Bong Connection

Her mother was a Bengali and Nayak herself was brought up in Kolkata,so she grew up with a strong influence of Bengali culture. The only thing that beats a Bengali’s love for food,she says,is the love for literature. She expresses this thought through prints on saris and other drape-inspired outfits in her collection,titled “Letter Flow”.

“I have found a new way to express the language of the place I was born and brought up in. My prints are inspired by Bengali typography and have the Bengali alphabet,” says Nayak.

The collection includes gowns,saris and knee-length dresses featuring Bengali alphabet detailing,which is translated on the garment through various mediums such as applique,digital print,handmade block print and the traditional craft of Bengal — kantha. While dabbling with the script,she had to incorporate some literature too. One of her saris features a famous quote from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Kapalkundala,which translates to: “Wayfarer… Have you lost your way?” Nayak uses the line to express her idea of culture in today’s time of globalisation. “We used it as a metaphor to ask this question to each one of us — whether we have lost our way to our roots,as we are becoming more westernised and have started to abhor our own language and culture. Through this collection,we tried to pay a tribute to the Bengali language and it is an attempt to infuse interest in the language in times of its declining popularity,” says Nayak.

She uses the traditional khadi fabric and a few other handwoven fabrics along with georgette,

crepe and satin. The colour story behind the collection ranges

from monochromes of black and white with a predominance of blue,along with a range of smoothing pastel shades highlighted by pink,green and yellow.

Along with promoting the language itself,Nayak also pays tribute to actors who have greatly contributed to Bengali cinema. “While designing the outfits,I had Vidya Balan in mind because she has acted in Bhalo Theko and other Bengali films. She also beautifully essayed the roles of Bengali characters in films such as Parineeta and Kahaani. I admire the way she gracefully carries Sabyasachi as a brand,” says Nayak,adding that in a similar manner,she hopes to aspire actors such as Bipasha Basu and Sushmita Sen to associate with her collection and promote Bengali culture.