DEATH OF A HAT

"The men with the sola hats"

They were all sitting there with deadpan expressions, as if the camera that was taking their group photo would explode if they smiled. There were chairs in the first row and exactly in the centre of this row sat a British officer. All others were, what they then were called, 'natives' officers. Behind them were the staff members of the office standing in rows, each row farther back a bit  higher than the preceding one.

There was only one thing common amongst those occupying chairs - a SOLA HAT.

The young people of today do not know what a SOLA HAT.

Here is Mahatma Gandhi writing about SOLA HATS:

"My narrow nationalism rebels against the hat, but my secret internationalism regards the sola hat as one of the few boons from Europe. But for the tremendous national prejudice against the hat, I would undertake to become president of a league for popularizing sola hats."

You can read the full article of Mahatma Gandhi here:

http://www.mkgandhi.org/thiswasbapu/106solahat.htm

Why did India discard these hats which were inexpensive, ultra-light, durable and a protection from heat-wave and eco-friendly ? One reason could be that they were cumbersome to carry if not on the head. The other reason could be the availability of variety of caps which are more stylish and cover the ears also during the heatwave। It is also possible that the reason may be the rising price of such hat !

Can any case it marks the end of an era !

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