What to Wear in Shantiniketan

The local look

The town has had an artists' and students' dress code of its own for a century: handwoven cotton, earth colours, a cloth jhola bag over the shoulder and terracotta or dokra jewellery. You don't need to copy it, but loose natural fabrics in off-white, rust, mustard or indigo sit well against the red earth and the mud walls, both in person and in photos. Bright synthetics look out of place here.

By season

From November to February, mornings can be cold, sometimes close to 10°C, while the afternoons are warm and sunny. Wear layers: a cotton kurta or shirt, with a shawl or light jacket for early starts and evenings. Poush Mela nights in late December are chilly in the open ground. From March to May, days are very hot, often above 35°C, so wear loose light cotton and a hat, and carry water. In the monsoon, from about June to September, quick-dry clothes and an umbrella matter more than style, and the red earth turns to sticky mud.

Festivals

For Basanta Utsav in spring, many people wear yellow or saffron: a yellow saree or a white one with a coloured border for women, a yellow panjabi for men, often with flowers in the hair. For Poush Mela and other formal occasions, the white tant saree with a red border and the dhoti with a panjabi are the classic Bengali choices. Wear something you don't mind getting abir, the coloured powder, on.

Shoes and dust

You take your shoes off to enter Tagore's houses at Uttarayan, so slip-ons or Kolhapuris save time. The khoai around the haat is dusty red laterite that marks white hems and pale soles. Choose darker sandals and keep the good white saree for the evening.

Buying clothes here

Sonajhuri Haat is the place for kantha-stitched stoles, block prints and handloom kurtas made by local women. Amar Kutir, a cooperative, sells batik, kantha and leather in a shop setting. Bolpur's market has tant sarees and ready-made panjabis. See the photo spots for where each outfit works best.