Celebrating the colors of Navratri in Canada!

‘Navratri’ the festival of nine-nights starts today. During these nine auspicious days, Goddess Durga, is worshipped in each of her nine forms and each day has a unique ritual associated to it. It is one of the longest Hindu festivals celebrated all over India in different styles. It is a celebration of good over evil! 

Having grown up in a metropolitan city like Mumbai, I witnessed Navratri being celebrated in several different ways and with a lot of pomp and zeal. The rituals are more are less common across; people clean and decorate the house to welcome the Goddess in their homes, consume only vegetarian food, some even fast for 9 days, offer prayers (Pooja) and food (Prasad) to the goddess twice a day and play garba and dandiya (dance form originating from the state of Gujrat) in the evenings. Navratri is close to my heart because all these rituals were followed by my mom, and me and my sisters grew up observing and celebrating these rituals with a lot of enthusiasm. Every year I look forward to celebrating Navratri because of the various fun things associated with it. 

One of my favorite things about this festival is the celebration of 9 colors. It is believed that one can show their respect and devotion for the goddesses by wearing the 9 colors (one color dedicated to each day) during all the nine days of Navratri.  All men and women across the country try their best to adorn the color of the day, particularly women who dress up in their best sarees and traditional outfits. It’s a beautiful sight to see the spirit of joy and happiness everywhere. Every year I look up the list of Navratri colors in advance and make my wardrobe ready to adorn the designated colors on all 9 days. This year too I wanted to do something similar, but living away from home comes with it’s own challenges. It is a bit challenging, as I cannot flaunt my desi outfits at work every day. However, I wanted to preserve the Navratri tradition in Vancouver. So, I came up with 9 professional/office wear looks that I will adorn for the next 9 days. With my current wardrobe, I somehow managed to incorporate the colors in my outfit.

The 9 colors of Navratri 2017 are as follows:

Day 1 - 21 September 2017 Yellow

Day 2 - 22 September 2017 Green

Day 3 - 23 September 2017 Grey

Day 4 - 24 September 2017 Orange

Day 5 - 25 September 2017 White

Day 6 - 26 September 2017 Red

Day 7 - 27 September 2017 Blue

Day 8 - 28 September 2017 Pink

Day 9 - 29 September 2017 Purple

Here are my 9 looks adhering to the 9 colors of Navratri 

Day 1: Yellow

Day 2: Green

Day 3: Grey

Day 4: Orange

Day 5: White

Day 6: Red

Day 7: Blue

Day 8: Pink

Day 9: Purple

Hope you enjoyed reading and watching. Let me know in comments if you have your 9 color outfits sorted for Navratri this year.

SOnali

For So-Saree

5 Fabulous Indian Sarees for Upcoming Navratri Celebrations

Indian festival season is all about brightness and colors which fills our lives with happiness and love. The family bonds, relationships and love for life are majorly seen during this time of the year. Also, what we observe the most is the worth and value of Indian traditional dresses and customs during these merrymaking days. Let’s discover the array of gorgeous Indian sarees which fits right and apt to match the ethnicity and pleasant vibes of the festival season. There you go!!!

From traditional bandhani sarees to trendy lehenga style sarees, every type and design is featured
to match the fashion needs and style statement of every individual. Since the value of colours and
prints is unavoidable during the special days of Navratra, you will find all the desired hues and
patterns over here. Explore the magnificent ensemble of traditional Indian sarees here and pick
what matches your personal style to live the best festival affairs. Also, make sure that you pick the
right kind of jewellery and accessories to match the outfit and the theme of the occasion. It’s time to
make heads turn around and rock the Navratra gala.

Blend of Hues

The bright colour combination and intricate detailing over the bottom of the saree makes it the most
preferred and perfect choice for fashion lovers to make the best of the festival time. Plus, the
designer blouse and beautiful pallu are the highlights of this ravishing staple. Buy this stunning
online designer saree from IndiaRush and get ready to strut like a diva.

