To reach their ever-faithful NRI clientele. Roop Milan, the mega sari store on Marine Lines, brings out its annual catalogue with all the latest designs in ethnic wear. This year, the glossy has model (and waiting-in-the-wings actress) Anupama Verma -- looking sensational -- on the cover in an elaborately embroidered ghagra. But we warned. It's not just a ghaghra -- Anupama's outfit is Viren Shah of the Roopam group's version of entering the new millennium with a new attitude. And if he is to be believed the year 2000 will belong to designer sarees with zardozi embroidery. A beautifully catalogue, shot by Daboo Ratnani, the real advantage of this book is that it can be accessed through the internet. Which means that Indians living abroad can view the clothes and order -- with the held of the detailed measurement charts -- outfits that fit to a tee. Incidentally, Roopam is not the only store to have an internet site. Benzer and Sheetal, who bring out a similar catalogues foroverseas clients -- share its cyber space.

Levi's finally bring their range of cargo pants to India. These loose, comfortable trousers with large pockets on the side are the rage all over the West and India. For over six months now, Cotton World has been retailing these pants for both men and women. Yet, every time they bring out a fresh batch they seem to disappear before they can even reach the racks. Levi's range will be a welcome addition to a city starved of cargo-carriers. Launched at a fun and funky event (much like the product) at Buddy's on Tuesday, the bowling alley and entertainment centre in Nana Chowk was a perfect choice. Models -- or rather real people will real faces and figures -- walked the stage in cargo shorts, Army pants, mechanic's pants, coveralls Levi's spells theirs with a K) and of course cargo pants. Starting at Rs 995, this range is definitely worth a dekko. The styling and launch show was organised by Narendra Kumar, founding fashion editor of ELLE. According tohim, "Anyone can wear cargo pants. And Levi's have really taken to cargo pants to a new lengths. There is a wide range of fits to suit everyone." That explains Levi's choice of regular people to model their new range.

Soft touch

If summer meant being parted from your favourite pair of jeans then breathe easy. Arvind Mills have introduced their latest range of fabric, called Tencel. A supersoft denim it makes for comfortable jeans, shirts and skirts, ideal for sweaty summers. And perfect for other weather too -- not that Mumbai has anything but muggy days and nights all year long. The companies that will be including Tencel in their garment range are Arrow, Chirag Din, Killer and Oxemburg. Basically, most stores and brands will offer Tencel wear, so check out this non-stick option of clothing. Fast, before stocks melt.

Hue and dye

Fading under the bright sun? Well, colour your hair till the highlights dim the sunshine. And what better place than Serena's at Bandra. This popularbeauty salon has tied up with French hair company L'Oreal to offer demos on cuts, colours and curls. They will also experiment with two new exciting products recently launched by L'Oreal: Majimeches -- the ultra-safe, ultra-lightening, ammonia-free highlighting cream, and Quick Meches -- the latest in international highlighting accessories. Not alluring enough? Does a 20 per cent discount sound tempting?

For appointments, call: 642 4210.

More camps

Phew! The concept of summer holidays seem to be a thing of the past. Everyone is organising some summer activity or the other to keep school children occupied. Pottery, weaving, mask making are some of the programmes on offer. The latest to join the fray are the Sanskriti Academy of Fine Arts, Thane, with their four-day cams. Starting April 24, the curriculum for the age groups eight to 12 will include workshops on music, folk dance, puppetry, magic and art. For seniors (ages 13 to 18), the activities will include music,drama, photography, pottery and art. In the middle of May, there will be an exhibition-cum-live performance by all the participants of the workshop.

For details call Asha Sunilkumar: 540 2877 / 534 4032.

Khalsa coin

Baisakhi may be over but the celebrations are far from over. After the April 13 festivities the next round of events will take place in jewellery shops. Right. To commemorate the tricentenary of the Khalsa Panth, leading international gold house Ary has launched a 999.99 pure 24-karat gold coin with Guru Nanak on one side and the Khalsa Panth logo on the other. The coin comes under the `Bhakti' range and weighs five grams. So, if Sikhs start to flood leading jewellery stores to buy this accessory, you can be certain that they will make the act of buying a `balle balle' affair too.

Dial a gift

Sick of looking for gifts for friends? Tired of missing your mother's birthday because no one is heading to your hometown that month? Don't have the timeto choose a present? Hah! Life is just about to get easier for the lazy. Easycall, a messaging solutions company, offers to take the process of gifting out of your hands -- entirely. An international brand of paging services, they have just launched Easy Gift Line in India. Whereby all you do is page a number, select your gift and it's delivered. In Mumbai, your present is delivered within 24 hours, and for the rest of the country, give it maximum 48 hours. The gifts include everything from cakes and chocolates to flowers and toys.

For the catalogue, page: 9622-325345 / 9622-308307.

For Easy Gift Line, page: 9622 001718.

Cool deals

But if you are the sort who likes to shop, then step into Mumbai's largest mall, Shopper's Stop in Andheri. And pick up some of the coolest bargains ever. Zero Degrees, their summer promotion, promises to chill you out in many ways. Free matinee movie tickets for kids who cross the Rs 2,000 shopping mark, gifts for the first 60 customers who crossthe Rs 3,000 mark and a lucky draw contest (kids have to guess the number of fish in the store's aquarium). Lots more freebies abound. So, you know where to head, if your pockets are full and bags empty.

On till May 2.

Cybertale

Feroz Nadiadwala is obsessed with all kinds of gimmicks, gizmos and sound effects. And now, the man who introduced Dolby to Hindi film-goers with his first production Ram Shastra half a decade ago, has got Ken Ghosh to `shoot' a computer-generated song sequence for his forthcoming flick Kartoos, which stars Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and Manisha Koirala.

"`Teri yaad' is five minutes long and has been done on blue matt by five technicians from London, who've created brilliant graphic backdrops. And I've had it processed simultaneously at four different studios in the city. It's cost me so much money, I could cry," says Nadiadwala, looking anything but ecstatic.

What's more he pumped in more resources to enhance his suspense thriller's visualand aural appeal. "Sound is a stimulant which can be used very effectively in cinema. For example, my film opens with a massive blast in a park followed by a 20-second silence. I believe that to create sound you first need to have silence," he says.

So, he's packaged his film's promos using sound cuts instead of visual cuts and matched the speed of each shot with an equally powerful audio track. "The idea is to give the film finesse, and not just finish. It's time we started comparing ourselves with international productions," he says.

Which is also why he signed up three music directors -- late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Anu Malik and Bally Sagoo -- with dramatically different styles for Kartoos. "Bally even recorded a club-mix number two and a half years ago -- long before television channels started airing such songs. It is important to have a unique distinction in everything you do -- routine stuff only takes you backwards," he says. Now all we need is for his film to rise above theordinary.

-- Deepa Deosthalee