In this town of good taste and high living, women score high on the trend-o-meter. Fashionistas, dance divas, art connoisseurs, bloggers or activists, the ladies don their hats with consummate ease. When it comes to their homes, they keep it both chic and regal. Whether it’s designer cutlery they’re picking or a Louis Vuitton they’re packing, Ludhiana’s women make both seem effortless. Every Wednesday, TOI traces these euphoric raconteur women as they share interesting tales…
The tiny little board announcing ‘Naurah’ (flower in Arabic) welcomes city’s shopaholics to this designer wear store. Tucked away in a Sarabha Nagar neighbourhood, this place is no less than a fascinating world of floristry.
The banter inside the charming store is a cinch to transport the womenfolk back to the 1980’s Doordarshan days.
Geti Kidwai, the dynamic young owner of the boutique, is mobbed by the frenzied girls as she greets each with a wall of chatter and a display of unusual bridal wear. With apair of “karan phool” in her ears, she unwittingly reminds one of a diva news presenter from India’s first public service broadcaster.
“Yes yes… we make ‘ghararas’ here. The one that royal women in Lucknow wear. The one that have ‘zari’ and ‘zardosi’ work. Royal blue, pink, purple… all for your princess. And yes, the iconic newsreader Salma Sultanji is my mother-in-law,” she tells them, speaking breathlessly and with enormous liveliness in her voice.
Geti, who moved to Ludhiana along with her husband Saad in 2007, is credited to have brought a breath of fresh air to designer circles of this fashionable city. Four years ago, she had set a new trend by using ‘ghararas’ with their short, mid-thigh length and a pair of wide-legged pants as the trousseau wear for Ludhiana’s beautiful women. The outfit became an instant hit among the affluent and urbane women of the town. And, Geti developed her own fan following from a closed cohort of women looking up to her as their fashion icon, much like her mother-in-law.
If one were to measure Sarabha Nagar outlet ‘Naurah’ on a style-o-meter, the results will please its owner Geti Kidwai no end. High on vintage and also on modern twists to outfits, the place is all about the 21st century woman’s take on trousseau and bridal wear. And Geti, much like her mother-in-law Salma Sultan — a popular presenter on Doordarshan, has a style of her own.
“Style icons… bhai kuch aisa karo ki log kahe aapko dekha kya cheez hain aap bhi koi tareekhi cheez hain..,” she grins, recollecting a couplet that Salma recited to her. Between 1967 and 1997, Salma Sultan had initiated a trend: of wearing a flower low in her hair and draping the border of her sari around her neck in a modern yet traditional way. It was later picked up by almost all the women newsreaders.
All Geti’s ‘ghararas’ are bespoke and come in different varieties. They are either made of Kimkhav, Jamavar or Banarasi tissues. The embroideries are done using a lot of kundan and jadaau.
From graduating in sociology and fine arts in 1997, through post graduation in interior designing, her journey has been eventful.
There are traces of effusive child-like prattling when she talks about her venturing into modelling and choreography that even drew mild ire of her father.
“Shauk bahut tha na har cheez mai kudne ka… papa kehte hai are bhai ab ruk bhi jao…” she recollects and then breaks into peels of laughter again.
“He then asked me to step out of modelling and do something which involved… like getting into choreography. But here again, I will jump onto the stage and start moving my legs,” she adds.
Her zest to conquer everything took her to contesting Miss India pageant, ramp shows and even setting up a gourmet shop called Just Kebabs in south Delhi. “Kakori… tikka… bharra… you could get all of that there… ab Lucknow se hai toh khaane ka shauq toh rakhenge,” she quips.
There is no economisation of smiles on her face. Every long sentence must ensure a belly laugh for she tells you hilarious incidents, some in Urdu and others in English – both impeccable.
“Ab yeh bhi nahi ki hum bilkul hoosh hai (not that I am an ill-mannered garrulous talker)… gappe lagane mai maza aata hai,” she points out.
When fulfilling her professional duties, she is punctilious and spick and span.
“I like dressing up girls, telling them how to comport at their or other’s weddings, how to carry a clutch bag, eye contact…” she goes on.
Her kids — son Samar, 12 and daughter Mehar, 7 — have begun idealizing her. Samar has been focusing on his chess classes and Mehar has taken up choreography. “Dangayee bachche nahi hai… I tell them shareef hona theek hai… but dumb mat hona… thoda mischievious toh hona chahiye,” she laughs.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Ludhiana / by Rohan Dua / July 18th, 2012
