Thursday February 22, 2018
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 22, 2018
How Justin Trudeau NEVER misses an opportunity to don traditional attire
Dressed head to toe in robes of gold, then red, then white – Justin Trudeau has certainly cut a distinctive figure during his first three days in India.
Bollywood Justin
Indeed, the Canadian Prime Minister seems to have made a point of dressing like a local during his debut visit to the country as leader.
But he also has a history of donning traditional robes at home, especially to honor special dates in the Indian calendar.
As far back as 2012, Trudeau attended the premiere of Midnight’s Children – based on the book about Indian independence written by Salman Rushdie – dressed in a white sherwani robe.
Screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, Trudeau was only a member of parliament when he attended along with wife Sophie Gregoire, who opted for a navy blue halter gown.
Twice last year he also marked important dates in the Indian calendar while dressed for the occasion.
After the junket- February 26, 2018
In August he stepped out wearing a kurta – which literally translates from its Persian origins as ‘a collarless shirt’ – in order to celebrate Indian Independence Day.
Then again in October he donned a dark black sherwani – a heavy, more formal robe usually worn over the top of a kurta – to mark Diwali.
Although on that occasion he drew the ire of many Hindus by tweeting the image along with the caption ‘Dewali Mubarak!’
Mubarak as an Arabic word which means ‘blessed’ and is not used as a greeting by the majority of the Hindu religion.
In January this year, Trudeau was again dressed up to celebrate Thai Pongal, the harvest festival of the Tamil people, in Scarborough.
Trudeau has also routinely celebrates vaisakhi, a Sikh harvest festival, and often does so in traditional robes.
In 2013 he took to the streets of Vancouver in an emerald green jacket with a white cap covering his head, in a nod to the traditional Sikh turban. (Continued: Daily Mail)