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THERE are few things more colourful and artistic than an Indian festival, and so it proved as Lulu Hypermarket celebrated the nation’s Republic Day with a cacophony of culture at Dana Mall.
The celebration of crafts, cuisine and fashion of India was a roaring success and attended by thousands of partying residents hailing from the sub-continent attended Saturday’s evening’s spectacular.
Indian ambassador Alok Kumar Sinha inaugurated the evening, whilst popular online personality Atif Ali had hordes of giggling girls and boys clamouring for selfies with the star.
Lulu put together a magnificent display of Indian products with promotions on a wide range of goods.
The community also participated, with several regional Indian groups and individuals taking tables in the pop-up ‘Little India Bazaar’ which featured several types of Indian crafts, jewellery, clothing and regional cuisine on display.
The crafts included Sanjhi paper-cutting decorative work, miniature paintings, leather traditional handmade jutti footwear, tie-and-die fabric work, block-printed fabric and Rajasthani lac bangles.
The paper-cutting in particular was stunningly popular, with numerous designs of trees, plants and deities created by the hand of the marvellously-moustached Ram Soni.
The Rajasthan resident said: “I’ve been creating these since I was a young boy. I find so much peace in art, and that’s why I like creating images of nature and animals.
“My mother used to create pieces like these, so I learned from her and decided to dedicate my life to it.”
Another craftsman, Avaz Mohammed, was selling bangles of many different colours and sizes. Each piece takes as long as two hours to create, and many visitors were eagerly snapping them up.
Indian percussion beats reverberated around the mall, putting everybody in a celebratory mood with the Beatz of Bahrain band while the stage programme featured Bollywood dance routines.
Lulu Hypermarket’s fashionable range of sarees, the eternal Indian fashion statement, was showcased by ladies of the global online Saree Speak group.
Children had their own spotlight, with a special fashion show in which Lulu’s ethnic festive children’s wear was displayed on the catwalk.
Lulu group director, Juzer Rupawala, said: “We’re delighted to be a part of the community’s patriotic celebrations. With the huge range of Indian products in our aisles and also an elegant fashion line from India that is everybody’s favourite, we believe that our customers, both Indian and from other communities, enjoyed this colourful display of all things Indian.”
