It was mid 1990s when I first saw a Himachali Topi. A friend had bought one during a trip to Himachal. I felt the cap was classy, elegant, it had a special look. That's the only time I ever saw one for real.
The second week of November-2019 I happened to visit
Dhagpo Sheprupling Gompa, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Kais, a village between Kullu and Manali. The second day, I saw these people, the two ladies and gentleman had come to meet their boys who were monks here. I found the ladies attire lively. Until that moment I was assumed the cap was worn by men only, this was a pleasant surprise. With their permission I took a few pictures.
The nine-day visit was a great experience, thanks to the monks warm hospitality, and also to the kind & generous company of Rajesh, a business associate at the monastery. What little I traveled is all with him. This is Rajesh, at his home in Dharamshala. He looks handsome in the cap.
For many Himachali folks, topi is part of their daily wear, especially men folk. For the rest topi is reserved for special occasions. There are different types of Himachali Topi namely Bushahri, Kinnauri, Kulluwi, Lahuli and Malana. I guess the names are specific to districts within Himachal. For example- Kulluwi might be specific to Kullu and its surrounding places. For me its just Himachali Topi.
When I expressed my wish to get one, Rajesh suggested Shanti's shop. Shanti is an electrician I'd met at the monastery, his shop is just a kilometer away, on the outskirts of Kais. The caps are stitched by his wife and other ladies while Shanti takes care of raw material and sales. Yes, this is his shop and he's always wearing a cap.
One can buy caps off the shelf or place an order. These caps come in different sizes and patterns. The patterns are basically two types- plain and geometric. Haven't seen any floral patterns. Its important to buy at cap that fits properly. My requirement was five caps, I'd to get the sizes (perimeter of head at forehead level) from two of my friends and Pushpa at home.. sizes, 4½, 6 and 7. For the patterns I wanted, Shanti needed three days to deliver.
Here are few shots Rajesh took while Shanti and I went over the sizes and patterns. The cap's body can be made of different types of material which varies from soft to stiff. Stiffer ones are better because they retain shape and last longer. So the first step is to make the open-end cylinder. Then the forehead band is stitched on to the side of the cylinder. Its not as easy as it sounds, lot of effort goes into stitching because of the shape. The last step is to iron the cap. A cylindrical block is used as a base to iron the caps.
Here are some of the patterns. To me all looked good but my selection criteria was Swastik.
Rajesh insisted a picture with Shanti and I wasn't it a mind to refuse. In spite of the bright sunlight, it was cold, had to be covered in warm clothing.
That's my school time friend Ramesh wearing a Kulluwi Topi. It suits him well, isn't it.
Apart from the Topi, I got a chance to check out some Himachali shawls at Manali. I was surprised to see the varieties in terms of pattern, colors and price. Since I was short on time, I selected five shawls in 20 minutes. One of the shawls was yak wool, off-white color. Then at the monastery, I got a Bhuttico shawl as a gift from a monk. The single color gents shawl was made of sheep wool, in fact it carried the smell of sheep when it was new. Of course the smell faded with use.
Bhuttico is a society of thousand weavers which produces different types of shawls but specialize in Kulluvi shawls.
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