NIFT to Make Indian Size Chart by 2021, a 1000 Years Too Late?

Until NIFT figures out the Indian size chart, here’s an Ayurvedic guide to body types in India.

Did you know that by 2021, we would have a set measurement chart that defines the ‘Indian body type’? If this report is to be believed, that is.

Commissioned by the Ministry Of Textiles, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi has been delegated the herculean task of surveying six major Indian cities to note down the vital stats of the Indian apparel consumer.

The government has allotted Rs 30 crore for this mammoth project.

A ministry official told Hindustan Times that:

Once the India size chart is developed, all brands selling in India will have to carry the India size label on all garments.

In fact, 14 countries, including the US, UK, France, Spain, Mexico, Sweden, Thailand, South Korea and China already have their ‘national sizing charts’.

If this piece of information fails to awe you, ask any fashionista and they would share their woes of having to ‘fit into’ clothes that are meant for the American or European body types.

So, will the new Indian size chart give you a permanent chutkara from clothes that are either too big, or too tiny for you? 2021 is an entire general election away (#2019), and individually going and asking 25,000 people (the sample size for this project) what their vital stats are, is easier said than done.

So, before that chart comes along, why don’t we refer to the already-existing body types as stipulated by Ayurvedic books?

Before NIFT, There Was Ayurveda

Yes, before tailor-made clothes and branded apparels even existed, ancient India had ‘body types’ or doshas as they call it in Ayurvedic lingo.

Not only did these body types give you an idea of what sort of clothes compliment your figure, they even told you what to eat and how to live your life!

Curious what Ayurveda says your body type is? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered:

Body Type 1: Vata

Are you the type who often has to shop from the kid’s section because everything ready-made is either too loose or too long?

Do you take your newly-bought branded clothes to the nukkad wale darzi ji (local tailor) to get them fitted?

Do you furiously close all the weight-loss related Google ads when surfing the web, and curse inwardly at the irony of it all?

If your answer to these three questions is a resounding ‘yes’, you are a Vata! And your element is air (whatever that means).

According to this article, a Vata is characterised by an energetic, restless soul with irregular eating and sleeping habits. And oh, they hate cold temperatures.

Body Type 2: Pitta

If you find yourself lucky to always find clothes your size at the mall, especially T-shirts, if you always stood somewhere in the middle during assembly lines at school, and if you get tanned or freckled easily, Ayurveda categorises you as a Pitta.

Your element is fire.

You are a loud and passionate person, who’s talented but gets easily irritated (says Ayurveda). What’s more, you are good in sports and are fit for leadership roles!

Body Type 3: Kapha

If you cringe at the magazine covers that feature ‘size zero’ models. If you roll your eyes every time someone suggests a new dieting fad to you. If you prioritise delicious food above all else, and if you start checking out clothes from size ‘L’ onwards, ancient books on Ayurveda define your body type as Kapha.

Kapha people are ‘governed’ by water, and tend to put on weight easily. They maybe slow learners but apparently have a good memory. What’s more, they tend to be good looking and have great vocals.

So, now that we have successfully boxed the entire Indian population into three distinct categories that not only define their body structure but their nature as well, one wonders, were we always this similar to each other?

After all, the simple math of dividing us 1.2 billion people into three clear categories would mean 400 million people with the same characteristics.

If the older system is failing, will NIFT’s list of body types do a better job at representing the beautiful people of this country in all their shapes and sizes?

Guess we’ll have to wait for three years to find that out. Till then, you can tell us what is your Ayurvedic body type in the comments below. Chances are you will find someone exactly like you.

(Hey there, lady! What makes you laugh? Do you laugh at sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny? Do 'sanskaari' stereotypes crack you up? This Women's Day, join The Quint's Ab Laugh Naari campaign. Pick up that beer, say cheers, and send us photographs or videos of you laughing out loud at [e-mail].)