Saree Dreams

16 years in making, the new community bible, an Indianized version is here!

Church leaders called the book, that was released in Mumbai last month by the Archbishop of Bombay, Oswald Cardinal Gracias, “a work of lasting importance”.

As congregations decline in the West, the Vatican hopes to attract more believers to its fold with an ‘Indianised’ Bible depicting Virgin Mary in a sari and Joseph clad in a loincloth and turban.

“I am sure this Bible, made in India and for Indians, will bring the word of God closer to millions of our people, not only Christians,” Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay, said at a ceremony on the Bible’s release.

Sari-clad Virgin Mary with Joseph and the baby Jesus in the first “Indianised” version of the Bible was published by the Roman Catholic Church last month. The Holy book features 27 sketches of typical Indian scenes and idols, including Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa for easy interpretation for the local readers.

It even quotes Hindu scriptures, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, to help explain Christianity to prospective converts.

“We wanted to show the parallels between the themes in the Bible and in Indian religions,” Father Tony Charanghat, a spokesman for the Archbishop, was quoted as saying by The Times Online today.

“We’ve put the sacred text in a local context,” he stressed.

“The calculation is that this (India) is the last great missionary front on Earth,” John L. Allen Jr, a Vatican expert based in Rome, said.

Its origin

Christianity, which is now the third-largest religion in India, is reputed to have been brought to India by Thomas the Apostle, “Doubting Thomas”, in AD 52.

The first Catholic missionaries came from Portugal in the 16th century. Of the 24 million Christian followers in India, 17 million are Catholics.

Published by the Society of St Paul, the book has already sold 30,000 copies within a week in India.

Some more pictures:

Rev (Dr) Augustine Kanachikuzhy, of the Society of St Paul who was the general editor of the book, said that the decision to include Indian scriptures in the book was taken by the scholars. “They felt that a Bible for India should also make reference to ndian scriptures,” he said. “India has so many religions and anguages. This translation takes into account the aspirations, culture, ethos —the identifying marks of the Indian. It helps the people to relate the sacred text to local context,” said Bishop of Vasai, Fr Thomas Dabre, who was involved in the project. “It was a complex enterprise, but the resulting work is of lasting importance.” The book is different from other Bibles because it has a commentary accompanying the passages from the holy book. “It is a contextualised Bible and that is where the references to Indian scriptures come in,” explained Kanachikuzhy.

Priests feel that the book will appeal to the new generation of hurch-goers who stress less on the ritual part of religion and more n the spiritual aspects. “They are asking more questions, some of hich priests who were trained long ago are not equipped to answer. The book hence serves as a handy guide for both the priests and the worshippers,” said Charanghat.

You can read more about it here.

Here are some more quotations:

You cannot communicate if you do not communicate in the culture of the people
– Fr Tony Charanghat, spokesperson for Cardinal Gracias
It is a contextualised Bible, and that is where the references to Indian scriptures come in
– Rev (Dr) Augustine Kanachikuzhy, of Society of St Paul and general editor of the book
This translation kes into account the aspirations, culture, ethos — the identifying marks of
the Indian. It helps people relate the sacred text to local context
– Bishop of Vasai Fr Thomas Dabre, who was involved in the project

Miss kerala 2008 Models In Traditional Kerala Saree Picture.

I see this trend catching on - each state with a beauty contest with one round of saree, one round of western clothes and one round of ethnic dress (which may include saree) for the finalist.

Rima Kallingal and Ann Joseph were crowned as the first and second runners up of the event.

The grand finale of the beauty pageant brought around 22 Malayali beauties from in and around the country.The 22 contestants were judged in four rounds, comprising a Saree round, a western casual round, a gown round and traditional Kerala attire round.

Now that’s what I like: a special Saree Round for the beauty pageant. All Indian beauty contests should have that.

Tribal women balance earthen pot full of water as they participate in a hundred meters run during the Suori Tribal festival in Boko, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) west of Gauhati, India, Saturday, April 19, 2008.

Actually the parent company, Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd received the investment, but of all the brands that they have Satya Paul is the most famous.

The rumours are that the minority stake that these investors got is about 18-20%; which makes the valuation of Gnesis Colors at 500 Kr Rs, and for conversion challanged folks, that is about $100M.

Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd., the holding company of designer brands Satya Paul, Deepika Gehani, Samsaara, Shobhaa De’ and the lingerie brand Bwitch, has received an investment of Rs. 110 Crores from Sequoia Capital Fund, Mayfield Fund and Silicon Valley Bank in return for minority stake in the company.

The fund will be utilized to expand retail operations of Satya Paul, which is on a rapid expansion spree in India and overseas, with the first Satya Paul international store opening in Singapore in July 2008. The money will also be used for investments in technology – ERP solutions and a CRM program.

