THE BEAUTIFUL MINDS.

Right from a young age, my daughter’s latent creativity was manifest in her painting and drawing. She just needed an opportunity to hone her skills and she assumed the right step would be in the direction of Fashion Designing. But deep down somewhere, I knew that my husband would have been happier if his daughter had blossomed into a Scientist or a Mathematician and I wanted something much nobler. Like say, a Doctor or a Professor. Moreover, Fashion has always been synonymous with change. And controversies. And exposure! And a layman’s concept of fashion and fashion shows is limited to only one channel- the FTV. My husband and I, like many others, ascribed this channel as just another form of the forbidden fruit, distributed free of cost to those numerous idle minds, to enable them to participate in this devilish workshop. Ms. Sushma Swaraj endorsed our views. And with a ban in the offing, every finger in the household itched to control the remote for ‘just a glimpse’ of the skimpily clad (or unclad) women walking down the ramp.

It was only after my daughter joined the NIFT and began explaining the ‘nifty gritty’ of the industry that my focus started to shift elsewhere. Precisely on the clothes and the trends. ‘It’s not only glitz and glamour, Mummy’, she kept saying repeatedly, her fatigued frame attesting the backbreaking work that was also involved. ‘And fashion shows’, she said during her last visit, ‘are not beauty pageants. Basically, they are held to demonstrate what is latest in vogue.’ Through her smart and erudite lips, I came to know that the viewers invited to such shows, are not lecherous males who simply eye the vital statistics of the model. Instead, they are consumers, retailers and garment manufacturers who judge the figures and cuts from the business point of view. The audience hardly comprises of ogling eyes and drooling lips but in fact belongs to celebrities and socialites who follow the fashion forecasts in styling, cuts and colours. During the shows, appropriate write ups about the fabrics, order forms, price points etc. are given to merchandisers, who later interact with the designers on the charges and logistics. The whole implementation is supposed to be aimed at production and commercialization and not to be viewed as a form of entertainment. ‘And finally’, she said, ‘for budding designers like us, these shows are the basic platform to showcase our creative talents. But unfortunately’, she sighed, ‘our beautiful minds are often eclipsed by the beautiful bodies.’

What beautiful minds, I wondered? And then she advised us to attend one of the shows organized by the NIFT. It was called ‘Confluence 2003’ and comprised of the fifty- six prize- winning collections from the various other NIFT centres of the country. It was only here I realized what she meant. These upcoming youngsters could very well equate themselves with other more acknowledged gifted artistes with beautiful minds. These creative architects were endowed with a talent that could interpret the world of the bizarre and the beautiful, in an appealing yet soulful manner.

Oozing with panache, every exhibit displayed in the show stretched the ingenuity of the ‘beautiful minds’ to the maximum. The wide canvas reflected imageries inspired by Nature, life, history, gypsies, music, madhubani paintings and emotions. Although some dresses were indeed ‘unwearable’, it merely reflected the personality of the student. The treatment of everything was fresh and novel- of fabrics, of colours and of detailing. While a few of these amazing silhouettes were off the wall, ranging from spirituality to flamboyance, some were functional and some practical too- like uniforms designed for army, policemen or firemen. The topics were not only imaginative but thought provoking as well. ‘Dare to care’ carried a powerful statement about AIDS. ‘I see what you don’t’ and ‘Blink’ were imageries of the blind. ‘Hypocrisy- Thy name is Idealism’ was a challenging collection. ‘Human clay’ unraveled the mysteries of ‘learning and unlearning’ through creation. Each theme was so profoundly expressed it was almost like watching poetry walking down the ramp. We were impressed!

Yesterday morning another headline caught my eye. ‘NIFT costumes for MCH sweepers’ it read. Attributing the rise in accidents involving night sweepers, it seems the civic body of Hyderabad has requested the NIFT Students to design radium coloured jackets to ensure greater visibility from distances, thereby preventing accidents. So every night, while the entire city slumbers, there will now be a rendering of a unique Fashion Parade. With the boundless roads as functional ramps, this pageant will be meant exclusively for those ‘ghosts who work’ silently at night. And it will be done so with not only a touch of fashion but with a hundred per cent safety tag affixed to their hazardous occupation. However, the bit of news that really had my spirits soaring was that ‘though money is no problem, the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad is not going to incur any expenditure. The NIFT management has agreed to render the services of their students free of cost.’

Realisation finally hit me. No profession is earmarked as noble or ignoble. When bills take precedence over ills, even a Doctor loses his dignity. When tuitions precede education, even a Professor’s solemnity is erased. A sincere Robin Hood is always far superior to any wise but conniving bureaucrat. Once the layers of dust and rust and lust, is peeled off, goodness and dedication always stand out. And when this happens, the beautiful minds will always outshine the beautiful bodies. And to think that once upon a time I wondered if Fashion and Nobility could ever walk hand in hand!

Nargis Natarajan.