Two hoots for the rain

Let the monsoon not be a dampener for those who love to dress up

Are you a fun-in-the-rain person, or are you the kind who loves to snuggle up at home with a hot cuppa coffee? Wake up Bangaloreans and get yourself all geared up for the showers, which have finally descended upon us. Our city is awash with monsoon offers galore, so take your pick and be a monsoon diva or even better, a monsoon dude.

Colour me up

Fashion designer Anu Nagappa, who owns the boutique Astara, says, "Monsoon is an extension of the Spring Summer collection. We do four lines every year. The first summer line is in March, which is light shades and whites. We do another collection in May, which are designed keeping the monsoons in mind. These are in bright colours in knee length dresses and some with silhouettes like togas. For day dresses its mostly cottons and for the nights its silk. Rain or no rain, the business doesn't get affected as the second spring summer collection is extended upto the end of July as when the summer sets in you can start wearing bright ochres, fuchsia and lilacs, which go well in the pre-monsoon and the monsoons."

Playing it by ear

S Mahajan, the sales director of Dream Merchants, the company which is organising the Bangalore Fashion Week from July 23 to July 26, has it all planned for the impending monsoons. He says, "The organizers will hold the fashion shows indoors. The after parties will be in open air and in case the rain gods decide to descend upon us, we will shift the bash indoors."



Monsoon is no longer a bane for hair; it's time for fun, say the spa experts. A popular haircare brand is even offering an umbrella with their hair treatment!

Is it raining events?

"We have a lot of plays in July. We are also having a lot of tributes for the monsoon month of July. The Michael Jackson tribute is on July 5 and will be performed by a bunch of city musicians alongwith a few dancers who will do the famed MJ moves."
Rajeev Kumar, Executive director, Kyra restaurant and theatre

"Monsoons are not a dampener, it's the city laws that are! Forget the rain dance, dance itself is a dreaded word these days. We are treated worse than Telgi. Business is very bad for nightclubs these days. The elite crowd has completely stopped partying at nightclubs. They go to farmhouses for private parties. We see only kids in their 20's who come for a few hours and don't spend much money. The business has gone down almost 70 to 80 percent."
Ananth Narayan, owner, Nyx Fusion lounge & treasurer, Bangalore Lounge Pub Restaurant Association

Monsoon flip flopsu00a0
This monsoon, Arugam Bay brings you the feel of the ocean and the fun of the beach through brilliant, tropical colours. Some so delicious, you may want to eat, drink and sleep in them.



With names inspired by the South Asian region of tropics like monsoon blue, angel fish, ocean blue, rainforest, reef, coral blue, elephant, black pepper, coconut and paddy green, the brand also has a double-range of single colours and two-tones in 25 colour styles, inspired by the magical beach on the east coast of Sri Lanka called Arugam Bay. Priced Rs 300 onwards.
Where: Rocia, Regal Shoes, 34 Commercial Street and at Nimboo, 12, Aga Abbas Ali road and Squeeze, 71, 2nd Cross, Lavelle Road