Midsummer night out

THE TODDLER looked scared. And sleepy. There was so much of noise all around. It was a Sunday, but no luxury at all to sneak into a snooze as evening slowly became late night. A mid-summer night's dream lost for the lil' one.

`Mid-summer Nite' was Rotary Club of Madras East's dream project in the city this weekend, in a programme filled with cliches.

Same old designs, same old models, same old format of shows meant to entertain, than to inform, same old ritual of lucky-dip prizes (only that the same good old compere Nilu was the unlucky one with most of his winners not turning up as he kept bending to dig the box and pick up another, throughout the show) and the same old lines and phrases ``put your hands (that sounded like `hens') together'' and ``last but not the least''. Same old crowd, that but for the `party-wear' sarees and `western' salwars, would never wear any of the other clothes displayed in any case, but for the branded shirts and trousers and the jewellery rounds.

Diipnaaz and Richa's creations, most of them being `repeats' from the previous shows in the city, were almost a misfit for the middle-aged audience whose tastes were more `Nalli' or `Kumaran' than D&R's designer-wear.

Surely, the clothes for this show could have been more `janta', like the numbers that Swingers chose to perform for the evening. Nothing `classy' about them, but perfect for `janta' taste-`Shaka Laka Baby', `Mohabattien', `Ik Pal Ka Jeena', `September Maadham' and Britney Spears.

Oh yes, the models...John Abraham...John Abraham...John Abraham. But for him, Aditi Govitrikar (looking low on make-up), Shvetha Jaishankar and Fleur Xavier to an extent, there was not much in the show. Others tripped on the ramp or had pieces of clothing that seemed `not-really tailor- made'. Prashanth who was the ``special guest'' for the evening didn't have much to do, but to sit through the rest of the show after strolling in half-way, keep smiling throughout and of course, help Nilu in the lucky-dip rituals.

A long dinner session followed as socialites chatted away into the night. No wonder our lil' friend seemed to desperately want a Mid-summer night's sleep at the end of it all. It remained a dream, at least till about midnight!

By Sudhish Kamath

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Section  : Southern States
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