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Ramp to retail
Says Ritu Kochhar, director, corporate, INIFD-8, “Mostly, students take the dresses back as they are their final work for the degree.” She adds, “The garments that the students make are needed for their future, as when they apply for a job in a fashion house or with a designer, they are supposed to showcase their final products and for that they need to preserve their first piece.” But what if someone wants to buy these chic pieces, “People can get in touch with our centre head and ask for the details of the garment and who made it. And then it is for the buyer and seller to decide how to go about the order, the institute does not go further.” If you want more of designer deals then the INIFD has a label called Alankriti and the students of the institute frequently put their designs on exhibition under this label. We ask do the students get orders during the showcasing of a collection and Ritu adds, “One of our students has bagged an order for a bridal lehenga and sherwani for a model’s wedding, who wore the same for this year’s fashion show.” That’s good going. Radhika Taheam, student of INIFD who showcased her designs in the round IZ’Z-O-NAAZ – Grace personified (at the INIFD Designer Medley’09, the annual passing out fashion show), has received orders for a friend’s relatives wedding. Says Radhika, “They saw my collection at the fashion show and placed the order for a bridal lehenga.” Encouraging for a beginner, we ask how much does a bridal lehenga cost and Radhika says, “It starts at Rs 8,000 and goes up to Rs 16,000.” Well, for people who have seen the collection will know they are worth the price. Taking 10-15 days to make the dress ready, for fashionistas who love flaunting a designer dress, these kids take all your headache home, as they do all the foot work, right from picking the fabric to choosing the embellishments etc. “We just ask the customer their fabric and colour choice and what kind of embellishment they would the like. Rest is all our work.” Sounds good. Poonam Thakur, head, fashion design department, NIFT, Mohali, says, “An annual show is a student’s three years of hard work and there are a few students who want to part with their final collections, as it is their first work. But when collections are showcased on a wide platform, students definitely get orders for the work they showcase, and when it comes to the sale part, they either replicate the same or customise it, according to the buyers’ choice.” That was about the collection, but how many dresses does one student make for a show? Says Poonam, “Every student is asked to work on a particular theme and one student makes at least 5-7 pieces in a collection.” Well, that leaves the audience and the buyers with ample choice, but who are the buyers? “Most of the orders come from the audience members who are present in the show, others come from friends and sometimes, we (the mentors) also like the designs so much that we ask the students to design them for us.” Well, if you are the one who is looking for some designer wear, now you know where to go. jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
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Stage fight The city’s art fraternity denounces ban on Tanvir’s play
Expressing anguish at the unfortunate and unwarranted ban on
the play, the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademy chairperson Kamal Tewari
lamented that it proved beyond doubt that the authorities had failed to
realise the genius and aesthetic prominence of theatre stalwart Habib
Tanvir. He had captured the soul of Chhatisgarh’s regional life and
described it in the form of folk theatre in this famous production.
Theatre was meant to function as a tool to analyze and evaluate the
socio-cultural and economic problems and awaken the people about them,
with suggestive message for the government, who had no right to curb the
freedom of expression. The play was being extensively staged since 1976
and there was nothing derogatory in it, he added. There was nothing
controversial in the protagonist of the play belonging to a particular
sect, rather he had upheld the sanctity of the cult by sticking to the
vows he committed himself to even at the cost of deadly torture. A
similar ban on Punjabi play Pry Kukh in Punjab too had met with
strong protests from intellectuals and performing artists, recalls
Tewari. Noted theatreperson Neealm Man Sing expressed wondered about
the wisdom of the government banning the play which had been enthralling
the people of India for over three decades and had naturally been
accepted with its content. It was, in fact, a folktale dramatized to
perfection by revered Habib sahib and killing the folk culture for their
vested interest was not only unethical but anti-national as well, she
said. There are more important issues like education and employment for
the government to concentrate on. And why was no check imposed on the
vulgarity boom on TV and films. Such anti-cultural actions must be
denounced and taken head-on, she reiterated. To exercise and enforce
such restrictions on public art, like the banning of this play, reeked
of autocracy with political motives, felt Dr Mahendra, chairman, PU
Department of Indian Theatre. The playwright and the play had won
laurels in view of its potent thematic content and directorial elegance
and its banning is unjust unwarranted and unfortunate, says Dr Mahendra.
Prof Pali Bhupinder from Moga and Dr Sahib Singh Mohali too criticized
the move, labelling it ‘Nadarshahi farmaans which politicians in power
relish to proclaim to satisfy their ego. Hakumaton ka nahin derr
tabhi toh kehta hoon, Ye jee mein aata hai kar doon tukde janaab ke
`85" Up in the arms against such autocratic acts, the acclaimed
poet Padma Bhushan Dr S. Anjum denounced the banning of the classic
drama of his friend Tanvir. The government had no vision for art and its
utility in building an ideal society. Writers and artists, endowed with
special acumen and gift of expression were treated as messengers of God
with their creations as the voice of God. Whenever the society or
governments were in peril, it was the writers or artists who came to
their rescue.
