India Fashion Week: January 2011

Looks of the day

Who: Shilpa Shetty
Where: IOSIS event for underprivileged kids

Shilpa wears one of the hottest trends of Spring, 2011 - colorblocking. The outfit colors are loud and pack a punch. Love the exposed zipper trend and the fluid draping of the skirt. The outfit is amazing, pity Shilpa got her accessories wrong..

Who: Madhoo
Where: Ritu Kumar's fashion show

Mixing prints can be tricky and most of the times comes across as trying too hard. But when done right, its fashion utopia! I love the Sabayasachi outfit that Madhoo is wearing. And with messy, bed hair, Madhoo gives it a very boho-chic vibe.

Who: Lara Dutta
Were: Ritu Kumar fashion event

Lara looks radiant in a tiered, strapless gown. Does her presence at the show mean she will be wearing Ritu Kumar for her wedding? I am sure Manish Malhotra is throwing a fit somewhere:-)

Who: Celina Jaitley, Gul Panang
Where: Cotton council meet, Ritu Kumar fashion event

Never knew Celina wore anything other than sarees! This is quite pretty. I hope its not once in a lifetime thing..

Another colorblocking dress, this time in geometric prints. Gul paired the dress with nude pumps and black clutch, giving the whole ensemble a very pulled together look.

Who: Bhagyashree
Where: Ritu Kumar fashion event

Not sure why Bhagyashree had to hide her lovely features under a shaggy dog haircut! But the dog is rather cute, so I really cant blame her for copying:p

photo credits: pinkvilla.com, bollywoodhungama.com

Look of the Week - Priyanka Chopra

Engagement Session Ammara & Jaffer

More brilliant photography from Mr Aamer Kapadia, loving the couples outfits...

www.aamerkapadia.com

Red Carpet Event: Filmfare awards 2011(Part 2)

Who: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

No surprises here - was pretty sure Aishwarya will be in a saree. Just surprised that its not ugly or OTT!! The saree is very elegant and Aish looks graceful.

Who: Katrina Kaif

Katrina wore a Manish Malhotra creation which is stupendously beautiful! It looks like she walked off the ramp into the event:-) Given that the outfit is so blingy, Katrina kept her makeup and accessories minimal. Also surprised to her "girls" since Katrina rarely does cleavage..

Who: Preity Zinta

I am incapable of making an objective judgment here, becoz of my overwhelming affection for Preity Zinta:-)

Who: Vidya Balan, Dia Mirza

Any guess as to who Vidya is wearing:-)
The outfit doesnt need such a statement necklace and her hair isnt winning her any points today.

Dia kept it simple in a black saree (not sure if its a saree or lengha) with a lace top. Her top has a very unusual design. Close ups are below.

I do love the lace-y, sexy look but the the back is a little creepy - looks like the saree is coming out of her body!!

Who: Urmila Matondkar, Esha Koppikar, Mini Mathur

Urmila - Another Manish Malhotra creation. This guy certainly has a hold on the celebs:-)

Esha - Even though this look is simple, its one of her best looks. The rest of the times, she come across as trying too hard.

Mini - Love this woman's style. She is always looks effortlessly chic!

Who: Kajol, Kalki Koechlin

In case of any emergency, we all can use Kajol's oufit to parachute to safety!

Kalki has a quirky style but this is not quirky - this is what every starlet on a cheap budget wears! Dont loose ur individualism, Kalki - Fire the person who suggested this to you!

photo credits: filmicafe.com, pinkvilla.com

Red Carpet Event: Filmfare awards 2011(Part 1)

Who: Sonakshi Sinha

Looks like someone read our blogpost and took our advice! Sonakshi, finally in something that is youthful and bright. The color and the draping is just gorgeous and I love her cascading curls. The fresh look just hit the right note for the occasion. Congrats on winning the best debut of the year for 'Dabaang'.

Who: Genelia D'Souza, Neha Dhupia

Genezlia - Other than the color, there is nothing I like here.

