Amjad Ali Khan to gift ‘travel-friendly sarod’ to Justin Bieber

Amjad Ali Khan

Mumbai, May 8 – Legendary sarod player Amjad Ali Khan is giving an autographed travel-friendly sarod to Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who will give his maiden performance in India here on Wednesday.

Asked about the gift, Amjad Ali Khan told IANS: “He’s a role model for the millennial generation and it’s so wonderful to see the love that he has generated. Since it’s his first visit, it’s a welcoming gesture as an Indian artiste.”

“It’s a more travel-friendly sarod… More of a memento. It is a left-handed sarod since I understand he’s a left-handed guitarist.”

Ace Indian designers like Rohit Bal, Varun Bahl, Anamika Khanna, Krishna Mehta, Amit Aggarwal, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and Manav Gangwani have also come together to contribute to the mementoes for the Grammy Award winning singer.

Bahl has curated and embellished traditional Indian instruments of symphony as a gesture of inter-cultural synergy and India’s hospitality. The instruments have been ornated with fine silk, printed with floral artworks and highlighted with metallic gold. Delicate beaded tassels have been used for detailing.

Bahl said in a statement: “The sitar and tabla reflect the core of Indian traditional music, embracing the dynamic culture we hail from. Adorned in Varun Bahl’s signature floral motifs and intricate embroideries, the instruments symbolise the inter-culture amalgamation of our cosmos.”

Bal has created a biker jacket in cotton velvet for Bieber, who will be here for Jio Justin Bieber Purpose World Tour, organised by White Fox India startup. The entire outfit has been handcrafted and hand embroidered with sequins and crystals from Swarovski.

Bal said: “The jacket is an amalgamation of Justin’s personal style, Indian music and my vision of a cross-cultural fashion statement. I have tried to inculcate elements from the rich music lineage of our country in the form of beautiful classical string instruments like the sitar, sarangi and veena.

“These are finely embroidered and handcrafted with over 10,000 crystals from Swarovski on luxurious velvet. Blending in with the instruments are my signature Indian lotus motifs.”

While designers have contributed something for Bieber, Khanna has created a wardrobe for his mother Patricia Mallette who will accompany him.

The piece created is a floor-length jacket in embroidery inspired by tribal India. The base material used is silk chanderi and the embellishment is thread work.

Khanna said: “The idea was to give her a flavour of our craft, yet not overwhelm her with the silhouette.”

Sahni will be gifting a bespoke wreath shaped necklace embellished in ornate rubies and marquise diamonds encrusted in platinum and gold to Bieber’s mother.

Aggarwal has created a jacket with Khadi with metallic hints with malleable recycled polymer sheet used on the sleeves fusing traditional weaves with industrial waste.

He said: “This is a marriage between vintage and modern, the charm of the old and the new world.”

Mehta has created an Indo-western formal shirt with modern, geometric lines with metallic threads.

She said: “We have taken a step back from our typically bright colour palette in this particular piece. We wanted to achieve a fierce look, much like the super star himself, and his work — a homage to the singer’s character and stage persona.”

“However, his incredibly effervescent personality demands a pop of eccentricity; we, therefore, created a versatile Indo-western look that is just the right amount of edgy, and just the right amount of ethnic.”

Gangwani has created special sneakers and caps for the 23-year-old pop star.

He said: “Most foreign artistes love peacock feathers and snake symbols in their outfits when they come to India and hence, I created this on the accessories.”

Young designer Prasenjit Das has created a hand painted denim jacket with graffiti designs, Dhruv Kapoor has come up with an oversized hoodie and Ragini Ahuja has created a bomber jacket.