film city – The Metrognome

Learn all there is to learn about accessories and their place in fashion from renowned accessories designer Sonali Dalwani, tomorrow.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Students of fashion in Mumbai, pay attention.

Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion is hosting its 2nd edition of ‘Fashion Dialogues Series’ with Sonali Dalwani, the owner of Crimzon Accessories, tomorrow at Film City. The ‘Fashion Dialogues Series’ is a platform for those who are looking to get their creative ideas into action. Accessories play an important part in completing the look of an outfit and through this workshop, Sonali will give tips to budding designers on how to make attractive accessories.

Sonali curates the customary Indian craftsmanship market at Crimzon Accessories. Her collected works include bags, belts and shoes designed from excellent silks, faux leather and with natural fibers. She works with worldwide trademarks and design accommodations of USA and Europe, like Ponz, Quintana, Valentino, Channel, Charles Jordan, Karl Lagerfeld, Mary McFadden, and Ungaro.

This session of ‘Fashion Dialogues’ will be an interactive session where Sonali will share her views and give tips to the fashion aspirants on accessory designing as a career. “An accessory could be anything to everything that people wear in addition to the garment. The focus of the masterclass will be on talk points like how to start your own accessory brand, importance of styling and accessorising and understanding the expressive power of accessorising,” says Sonali, adding that she would also focus on different materials of bags, shoes and belts, which add a different dimension to one’s look.

Whether you’re a fashion design student or a fashion enthusiast, this will be the perfect opportunity for you to develop your skills.

Head to Whistling Woods International, Film City Complex, Goregaon (E), February 21, 2015 from 11 am to 2 pm, Entry is open to all.

This might be one of the coolest office spaces in Mumbai – CEC in Goregaon is located in the wilderness!

by Adithi Muralidhar

Part 4 of the ‘Green Hangouts’ diaries

The education wing of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is located in the wilderness that lies between Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Film city, Goregaon. The Conservation Education Center (CEC) is situated in a 33-acre spread of forest which also includes some nature trails. If you live in the western suburbs, particularly close to Goregaon, CEC could become your regular weekend retreat.

What’s so special? When one makes their way into Film City, you will come across the sets of various saas-bahu serials, and you might think, where the hell is this CEC? Thanks to the film crew, a fair amount of rubbish can be seen strewn on the roads. But once you go past the last cluster of film sets that appear after the signboard that says ‘BNHS 450 m’, you see some beautiful forests and hear some amazing bird calls. And right there, in the midst of the forest lies this somewhat old building hidden well in the thickets of the canopy. A gate that says BNHS-CEC, Beware of Leopards, welcomes you.

Staffed with just a handful of people, CEC might be one of the coolest offices (in terms of the location) in Mumbai. During one of my recent visits to CEC, a friend of mine who works there showed me a carcass of dog on a tree that was right outside the CEC office building. The neighbourhood friendly leopard had made her way this side of the forest with a happy meal (of the dog) but then left it halfway for reasons unknown. And yes, leopards are common to this area, with sightings restricted usually to dawn, dusk and night times. They tend to steer clear of human beings and are not sighted very often.

Lots to see and hear. But the summer season apparently yields wonderful sightings of spotted deer, barking deer and wild boars who visit the water bodies near CEC to quench their thirst. And it is during this season that the ever-elusive thirsty leopards let down their guard and come to the water hole.

It is a wonderful place to learn about butterflies and birds. Apart from this, the forests that surround CEC are a treasure trove of insects! During the monsoons, there is a crisscross of streams that run through the forests which is an absolute delight!

Since the Centre’s main aim is to spread awareness among the masses, they have a wide range of programmes that cater to children, youngsters and families. If you also are very particular about going green in your respective offices, CEC has customised programmes and workshops for corporates, too. On some occasions, CEC also organize night camps at their base, and the opportunities to witness “nightlife” in the jungle, whilst in the city is a rare thing! I would definitely recommend that everybody visits this beautiful forest.

CEC celebrated its 20^th birthday this year and hopes are set on it becoming a permanent attraction at Film City. Over the years, CEC has made sure that the area surrounding it has remained green and vibrant with wildlife. It is our duty as Mumbaikars to help CEC maintain this thriving habitat.

Getting there: The nearest railway station to CEC is Goregaon (Western line) and the nearest bus stop is Film City. The CEC office is open from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday through Friday. But depending on the season, there are sometimes weekend programmes at CEC. You can keep yourself updated by checking here: http://www.bnhs.org/education-mainmenu/upcoming-programs-cec.html

Adithi Muralidhar currently works in the field of science education research, in Mumbai. She is associated with Hypnale Research Station where she assists with various environment, wildlife conservation, education and community-related projects. She is a strong advocate of nature education.

Green hangouts is a series of stories celebrating Mumbai’s place in the green scheme of things, to coincide with Wildlife Week, which is celebrated from October 1 to 7 every year.

(Pictures by Adithi Muralidhar. The author would like to thank Amandeep Kaur, education officer at CEC, for her inputs in writing this piece.)