2021 Saree Soirée of Sydney

By: Preeti Gupta

The Saree Enthusiasts group has entered its fourth year of its existence on the Facebook Platform. It’s been an interesting and enjoyable journey since 2nd July 2018 when it all

began.

We had our first Annual Meet on 7 September 2018 and we welcomed around 200 members who had joined the fold and a lovely time was had by all.

2021 Annual Event came to be a reality on 14 November after a string of postponements due to COVID lockdown, refunds and sales and re-sales. Even Sydney decided to roll out the Sun for the afternoon proving the severe weather warning for storms. I guess it was straight from our hearts to God’s ear. The energy, zest and camaraderie in the room was infectious and the 200 odd Saree clad women were one family for those few hours. Happy to see each other and hug each other.

It began with Helen Clarke, Director of Cultural Diversity & Justice at Knox Grammar, delivering an acknowledgement of country and the traditional lighting of the lamp was done by the troika of Saree Enthusiasts along with Jodi McKay and wife of the Indian Consul General , Mrs Nimeesha Gupta.

It was followed by a mesmerising bharatnatyam piece by our very talented exponent, Sneha Rao, of this dance form. The energy of the performance blended with the choice of music set a certain upbeat tone to the afternoon.

It was wonderful to have Jodi join us and share yet another insight into her ever growing Saree collection and the sheer joy of seeing her carry the six yards with such aplomb.

Mrs Nimeesha Gupta, a poet in her own right shared a beautiful poem ‘Saree & Coffee’ that delved into the various nuances of the connection between the two in our lives.

The agenda was clear; an afternoon filled with fun, an opportunity to showcase our beloved six yards of fabric and connect with the Saree sisterhood face to face first time after the lifting of the lockdown. However, there was no doubt in our minds that we would definitely have a purpose to this event. Mental health in the current context seem to be the area of choice.

We were very fortunate to have Rupa Parthasarthy of Mindkshetra and Pritika Desai of Shout Out join us and share their insights and vision.

Whilst Pritika, our very own young achiever who at the age of 26 has the honour of having her name inscribed on the Australian Maritime Museum’s Welcome Wall in recognition of her work in the field of Mental Health in youth, spoke about her personal battle and journey of being impacted by this affliction from a very young age and how she turned it around to make it her strength. Rupa on the other hand provided a very creative and event appropriate outlet of inviting everybody to leave their mark on the beloved Saree. Saree was the glue that kept the Sisterhood sane and this was a perfect opportunity to pay tribute to it. Our thanks to Rupa for making this happen.

We can actually reveal that it has turned out to be absolutely beautiful and distinct.

Nothing pays tribute to a Saree like a ‘Sashaying in your Saree’ to the bears of a medley on Saree songs. Once the ladies were on that floor, it was hard to get them to get them back on their tables for entrees forget about lunch! They just wanted to dance and dance they did!!

In midst of all this, we also cut the cake. Now this was no ordinary cake! We had somebody who was going to sponsor the cake but it wasn’t possible to deliver it for this function. So on my dare Shirley said she would bake one. I laughed, never will I do that again, and said, “Really, when?”. Her response was “Trust me, I will.” I reached the venue at 9.15 am. A few minutes later in walks Shirley with three different sizes round cakes and a paraphernalia of edible decorations. She took one look at my face and said, “I’m not done yet! Please go and put up the Table details.” I wasn’t moving anywhere. Pulled up a chair and plonked myself to watch the fun! OMG, she was like a Ninja and in front of my eyes I saw these three cakes turn into a 3-tier visual and gastronomical delight. The billowing Pink were symbolic of the Saree pallu, edible lipstick, nail polish bottle and rose buds all together created a perfect cake for the event.

Adding to the mood was Naz Hasan belting out the favourites from the 70s and ladies were doing justice to it by matching their steps to it. It was so much fun to see everybody joining in the singing and dancing. I won’t be wrong in saying that it turned into a mini ‘Rock Concert in Sarees’.

It was our privilege to have Mrs Mala Mehta, OAM a pillar of support to Social Justice causes not only to the Indian community but community at large appraising is of how the Hornsby Women’s Shelter was dealing with another issue that has reared its ugly face with a vengeance in the COVID context. Yes, it is Domestic Violence. It was very poignant.

Changing the tempo was the beautiful Garba led by Manasi Dave, Parul Mehta, Pooja Sethi, Anjali Javeri, Pooja Shah and Kalrav Desai. It ain’t Garba, if people don’t join in impromptu!! It was a seamless adding of dancers to the floor. A lot of people thought that it had all been planned and practised!! When told otherwise, they went WOW!!

Tambola had people concentrating on hearing the numbers correctly and not missing out on the prizes. There was a lot of ‘sweating’, a lot call outs for ‘shaking it some more’, a few ‘bogies’ and a lot of ‘YES’ with the winner

waving their tickets and heading to the floor. Thanks to Tina Mehra for keeping the ‘score’ accurately.

The Raffle was a great hit as there were about 65 prizes to win and some people won it twice!! The smiles and the cheering by the tables was heartwarming.

Bhumita Bhatia manned the Reception Desk in a meticulous manner. Nita Vaarwerk, the expert and Anshu Saxena, the new kid on the block were absolutely amazing as the Raffle Salesperson.

We had two very lovely young girls Maeve and Arianna in sarees who are skilled Henna artists at hand and ladies weren’t disappointed in the beautiful Henna tattoos they got on their arms, neckline and back. Of course, some went for the conventional patterns.

A big thank you to the sponsors, in no particular order:

Knox Grammar, Sterling Migration, Hornsby Indian Bazaar, Sunita Saigal, Samragani, Rouse Hill Smiles, Oz India, and Soulmate.

Stall holders- Punjaban Diva, Oz India, Orchid Fashion, Gili and Madura who made shopping an exciting and convenient experience.

Raffle prizes- Kamini Sahni, Meena Patke, Gili Bagwe, Parul Mehta.

Thank you to Parravilla Function Centre for the excellent service. The food and ambience was perfect. Adding to the afternoon was the music by DJ Dimple, and capturing these moments were iFocus Fotography and rxjshots. Yes, after the last event we realised we would need to have two photographers to satiate the Saree Enthusiasts to be photographed!!

Last but not the least a heartfelt gratitude to all the Saree Enthusiasts who stood by us and had faith that the event would eventually happen and happen it did and what a happening event it was! You all rocked and looked absolutely gorgeous in your favourite Saree for the afternoon. The profusion of colours and the range of weaves on display were a delight. It was lovely to catch snippets of conversations where the weaves and fabrics of the sarees worn were being discussed and a lot of googling was taking place.

We are most humbled and flattered by all the positive feedback that we are looking forward to our 2022 Saree Enthusiasts’ Annual Event and it is exciting to know that tables are already being planned and we hope to see more of you join us next year.

Ladies who love their sarees and reading this please join our Saree Enthusiasts Group on Facebook.

Karwa chauth celebrations

By: Priya Singh

Karwa Chauth is a festival celebrated by Hindu women from the Northern and Western India on the fourth day after Purnima (a full moon) in the month of Kartika. On Karwa Chauth, married women, observe fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands.

In Brisbane Karwa chauth celebrations were organised by Zinnia and Harpreet at Chilli & Pepper in West Chermside. Attended by Gold Coast business women, Indian Boss Babes Network and Indian Mums Connect Brisbane and their guests, it was a well organised event. Dressed in the vibrant colours women got together to share some laugh and light moments. Catching up with friends, photos shoots and mehendi was all part of this entertaining night.