Not just fun, costumes are for a cause too

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Amita Gupta (right) in her costume, along with other participants in their special outfits — SA

The 10th edition of Mumbai Marathon saw various people dressed in costumes — either to promote a cause or simply for fun. While some costumes were very creative, some were gory even if used to great impact.
Renowned fashion designer Shaina NC judged the competition of people dressed in amusing costumes that was organised as a separate event. As judge of the competition for the last three years,
she said, “Every year has been an enjoyable experience. These new designs teach us what is the mentality of the people and what affects them the most.”
Amita Gupta, who was awarded the best costume title by Ms Shaina, came dressed as a pregnant woman with a baby in her hand whose umbilical cord is still attached. She seemed to be crying tears of blood. “I wanted to promote the cause of the girl child, as this matter is very close to my heart. My costume had to be gory as the subject itself is so serious,” she said.
The list of interesting costumes is never ending, from a woman dressed as a robot (made out of foil) to a man dressed as an astronaut; from a man dressed as a tree to a mother-daughter duo dressed as Shivaji Maharaj and his mother.
However, apart from the visual treat, there were several other NGOs that were running with placards displaying their message and concern.
A majority of the NGOs supported the cause of child education in the marathon. Another organisation named Oasis displayed a placard “Dirty Picture, stop crime against girls and women”. Richard David, part of the group, said, “Our organisation focuses on improving the lives of women and girls. The incident that occurred in Delhi and the incidents, which are reported on a regular basis, are very disturbing. Hence, we want to fight for women’s respect and dignity.”