Maine payal hai chhankayee…

(Desi) Girls just wanna have fun! PUNEET KAUR ANAND on WA’s terrific Teej celebrations
Cannington Exhibition Centre was abuzz with the razzle and dazzle of saris, bindis and bangles galore, as the Indian community’s women got together for a glam day out.

The event was organised by the Indian Society of Western Australia (ISWA) as a Teej celebration, a festival which denotes the start of the monsoon season, but is also a ‘Women’s Day’ of sorts.
Dressed to the nines, the girls varied in age from seventeen to seventy. Minus the hubby and kids, they caught up with friends over khana, and indulged in a bit of naach-gaana.
And oh, they also indulged at all the stalls, buying up big on trinkets and clothes and other girly stuff, those essential nutrients for our overall well-being!

The mood was typically:
Boli te boli main paawaan
ayiyan teej geet khushi de gawa
mil muttiyara pawan gidha
nach nach ajj dhamka main paawaan
naal khushi de main teej manawan…..


The cultural presentations started off with Sarojini Jagadish and Annpurna Jagadish who sang an homage to Ganesha,  Ekadantaaya.
And then the dancers came on – energetic, graceful and flamboyant all in the one go! Shrutika and Shivangi, great job on London thumakda. Sangita Rana and Sadhna Nigam, your Maine payal hai chankayee remained stuck in the head for hours after!
Sonia Nair, well-known in the community as the co-ordinator of Surya India Festival, choreographed two stunning performances which the audiences really enjoyed, Journey of a woman and the very infectious Aaja nachle.
MCs Suchitra Rao and Mona Arora kept every one entertained with their witty jokes in between the performances.
The highlight for many, was the fashion show cum ISWA Queen Contest. The audiences cheered as the girls walked the ramp, and finally the beautiful Isha Bagwe was crowned ISWA Queen 2015.

 
Delighted at winning the title, Isha said she had been living in Perth for 15 years, and such events keep her tied to her Indian roots. Young mum Shital Verma was declared first runner up for the contest.
ISWA President Mukesh Jain spoke a little about the event, thrilled that the second year of the celebration had been received so successfully (some 475 women were in attendance).
He added that with such a wonderful response, next year the event can be expected to be much bigger with a wider range of stalls and at a larger venue.
Looks like this one is set to become a regular in our annual social calendar!
Check out more pics on our Facebook page HERE