Mr. Raghavan, a retired bank officer in Chennai, goes to his club in trousers, a blazer and polished leather shoes. Yet every morning he paints his family's sect mark on his forehead, and for temple visits he wears a veshti draped just as his grandfather did. His grandson, writing a school project on social change, feels that one man's wardrobe holds two worlds at once. His teacher points him to a well-known account by a poet and scholar about his own father's dress.
In that account, the father's dress included all of the following EXCEPT:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → a woollen shawl over a silk kurta
Option (1) neat white turbans — Incorrect. Part of the father's dress. Neat white turbans are the first item in his traditional wear.
Option (2) a Sri Vaisnava caste mark — Incorrect. Part of the father's dress. He wore a Sri Vaisnava caste mark, a sign of his Brahmin sect.
Option (3) Kromentz buttons and collar studs — Incorrect. Part of the father's dress. Kromentz buttons and collar studs were among the English items he wore.
Option (4) a woollen shawl over a silk kurta — Correct. Not part of the father's dress. Over his muslin dhotis he wore English serge jackets, and no shawl or silk kurta appears in the account.
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