Durga Puja – Rio Carnival of the East

📸 – Shekhar Jajodia

“She can move darkness”

Most important part of the year for a Bengali has arrived. Oh great Mother, we welcome you on this earth whole heartedly. May your arrival destroy all the negativity around us.

📸 – Shekhar Jajodia

For me, the feeling of Durga Puja is incomparable to any other time of the year. It’s a 10 day long celebration filled with delicious food, new clothes (hello, new saris!), aartis and pujas, and being surrounded by your family and friends. Can’t wait to immerse myself into the Godly embrace 🙏🏻 (Excitement creeping in ❤️😁)

📸 – Shekhar Jajodia

Let’s proceed with the assumption that you know what Durga Puja is about. For those who have no clue, it’s the worship of the Hindu Goddess Durga and her children, whose idols are hosted in the makeshift Pandals for around five days. Let’s proceed..

Article Courtesy: Timesofindia Indiatimes Blogs

It won’t be entirely an exaggeration to say that Bengalis world over spend a significant amount of their time planning and deciding what to do during the Durga Pujas. Most of them wear multiple sets of clothes – mind you, there’s a morning outfit and an evening outfit, plus emergency backup outfits. And of course, there are important decisions to make – like what to eat on which day. From the warm khichudi, papad bhaja as bhog in pandals to the street stalls set up to serve delectable dishes like egg rolls, kobiraji and mughlai parota, you are game to feast on anything and everything.

So prior to the pujas, the air is absolutely thick with a feeling one gets just before the starting, the unravelling of something extremely huge — the feeling you get just before reaching the peak of a much awaited climax.

You will get to see sweaty Bongs, who under the twelve o’clock sun, sits in an auto patiently stuck in a huge traffic jam in the heart of a buzz-filled street, clutching onto innumerable bulging shopping bags of different shapes and sizes. This is called Puja shopping.

It is a reverberating rhythm which amplifies and resounds in the sounds of the dhak. It’s a feeling. You can not only hear it, but feel it — you get goose bumps when the dhakis first begin to play their beat. The city reverberates with the echo of conch shells, which is no less than a divine feeling.

Durga Puja is actually, the celebration of ‘life’ and the joy of ‘living’ more than anything else. Durga Puja becomes an expression of the city itself. It is almost that the city bursts into laughter during these few days.

Durga Puja 2017, Bahrain

Source: Instagram

I look forward to celebrating Durga Puja with you.

Till then, in the words of my great grandmother, Dugga Dugga.

Signature Studio Dubai Ramadan Tour – Pakistan’s Leading Fashion Designers visit Bahrain

Artist, Experience and Collections, Jewelry

Anna Shoaib, Managing Director of Signature Studio in Dubai

Last week, I caught up with Anna Shoaib, a wonderful woman, entrepreneur, mother and proud owner of Signature Studio Dubai on her Ramadan tour of Bahrain.

The best part of our meeting was that I got to meet some amazingly talented designers from the studio, not just that, I also got to try some of their dazzling clothing line and accessories.

With the gorgeous Sammy K. Wearing one of her exclusive collections, she creates breathtaking clothing range from embellished Bridals to Prêt wear.

Every detail was perfect – from their professionalism and attentiveness of nailing down all the details, to arriving on site super early to make sure everything was done perfectly. The passion Anna Shoaib has for what she does is unparalleled, and it shows through her exquisite work!

A good collaboration is based on unique contributions from each side. Thank you for being so so sweet and supportive Anna ❤❤

Photos from the Exhibition

Mohey by Manyavar – A Trend in Tradition

Jewelry, Lifestyle

Here you go! Mohey by Manyavar launches this magnificent new wedding collection. With the wedding season already begun, many stores that sell ethnic wear are seeing a lot of visitors.

This week I visited Mohey in Guwahati to check out their latest wedding collection. With the finest Lehengas, Gowns, Sarees and Suits – holding true to the core values of Manyavar (its parent brand), Mohey offers a lovely and affordable range of Indian ethnic wear and is one of the most popular among all Women’s ethnic wear brands, popular for their wedding and festive wear. And with each passing year their creations and style has become more refined.

Here are a few photographs of what went down at the blog shoot:

Hands down to my current favorite Indian ethnic wear brand that not only gives an amazing quality of clothing but even has a vibrant touch to each outfit.

Whether you are skinny or you are pear type, these Kurtis are sure to enhance your figure.

Few of my favourite accessories. Chandbali to Jhumar Earrings – Loved the shape and royalty – couldn’t help but pick a pair

The accessory range includes beautiful handcrafted jewelled Potli bags and Clutches

Whether we talk about their fabric or cuts they have something unique to offer you

In today’s global world where we are quite influenced by western traditions and dresses, we have that silent love for our Indian ethnic wear

With the wonderful Pradeep Gupta, Manyavar and Mohey NE. Incredibly thankful to the entire team for making my shopping experience so memorable

Make sure you check out the Manyavar and Mohey Ganeshguri store in Guwahati and experience it yourself with your friends and family this wedding season. Also make sure to visit the official website HERE.

Right Accessories – Make a Good Impression

Jewelry, Lifestyle

Two of my favorite fashion quotes revolve around accessorizing and they are good guidelines to follow:

“When accessorizing, always take off the last thing you put on.” –Coco Chanel.

“Last thing on, first thing noticed.” Carson Kressley

Dressing for success includes your outfit, personal grooming, and accessories. Clients and business associates pay attention to details, and so should you. Even the ring you wear says something about who you are.

Pulling together an overall corporate image is especially important for work-at-home mom bloggers, and business women who work from home. To get big contracts, you need to appear successful. Looking ill-groomed or like you just came from the grocery store, conveys a message that you may not take business meetings seriously.

Following tips for adding accessories to your business or blogger wardrobe will help you look your very best.

Jewelry

Rings, bracelets, and necklaces can make or break an outfit. The most important thing to know about jewelry is to not mix your metal colors. If you are going to wear silver-colored jewelry then wear all silver-colored. Note that this doesn’t mean that your metals must all be the same. If you are wearing a white gold ring but it matches your silver pieces this is perfectly all right.

When first exploring the world of accessories, you will tend to over-do it and wear too many. For the fashion initiate here is my rule: you may wear one ring, one bracelet or watch, and one necklace at the same time. Either buy the most expensive pieces you can afford in your budget or pieces that are extremely inexpensive but meaningful.

Scarves

It is fine to wear tasteful scarves in the business or blogger events; just make sure they are accessory scarves and not winter wear. Tie your scarf in an infinity knot or go with a simple knot — resist the urge to be trendy and tuck it into your belt.

Choose colors that complement your overall look and not that compete with it. If you wear a chunky scarf, size down your jewelry (and skip wearing a necklace).

Watches

The world of watches can be profoundly confusing and expensive if you don’t know what to buy. I am no watch expert but I suggest if you can afford an expensive watch you can’t go wrong with any well-known brand.

Purses

Purse colors should coordinate with your shoe color.

A good purse should be small or medium, but easy to open in case you need to find an item inside.

Accessories like makeup, jewelry, and even your journal and pen should not be overlooked. They are tools that you can use to convey a positive and winning message about yourself and your ability to succeed.

Not everyone is this calculating in their decisions, but everyone looks at outward appearances and makes quick judgments about what the little things say about a person. When developing your personal sense of style and fashion, you should not overlook the value of accessories. These are the last items you should be putting on when dressing, ACCESSORIES.