Diwali - It's time to BAM!

Diwali is like the most awaited festival of the year. We all wait for it the whole year. We all celebrate it with great joy with our family and friends. Our reasons may be different to celebrate it, as there are many tales associated with it. The most common tale is that of Lord Rama returning to Ayodhya with his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshmana after an exile of 14 years and defeating Ravana. The night of Diwali is moonless night or Amavasya so we lit diyas and candles. Diwali is hence called the festival of light and it feels like Indian Christmas for the uninitiated. 

Diwali is not only just yet another religious time of the year, it is much more. Colorful rangolis, resplendent diyas, mesmerizing firecrackers, mouthwatering food, nightlong card parties, vigorous gift giving and a massive dose of amusement and laughter with family and friends are all the ingredients that make up the recipe for a smashing Diwali.

Since Diwali is the most colorful and the vibrant festival you need to plan your outfit accordingly to capture the gaze and turn heads of masses.

For the morning time when you have to go and meet relatives or they come to your house. The time when you have to get all dressed up to mingle up with people. You don’t want to be overdressed at that time with your heavy lehenga.

What you want is something elegant yet dressy, something in which you are not overdressed for the occasion. Go to the salwar kameez route with its draped front or the traditional with light color breezy elegant saree.

For the game night of Diwali, the game of cards. You might want to wear something in the Indo western area.

Be it any occasion gowns are always fashionably elegant. So this Diwali let the glamorous gown and dreamy confections make everyone go gaga! To make it more classy carry a ritzy clutch.

Revamp your Diwali style this season by adding some modern taste to your traditional attire. Wear a body fitting tee with a long traditional skirt and perk up your attire with some old traditional jewellery. 

For the game night of Diwali, the game of cards. You might want to wear something in the Indo western area.

Be it any occasion gowns are always fashionably elegant. So this Diwali let the glamorous gown and dreamy confections make everyone go gaga! To make it more classy carry a ritzy clutch.

Revamp your Diwali style this season by adding some modern taste to your traditional attire. Wear a body fitting tee with a long traditional skirt and perk up your attire with some old traditional jewellery.

PAIRING RIGHT JEWELLERY WITH YOUR ATTIRE

For the game night of Diwali, the game of cards. You might want to wear something in the Indo western area.

Be it any occasion gowns are always fashionably elegant. So this Diwali let the glamorous gown and dreamy confections make everyone go gaga! To make it more classy carry a ritzy clutch.

Revamp your Diwali style this season by adding some modern taste to your traditional attire. Wear a body fitting tee with a long traditional skirt and perk up your attire with some old traditional jewellery.

CHOOSING THE CORRECT FOOTWEAR

For the game night of Diwali, the game of cards. You might want to wear something in the Indo western area.

Be it any occasion gowns are always fashionably elegant. So this Diwali let the glamorous gown and dreamy confections make everyone go gaga! To make it more classy carry a ritzy clutch.

Revamp your Diwali style this season by adding some modern taste to your traditional attire. Wear a body fitting tee with a long traditional skirt and perk up your attire with some old traditional jewellery.

Have fun on your shopping sprees, and have a Happy Diwali!!! 

By Pia Bhadauria

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Navratri Celebrations

Navratri, we celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm every year. Navratri is a combination of two words, where ‘Nav’ means nine and ‘ratri’ means to be nights.
It is a festival of all nine days. In these nine days, we worship nine different forms of goddess Durga.
Many of the people also opt for fasting and they wait an entire year to be part of this festival.
Any fast or a festival is incomplete without bhog. Navratri also has nine different kinds of bhog for each day having its own significance. There are nine different colours also for each day of this festival.

Day one of Navratri also known as ‘Pratipada’, we worship “Maa Shailputri”, the daughter of Himalayas. On this day cow’s ghee is offered to the goddess. This gives the devotee a disease-free life. The colour for this day is yellow.

The second day is ‘Dwitiya’. On this day Goddess Durga is worshipped as “Brahmacharini”. This form grants prosperity and emancipation. To increase the longevity of the devotee and his/her family members, sugar is offered to the goddess on this day. The colour for this day as per religion is green.

The third day of Navratri is known as ‘tritiya’ and goddess Durga is worshipped as “Maa Chandraghanta”. The third day of Navratri exhibits characteristics of bravery and courage. Grey is the colour for this day. It is believed that offering milk, kheer and sweets made of milk helps to get rid of sorrows and pains in life.

