Models show off outfits from Provogue’s new line; (above) Raghu Rai shares a moment with Jatin Das at India Habitat Centre

This one was a double whammy! Consider a fashion extravaganza by a leading apparel brand coupled with a hot and happening party to celebrate the first anniversary of a well-known men’s magazine. Yup, there was plenty of action all right at the Provogue fashion show and the first annual Maxim party in Mumbai recently ? models sashaying down the ramp in cool colours and lithe Russian dancers steaming up the stage.

The highlight of the evening of course, was the showcase of Provogue’s Spring-Summer line, which took in an array of creations in summery shades. The first sequence showcased funky denims, cargoes, tees and printed shirts for both men and women as well as men’s casuals with innerwear.

Next up was a line in linen in a palette of cool summer shades. This was followed by a collection of cargoes and tees which were modelled by the cast of the upcoming SAB TV serial, Left Right Left. The lead pair from the serial, Rajeev Khandelwal and Shweta Salve also performed to the serial’s unreleased title track composed by Vishal-Shekhar and sung by Kunal Ganjawalla.

At the Maxim party, the Heaven Meets Hell theme managed to pack a punch and left all the male guests feeling more than happy. Think dancers on the bartops and a pole-dancing act in a cage. Spotted soaking in the party spirit were actors Bikram Saluja and Salil Ankola, model Ujwala Raut, director Ken Ghosh and Miss India Neha Kapur.

On the silk route

The Silk Road brings to mind images of mediaeval traders on long, arduous cross-continental journeys. But, what happens when a group of modern Indian artists take a slow, meandering journey and retrace the route taken by those traders of yore.

Sixteen Indian contemporary artists recently travelled to China to retrace the caravan route and they were accompanied by director Bidisha Roy Das who made a documentary about the journey. Her movie was screened at Delhi’s India Habitat Centre. The 28-minute documentary, Remains of the Caravan Route showed artists like Anjolie Ela Menon, Baiju Parthan, Bose Krishnamachari, Jatin Das, Shibu Natesan, Sudarshan Shetty, Manjit Bawa and Paresh Maity retracing the footsteps of Fa-hien, Xuan Zhang and Kumarajiva as they travelled through ancient trading towns.

“The erosion of the past is very visible here. The people are trying to rediscover the past, putting up museums, trying to comprehend their own history,” said Parthan.

The travellers started out in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang province, moving west from the Turpan basin and Kucha, an oasis town at the foot of the Tian Shan to Kashgar at the foothills of the Pamirmountains. From there they headed east to Dunhuang, at the edge of the Gobi Desert ending up at Xian.

There were interesting snippets on painter Manjit Bawa joining in with musicians playing Raj Kapoor’s Awara Hoon. “I was busy collecting handicrafts and making cross-cultural connections. It was an amazing trip where we studied the art and culture that flourished on the Silk Route,” said Jatin Das. Others who could be seen enjoying the documentary were photographer Raghu Rai.

Photograph of Delhi event by Jagan Negi