Sanjay Garg: Photo project engages women who have carved a niche for themselves

Lisa Ray

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar is among the 15 women who are part of a campaign to celebrate the first anniversary of Sanjay Garg's Mumbai store. To mark the milestone, the Delhi-based textile designer commissioned photographer Prarthna Singh to work on portraits for Inhabitants, a project featuring the city's well-heeled ladies, who are also Garg's clients. It includes actor Lisa Ray, singer Anushka Manchanda, Shireen Gandhi of Gallery Chemould and stylist Poornamitra Singh, among others. They have been photographed in their environment wearing saree designs from Raw Mango.

The photo series will be launched at Garg's Colaba store on Saturday. "Doing a fashion show would have been a tired way of celebrating. The photo project engages women who have carved a niche for themselves, while Mumbai remains a common connect," says Garg, who plans to convert the snapshots into postcards. The project attempts to unravel the co-relation between a city and its inhabitants. How does a city shape your future? Do we become part of it, or does it become a part of us? "Mumbai is home to me. What I love about the city is its energy," says Akhtar.

Sanjay Garg

Garg feels no other metropolis triggers the emotion of being "a city of dreams" but Mumbai. "People might live in small homes, but are big on optimism. What is it about Mumbai that holds a promise for many of being a dream city?" wonders Garg about the city's palpable spirit.

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