— By Niharika Singh Dalal
A nostalgic story of India’s royal pets, festive fashion, and why dressing our pets for a celebration feels strangely familiar.
There is something wonderfully Indian about getting ready for a celebration. The house changes first. The curtains are washed. The brass is polished. Boxes are opened, and old things emerge. Jewellery wrapped carefully in tissue, silk sarees that have not been worn since the last wedding, a kurta that still smells faintly of the cupboard it has lived in for years.
As a fauji child, I remember the excitement when the trunks were opened. The smell of naphthalene balls would take over the whole room as clothes were pulled out, folded, and prepared. There was something about those trunks opening that announced a celebration was on its way.
Then came the shopping. New clothes for everyone. Sweets appeared in tins. Flowers arrived. The kitchen became a place of controlled chaos. Relatives began calling to ask what time everyone was coming. Somewhere in the middle of all that were our two furry siblings, Ginger and Beauty.
My brother and I grew up with them, and I cannot remember a celebration without them. We could not imagine a family photograph without them either. They belonged in the middle of it all, just as naturally as the sweets, the flowers and the new clothes.
Today, my husband and I have Theia. Our celebrations have evolved, but that little ritual has stayed. Every festival means something new for Theia too. A new outfit, new treats, perhaps a new toy or something special that makes her feel included. When a pet becomes part of the family, celebrations have a funny way of changing shape.
You don’t simply celebrate around them anymore. You celebrate with them. This is why festive clothing for pets feels much less like a modern fad than we might imagine. The idea of adorning pets, pampering them, and making them part of the ceremony has a surprisingly long history in India.
In fact, long before today’s pet boutiques and Instagram photographs, there were royal pets wearing jewellery, appearing in portraits, and being treated with a degree of luxury that sounds almost unbelievable today.
From Harappa to the Royal Kennels
Dogs and adornment have been part of Indian history for thousands of years. Archaeological research records a dog with a double collar from Harappa, while historical accounts mention elaborate collars and leashes used by royal and wealthy households. One beautiful example is the silver kutta-guluband, said to have belonged to a favourite pet of the Maharaja of Junagadh.
The tradition became even more extravagant in India’s princely states. Royal households maintained elaborate kennels, imported breeds, attendants, and of course, accessories.
The Nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, was perhaps the most famous example. His dogs were treated like members of the royal household, with accounts describing diamond-studded collars, personal attendants, and even palanquins.
The jewellery may seem excessive today, but in princely India, where ornamentation was closely tied to status and ceremony, royal pets were very much part of that world.
And then there is Roshanara – a beautiful name meaning ‘shining light’ in Persian – whose story offers another glimpse into the fascinating world of royal pets.
The Legendary Wedding
The story of Roshanara, one of Mahabat Khanji’s beloved pets, and Bobby, a Golden Retriever associated with the Nawab of Mangrol, has become one of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of India’s royal dogs. The wedding is dated to the early 1920s.
If you think dressing your furry friend for a wedding today is a little extravagant, the Junagadh royal household was operating on an entirely different scale. Roshanara was reportedly shampooed, perfumed, bejewelled, and dressed in brocade before being taken to the wedding ceremony in a silver palanquin. Bobby’s arrival was described as an elaborate procession, with other dogs dressed in brocade and the groom himself adorned with jewellery. Accounts describe musicians, ceremonial welcomes, a wedding feast, and celebrations lasting several days.
The story has travelled through newspapers, books, and popular retellings for decades, and some of the details. Particularly the enormous amounts said to have been spent.
So, pets being dressed specifically for an important celebration in India is not a twenty-first-century invention. We have simply exchanged the palace for the family home.
Grandeur at its Best – From Royal Jewellery to Festive Wardrobe
Today, most of us are obviously not walking our pets into a Durbar Hall in a silver palanquin. But we have inherited something of that same instinct. We dress for Diwali. We dress for weddings. We put our furry children into new clothes and spend absurd amounts of time deciding what we should wear ourselves.
High time that the pet-fashion industry got noticed. What was once a novelty category has become a genuine little world of Indian festive fashion. There are kurtas, sherwanis, lehengas, bandhgalas, embroidered dresses, and festive bandanas.
What makes the current Indian market particularly interesting is that much of it is not simply generic pet clothing in bright colours. It is recognisably Indian. There are brocades, embroidery, traditional silhouettes, and colours we associate with weddings, puja, and festivals. The pet is suddenly not wearing a costume. Our fur babies are getting dressed for the occasion.
