Foreigners Have to Wear a Sari to Visit Varanasi Temple

NEW DELHI: Foreigners visiting Varanasi will now be made to taste the Indian culture in one more way now, since according to a new decree they now will have have shun their usual dress and wear a sari while visiting the Kashi Vishwanath temple in the city.

The sartorial injunction has come after the appeal of natives visiting temple, who didn't find the 'short dresses' worn by foreigners in tune with the Indian culture. To put temple law into into force, 25 sarees have been made available outside the temple campus and just outside the temple gate, where security personnel will be on the lookout for women wearing 'objectionable' clothes, who then will be marked and made to change to saree in a nearby kiosk, installed for the purpose.

According to the additional Chief Executive office of the temple, P N Dwivedi, even Indian women are not exempted from the rule and they too will have to cover up if found to be wearing 'revealing' clothes.

“Devotees from South India had been making demand of saree for women and dhoti-kurta for men on the lines of the dress code in Tirupati Balaji temple. It looks awkward when foreign female tourists enter the temple wearing short dresses,' Dwivedi told to Indian Express.

He said that the rule isn't exclusively for women, and may be applied on men too in future, making it mandatory for them to wear a dhoti kurta.

These changes will be done gradually. First , it has been started with the dress code of saree,” he said.

The attire of the foreign tourists would be checked at two points — first at the police outpost outside the temple campus where foreign tourists produce their passports before security personnel. Checking will be done at temple counter inside the premises too. Dwivedi said that changing rooms have been set up at both the places for the convenience of the tourists. He said that introducing the dress code will give a good message about Indian attire and foreign tourists “will go back to their respective countries and tell about Indian attire and culture” he added further.

THe Kashi Vishwanath temple in the holy city is a favourite among foreigners who make up for more than 5 per cent of total footfall of 60,000 everyday