Kirron KherI remember with great fondness Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi wearing exquisite handloom sarees both on screen and off screen in the late 70s and 80s. Like some assembly line productions in frilly and silly clothes they all looked. Of course it helped that most films of the genre of parallel cinema made during that period too sported that "look" and Pupul Jayakar and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya were around. The point I am trying to make is that these are memories that stay for a lifetime. I am happy to stick my head in the sand to many lacunae as long as they are easy on the eye. I feel she could just as well have wo better designed blouses and great patola or ikat and outshone everyone anyway. No, not for a minute am I suggesting any curbs on sartorial choices and freedom to wear what they want, but just the way we aspire to leave a smaller carbon footprint and be socially and environmentally responsible, I wish the icons who have the ability to change how sarees and handlooms are perceived by audiences would do it. Yes and no. However I see a dangerous trend with kathak dancers, especially Mumbai based ones, taking recourse to synthetic textiles in their costumes. In fact some site was selling a look alike calling it a chanderi!
My point is why do we not take pride in our magnificent textile heritage? A gorgeous Kanchipuram or an intricately woven double Ikat from Gujarat or Odisha or an even a Paithani elevates the wearer to a new level of sartorial elegance even on the red carpet. I wondered why on earth were they wearing those soufflé like concoctions that did nothing for their skin tones. In fact the duo almost single handedly set off the trend for handlooms from Bollywood. My problem is this is increasingly so rare Pvc coated Oxford fabric Manufacturers to find a memorable saree that I find myself seeing old movies just to admire the sarees they wore! But then I am an extreme case!I remember with vivid detail my earliest fashion icon Jaya Bhaduri ne Bachhan in the vivid red Banarasi saree as she sang Bole re papihara in the cave in Guddi while it poured outside…or her off white Kanjivaram saree with a mauve border as she dimpled at Amitabh Bachchan in Abhiman singing Teri bindiya re… or her off white and black bordered Kanjivaram as she sang Ab toh hai tumse har khushi apni… or more recently, her "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham where she wears an exquisite chikan saree in off white or a stunning black parsi gara embroidery saree in the same film.
It had the veritable who’s who of Bollywood divas arriving for some inexplicable reason on millions of sequins per square inch plastered on some flimsy synthetic fabric looking like clones of each other in hues of deathly pastels. We are a nation of colours, of textures, of gorgeous traditional motifs that have been woven into textiles for thousands of years. But having said that, I have the greatest respect for our classical dancers and musicians for sporting our heritage both on stage and off stage for the men are seen in handloom kurtas and shawls and the women in outstanding, fabulous sarees with other styling firmly in place. Even though I am completely non-filmy, I still bought similar looking sarees several years later when I found them by chance. Since they are icons followed by millions, and India has such a glorious tradition of handloom weaves why can’t they do their bit at least off screen since they have to go by the "look" in the film by sporting our heritage at least in public situations? Given their fan following, if they patronise Indian weaves, they might actually help revive a fading industry and support sustainable fashion in the bargain. And since they create such powerful visual statements, it makes it that much important that the messages that they give out are the right ones. But of that another time. Those pastel colours are in any case so partial to the fairer skin tones that it will perpetrate the fair and lovely image and do an actual disservice to the more real Indian skin tones. My elation on seeing Priyanka Chopra wear a stunning zari muga saree as brand ambassador for Assam tued to zilch when I never saw her wearing any other handloom ever afterwards. It is almost like cultural terrorism of sorts to see this blingy synthetic perpetration. I love a tale well told, I love how I can sit enthralled watching the magic of the silver screen unfold, I love masala films even more if they are aesthetically put together. But what I will remember to its last vivid detail will be a beautiful saree they wore.
