Model Reha Sukheja sports jewellery designed by Suhani Pittie at Lakme Fashion Week Summer / Resort 2013.

Suhani Pittie talks about her fascination for medieval art and paying and ode to Sun God

When she designed a collection called ‘Grunge Begum’ a few seasons ago, those who knew Suhani Pittie understood that she was the Begum, living the life of a modernist and at the same time imbibing the essence of the 200-year-old Pittie mansion in Begum Bazaar. Combining traditional and modern sensibilities has been her forte and with her new collection, Dances With The Earth, Suhani goes a notch higher.

“I have been researching parallel lifestyles or tribal lifestyles for a year and a half. When I started reading, I didn’t know it would all lead to a jewellery collection,” Suhani says, speaking to us a day after showcasing her work at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013.

Suhani uses motifs of the rising sun, chakra, sun rays and the moon in earrings, neckpieces, arm bands, circular bangles, anklets and pendants. “The tribals, be it Aborigines in Australia, Dongrias in Orissa or the Navajos in America are in sync with the earth and comfortable in their old world set up. They worship the tree and are not hungry for a better lifestyle. Their dance forms are circular and there’s a reason behind the colours they use and the jewellery they wear,” says Suhani.

Using copper, one of the first metals used by humans, she dedicates this collection to the spirit of the tribals living in tune with Nature. Dances With The Earth has circular bangles with leaves, sun and moon patterns; anklets with leaves; multiple chakra motifs on pendants; earrings and cord cuff with the rising sun motif; peacock earrings; armbands with sun and moon patterns and the bird crown cord bracelet among other pieces. All of these in some way represent the ‘circle of life’.

Eight months of research on tribal jewellery were followed by three months of production at her workshop, involving 100 to 120 craftsmen. “A new girl in the factory, impressed by the surface ornamentation way we were working on the pieces, asked me how long the show would be. She was surprised when I told her the duration of our show at Fashion Week would be only 5 min 45 seconds,” laughs Suhani.

The last few years have seen Suhani grow from strength to strength. She figured in the World Gold Council’s list of top 10 most inventive and ingenious jewellery designers of the world and was the only Indian jewellery designer to showcase her work at the Miami Fashion Week. With her new collection, she seems to be taking the next step in experimentation. “As a designer, I feel I’ve matured with this collection. There’s a lot of depth and we are proud of the textures on the surface,” says Suhani.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Features> Metro Plus> Fashion / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad, March 26th, 2013

Visakhapatnam :

Holi hai! The call is not just confined to the north Indians but also for Andhraites.

Around three decades ago, the locals were reluctant to even move out of their houses when the Marwaris, Gujaratis, Bengalis or people from other north Indian communities in the city celebrated the festival of colours. Getting drenched in the colour water or throwing gulal at one another was alien to them. But not anymore.

With the changing times, Andhraites of the city are also enthusiastically taking part in the celebrations, which has become an occasion for Telugus to bond with the people of the north Indian communities.

“I started participating in this colourful festival with my friends  after I joined engineering and now it seems the festival has caught the fancy of the Vizagites. We go to the Beach Road in the morning and enjoy a lot playing with eco-friendly colours. A couple of north Indian friends are also part of our group,” said third-year engineering student B Gowtham.

“The night before Holi, we light a splendid  bonfire or the Holika. Holi sweets are another attraction of this festival, which now has an all-India appeal,” he said.

City-based businessman V Nageshwar Rao, who celebrates the festival with his Marwari friends, said that Holi is a national festival that ought to be celebrated by all communities and states.

“What appeals to me the most about Holi is that it helps us bond with other communities. We get to know the tradition of other states and we get to spend some enjoyable time with family and friends playing with ‘gulal’ and gorging on sweets on Holi. Earlier, Holi wasn’t much in vogue  in Vizag but nowadays Telugu youngsters are enthusiastically celebrating it,” he said.

Telugu children rue that Holi is not an official holiday in schools in Vizag. “It would have been great had the schools declared at least a day’s holiday on Holi. However, as there is no holiday, we can’t enjoy throughout the day. I’m looking forward to the barfis and sweet kachoris from my north Indian friends,” said G Swathi, a class IX student.

Holi has another appeal for city artist K Ravi. “Colours have always attracted me. The Holi colours remind  me of nature in spring, when colourful flowers bloom to paint the city red, pink, orange and yellow. I have been to Tagore’s Shantiniketan in West Bengal , where Holi is celebrated in a big way but the colours used are dry powder. In Vizag, too, I play Holi with friends, but I prefer the coloured powder and natural eco-friendly colours,” he said.

Naresh Agarwal, president of the Marwari Yuva Manch, welcomed the trend of Telugus celebrating Holi. “We are happy that people of south Indian  communities are celebrating Holi, which is actually a north Indian festival. Just as we also participate in Ugadi and Sankranthi celebrations, our Telugu friends are also celebrating Holi and Diwali with us, signifying a beautiful blend of north and south Indian cultures,” he said. “On Tuesday we would have ‘Holika puja’ on R K Beach, where the bonfire would be lit to symbolically destroy all things negative. There would be dance and celebrations till late in the night. On Wednesday, pujas in the Shyam temple since morning would be followed by special Holi programmes. Sweets and thandai would be distributed to all and people of various communities will celebrate with colours,” he said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Sulogna Mehta, TNN / March 26th, 2013