Something no phrasebook bothers with and everybody needs: what people wear in Kerala, what it is called, and how clothes actually get made. It opens with a garment that is a piece of culture rather than a piece of cloth. മുണ്ട് (mundu) — a single length of cloth, usually white or cream, wrapped around the waist and worn by men. It is not a costume. It is ordinary daily wear across much of Kerala — worn by shopkeepers, farmers, teachers, politicians and grandfathers, on ordinary Tuesdays. And it comes with a gesture you should understand, because it carries meaning: മടക്കിക്കുത്തുക (madakkikkuthuka) — to fold the mundu up and tuck it at the knee. Men do this constantly. It is cooler, it is easier to walk in — and in certain company it is lowered again as a mark of respect. Knowing when it goes up and when it comes down tells you a great deal about the room you are standing in. Then the tailor, which is where most Kerala clothing still comes from. Ready-made is common now, but stitching remains ordinary, and the vocabulary for measurements and alterations is genuinely useful. In this class: • മുണ്ട്, സാരി, ചുരിദാർ and the rest of everyday Kerala dress • The tucking gesture, and the respect it encodes • At the tailor — measurements, fittings, alterations and collection • Cloth, colour and what gets worn for which occasion Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.