(From top) Miles in performance at Octane; decor pieces on display at Ambience; designer Sharbari Datta checks out the collection at Kantha Creations, a recent exhibition by Neelanjana Ghose at Genesis Art Gallery. Pictures by Rashbehari Das, Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya and Aranya Sen

What: Opening of Octane, a new discotheque.

Where: The Gariahaat Mall.

The bash: The disc was launched with a rocking party well attended by Tollywood celebs and city band members. The highlight was a performance by Miles, the band from Bangladesh.

“Being in Calcutta is just like being in Dhaka. We get as much appreciation here as we do back home,” said a member of Miles.

Spotted: Band members of Cactus and Chandrabindoo, actors Jisshu Sengupta and Parambrata Chatterjee.

Voiceover: “The place will be a cocktail of many things. We will open at 12.30 in the afternoon. There will be ladies’ afternoons, salsa classes, cookery workshops, etc. But after 8 pm, it will be a hardcore discotheque. Our DJ will churn out tracks keeping in mind the mood of the people,” said Rajdeep Ghoshal, co-owner of Octane.

I-Day fashion

What: Independence Day exhibition.

Where: International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD), Lindsay Street campus.

When: August 14.

Take a look: Freedom of speech, religion and dressing were the key words at the Lindsay Street fashion institute a day before I-Day. Students chorused patriotic tracks like Vande Mataram and Karma to kick off the exhibition. This was followed by a discussion on what exactly the celebration of Independence Day means to the youth of our country.

On display in the audio-visual room was a medley of designs by textile and interior design students, made mostly from natural fibres and waste materials. These included handmade paper bags, a clock made of bamboo, pottery in the shape of beautifully painted vases, Lamasa boxes, mirrored showpieces, tie-and-dye dupattas and crocheted mats. The transition from pre to post Independence was seen in the shift from jute to glass.

The next room set up by the fashion department exhibited the makeover of political leaders to showcase creativity. So visitors saw paintings of Mahatma Gandhi dressed in a sherwani walking the ramp for Sabyasachi Mukherjee at the Lakme fashion week, Manmohan Singh in a Tom Ford outfit and Subhash Chandra Bose sporting a Chinese beard and curly locks!

Voiceover: “We wanted to showcase the meaning of Independence Day from a designer’s point of view; through the use of khadi, paintings and natural fibres,” explained Ruth Patchiah, regional head of the institute.

Decor display

What: Ambience, launch of a collection of ambience enhancers.

Where: 1/1A Vansittart Row, third floor, opposite Telephone Bhavan in Dalhousie.

Take a look: On display is an assortment of ambience enhancers collated from different countries of Africa and South Asia by husband-wife duo Anupam and Mridu Chamaria.

The range is vast — paintings, sculptured wall hangs, vases, clocks, rattan furniture, pedestals, telephone stands, magazine holders, candle stands, Feng Shui frogs and turtles embellished with enamel and crystals. There are some pieces from the Victorian times like the Coat of Arms, pistols from the Napolean era, the Seafarers Clocks, etc.

Pocket pinch: Prices range between Rs 800 and Rs 5,000.

Voiceover: “We hope that our attempt will bring different cultures of the world closer to Calcutta. Interior decoration is a growing trend in the city and more and more people are looking for new ideas to make their homes look chic,” says Mridu Chamaria.