So here is the dope. I am no Anna Wintour. This in layman terms means that I am not exactly a fashion expert. I don’t wear those nerdy Versace glasses which are so “in” now, I don’t have a fashionable streak of white running through my mane and I most definitely don’t gobble up a trembling assistant or two for breakfast. I have heard of Jimmy Choo and Prada of course but I have heard of my legendary Shukla pishi from Shillong too who can supposedly knit a cardigan out of on single ball of wool. I do mouth words like “silhouettes”, “prêt” and “texture” in various permutations and combinations (oh I love the silhouette of Manish’s line but Zubair is the god of texture)but everyone knows am fibbing. The fashionistas may politely cough into their delicately perfumed Louis Vuitton scarves and look away, but I do believe that a layman like me has every reason in the world to be in a fashion event. You see, I’m your eyes and ears. Makes sense? Good. So armed with nothing but my middle-class sensibilities and a Shantiniketan jhola I raided the hallowed halls of ITC Sonar where the second edition of Kolkata Fashion Week will draw a steady trickle of Kolkata’s crème de la crème for the next few days. Once I waded through a maze of streaked, bleached and wonderfully perfumed hair, I found myself literally delivered to a satin-covered chair in the first row of the Ritu Kumar show. Do I even know who Ritu Kumar is you ask? As a matter of fact I do. She is the grande dame of Indian fashion whose designs have got India many a ‘best national costume” award in beauty pageants. See? Twenty minutes later I walked out a happy man. I may not be an expert with cuts and texture but I do know a good lehnga when I see one.

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