Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2010 - Day 3 - Vijay Balhara - Borala Nautch

Flamboyant and vibrant, Vijay Balhara’s Collection “Borala Nautch” had every bit the fun element expected from the young designer. “Borala” means a traditional headgear of the Northern Women, while “Nautch” is derived from the Sanskrit word for dance: Nritya.
“Naach” was a popular dance style performed by young girls known as “Nautch Girls”. The culture of the performing art of Nautch rose to prominence during the later period of Mughal Empire, and the Company Rule . Dance as a form of entertainment and art was a rage with the Princely states and Nawabs. “Borala” was extensively used as a headgear in Vijay’s collection. With the silhouettes inspired from the motifs and the culturally rich clothing style of Nautch Girls, Vijay’s collection is for the Urban Woman not afraid to flaunt her individuality. The vivid color palette shows the designer’s penchant for experimenting. Blending rural influences seamlessly with urban sensibilities, Vijay has truly lived up to his reputation as an emerging designer to watch out for.

Using sensuous, natural fabrics like cotton with satin weave, mul, voil, linen and soft brocades, Vijay has created an interesting line including tunics, dresses, capes, jumpsuits, shrugs, skirts, and churidar pants. Playing with a wide color palette of ivory, beige, orange, pink, fuchsia, yellow and gold, and using embellishments like gold sequined kanthawork, resham thread embroidery, pipe work and cut daana work, Vijay’s collection definitely promises great things to come from his brand VJB.













Vijay takes a bow...

Kala Ghoda - Day 1

Barely made it in time to see some of Ritika Mittals' awesome collection - MORA - at Kala Ghoda. Day 1 is usually very crowded, and chaotic. Stall owners are still trying to get the logistics right and get in place their own ways of crowd management. Some pretty interesting stuff there. Will cover all that later. For now, just a few pictures that I managed to get.


Roseanne and Ellie pose for the camera.


Me, Roseanne and the mannequin. I am wearing a MORA sari.


Ritika's mother taking a quick break


Ritika, tired but happy with the success of the MORA collection


An interesting installation. In fact, the only one I managed to see.

Biker Chic - To Be Or Not To Be

To think of Biker Chic in Mumbai weather is akin to committing fashion suicide. Imagine. Me. On a local train in Mumbai. Twelve women rubbing against me (Don’t ask how that happens. You don’t want to know). And my leather jacket making me sweat gallons of liquid out of my system. I arrive in office drenched in sweat, smelling, cranky. Not sexy!

So biker Chic is, let’s just face it and throw in the towel, not for Mumbai women. We live out our life in airy cotton tunics, and tees. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t drool over the chains and zippers galore that the fall fashion is bringing back into our life.

I saw these lovelies on Glamour Magazine’s website and shed tears. My favourite is the Alex McQueen Biker Rings Clutch Bag. Super! The Satin and Chain High Sandals by Camilla Skovgaard bring sexy back, and the Miss Selfridge Leather Biker Jacket, along with the Studded Bangles will do any fashion goddess proud.Desires, I say. Maybe some other city, some other life. Meanwhile Angelina Jolie can slip into her leather shifts and look gorgeous. I’ll have a cotton tunic, on the rocks, please.

Where is the Winter?

It’s October, and no sign of winters. Mumbai is as warm as it was in mid-summer! The city usually has just two seasons- summer and monsoon. And both are quite inconvenient. Mumbai summers are humid. You don’t know what I am talking about till you visit the city. So I am not at all surprised that the two girls are dressed for summer. I love the prints on their dresses. And check out the flip-flops; quite appropriate for the weather.

And the lady in the second picture, I love her hair! She had so much spunk. And her clothes were so unusual for Mumbai. But she looked so cool and relaxed in them. AND she had so much spunk! Colaba is perfect for a warm day shopping so I am not surprised to see the shopping bags in both the pictures. The ladies were trying to kill the heat with some cool bargains.

High Heel Marathon --- Would you? Could you?

