In this catwalk, belly size matters

Tina Balachandran walked the ramp recently with five-month-old daughter Anannya in tow.

Tina is no size-zero model. But then, this was a catwalk with a difference.

A special fashion show was held with dozens of new mothers and pregnant women, and the first prize went to the woman with the largest belly.

Put together by the Delhi-based women’s healthcare centre, Fortis La Femme, and other organisations, the show attracted women from five months pregnant to some very close to their expected dates of delivery.

“Pregnancy should be a joyous experience, and today’s women want outfits that are comfortable and that also make them look good,” said Tripat Chaudhury, a senior consultant at Fortis La Femme.

Tina, who had also walked the ramp last year when she was seven months pregnant, sported a black nursing outfit while her daughter was dressed in dark pink.

“We now have outfits for business meetings, parties, or just casual — and they’re all created, designed and made here in India,” said Aparna Jain, chief executive officer of Nine Months, a store specialising in pregnancy and nursing apparel.

Out of hiding, true colours

A recent Supreme Court directive to remove thousands of illegal hoardings dotting the city has brought out a sight for sore eyes.

After municipal corporation workers toiled through the night to pull down the ugly, rusted iron and steel facades, for the first time in decades, people got a rare glimpse of green.

Nestled among the trees were heritage buildings and some of the city’s forgotten landmarks like the Oxford University Press building on the arterial Anna Salai.

Finally, the city seems to be showing its true colours.

Suicide cry on campus

A dozen students of Osmania University collectively tried to replay Viru’s “suicide” this month.

In Sholay, Viru had wanted to jump from a water tank for not being allowed to marry lady love Basanti. The Osmania dozen, too, wanted to jump, but from the roof of a four-storey campus building. Their demand was not of marriage, but for raising the age limit for recruitment of police constables and sub-inspectors from 25 to 32 years.

The agitation had the support of over 2,000 students and had the policemen of Hyderabad in a tizzy.

There was not just trouble on the roof top they had to tackle. On the ground, the students supporting the campaign formed a human chain to stop the police from going up to the roof of the Osmania Arts College building.

Like Viru, the 12, too, climbed down later.

Auto protest

When autorickshaw meters race faster than the wheels, passengers often have to grit their teeth and bear it.

But what if autorickshaw drivers find themselves at the wrong end of the stick? They gang up and protest. And even call police.

Autodrivers in the city recently discovered that some petrol pumps dispensing LPG were short-changing them and decided to take them on.

The drivers went to different outlets and found that when the tanks were measured, one of them weighed 350gm less.

Furious, they filed a police complaint. The police, too, were not their usual indifferent selves. They wasted no time in lodging a cheating case against the defaulting pump.

Bangalore: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations has organised Sufi Sanje — An Evening of Sufi Poetry, Music and Culture, till April 20 at Ranga Shankara in JP Nagar. Cultural troupes from Saarc nations and other central Asian countries will perform in the show that starts at 3.30pm.