EDUCATION

Call to bring Urdu out of the closet
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 16
With Urdu being accorded an official second language status in the Capital, the Delhi Urdu Academy has decided to take a number of measures to promote and popularise the rich literary language. In a meeting chaired by the Vice-Chairman, Meem Afzal, |here last night, it was pointed out that not much has been done in the past for the promotion of the Urdu language. Many educational institutions, where Urdu was taught, had abandoned a special course in the language due to lack of official patronage, it was added.

Mr. Afzal said Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dixit had promised to immediately fill up 200 Urdu teacher posts in order to revive the language at the primary and secondary levels. A few participants in the meeting also suggested the introduction of the language in the private educational schools.

The meeting, which was attended by prominent literary figures, academics and media personalities, also expressed concern over delay in the printing of the Urdu course books by the NCERT. The delay on the part of the NCERT would have adverse impact on the results of Urdu medium students, the meeting observed.

Several members suggested a grand festival be organised in October in the Capital to highlight the importance of the language. Mr Afzal also informed the members that he would take up the issue of putting up Urdu signboards on all important roads with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and other government departments.

Mr S. H. Naqvi appealed for the preservation of precious books of the Urdu Library, which houses more than 40,000 books on literature, culture, history and science, and stressed the need to provide proper accommodation for it.

Among those present in the meeting included Dr Khaliq Anjum, secretary, Injuman Tarqi Urdu Hind, Dr Ali Javid, Dr Shahid Parvez, Balraj Komal and Nirmal Singh Nirmal.

CULTURE

GLITZ&GLAMOUR
For Alpana, creativity knows no bounds
Smriti Kak

Interiors and jewellery designer Alpana Gujral attributes her eye for beauty to her upbringing amid an aesthetically charged environment. “When you are raised in a creative environment you start perceiving things in a different light, you tend to look at the beauty in them,” says Aparna.

With no formal training in interior and jewellery design, Alpana has managed to establish herself in both of these chosen fields. “Creativity knows no bounds. It is fluid. It is seamless. It has the intensity to flow from one realm to another with innate ease,” says Gujral, who had to study textile designing in college, “because the Polytechnic I was enrolled in chose to shut down the course in interior design.”

While choosing interior designing was a conscious decision, designing jewellery came as a subconscious desire. “I used to watch my mother design jewellery for us and somewhere was fascinated by it. I began designing jewellery too for friends and family, but it was not commercial,” she reveals.

Alpana started the sale of her designs just about two years ago. “I sell under my own name and sell by appointment only,” she points out. Later this month, the designer will showcase her designs at a two-day exhibition. “The jewellery is a fusion of the traditional and the contemporary. There are mainly jadau pieces, but these can also be worn with western outfits,” says Alpana, adding, “traditional jewellery in Indian can never be passé, we have enough festivals and occasions like weddings where the heavy stuff can be worn.”

Alpana who chooses not to do hotels and offices, “because they don’t offer her enough space for creativity” is credited to have given the craft of wrought iron a fresh vision in design and brought cast and wrought iron into formal settings.

Her ‘faux’ finished and highly textured pieces have also been a success story, “I have always been interested in creating the new and looking beyond the predictable. Hence, contemporary deign in all its abstraction interests me most as a interior designer.”

Quiz her on some of her favourite projects and she almost instantaneously offers, “the Ramgarh Lodge”. Alpana restored the Shikarghar of the erstwhile royalty of Jaipur, the Ramgarh Lodge for the Taj Group. The lodge was designed in the art deco era and Alpana recreated the past keeping the ethos of design intact.

One of her recent projects is a design studio she created, which was based the minimal mantra to bring the magic of the clothes center-stage. In homes, she prefers the contemporary, experimental look to the ornate. For her less is more as she studiously moves with natural wood sheens and bright textures, away from elaborate carvings to the cadence of the straight line, from ostentation to the look of Zen.

And when she is not designing her limited pieces Alpana unwinds with books and music, but films are a passion. “ I love movies, am true film buff, I love to watch movies in the theatre,” she says.

When feminine mingles with masculine

Alpana Gujral in a self-designed piece.

