Assamese Gamosa- The humble style statement


When Prime Minister Narendra Modi went through the yoga poses in Lucknow on International Yoga Day, the white piece of cloth with red patterns on his shoulder stood out against his complete white attire. But very few might be aware that this humble piece of cloth called the ‘Gamosa’ hasirrespective of religious and ethnic backgrounds, it stands out as an Assamese identity. Before the advent of the ‘whats app’ and internet, any Assamese who travels out of Guwahati, makes sure to have a couple of ‘gamosa’s’ neatly packed. One is to be used as a towel (ga-body, mosa-to wipe) and the second one is to be adorned over one’s shoulder as an identity symbol to other Assamese brethren in not so familiar place.
great cultural significance to the people of Assam. Worn by all Assamese people

Hand woven by women weavers across the plains of Assam, the Gamosas are made of mainly made using cotton threads except in some cases silk threads (Pat) are used. Traditionally they were made to be given to guests during the harvest festival, Bihu or during special occasions like wedding, but with commercialisation it has also become a commodity with cheap power loom versions available in the local markets which are priced 30-50% less than the traditional ones. This has a profound impact on the livelihood of the women weavers for whom this is the only source of income.

But the person who mainstreamed this humble piece of cloth was a soft spoken psephologist and
activist- Yogendra Yadav. As the AAP spokesperson and later as a convenor of Swarajya Abhiyan,  Mr Yadav can be seen always with a Gamosa draped around his shoulder.

Every Assamese whom I meet feels proud with this new found celebrity status of the Gamosa but at the same time they fear that this cultural identity of Assamese people will be usurped by commercial interests. Maybe a Geographical Indication (GI) status can protect it and still be mainstreamed as the new style statement.


Rahul is a social entrepreneur and is a proud to have a collection of Gamosas from across Assam. 

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