KARACHI: The Floral Dinner organised by the Horticulture Society of Pakistan (HSP) and its associated bodies at the DHA-HSP Garden Centre on Saturday was a ‘flower-studded affair’. Everyone who attended the function had to come wearing some kind of a flower accessory.

The ladies arrived wearing garlands or headdresses made out of flowers, fruit and vegetables, which they had made themselves. Some of the gentlemen were also wearing a flower on their lapel or in their shirts’ button holes. If not that then they were wearing flowery print Hawaiian shirts.

Each table was also decorated with a pretty flower arrangement along with a card mentioning which club or society it had been reserved for.

These included The Tree Club, Ladies Horticultural Club, Amateurs Gardener Club, Pakistan Bonsai Society, Ikebana International Karachi Chapter, Ikenobo Study Group, World Flower Council of Pakistan, Orchid Society of Pakistan, Cactus and Succulent Society of Pakistan, Floral Art Society of Pakistan’s Jasmine and Gardenia Chapters, Karachi Sogetsu Study Group, Indus Sogetsu Study Group, etc.

There were lucky draws and prizes for the best floral wear as decided by a judges panel. This year the winners were Nadia Balagamwala, Nafisa Baig, Salma Aziz and Dr Rabina Ishtiaq.

There was also a special prize for the youngest contestant, Baby Maria, who was wearing a green flower print frock, pink roses on her headband while also carrying a little purse decorated with the same kind of roses.

Later, some of the winners also shared how they had made their floral accessories.

Nadia Balagamwala, who bagged the first prize, said that she had simply plucked flowers and jungle jalebi from her own urban forest.

Nafisa Baig, who was a runner-up, said that she gained inspiration for her look from Ikebana arrangements.

Salma Aziz, who won the third prize, did the same from a palm tree and Dr Rubina Ishtiaq, who was fourth and had only taken part in the competition for the first time, said that she only matched flowers with her dress.

The evening concluded with a Qawwali Night with Qawal Majid Ali Sabri performing.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2024