Nineteen ninety-nine was possibly the worst time for cultural exchanges between the neighbouring nations in the subcontinent. The previous year India and Pakistan became rogue-turned-accepted nuclear nations. The Kargil war between the two nations took place between May and July 1999. Other neighbours, like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, had love-hate relationships with India. Track II diplomacy, or cultural contacts, was at its lowest ebb.

It was in the autumn of 1999 that Divya Gurwara launched Bridal Asia (initially Bridal 99), an exhibition that showcased designers offering range of bridal trousseau. There was Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, Rizwan Beg, Fatima Safi, and Nilofer Shahid from Pakistan; Maheen Khan and Rina Latif from Bangladesh, and; Yolanda from Sri Lanka. These were big names, and some of them came again for the subsequent Bridal Asia events.

For Divya, it was a journey into the unknown, a path whose destination was a bit of a blur. It started from the dusty, dirty, unhealthy coal town of Dhanbad (Jharkhand), traversed through the culturally-seeped Kolkata, and stopped in the Capital. Her journey encompassed the traditional saree, and she dabbled with bullion and stones, and played with several technical exhibitions, before hitting on the idea of an event on bridal wear.

Divya studied at Delhi Public School, RK Puram, New Delhi, and went to Loreto College in Darjeeling (West Bengal). Fashion became an integral part since her childhood. “The exposure was inherent. Although we lived in Dhanbad, a small city in Bihar (now part of Jharkhand), I saw the best in fashion, and understood the sourcing process,” she explains.

After her marriage in 1989, she settled in Delhi. Her initial foray into the world of business was to buy sarees from the weavers in Kolkata, and supply them to the Delhi-based designers. The trick was to get hold of the weaves before they hit the market, so as to be ahead of the competitive curve. In the 1990s, she did a course in gemology and sold jewellery. She gained knowledge about diamonds, and other stones. She sat down with the karigars. She enjoyed the creativity and technical process.

Then, she walked into Bridal Asia. It gripped her as it was an ever-evolving project. What’s in today will be out tomorrow. What brides wanted yesterday was dictated by what their mothers and grandmothers insisted on. What they want today is their choice. Tomorrow maybe another day. However, an exhibition organizer has to invariably maintain a balance between the demands of fashion and the preferences of consumers.

“It’s a balance between what’s in and what sells. The audience buys what it likes. But it needs to see what’s new. So, one has to introduce new fashion to the people, and also introduce what they desire,” explains Divya. She adds that Indian fashion has its own ‘style’, ‘statement’, and ‘cuts’. The basics of Indian dress haven’t changed. The saree is the same, except it now comes in different avatars like drape, pre-stitched, and gown. The lehenga is the same, except it is now worn with a shirt or a wraparound.

What has definitely changed is the mindset of both the bride and groom. A section of the former is more “experimental”, which wishes to “go the fun way and become minimalist”. Destination weddings are in. Parents and grandparents can interfere, but the brides want to choose their trousseau, and make independent choices. Earlier, the groom sat at weddings in a suit. Today, “he makes a statement when he enters. He makes sure he is noticed. He makes his presence felt, through a brooch, kalgi, or normal things”, says Divya.

To be frank, the designers’ outlook has also changed in the past two decades. Earlier, they were too dependent on the media; the two still go hand-in-hand. But thanks to the social media, the designers have more opportunities to reach their audience, and express themselves without being judged, as the media would do. The designers have their own personal platforms to showcase who they are, their style and fashion, and their entire beings. They have found their own voices and spaces.

After two decades, Bridal Asia is on the verge of another take-off. Divya has taken a back seat. Her elder son, Dhruv, is the captain. He runs Bridal Asia, and expanded it to Mumbai and Ludhiana. “I want to do other things, though I am still a part of Bridal Asia. If you walk into Bridal Asia, everything is different, and there is a variety. Brides have a wide spectrum to choose from,” says Divya.

Maybe she too decided to widen her professional horizons.