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Hyderabadi splendour
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Visitors and delegates to the Afro-Asian Games got a taste of the local culture at Falaknuma Palace
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THE RESPLENDENTLY-lit Falaknuma Palace beckoned the visitors of the Afro-Asian Games for a taste of this 400-year-old city. And it surely was a taste of Hyderabadi culture. Right from the drive up the hillock lined with mashaals, the traditional welcome in the Hyderabadi tehzeeb (with girls dressed in khada dupatta saying adaab), flowers, incense to food and fashion - it was a showcase of Hyderabad - from its bygone era to the present.
Organised by the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Andhra Pradesh and the Taj Hotels at the Palace, which is now a heritage property of the Taj, this event started off on a typical Hyderabadi note - late . As the liquor flowed freely on the front porch of the palace, the tunes of old Hindi songs like Dil cheez kya hai, (Umrao Jaan) Pyaar kiya to darna kya (Mughal-e-Azam) and others reverberated through the surroundings and dancers danced to the tunes on different tiers of the palace. The route to the inner courtyard was decorated with candles and flowers.
The highlight of the evening's programme in the inner courtyard was the fashion show. Some top models including Zulfi Syed, Jatin Grewal, Suman Ranganathan, Koena Mitra and Aditi Govitrikar showcased costumes of the bygone Qutb Shahi, Asaf Jahi and contemporary times. The stage too was done up the `historical' way - all in white - with minarets (embellished with silver paper), arches and a zardozi backdrop. Nuggets of history were brought alive through the narration by Ronit Bose Roy and Nafisa Joseph and the fashion show. Lakshmi Devi Raj designed the costumes of the Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi periods, while Vinita Pittie's creations reflected the attire worn by the Hindu nobility. Costumes in a riot of colours (well embellished) and exquisite jewellery were the hallmarks of the show. Anand Kabra's ensembles were contemporary - a fusion of the old and the new. The show was choreographed well by Achala Sachdev and the music was in sync with the mood and period the costumes depicted.
The food catered by the Taj had the quintessential Hyderabadi dishes (the food was predominantly non-vegetarian) - biryani, kebabs, bagare baingan et al.
Yana Gupta's dance (Babuji zara dheere chalo and another remix number) was perhaps the incongruous element in this show. It has nothing to do with the Hyderabadi culture.
The evening ended with a musical nite (which was anything but Hyderabadi) where some people took to the floor as well. Old Hindi and English songs were rendered including Livin' La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin.
R.R.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
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Kochi
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