On the fence for Neha's dress. The color and style is pretty neat but somehow the outfit falls flat and really doesn't excite me.

Who: Rani Mukerjee, Sridevi

Rani - This is the only pic available and can I just say WOW!! Love the way the fabric falls. The blue really compliments her skin color and the look is just tres magnifique!

Sridevi- Great color, great outfit but the creases are so bad that it distracts and completely takes away the beauty of the dress.

Who: Prachi Desai, Malaika Arora Khan

Not a big fan of Prachi but have to say she looks cute with the side plait. As for the dress, the bottom part could be used as a toilet brush, no?

Malaika - This woman is flawless. She only has one look - the cougar look and dayum, she has perfected it!!

Who: Amrita Puri, Suzanne Roshan

Finally, someone in scarlet red!! Both are great dresses - Amrita's dress is beautifully tailored (love the pleats on the bodice) and Suzanne has sexy draping. Suzzane went a little overboard with matching accessories and red hair so this one goes to Amrita.

Who: Mugdha Godse, Sameera Reddy

Even though her clutch color is a little jarring, I like Mugdha with her shiny, slick hair. She looks chic and sassy.

Sameera - This is how a dress designed by a 'split-personality soap-opera character' would look like - loud, loud and so OTT!!

photo credits : filmicafe.com, pinkvilla.com

How to Launch the Career of a Teenage Model?

How to launch the career of a teenage model? This is what teens think when they see the new trend of teenage modeling. This trend is primarily due to the commercial significance of the age of the teens. Have you ever thought why the teenage has so much commercial importance? To find the answer, you need not rake your mind. It is just a matter of commonsense.

Teen is the age of fleeting dreams, surging emotions and enthusiasm. To catch the exuberance and ecstasy characteristic of the age, consumer product companies and service sector companies invent and define new and new needs and they design and manufacture products and services accordingly. Most of these products and services, in deed, lack any logical basis of a human need. In their bid to ignite the fire of the young aspirations, these popular brands rope in new and new faces of teenage models.

If you aspire to launch the career of a teenage model, you need to plan your career in a proper manner. First of all, you have to create your portfolio. How will you go for your photos? Never ever put any photo of inferior quality in your profile. Some of you may be a bit careless regarding these matters. You may put a few snaps you got randomly with your cell phone or camera. But that can spoil your any chance of becoming a celebrity model even before you start.

This is because any photo which may present you in an awkward manner will jeopardize your chance. Then you will just be de-marketing your accomplishments. Therefore be wary while selecting your photos. Go for a professional photographer. Try to find out the best available photographer in your locality, or better still you may solicit help form the modeling agency to locate a professional photographer.

Don’t think launching the career of a teenage model is quite easy. While you are going to get your modeling photo-shot, it is equally important to arrange a professional makeup artist also. You can even use the internet to locate a suitable photographer and makeup artist. Now you have got your photographer and makeup artist.

Next, you have to get your attire and the suitable poses and postures for the photographs. This you can get from fashion and lifestyle magazines and other publications. As you are in the teenage, you may still be in your minority. Therefore, you need to be under the constant guidance of your parent or guardian. It is your guardian who is to interact and negotiate with the industry people.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE - INTRODUCTION

Recently, I was honored to be part of an email discussion with folks currently living in Delhi concerning whether a group of children living nearby the American Embassy School would be able to benefit from a program called MAD - Make a Difference.

Easy question to answer, right? Read on about the MAD program ...

MAD is a youth network, working with orphans and unprivileged kids in India. Made up of mostly college student volunteers, MAD specifically teaches the English language to children in orphanages, street shelters and poor homes.

During the recent visit of President Obama and the First Lady, the United States Ambassador Timothy Roemer and his wife accompanied them to Mumbai. During that visit, the First Lady and Mrs. Roemer had the chance to visit a MAD classroom and a passion was born!

Sally Roemer quickly realized that there was a huge missing gap in the education of the children at the Vivekand Camp right here in Delhi. Because their schooling does not include English (or very little), they are almost destined for being one of the statistics for early dropout, and for a future of unemployment, or employment at a very low wage.

