Patel Not To Be Envied

Roopal in Red (Style.Com)

“I wore the cute white dress and jacket that we picked out on Thursday, and it was soooo cold! Why would I rather look good than be warm? I got to the show and sat next to Meredith Melling Burke from Vogue and Bergdorf’s Roopal Patel, who both have back-to-back shows because of their jobs. I don’t envy them. I mean I love fashion, but it’s really exhausting to run around like that!!!”

So blogs socialite Fabiola Beracasa–daughter of fashion royalty Veronica Hearst–about being behind the scenes in New York this week, where collections by Vera Wang, Behnaz Sarafpour, and Donna Karan will be showcased (among others).

Be sure to check out Beracasa’s forthcoming entries by visiting New York magazine online–because um, it’s going to be, like, soooooo totally cool!!

PS: You know Roopal Patel as Bergdorf Goodman’s fashion director. Read about her in this Ego Magazine piece.

More about Roopal:
Patel gets promoted
Roopal’s “diary”
Gawker takes a jab, naturally

Bharat-Bling

Kaneesha.Com

India is now the number one exporter and producer of jewelry–having recently grabbed the top spot from Italy.

“The markets of the future are India and China,” Sabyasachi Ray, exhibit director for India’s Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion Council told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.

China, along with Turkey and other Asian nations, have been giving traditional global leaders like Italy a run for their money.

Their main advantage? Cheaper labor.

Last year’s numbers put Indian jewelry exports at an astounding $16.7 billion (up from $15.7 billion in 2004/2005).

Although India is said to strictly abide by the Kimberley Process (Remember? From Blood Diamond?) serious allegations suggest some less-than-kosher dealings in Angola.

India exported about $9 billion worth of diamonds in 2003.

More:
Conflict diamonds
Blood Diamond, the movie
Jewelry designer Bijoux talks to Nirali
And Rosena Sammi tells us about her designs

Can Your Body Butter Do This?

If you thought konnakol was reserved for college a cappella groups and spirited Kathak dance numbers, think again:

It’s like I always say: nothing beats traditional South Asian vocal percussion art when trying to express the immense joys of applying hand lotion.

More:
Vaseline Intensive Rescue

Women Weigh In On Diwali Barbie

Did Mattel get the Diwali Barbie right? Earlier this month, PRI’s The World interviewed Sepia Mutiny’s Anna John, fellow sagehen (chirp!) and blogger Nina Jacinto, novelist/poet Chitra Divakaruni and Professor Inderpal Grewal about one of Mattel’s newest additions to its Barbie line.

You can still listen to the report online at The World’s web site.

I agree with John’s assessment of the doll’s outfit—it looks like a lehnga outfit more than a sari. I also thought Divakaruni summarized the significance of the doll well as “a small step in the right direction” but “not a giant leap for mankind or dollkind or womankind.”

What do you think?

Inverting Tradition

Arpita Singh’s “Women”

She has been described as pushing the “visual lexicon of the middle-aged woman further than almost any other woman artist” and this month, her work is on display at London’s Grosvernor Gallery. 

Indian painter Arpita Singh’s works have been shown in galleries from Istanbul to Havana—Amsterdam to Tokyo. The New York Times has called her “remarkable” saying her approach is “at once unassuming and hard-worked, gauche and poised.”

Despite having pieces that sell for extraordinary sums of money, Singh remains humble and grounded. “Just as there will always be a set of people buying expensive jewellery, there will always be a group of people buying art,” she says.

Singh’s paintings offer thoughtful commentary on the space women occupy in today’s world. Her pieces are acutely political (”You are a part of society, so whether you like it or not, you are involved with the problems of the time. And willingly or unwillingly, you are involved in politics,” she has said.).

Arpita Singh, 70, received her training in India. She continues to live in Delhi, where she is said to paint every day in the second-floor studio of her home in Chitranjan Park

For more on the London exhibit, titled Indian Art Part II Inventing /Inverting Tradition, visit the Grosvenor Gallery online. Singh’s work will be on display tomorrow through January 14th.

Shalini on Today

iVillage’s new Beauty Expert Shalini Vadhera

Here at Nirali we love celebrating our contributors, so it was pretty thrilling to see our very own Shalini Vadhera (who has been penning our Ask Shalini column almost since the very beginning) on the Today show yesterday.

As the brand new iVillage Beauty Expert and spokesperson for their Makeover Central site, Shalini will also be hosting “About Face,” a broadband-only program on the iVillage site that will feature makeovers and beauty tips.

Read more about Shalini’s new makeup line here.
Congratulations, Shalini!

Padma Lakshmi Talks About Her Curling Iron

Uh, in case you ever wanted to know how Padma uses a curling iron… here you go. (I don’t know why I found this so amusing but I did.) From New York Magazine’s Fashion Week Look Book.