Models will sashay down the ramp at a SoBo

Saturday night, you will see a fashion show with a difference. Models will sashay down the ramp at a SoBo five star hotel, only, these models won’t be leggy lasses but children aged between four and 12 years. What’s more, they aren’t ordinary children but cancer survivors. The Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) is hosting a fundraiser evening in association with Kimaya, Tradition Art Gallery and Art Invest; while Kimaya’s designers will dress the little models, Bina Aziz and Art Invest are curating an art show centered around the event.
“It is our corporate social responsibility and a joy to tie up with CPAA for a cause such as this.Our designers will be dressing up 20 child cancer survivors who will walk the ramp with stars like Mahima Chaudhary, Madhur Bhandarkar, Shekhar Suman, Shaina NC and many more. As an additional treat, the outfits will then be presented to the children. The show is a tribute to these little stars who, after going through the emotional and physical pain of cancer, have come out survivors,” says Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya. Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan will grace the occasion as chief guest.
An art auction will add more colour to the evening. Eight artists have created works on the theme ‘game’, which will be auctioned for funds for the CPAA. “Since the focus of this event is children, I thought the ‘game’ theme would be appropriate,” says curator-cum-artist Bina Aziz of Tradition Art Gallery. Aptly titled ‘Not Just Child’s Play’ the exhibition features works by Arzan Khambatta, Julius Macwan, Sanjeev Sonpimpare, Sunil Padwal, Karl Antao, Pratul Dash, Yusuf Arakkal and Rajendra Kapse. “Literally and metaphorically, both creating an art work and battling cancer are definitely not child’s play,” says Bina, continuing, ‘The paintings will at the same time inspire you to face life’s challenges with greater determination and transport you into a world of fantasy, unfolding the child within. The essence of these paintings and the event itself is to show that with a strong mind and will power, nothing is impossible.”
Arzan’s sculpture ‘Snakes & Ladders’ is a direct representation of human life, replete with its ups (ladders) and downs (snakes); Julius’s ‘The Inside and the Outside’ is based on the image of the tarot card ‘The Star’; Karl’s work ‘Mother’s Unseen Love’ is a dedication to his mother who had cancer; Sunil’s ‘Pawn of the Pawn Structure’ is a metaphor for human beings, that all of us are ultimately pawns in a larger structure while Sanjeev’s ‘Way Through the Mangrove Leftovers’ is a philosophical work about life’s journey. Yusuf’s ‘Card Player’, Dash’s ‘Signifier/Signified’ and Kapse’s ‘Secret Game’ are eye-catching and enlightening too. Fashion meets art meets charity... the perfect blend for a perfect evening!