(From top) Rohit Bal with one of his creations from the Indian Nomad Collection; Maharaja Arvind Singh of Udaipur, Shah Rukh Khan, Maharaja Bhawani Singh of Jaipur, Indrani Dasgupta, Sushmita Sen, Kalyani Chawla and Philippe Pascal at the Rajasthan Polo Grounds; Paul Zacharia, Sandip Das and Manil Suri at the launch of the Hutch Crossward Book Awards; Narendra Pai, general manager, Audi Motors, Mumbai, Aarti Surendranath and Anuradha Sawhney at the PETA party

Going wild

The PETA folk were out in full force at upscale Mumbai boutique, Melange, where they promoted T-shirts designed by Moral Fibre, a particularly fitting name when it comes to asking people to give up all pleasures of the flesh ? i.e. meat and other animal products. The boutique was bedecked with vibrant colours and, as might be expected, animal rights posters. Kicking off the event was Anuradha Sawhney after which a fashion show took centrestage.

Here the focus was on T-shirts designed by the Mumbai-based apparel company and true to PETA style, the T-shirts were emblazoned with humorous yet hard-hitting messages. ?What easier way can you find to spread the message of compassion than to wear it on your chest?? asked Moral Fibre founder, Ankur Patodia. ?Moreover,? he added, ?T-shirts are a medium that almost everyone can relate to.?

A packed-to-the gills event (oops, no offence to fish), the PETA show was brimming with celebrity models and other big names, most of whom were sporting the newly-launched T-shirts. Spied partying were Anoushka Shankar with mother Sukanya, singer Raageshwari, photographer Ashok Salian, Aarti Surendranath and others.

Helping to promote the T-shirts is Melange frontwoman and designer, Sangita Sinh Kathiwada. Said the long-time vegetarian, ?We?re all one big family, sharing the same land. The same energy and breath passes through all of us and it?s our duty to protect and nurture this family.? And so say all of us.

Power of the pen

So what do bookstore chain Crossword and mobile giant Hutch now have in common? A bit hard to guess, right? Well, it?s a new literary prize to be known as the Hutch Crossword Book Awards. Announcing the nominees at the launch in Mumbai based on entries received from Indian publishers was managing director and CEO, Hutchison Essar, R. Sriram and deputy managing director, Sandip Das as renowned authors like Paul Zacharia and Manil Suri looked on.

Set up to recognise literary excellence among Indian authors, the awards are the first of their kind in the country and comprise two categories: one for original works in English by an Indian author and another for translations from Indian languages into English. The winners get to take home a trophy, certificate and a cash prize of three lakhs. In the case of translations, both the author and the translator share the cash prize. Nominees for this year include literary luminaries like Khushwant Singh, Shashi Deshpande, Dina Mehta, Amitav Ghosh, Mahasweta Devi and Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

Said Paul Zacharia, ?This is an important platform for upcoming talent. It will not only recognise and reward good writing but also actively promote the authors.?

Worth a watch

It was a coming together of one of the biggest watchmakers in the world and some of the biggest names of Indian polo as Tag Heuer announced its association with the royal Indian sport at the Rajasthan Polo Grounds in Jaipur recently. Chairman and CEO of Tag Heuer, Philippe Pascal launched the Carrera Classic Series to celebrate the occasion. Adding spark to the show were brand ambassadors Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen who not only answered queries thrown to them by the media but also spent the evening watching polo and being watched. Shah Rukh of course, was his usual charismatic self pointing out that if thus far his fans have identified him with ?K-K-Kiran?, now they could identify him with ?C-C-Carrera?.

The polo ground was indeed the place to be what with colourfully-bedecked elephants and camels as well as classy vintage cars completing the scene. While celebrities like Raghavendra Rathore, Maharaja Bhawani Singh, Simi Garewal and Indrani Dasgupta attracted attention, it was without doubt Shah Rukh over whom the crowds went ballistic. In fact, the polo match was soon forgotten as everyone had eyes only for the superstar.

The players, however, were far from offended. ?This is how the sport of polo is being provided a platform, so we have no complaints. And when it?s Shah Rukh in question, we understand,? said Samsher Ali, better known as the Tendulkar of the polo team.

Shah Rukh and Sushmita also took part in an elephant polo match as well. And while Sushmita was the one who appeared completely at ease on elephant-back, the winner at the end of it all was none other than King Khan himself.

Designs on you

It was an exhibition where the designer was not only seeking to show off his new collection but getting people to open up their wallets for a good cause ? the Naz Foundation which focuses on HIV/AIDS and sexual health. Fashion supremo Rohit Bal might have been expected to go on to the audience about the launch of his Indian Nomad collection at fashion store Carma in Delhi. Instead, he kept pushing them to buy cards from Naz Foundation. So, aside from Bal?s efforts at good works, what was in his collection? A rich melange of colours and textiles. There were folkloric tribal embroidery with gleaming sequins sewn on sheer organza, rich silks and swathes of traditional phulkari-embroidered fabric. Another range was distinctive for its earthy tones of terracotta, deep burgundy, pewter and slate black teamed with vegetable-dyed hand-painted kalamkari. The look was understated opulence.

Bal is getting his inspiration these days from across Asia Minor and Central Asia. The fabrics, motifs, weaves, embroideries and ornaments of this multi-cultural landscape form the essence of the collection that starts from Rs 15,000 onwards. Admiring the colourful array were photographer Bharat Sikka and the Puries of India Today.

Photographs by Gajanan Dudhalkar and Prem Singh