Jabong's IOFW Auditions - Backstage Buzz

Hi Friends,

                                              Few days back, I participated in Jabong.com's IOFW Fantastic Blogger Contest with slightly trembling self-confidence ... but with my stars smiling at me, I got selected among top 20 lucky bloggers who got the golden opportunity to cover this innovative Talent Hunt happening in our very own country i.e. India Online Fashion Week 2014 :) 

Jabong.com together with Talenthouse India   conceived this unique concept of organizing a Shopable Fashion Show that has never been witnessed in Indian Fashion history yet and got the idea broadcasted in every corner of the country with media partners like NDTV Good Times and 92.7 BIG FM.

Sponsors and Media Partners

So I take this privilege to share the backstage happenings during auditions with you all to enjoy the show minutely and closely...

As the news for IOFW came alive in the month of May/June, the entries for all 5 categories (Models, Photographers, Designers, Hair Stylists and Makeup Artists) poured in large numbers. 

Press Launch

The auditions on Day 1 kick started with the models and photographers auditions on 1 July, 2014 at Chhatarpur, New Delhi.  

The panel of venerated jury including some notable names from the fashion industry took the responsibility to shortlist the best of participants in every genre and brought alive the  creative prowess showcased to them...

(You may meet-n-greet the prolific jury and mentors on http://iofw.com/celebrity-mentors/ )

Photography, the art of communicating a fact in the mesmerizing manner to leave the viewers spell bound, always fascinates me more than anything. Hence, I got myself engrossed deeper into the genre...and wow, look at the marvel memory of the auditions..

Hats off to the winning talent sailing over the pool of hundreds of upcoming skilled enthusiasts and making it possible to make a place for themselves in the heart of Jury after weeks of gruelling selection process :)

The Winning Photography Team For IOFW-2014 All Smiles To Success

For those feeling inquisitive about detailed profiles and excellent work of winning photographers, let's hop on to their FACEBOOK pages for a pleasant treat to our eyes and souls...

Ridhi Parekh
She started her career as an assistant to ace photographer Nrupen Madhvani and her passion got her enrolled at Shari Academy of Digital photography. She is the proud winner of Master Craftsmen of the year and also bagged the Best Fashion Photography and Food Photography Award, Luxoculus.

Jayavanti Loundo  
She's been freelancing for various lifestyle magazines and fashion shoots and holds the glory of covering prestigious events like Goa Fashion Week, Femina Style Diva, London Fashion Week to her credits.

 Monisha Ajgaonkar 
Yes!! You guessed it right. She is the name behind ‘The Photo Diary’, a company specializing in Wedding Photography, Wedding Films , Video Booth, Photobooth, Pre- Wedding Shoot, Fashion Shoot, Corporate Shoot and Gigs. Having a work experience with popular magazines like Rolling Stone, Man’s World, HT Brunch, Big M and Yuva; the extension to her creativity knows no bounds...

Ashish Gurbani
Wow! What a multi-talented personality we have here to cover IOFW. Ashish has studied mass media, advertising, journalism and Photography to reap the most benefits of his knowledge, expertise and innovation as a collab product of art. Indeed an impressive profile :)

Abhishek Kharkar
An award winning student of All India Photographic Trade & Industry Association, who took sheer pride in being Sr. Assistant with Jatin Kampani, Vikram Bawa and Prabuddha Dasgupta; Abhishek is now ready to fetch some international clients :)

The curtain raiser for the much awaited IOFW will be on 25 July,2014 and millions of fashion freaks might enjoy every bit of the show till 30 July, 2014 when the Grand Show will witness its climax...

I'm all set with total zing n zest, gear up one n all !!