When I bought my first pair of precariously high heels, a friend gave me a long lecture on the harm they could do to my back... I went ahead and bought two more pairs, and wore my lovely stilettos everywhere. I went for walks wearing them, I went shopping, and even went to college wearing high heels. I lived my life a good few inches higher than rest of the world. Then one day, just as suddenly my love for high heels had begun, it faded. Ephemeral... yes. But the comfort of well-structured flats was difficult to resist. And till a few months back, I lived my life pretty grounded. Till I saw this gorgeous, to-die-for pair of lovely heels in a shade of orange I had never dared even look at before. And the heels were back in my life.

But even at the top of my affair with the heels, I wouldn't have dreamed of running around in them, leave alone running an actual marathon waring heels over 3-inches. But I guess $5000 cash prize and a pair of Terry Biviano heels might change all that. Like it did for hundreds of women who took part in a 80 meter world record attempt stiletto race, held at the Overseas Passenger Terminal on September 2, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. The previous world record of 150 runners, held by Holland, was broken by a neat margin, with 265 people participating in the Sydney race. I say "people" because some men were spotted running too! Well, Like I said $5000 in cash...


Image: bbc.co.uk




Winner Brittany McGlone, posing with her Golden Pump Trophy
Images: shoeminx.com

But High heels Marathon? And the crazy sport has been doing rounds across the world, with London and Manhattan having done their own rounds of "charity" high heel marathons. I guess, soon enough they will find their way into Mumbai. We already have parties for charity, so why not a marathon... And there will be enough sponsors- Relispray, Iodex, Orthopedic Departments of top hospitals.

Any takers?

Tagged by Absolutely Fabulous

What are the last three things you purchased?
A pair of red Jimmy Choos, an eye pencil, a pair of English rose colored pants



What are the last three songs you downloaded?
Increase the dosage, by Revolution Void

Where were the last three places you visited?
Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Devlali

What are your three favorite movies?
The Legend of 1900, Girl on the Bridge, Khamoshi

What are your three favorite possessions?
My new shoes, my Topshop Maxie dress, my engagement ring

What three things can you not live without?
Scrabble (my dog), laptop, My best friend (also responds to name "husband")


What would be your three wishes?
See more of the world, a house by the beach, a new designer wardrobe

What are three things you have not done yet?
Learn an entirely new cuisine, deep sea diving, fishing

What are your three favorite dishes?
Lasagna (Hail Garfield!), Baked potatoes with skin, Crackling Spinach

What three celebrities would you want to hang out with the most?
George Clooney, Susie Menkes, Priyanka Gandhi

Name three things that freak you out.
BO, lack of etiquette, reptiles

If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
Eccentric, imaginative, intuitive

Name three unusual things you are good at.
Closet reorganizing, recipe improvisation, making dog treats

What are three things you are currently coveting?
Losing 10 pounds, a new SUV, a long trip to Europe

What three bloggers would you like to tag?
Hmmm... SATC, Mercedes, Freelancer

The Hippie Party Sneak Peek

Remember the hippie theme party I had in my office last Friday? I finally got around to uploading some pix. Will do an elaborate post later in the day. For now, a preview of the decorations. Picture one is of a wall-paper, hand-made decoration, done especially for the Friday theme. The second picture is of the glow-lamps in the pantry. I love this picture for the vibrant colors.

In fact, I love it so much that I just might make it an element in the new blog look (wink, wink). Yup, am looking at redecorating the blog, getting a few new features, interviewing some blogdom celebs, posting loads more pictures. So, currently the list of stuff I am busy procrastinating is mighty long.

Hippie, Hippie, Hurray!!!

I guess the Hippie fever is catching on! My office has a theme-Friday every week, and today the theme is Hippie! Everyone is supposed to dress like one. And we also have a barbecue and flea market arranged in the evening. Talk about mixing pleasure with work. Am posting the Fashion Friday invitation from HR right now. Will post the pictures over the weekend.

Yoohoo!!!

I Love Birthdays! I love the parties, the cakes, the elaborate menus, friends and family celebrating... More so, when the birthday party is on a boat and you are on a harbour cruise with your near and dear ones. So, it was yours truly's birthday this 22nd and it was PARTY TIME!

Hubby arranged a party on a boat and out we went to the sea. I wore a yellow tunic top with jeans. We had some great starters and Biryani for main course. Am posting a picture of the birthday cake. Will post more details later.

Face Off! It's Preity Obvious...