Speaking about the development, Sanjay Kapoor, Joint MD, Genesis Colors, said “we are delighted to have Sequoia Capital, Mayfield Fund and SV Bank as investment partners and we plan to use our partners’ relationships and strategic inputs to expand the retail network of Satya Paul and cement the growth of the luxury brands business footprints in India.” Adding on he said,” At present we have 27 stand alone Satya Paul stores, we plan to take the tally to 50 by 2010. We will use this investment for setting up a state of the art digital printing unit to service our requirement. We also plan an IPO in the next 3 years, once we have built critical mass”

Elaborating further, Kapoor disclosed that plans include to promote the newly formed entity ‘Genesis Luxury’ to market and distribute European luxury brands – Canali, Kenzo, Paul Smith, Just Cavalli and Aigner within India. The funds will also be used for marketing and creating an extensive retail and distribution network for the lingerie label Bwitch. According to Jyoti Narula, Joint MD, GCPL, “ Bwitch is India’s very own premium lingerie brand catering to the urban and upwardly mobile Indian woman. We plan to spend about 25 crores in brand building, marketing and distribution of Bwitch.”

According to Naresh Malhotra, Operating Partner of Sequoia Capital, “We are very excited to partner with Genesis Colors - one of the largest branded players in the premium end of the market. We believe that the team at Genesis is well positioned to ride the growth in rising affluence, with products that fit in to the growing desire of consumers to buy and experience superior brands.”

Vikram Godse, Managing Director of Mayfield Advisors, who will be joining the board of directors said, “Having known the company for the past couple of years, and having worked with this team closely in the past, we are excited to be investing in, what we consider, India’s premier fashion brand in women’s apparel. We are looking forward to working with the Satya Paul team and helping them grow their business to achieve their fullest potential”.

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About Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd.

Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd. (GCPL) is the holding company of premier fashion labels - SATYA PAUL, DEEPIKA GEHANI, SHOBHAA DE and BWITCH! – India’s first designer lingerie brand. Along with promoting these designer labels, GCPL has also ventured into multi brand retailing with its luxury retail chain – Samsaara. Established in 2001, GCPL has traversed borders and created new terrains in the ‘Business of Fashion’ under the able leadership of Managing Director Mr. Sanjay Kapoor. GCPL is the first company in the sector to have obtained private equity, hence is not only the trendsetter but also a torchbearer for the Indian fashion industry.

GCPL is modeled on the lines of international fashion conglomerates, a move that has paid rich dividends since the company now not only owns several Indian brands but is also generating interest among international brands for partnerships. GCPL is currently on a brand acquisition spree and is looking at introducing established luxury brands in the booming Indian high-end retail segment. It has effectively used multi brand stores and stand-alone boutiques to reach out to its discerning customer base both in India, as well as abroad. The labels that GCPL has acquired again reiterate the company’s strategy to reach out to audiences across age and demographics.

Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd., has entered into a joint venture with Sports Station India Pvt. Ltd. (SSIPL), a leading player in the retail Industry, currently marketing brands like Nike, Levis, Dockers amongst others, to form ‘Genesis Luxury Pvt. Ltd’, which will market and distribute international luxury labels within the country.

Genesis Luxury has brought international luxury brands such as Aigner and Canali and is bringing into India many more brands such as Kenzo, Paul Smith and Just Cavali in the financial year 2008-09. Genesis Luxury Pvt. Ltd. plans to open 50 to 70 luxury retail stores for its brands across the country in the next 3-4 years.

GCPL ensures that all its brands enjoy the widest reach possible through a synchronized pan India and international distribution network and also undertakes marketing initiatives for its brands. Key members of the GCPL team include, Sanjay Kapoor (Finance & Marketing), Jyoti Narula (Operations & Logistics), Puneet Nanda (Design) and Nalini Gupta (Merchandising & Retail).

This is the best Saree sari picture ever!

This is so magnificent. The temple is amazing and a saree clad woman in the middle gives it a scale and splendor.

She looks like she has been transported from future and placed in 2nd century BCE in front of the temple.

Click on the picture for a full view and full majesty of the picture.

Source Thanks to pichenettes for letting us show it here.

Check out his Flickr profile for other pretty pictures.

I’ll show you individual pieces in detail at some point, but you can see from the above sample, that there were some very nice pieces shown there.

Every time I write about Colombo, it reminds me of a dear friend of mine, ‘Hi G!’, she recently got married and we at SareeDreams wish her very happy Dreaming lifetime of joy!

I know, its 10 minutes, but watch the little girl at 1.08

We should really make Saree parties as common as Hawaiian hoola parties.

Any way, watch this video and see how much fun a saree wearing and dancing with friends can be!

Here is a screen shot of the cutest little girl with a saree. So adorable, so precious.

If I had a little time, I would create a Saree Party kit, with six sarees, six one size fits all lycra blouses, and other related items! Instant fun!