On the fourth day of Navratri also known as the ‘chaturthi’, goddess Durga is worshipped in the form of “Kushmanda”. It is depicted to have 10 hands. The colour for this day is orange. As bhog to goddess Kushmanda, malpua is offered to the maan Durga goddess. It is believed that the universe is formed from the abdomen of the goddess. Offering malpua to goddess Kushmanda is believed to improve mental ability and decision-making power of the devotee.

A form of goddess Durga to be worshipped on the fifth day or the ‘panchami’ is “Skandmata”. Skandmata is depicted holding an infant Kartikey. It is traditional to wear white on this day. The bhog that we offer to goddess Skandmata on this is a banana. It is believed that offering banana helps to keep the physical health of the devotee.

On the sixth day ‘Shashti’, we worship goddess “Katyayani”. According to Hindu mythology, respected Kata performed several formalities to welcome the Goddess in the form of a daughter. Impressed with the devotion, the Goddess accepted his blessing. The child who was born to Kata came to be known as Katyayani. Honey is offered to the goddess on this day and this makes the devotee look charming and attractive. Color for this day is red.

‘Saptami’ or the seventh day. Goddess “Kalratri” is worshipped on this day. The goddess is portrayed having a dark complexion and aggressive posture. The colour for this day is royal blue. On this day we offer jaggery to the goddess for the removal of evil powers.

On the eighth day of Navratri or the ‘Ashtmi’ goddess, “Maha Gauri” is worshipped and this day symbolizes of purity, serenity and tranquillity, Mahagauri is said to put an end to all the suffering of her devotees. People offer fresh un-boiled milk, sweets made from mawa,halwa, black chana (gram) and fresh flowers to this goddess Later, these items are distributed as prasad among themselves.


Looking Ethnic and Trendy 
For Women

• Anarkali: A beautifully designed anarkali suit will be nicely complemented with stone jumkis and an embellished clutch. This dress will make you feel like a diva and grab everyone’s attention.  You can even add height with a nice pair of stilettos.

• Lehengas: The quintessential ethnic wear, will certainly add some beauty and charm to your appearance. Team it up with a nice pair of heels and an embroidered bag to give it a nice ethnic look. This is certain to be a great attire for this festive season.

For Men

• Kurta Payjama: Men can wear kurta pyajama in different shades of pink, blue or any bright colour. The neck can be adorned with beautiful embroidery or colourful prints. Cotton and silk are popularly used fabrics for kurta pyjamas. This ethnic dress can also be completed by teaming it up with a pair of nagaras/mojaris.

• Sherwani: This traditional attire can be teamed with a pink stole, embroidery on the neckline and slim fit black pants to create a distinct look. With this attire, you will definitely stand out from the crowd.

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Go Elegant with Designer outfits on a BUDGET

Ours being a traditional country have such a variety of functions. Festivals are always
around the corner for us to get ready in our pretty clothes and celebrate. Be it
Karva Chauth, Bhai dooj, or wedding, dressing up in your favorite ethnic couture
is always a task to look upon to?

Ethnic wear may include Anarkali's, Sarees, Patiala’s,

And lehenga choli. Lehenga choli is a  quintessential part for the women in India.

Before buying any piece of cloth we see which kind of it would look best on you.

• FLARED LEHENGA

o   Oldest and the most traditional style, this lehenga has abroad flare and forms a complete circle at the hem. This has extreme volume and starts with numerous pleats at the hem that finally diffuse as one goes down the flare.

DOUBLE FLARE

   o   This kind of lehenga has double/triple or as much flare you want to add, which increase the volume of lehenga.

• FISHTAIL LEHENGA: These imitate a mermaid’s body, being tight around the waist area till the knee and flaring from calves in the form of a fishtail.

• SINGLE FLARE LEHENGA: Oldest and the most traditional style, this lehenga has a broad flare and forms a complete circle at the hem. This has extreme volume and starts with numerous pleats at the hem that finally diffuse as one goes down the flare.

• SHARARA CUT LEHENGA: Usually worn with a long kurta and worn by Muslim brides. These are stitched from the middle of the hem like a huge palazzo but looks like a lehenga as a whole.

                      

• LEHENGA WITH JACKET : These lehengas are kept simple and flare with a long jacket covering it. And as only the hem of the lehenga is visible these often have broad laces or heavy work on them. This style is very fresh in the worlds of weddings and is getting into the top hits these days.

• STRAIGHT CUT LEHENGA: This lehenga is extremely skin hugging. Just as the name indicates this has a straight skirt that flows along the body curves and doesn’t flare out like the usual lehengas.
  
  

•  A-LINE LEHENGA: This lehenga is tighter at the waist area and has quite less number of pleats. This forms a perfect A with a usual A-line hem.

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