Sto­ry and pho­tos by

Rishi Ra­goonath

Mas lovers, get ready—Kalicha­ran Mas is set to mes­merise with its daz­zling 2026 Car­ni­val pre­sen­ta­tion, Be­daz­zled.

On Sat­ur­day at The Lob­by, all eyes were fixed on the run­way as the south-based band un­veiled sev­en sec­tions, each poised to ig­nite the streets of San Fer­nan­do come Car­ni­val Mon­day and Tues­day.

Kalicha­ran Mas—one of the largest and most dec­o­rat­ed bands in the South­land, boast­ing an as­tound­ing 31 Band of the Year ti­tles—has once again de­liv­ered a spec­ta­cle of beau­ty, cre­ativ­i­ty and Car­ni­val spir­it. This year, mas­quer­aders can choose from six sec­tions: Oro, Onyx, Mys­tic Quartz, Lari­mar, Bronzite and Rose Quartz.

Each cos­tume is craft­ed with rich blends of beads, feath­ers and ra­di­ant colour palettes, paired with a va­ri­ety of biki­ni styles.

Band leader and de­sign­er Ayana Kalicha­ran beau­ti­ful­ly ex­plained the in­spi­ra­tion be­hind the theme.

“The term ‘be­daz­zled’ orig­i­nates from the fu­sion of ‘be-’—an in­ten­si­fi­er—and ‘daz­zled,’ mean­ing to be over­whelmed by bright­ness or bril­liance,” she said.

“Pop­u­larised in lit­er­a­ture, pos­si­bly by Shake­speare, it has evolved to rep­re­sent any­thing that cap­ti­vates through glit­ter, glam­our, or or­nate dec­o­ra­tion.”

She added, “In fash­ion, de­sign and sto­ry­telling, the be­daz­zled theme con­jures im­ages of shim­mer­ing sur­faces, ra­di­ant colours and mag­i­cal trans­for­ma­tions. It’s not just about sparkle—it’s about im­pact, emo­tion and el­e­vat­ed beau­ty.”