Kingdom of the twentieth wife.

Not many women in the history have left us bedazzled with their dignified demeanor. One such lady was Nur Jahan- the twentieth wife of Jahangir in the Mughal Kingdom.

Nur Jahan, the name given by Jahangir meaning ‘light of the world’ was born as Mehrunnisaa. Besides family fusses, she was well educated and showed interest not just in the expected areas of poetry, arts and culture but also in ruling over the Mughal kingdom after Jahangir’s death. She was a beloved wife who took care of the throne while her husband was busy drinking and smoking up. Her other pursuits counted of inventing perfumes for women popular as ‘Ittars’, designing clothes out of laces and brocade that still are influencing us today big time.

Influenced by Nur Jahan's experiences in so many dimensions, a young designer from Mount Carmel College, Syma Ahmed realized the necessity of her revival. 

The rich hues of red and blue brushed with pinches of gold and hand-painted Mughal faces, with pearls that add charm to her beauty and gold pins that define it sharp and sexy, Syma came up with a hotter Nur Jahan on the ramp. Dip-dyed lace robes, harem pants and suspenders just made the perfect coordinated collection. Designing accessories and jewels with it was enough to call it a Kingdom of the twentieth wife.

Nur Jahan's grave reads, 

"On the grave of this poor stranger, let there be neither lamp nor rose. Let neither butterfly’s wing burn nor nightingale sing."

Cheers

A PLAYFUL SIDE OF TRADITIONS

We all love the quirkiness of graphics. To elaborate, I take your yes in agreeing with the idea of adoring colorful  kitschy and playful graphics on tees, cushions, bags, accessories, stationary, coffee mugs etc. After all, colors are what that makes the scene funky and happy-going. So, what if this idea mixes with the traditional attire of Indian women. The sari. This implies that saris would be graphical too. They will be colorful  quirky graphical and playful.

That’s exactly what Play Clan did. Known for quirky graphics in their wide range of products, Play Clan recently launched a collection of saris called “The Play Clan Sari Edition” at the Will India Fashion Week for spring/summer 2013.

Welding neon and playfulness in Indian characters, tribal looks, neon-ised geometry and phulkari,  the saris are no more just a boring six-yard long garment after their post-fluorescent treatment. The younger generation now has reasons to get into the tradition attire. Besides, there are smarter ways to style them as Play Clan highlights them in their shoot. Have a look at their collection. They can be bought from their online store at Rs. 14995/-. Totally worth it!

Images: Play Clan

Cheers

Pranita

THE CUPID OF YESTERYEAR!!

The first Indian actor to be called a superstar in Bollywood Rajesh Khanna passed away a few days ago at 70. Known for his romantic and chirpy character, he was the most desirable one of his times. Popular as Kaka , he did around 163 films in his career and co-starred with almost all the iconic actresses of those times- Hema Malini, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Tina Munim, Asha Parekh etc. Not only female actors, male actors like Amitabh Bachchan have acknowledged him above par to them.

I tried collecting some of his style staples. Believe it or not, the truth is – ‘The generation above us was definitely crazy about him as we are today for Ranbir Kapoor or Shah Rukh Khan as the cupid of Bollywood.’

One fact being that most of the roles he played were of a common man who belonged to a middle class family. So, his fashion statement had a fatheaded influence over the men in those times. Can you relate your dad wearing kurta trouser combo or a safari suit when he was young? Acknowledge kaka for the style inspiration!

Here are some of his classic style statements-

GURU KURTAS PAIRED UP WITH TROSUERS

Inspired originally from the dressing of the gurus then- Kaka made the standing collar kurta an essential element of the common man. Not just this, you could see them in all the bright and lively colors. Remember the song from kati patang with Asha Parekh- jis gali mein tera ghar balma, he wore a shiny tan colored kurta with a staright fit trouser. Man, there was a revolution going on!

Rajesh Khanna wearing a guru kurta collar in the movie Safar.

DHOTIS

"Arrey o babumushoy, hum to rangmanch ki kathputliyan hain jiski dor us upar wale ke haathon main hai kab, kaun kahan uthega ye koi nahin janta". Not that he was a Bengali, but his role surely created waves. Cladding a statement kurta with a dhoti in movies like Amar Prem, was yet another distinctive style of inspiration.

The Bengali babu in Amar Prem- Rajesh Khanna

PRINTED NECK SCARVES

Flaunting off a casual romantic look in a neck scarf over bell-bottomed trousers was fashionable then. Here’s one picture of Kaka from Raaz – decked up all romanticing!

Rajesh Khanna from the movie raaz wearing neck scarf.

ETHNIC WAISTCOAT

I also sometimes relate them to a Patrakaar’s attire. Kurta-pajama-wasitcoat and a bag.