United Colours of Benetton has launched its Autumn 2003 collection. The collection they claim inspires combinations: feminine mingles with masculine, formal merges with casual and fabrics and colours blend together to create a street, on the edge look.

The themes for the women include Guns and Roses, Gothic, Orinetal, Corporate and college. As for the men the themes are Military, Evening, Biker Dudes, College and Ski Sports.

The season’s collection brings in mesh knits, woollen yarns, structured tricots in acrylic yarn and gassed cotton, denim, dobby, stretch poplin and brushed suede.

Tencel and Allen Solly have come up with a festive season collection. The collection will include textured weaves with interesting patterns like dented self-checks and two-tone fil-a-fils with bright and colourful palette.

Wrangler has launched the Hand Brushed Tints to keep in toe with the trends in denim. The collection offers jeans in a wide palette of colours and styles.

Other than blue one can pick Olive, Diesel Mud, Ambergene, Khaki and Mild Duty. The collection is available with additional styling features on waistbands like a plastico-printed waistband or an L shaped pocket.

Wearit has also launched their autumn collection. Made with imported woven fabrics the clothes have features like watermark prints and dim light effects, it has flat surfaces accompanied by embroidered appliqué and crochet work. Another USP of the collection is the fabrics used evoke realm of florals, fur, laces and twills in ahybrid way. Silky, creamy materials combined with furs and accessories have been used.

Reviving the dying heritage of Varanasi

Shonal Rawat in an exquisite Banarasi saree. A sherwani from Studio by Janak.

Tantuvi textiles organised a daylong exhibition of classic Banarasi sarees in the Capital’s Hotel Oberoi. The expo was inaugurated by the Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, Ms Kiran Chaudhary.

Tantuvi, which means wearer in Sanskrit, is an attempt to revive the dying weaving traditions of Banaras. The fabrics made under the label are manufactured using natural yarns of silk and cotton and pure zari. The threads and zari claim the people behind Tantuvi have their roots in the past.

The force behind Tantuvi, Ms Smriti Morarka offers, “Tnatuvi aims to achieve the larger objective in recreating fabrics of an era gone by and preserving the skill of the weaver. Thereby it serves the purpose of keeping intact the chain connecting yesterday, today and tomorrow.”

She adds: “It is our continued efforts to ensure that the weavers as an artist revives and preserves this dying heritage and in the process earns a comfortable livelihood.”

Shimmering sherwanis

Studio By Janak has unveiled their collection of Sherwanis for the festive season. The black tuxedos and sherwanis stand out for their finishing and cuts.

With minimal embellishments, the tuxedos have been designed with emphasis on detailing. Prince collared jackets, jackets in Macintosh style and straight jackets are for formal occasions and flowing jackets for the sporty ones. The sherwanis have embroidery in a blend of aari, zardosi and are available in shades of cream, beige, blues and black.

Gitika opens men’s wear showroom

The leading manufacturer of men’s garment, Cantabil International, has recently opened its new showroom with the name, ‘Dawar Fashions’, at Chandni Chock, which was inaugurated by model Gitika Ganju.

Besides her, other models like Ramneek Paintal, Asiya Rafiq and Nisha Verma were also present on the occasion. Cantabil, which is an Italian name, manufactured and marked in India by Cantabil International.

Cantabil leisurewear has a wide variety of men’s trousers, shirts and ties. And it has premium fabrics, such as polynosics, chinos, wrinkle free silk, denim, poplins, twills, fil-a-fils and checks.  

4-tunes: Newest wet joint

After a humdrum day, the young ones in Karol Bagh, with thirsty lips in search of liquid refreshment can now look forward to a new watering hole. To down a pinch or two, to shake leg and gyrate to some wild music: 4- tune is the newest and hottest wet joint.

It was opened recently with a glittering celebration and dozens of famous people from the world of glamour, like Ramneek Paintal, Aanchal Gulati, Asiya Rafiq, Simran, Chama Gupta, Kimti Anand and promoters of the joint, Manish Tuli and Ashish Tuli were also present on the occasion. Nalini Ranjan