(Pic. Courtesy: iofw.com)

Jabong's Initiative 'IOFW' - The Walkway To Name & Fame

 

 Hello Everyone
                                   Jabong.com might be your most favourite fashion destination for numerous reasons, because when we want to discover the best possible version of ourselves with a polished look and confident attitude, its Jabong.com that serves the purpose of fulfiling all our fashion needs and turns us into a dazzling personalities :)

So, here is a fantastic news for all Jabong followers (and ofcourse for everyone else too)...

Jabong has come up with a very promising opportunuity for prospective generation of Designers, Models, Photogrphers and Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists to exhibit their talent at a larger platform... The event India Online Fashion Week (IOFW) shouts loud to invite the hidden talent with its motto ~ "An Opportunity to become famous! Let the nation see your creativity!" ~  The event aims at making the exclusive designer fashion products available at every doorstep..

Howz Jabong IOFW Unique?  IOFW will be the world's first ever Shop-Able fashion week (unlike most other similar events) ... yeyyy!!  coz it simply means that you, me and everyone else who is yearning to buy designer stuff can now actually materilize our craving :)

Not believeing my words?? Jabong has already launched a dedicated eventful site http://www.iofw.com/ for us to shop for any product from entire collection to be showcased during the Fashion Week... Wow!! Isn't that simply amazing ... Just imagine yourself being a part of the IOFW audience, feeling impressed with the trendy look of the models and at the same moment "shop-the-look" for yourself... I'm already feeling mesmerized :)

What are the artists gonna be gaining from IOFW?  The artists can take their career on the heights with expert grooming tips n advice to refine their skills by renowned Celebrity Mentors...Who all mentors can be there??   No prizes for guessing, as you all might have seen one of the gorgeous ladies from our own Flimistan Yami Gautam in the pic above on the launch of IOFW 2014 :)

Event Process: IOFW had invited applications from artists/models from all over country during the months of May/June and leading industry experts shortlisted the candidates with utmost care based on their potential... Now, Registration for all categories is closed and the shortlisted models n photographers have been going through Voting Phase.  Infact, you can all contribute by casting your precious vote to change the future of an artist by clicking on Vote today itself, coz its the last day of voting.

Event Dates:  IOFW is scheduled from 25th to 31st July, 2014. So get yourself ready to catch up the excitement, like i do :)


Till the curtain raises, enjoy adorable glimpses of IOFW happenings at http://www.iofw.com/gallery/gallery1.html 


Keep following me for latest updates!! 


Pic. Courtesy: jabong.com, iofw.com and twitter.com/iofw_ind

Influence of a Good Teacher

I sincerely feel that teachers are those great souls, who inspite of being TEACHERS, turn to be our second parents in a certain way... They mould our lives in most constructive shape n direct us to the best possible track towards success in life.

Though i owe my success to all of my teachers but there is a person who has been my role model since the day I came into her contact....

Of all the things that my English teacher Ms. Swastika Gautam taught me, I've been most grateful to her for fuelling in me that needed love for education..

because this thirst for knowledge was the only reason that i never tried to soak it all up in me, and she was there to spontaneously ponder her innovative ideas to make me learn the hardest topic in simplest manner at such a tender age.

My golden schooling experience had been so fulfilling, enriching n bursting with enthusiasm only due to her passion for instilling every single virtue in me like patience, humbleness and empathy.

I feel myself ‘oh so lucky’ to have her as a stand-out founder of my personality. She left such a positive imprint on my memories and heart that will never fade n will keep me going forever when I'm proudly following her footprints with similar vivacious spirit being a well-groomed teacher now.

I really owe the best traits in my profession to Swastika Ma'am like being affectionate, thoughtful, providing a non-threatening n welcoming environment to my students. She deserves to be one of the most fabulous woman I came across ever.

I agree that a teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops. A teacher is indeed influential in moulding the destiny of a child. To express their deep devotion and reverence in my life, I wud simply say-

T - Trust they build in our relationship gives meaning to our life....
E - Endearing students' self-esteem that pumps confidence in each of our actions...
A - Amalgamation of Liberal and Rational Approach...
C - Correcting our mistakes and not concealing them ever...
H - Heart of pure gold always beating n praying for betterment of students..
E - Evolving a delicate brain into mastermind of own sphere..
R - Rarest of GEM that can never be bought or sold for any monetary value ...

