Traditional Indian dress arrives in Geraldton just in time for Nagle student’s special night

One Nagle Catholic College student’s special ball experience came together at the very last moment, with a dress that captured her cultural heritage and helped her win an award arriving just in the nick of time. For her Year 12 ball, Ahalya Hari Kumar, 17, who was born in India, decided to go with a handmade, traditional approach for her dress, having one made by Indian designer Ashwini Kannan. It took a team of four craftsmen a week of work to create the handmade pink dress, featuring zardozi embroidery and handwoven beads, rhinestones and pearls. Things did not all go to plan however. After being sent from India the dress arrived in Sydney on January 30, before getting lost in the tracking system. After a lot of panicking and drama, the dress arrived two days before the event. Ahalya said it was a massive relief to finally have the dress at her doorstep. “I was just so excited and happy that in arrived in time and excited to try it on, it was the biggest relief,” she said. “I wanted something special and something that would identify with the culture of my migrant parents.” It was all worth the wait as Ahalya and her friend, Darcy Lewis, 17, won the Dynamic Duo award at the ball. Ahalya and Darcy also arrived in style, driven by dad Hari Kumar in a rickshaw bike from local business Revolutions Geraldton, draped in golden kasavu sarees from Kerala and flower garlands to give it a classic Indian rickshaw look. The Kumar family also thanked the Geraldton Noticeboard Facebook group for giving advice on how to track down the missing dress.