This story is from April 5, 2015

Designs from sarhad paar stitch new ties

After six months of online research and window shopping, Sonal Mahendra finally saw her dream dress—a cut-work lace gown—in front of her. Her cherished outfit in her hands, Sonal said, “I was looking for this dress for a long time. I had checked various shops in the city but found it no where.”Sonal’s search ended at the Indo-Pakistani Ethno Fusion exhibition at Paryatan Bhawan in Gomtinagar.
Designs from sarhad paar stitch new ties
LUCKNOW: After six months of online research and window shopping, Sonal Mahendra finally saw her dream dress—a cut-work lace gown—in front of her. Her cherished outfit in her hands, Sonal said, “I was looking for this dress for a long time. I had checked various shops in the city but found it no where.” Sonal’s search ended at the Indo-Pakistani Ethno Fusion exhibition at Paryatan Bhawan in Gomtinagar.

‘Mars Hoor gallery’, a garment shop from Karachi, which has set up shop in the city under the ‘Aman Ke Saat Rang’ has become a crowd puller for lovers of Pakistani dresses.
Sayyada Dhanji from Karachi said, “Outfits from Pakistan with shantier lace, tilla work, cut-work on organza, silk and jamawar are a rage and attract Lucknowites. This is my first visit here and I have bought stuff that is unfamiliar to the city”. Kiosks with typical Pakistani suits also saw crowds as women from all age groups swarmed to have a look at the designer outfits. Asma Amir, an entrepreneur from Karachi, said, “We have got a good response from Lucknow. People here love the fabric and designer dresses of Pakistan”. Loaded with shopping bags, Aziza Malik said, “I found many stylish kurtas that I was looking for since long under the same roof. I picked up five designer Pakistani kurtas. These are not available anywhere else in the city”.
The craze for Pakistani dresses has especially picked up Pakistani channel Zee Zindagi has become popular. City shopkeepers have realized the market for garments from across the border and are building a collection of Pakistani dress material.
Muhammad Zeeshan, proprietor of a fancy dress shop in Aminabad, said, “Farshi gharara, nichi goat gharara, farara and sharara are popular among city girls. The starting range of Pakistani wedding dresses is 5,000 while that of Indian dresses is 2,500. Despite that, Pakistani dresses are more popular. Women come to us with pictures of dresses that we then recreate.”
City boutiques also say the trend has caught on. Rizwana Husain, the owner of a boutique in Narhi, said, “The long kurtas in Pakistani dresses are very popular. Brocade and laces play a major part and add magnificence to Pakistani dresses.”

Shopping for her wedding attire, Yashi Srivastava said, “I have given instructions to my designer to prepare the same wedding attire for me which Kashaf, the female protagonist, wore on her wedding day in Pakistani serial ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’. Safoora Zishan Haider, owner of a boutique on Prag Narain Road, says, “With the demand of Pakistani dresses on the rise, I order special Karachi work wedding dresses from there for customers of the city”. With the focus having shifted to ghararas, the typical Lakhnawi ‘chatta patti’ ghrara has also made a comeback. What’s more, there is a rising demand for the outfit from across the border. Pakistani women are travelling all the way to Lucknow to get the Nawabi attire. Sabina Raza, a Pakistani who was recently in the city, said, “The traditional balloon-styled Indian gharara is admired in my country and I have packed five chata patti ghararas from Lucknow.”
Suitable for a range of occasions, the ghararas are easily available on the way from Gol Darwaza to Akbari Gate, Nakhas, Aminabad, Nazirabad, Aliganj and Hazaratganj.
Azeem, a designer of ‘tukdi ghararas’ from Chowk who has been in the trade for two decades, says, “Due to a large variety in colours and design, these ghararas are popular in every class and religion”.
Know your cuts Gharara: The traditional Lucknowi attire consists of mid-thigh-length kurti, dupatta, and a pair of wide-legged pants, with a border below knee area, known as ‘gote’
Sharara: Sharara is similar to gharara but the pants are narrower. They also don’t have a ‘gote’ at knee area
Farshi Gharara: The pants in Farshi Gharara have a wide flare that falls to the floor like a skirt
Nichi Goat Gharara: In this, a wide lace is sewn below the knee area of the pants
Farara: Pants are narrower than sharara with a ‘gote’ sewn below the knee area.
Chatta Patti Gharara: Also known as tukdi gharara, it is made by stitching different contrasting colored pieces cut into small pieces either vertically or diagonally
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