Lets show our gratitude to our teachers !!

Miraya and Baggout trim Nani's 'Whole Nine Yards' Shorter ;)

Baggout's Blogging contest

P.S. This post is being written for Baggout.com ongoing blogging contest and is purely a fictional work with no intention to hurt anybody's sentiments.

It is such a GRAND thing to be the mother of a mother - 

that is why the world calls her a "GRANDMOTHER" ...

I bet every granny must be feeling privileged reading this cute, yet meaningful expression :)

The same stands true for Sonia Gandhi Ji too. Sonia ji, pretty fond of her grand daughter Miraya, feels proud pulling out leisurely moments from her packed schedule to spend special time of uninterrupted play and talk with her darling princess. The fascinating bond of these two lovely ladies with each other always gives them a feeling of 'undivided attention' and 'pure endearment'.

Like all grandchildren love hearing stories of good old days of what their grand-parents were like when they were little, Miraya has been no exception to that... For her, every summer vacation spent at nani's place has those curious, chirpy, dreamy moments at night when nani opens her virtual storybook and reads her li'l princess soulful fun stories or sings songs. Miraya too loves holding treasure troves of happy memories passing down their family heritage to her generation by Nani close to her heart.

That day, wandering from this room to that.... feeling bored with nothing much to do, Miraya thought of glancing at nani's old photo album kept on the top shelf, which she never had seen. Flipping through just few of those B&W pics only, Miraya was like "OMG, nani looked no less than a charming film star in these lovely outfits !!! "

 Suddenly, her HOTS (high order thinking skills) lightened the bulb of her creative thinking to make her day worth memorable (*wink wink) .... she quietly catwalked to nani's studyroom where her workstation (a latest PC with all facilities to get connected the the world) was set up and got it powered boost. She knew exactly how to execute her plan ... In her browser window, she quickly typed Baggout.com (the name of the online shopping buzzword which she overheard about from her school teacher recently)

Miraya kept smiling-n-talking to herself "I'd not ever imagined myself exploring this whole sea-full of exciting deals n offers on Baggout.com so soon, but i think its high time now to dive in to discover something unparallel.."

woah!!  The shopping extravaganza welcomed her to take a walk through many popular websites like Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong on a central platform that she knew till then from TV commercials only ...

She fanatically logged in and was mesmerized by the divalicious collection of products available, best suited for people of all age groups, physical appearance or even varying budgets... The cool accessories (bags, footwear, eyewear, jewelery, makeup, watches nd what not) to go with every outfit with such vast variety had been showcased so gracefully on the site.... And there she started handpicking those thoughtful gifts for her nani by clicking on WOMEN tab on the top of page...

Nope, it was not that easy as she expected it to be...  the choices were so pleasant to the eyes that she didn't realize spending almost 3 hours or so, when she looked up at the wall clock after zeroing on some classy stuff...


Hey, but that's not the end of all the fun n frolic here...
As she decided to go through the fine details of products before placing an order, a new term "Cashback" caught her attention ... Now what the hell does it mean here ??     Digging in more deeply, Miraya discovered another fantabulous "icing on the cake" kinda feature that Baggout.com has been generous enough to share a part of its earning from online retailers with the shoppers in the form of cashback that gets credited to shopper's A/c.  

Oh My My!!   It felt just heavenly getting every desired products from any shopping portal right here sitting on my comfy couch and also getting rewarded for that ;)  I could see myself as a lifetime customer of Baggout as i grow up ...  Aaha !!