Bringing Festive Flair to Your Pet’s Wardrobe
At the more luxurious end of the market is Boof bybella, which positions itself as a luxury dog-clothing brand and has developed a dedicated Indian festive and pet-couture offering. Its current collections include kurtas, lehengas, sherwanis, Anarkali-style dresses, saree-inspired pieces, and other occasion wear, alongside crystal pet jewellery. It is very much aimed at the pet parent who wants the festive outfit to feel like a proper fashion moment.
Then there is Petaloons, which has made ethnic dog-wear a central part of its identity. Its current collections include lehengas, sherwanis and other Indian festive styles designed for occasions ranging from Diwali and pujas to weddings and family photographs.
For those who want a broader pet-lifestyle destination, Heads Up for Tails has a substantial festive range alongside its everyday pet products. Its current festive offering includes kurtas, dresses, shirts, bow ties and bandanas, making it possible to go from full festive dressing to something much simpler.
Supertails has also developed an extensive ethnic-wear section, with kurtas, sherwanis, lehengas and festive accessories sourced across different labels. Its current range includes both traditional and fusion styles, from relatively simple kurtas to embroidered sherwanis and lehengas.
There are smaller labels adding their own interpretations. PawsIndia, for example, currently offers ethnic festive clothing described as a traditional or Nawabi-inspired dog kurta, using embroidered fabric with a soft inner lining.
Wrapinfur has a dedicated Diwali collection too, including kurtas and sherwanis, while The Pet Closet Co. has experimented with Indian wear, they have the cutest dog dhotis.
Or, like me, you could have your fur child’s festive outfit custom-made by your tailor. It’s surprisingly economical and best of all, completely one of a kind. Just like my one-of-a-kind baby girl.
Comfort Over Style Always
However, festive fashion should never come at the cost of comfort. Your pet gets a vote. No photograph, however beautiful, is worth making your beloved uncomfortable.
An outfit should fit properly, allow natural movement, and not put pressure on the neck, chest, or legs. Decorations that can be chewed off and swallowed should also be avoided. India’s climate matters too. A heavily embellished velvet outfit may look spectacular, but a light cotton kurta, or simple festive bandana may make much more sense.
Some pets love getting dressed. Some tolerate it, while others want nothing to do with it. All three reactions are useful information.
The festival is for them too. They should be able to participate comfortably, not endure an outfit for our photographs. Sometimes the most beautiful festive look is a simple bandana, a collar or simply your pet exactly as nature intended.
Dogs with no festive wardrobe
But there is another thing I think about when I see all these beautiful little outfits. The dogs wearing them are lucky. They have people thinking about what size to order, someone choosing their colours, someone giving them a treat after the photograph, someone who knows where they sleep, and someone who will make sure they come inside when the fireworks become too loud.
Outside our homes, there are countless dogs who have none of this. No festive kurta, no new collar, no family photograph, no one wondering whether maroon would complement their coat. There are dogs sleeping outside shops, under cars, beside construction sites, and in the corners of neighbourhoods they have somehow made their own. Some have never known a home. Some once had one. Simply waiting for the day their lives change.
Festivals can be particularly difficult for them. The noise and sudden bursts of fireworks can frighten animals who have nowhere quiet and secure to retreat to.
So, while we dress our own furry family members, perhaps we can remember the ones who have nobody to dress them. A bowl of clean water, a meal, a little food left somewhere safe, helping a street dog who needs veterinary care, supporting a rescue or shelter, or making sure the animals around our homes have somewhere safe to hide from the noise. None of these things requires a jewelled collar, and yet they may mean much more to a dog.
From the Nawab’s Palace to Our Living Rooms
Perhaps that is what makes the story of pet fashion in India so interesting. It is not really a story about clothes. It is a story about how we include our furry friends in the things that matter to us.
The Nawab of Junagadh had his pets dressed in jewellery and finery. I grew up with Ginger and Beauty, who were part of every family celebration. Theia has her own little festive wardrobe. The scale may have changed, but the feeling hasn’t.
So, this Diwali, dress your furry child if they enjoy it. Buy the kurta, tie the bandana, take the photograph.
While we celebrate with our pets, spare a thought for those who are out on the streets or are waiting to be adopted into a loving home. Because the greatest luxury a dog can have isn’t a jewelled collar. It is a safe place to sleep, a full stomach, and someone who says, “You are a good baby!”
Happy Diwali—from The Paw Society and Theia’s Mumma, Niharika Singh Dalal.