With only a few days away from Suzie’s wedding in Cornwall,
England, I could hardly hold my excitement of what it is going to be like, when
she is all dressed up and ready to make her commitment to Mark. Would it be a
Church Wedding or would the Priest come over to a beach party to pronounce them
man and wife? Would she wear a wedding gown or would the Sporty couple wear
their swimsuits and surf the sea as their unique wedding Do? Would they seal
their “I do” with a kiss or just fall into a hug? Or would they fall with a big splash
into the sea and kiss underwater?
Questions! Questions! Questions! I thought it best to quell
the query with a visit to a shop in Delhi that caters to western wedding needs
which is what Christians in India wear at weddings.
I was in for a big shock!
No, Christians in India wear saris at their weddings and the
much adorable gown was worn at Parties and sometimes at weddings. This explains
why, in Delhi, where you have a sizable population of people from the northeast,
who are mainly Christians, not to speak of converts from the hills and the
surroundings of Delhi, whose great grand fathers took to Christianity, a century or two ago, while the British were here, there were no Christian Wedding Shops
in Delhi except one or two.
This took me on a trail finding one, through Google search.
Tucked away behind the Afghani Market, also known as Kabul
India Restaurant Market at Lajpat Nagar II, near Dr Lal Path Lab, you will find
a little door on the right side of the road, if you are coming in from where
they make those lovely yummy Afghani naan (bread).
Don’t judge the inside by the door outside! The little basement design-cum-tailoring
Shop is a veritable joy to enter. It was like entering a fairy tale shop and
getting lost in what they had to offer there. I was enthralled and just could
not stop clicking pictures for memory.
Glady Vaiphei Hunjan, who owns the shop, came to Delhi from
Manipur, which is in northeast India, to study and stayed on. She says,
“Yes, the gown is coming back after a spell of about ten
years when it wasn’t seen much at weddings. It is now being worn for parties
and people prefer the less cumbersome and by now, a multi-purpose gown at the
wedding than a sari.”
It takes almost a month to tailor a wedding gown, she told
me.
“There are many levels of work to be done to make a wedding
gown, starting with the choice of the fabric, the design, the embroidery and
the lace etc. It takes time…”
And how much does a wedding gown cost? Naturally, it all
depends on the design!
I went back to think of Suzie. Will she buy her gown
ready-made or will she have it tailored, will it be white or will it be any
other colour?
Times were changing and what I saw Cindrella wear, in the
book, was not the only colour gowns are worn today. Indeed, fancy wearing a
yellow gown for your wedding day!
If it could be tailored at Glady Vaiphei Hunjan’s ‘Sincerely Bridal’ I am sure there were
people who would like to wear other coloured gowns.
I, for one would love to wear a rainbow gown!
Here take a look inside Sincerely Bridal
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