Magic of Embroidery

The charming blend of cream and pink shade will make your day and is simply the best choice to
exhibit your classic ethnic avatar and feminine appeal. Also, the georgette fabric makes it easy to
manage and extremely comfortable to carry all day along. Wear matching jewellery and sassy hairdo
to complement your attire and flare your overall personality instantly.

Forever Charm of Pink

The Bollywood designer saree is what you need to embrace the solemnity of festival season and
bring the best out of your flawless personality. You can buy it for Navratri celebration, Durga Puja or
Diwali depending on your personal style and taste. Available in best possible price, don’t let this one
slip out of your hands.

Subtle & Sassy

Whoever wants to keep it subtle and sorted should pick this online designer saree without blinking
and make an everlasting impression on onlookers. The simply, sassy appeal and pleasing allure of
this beautiful staple is matchless and forever unbeatable. Grab it!!!


Graceful Bandhani

The most popular and fascinating style of Rajasthani culture will never let you down and is
undoubtedly the perfect choice for any festival gala or traditional celebration. Bandhani printed
sarees look gorgeous on every age woman and are specially designed for family events and big
celebrations. Wear these ethnic dresses with vintage jewellery and ornaments to get the desired
appeal and call it a statement.

My Blueberry Treats!!

A few days ago I wrote a blog post about my first blueberry u-pick trip experience in Canada. It was one of the most fun things I did this summer. If you haven’t read the post yet, read it now!

Apart from being highly nutritious and a powerful source of antioxidants, blueberry is an amazingly flavoursome fruit.

 Today I’m going to share all about what I did with my blueberries from the u-pick trip.

The best thing I could have done with the fresh and juicy berries was share it with other people. They were so delectable and so much better than the store-bought berries that I had to share it with my close friends. And when they concurred with me that it was the finest berries they’d had this year, I knew I wasn’t the only one after all. 

My favourite kind of breakfast these days is Greek yoghurt with granola, nuts and dried cranberries. Since it’s the berry season, I sometimes replace the dried cranberries with fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. Almost for a week after my u-pick trip I gorged on the blueberries for breakfast. I made it into smoothies, milkshakes or even had it plain with yoghurt. 

Yoghurt parfait with blueberries

Ingredients: Vanilla Greek yoghurt, honey & almond granola and fresh blueberries.

Blueberry and Banana Smoothie

Ingredients: Non-fat Greek yoghurt, fresh blueberries, banana, honey and Ice

Blueberry scones using the Tesco Scone mix

Tesco Scone Mix was available at the Urban Fare grocery stores for a limited period during summer. I was quite familiar with the brand Tesco as I spent a few glorious years in London buying my everyday grocery from Tesco. 

Tesco scone mix, milk and fresh blueberries. Using these 3 ingredients, I made some really yummy scones in no time. 

Unpack the Tesco mix and the add 1 cup of milk and blueberries to prepare a dough. Knead the mixture very lightly to form a soft, smooth dough. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to approximately 2cm thick and cut into 8 - 9 rounds.

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas Mark 7 and lightly grease a baking sheet. Place on the baking sheet, glaze with milk or beaten egg and cook in the top of the oven for 12-15 minutes until well risen or golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack.

   And scones are ready! Serve with clotted cream and your favourite jam.

After almost a week of devouring on the sweet and juicy blueberries my stock finished. Thank god, I decided to freeze a small bunch in the very beginning so I could use them later. Luckily berries freeze well and can be used in smoothies or making jams. I used my frozen batch of blueberries to make the perfectly healthy frozen desert. I guess I almost saved the best for the last!

Blueberry Popsicles

Using the following simple ingredients,

Blend the yoghurt, blueberries and honey (vanilla extract optional) together until very smooth. Pour them in popsicle moulds and freeze for at least 6 to 7 hours to overnight!

It’s healthy and my go-to after a hot and sweaty workout!

I hope you enjoyed reading. Let me know in the comments if you end up making any of these.

-SOnali
For So-Saree Canada