French opera in desi robes

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She was a beautiful Indian princess and he was a dreamy poet. Centuries ago they fell in love and the tale of their undying love was immortalised in the annals of history. When this heart-warming story of princess Lalla Roukh was recently staged by Opera Lafayette at The Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C. and Lincoln Centre in New York, the audience relived the legend yet again.

However, there was a twist in the tale as the narrative was in French and an Indian designer crafted the costumes. Poonam Bhagat, the designer who constructed the rich Indian ensembles for this French fairytale, reveals how the project of combining the two ethos was an experience to behold.
The vibrant costumes were created over a period of six months, informs Poonam, adding, “There are two acts in this musical, the first is set in Kashmir and second revolves around Samarkand. This is a beautiful story of Lalla Roukh, who was the daughter of Aurangzeb. She was engaged to the prince of Samarkand, but on her way from Delhi to Samarkand she meets a poet and falls in love with him. Later, in the second act it is revealed that the poet was actually the prince of Samarkand, who disguised himself as a commoner to test her true love. I designed 24 costumes in jewelled tones that were inspired by the Mughal era.”
The designer adds, “I used beautiful chanderi, cotton silks, velvets, brocade and katan silk draped to create the royal silhouettes. My biggest challenge was weaving the French and Indian sensibilities together in tandem, so that one does not overpower the other.”