All that glitters is gold and gota
How we Indians thrive on sensory overload! If there was a little lull between the G20 retreat and the World Cup buildup upbeat, the gap was gainfully made up for by the Gs: Gold, gold and more gold, at not only the Asiads but also at a Big Fat Punjabi Bollywood Wedding.
To cut a long story short — #Raghneeti.
As is true of all trending tidings, one had an overdose of the Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha destination vyaah, which popped up here and everywhere on cyberia.
It felt like ending up in Chandini Chowk’s Kinari Bazaar again and again, whichever gali you gallivanted down
It doesn’t get more “Reel” than this.
How we love fairytales! And all the better if it’s a fairytale, that brings a bridal veil gilt-embossed with the groom’s name that for miles and miles does trail.
What better to tell the tale!
To tell the tale of the rising cross-cultural influences on traditional Indian wedding couture and customs.
If the British monarchy to Hollywood have globalised the Christian custom of the bridal veil trailing down the aisle, how can Bollywood be far behind.
If the West has borrowed the saree, we haven’t lagged in pulling out all stops, and all shops, for that customised Western twist to the Bollywood bridal veil.
What a pity that our naanis and dadis weren’t born in the age of the Sabyasachis and Manish Malhotras.
What a pity that they left us with black-and-white veiled memories, clothed in sepia sheen, of miles’ long bridal ghoonghats that bespoke only a front story, but never told the back tale (oops, “tail”)!
St Petersburg and sarees
The cross-cultural assimilation did put its best foot forward though at a cultural spectacle hosted last week by the Russian Embassy in the Capital.
The artistes of the Moroshka Theatre from St Petersburg, presenting the “Russian Miracle”, sprang on the Indian audience a sartorial surprise.
The Russian ensemble cast incorporated into their act the famous “Naacho Naacho” (the Hindi version of Oscar-winning “Naatu Naatu”). What stole the hearts even more was that they shook the leg or two by switching costumes to sport sarees.
What a Moroshka metaphor to show that cross-continental cultural assimilation indeed is a two-way traffic.
First lady to fever time
Who better to embody this than the newest Poster Girl of Politics — Britain’s First Lady Akshata Murthy!
Her G20 wardrobe best personified the new twist to Kipling — East is East and West is West, but forever “the twain shall meet”.
From her western coral skirt set culled from label Drawn to the soft palettes of the Raw Mango powder pink Chanderi saree, Akshata stood out as not only an ambassador for assimilation but also as a celebrity face that was understated, underplayed in an otherwise overdressed G20 narrative.
Akshata was the metaphor for minimalism driving a G20 landscape that rather resembled a rogue-dubbed dowager.
As of now, as pubs and clubs do the dressing up for World Cup screenings, all one can do is bide, the sensory overload of the cricket-crazed tide.
The curious case of All’s Well That Ends Veil.
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