A fashion tribute to the deities

Using fashion aesthetics, design students got a unique opportunity to dress up Lord Krishna in colourful, traditional designer wear in an event organised by ISKCON, Dwarka, New Delhi.

Pradyumna Priya Das, Senior leader, International Society for Krishna Consciousness ISKCON, says, “The aim of the competition was to make kids more involved and educate them about the different Krishna leelas.”

About 22 design students from different parts of India participated in the event. He adds,” This was a beautiful way to get students closer to god. Each and every costume is a labour of love and is being appreciated by every devotee.”

Dressing up Lord Krishna and Rukmini in elaborate clothing and jewellery including crowns and beaded belts, necklaces and tiny bracelets, these students regarded it as a form of worship.

Kashish Sethi from Jalandhar says, “I have always felt a special connection with Lord Krishna and this was a dream come true for me. I chose white and gold and bright yellow for Lord Krishna and Rukmini. Jewellery right from the mukut to the kamar band was hand-painted and hand-dyed.”

He adds, “ For my second design, I used Shiuli flowers for a night setting, as these are medicinal flowers and induce better sleep and respiration. These flowers would give comfort to Krishna.”

For Jignasha Prajapati from Mumbai, one of the major factors was purity. She says, “Pink lotus flowers and peacock feathers was the mainstay of all my designs. Each layer consisted of 40-50 petals.” Jignasha included the intricate shading of peacock feathers and created a skirt with tassels.

For many of us, adorning Lord Krishna with extravagant costumes remind us of our Dadis and Nanis who used to stitch clothes themselves for their Ladoo Gopal. Memories came rushing back for Kajal Lalwani when she enrolled herself in the competition. She says, “ My grandmother used to make clothes for all our deities and those are precious memories. Like her, I used colours such as midnight blue, grey and green in my creations.”

She adds, “ The hypnotising profusion of colours and patterns had been transferred to the creations, as if magically.”

The overwhelming thought was of positivity for all these participants. And as Pradyumna Priya Das, ISKCON puts it, “ These students garnered a lot of blessings from the Almighty.”