Ethnic designs are making a silent entry into most of the houses here. Even NRIs are showing a keen interest in traditional art. Be it pottery in the shape of clay pots and vases or antique pieces like big wall clocks or telephones adorned with artistic wood work (reminding one of the times of one’s great-grandfather), ethnicity is making its mark on multihued furniture, lamps, curtains and paintings.

Hand-painted pots or vases decorated with marigold strings, mirrors, net and organza drapes, all are hot favourites. These can be placed anywhere from pathways or staircases to the drawing or bedrooms, says Ms Santosh, an architect and interior designer here.

Luxurious sofa sets no more sound attractive to these traditional lovers, they are now goingin for seating arrangement on floor in typical Indian style. Exquisitely rich textured fabric over mattress matching with multihued cushions in bright colours give an ethnic touch to the drawing rooms.

Gone are the days when modern art used to dominate the walls. Now, it’s the turn of paintings and embroidery works in phulkari. "People have wall hangings, curtains, cushions and sofa covers embroidered with ethnic designs," says Ms Santosh. "They mostly buy paintings of a woman doing embroidery or house work. The heart-warming sceneries depicting nature’s beauty are also a favourite."

The ethnic trend also includes terracotta artifacts. This pre-historic art form has its own glamour and prestige, designers say. It can be used in various forms— be it pots, wall hangings, showpieces, face-masks, toys or vases.

"People want to retain symbols of Indian culture to inspire their children", says Mr Gurinder Singh, owner of a furniture shop here. "NRIs prefer this as they don’t want their kids to forget their real culture."

Furniture with bamboo or cane works are finding many takers.

"Besides imparting an ethnic flair to the drawing rooms, bedrooms and gardens, carve furniture is also cheaper,"adds Mr Gurinder Singh. "People have developed a taste for antique items. To meet the requirements, we even import some. They are costly but prices do not bother people much."

It was a part of the network exercise wherein all channels of the Zee group were brought under one parent brand umbrella. It provided better brand awareness and a collective brand identity.

Urban Punjabi family audience.

It’s an interesting thought. We would definitely look at it.

Both the audiences and sponsors never took to Punjabi fiction serials. The reason is obvious. The Punjabi channels could never match the production budgets and standards of Hindi channels. The Punjabi audience is also the main audience for Hindi serials and already has better quality available to them. We should offer them what others do not offer.

Presently Sajda is the only serious serial, apart from Dupatta. Would this situation continue or any changes are envisaged? Sajda is an experiment as well as the voice of our consciousness. It’s an offering by the channel to those who have made Punjabiyat what it is today. We would sure want it to continue.

The mushrooming crop of Punjabi singers is ample proof of our efforts. More Punjabi albums are released every month than in any other Indian language. Our shows have put Punjabi staged entertainment at par with the mainline shows. It all encourages more local talent to come to the forefront.

We are planning to produce "made for television" feature films. The local talent would get a definite boost with the forthcoming projects.

Zee Punjabi has in the past too produced short films and serials based on the masterpieces of Punjab. The telefilms we would be doing in the future would also be based on a few works of literary importance.