AFTER a long wait, Gandhinagar will finally shed its dubious distinction of being the only capital in the country without a direct rail link with the national capital. Shortly, the dream of a Gandhinagar-Delhi line will come true with the laying of a broad gauge line on the Kalol-Adraj stretch.

The major hitch in getting the direct link between Gandhinagar and Delhi was that there was no link whatsoever between Gandhinagar and Kalol, a mere 20 km distance but now with the broad gauge line, situations would change.

Presently, the track is being tested by running goods train on it and the trial run has proved successful, according to Ahmedabad divisional railway manager Rajiv Mishra.

Mishra said that around second week of May, Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) was expected to visit the division for inspecting the track to ascertain its suitability for running passenger trains.

Once this is done, other procedures before declaring the section passenger train worthy, will take around two to three weeks and accordingly, the inauguration for passenger train service should be done some time in June.

Once the CRS report and final clearance were through, the decision about trains to be run on this line, will be taken at the Ministry level, Mishra said. He added that this direct link will prove to be a boon to people of Gandhinagar who won’t have to come back to Ahmedabad for going to Delhi and onward.

The entire project has taken three years for completion and Rs 49 crore has been spent on it, said railway officials concerned with implementation of the project. Some land disputes caused inordinate delay in laying the track but settlement with Kalol Municipality and local people saw to it that the litigations did not outlast the ambitious project, according to officials in railway.

The Gandhinagar station has to be named as Gandhinagar Capital, GNC in reservation parlance, and not just Gandhinagar because a station of the same name already exists near Jaipur.

The station building has been built with Gujarat’s distinct identity, that is, kites. Murals of kites of different shapes and colour adore the station building which has been equipped with all modern facilities, Mishra said. An open concourse and other amenities are hallmark of the station building, he said.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

AFTER three “runway” hits at the Lakme India Fashion Week, Rahul Mishra and Samir Firdos — the designer duo from National Institute of Design — are all set for a rampage in Sydney this week.

On May 3, they will weave Bhuj Bandhini magic at the Australian Fashion Week under their label “Rahul & Firdos”.

The duo were selected to showcase their designs by fashion major IMG during the recently concluded Lakme India Fashion Week. This will be the first time National Institute of Design will represented at an international fashion show.

At the Australian Fashion Week that begins today in Sydney, these two fashion designing students will try to unravel the aesthetics of Bandhini, the traditional fabric of Bhuj, Kutch, by adding international value to them.

The fabric these two students have designed tries to impart contemporary meaning to the Gujarati textile heritage and put it on the international map.

Mishra and Firdos say that the main focus of their collection remains the promotion of Indian handlooms in international markets.

“What we have created is contemporary form of expression to a traditional textile and attempted to preserve its value by adding new designs to it. We took up the challenge of giving new meaning to traditional Bandhini textiles without diluting their essence. If such designs find acceptance in the international market, our efforts might give employment to the craftspersons and weavers of the country,” he said.

“We have designed fabric and garments keeping the international clients in mind. Bandhini garments have been crafted in a manner that elasticity is maintained. This helps the clothes fit people with different sizes. We have also used high finishing quality and lasting colour dyes to add value to tradition. For the spring/summer collection, we have used dresses that are comfortable and fit well,” said Samar.

Samar is currently in Sydney to prepare for the upcoming fashion show.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com