Rites and rituals of the front row

Anyone in the fashion trade will tell you that the best kept secret about Fashion Weeks are the secret rites and rituals involving the front row seats and which bottoms get to grace them at the showsEvery designer wants to have a crowd of glamorous faces seated right up front to make their clothes look even better And of course every fashionista and socialite worth their sea salt have a timehonoured fixation for being seated in the front row where their jewels cheek bones and other assets can be captured best by paparazziRitu KumarIn this context veteran designer Ritu Kumar appears to have dealt with the issue quite effectively The save the date text for her upcoming show for LFW mentions the words front row not once but twiceIt is not going to be fun without you on sic the front row cheering begins the message and ends with please call for booking your front rowWhat Kumar mdash always an industry pioneer mdash has done is made it a lot easier and quicker for everyone says an industry insider No more discreet hints and nudges from invitees wanting to know if its worth their while to attend It cuts straight through the BSIndeedSinging through the sands of timeOne of the abiding memories of our last trip to Goa was the of vivacious songstress Shweta Shetty responding to popular request by belting out an impromptu number one balmy evening at a friends terrace partyShweta ShettyAs is known the pop star who has recently relocated to India after a stint in Germany is a virtuoso performer No surprises then that when we bumped into Shetty this weekend she was looking excitedly forward to an upcoming musical venture Reth Song Of The Earth premiers in the first week of November at the NCPA she informedThe genre is predominantly Rajasthan Sufi folk said Shetty whose last appearance in the musical Man of La Mancha had attracted favourable notice And Im back to my theatre roots after 25 years she said One last thing its a Hindi adaptation of the Merchant of Venice set in Rajasthan and I play the pivotal role of Shylock she lets us know Cant wait for this gender benderNCPA goes EDMAnish Sood and Sahej Bakshi aka Dualist Inquiry are two of the most promising names in the Indian electronic music scene today Now word comes in that they have stormed the last bastion of musical resistance mdash that haven of Indian classical and opera in Mumbai mdash the NCPA itself This weekend will see both young artists performing at the complexs Experimental Theatre on subsequent nightsAnish Sood and Sahej BakshiIts one of the best performance venues in the country and this is the first time they are opening their doors to electronic music so its pretty special Were building a special light setup and Im also going to be playing a bunch of my unreleased tracks says Sood And why has the NCPA gone in this direction To reach out to a younger set of people says a spokespersonAnd if EDM is not your thing we hear there is an open barA different kind of festiveWe could not make it to designer Masaba Guptas preview of her festive line on Saturday evening but we did run into actress Dia Mirza wearing what appeared to be a traditional floral ensemble from the collection later that night It was pretty we said to Gupta when we spoke to her the next day But it appeared to be a departure from your regular styleRadhika Apte Masaba Gupta and Dia Mirza PicAtul KambleYes youre right conceded Gupta I am consciously listening to what my market is telling me she said And festivetrousseaubridal wear is an important part of the business she said No designer can ignore it But is it something that you want to do or is your decision market driven we persistedGupta took a deep breath I personally hate the idea of resembling a Christmas tree at weddings and festivals she said So even as I cater to the market I definitely have added my own vision my festive clothes are not garish and over powering the outfits are minimal and pared down mdash drapes and kaftans with gold khadi work which can be paired with outofthebox suggestions for accessories in rose gold silver and old gold Its festive wear for todays women NiceModern day Romeo and JulietIts being spoken about as the Romeo and Juliet of Mumbais upper classes When the scion of this wealthy infrastructure clan with a blue chip surname had got engaged to the daughter of an equally wealthy jeweller it was spoken about as the coupling of the decade with both sides outdoing each other in planning the destination wedding of the centuryHowever due to reasons unknown when the engagement was called off recently what could have been a graceful parting of ways has turned into a messy spat with much bad blood flowing between two of the citys prominent business clansAnd we are informed that the young couple in question whod met as school students years ago and had been very much in love are now not on talking terms and whats more accusations and counter accusations between the elders in their families are being traded about monies spent and promises madeAnd naturally given the highprofile names involved the entire matter has become the talk of the city with many a household being dragged into the on going battle Meet Mumbais modern day Montagues and Capulets For the sake of the young couple we hope good sense prevails