ARE FASHION WEEKS SEEING THE MCDONALDISATION OF FASHION IN INDIA?

March 13, 2021

Having travelled avidly across the globe, I never tire of walking into a McDonald eatery wherever I go. Not because I am trying to cut corners or because I like eating a Big Mac. My quest is to admire the precision with which this global conglomerate has made the burger...

The different hues of Shiva and his illustrious family

March 12, 2021

On the occasion of Maha Shivratri we look into two iconic genres of miniature and calendar art that is directly attributed to princely India and generously depict Lord Shiva, his wife, Goddess Parvati, and their son Ganesha. A product of the many mystical tales that surround Shiva the destroyer, Ganesha...

THE FIERCE LEGACY OF GWALIOR’S DEO BAGH

March 12, 2021

There is an enigma that surrounds people with deep roots and a legacy to conserve. No matter where they travel, work or reside, their hearts take them back to where they belong. This is the case with the Jadhav family of Aaron and Myana, heirs to possibly the largest jagirdari...

WHEN JJ DRESSED EDDIE MURPHY AND ARSENIO HALL

March 6, 2021

NEW DELHI: History beckons him like the proverbial magnet, epics capture his creative heart and the ephemeral world of celluloid leaves him totally spellbound. J.J. Valaya, couturier, costumer, design addict and history lover, who also happens to be ‘hooked on to the reel world and its enigmatic imagery’, had a...

THE BIG FAT PATIALA WEDDING

March 5, 2021

It was a wedding royale though close knit and attended by only those very deeply associated with the family. Princess Sehar Inder Singh, the daughter of Tikka Raninder Singh of Patiala, tied the knot with Aditya Narang, son of Devin and Priya Narang. Sehar, a philanthropist entrepreneur who works with...

PORTRAITS FOR POSTERITY: AN INTIMATE LOOK AT INDIA’S MAHARANIS

March 5, 2021

As the world gets set to applaud women of grit and perseverance, The Sunday Guardian applauds royal women from the past who are featured in the book Maharanis: Women of Royal India, a best-seller by Mapin. In this book are featured a century of photographs curated by K.G. Pramod Kumar,...

Creating a storm with stunning shawls

February 26, 2021

A resident of the quiet city of Kota, the elegant shawl creator, Madhulika Hada is a Hada Rajput who is silently creating a storm with her stunningly beautiful shawls in cashmere. Each piece is a canvas for her signature style of stunning hand embroidery and bead work. One of the...

THE TIMELESS TEXTILE TALES OF AMBIKA RAJE GHORPADE

February 26, 2021

The royals and their love for costumes is no hidden secret. In older times, a fleet of weavers, beaders, embroiderers and seamstresses sat within palace karkhanas to create something bespoke for the queen. There was a special impetus for making saris that the royal ladies would wear with much elan. Each...

Royal music festivals to look forward to in 2021

February 19, 2021

Royal palaces and havelis have been an abode to both fine art and the performing arts. Right from Mian Tansen to Bismillah Khan to Bulleh Shah, musicians, poets and Sufi saints have filled their interiors with their resonating voices. Till date, this tradition of patronage is being kept alive by...

USHERING IN SPRING WITH ATELIER SHIKAARBAGH’S SARIS

February 19, 2021

The legacy of heritage design comes naturally to those with Rajput roots: Young men and women who have seen the zenana up close, a congregation of noble ladies who got together within the confines of a well shielded room, offering a private audience to the many master craftsmen who brought...