NEW DELHI: Apartments in Greater Noida are always grabbing headlines for one or the other reason. This time a strange diktat by an apartment owners association has nonplussed the residents.
The Himsagar Apartment Owners’ Association (AOA) in Sector Phi 2, issued the dress code via a notice on June 10 following a complaint about “objectionable dressing” by some residents.
According to the AOA, these are casual dresses that are ‘only’ worn at home. Notably, in India, loose-fitting garments such as lungis and nightgowns are popular for day and night use, especially in hot summer.
“All of you are expected to take care of your dressing when venturing out in society so that nobody gets a chance to raise any objection. Your children also learn from you. Hence, it is requested to you that lungi or nighty, which are worn inside homes, should not be used outdoors,” the notice with the title ‘Dress code for walking within the premises of the society’, read.
As soon as the alleged notice went viral on social media, the netizens exploded with their opinions and demanded that it be taken back immediately. A user on Twitter wrote, “Wannabe western posh brown sahebs. So what do they expect people to wear in homes in their own society compound? Do they even have an idea about Indian weather?”
Meanwhile, the Resident Welfare Association president, C K Kalra said that the notice was not an order but a kind of request. Kalra said that he received complaints from several women residents of the society who raised the issue of people sitting in the society wearing lungis which had made them feel uncomfortable. The move drew divergent reactions from the residents and apparently “hurt" the sentiments of some, prompting the society to withdraw it after four days.