A ‘starry’ Eid

Lets think about the activities western celebrities would indulge in if they were to celebrate Eid.

KARACHI:

Ever thought of a world where Lady Gaga would want to hang upside down in a chooridaar and “Baby” Bieber would want to supervise a stall selling henna? If you are accused of being too West obsessed, now is the time to own it and think about the activities western celebrities would indulge in if they were to celebrate Eid. From diamantes-studded, heavier-than-thyself joras, to sweet sheer khurma, to the earthy smell of henna decorated hands — can gora celebrities handle Eid?

The regal spirit

This will be the first Eid for the Duchess of Cambridge Catherine Middleton. Middleton is expected to make a public appearance on Eid in a tea pink dress with intricate gota work on it, designed by her favourite designer Daniella Issa Helayel who had to fly to Lahore and take a crash course from Hassan Sheheryar Yasin.

The Duchess has said that she cannot wait for her charter plane to return with an array of glass bangles from Hyderabad’s choori gali and henna cones from Mina Bazaar. London’s finest tattoo artist has been appointed to decorate the Duchess’ hands.

William has said that the couple will visit families affected by the recent riots, after which they will attend the sawaiyan (vermicelli) party at Queen Elizabeth’s palace. According to sources, the couple has already arranged for a bundle of £50 notes to be distributed as Eidi amongst the young ones.

Lady Gaga — the Eid ‘dish’

Having been in Pakistan for more than a month, US singer Lady Gaga, who earlier sung a duet with Komal Rizvi on “Coke Studio”, is now preparing for a massive Eid show-cum-concert, scheduled to be held at the Pakistan American Cultural Centre.

Gaga is aiming for the perfect outfit and to celebrate the festivities, she has once again decided to turn to food. This time, she will be seen in an outfit made of gulaab jaamun to signify the occasion. However, convincing her designer, Deepak Perwani of this bizarre idea was no easy task, claims Gaga. Those who have diabetes can hate her or curse her but she does what she does.

Keeping in tune with the latest fashion, Gaga will be seen sporting a chooridar pyjama — made of rubber. To add to the festivity (and keeping tradition in mind) Gaga will use henna to ‘tattoo’  half of her face.

The Brangelina bunch



Hollywood actor-cum-philanthropist, Angelina Jolie’s chartered aircraft landed at Jinnah International airport in Karachi on August 25. However, this time round she did not travel alone but rather was accompanied by her partner Brad Pitt and their brood of six children.

The goodwill ambassador has politely declined Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s formal invitation to the annual Eid dinner in Islamabad. Her argument is that she is visiting strictly to help those affected by floods and she doesn’t appreciate the lavish spread of food at these parties — much of which goes to waste.

Dressed in a pistachio green shalwar kameez given to her by a Sindhi weaver, Jolie and her family stopped to buy bangles and henna at the local market to give as presents to women and girls in the flood-affected Badin area.

The famous family plans to travel to Badin on Eid, with barrels of food supplies and presents for the flood affected families. The couple will also observe the medical facilities at various camps been set up and has already sent an appeal to the United Nations and Hollywood fraternity to donate generously.

Bieber down with Eid fever



He’s already the richest teen of Hollywood raking in $53 million last year, but Eid sounded like a great opportunity to make some moolah. With his Eid concerts scheduled at Minare Pakistan and Mazare Quaid, Justin Bieber launched his exclusive Henna line: Belieber Mehndi — never say never, it stays forever. It shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the fact that the “Baby” hitmaker has already made it big with businesses we thought were none of his business — the 17-year-old has women’s fragrance and nail polish lines to his name.

After seeing the video of Love Mein Ghum’s title song, we all know Reema is obsessed with the ‘star-studded’ phenomenon. So what if she couldn’t have Bieber in the video, the teen sensation is here for the film’s premiere. And if Shazia Manzoor doesn’t show up (considering she doesn’t seem to be too much of a party person), Bieber can always lend his vocals to replace Manzoor in the live performance of “Soniye Yaadan”. His voice is so melodious; it would be hard to tell the difference.

Bieber is a true humanitarian, remember the time he donated his hair at “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” for charity? This Eid, he may not have much hair left to donate with his new ‘cool’ look, but the singer is considering going bald to support flood relief activities in Pakistan.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2011.