HYDERABAD: Although rains made an appearance today, dandiya revellers in the city weren’t ready to let the weather spoil their festive plans. From kids to married couples, Hyderabadis were present in full strength at the ongoing Navratri Utsav 2019. Held at Police Hockey Stadium in Begumpet, the event began with aarti at the Durga Pandal. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy, graced the occasion.
Going by the theme of neon avatar for the night, the guests were seen dressed in bright coloured chaniya choli and shararas, with neon ribbons tied as bangles and headbands. “I’ve been coming to the event from the first day. I was excited for the neon avatar and spent the whole morning buying accessories. It took my mother and me two hours to put the outfit together,” shared Mishika Kotecha, a regular at Navratri Utsav 2019.
Some also opted for a fusion outfit with jeans and yellow mirrored dupattas, paired with jhumkas. The star of the night, however, was Tollywood actress Twinkle Kapoor, who joined fans and danced along with them. As the band delivered one hit track after the other, people were seen dancing the night away.
The huge grounds also had an indoor section with food stalls. “We knew the weather wasn’t going to stop any of the garba lovers from dancing. But for safety reasons, we made sure to have an indoor set-up where we can accommodate more than 2,000 people,” informed Saloni Jain, organiser.
Taking breaks from the garba sessions, guests also relished piping hot idlis at Hyderabad’s popular Ram Ki Bandi stall, before heading to the unique typographical structure ‘I Love Navaratri’.
The competitions for the night included Best Dressed, Non-stop Dancer and Best Garba. The New Indian Express is the media partner for this event which ends on October 7.