chand-raat checklist

The month-long shopping spree has finally come to an end with Ramadan bidding us good-bye. We at Star Lifestyle have tried our best to be with you on all those tedious yet exciting trips to jam packed Gausia, Chandni Chawk, crowded Elephant road, to all those new impressive and breathtaking shopping malls and arcades, even to those narrow lanes and by-lanes of Islampur. Finally, we very confidently conclude that our readers are all set for a stylish and modish Eid.

Today we have jotted down for you the final checklist, see if you have missed out on any of these trivialities. If you did then there is still time, the real spine-chilling shopping experience begins on the eve of Eid the wild chand raat shopping as we call it. It begins after the television announcement of Eid next day and picks up momentum at 11p.m and reaches peak at 2a.m. It's the time to buy flowers, last minute food items, and so many other knick-knacks.

Anyway here's your checklist, read the following and finalise your Eid shopping.

This time the never-out-of fashion fabric- denim was very much in. Bags, belts, shoes, short kurtis or dresses in jeans were the rage. Be it slip-ons with metal studs or platforms for you, or shoes and sandal shoes for kids, a bleached A-line skirts or a halter top, capris with side pull-ons, anything in that fabric was the people's demand. If you have missed out on it, go grab anything that looks like jeans or be left out.
This season threads interlace with style and colour, with touches of geometry and tradition, stripes, florals, lines, polka dots (both big and small), all played havoc with the fabric. Since there is a mild winter chill in the air the fabric that ruled mostly were thick, raw and multicoloured.

With the winter coming in, the colour palettes just got bolder. For saris, lime greens, citrine yellow, burnt sienna and vermilion sold like hot cakes, but the colours that ruled were fuschia and tangerine. Our deshi taat or Indian taat, or handlooms went strong. However an interesting trend that popped up this Eid was for tie-dyed saris with chikan embroidery on it. These look lovely and would make your Eid morning bright and colourfully happy, with no doubt. In fact this traditional chikan and shade work embroidery found its way on men's short kurtis, many tailors saw men opting for tailor made long sleeves shirt in white yards with chikan work on them.

Enough of what to wear, at times we tend to forget that Eid shopping is not necessarily limited to clothes. Yes, it is a dominating factor but there are other denominators as well to this equation of looking and feeling good this Eid. Food is the most important one of them all. After fasting for a month, you would naturally want to snack during the entire Eid holidays.

For the health conscious an ideal snack would be an assortment of parboiled vegetables like florets of cauliflower, baby corns, small slits of carrots and cucumbers, slices of yellow, red and green capsicum tossed in bean sprouts and garnished with garlic flakes and olive oil. You could even try these with a butter and lemon dip. So while going to the super market for salsas and Doritos, don't forget to buy the season's in veggies.

Home made pizzas and burgers were hit with people this Ramadan. After all we do want to junk junkies for health reasons. Our very own Kissan cheese has no match in these home made preparation, if you have no clue how to make the pizza dough, get yourself a naan roti, add your choice of toppings, spread Kissan cheese generously and your snack maker should take care of the rest. Your pizza is ready within a maximum of five to seven minutes. For burgers make your own chicken/beef chops, add lettuce, mayonnaise, Kissan cheese and put it in the microwave for half a minute or so for a tasty chicken/beef cheese burger. To add your own signature touch to it you can spread a spoon of mint and olive chutney to it. This would give your burger a deshi touch.

Needless to say you would want to drink as well, so instead of those fizzy drink, try this fantastic new concoction of seasonal fruits in sweet yoghurt. Simply add small portion of bananas, papayas, with a large portion of sweet yoghurt, add chilled water and start the blender. You would have a yummy glass of a new drink called 'Beloved'. It is actually a cross between lassi and milk shake, however the recipe came into being while a truly 'beloved' husband was trying to help his sweet wife with iftar preparation. (Later on it became such a hit that the couple was seen inviting friends over for a sip of this truly innovative drink.)

Clothes done, food taken care of now comes entertainment. Many of us have planned trips beforehand but for those who cannot take a break, here's the time to really spend some quality time with family and spouse.

There is nothing like watching a movie together. If you are in a mushy, mushy romantic mood, watch movies like Sweet November, Chocolat`, A Walk in the Clouds, classics like Gone with the Wind and Roman Holiday. Even if your spouse insists on watching The Terminators or The Hulk in action, you strike a deal or throw a tantrum but keep the mood romantic. For those with kids, grandmas would love to have them over at hers and while you unwind. And if kids have no place to go watch fun movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Nemo, Spy Kids 3D. Visiting family and friends can be taken care of on Eid day but the day after Eid should certainly be a family affair.

Long trips to the outskirts of the city are also nice, so scan for a serene place now and set yourself to go. The long drives in lovely winter mornings, passing through green fields, sipping tea by the roadside, seeing unknown faces celebrating would be a nice change from mundane Eid duties.

Readers whatever you do or plan have a swell time. Eid Mubarak to all.

By Raffat Binte Rashid, Photo Zahedul I Khan