The style became famous from his movie kudrat with Hema Malini and today we see so many versions of the same waistcoat, even in ceremonial wear.

Rajesh Khanna in ethnic waistcoat- Then and Now!

SAFARI SUITS

Yeah, I can recollect my dad’s old pictures wherein he wore a safari suit with those wide-legged bell bottomed pants. Totally an outfit from the 60’s. Those beautiful suits and trousers.

The much appreciated style of safari suits and other- Rajesh Khanna

And today that we draw our inspiration from the retro and the vintage looks, Rajesh Khanna’s styles are one prominent thing to for inspiration. He may have gone away, but his style wouldn't go! Here's an extract from Anand.

Sources:

in.com, indianexpress.com, youtube.com, www.daijiworld.com

cheers
Pranita

MATERIALISTIC ABOUT INDIA

“I may be mad, but I am materialistic. I want to possess so many things in life. Not just some clothes, shoes, bags, or perfumes. I have become more materialistic now. I want the whole of India.”

Yeah, no kidding! My recent visit to The Bombay store has given me some more ‘food for shop’. In my earlier post here, I mentioned about the products being a perfect blend of the traditional and contemporary style. Well, this time I am astonished by the assorted themes and inspirations from various subjects and periods and the variety of products the store keeps-  trying to give a whole new rejuvenated look of India still keeping threads of stories knotted to it.

The punch line of the store says- “Discover a new India”, which it eventually abides by.  Right from the visual merchandising and the current monsoon oriented window displays, the look is aesthetically appealing and the store is divided into sections such as apparels, artefacts, frames, bed linens and quilts, stationary, home decor, tableware, aromatic soaps, exotic tea flavours etc. letting you browse all the sections easily. 

PRODUCTS

“Let the Grandma walk out with a rich flavoured exotic tea pack, the lady with a brocade purse and the girl with a quirky set of stationary. And everyone stays happy ever after.”

Here, you may find the rarest of the pieces like an antique metallic colonial time wall clock to the newest of the pop art inspired colourful tray. There are heavily crafted artefacts made out of softstone, whitewood, resin, glass, brass etc. You will go nuts smelling the aromatic soaps and would definitely fall in for the cosy bed linens and those soft razais (quilts).

There is so much to talk about- stamp printed cushions, Kathputli inspired umbrellas, Banjara murals, rejuvenating incense sticks metallic modern style cufflinks...you could see an art displayed from almost each state of India in a totally new form of product. That’s the beauty of The Bombay Store.

Then, a separate variety of products by The Elephant Company was something elephantous. You would see motifs of an elephant on a tie, on a mug to tote bag, also as murals, cushions and so many other places.

I hope my pictorial collection explains much of it!

Thanks to Mr. Srinivas from the store and the whole team who took the pain to arrange the roll out session. 

A Quirky Story- The Bombay Store

Gone are those days for the love of brands when you dreamt of lying on a perfect tanned leather couch in a coco’s LBD wearing Jimmy Choo and patting your cat. After all, anyone can do that (an exaggerated version of thinking the straightway to a luxurious life)! What we need is creativity and freshness in life today. We need a story behind our possessions and a style ahead of our ancestors. These characteristics reflect our choices in products we buy.

Not only in Bombay, but you can call it a store representing the whole of India. It is a place where history blends into the urban expression. They call it ‘A Perfect blend of Traditional and Contemporary Style’.

Recently opened in Bangalore’s 1 MG mall, 'The Bombay Store' has its second location set in Bangalore. With a history of over 100 years now, The Bombay Store was renamed from 'The Bombay Swadeshi Store' in 1991 keeping in mind the fact of delivering rich Indian stories in a quirky urban cover, which people like and want both. In simple words, the store sells a variety of products with an Indian essence in a contemporary style.

I find this store like a permanent flea market with the concept of fast fashion as well as a retainer of the cultural identity. People have brought the fashion of flea markets at a different level today (here and here). They draw inspiration from legacies to justify their creative anticipation. The moral of the story is that they want new, quirky and innovative products. This is exactly what The Bombay store does!

Have a look at some of the products from the wide range of artifacts, fashion, home decor, stationary etc I am loving from the store. The best part is that these are available at affordable prices! Do visit their facebook page and website to for more updates.

Rajasthan inspired stole and flip-flops at The Bombay Store.

Indian Monuments inspired Tissue box to make your table look colorful by The Bombay Store.

Bollywood Actor Dev Anand inspired tie from The Bombay Store.

Brocade inspired evening Potli bags by The Bombay Store.

Indian motifs kites and birds inspiration for digital print on purse by The Bombay Store.

Elephant- the very Indian looking motif on a clutch by The Bombay Store.

Photos - The Bombay store

Cheers