For Raipur, 2015 was a year of crazy trends

The year 2015 was a year of many exciting, quirky and new trends in Raipur. Be it funny Dubsmash videos, sporting Modi jackets or indulging in some intelligent reading, there were new trends that were a rage in the city. As the city gears up to bid adieu to 2015 and welcome the new year, Raipur Times enlists up the most popular and happening trends of 2015 that kept the youth hooked.
The year of Selfie sticks
There’s no doubt that the most memorable part of 2014 remained selfies. But this year, the introduction of selfie sticks added to the fun factor. Many inaccessible backgrounds became easier to take selfies with. Not only girls, but guys also were not behind in clicking selfies using selfie sticks. Vishal Soni, a hotel management student, said, “Ours group believes in capturing special moments. As I am the tallest in my group, I always used to end up being the one holding the phone. The selfie sticks proved to be a big relief as it became easier taking group selfies. It is a great help when trying to incude many people in the frame.”
Modi jackets for men
The popular and stylish ‘Modi jackets’ became the new and most talked about fashion trend among boys this year. The youngsters not only flaunted the jackets with kurtas but also looked cool teaming them up with T-shirts and shirts. This ‘desi waistcoat’ definitely made them stand out and upped their fashion quotient. High school student Mohit Singh, who has flaunted the jacket on many ocassions, said, “These jackets give a rich and classy look. Also one does not need to pair it with just the proper kurta-pyajama and it can also be worn with plain T-shirts. I recently got one in blue and it looks great when paired with a blue denim and white shirt.”
Eco-friendly Celebrations
From organic colours in holi, mud idols for Navratri and Ganesh Chaturthi, to a cracker free Diwali and paper-decoration for Christmas — this year has had many such eco-friendly celebrations in Raipur. The city seems to have become really conscious about its environment. “I believe that to change the world, we first need to adapt many changes in ourselves and I am glad that the youngsters are doing their bit,” said Arun Kumar Mathuriya, pursuing engineering form Shri Shankaracharya College of Engineering and Technology, Junwani. As a similar eco-friendly drive, a series of tree plantation and campus cleaning events were undertaken in many Bhilai and Raipur engineering colleges.
Ripped Jeans for girls
For the fashionable youngsters of Raipur, staying up-to-date with fashion is really important, but more important is following their favourite Bollywood stars. After Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone sported the new trend, their fans in the city also went shopping and the ripped jeans fashion came in vogue by mid-2015. Bhumika Mishra, a second semester engineering student, said, “It was so trendy, that we didn’t want to miss it. To save some pocket money, I ripped my old jeans and it really rocked.”
Reading at Book Cafes
There was a rise in book cafes which caught on with city’s youngsters and middle-aged group in 2015. It couldn’t get any better for the bookworms who always look out for a comfortable and friendly space to curl up with a book. They found the concept amazing and thus the new culture became a fad among readers. Raghav Tibrewal, an avid reader, said, “I had been to such places in big cities but it’s good to have book cafes in Indore. It’s also a platform for the readers to meet and share ideas.”
Bobble heads
When it comes to sharing and having fun with friends, Raipur’s youngsters leave no stone unturned. The bobblehead craze that started towards the end of July, was all about creating funny comical characters of oneself and friends and passing them around amongst friends and family with the help of social media. Ruchika Dikshit, a school girl, said, “I saw bobblehead stickers online of Bollywood actors and downloaded an app. It is fun creating funny stickers with humourous quotes etc to tease your friends. My friends even made stickers of some of our teachers and shared them in groups.”
Fun over some Dubsmash
Towards mid 2015, a new app appeared to attract the attention of all age groups. Everybody used their acting talent to make their own Dubsmash videos with most youngsters doing it. Dubsmash, which is basically a lip-syncing application, became extremely famous. Ankita Kamde, a medical student, shared, “Making Dubsmash videos became my favourite thing this year as it is fun and something new. My friends and I love making videos all the time, even between lectures. I’ve made dubbed many dialogues from my favourite movies. The best part is playing these videos. One cannot control his or her laughter after seeing them.” Recording hilarious dub videos became viral amongst everyone including famous celebrities. The social networking sites were full of such videos.
Never ending hunger for street food
Aakash Mukherjee, doing masters in Psychology from Science College, shared, “Hot, sizzling and mouthwatering dishes after the long college hours, became my favourite this year. I love street food because of the large variety available. It’s spicy, tasty and has a very different flavour. Inspite of the amount of calories it has, I just cannot stop myself from eating at food stalls whenever I pass by.” It is not just the case with Aakash, as the love for street food has increased this year. As a result, many new food stalls have come up all across the city offering hundreds of delicious recipes from all over the country.
Cat eyeD specs
Gone are the days when the guys of your class would tease you as a chashmish or behanji for huge framed specs. The once not-so-cool-geeky- spectacles were largely redefined by city’s youth and after the cat-eye frames became the favourite for Raipur’s college going girls. Pratima Shrivastava, a fourth semester student, shared, “I keep experimenting with my specs and looks. After I saw this new frame, I too bought a pair and my friends have always complimented it and it looks cool and is in.”
Fun over some Dubsmash
Towards mid 2015, a new app appeared to attract the attention of all age groups. Everybody used their acting talent to make their own Dubsmash videos with most youngsters doing it. Dubsmash, which is basically a lip-syncing application, became extremely famous. Ankita Kamde, a medical student, shared, “Making Dubsmash videos became my favourite thing this year as it is fun and something new. My friends and I love making videos all the time, even between lectures. I’ve made dubbed many dialogues from my favourite movies. The best part is playing these videos. One cannot control his or her laughter after seeing them.” Recording hilarious dub videos became viral amongst everyone including famous celebrities. The social networking sites were full of such videos.