A Golden Tulip: PONGAL SPECIAL: SIMPLE INDIAN OUTFIT

1/16/2015

PONGAL SPECIAL: SIMPLE INDIAN OUTFIT

by Hems

Happy pongal to all the friends and family who are celebrating today. If you are wondering what i am talking about, this week is a very special week full of celebration in my native place in India. We celebrate Thai Pongal, the harvesting festival. On these days we clean up our houses, get rid of all the old stuff which we don't need anymore, pay respects to sun, livestock, etc. Its a special festival for all of us in our family because we all hail from farming community, its basically what defined us two generations ago. Tee's parents do farming, and have cows in their backyard. I was in India last year for this festival and miss being there this year. But that doesn't stop me from celebrating this auspicious day(s) in our own way.

I made sweet pongal (made of rice, moon dal and sugar), and savory pongal (without the sugar). My parents sent me a dress from India last month to wear on this day. Its a simple cotton kurta churidhar. I bought this last year when i was in India, just the fabric, my mom had it stitched from a local tailor and sent it. I love the bright pink and yellow pattern in the top. And the dark green is a great contrast from the yellow and pink. However, i don't like the black and gold border on the kurta(top) much, i don't even remember it being there when i bought it. Guess i have poor memory or my taste has changed quite a bit in this past year. But its no big deal, i still love this simple look, which i am used to since my young adult life.

For the accessories, i went with gold, and pearls. This gold pearl necklace is the first necklace my parents bought it for me when i was an early teenager, so that i can wear them to festivals and weddings, and i did and still do to this day. Earrings and rings are recent buys from F21. Bangles are just a few of the many many colorful bangles i bought for my wedding. The watch is a wedding gift from a good friend, who is getting married next month. Already on the hunt to get something pretty for his soon-to-be-wife. I bought these sandals for a steal(just 150 rupees) in Bangalore last year, and they go so well with black and gold border thats going on in the kurta and the dupatta. All simple accessories came together perfectly for this simple festive look.