The Hindu : New Delhi News : Inside delhi

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Tuesday, Mar 18, 2008
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Inside delhi

A brand new job

Fashion designer Manish Arora is making news in a totally new field these days. Far from tailoring modern-looking clothes, he has re-designed the grand old Ambassador car.

Manish selected the Ambassador over other cars because of his deep fascination for it.

Interestingly, the Ambassador was the only car Manish had ever owned. “I am fascinated by the place the car holds in the collective Indian psyche from being the official VIP car for decades to the sturdy family car and the hardy cab on the road.”

As Manish wanted the car to be an extension of his work, he had to work on the car’s revamp for three months. It took tons of creativity and a lot of nerve-racking hard work.

The style guru says the Ambassador was a cultural icon, representing the story of the country’s development. “Besides it’s the only car I own.”

The original interiors of the car were rather dull for Manish’s sensibilities. So everything inside the car was stripped out completely. He wanted to crystallise the entire thing with real Swarovski crystals. Other than the dashboard, the interiors were given a totally retro makeover.

Manish travelled to Puducherry to procure high-quality leather for the car seats and rummaged for fabric and other material for the upholstery in Delhi’s Karol Bagh and Chandni Chowk. For the roof, he picked a gold glitter engrained fabric.

The makeover of the iconic Ambassador car was done for a series, “Adventures of the Ladies’ Tailor” on Discovery Travel and Living that is being hosted by Manish.

Madhur Tankha

Waging a war

Campaigns, protests and a legal battle aside, it is the festival of colours, Holi, that will now be used to wage a war against the ongoing constructions on the Yamuna floodplains.

Having failed so far to convince the authorities about the need to save the floodplains from being concretised, the Yamuna Satyagrahis will perform a ritual wherein ingredients symbolising pollutants, construction activities and encroachment on the riverbed will be set on fire.

The ritual, known as “Holika Dahan”, will be carried out on Friday at “Satyagrah Sthal” behind Akshardham Temple in East Delhi.

The “satyagrahis”, who are already fighting a legal battle against the Delhi Government and its agencies for permitting construction on the riverbank, have also decided to organise a “Holi Milan” on Saturday on the banks of the Yamuna at Bhairo Ghat temple.

On March 23, which is observed as World Water Day, a daylong programme will be organised at “Satyagrah Sthal” by Youth For Justice and Yamuna Satyagrahis. It will see participation of local villagers, students and members of civil society who will press for policies and steps that will safeguard the river and its plains and ensure water security for the city.

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Dressing up….

The unostentatious barber shop down the road has always served as a place to catch up with the Joneses and the Janardhans besides providing the latest hair-do styled after the current cricketer or actor in the news.

But like all other enterprising businesses, salons in the Capital too have graduated from mere hair-shearing shacks to establishments offering more personalised and exclusive services.

A friend on a short visit to Delhi this past week was caught in a wrangle -- he had to attend a black-tie function in the evening and his long locks needed the urgent attention of a hairdresser. Instructing his driver to rush him to the nearest salon, the man, after taking in the sensual delights of Khan Market, ran up a flight of stairs that led to a swank hairdresser advertising, among other things, fish pedicure and “rejuvenation” therapy.

Greeted by a liveried attendant and politely asked if he had an appointment, he was soon sent scuttling on his way on replying in the negative. A similar experience followed at the next two places he visited and, now on the fringes of desperation, he headed for Gole Market.

Finding a chain of hairdressers there one of whom, thankfully, attended to him without demanding a prior appointment, our man got his tresses shorn while gazing at flickering images on an ancient television set. But the lasting impression of the Capital’s parlours that the friend would take away with him occurred just as he was about to pay up and leave when the man behind the counter leaned over and whispered into his ear: “Do you want a special massage? I have some good masseuse on my rolls too.”

Kunal Diwan

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