Few days later, Miraya was now ready with her pristine expressions and a considerably strong script in her mind ...   Stepping in the room where Sonia Ji had been busy in some work, Miraya touched her chin gently to have eye contact before she could actually start expressing her wish in a lighter mood ...  
then she continued "Nani, I always admire your
style quotient that speaks volumes on how elegantly you drape yourself in pretty sarees and your personality is beaming with the fervour of being drenched in 'Indianness'.  I have got a surprise for you today .... Come with me & you will surely love it..." 

Stepping in the studyroom with nani holding her hand, Miraya tilted the computer screen towards Nani showing her the exact replica of the tunics/kurtis that she had worn years ago when she had just got married..... Miraya could observe nani's moistened eyes behind her spectackles and her emotions chocking up her throat with unuttered words of nostalgia.... Miraya continued saying "I know how much it matters to keepsake the things of such sentimental values with us, so i have already ordered these dresses for you to wear the warmth of your love around you. I hope you like this token of my respect for you and please accept my wish to wear these dresses ..."

Sonia Ji was touched by the thoughtfulness and selfless love of her li'l princess and didn't want to leave her heart broken. So she nodded 'YES' and hugged Miraya lovingly and could say "My princess, you filled a place in my heart that even I didn't know was empty" <3

And the li'l princess had one more pleasant word to share with Nani, when she giggled and said "Nani, and you know I also got a decent dress for Veera (their cook's daughter) with the Cashback money I saved that you were wanting to gift her on her engagement coming week.."
 
Nani's joy knew no bounds and she could just  silently thank Baggout for discovering a newer n transformed version of her persona !!

Bharwan Achari Karela : Recipe Of The Day

Hi Foodies

Last night I cooked karelas (bitter gourd) on hubby's request. Though raw karelas are quite bitter in taste; but when these are cooked in proper way, they taste delicious and provide health benefits too...Many people cook it differently either by chopping in circular pieces or with some dry spices with potatos, but since my childhood my mom always cooks karela with stuffing in it.

So here is my step-by step recipe with pictures ...

Ingredients

8-10 medium sized bitter gourds (karela)
3-4 medium size onions (finely chopped)
2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp red chilli power (lal mirch)
1 tsp coriander powder (sookha dhania)
salt to taste
4-5 sp leftover spicy mixure from mango pickle
Mustard oil for shallow frying

P.S. (There is no need to add any other spices or herbs like fenugreek seeds (daana methi), fennel seeds(saunf), mustard seeds(sarson) or nigella seeds (kalonji) because these are all readily added in the mango pickle.)

Preparaion Method:

1.     Wash and peel the karelas. Rub some salt with your hands on the karelas and keep them aside for an hour or so. It will minimize the bitterness of karelas to certain extent.
2. After some time, you will notice a li’l watery liquid on karelas which you should squeeze by pressing them in your hands.

3. Now, slit each karela lengthwise with a sharp knife and scoop out the seeds insides carefully creating a hollow. (if you like the crunchy taste of its seeds, then the soft seeds can be left as it is) You can again rub a little salt inside the karela and keep aside for 10 minutes for better taste.

4.  Mix the chopped onions, mango pickle mixture, salt, turmeric power, red chilli powder, coriander powder in a bowl to get the stuffing ready.

 

5. Now, fill in the stuffing liberally in the karelas.

 

6. And I tie the karelas with thread around them so that the stuffing does not roll out while being cooked.

7. Heat the mustard oil in a flat surface pan on medium flame and start frying the stuffed karelas (don’t cook them on high flame, because the thick skin of karelas might not be softened, but will burn itself very soon)

8. If some of the onions do come out while cooking as in the picture below and get burned, take them out with a spoon so that they don’t stick to the karelas.

 9. Keep the karelas turning around till they turn golden brown from all the sides.

10. Serve hot with chapatti/parantha and Moong Daal as a part of traditional North Indian Thali... ;)

Happy Cooking, Healthy Eating !!!

Your feedback/suggestions and inputs on the posts are really valuable to me ...

Shilpa Bindlish