TSHELA LIZUM LEPCHA | TRADITIONALLY FASHIONABLE

BIJOY GURUNG

GANGTOK,: For most of us, everyday clothes are a means to demonstrate our individuality and entitlements in the society. And there are some who take it to a different level altogether. Their daily wear is an expression of their social and cultural identity juxtaposed with eccentricities of modern fashion.
Their choice of dress is based on who they are and their ancestral roots.
In Sikkim, we have Tshela Lizum Lepcha, a Gangtokian deeply committed to ethnic clothing as her individual quest of showing the world who the Lepchas are.
The 35-year-old Rongmit has unfailingly draped her indigenous Dhumvon with pride and elegance for nearly one decade. The traditional Lepcha lady attire, in all its hues and colours, swish and sashays with her whether it is reporting daily for her government duty, public appearances or social engagements.
Tshela Lizum’s endearment with her community’s legacy is enriched and expanded through her boutique ‘Tshela’s One Stop’. Located at M.G. Marg, the boutique specializes in Lepcha ethnic wear fused with new age materials and designs.
TGIF! had a candid conversation with Tshela to understand and share with our readers on what drives her to preserve and promote her cultural inheritance with a swag.
Spoiler alert! This marriage of entrepreneurship and ethnicity for Tshela and her boutique, like real matrimonies, has its share of satisfying successes and jarring discords.
‘This is who I am’
“Aee...aaha, yeshari po lawnu parcha ni anta timro dokan bikcha (Oh yeah...That is how you should wear it (Dhomvon) and then your shop will do good business). That is what people used to tell me,” shares Tshela.
The comments were directed towards her boutique inferring that Tshela wears her traditional dress regularly just to promote similar merchandise she sells.
“But it is not like that. I simply love to wear my traditional dress in my daily life. It has become an integral part of my life particularly when I got appointed in government service. I thought that while going for duty I should have a formal wear which for me was my Lepcha traditional attire with some modern improvisations,” asserts Tshela. Her public exposure is high since she ventures out daily for work in the capital and also participates regularly in community-level events.
“Some also say that it is easy for me to wear different Dhomvons (also called Ghada) because I got a tailor in my shop or that I have a shop full of clothes. Timro ta tailor cha, silai di halcha, dokan bari luga cha. But I never mix my government service and this entrepreneurship. I am in office the whole day on working days and never pitch my shop’s products at office. After 5 pm, I am at my boutique, taking care of the business, speaking to customers and keeping track of the orders placed.”
Tshela, who hails from Khamdong and stays at Shyari locality, is working as an assistant librarian in the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Sikkim at Balwakhani since 2012. She insists that she is not trying to make a point with her lifestyle choice but respects the value of an ethnic wear as an expression of social and cultural identity.
“I am not trying to prove something. Yes, some do say why I am wearing it daily but this is what defines me and who I am. People also appreciate me and welcome what I am trying to do. I don’t feel bad or flattered on both situations. At the end of day, I am doing what I love. I also tell people that they should also wear their traditional attire in a regular manner,” says Tshela.
A spark called HELFE
In 2012, the world was dancing to PSY’s Gangnam Style, a K-pop song representing, among other things, to become hip and trendy. The same year, Tshela Lizum was a core member of a Lepcha youth initiative determined to reboot Lepcha traditional clothing as stylish and trendy.
They held the maiden Himalayan Ethnic Lepcha Fashion Event (HELFE) in Gangtok in November that year showcasing Lepcha traditional wear for both men and women with modern designs and materials. HELFE season 2 was conducted at Kolkata two years later in a grander manner. The two editions of HELFE motivated Tshela – who contributed with her new designs - to dip further into a cultural preservationist and entrepreneur mode.
“It was during HELFE that I started giving a serious thought on doing something creative with our traditional dress and share with our community members. After the HELFE, there was a demand for our designs but no outlet was available. So I started my enterprise from a small space at Tharo Line, Lall Bazaar in 2012 end,” said Tshela.
Tshela shares about how her two-piece Dhomvon designs for the HELFE reached out to the masses across the State and beyond.
