Trend alerts for this Pongal

Sugarcane, poha, dried beans, pot decoration, adorning cows, colourful kolams, etc; can you relate all these things? Pongal is round the corner and now you have surely guessed what we are talking about. Most of us are well-known with the customs and rituals of the festival of Pongal as this is a major festival of the southern India, just as Makar Sankranti in the northern part of India. But are you aware of the fact that these days themed Pongal parties are being arranged and they are becoming a popular trend among the youngsters as well as the elder people. Obviously these themed parties have certain dress code, something which is to be looked forward to.

For many of you this festival is intermingle of traditional and trendy fashion items. Before you step out of your home for the preparation of the festival and the shopping to be completed, let us help you to make a list of dresses for Pongal celebration and parties:

The traditional dresses for men during the festival include Veshti (dhoti) and Shirt. The Veshtis are normally white in colour with various styled and coloured thin border. The male folks wear the shirts on top of Veshtis of any colour and style like stripes, checks, etc or kurtas which are short in length. This is the timeless elegant combo. In the Pongal themed parties, men can mix the traditional style with the urban style and wear Veshti with sneakers and some folk music to reflect up the festival party.

The women usually sport into various shades of heavy silk Kanjeevaram Sarees. These sarees are complimented with diamond or gold jewelleries. The young girls can go with half sarees, skirts (pavadai in Tamil), salwar kameez, anarkali kameez, etc. These outfits bring out the ambience of celebration and parties. The Pavadais can be worn by little girls during the celebration of parties at home and at party hall as well. In Tamil half saree is known as Dhavani which are nowadays in trend for Pongal celebrations. If you are a young girl, you will look both stylish and traditional in Dhavanis.

There is quite a range for all the categories of people celebrating the Pongal. 

You can even go for gowns and kurta-pyjamas irrespective of your gender, giving a traditional feel in the manner of dressing. Or you can discover and put together a style of yours which will bring together the best of ritualistic and modern-day fashion and give you a stylish and elegant Pongal this year. Have a great Pongal celebration wearing your new dress combos ahead!!!!!

Colours of Bengali wedding

Wedding, what an ecstatic term it is to us. For most of us it is the combo of two F’s i.e. fun and fashion. Wedding means lots and lots of new dresses, entertainment to the fullest for all family and friends. What is your most favourite part in a wedding? I’m sure it is the shopping or as a whole the total preparation of the wedding. Have you ever been a part of a Bengali wedding? If not, give us the scope to take you to a journey full of entertainment and rituals of a beautiful Bengali wedding.

To make a start, let us count some of the major rituals in a Bengali wedding, which are related to tradition and entertainment. Like all the other weddings, a Bengali wedding also has huge list of pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding rituals. Apart from the functions of wedding and reception, a Bengali bride and groom wear simple but traditional attires which will give you the feeling of both fun and style. The bride and her female family members and friends wear beautiful sarees, mostly handloom or silk made. The groom and the male folks wear kurta, pyjama or dhoti. At the ritual of Gaye Holud the bride wears a new tant saree of normally yellow colour and the groom wear dhoti. The other ladies wear sarees mostly of red, yellow, and orange, green or of any bright colour. The attires for all the rituals taking place in the daytime are kept simple for the bride and groom and also for the family members and close friends as well.

At the wedding, the bride is generally draped in heavily embroidered Banarasi saree of various colours like maroon, red, pink, etc. Like the brides of the other religions, the head of a Bengali bride is covered with a veil of red, maroon or golden colour. The Banarasi sarees are heavily embroidered with golden thread all over. The grooms wear dhotis of cream yellow or white colour and a jor (a piece of cloth covering the upper part of groom’s body) of cream yellow colour and silk fabric or a Panjabi.

The bridal attire of a Bengali bride is complimented with traditional Bengali jewellery. The bride's forehead is adorned with beautiful patterns of chandan and a red bindi in the center on the forehead. The bride wears beautiful mukut like a princess. The groom covers his head with a gorgeous topor, make him appear majestic.

