A 25-year-old Indian-origin student, Lakshmi Kumari, created a buzz as she appeared in a lehenga for her graduation ceremony in Switzerland. She donned a green and golden lehenga to celebrate her achievement and her Indian heritage. Speaking to HT.com, Lakshmi said it was the first lehenga she ever owned and she had worked hard to get it delivered in Switzerland for the event.
She is a graduate in law from the University of Basel, where she studied under much difficulty, particularly in terms of the German language in which the course was taught. She said, “As I was struggling with the language because it’s not my native language, I was feeling very proud after completing my bachelor’s degree…I told myself if I can complete my bachelor’s degree in a language where I am not fluent in it, then I MUST wear something special for myself.”
This idea inspired her decision to don a lehenga on the graduation day.
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Half Indian and half Finnish, Lakshmi spent most of her childhood in India, which helped her keep in touch with her roots. She also developed a love for Bollywood movies. However, she had never owned a lehenga before, having only seen them in Indian fashion shows. Determined to wear something unique, she spent time browsing the internet and found a website that could deliver a lehenga to Switzerland in time for her graduation. She chose an Anisha Shetty creation through Fabilicious Fashion.
At the ceremony, Lakshmi’s classmates were fascinated by her attire. She said, “My classmates loved it! They all asked if it was traditional attire from India and I was so happy to tell them all the details! “ Though she picked a more subtle lehenga to match the occasion, it certainly stood out in Switzerland. Even though I chose a lehenga that wasn’t too flashy so that it could match the occasion, it was definitely an outfit that stood out because it’s not an outfit you see often in Switzerland, except maybe in Bollywood movies.