Why an Indian village is losing sleep over the humble nightie Image copyright Priya Kuriyan A committee of village elders in southern India has banned women from wearing nighties during the day.
As the name suggests, nighties, sometimes also called maxis here, are loose, shapeless garments which were originally meant to be sleep wear. But over the years, they have become a favourite daytime dress for millions of women, especially housewives, across Indian cities, towns and even villages.
Four months ago, a nine-member council in the village of Tokalapalli in Andhra Pradesh state, surprisingly headed by a woman, ordered that girls and women must not wear nighties from 7am to 7pm and those who did would have to pay a fine of 2,000 rupees ($28; £22).
Those who snitched on anyone breaching the ban were promised a cash reward of 1,000 rupees.
The order is being strictly followed by the villagers and, so far, there have been no reports of anyone being penalised.
Village elder Balle Vishnu ..