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Journalism of Courage
DO you know Shobhaa De wrote an article about Shahzad but spelt his name as Shahid? Now everyone in Patna thinks I8217;m the famous designer.8217;8217; The lean, sprightly Shahid Kalim can8217;t stop talking about his brother Shahzad, as we wait for the Lakme India Fashion Week debutante to land at Patna airport. I8217;m in the receiving party along with Shahzad8217;s childhood friend, Nasimuddin.
Twenty-four-year-old Kalim, the winner of the Lakme Fashion House reality show in Mumbai, also won accolades for his work at the recently concluded LIFW.
Bihar8217;s unlikely hero is coming home for a short visit before flying off to Milan for a stint with Versace.
The designer is the last of the passenger lot, lugging an inordinately large number of suitcases. There are hugs, proud pats and demands for treats8212;then the rented Indica carries us through deserted streets to his home.
Shahid and Nasimuddin follow behind in a beat-up Maruti 800 that is loaded with Kalim8217;s stylish luggage. 8216;8216;I had to pay for more than 40 kilos, but what could I do? I had to get all my clothes along,8217;8217; says Kalim. The clothes he8217;s talking about make up his personal wardrobe.
A bunch of his friends are waiting outside the lane that leads to his building and they want all the dope, including 8216;8216;Kareena Kapoor kaisi thi?8217;8217;
Home is a second-floor flat in an unremarkable, muddy-eggshell building called Indralok in Ashok Rajpath, one of the city8217;s most congested areas. Kalim8217;s flat has all the trappings of the upwardly mobile: A fancy music system, bright red-and-black velvet sofas with lace covers and a few token landscapes hanging on the walls.
Yasmin, Kalim8217;s mother, is waiting with a plate of rasgullas and pantuas, while sisters Ruhi, 20, and Ghazala, 22, embrace him. 8216;8216;Chhote bhaijaan, you have to meet our friends, they are very excited that you were on TV.8217;8217;
8216;8216;I8217;ll make fish tomorrow. Shahzad loves eating fried fish, he polishes them off even before it reaches the table,8221; says Yasmin.
Once his sisters have finished pestering Kalim for details about the celebs at LIFW, Kalim wishes his father Kalimuddin Ahmad, an ultrasound technician in Jamui, a one-horse town two hours away, was home.
8216;8216;My father is very busy and visiting in the middle of the week is practically impossible for him,8217;8217; says Kalim. 8216;8216;We will call him up tomorrow,8217;8217; says Yasmin, as the family decide to call it a day.
The next morning, I8217;m greeted by an excited Kalim who8217;s just back from the cyber cafe. 8216;8216;Guess what? I got a mail from Wendell Rodricks; he sent me a questionnaire on behalf of a newspaper in Goa. There were some other queries for interviews too.8217;8217;
The family gather around the dining table and his sisters remind him of the lehenga he8217;s supposed to design for them. 8216;8216;Chalo, at least your Abba is a relieved man today, Shally. He used to be so worried because you wanted to become a darzi,8217;8217; says Yasmin.
8216;8216;Bhaijaan wore a skirt for the Lakme show and Papa was so alarmed, he kept asking 8216;when will he change into normal clothes?8217;,8217;8217; says Ruhi, who8217;d accompanied her father on the sets of the final episode of Lakme8217;s reality show.
Kalim grew up in a little town called Lakhisarai, 125 km from Patna, and moved to the capital after he finished his schooling.
8216;8216;He was an introvert and hardly had any friends,8221; says Yasmin. 8220;All he would do is come home, sit in a corner and sketch Phantom and Tarzan from comic books. Kabhi kabhi to samajh main nahin aata tha kya kar raha hai.8217;8217;
When Ahmad, who wanted at least one of his four children to pursue medicine, heard about Kalim8217;s plans to study at the NIFT in Hyderabad, he was aghast.
8216;8216;My husband told Shahzad that he would not offer a bribe or give capitation for his admission. 8216;Prove you are fit to be a part of this profession and I shall support you all the way8217;, he told him,8217;8217; says Yasmin.
Kalim joined a hole-in-the-wall fashion institute in Patna to grab the basics of fashion before appearing for the NIFT exam. 8216;8216;Can you imagine anyone learning at a fashion institute in Patna? But I was desperate to get into NIFT,8217;8217; says Kalim, whose friends are dropping by.
8216;8216;I always knew Shally was destined for big things,8217;8217; Abhishek Sinha tells me. Sinha, who8217;s wearing a grey shirt designed by Kalim, studied with him at Raja Ram Mohan College. 8216;8216;Even though Shahzad came from Lakhisarai, he was far more stylish than any of us. I remember the first time we met, his bell-bottoms were really huge, and he had hair till his shoulders.8217;8217;
Kalim says he8217;s a small town boy with simple interests. 8216;8216;My first exposure to a party was at my fresher8217;s do at NIFT, where I was so excited that I danced non-stop for seven hours,8217;8217; says Kalim, heading out with his friends to their favourite Patna haunts8212;Gai ghat by the Ganga, Play Zone, a video game parlour, and their favourite restaurant Kaveri at the mallish Maurya Lok.
It8217;s evening when Kalim comes back and his proud father envelopes him in a bear hug.
8216;8216;The power situation is becoming very alarming,8217;8217; says Ahmad. 8216;8216;There would invariably be a power cut whenever his show Lakme Fashion House came on television, and I would hurry over to a neighbour8217;s place to watch it.8217;8217;
Yasmin gets busy serving us Rooh Afza, biscuits and chivra. 8216;8216;Shally has made me proud, I have no more worries as far as he8217;s concerned,8217;8217; says Ahmad.
8220;My only advice would be that he shouldn8217;t let all this attention go to his head.8217;8217;
