Fusion, raw stone jewellery and comfy clothes: Here's how women in Barak Valley gearing up for Durga Puja

Less than a week for Bengali’s biggest festival and they can’t really keep calm. Nothing compares to Durga Pujo celebration for the Bengali’s. In spite of all the heatwaves and rainy mornings, the roads are jammed and the shops are full of people. It’s that time of the year when the ‘Probasi Bengali’s’ (Diaspora) are set to come back home after a year full of terrifying Covid waves.

Ever since the last pujo, people hardly got a chance to deck themselves up beautifully on any occasions and festivals. So keeping the traditions in mind, the craze of adorning oneself in the vibrant and pastel shades, raw stone jewellery and other accessories is high. After all, pujo fashion statements are all about standing out from the crowd.
With two vaccines down, people are feeling braver to visit malls and sari fairs and look forward to celebrating the festive season, in if not five than at least one new outfit.

We have some fashion experts with us who have shared their opinions about puja fashion 2021

Piya Roy Barman 

Piya Roy Barman, the owner of NAVYA boutique is quite popular among the fashionistas for her experimental ideas. “Durga Puja’s shopping is incomplete without traditional wear and nothing can match the elegance of 6-yards drape. So this year, I took the opportunity to mix and match vibrant colours with some pure fabrics, where Benarasi fabric plays a major part,” says Piya Roy Barman.

 

 

 

“Now a days people love to team up different types of designer crop tops and Cholis with multiple sorts of fabrics. So I have also worked on those that are purely hand embroidered. Along with that Anarkali salwar are highly on demand this year. Pastel hues and some uncommon shades on specially dyed fabric (specially organza) with some floral works are being admired widely this year,” she says.

Sampa Dhar

Sampa Dhar, the proprietor of BUNKAR who is in the fashion industry for years and has a very crisp tip for us. “I would say since I deal exclusively with saris and fashion jewellery, my experience says this year a big leap is towards fusion – a fusion of one style with another. I experimented with fabrics and was doubtful in the beginning if it clicks. I tried to mix and match jute and bamboo fibre with cotton and silk even. But to my surprise, that limited-edition got sold off like hot cakes but traditional silk – be it Pure Silk, Silk Katha or exclusive Tussar– these are always on a sway.”

 

 

Dhar adds, “Also this year we customised jewellery for our clients in large scales and got a good response indicating people are more towards exclusive and experimenting. We deal with genuine materials and we experiment a lot. So if you want to bring a change in your regular sari look, you may visit us once.”

Saara Shabnam 

The owner of ZAARA Collection, Saara Shabnam said- “After huge demand for Lucknowi Chikankari kurtas last year, Chikankari sarees are the must-have ones this time. We have also launched Kaftan style kurtas last month and are getting great responses. We are still working on meeting up the demands for kaftan dresses.”

 

 

“Most of the people have become habituated wearing pyjamas and shorts at home during the lockdown and that is why pure cotton merchandise is also on-demand. Maybe the thought of change in the situation and sitting back at home after the pujo have led them to choose some comfy ready to wear salwar sets,” added Saara Shabnam.

However, all three of them had the same opinion regarding the shopping spree. Last year the market was quite low and they boosted their budget segment. People too craved for budget offerings. But this year, the market started to bloom right from the beginning of September. Naturally, the sales too skyrocketed this year in comparison to 2020.