The question that burned on her mind?

Was it rational to believe a pool of volunteers from our community (mostly parents, quite a few teachers and some high school students) could pull this together, in short order, to bring this same program to the kids ... literally across the street?

WHAT IS MAD ALL ABOUT?

* taken from the Make A Difference website ::

The Make A Difference project was initiated by a few of us in our second year of college when we saw a large disparity in the way rich and the poor learned. We realized that the system created a gap from the very early years of a child’s life and as time passed by, the gap only increased. We saw a huge untapped resource amongst us youngsters who if provided the right platform were capable of bridging the gap. Hence, twenty of us in the city of Cochin founded Make a Difference with a vision “To bridge the inequality in society through education.”

India has one of the highest drop out rates in the world. Even though over 70% of our children enroll for primary education, 72% of them would have dropped out by the time they reach standard 10. But being first generation learners, education is most critical for this 72%.

In Make a Difference, we currently focus on India’s urban underprivileged, particularly children in street shelters, orphanages, and poor homes. Our children are street smart, intelligent and mature. Yet hardly any of them get the opportunity to continue their education after 10th. This is primarily due to two reasons.

First is the lack of financial support. Most children are taken care of only till the age of 15, after which they are on their own. The education they receive till then is very generic and provides them with no specific skills, which forces them into doing menial jobs for a living.

Second, and more important reason why even the children who are sponsored cant cope up is the lack of quality education. Our children go to schools where the medium of instruction is in the vernacular language till 10th. But after 10th, the medium is compulsorily in English and most jobs have English language proficiency as one of its basic requirement. Hence even if we are able to sponsor students with good scores for higher education they are unable to cope. The bridge here is the English language.

Our aim is to ensure the underprivileged children are brought into the main stream so they can chose their careers based on their potential and interests and not their financial constraints.

Our MAD English course is a five level program of 100 hours each. Every year our children go though 56 interactive classes of two hour duration. By the end of the 5th level the child’s communication skills will be at par with a private school student. We have an active placements program that runs side by side to keep the children aware of their career options and keep them motivated to study harder.

Our aim is to ensure a 100% retention rate in Indian schools. Currently we work in 11 districts in India with over 800 volunteers, teaching 2500 children (in Cochin, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Mangalore, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Chennai). We plan to reach out to 10,000 children in the coming year.

* * * *

It's hard for me to believe that MAD is amazingly not even SIX YEARS OLD, having been founded in 2006!

The founders of the program started at the YMCA Poor Boys Home in Thrikkakara. In the beginning there was no focus to the activities done in class. Overtime, a syllabus was developed in association with the TTF (Teacher Training Foundation) and then later on with the help of EZ Vidya.

Starting in 2010, Make A Difference began using Cambridge University Press material in all of their classrooms. These textbooks take students from a "Starter" workbook/textbook to an Intermediate Level.

If you want to read a brief blurb about the reasons behind Cambridge getting involved (and see some great photos, visit HERE)

* * *

Thank you to the founding members of the MAD organization --- Kavin KK, Jithin C Nedumala, Sujith Abraham Varkey, Santosh Babu, Gloria Benny and Jithin John Varghese --- for seeing a need and filling that gap! It is absolutely amazing to read about what they have created ... before they even have had a chance to finish their OWN studies. Just incredible.

For more information about the existing programs :

Photos and Slideshow

Media Highlights

Stay tuned for more on MAD : Vivekand Camp, Delhi !

I will be posting about the stories, process and integration of the MAD program at Vivekand every Monday for the next couple of months ... I'm looking forward to telling you ALL about it!

A challenge from the Make A Difference group :: Its time we made a difference ...You felt this when you looked into the boy's eyes who was begging for a one rupee coin,but then you thought what difference could you possibly make...what you are capable of is restricted only by your thoughts....dare to come forward...dare to make a difference and we will show you a million ways to change the world.