Its good to be here! :)

Finally, all of you who love the kind of designs Aavaranaa creates can connect directly with us both on facebook and blogger. As my first post here, I'd like to share a recent contributory article I had written for www.chennaionline.com. Hope you enjoy reading this and do come back for more fun stuff...

- Vijayalakshmi Krishna & Soorya Krishna

Eternally in vogue

If you thought the saree was just another six yards of fabric, then think again! The saree is the only garment in the world to have been perpetually fashionable through the ages. Constantly reinvented and redesigned, the saree has always pushed the boundaries of fashion further and further.

This season, the saree comes in yet another new trend designed to appeal to the women of today. The latest in the world of sarees to look out for is a half and half design. Presented in two rich shades, one color on the top half of the saree and a different one on the bottom half or the pallu. This new design is available in Kancheepuram silks and cottons. With intricate designing on the entire saree or the pallu alone, these sarees come in contrasting colors.

Displayed along side is a silk saree woven in a horizontally divided design. The top half is plain olive green. The bottom half pallav and blouse is woven in zari with the age-old rudraksham design along with a simple border. The intricate rudraksham design is woven in a gold tread on a deep pink background and gives the saree a grand feel. The intricate rudraksham designs are woven in gold tread and give the saree a grand feel. Together the colors and designs become a perfect blend of tradition and culture in a modern trend.

Also in vogue this season are theme sarees. Available in a variety of shades these sarees are designed with prints or embroidery work that display a certain extract from various epics, legends and folklore. With the approaching monsoon, peacock colors and designs are the theme. These sarees are usually available in cotton and tussar with appliqué work, embroidery work or both on them. They also came in prints of natural dyes. These are either hand printed or block printed and depict popular themes like stories from the Ramayana or seasonal themes like peacocks dancing before the rains.

To add to this magic of the half and half designs are designer blouses. The concept of designer blouses has caught up fast with saree enthusiasts. These blouses are designed with heavy embroidery and print designs and come in a wide range of patterns, from floral prints to embroidered designs of peacocks and abstract patterns. The uniqueness of designer blouses is that they can be combined with a simple or plane saree to achieve a stunning look. Displayed in the picture is a deep pink zari strapless blouse with small hand printed floral designs and intricate embroidery work. This designer blouse is in contrast with the plain olive green of the top half of this saree and compliments the deep pink of the bottom half. Together the designer blouse and the saree create a unique, chic and sensual look. A similar look can be achieved by combining a simple and plain blouse with a half and half saree that has designs on both halves.

Fashion in ethnic wear is all about experimenting with new concepts. In the world of fashion, change is the only constant, but as far as the saree is concerned, the ethnic appeal of these 6 yards of fabric is still the top favorites among many Indian women, and will be so for a long time to come.

- Vijayalakshmi Krishna, Managing Partner - Aavaranaa

Aavaranaa is on facebook!!

Now we have yet another reason to celebrate, Aavaranaa, the ethnic saree boutique has now come to facebook! Having created a presence online, Aavaranaa is now looking forward to a lot of interactions with their patrons and other designers. The facebook page will also serve as a platform for people to interact with the designers of Aavaranaa and share ideas and suggestions. You can connect with Aavaranaa on facebook @ www.facebook.com

Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1834632985&ref=profile

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Chennai-India/Aavaranaa-Boutique/87748143681

Summer ethnic wear for the college - goers

Summer this year round is all about vibrant colours, warm shades, floral designs and comfortable attire. Aavaranaa, the exclusive ethnic boutique in Alwarpet educates on how the youth can sport the trendiest of all looks every day to college. Simple clothing with just a dash of ethnicity speaks about Aavaranaa’s latest summer collection this year. So if you’re looking for something different than the common jeans and t-shirts, here’s an option for you. With a wide range of salwar suits to choose from and materials ranging from simple cottons to kota cotton, chiffon, and the elegant silks, Aavaranaa boasts of a collection of unique salwars for all occasions.

The zebra collection is worth mentioning here, an interesting collection inspired by zebra lines, the array of salwars here have a contrasting top and bottom, and come with a dupatta that sports two colors, one for the top and bottom along with the black & white zebra lines. Together, the colors and patterns form a very trendy dupatta which enhances the look of the salwar.

Whites are the ever trendy colour of summer and Aavaranaa introduces them with a twist! Made especially for the summer, these salwar suits come in shades like beige whites and creams with two-tone pants and a similar dupatta. These are good choices for daily wear in summer as the colours are pastel and bright at the same time. Available in lights colours of baby pink and light blue, the collection is hip and sensual.