“A tailor at my first Lall Bazaar shop had designed my collection of two-piece Lepcha women dresses for the HELFE show in 2012. That time, Dhomvon of 4 m length was made through simple tailoring. Later on, our sample of two-piece Dhomvon was taken to different parts of the State by the customers so the tailors at their place can stitch the same. It became quite famous over the years and now almost all tailors can stitch the two-piece Dhomvon,” recalls Tshela.
Tshela has done Masters in Library Science which gave her a government career while her sense of fashion serves her entrepreneurship. She has been experimenting with the materials, hand embroidering and designs to offer comfortable and fashionable Lepcha wear for both male and female members of the community.
“I got inspired after studying my own Lepcha roots. I kept on experimenting and practising which increased my knowledge and understanding of this business. We started from a small scale in 2012 and from 2015, ‘Tshela’s One Stop’ officially started as a boutique,” said Tshela.
In the initial years, ‘Tshela’s One Stop’ did a flourishing business as it was a new boutique for Lepcha clothing and there were limited options in the capital. With passage of time, similar boutiques came up and competition increased.
“Present status is okay, not bad not good. We are surviving. Last year was bad for all (due to Covid pandemic) and we managed to overcome that phase also,” said Tshela. Her boutique has five employees – one manager, two tailors and two artists who do hand embroidering.
Tshela adds that she does not offer specialised designs at her boutique. “We have not reached that level. Our products are simple, mostly two-piece wear made from good materials. We focus on how to make simple but easy to wear clothes while also looking good at the same time,” she says.
Ethnic Wear at Work
The whole idea of wearing a particular costume, for an individual, would be to showcase a dedication to his or her community or nation. It can be witnessed during national-level events or festivals of a particular ethnic group. However, these are limited occasions though the use of traditional dress to project’s one indigenous identity has increased in many parts of the country.
As per media reports of August, 2020, the Arunachal Pradesh government has directed all government employees (excluding police personnel) to wear traditional attire at work on the 15th of every month.  The decision was taken to boost the local tribal products and to support the local artisans and entrepreneurs under the “Vocal for Local” scheme.
Pointing out to this decision by a fellow Northeastern State, Tshela similarly advocates for ‘wear traditional dress at work’ concept in Sikkim either weekly or fortnightly. This suggestion has been communicated to the Sikkim government, she informs.
“Some schools in the State have adopted this practise but we need to expand it. We can have traditional dress at work practise for government employees at least once or twice a month. We can call it as ‘Traditional Day’. This can be voluntary and will greatly help in preserving and promoting the culture of all communities here. It can also add value to the tourism of Sikkim. Yes, at first, people may find it amusing but after some years, it would be accepted as the new normal particularly by the younger generation,” said Tshela.
She points out that more and more individuals in Sikkim are wearing their traditional attire – at least some parts of it if not in its entirety – on days that are not calendar events or weddings. “You can witness in M.G. Marg, earlier when someone was walking by in ethnic wear then it used to be either for a festive occasion or a wedding. These days, you can see people in traditional dress more often at M.G. Marg on a usual day,” she said.
Taking Lepcha wear beyond Mayal Lyang
Regarding her future, Tshela goes back to the past – HELFE, which many consider as a revolutionary initiative to showcase Lepcha fashion to the world beyond Mayal Lyang.
“The two editions of HELFE were held with a principle aim to showcase our traditional attire in contemporary designs and new materials at the national level and also abroad. The idea was to make our clothing popular outside,” says Tshela who had presented her designs at the Lepcha fashion event.
“Within Sikkim and neighbouring region, people are aware about indigenous Lepcha wear but the question is how to introduce it to the outside world. I want to work on this. We need some initiative like HELFE and also increase our engagements with the coming Lepcha generation. There has been a gap and we plan to revive this initiative. We must keep participating in events outside the State and give presentations on our culture and traditional wear,” shares Tshela.
The social entrepreneur, in coming years, also wants to set up a studio to revive the old traditional art of weaving Lepcha dresses.