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The ballad of blondie & brownie Kandla Nijhowne
Gooey double chocolate brownies ¾ cup cocoa, unsweetened ½ teaspoon baking soda Cup melted butter ½ cup boiling water 2 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 ? cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans ¾ cup chocolate chips Method Sieve together the cocoa and baking soda. Blend the melted butter with the boiling water and sugar. Beat in the eggs when slightly cool. Stir in the flour, cocoa and salt. Fold in the nuts and the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking tin. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until chocolate brownies are firm and begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool before cutting into squares. Walnut blondie 8 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ tsp salt 1 cup maida ¾ tsp baking powder 1 cup chopped walnuts Method Using a dab of oil, grease a square cake tin. Mix melted butter with brown sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla and salt. Sieve the maida with the baking powder and fold it into the egg and sugar mixture. Stir in the walnuts and pour into the prepared tin. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting into squares. If you don’t have brown sugar, you can use ‘shakkar’ instead. This will help the cake acquire a rich golden colour. As a variation, you may also reduce the quantity of walnuts and add a mashed banana or 4 tbsp of desiccated coconut for a totally different dimension.
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Graphic guide
Another factor that has limited the growth of the Indian graphic novel industry is the dependency on the mythological characters and lack of fictional ones, "But that doesn't matter as long as the stories are fresh. Indian mythology is rich with tales and if one is able to dig out something new, it's worth it." For those who aren't ready to listen to any excuse for the absence of fictional Indian characters in graphic novels, Karan Vir has something under wraps. The company will be shortly coming up with the The Sixth, a graphic novel that will have two fantasy superheroes, Super Karna and Dev Daljit Singh. "Super Karna is the incarnation of Karna and Dev Daljit is the first Sikh Superhero, who belongs to Amritsar and is a staunch follower of Guru Granth Sahib. Together, they save the world from various threats with their super heroic deeds." Vinamika is also the first company to sell its novels in the USA. At the Craft Comic Convention, in Philadelphia, 1000 novels were sold, which indicates the growing popularity of the Indian heroes. "Whether the superhero is Karan, Hanuman, Parshuram or Dev Daljit Singh from India or Superman or Spiderman from the US, if the basic requirement of a strong storyline line is presented with interesting graphics, readers will buy, irrespective of the nationality of superhero." ashima@tribunemail.com
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With this new addition, now you can give boost to your health quotient with Hungarian or Waldrof salad and for the non-vegetarians, the treat is equally sumptuous. Must try are Chicken Hawain and Tuna Fish salad. People, who have pledged to have only health food, needn't even pay for the whole buffet. The salad buffet with soup is priced at Rs 150, both for the veg platter that includes 5 salads and the non-veg platter that has two additional salads. And if you like a healthy Italian combo that includes a pasta too, just pay Rs 50 more. — TNS
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Even with the world in recession, people still have to wear clothes. And amidst all the talk of bumpy business and downward trend of fashion-related things, the need to dress up can’t be ignored. Believing in the same, young designers from the city are not only getting serious about getting an exposure, but are also showcasing the best of their talent. And giving them that perfect launch pad are the institutes who make sure they have drapes of heavy embroidery, chic fabric, amazing silhouettes and big names in the fashion industry to showcase their final designs. Lending them a springboard for their future in fashion, the institutes leave no stone unturned for these young designers, but after a flamboyant show of expensive dresses and sleek silhouettes where do the dazzling dresses go? Are they put on sale, become part of the young designers wardrobe or are they pinned in a showcase of the institute? We check out…
The
city’s art lovers have flayed and taken serious note of the banning of
Padma Bhushan Habib Tanvir’s classic play Charan Das Chor by
the Government of Chhattisgarh, as reported in The Tribune
yesterday.
With the influx of coffee rooms and lounge bars, the gooey chocolate brownie has become as common an item as bread pakora! Every shop, big or small has a few brownies, walnut embedded and thickly cut, sitting stacked on their counter, waiting to give the chocaholics a high. It is believed that the first brownie came to be when a cook forgot to add baking powder to his chocolate cake batter! In England I discovered that there was, indeed, a non-chocolate cake called a blondie, loosely related to the brownie, which catered to the chocolate haters of the world. To put it in a nutshell, (or shall I say ‘cake-tin?’) blondies are brownies, sans chocolate, flavoured with butterscotch as opposed to chocolate. These albino cousins of the brownie get their butterscotch flavour from caramelised sugar, resulting in pale cakes as opposed to dark brownies, hence the name blondie.
At times, it's a weak storyline, the sketches are shabby, colour combination is inapt or dialogues don't gel with the story in pictures. These are some of the reasons for which the Indian graphic novels have lagged behind the international standards. Though now the scene is getting better, a lot still needs to be done. "First in the chronology is certainly the storyline. Either it is half-baked or a rip-off from a US comic story," asserts Karan Vir, MD Vinamika Edutainment, who conducted a workshop on 'How to make graphic novels' at British Library-9. Let's again get back to what else the Indian graphic novels lack. "In the Amar Chitra Katha comics, all we have is dull colours in the background and characters in the fore. There are no light angles or sequences.” However, Vinamika's just launched novel, Moksha, has done well with regards to all these parameters. "For this to happen, all parameters had to be taken care of. The entire team comprises researchers and scholars who come up with mythological stories unheard of. "The same holds true for the next upcoming novel from the house, Karan Vir's Dashaavtaar. "We did an extensive research for three years before beginning the project. Teams were sent to the Champa region of Bihar to find more on Karan." 
It comes as quite a surprise that
the foodie Punjabi's are opting for salads and soup than much loved butter
chicken and dal makhni. "Customers often suggested us to
introduce some healthy food here," says Vineet Chopra, Chef at Bazm,
Shivalik View restaurant. So, now we have a special menu for the health
conscious junta comprising of ten varieties of salads, soups and pastas.