22 March,2019 06:12 AM IST | | Team mid-day
Katrina Kaif is all pink and ecstatic in festive spirit at a celebrity Holi party at a hotel in Bandra on Thursday. Pic/Shadab Khan
It stands to good reason that stylist Kushal Parmanand lingered over storyboards and swathes of fabrics, and fashioned shoots for Seventeen and L'Officiel along with a stint at Condé Nast India in his 15-year-long career would one day launch his own label. He partnered with close pal Asgar Munshi, who brought years of insider knowledge in designing bridal wear, to launch KuGar (a cheeky play on their names) at Bandra's Atosa on Tuesday evening.
Aparna Badlani and Azmina Rahimtoola with Asgar Munshi and Kushal Parmanand
The guests included Parmanand's former boss ladies Anaita Shroff Adajania and Superna Motwane, colleagues, family and friends Maneka Thadani of Gucci, stylist Nisha Jhangiani and designer Payal Singhal. KuGar's capsule range of unfussy, boho-chic separates - kaftans, slouchy jackets, shirts and bombers, and a saree with a tassel pallu - brandish the sunniness of resort wear, the colour palette of dusty pink, grey and moss inked in rose motifs evoking nostalgia of vintage stores at Brick Lane or Camden Town in London.
Recently, the folks at Bombay Chamber Orchestra (BCO) did all music lovers a favour. They put up a rather helpful social media post that broke down the different sections of a symphony orchestra. The colourful illustration clearly marked out which areas are designated for the string section, and which are for the wind instruments and for percussions. It showed how intricately an orchestra has to be structured so that the sound of the music that's being played is maximised.
We spoke to Jini Dinshaw, founder and director of BCO, to learn more, and she said, "Each section is of four parts. So, the string section has the violins, violas, cellos and double basses. The woodwind section has flutes, oboes, clarinets and piccolos. And the brass section, of course, has trumpets, French horns, trombones and so on. Also, the percussion section sits at the back, and the string section is in the front. This is because the wind and brass instruments have more power, and the strings need more projection. Otherwise, their sound would be drowned."
On their son Arin's birthday, Madhuri Dixit and husband Dr Shriram Nene kick-started Holi on a warm note. After hearing about an abandoned puppy from their friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, they immediately decided to add a new member to their family of four. Riya, their dog who had passed away, was also a rescued puppy.
"Abandoning a companion dog or cat is the cruelest thing to do. I'm happy we will be able to give this pup a new lease of life," Dixit said, adding, "I join PETA India in urging everyone who has the time, space, and resources to give a dog a lifetime of care to adopt from the street or a shelter instead of buying one."
William Sami Ãtienne Grigahcine aka DJ Snake kicked off his India tour with a Holi performance at MMRDA grounds yesterday. The DJ stepped on stage wearing a white kurta, and managed to leave it white throughout the performance.
He then posted a picture of himself waving an Indian flag, wishing Happy Holi in the caption. But we'll salute composer Badshah for asking the most important question in the comments section. "So did you try bhaang finally?". We'll wait for an answer.
This diarist happened to catch a show of QTP's newest production, Every Brilliant Thing, on Wednesday. Directed by Quasar Thakore-Padamsee and performed by Vivek Madan, the play tells the story of a man, who, as a seven-year-old began drawing up a list of the simple pleasures of life to help his depressed mother.
The play is an interactive one where the plot moves forward with audience members participating at every crucial point, and throughout the performance, Madan roped them in for various roles. We were in for a pleasant surprise when veteran theatre artiste and contemporary dancer Faredoon Dodo Bhujwala, who was seated in the audience, happened to be invited to the stage to play the role of the protagonist's father. And needless to say, he did the needful with élan, even giving a touching, impromptu speech towards the end as part of the role.
Quasar Padamsee
"It must be over 20 years since I saw Faredoon Bhujwala on stage at Prithvi. It was in Royal Hunt of the Sun...," Thakore-Padamsee wrote later in a Facebook post, which itself turned into an interesting thread. Theatre actor-director Jeff Goldberg, for instance, added, "Nine years ago, I was newly arrived in Bombay and Mr Bhujwala was the first person to ever bring me to Prithvi to see Project Strip, directed by Quasar...."
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