver; just the reason Mojari is often called ‘Saleem Shahi’. In the later epoch, even when men could no more afford the luxury of sticking diamonds to their footwear, the leather Mojari did not cease to exist. The leather of this footwear was then embellished with mirrors, fancy mesh, pretty beads and cowry shells. The most modern rendition of Mojari is very modern yet very ‘desi’! In fact Mojari now comes in different materials too like canvas and thick cotton atop the leather; it might have done a considerable amount of time travel, but the panache of Mojari has remained the same!
A pair of Mojari from the Mughal Era
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Ancient Mojari with mirror work and cowry shells
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The modern yet ‘desi’ Mojaris
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A pair of very contemporary and funky Mojari from The Loom
3) JUTTI- Jutti once again is a traditional Indian footwear. The aristocrats of the antiquity originally wore the jutti (like the Maharaja, Maharani, Zamindars etc) and therefore it had embroidery made on it with real gold and silver threads. This footwear that originated and flourished in the northern part of India (especially Punjab) has no more maintained the shackles of space. With time, the jutti has become popular all over India and is only evolving for the better. Further, due to the appearance, jutti and Mojari is considered to be the same, most often. However, one should take note of the fact that there are significant differences between the two. History reveals the jutti in fact evolved from the Mughal Mojari but unlike the Mojari, the jutti covered the ankle. Further, there was and still remains a difference in the pattern for female jutti and male jutti (also known as khussa). The male jutti has a curled up leather part at the front of the shoe reminiscent to one half of a man’s moustache. In fact the khussa has more resemblance with Mojari than the female jutti. However, traditionally the difference between Mojari and jutti was in the design of the thread work. While Mojari had precious stones encrusted on it, it is not known of the ancient jutti to be bejeweled with the same. Despite the fundamental differences in their history and appearance, both Mojari and jutti has almost become replica of one another, with the difference in appearance dissolving with time. Both also have continued to remain in vogue and are only becoming more popular in the contemporary world.
Real gold embroidered maharaja Khussa from the 1920s
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A restored antique khussa
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Quintessential black male jutti
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Quintessential bright coloured female jutti
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Modern funky jutti from The Loom
A very contemporary pair of jutti
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Apart from these three, another very important traditional Indian footwear is the Kohlapuri. However, the amount of history attached to the Kohlapuri sandals, the time travel it has made and the enormous opportunity that it has in terms of contemporary styling- to articulate it all with optimum justice one needs another entire article. So until that article comes up, here’s hoping this one enriched you with the history of traditional Indian footwear and rejuvenated your need to own a pair or two of our Hindustani footwear!
By- Roshni Sen
