Parmeshwar Devkota

Though the printing on a T-shirt is the latest fad, it has a long and accidental history. According to Dr. Jagadish Saksenais, a shirt with sleeve came into being in England in the 16th century. And the trend of wearing a T-shirt began in 1820, thanks to the rage of a blacksmith woman.
A blacksmith named Troy lived in New York. His lovely wife would keep washing his shirt carefully. But she could not be able to remove the dirt adhered to the neckline of the shirt. Then, she cut its neckline for good, unconsciously giving birth to a T-shirt. As Troy wore it, some of his friends liked it. So, they ordered to make such T-shirts which caught the fancy of nascent fashion world.
Along with the advance garment technology and youths’ love for trendy clothes, printing on T-shirts began in England in the 20th century. Now, computer-aided design called ‘cut printing technique’ is considered very effective for the printing names, numbers and logos on the front or the back sides of a T-shirt.
You may have seen people, especially, youths wearing T-shirts with different slogans, images and messages. You, too, might have been enticed by some of such slogans and icons. Everybody can catch sight of the front and back parts of your attire. All people may not heed it but those who have the habit of poking their nose into other people’s matters are quick to steal a glance at them. Sometimes they make fun of it.
In our society, the mother plays a prominent role in grooming their kids. If one of her children does something extraordinary, she may react differently. If her child writes ‘KTM’, ‘Hong Kong’, ‘Paris’, ‘London’, etc. on his/her T-shirt, the mother may not mind.
If her child is a rapper by profession and writes ‘Bob Marley’, ‘Lady Gaga’ on his/her chest, she might be happy thinking that her offspring is imitating celebrities. Similar could be her response when her children interested in sports and writes ‘Ronaldo’, ‘Neymar’ or ‘Messi’, on their T-shirts. If the child is gregarious in nature and writes ‘Friends’, ‘Together’, she may not feel very bad. When a voracious child writes ‘I Love Mo:Mo’ ‘I Love Chow mein,’ she may be happy. If her daughter writes ‘Sorry’, she may smile in private for her child has come of age.
Similar might be her response if her son writes Daika Ghopte Junga (folded moustaches of my brother) on his T-shirt as some youths are seen wearing such T-shirts. But, the mother will certainly lose her temper if her child writes ‘Attacker’ or ‘Dead Inside’ on his/her T-shirts. Some youths are seen roaming around wearing such T-shirts because a mother is eager to read between the lines. Thus, the T-shirts are not only easy and flexible outfits but have also become means of carrying oblique messages that their wearers want to convey to family and friends alike.