Things haven’t been great past week or so. A tragedy struck the family and took a loved one away. So I was feeling really low. Which is why I have been out of action for some time now. But life goes on. Things are catching up at work too. And I am just about beginning to catch up on all the Cannes action. I was looking at some pictures of Indian actors at Cannes in the past few years and this one picture caught my eye.

It’s a picture of Preity Zinta, looking lovely as usual. But what caught my eye is the similarity between her and my own personal style icon, Edie Sedgwick. I have always felt that Preity has, in the past few years, acquired a calm elegance and presence that oozes class and oomph. She has the same effervescence that Edie, known as the Factory Girl, possessed. And yes, the dimples. Look at the images. The chandelier earrings, the swept up hair, the twinkle in the eye. It’s all there.



When she started acting, she was known as bubbly and impish. But look at the woman she has become! The whole world is talking about Aishwarya Rai on the red carpet. But I’d put my vote on Preity any given day.

College Chronicles

My college year as a professor is over. I taught at HR College for two years. I had been teaching Advertising Basics to the students of B. Com First Year Ad Batch. It was an interesting stint, and I would have loved to continue, but my new job leaves me with no time for anything else.

In my two years as a professor, I got a chance to observe, and interact with, young students. It really added to my learning of human behavior. I guess I learned far more from them than they learned from me. I might not go back next year to teach, but would love to get such a chance in the future. I took a few photographs a few months back and hadn’t really had a chance to post them. These are two of my young students. Some of you have seen the young man in a previous post, Gangsta Rap. He has cleaned up his act since then. The young lady is a budding creatives person and seems to have a bright future in the industry.

Summer Sunshine

Ran into her again. Yup, the first ever shotcouture girl! It was a special day, because the blog has come a long way since then. She was, as usual, dressed well, and this time it was her shoes and her bag. The bag was an old Ritu Kumar design. Those fringed boots are being graced by the most fashionable feet across town. Her skinny jeans and layered tees combo are perfect for her petite frame. She wore an ancient silver Rajasthani necklace, called Hasli. It’s like a massive, rigid ring for the neck. A pair of well-suited shades and our young lady is all set for a day out in the Mumbai summer!

Thinking Out Of The "Box"- Installation Art

This one is really interesting. We have all heard of the Tibetan Prayer Wheels. They are literally wheels on a spindle. Traditionally made from metal, wood, leather, or coarse cotton, they form the base for depiction or encapsulation of prayers, mantras and symbols such as the Ashtamangala (too complicated to explain in this space). It is believed that the spinning of the prayers wheels has the same effect as orally reciting the prayers or the mantras.



Prayer Wheels In Samye --- Photo courtesy, Wikipedia

What some of you might or might not have heard of are the Mumbai Dabbawalas. The word translates literally into “one who carries a box”. A “dabba” is a cylindrical tin or aluminium container or box. It is used for carrying one’s lunch, and there are special delivery services that use men to send these pre-packed lunch boxes to their destinations. So a dabbawala loosely translates into a “lunch box delivery man”. This is a highly specialized service, and an integral part of the life and culture in Mumbai. Many people in Mumbai commute to workplaces far away from their home. This makes it inconvenient for them to carry a wholesome, elaborate lunch-meal to office. So many office workers order cooked meals sent by a caterer who delivers it to their workplace, in the dabba. These are recollected the same day, and the next day, a fresh dabba is sent over. To mark the dabbas, the dabbawalas use a distinguishing symbol or color on them. Many NGO’s use these dabbas to put spread social service messages across the city, simply by putting a removable sticker on them!



Dabba! - Photo courtesy, Wikipedia

So what am I getting at? Yes. The installation art at the Kala Ghoda Festival. As a tribute to this integral part of the bustling city, one of the installations was a depiction of the simple dabbas as … prayer wheels! It was truly inspired and breath-taking. I loved the use of vibrant colors on the dabbas, made to look like rotating prayer-wheels. I love the way art can seamlessly bring together a spiritual concept and a day-to-day survival idea. Brilliant!

