Lord on my tee

You've got to have a faith... and wear it too? Should we 'wear' the presence of God or let it remain in the puja room? Or is all this streaching a simple style statement a bit too far?
By Amrita Das
Heard this one - "He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat"? Well, that may as well be the case with most youngsters these days! Sporting cool prints on tees have always been in vogue but carrying faces and forms of lords on one's apparel can sometimes be quite a bold step to take. At least in the way they invites stern glances from passersby. And God save you if someone among them reacts because it may be too "sacred" a form to flaunt on one' tee.
Fashion can also be used to disguise your true self: a conservative in vamp clothing, a vamp in conservative clothing. Okay, that's putting it in extremes. But seriously what does one have to say particularly about wearing clothes with God’s (im)prints? Lets ask the youngsters. Abhishek Kapoor, member of Software Development Group Quark says, "Why not? If one looks good in such clothing, there is nothing wrong. I love to wear such stuff, but I keep I do make sure I don't abuse it and maintain the respect."
Sneha Singh, resident Delhi, shares, "God is very close to my heart and if I get a chance to wear something which has God’s print in it, I would definitely feel comfortable. It is not necessarily a style statement. Moreover in this age, where one gets little time for prayer, maybe it is the best way to bring them into everyday life." Well, the idea is quite rational; there should be nothing wrong really in wearing something with God’s print as long as it is treated with respect. After all, if Sadhu’s can wear dhoti’s with slokas printed all over, then why can’t anyone else too?
And in case you are an Indian residing in a foreign land, wearing such clothes actually comes with an added role-playing - of spreading our culture amongst strangers. As says Bhaskar Das (27), who is based in Arlington, Texas, "I think besides and maybe 'despite' it being a style statement, wearing such clothes helps us in acquainting other and popularising our culture. Whenever I wear such clothes, others take notice and try to learn about our deities. One cannot keep an idol with oneself all the time; it's not a bad idea to wear it on one's clothes and feel the presence."
But if this question is raised among the elderly, most end up bringing down the concept. They argue that today’s youth don’t know how to respect their religion. And that fashion for them is fad that changes as soon as they get blasé about it. If they sport God’s prints on their clothes today because of 'style', the same piece would become a mop tomorrow when it gets old and out of fashion. And that is a thought that is far from acceptable for them.
Jagjit Singh Tiwana a garment shop owner informs, "There was a similar issue not many days back in the USA where people were wearing undergarments with Indian God’s prints on them! That's blasphemous, anywhere in the world. God is meant to be worshipped and placed on a worship pedestal and not treated like that. There is sanctity coming long here."
With God coming into the scene, Indians are bound to get sentimental. While the debate goes on, there is no denying that the fad remains. Amit Sharma resident of Sector 27 Chandigarh, working as Deputy Manager with Petroleum Conservation Research Association, sees a lot of good in it, "It is good if young people are wearing such things. This shows that they have not completely forgotten their religion and they take pride in flaunting it. And those who don't know enough, might just begin to want to know more!" Point that, what say?