I am not a night person nor a glamour person, so when my sister and Isha insisted on participating in the mother-daughter fashion show, I right away refused. Walking on the ramp fully dressed to draw the attention, it simply sends a chill down my spine. But for someone as stubborn as my sister, she convinced me to accompany her to the event and what I saw there left me stunned. I have always seen Bollywood award functions on television and that day I was witnessing something as grand as that physically.
At 7 pm on 1st May, the journey of what I was going to witness started. The founder of NIID Chandmari Guwahati, Mr Ankur Sarda, dedicated the entire show to his students. I was expecting a prayer song but the event started with Bollywood numbers sung not by any professional but by the students of NIID, the duet of the guitarist and the female singer presented three famous songs. The last song by the guitarist enchanted the audience as no one expected a deep soulful expression from him. I was sitting alone as the last person who was to accompany me, while my sister and her twins would be busy preparing their ramp walk, refused due to health issues. And I am not one bit unhappy about it because I savored each moment of Couturiture Season 4.0, an event by NIID.
Right after the duet, the fashion design students presented their costumes one after the other and the audience was awestruck by the elegance and professionalism of the models. It is notable that they were not trained models but students of NIID from various departments adorning the costumes of their fellow students. The costumes were a mix of ethnicity and modernism. The dresses were unlike any I had seen before, some were soothing to the eyes while others made a splash in the audience. I am sure the designers are going to get amazing responses from Guwahatiians.
Soon after, a renowned mind reader and magician presented his mind-boggling tricks which seemed impossible for any of us to comprehend. There was not a moment of rest and the fashion show for which I walked into the event started; beautiful and glamorous mothers walked down the ramp with their confident and peppy kids. What amused me the most was that the person who conceptualized this idea and executed it to perfection, Isha Sarda, personally connected with every mother on the stage. In any other circumstance, the fashion show of young students would have masked the gravity of the mother-daughter show but here each and every mother-daughter was equally cheered and loved by the audience. This was the beauty of Couturitue Season 4.0 where each simple and overworked mother got a chance to present her potential on the ramp while hand-holding the most precious person, her daughter.
Before the awards were given to each and every mother-daughter who participated, there was a performance by a talented child singer. As he sang with electric guitar in his hands, the audience was dumbfounded by his clarity of voice, words and all the aspects of singing. The audience could not resist demanding one song after another from this mesmerizing soloist. He left the stage on a high note; the audience knew that the night was not over yet as the event was getting more interesting. The panel of four honorable judges gave away the awards to all the mother-daughter participants in various categories making sure that no one went home empty-handed. Here, clearly, the organizers understood the sentiments behind this relationship. As each mother-daughter held the award in their hands, they beamed with joy, especially the little daughters who proudly held the award close to them and showed it to every known person. They all were already winners as they showed the courage to walk on the ramp and finally walked with grace and confidence.
As I congratulate all the mother-daughter participants, I express my heartfelt gratitude to Isha and team NIID as well for giving the participants exposure that will remain with them for a lifetime. It will change the course of life for some participants who will look back and won’t be able to thank the opportunity enough.
After my sister and her twins received the award of ‘Dynamic Duo’, we left the event but I still wanted to stay and take a look at all the stalls that were set up. The interior design students have laid their stalls. I have already seen the work of NIIDians in this field seven years back when my sister and cousin pursued the same in this reputed institute, I did not move around due to the sprain that I got the same day. Yes, I am a careless walker and often sprain my ankle but getting it that day restricted my movement which I regret as few stalls I laid my eyes on were innovative and appealing.
We headed back home but we were not tired after the long hours instead we were overjoyed looking at the award and kept calling our parents and friends who had high expectations from my sister. My sister gave all the credit to her twins without whom she said that she would never be so dynamic nor could have she understood the value of living each moment which she relishes with her dynamic two and her better half who supports her unflinchingly.
I would like to conclude the blog with these beautiful words that portray every mother who participated in the fashion event so aptly:
“A loving and careful mother both recognizes and even protects her daughter’s autonomy and also helps her dance out confidently on to a wider stage.” – Rachel Billington (a British author and journalist)