Kala Ghoda Festival - Cat Tales

As I promised earlier, I am starting a series of the installation art pictures from the Kala Ghoda Festival. But first, a breather. This was perhaps the cutest site at the Festival. There was this exhibition stall with artwork made from scrap. Pretty interesting stuff. While I was browsing through their junkyard art, I spotted these two metal kittens. And right behind them, were two real ones. They was just too well-placed! I was not the only one to notice this sweet coincident. There were cameras flashing all around me. I took several pictures from different angles. The black one, especially, was a real dude. They were not scared of the cameras, and lounged comfortably as the world around them took their pictures.

I wanted to buy one of the cats: the metal one. But the prices were, as usual, prohibitive. Besides, after seeing the two lovely kittens sitting behind these two, buying just one somehow seemed unfair. I know that a lot of hard work must have been involved in the making of these pieces of art. But the entire idea of the festival was to make art more accessible. I know for sure that they did not sell as much as they’d have liked to. Maybe next year, the sellers will get the drift. Volumes of sales will make up for the margins. I hope they see the buyers’ point of view.

Culture Khichdi -8

One of the final pictures in the series. After this, I plan to do an entry on the installation art and the shops at the Festival. I love the long dress-knit jacket combination. It’s really simple, but works for me because of the way it bring out the colour of her eyes. In the background, you can see the audience gathered for a rock band performing at the makeshift amphitheatre. For the entire duration of the Kala Ghoda Festival, this is the stage where several arts, dance, theatre and music performance draw people from across the city. This is my favorite part of this festival and every year, there are some memorable performances.

Culture Khichdi - 7

I did not ask her, but it seemed like a transracial adoption. One sees a lot of them in Mumbai. Tranracial adoption means parents of a particular race or ethnic group adopting a child who is of a different race or ethnic group. All in all, a perfect shot for a series titled Culture Khichdi!

Though that wasn’t why I clicked her photograph. What grabbed my attention was her smoothly tailored jacket. The fabric seemed so fluid; structured but light. And her minimal accessories really did it for me. Her look was simple yet elegant. I guess, I also fell in love with the innocent expression on the kid’s face. Such sweetness! The gentleman standing close by just happened to walk into the frame and was not a part of the family.

In the background, you can see a part of the entrance gate for the Kala Ghoda Festival. Further away, the old building you can see is the Army & Navy building. It is just one of the old buildings in a row – David Sassoon Library, Elphinstone College, the Army and Navy Building and Watson's Hotel. They are all built from the same yellow Malad stone, and give the area a unique character.

Culture Khichdi - 6

The Culture Khichdi series is far from over. I plan to finish with some interesting pictures of the installation art, and some interesting observation shots. But for now, the next in the Kala Ghoda Festival series. This young girl was all colour with her beautiful Indian kurti and juttis. With her look, I could just sense the summer around the corner. I am a big fan of juttis myself. They are a form of traditional Indian footwear, a kind of slip-ons, skillfully handcrafted in leather. Juttis are often embroidered with beads and threads in different colorful patterns to create vibrant and unique designs. Almost always flat, though heeled versions are now available, they are extremely comfortable and ideal for Mumbai’s hot climate. They can be worn with traditional Indian wear, or with a pair of jeans like this girl has worn. She was also carrying a hand embroidered bag which is not clearly visible in this photograph. All in all, she was all sunshine and bright smile.

Culture Khichdi - 5

These two were Photogs… the real stuff. They went around clicking lovely pictures of the Festival, and I decided to take one of theirs. They both had this fun air to them. I love the shoes on the one on the left, and would give an arm for the curls the lady on the right has. In the background, you can see a photography stall that took out your pictures in the seventies style. If you see carefully, in the background you can see those clay apples hanging from a tree. And I really need to invest in a better camera.

Culture Khichdi - 3

He of the funky t-shirt and pony-tailed mane. She of the Rolling Stones attitude and gold necklace. I rarely like jewelry on men. But on certain individuals, it seems so right. This couple personified Rock Chic to the last letter. They were bold, they were unique and they head-banged their entry into the shotcouture hall of fame. He was cool enough to beat the heat in head to toe black, and sporting enough to turn around and pose patiently for me to be able to shoot the back of his tee. And she was a born groupie. This one is for the Nay-Sayers who find black boring and bland. There is something very interestingly mismatched (and gladly so) about this couple and the artsy yet very Indian Kala Ghoda Festival!