Navratri: Egged on by in-house devis, men too adopt dress code
Egged on by the devis at home, men too have started to become colour-compliant during Navratri. On Wednesday, it was mostly a sea of blue, while on Friday, several unflinchingly sported yellow hues. Some have been following the tradition for years, while others follow their wives' code. All nine days of the festival are dedicated to a distinct avatar of the goddess, and each of these days has a colour assigned to it.
A group of college friends at Andheri were also seen celebrating Navratri by sporting the second day's colour, yellow. “Every year we would see people wearing Navratri colours. We thought it cool and for the last two years, we have been doing so diligently," said Sonu Singh, a college student. Interestingly, this group has also come up with innovative fines for breach of code during Navratri. "In case a person forgets or does not wear that day's colour, we ask the person to take us out for lunch,” chorus the others in their group, happily. Men in the middle-aged and above groups have placed the onus of choosing the colours on their wives. "I don't rack my brains thinking of the colour for the day. That is my wife's responsibility. I wear what she chooses," Rajesh Chouhan.
Kishore Patkar, a designer working with a media house, has been diligently twinning with his wife, and his train friends for the last nine years. It all began in 2014, when he wore pink by coincidence and was complimented by a female friend on the train, which is when he realised there is a colour code. "The first year, I was pinched by my male friends for wearing pastel colours like pink and yellow, on those particular days. Except for government employees, others would not fall in line with the festive colour code. In fact, in just four years, the environment in our compartment has changed. Many are seen wearing the Navratri colours, it is fun," said Patkar. A devoted couple residing in Neral since the trend began, have been twinning happily during Navratri. Ajit Navalkar, 68, and his wife Anjali, 58, like college chums, click photos and are actually called Dharmendra and Hema Malini by all. "We feel young doing these things. And it is a change in our routine lives," said Anjali.