Hyderabad: Inspired by Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao’s promotion of handlooms, a group of doctors from Hyderabad wore traditional handloom ‘Panchalu’ to a friend’s wedding in Godavarikhani and sent the minister a picture!

They said everyone at the wedding was shocked that doctors from Hyderabad came dressed in traditional garb, but they wanted to make a statement that embracing our nativity and origins is the new cool.

The 10 doctors from Hyderabad were debating a dress code for their friend’s wedding and decided on handloom ‘Panchalu’, which they bought from the Khadi Emporium in Hyderabad. The doctors were also influenced by ‘power star’ Pavan Kalyan’s look in Katamrayadu and Malayali actor Nivin Paul’s look in the film Premam.

Mr K.T. Rama Rao had recently urged public representatives, government officials and journalists to wear handloom clothes at least once a week, to support handloom weavers. One of the doctors, Prateek Raj Betham, tweeted the group’s pictures to the minister on Friday. “I wanted him to know that his initiative of promoting handlooms is great and that we are doing our tiny bit to help. He did not reply to my tweet but he liked it,” Dr Betham said.

Dr Sai Charan from Osmania Medical College said, “Suresh is the first guy from our friends’group Hill Boys to tie the knot, hence we all decided to give a filmy/nativity touch to his marriage. So we borrowed the dressing style from Malayalam superhit Premam, Pavan Kalyan’s Katamarayudu and minister KTR’s initiative for promoting handlooms.”

Dr Sachin Kumar said older people at the wedding appreciated their initiative. “Many guests said that it is very good that you all dressed up like this and because of it the wedding is more colourful. I think we have become so busy in following western culture that we have forgotten our own traditional clothes,” he said.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao wants an action plan for handloom weavers and workers, a majority of whom work as daily wage labourers in the powerloom industry. In February this year he had instructed concerned officials to initiate measures for the welfare of weavers and also formulate an exclusive and comprehensive plan for them.