Biren Bhuta, chief of Tata Steel corporate sustainability services, welcomes cover girl of Baha Ahala Yudu in Jamshedpur on Monday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Tribal culture planted a flower on fashion’s garden with the launch of Santhali magazine Baha (meaning wild flower) at the Centre for Excellence in Jamshedpur on Monday.

Published by Rusicaa Entertainment & Fashion LLP, the first edition of the quarterly magazine was released by chief of corporate sustainability services, Tata Steel, Biren Bhuta.

Other guests like Santhali scholar Digambar Hansda, manager of Tribal Cultural Society Urmila Ekka and OIIFT director Prativa Mohanty were also present.

Besides, the fashion magazine’s cover girl Ahala Tudu from Calcutta was also part of the inaugural ceremony.

After the release, models strutted the ramp in tribal outfits and a cultural programme was also staged.

The first edition will have 50,000 copies printed and will be circulated in Jamshedpur, Dumka, Bokaro and Dhanbad in Jharkhand, Calcutta, Satraganchhi, Purulia and Asansol in Bengal and Baripada, Rairangpur and Bhubaneswar in Odisha. For those residing outside these three states can order the same online.

The magazine will have fiction stories, film reviews, updates on Santhali film industry, interviews with Santhali artistes etc. The magazine will also promote tribal girls who are aspiring to be models.

“The 50-page magazine will present to the world the tribal culture, fashion sense and food habits. We plan to launch a Santhali channel in future, too,” said Doman Chandra Tudu, one of the founders of Rusicaa Entertainment & Fashion LLP and one who conceptualised the magazine.

A graduate from Bangalore’s National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore, Tudu thought of adding some glamour to the Santhali fashion world. Having worked in various export companies for five years, Tudu quit his job last year for his own start up Rusicaa. An entertainment website — www.rusicaa.com — was launched in December last year. Tudu has also planned a fashion show in September this year.