Also available at the store are kalamkari appliqués and a neckline collection. The kalamkari appliqué salwar sets are for the dressier occasions in summer. These come in slightly earthy shades like maroon, earthy green and orange. These salwars have hand painted kalamkari motifs appliquéd on cotton depicting various designs and extracts from various epics, a truly Indian collection. On the other hand, the neckline collection boasts of exquisitely designed necklines on a plain or simple designed salwar with a block printed bottom and dupatta.

Aavaranaa also houses an Organdy Colors collection. Organdy suits are rich ones and quite apt for festivities. Contrary to what most people think, an Organdy is easy to maintain. They come with inner linings and when washed without starch, the Organdy suits turn as soft as cotton. These suits usually have small sparkles of mirror that provide a soft but rich look. Organdy salwars come in unusual combos like khakhi and majenta, yellow and beige, purple and black and similar shades.

Among all the ethnic attire, salwars are the most comfortable during summer as they are not heavy and can breathe easily keeping you dry all day round. Youngsters often prefer a salwar when it comes to ethnic attire as they are easy to pull on and carry off and can be just as stylish as a sarees. Besides, they often find salwars easier to manage. So shed those jeans and t-shirts and go ethnic today, the Aavaranaa way!

Contributed by Aavaranaa Boutique, No. 15th, Ashoka Street, Alwarpet, Chennai. Ph # +91 44 24988292

Narrating stories through sarees!

Did you ever occur to you that a saree could help you narrate stories? Well, they actually can! Aavaranaa conducted an event some time back on such sarees. The event was called "Swamy Katha" which means "Stories about the Gods" and was aimed at creating awareness about the concept of story telling through sarees. According to Vijayalakshmi, Managing Partner of Aavaranaa, during the older days, sarees were actually used to narrate stories to young ones! It was a great way of spending quality time with your loved ones. Sadly, our modern lifestyle has changed all that. Now days the only time we gets to spend time together is when dinner is served in front of the telly! Showing their support and promoting the concept of re-instill this old tradition in us was the famous celebrity couple Yugendran & Malini.
Above, is the picture of one of the sarees from the collection. The story described here is 'Sita's Swayamvar' - the ceremony where she choose her husband. I've described the story below. If this interests you, then you may want to step into Aavaranaa and take a look at the whole collection! Aavaranaa is located at 15 ashoka Street, Alwarpet, Chennai. Ph#: +91 44 24988292. You can also check them out at www.aavaranaa.com


Sita's Swayamvar:

One day Vishwamitra, the sage, received an invitation from King Janak, ruler of Janakpur, to attend the Swayamvar (choosing of groom) ceremony of his daughter, Sita. Kings, princes and sages from all over were invited to attend the ceremony to win the hand of the beautiful princess. Vishwamitra asked Rama and Lakshman to accompany him, and so the three set out for Janakpur, stopping on the way to take a dip in the holy river Ganga and finally reached the beautiful kingdom of Janakpur.

King Janak himself welcomed the sage. Vishwamitra introduced Rama and Lakshman to the King as the brave and divine sons of King Dashrath. Later on the brothers set out to visit the kingdom when they chanced upon Sita in a temple. Rama was immediately enraptured by her beauty, and Sita, in turn, fell in love with Rama. She prayed that she be wed to Rama.
Soon, the Swayamvara ceremony was held. A large, heavy bow of Lord Shiva, was placed in the center of the swayamvara hall, and Lord Janak announced that the person who managed to string the bow would win the hand of the fair Sita. The ceremony was open to all, and one by one every man in the room tried his hand at stringing the bow,the princes from various states and kingdom tried their luck in attempting to lift and break the Bow of Shiva. But it was not possible! Even the most powerful amongst all the kings, the great Ravana of Lanka could not even move the bow one inch above the ground!

Then all the kings collectively tried to lift the bow, but they still did not succeed. King Janak was now confronted with the prospect of Sita remaining unmarried, and he was overwhelmed with worry.

Finally, it was Lord Rama's turn. As he walked towards the bow, and Sita's heart sank, sure that if such rugged and brave Kings could not even lift the bow, then the young and slender Rama would surely fail to do so as well. But Rama said a prayer and in one breath lifted the bow, strung it, and broke it into two with a thundering sound. Everyone was astounded and immediately broke into cheers. Sita then walked up to Lord Rama and placed a garland around his neck.

This, however, made King Ravana jealous and insulted, and he vowed to defeat Rama some day if the opportunity arose.

Thus, in a most wonderful setting, the auspicious marriage of Rama and Sita took place. Along with Rama, his three brothers also got married to the three sisters of Sita; and four sons of King Dasharatha married four daughters of King Janaka!