P: ISSN No. 0976-8602 RNI No.UPENG/2012/42622 VOL.-IV, ISSUE-IV, October-2015 E: ISSN No. 2349 - 9443 Asian Resonance Effect of Social Change Process on Traditional Costumes and Textiles: A Study in Uttarakhand Abstract Traditional costumes and textiles adversely affected by tweaking of various factors of social change process and disappeared into the antiquity. Therefore, to save the rich and vibrant costumes and textiles of the Uttarakhand state to pass into stupor without a trace with the ever changing time, present study was designed to document the different elements of traditional as well as contemporary costumes and textiles of Kumaon and Garhwal regions and to find out similarities and dissimilarities among different elements of costumes and textiles of both regions. The effect of various factors of social change process on traditional costumes and textiles was also studied. Keywords: Traditional Costumes and Textiles, Social Change, Uttrakhand. Introduction Saurabh Indian costumes have taken their own shape and form, according Scientist, to climate, social and even political changes that make the vast span of the Deptt. of Home Science, Indian territory and also vicissitudes of its long history.Indian dressing styles KVK-II, Sitapur, are marked by many variations, both religious and regional with a wide Uttar Pradesh choice of textiles and costumes. The costume appears to have received thoughtful scientific and aesthetic considerations as well as there are social rules that govern the manner of putting on clothes especially on the part of women. Just as each region has its own language, food and lifestyles, so also it has its owntraditional mode of dressing. It is the costume of a community, which differentiates its people from others.One can observe a specific differentiation in physical structure, mental and spiritual mind set of people of the Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand state is divided into two divisions namely Kumaon and Garhwal, accordingly the people are known as the Garhwalis and the Kumaoni.The graceful Uttarakhand, adjacent to the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, is the dwelling of the ethnic communities. Side by side, many Punjabis, Bengalis, Bhotias and even Nepalis, and Tibetians from neighbouring Tibet, have been settled in the state. Intermingling due to social changes and improvement in communication and transportation facilities has managed to give India a pan-Indian look. People from all subcultures are slowly giving way to a more uniform form of dressing. Variations over time in the relationship among individuals, groups, Shahnaz Jahan organizations, cultures, and societies are known as social change. Social change itself is a highly diverse phenomenon. Some times change is rapid Professor & Head, and dramatic, while at other times it is slow and gradual that it is difficult to Deptt. of Clothing & Textiles, detect. However change is occurring all the time. We have all been affected College of Home Science, in our personal lives by these changes and will continue to be. Anybody can G.B.P.U.A. & T., observe effect of even the first breeze of social change by keenly observing Pantnagar (U.K.) costumes and textiles of that particular region. Since, the way a person dressed up and uses textile materials, made an impression of various aspects of his personality, principles, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values and passion etc. reflects his total outlook. Thus one can embrace an idea about the extent of change in the society by observing costumes and textiles of people of that community. Changes in traditional costumes and textiles are often disturbing but sometimes enticing also. The change requires re- adjustments, but most people dread it as much as they want it. Without any important reason, or without some outside force to provide impulse, many people will not let change to come inside their territory. Much of the today’s contemporary costumes and textiles of the Uttarakhand state reflects this effect of social change, however ephemeral but retains some of the influence of culture and customs also.Therefore, in the present section of 199 P: ISSN No. 0976-8602 RNI No.UPENG/2012/42622 VOL.-IV, ISSUE-IV, October-2015 E: ISSN No. 2349 - 9443 Asian Resonance the study efforts had been taken to assess the various were selected in the sample. Out of these six factors of the social change process and their impact respondents, three were male and three were female on traditional, religious and ceremonial wrap respondents. Thus, from each district 30 respondents pichhoura of the Kumaoni females. from urban areas and 30 respondents from rural Objectives of the Study areas were selected. Therefore, 60 respondents from 1. To collect and document the information each district were able to secure their place in the regarding traditional and contemporary costumes total sample size of 240 respondents from all four and textiles of Uttarakhand districts. In the total sample, male and female ratio 2. To find out similarities and dissimilarities among was kept 50:50.Selection of respondents was done by the different elements of costumes and textiles of using snow-ball sampling method also known as Kumaon and Garhwaldivisions of Uttarakhand network, chain or reputational sampling. 3. To study the impact of different factors of social Research Design change process on costumes and textiles of A “Descriptive Research Design” was used Uttarakhand for the present study that describes and interprets 4. To prepare the database of collected information what are the conditions or relationships that exist, for future reference opinions that are held, processes that are going on, Review of Literature effects that are evident, or trends that are developing. Dar (1969) stated that costume is a marked It is primarily concerned with the present, although it characteristic of any culture. It is an outward and often considers past events and influences as they symbolic representation of the ideas and reflection of relate to current conditions. any person’s social habits and outlooks. Costumes Data Collection Tools and Methods are one of the means of achieving social and The data for study was collected with the economic mobility in a social system. The traditions, help of both qualitative and quantitative methods.The customs, beliefs, values and social set up of any structured interview schedule and opinionnaire was group is clearly manifested and exhibited in the form prepared for the collection of data.In the present of costume they have. According to Clothing (2010), study, content validity was estimated by the experts of the world of clothing is changing, as new cultural the field and reliability was tested through the spilt half influences meet technological innovations. method (single administration method) using formula Researchers in scientific laboratories have been of Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Co-efficient developing prototypes for fabrics that can serve and Spearman-Brownprophecy correction formula. functional purposes well beyond their traditional roles. The final reliability value obtained was 0.83, which According to Essel (2009), the first step is to indicated that developed opinionnaire was highly understand why our society changes. One would reliable. imagine greater personal freedoms and happiness A part of the tool, included the Likert type, would be the prime motivators. Naqvi (1999) five-point opinionnaire scale (summated rating scale). conducted a similar study on the changing trends in This scale was employed to measure the attitude or the costumes of Syed community of Muslims in belief of the respondents towards their traditional Gloganj, Aminabad and Hazaratganj areas of costumes and textiles and to assess the effect of Lucknow city of Uttar Pradesh. various factors of social change process on costumes Hypotheses of the Study and textiles. The factors of social change included in To get to know the overall perspective of the the scale were mass-media, technological people of Uttarakhand towards their traditional advancements, education, colonisation, increase in costumes and textiles following hypotheses were income, employment opportunities, migration from formulated: villages to urban areas, better transportation facilities, H0 globalisation, westernisation, social reforms, laws and There is no significant difference between welfare programmes etc.The respondents were asked opinion of Kumaoni and Garhwali people to save their to indicate their degree of agreement and traditional costumes and textiles disagreement with a series of statements about the H0 subject. Likert scaling technique assigns a scale value There is no significant difference between to each of the five responses. Respondent’s response opinion of rural and urban people to save their in five categories that were strongly agree, agree, traditional costumes and textiles. undecided, disagree and strongly disagree indicated Materials and Methods attitude of the respondents for each statement. Each Selection of Locale and Respondents response was given a particular scale value according Out of total 13 districts, four districts namely to the favourable and unfavourable statement as Nainital, Almora, Dehradun, Tehri-Garhwal were shown below. Thus, through the addition of the selected, by using purposive sampling method.Five obtained scale values of all statements the instrument urban and five rural areas were purposively selected yields a total score for each respondent. The from the political maps of each district