2011. That was the first time I saw Jacqueline Fernandez. It was at Malhar and she happened to be judging the street dance finals at the St. Xavier’s College fest. I overheard how all the boys from the security department wanted to be her ‘bodyguards’ even though it was only a college festival and she really didn’t need that much security. I am meeting her once again, exactly four years later. I can say this with the precision of a surgeon’s knife, because I have googled a snippet from the archives of a leading daily that had featured Jacqueline at Malhar, four years ago, on this very day.
Her call time is 3 p.m. and the location for this massively orchestrated shoot is at the Essajees warehouse on Reay Road. It is almost as if I have stepped onto the sets of Edward Scissorhands — into that scene when Dianne Wiest creeps into the haunted castle and is welcomed by huge chandeliers and strange artefacts. This is even more hauntingly beautiful. While vintage bathtubs, statues of stallions and Ganeshas stand unperturbed, the team preps the set, gleaming Louis Vuitton cases are carefully babysat, a circuit trips, and the photographer complains that he may have caught the flu.
I can sense a build-up of tension. But Jacqueline arrives well before the call time. I wait for the hustle, yet everyone moves like well-coordinated robots in a factory. So, I move along with these machines looking for her. And there she is — in a perky orange polo T-shirt, grey tracks and flatforms.
“I want this chandelier!” shrieks Jacqueline as she strolls through the warehouse in an embellished jacket layered over a pristine white gown. She is enamoured by the entire depository, the birdcages in particular, and takes breaks to explore in between shots. Is her penchant for the birdcages symbolic of her being the master of her own choices, and yearning to soar?
Bu hikaye Verve dergisinin September 2015 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Verve dergisinin September 2015 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.
