Subho Maha Nabami:

Durga Puja holds different meaning for different people throughout the country. For us Bengalis, it is not just a festival, it is a carnivalesque celebration that engulfs the entire city; it is an emotion. It holds a special place in our heart that no words can ever explain. 

Durga Pujo differs quite a lot from her cousin sister Navratri. Although Navratri celebrates the avatars of the same Goddess, she differs a lot in the way of celebration. They both have their own flavors, essence and yes, “rules”.

Manisha Khatvase, my “model” today, is a Gujarati and has been living here in West Bengal for the last seven years and has joyfully embraced our culture while still not forgetting her roots. Although Navratri celebrations aren’t that pompous here, but she, in keeping with her customs, follows every minute details. She beautifully blends in the elements to form her own way of celebrating Durga Puja, her own way of merry making. She enjoys Durga Pujo with equal fervor, probably more than us. She attends the garba with her Gujarati friends and also accompanies us to our nightlong pandal hopping sessions. Be it Asthami shakaler anjali, shondhe’r dhunuchi nach or queuing for scrumptious bhog, be it shidoor khela or grooving and dancing all the way to ghat during Visarjan, she doesn’t miss a thing.

Though any Bengali celebration seems incomplete without pantha’r mangsho and mach and more; and I can kill if I am ever asked to do so, but the same me devours her amazing vegetarian platter during Navratri. But that doesn’t mean I miss my Maa’s yum Durga Pujo special ranna. I’ll die without fish and meat. They are not just food, they are way beyond. So no matter how much I love Manisha aunty’s vegetarian dishes, they are always accompanied either by fish or mutton (Pujo teo jodi chicken khai, tahole thakur paap debe). Durga Pujo and Pet Pujo goes together.

Anyway, coming back to today’s topic, keeping the elements of Durga Puja and Navratri in mind, Manisha Aunty goes for a fusion look for Nabami every year. This day out of the five days we celebrate, even I like experimenting with my looks, so a fusion won’t hurt.

Last to last year, when I was dressing her up in Gujrati chaniya choli, in the utter hurry and chaos we couldn’t find her dupatta. I just pulled out a saree that complimented her lehenga and draped her with it. The final look was so amazing. That’s when I thought, “I am doing this for my blog someday” and here it goes.

For today’s look we opted for a traditional Gujrati chaniya choli. The chaniya or ghagra has this zig-zac pattern and mirror and thread work all over it. The choli has badhni print with mirror and thread work. The set looks tremendously gorgeous and to compliment it I chose a simple self-work dhakai jamdani saree as odhni. What we did is we pleated the inner end of the dhakai and tucked it on the front. Then took the other end from behind and dropped on the left shoulder as pallu. You can go for any skirt and top/blouse of your choice. The saree too can be selected accordingly. I personally loved the Gujrati Chaniya Choli and Bengali Dhakai Jamdani combo.

For jewelry, she chose a pair of simple silver jhumka and the sankha pola set

She has beautiful eyes and hence I thought of accentuating her eyes and kept the rest of her makeup simple. I went for pale gold halo eyes and nude lips. I skipped kohl on the lower lash line. 

For face I went for a light layer of foundation and a swirl of pale rose pink blush. Finally applied light peachy pink lipstick to round off the look.

She is a woman who is beautiful inside out and I am so happy to finally being able to feature my darling aunty on my blog. Hope you like her look.

You can also check Panchami post my clicking HERE

You can also check Sasthi post my clicking HERE
You can also check Saptami post my clicking HERE
You can also check Asthami post my clicking HERE