Thrissur: The Kalyanaraman family’s annual Navratri celebration was a distinguished event that seamlessly blended cinema, culture, and tradition. Esteemed personalities from Bollywood and South Indian cinema came together to pay homage to the rich festive spirit of Navratri.
This year’s Navaratri celebration paid homage to the revered legacy of Lord Rama, with the central theme focusing on the pivotal moment of breaking the Dhanush baan during Sita’s swayamvar. This event holds a timeless representation of divine strength and virtue, symbolizing the triumph of righteousness. The vibrant setup also featured the depiction of a young Lord Krishna in his cradle swing, which holds great cultural and spiritual importance. Together, these two divine representations of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna—each a manifestation of Lord Vishnu in different avatars—bringing forth a culturally rich and spiritually profound exhibit, as part of the grand festivities.
The Kalyanaraman family kept up the tradition of displaying the ‘Bommai Kolu’, a festive display of dolls and figurines. The order in which the Bommai or the dolls are kept symbolises the evolution from a materialistic level to an elevated spiritual level through depiction of everyday scenes and the divine forms of the goddesses, Saraswati, Parvati and Lakshmi. The guests were warmly welcomed and explained about the thought and the story behind the Kolu display.
Kalyan Jewellers’ global ambassador – Katrina Kaif was at the forefront of the celebrations, joined by Bollywood superstars Bobby Deol, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgn, Shilpa Shetty, Malaika Arora, along with Kalyani Priyadarshan and Rashmika Mandanna, who are the brand’s popular faces in the southern markets. The event was also graced by Naga Chaitanya, ace filmmaker Priyadarshan and Jude Anthony, along with singers and popular artists from the Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu film industries.
The private celebration saw celebrities such as Tovino Thomas, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, Regina Cassandra, Neeraj Madhav, Pranita Subhash, Reba John, Nyla Usha, Mamta Mohandas, Ashok Selvan, Kalidas Jayaram, Dileep and Kavya. Music directors Ouceppachan, Srath and Sushin Shyam, alongside producers Suchitra Mohanlal, Antony Perumbavoor, Srishti Behl and Visakh Subramaniam were also in attendance.
Kalyan Jewellers’ regional brand ambassadors Prabhu Ganesan (Tamil Nadu), Kinjal Rajpriya (Gujarat), Ritabhari Chakraborty (West Bengal), Pooja Sawant (Maharashtra) and Wamiqa Gabbi (Punjab) graced the evening with their presence.