Twenty-year-old Ruchika Kher, a college student, feels that nothing other than her kurtas teamed with jeans, churidaar or loose salwars makes her feel at ease during the peak summer season.

'Kurtas are so khula (open)! I don't need to feel conscious all the time, they help me camouflage my fat and since they are mostly cotton, they soak up sweat quickly,' she said.

In the photograph: An Anupama Dayal creation, Lakme Fashion Week, Fall-Winter collection, 2008

Photograph: Sanat Tanna