Modern fashion designers are designing these stuffs bearing in mind the contemporary look of a Bengali bride and Groom. The modern Bengali bride and groom also opt for combined colour themes, which really work wonder. At the reception party i.e. bou-bhaat organised by the groom’s side, the brides normally wear embroidered Banarasi silk saree of various colours including blue and green and the grooms wear suits or blazers. These days the brides prefer to wear lehengas and the grooms are comfortable in sherwanis. During the night festivities the participants of the wedding deck up with heavy and gorgeous dresses and ornaments. The extravagant decoration of the venue of wedding and reception and dress up of the attendees are the major glamour of any Bengali wedding. You can find the true essence of Bengali tradition in every part of a Bengali wedding.

Many of the Bollywood movies have shown the rituals, fun and fashion of the Bengali weddings. You must have definitely seen one or two or the whole lot of these movies like Parineeta, Devdas, Barfi, etc. Over all, the main aspect of a Bengali wedding is tradition as well as fashion and entertainment.

Image Source: http://drop.ndtv.com/albums/ENTERTAINMENT/vidya-top-10/parineeta.jpg

Peep into a Sikh wedding

Well, have you ever visited a Sikh wedding, an Anand Karaj? If not in real life, you have surely watched “JAB WE MET”, the movie with Sikh backdrop. Have you noticed their colourful, cheerful and flamboyant wedding rituals? Not just the wedding rituals, but the outfits they wear during all the functions of the wedding reflect their liveliness. Let us get started to know a bit more about them:

The Pre-wedding rituals of a Sikh kick off with the ROKA/THAKA ceremony. This follows the SAGAI, MAIYA, then SANGEET, MEHENDI, GANA, VATNA, GHAROLI, KHARE CHARNA, CHOORA CHARANA, SEHRABANDI and GHODI CHADNA. The wedding rituals include MILNI and ANAND KARAJ. Post wedding rituals have DOLI, then DOLI DINNER, RECEPTION and PHERE PAUNA. However our main concern is not the wedding rituals, but the outfits of the people participating in a Sikh wedding. Sikh brides and grooms dress differently for each of the pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding rituals. All the wedding rituals continue for about 3 to 4 days and for each day the bride and the groom don a new look.

The Sikh wedding functions are extremely traditional and grand. The invitees are normally dressed in traditional and beautiful clothes. The female folks generally wear vibrant salwar suits or these days the gorgeous anarkali kameez while male folks wear kurta pyjama or kurta churidar. As the Sikhs are very traditional, they are extremely sensitive about the outfits they wear. The grooms wear sherwani and pyjama or western suits. The elders of the family put pagdi or turban on groom’s head, before he leaves to get his bride and a female member ties sehra around the turban. Red or pink is the usual colour of the bridal wears of the Sikh brides. Salwar is most important dress of the Sikh brides, which is flattered by brilliantly embroidered heavy dupatta or chunni. As the trends have changed nowadays, the brides wear designer lehengas as well studded with stones and heavy embroidered work done.

The bride wears heavy jewelleries, which might be of diamond, gold or imitations. Earnings, anklets, necklace, mangtika and above all the chooda, which is given to her by her maternal uncle to wear on the wedding day, are the main components of a Sikh bride jewellery kit. Chooda is the combination of red and white bangles made up of either ivory or plastic, studded with beautiful stones. These bangles have to be worn by a Sikh bride for at least a year.

Beautiful designs of henna, on the mehendi night, are applied on hands and feet of bride. This is considered as auspicious and makes the bride appear exceptionally gorgeous. The mehendi designs really harmonize the bridal dress and the jewelleries. Make-up artist carry out bride’s makeup to enhance her beauty and give her the best look on the wedding day.

Matching clutches are carried by the Sikh brides, which complement the dress and her personality. Such clutches and purses are specially designed for brides, which can be selected as per the dress and design of the wedding day. In the recent days, clutches are in fashion for all female folks of the wedding.

If you notice, the style mantra for Sikh brides and grooms and all the other members in a Sikh wedding is simple yet graceful! In order to find all the fashionable wedding outfits and accessories, browse online. Do not forget to share your experience with us. Stay blessed, stay fashionable in the New Year.