• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

A fashion show with a difference

Sudha Menon

PUNE, March 7

THE sylvan surroundings of the Bombay Sapper's headquarters in Pune came alive to a different beat when some well-known figures gathered there last weekend.

The names? Magsasay Award winner Dr. Banoo Coyaji, author Shoba De, Bajaj Auto CMD Rahul Bajaj, supermodel-turned-choreographer Shyamolie Verma and model John Abraham with some of his companions of the ramp in tow.

And the event? Vision 2000, a fashion show with a soul. Designer Indira Broker's fashion show was meant to raise money for the Poor Patients' Fund of the KEM Hospital in Pune.

The slickly choreographed show featured Broker's favourite fabric, tussar in an all-new avatar, as the models displayed kurtas, bustiers, lungis and sarees in earthen hues and gorgeous yellows, oranges and fluorescent green.

``The idea was to present my work in a new form, so I consciously presented Tussar in drapes instead of my usual salwar-kurta ensembles and sarees,'' said the designer who is known for her strikingly elegant sarees.

At Broker's invitation, socialite-columnist Shoba De came on the ramp and introduced the show to a crowd of some 1,500 guests. De, herself known for her penchant for the good things in life, including natty threads, showed up in a Broker designed saree.

She made an impression, calling on the guests to ``make a difference in the lives of the under-privileged, in whatever way you can. If you can just make a difference to one life, that is a lot of good work done.''

Rahul Bajaj seems to have similar views considering the fact that Bajaj Auto was the main sponsor of the lavish event.

Meanwhile, the 550-bed KEM hospital's Department of Medical Social Work's Poor Patients' Fund, which provides medical and financial assistance to poor and the needy patients who approach the hospital, is in dire need for funds.

``With drugs and medical treatment costs going through the roof, it is almost impossible for the poor to get medical help,'' says Harsheela Mansukhani, Consultant & Head of the Medical Social Work department.

``And the kind of patients who turn up here are often in need of basic nutrition in addition to medication and it is impossible for a hospital run by a charitable trust to help all of them,'' she says.

Last year the designer organised a similar fashion show for the hospital's renal unit, while the year before that she had some of the city's top corporate executives dancing to her tunes in a show which raised funds for `Nihar', a home for the children o f sex workers.