A pageant where beauty met brains

New Delhi: It was a unique blend of beauty and brains as models sashayed the ramp and the audience were quizzed about the traditional dresses and handicraft they were donning. Unlike other quiz shows, "Apne Desh Ko Jano" (know your country), an initiative by the Ministry of Textiles, saw dedicated live rounds (fashion shows) with models wearing attractive handicrafts artifacts and products sourced from various parts of the country and veteran quiz master Barry O` Brien asking questions related to them. The event, hosted at IIT-Delhi last evening, was aimed at creating awareness among people about handicrafts in India and popularise them. The models walked the ramp in handicraft dresses along with the accessories designed by Yana Ngoba from Arunachal Pradesh. There was a special round when they donned dresses from the northeastern states. According to Ngoba, the concept is not aimed at drawing a border between technology and craftsmanship but rather trying to blend the two. "We believe the very purpose of creating awareness of handicrafts through fashion shows only is defeated as the people are not aware of the products they carry and no meaningful information is given. Apart from being visual feast, it does not serve the purpose for which it is done. So, why not we `re-create the re-created?`," she says.