Sarada spin to Dasara

Don’t let the depressing news of Hyderabad rains or Covid-19 bog you down. The Navratris give us hope of good times ahead. 
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

HYDERABAD: “We’ve lost out three days of shopping this year. We had all made plans to shop this week for the upcoming Bathukamma, but the rains and the pandemic meant double trouble. But there’s hope,” says Gauri Naidu, a stylist in Hyderabad. Having styled (putting together the entire look based on the event) actor-producer Niharika Konidela, TV anchor Anasuya Bharadwaj and composer Keeravani’s son Simha in his debut movie, Gauri is considered one of the contemporary stylists who can give a glamorous look to her clients.

The designer who lives in  Kakatiya Hills and has her workshop in Banjara Hills currently accepts orders on her Instagram page @GauriNaiduOfficial. This engineering graduate from Vizag with a stint at Tech Mahindra tried her hand at designing and when she love with the craft, took up a full-time designing course at Hamstech College to become a stylist for movies and TV shows. She has been in the profession for five years and has signed up for a few movies now.  

“First of all, we all love variety, and nothing gives us more variety than the nine days that lead to Dasara. In Telangana, Bathukamma is a great excuse to get decked up and pose. Firstly, identify the days that you want to dress up. Find out the colours that our ancestors have recommended based on the avatars of Ammavaru. Let’s align ourselves with her vibe to get a touch of her divinity,” she says. (Check box for nine days and nine colours)

Look for house parties

Remember the 90s when we used to have small gatherings with our family and friends. That is going to be in trend in these social distancing times. So being slightly traditional without going out all bold is a good idea as you don’t want to offend the grandparents. However, you can always go bold for your 
Instafam

Dandiya look

  • This look has got to have an overdose of mirrors - on your tops, lehenga, dupatta, on your earrings and even as a bindi on your forehead. As dandiya is typically an outdoor night event, this look makes you stand out and when they dangle around, it makes you feel festive.
  • Men can opt for Angarakha kurtas with a Rajasthani stole

Bathukamma look

  • Revamp is the word this season, So if you haven’t shopped much, mix and match what you have to create a new look. Try those lovely tee shirts to go as saree blouses, lehengas and skirts. 
  • Teenagers who find Indian traditional wear too limiting, go for Indo-Western. So for a single colour silk or handloom kurti and team it up with a denim skinny jeans. This look works for both young men and women.
  • Use colourful scarfs that act as a dupatta while adding some colour and novel element. 
  • For the Bathukamma look, try a langa voni. Peacock feathers and other motifs on the lehengas are trending this season. If your lehenga is grand, go for simple jewellery. If the outfit is simple, opt for stand-out kundan jewellery sets that give a festive look.

Dasara at hometown

Gauri’s personal look for Dasara: I am a handloom lover and it’s going to be a plain saree in a pastel colour, a blouse in a contrasting pop-up colour and jewellery with mirror work

  • Since you have already dressed up on the previous days, the Dasara can be a sober one with a focus on pooja and food.
  • Interestingly, this year, the glitter bindi is for Dandiya. The old ‘dress and matching colour bindi’ style is back. Buy an entire 24 colour bottu strip to mix and match with your outfit
  • The grand and heavy sarees are all for weddings that we may go to later this year. Opt for plain sarees with a grand blouse in a new design with embroidery on it. Try out blouses in new looks and new backs. The saree has to pale in comparison with the choley. Now many e-commerce sites have added readymade blouses deliverable in 24 hours. Many tailors have shut shop due to Covid-19 and unable to pay the rentals, have started working from home or supply to such portals.
  • If your saree is simple, accent your  makeup with eyeliners, lipstick, lipgloss, chunky earrings and a bracelet
  • Silver and oxidised jewellery look great, without looking too loud. Save up your gold jewellery for an outdoor wedding later this year and opt for these silver or oxidised jewellery which actually goes well with south Indian skin tones. Gold is for silk outfits.
  • Also go easy on the lipstick as you don’t want your food to have stains of the lipstick. I suggest nude brown lipstick this season
  • A new accessory that is making noise is the clip-on silver nose pin in religious motifs such as trishul, lotus or paisley

Places/Insta pages to pick from

 Handmade jewellery stalls at Shilparamam 
 Near Gandhi statue at General Bazar, Secunderabad
 Ameerpet shops, near the Metro station

    Day 1        Grey
    Day 2        Orange
    Day 3        White
    Day 4        Red
    Day 5        Royal Blue
    Day 6        Yellow
    Day 7        Green
    Day 8        Peacock Green
    Day 9        Purple

— Manju Latha Kalanidhi
 kalanidhi@newindianexpress.com
 @mkalanidhi

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