The recent reason for my angst is my recent net surfing of the Ambani scion’s engagement. Yes they are costumes and they are also clothes that the audiences are able to relate to as well.comD15. I feel it is a big put off.Like virtually all Indians, I love Bollywood. I also promptly forget them the moment they are over, most often not even remembering the names of the films, let alone actors. Look at Rekha or Kirron Kher, they have everyone drooling with their styling and resplendent sarees – they wear the perfect sarees, they wear the right jewelry, their attitude, sense of style is worthy of being emulated in a big way by Bollywood actors. After all the idea is to make believe the "make belief". Even if means extra efforts to iron their sarees and outfits during concert tours, they do it.Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist and can be contacted on alkaraghuvanshi@yahoo. It looked like they were all dressed by the same designers or perhaps there was a dress code. The exceedingly foolish fashion police outshouted poor Vidya Balan as she wore Sabyasachi designed outfits on the red carpet in Cannes.Priyanka ChopraOne can also argue that these are "costumes" in keeping with a look of the film and are reflective of the times, we live in.
Hemp is a type of cannabis used for industrial purposes with little or no psychoactive effect.TALLINN, ESTONIA: A rural Estonia town whose name literally means "cannabis" has voted to adopt a marijuana leaf as its official logo, a local official said Thursday. It expanded to a town of 5,000 residents last year after it joined forces with other nearby villages to establish rural municipality.Located in southe Estonia, Kanepis highly unusual name is rooted in a traditional cottage industry that sprang up around the processing of hemp into oil and fabric centuries ago.3 million people, but their campaign has so far met with little success.
The new municipality then launched an online poll to choose its logo, flag and coat-of-arms in a vote that was open to any Estonian interested in participating."We have a few local businesses producing organic hemp oil and flour," Seeme said, Fabric for backpack Factory adding that a local bakery also sells bread with hemp seeds while another business produces concrete using hemp.Kanepi first appeared on the map as a small village in the 16th century.When the results came in this week, a logo showing a cannabis leaf captioned "Mari Jane" proved to be the most popular; it was chosen by some 12,000 out of more than 15,000 people who voted in the poll.
Estonias Green Party and the Ravikanep NGO are lobbying to legalise medical marijuana in the IT savvy EU Baltic state of 1.."Today the cannabis leaf is seen primarily as a recreational drug, but in fact, hemp-type cannabis has been used in practical ways for years and it has hundreds of uses," Kanepi council member Andrus Seeme told AFP, adding that he saw "nothing wrong" with the towns new logo. Despite marijuana still being illegal in Estonia, Kanepi town leaders decided to submit the winning logo to Estonias heraldry commission where it won approval.
Lucknow: Those disturbing peace and harmony by vandalising statues should be booked under the sedition law, BSP chief Mayawati demanded on Thursday, a day after a statue of Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar was damaged in Meerut on Wednesday. Action needs to be taken against them under the sedition law," the BSP chief stressed."Such acts are not in the interest of the country as they weaken the democratic and secular fabric as well as harm communal harmony," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in a statement in Lucknow.
There have also been several other instances of statues of prominent leaders being vandalised from across the country in recent days.Demanding proper security to the memorials, statues and parks set up in the memory of Dalit and other ideologues, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati alleged if no action was taken, it would mean these incidents were part of a BJP-RSS conspiracy.Now even in Uttar Pradesh, in Meerut, the statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar was vandalised, she added..She urged followers of the leaders, whose statues were vandalised, to exercise restraint while demanding "prompt and strict action" against those harming harmony in the society."
Mere tall claims and rhetoric by the central and state govements against such forces will not serve any purpose.On the occassion 600D Oxford fabric Manufacturers of Inteational Womens Day, the BSP president asked the BJP govement in Uttar Pradesh to implement the schemes meant for the welfare, progress and security of women, with a special focus on those belonging to the Dalit and deprived sections.
Instead, try booking your vacation during the slower times, like on a Tuesday or a Thursday. But how can you find vacation deals? Many people are not sure how they can find and use great vacation deals. Here are a few tips to help you to find vacation deals that will save you tons of money. Tip China Fabric for bag Manufacturers2: Talk to a Travel Agent In the day and age of electronics, many people are shying away from real travel agents to start booking their own vacations online using an online travel site. People who live in the area know the best places to stay, and many have connections that can get you a good deal on a room or on a vehicle.
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