(From top): Indrani Dasgupta shows off a cocktail sari from designer Varija Bajaj?s collection; DJs Vela, Fanta, Nadja and Gemo at a music store; Sri Lankan painter Senaka Senanayake and artists Kanchan Gandhi and Papri Bose at the exhibition at Museum Gallery

Six yards of splendour

Who says you can?t wear a sari for a swinging night out? Designer Varija Bajaj recently launched a sari collection that takes the traditional drape to the realm of modern day sensibility with minimal embellishments. ?Indian fashion is taking the drift of saris towards wedding functions, so much so that neither are trendy pr?t saris available nor does anyone think of wearing them,? says Bajaj.

Models Indrani Dasgupta, Monikangana Dutta and Urvashi Sharma sashayed down the ramp at Athena at the Intercontinental Eros Hotel in Delhi donning saris in both bright colours and muted tones. The finest of French printed chiffons were in celebration of the floral era while some of the saris were inspired by the feminine silhouettes of the British era. The fabrics for these cocktail saris were sensuous and ranged from georgette, silk, net to satin, crepe and chiffon.

Denim blouses with interesting cuts added to the saris? allure. Bajaj has gone the structured way in her collection by adding subtle tailoring techniques such as crinkling, quilting and appliqu?.

Designer Leena Singh and former FDCI honcho Vinod Kaul were present on the occasion and were all praise for the collection. ?It?s good to see the sari on the ramp in an energetic and young mode,? said Kaul. Singh found the saris wearable and exciting. Currently available at Varija, the signature store, the saris are priced between Rs 6,000 and Rs Rs 7,000.

There were some prizes for the night as well ? for women sporting the right dress code ? in other words, cocktail saris. The winner who was wearing a black sari teamed with a cross-strapped golden blouse walked away happy with gift vouchers from Varija and a free tarot card reading.

Turning the tables

Scratching, playing the turntable, beat matching, missing, cutting, stabbling...sound familiar? If you are a wannabe DJ, these are terms you would identify with easily. And those of you who are unaware of these tricks of the turntable but have been interested in trying a hand at deejaying, Castle has brought four international DJs to the country for interactive sessions at music stores and pepping up the discotheque scene.

German DJs Vela, Gemo, Fanta and Nadja were in such a session at a Planet M store in Delhi recently, sharing tips on how to perfect deejaying techniques. They also played international music that they feel is uncharted territory in India. ?I am playing artists such as Shapeshifters, Armand Van Helden and Bongolovers,? said Vela Arnold. House Electro, Remixes, Hip Hop and Trance music were being churned out by these DJs at nightclubs and pubs such as Blues, Athena, F Bar and The Lizard Lounge.

If international music was their preference, Indian music was also a big hit with them. ?I like Kajrare (Bunty Aur Babli), Dhoom Dhoom (Dhoom) and bands such as Jal and Bombay Rockers,? smiled Gemo as he tried his best to pronounce the words the desi way.

The DJs on their part, professed fascination with the forts and temples in Delhi and Jaipur. Said Gemo, ?It is very spiritually satisfying to see such architectural marvels. These are things which we are seeing for the first time.?

Epic impressions

It was an unusual exhibition that opened at Museum Gallery in Mumbai recently with renowned Sri Lankan painter Senaka Senanayake sharing the space with the late Indian artist Reddappa Naidu. What linked the two was the epic, The Mahabharata. While Naidu was one of the first post-modernist Indian painters to translate a religious text into a theme ? he painted a series of 18 works on the texts in the mid-1970s of which 15 were on display in Mumbai ? Senaka explores the forests of the Mahabharata with all its vibrant colours in his works.

The two artists? works are quite a study in contrast. Senaka?s work is ?stylised? and influenced by traditional Buddhist paintings of Sri Lanka. He loves to bring the outdoors into his canvases. Naidu was concerned not with the sacred but the dynamics of the epic?s contents.

The cheese-and-wine opening drew a high-powered and mixed crowd from Simone Tata to Amit Sah and Sharad Mohan of Citibank. Also present were film producer Pritish Nandy, actor Kitu Gidwani and interior decorator Soni Tanna.

The exhibition will travel to Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore later in the year.

Photographs of Delhi events by Rupinder Sharma and Jagan Negi