Dress code for devotees visiting Tamil Nadu shrines from January 1

MADURAI: Devotees entering temples in TamilNadu will have to follow a new dress code from January 1 as several important shrines have put up notice boards highlighting this.

The dress code for entering the temples was being followed on the orders of the Madras High court early this month, officials said.

According to a notice board outside the Palani temple, male devotees have been advised to wear dhoti, shirt, pyjama or pant and shirt while women and girls should wear saris or churidhar or 'pavadai' with half-sari.

Devotees wearing lungi, bermudas, jeans and tight-leggings would not be allowed, it said.

Other major shrines which have put up notice boards about the dress code included the Rameswaram and Meenakshi temples, officials said.

The Madras High court bench here had on December 1 directed the state government and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to implement dress code for devotees coming to offer worship in temples to enhance spiritual ambiance.

Disposing of a petition, Justice S Vaidyanathan had said "we should dress for public worship in a way that is generally considered appropriate."

"The department should consider implementing the dress code as follows: for men dhoti or pyjamas with upper cloth or formal pants and shirts and for women saree or half saree with blouse, churidhars with upper cloth, for children any fully covered dress," the judge had said, adding, it should be followed in temples from January 1, 2016.