Bagalbandi or Barabandhi or Daura is a male upper garment; it is a typical shirt that ties on the side. It is similar to a waistcoat in style. It has a wide section in the front that overlaps the other side, similar to a double-breasted coat with strings attached to fasten the garment. Bagalbandi is an ethnic costume of the Indian subcontinent; the garment is more associated with Hindi belt, Gujarat, Maharastra, Nepal, along with other regions.The Journal of the Bihar Research Society - Page 877, 1977, University of Virginia
Etymology Bagalbandi (Hindi: बगलबंदी, Bagalbandi, Marathi: बाराबंदी, Barabandi, Nepali: दौरा, Daura, Bengali: পার্শ্ব বন্ধ, Parshwo Bondho) is a combined colloquial word, Bagal suggests 'side of the body' and bandhi or bandi implies to bands or 'to tie.'
Regional styles
In Hindi belt, Rajasthan and Gujarat it is worn with dhoti, turban and forms part of traditional male costume in the region.The Journal of the Bihar Research Society - Page 877- 1977, University of Virginia In Hindi belt apart from dhoti, it is also worn with tight fitted trousers called churidar or salwar. Like most common traditional dresses with minor alterations it has also become a popular style among females today.
It is known as "Barabandhi" in Maharashtra and surrounding regions. The word "Bara" means "12" in Marathi language and "Bandi" means "tie", it has 12 nods, 6 in the inner side and 6 outer side. In Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana an older term Angi is also used for this clothing, varying 4 to 12 nods.A Dictionary, Canarese and English - Page 12 - William Reeve · 1858
In Nepal, Sikkim and Darjeeling regions it is known as "Daura" It is worn with suruwal, a term also used in Gujarat for tight fitted trousers.West Bengal District Gazetteers: Darjiling, by Amiya Kumar Banerji ... [et al (1980)
Bagalbandi is also a clothing style characterized in Eastern and Northeast regions, notably in Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Manipur Manipuri Bagal Bandi - https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.220123/2015.220123.Manipur_djvu.txt
See also Daura-Suruwal
References