Fashion and the man from Gadchiroli

The National Centre for Performing Arts, where the India Fashion Show 2003 is taking place, has seen many celebrity visitors.

And almost all of them have effusive in their praise of the designers and their wares. But what does the common man think?

rediff.com bumped into a gentleman who was not a regular Page 3 celebrity; in fact, he wouldn't have even known what Page 3 was.

It was his innate curiosity, and some free time, that brought him to witness Mumbai's most happening event.

"In our villages people show their body parts because they don't have proper clothes to wear. Here, models reveal them because it is fashionable!" the gentleman, hailing from Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra, told rediff.com.

The gentleman, who identified himself as a zilla parishad vice-president who  did not want to be named, said he was very happy to watch one of the shows -- all thanks to his party minister in the state government who had given him an entry pass.

Though the clothes did not inspire him very much, he was very excited to see the models.

"Fashion is a dream for the people living in our villages. They are so busy in their daily work that they don't have time to thinks about all these things," he said.

"Although it is attacking our centuries-old culture, who can oppose it? Everyone has become a part of it. And in this era of globalisation, no one can stop such things."

He then whipped out a cutting from a Marathi newspaper, which said the event was not getting much response.

Just then, a lady who seemed to be in her 30s passed by in a sari, and it elicited a response from him. "Look at her," he said, "so decent she looks, and I am sure she will also be beautiful from inside."

The gentleman was more interested in the personal life of models. "Are they really satisfied with their lives? How do they settle down?"

Shortly, a couple arrived with a newborn. "They look like they belong to a traditional Indian family. But I don't understand what brings them over there," the man said.

There were also some contract workers sitting nearby. One of them said, "We are doing our job. We will get to know whether they are satisfied with our work only once the show is over."

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Photos: Jewella C Miranda