Those were the days8230;.

For many years now, one of the country8217;s most celebrated designers has been giving the city, one he schooled in and went to college to, a silent skip.

The Old Yadavindrians Association brings back its founder students to the city and leading the pack is its star alumnus J J Vallaya

For many years now, one of the country8217;s most celebrated designers has been giving the city, one he schooled in and went to college to, a silent skip. 8220;I was here four months back after a gap of four years, but that too was a quick stopover,8221; JJ Vallaya admitted, a tad embarrassed. But he8217;s here now! 8220;There was no way in the world that I was going to miss this,8221; the designer smiled to say, happily surrounded by friends dating back to 25 years! 8220;In fact, when it comes YPS Mohali, you won8217;t find a student senior to us,8221; laughed Vallaya, who incidentally is part of the founding batch of students of the Yadavindra Public School, Mohali and comes to the city to attend the annual get-together of the Old Yadavindrians Association OYA.

8220;We are the Class of 8216;83,8221; chorused the men, fast chatting up and surrounding their star alumnus. 8220;I remember us going berserk with art work, painting huge canvasses in the school. Our arts teacher Mrs Virk was the best there could be,8221; Vallaya seemed to remember each day spent on campus. 8220;And why not? Our class teacher 8211; Mrs Kaajal Sengupta was marvellous too,8221; Vallaya surely was enjoying this quick trip down memory lane. But we were quick to pull him back to the present, quizzing him on his absence from Chandigarh8217;s fashion scene. 8220;Because I don8217;t see fashion sense very evolved here. And frankly, I think the city isn8217;t ready yet to splurge on clothes at least,8221; his statement made us frown but Vallaya seemed clear. 8220;When it comes to premium brands, Chandigarh will have to wait,8221; J J made his point but not before dropping hints of his more 8220;affordable8221; label 8216;Vallaya Quantum8217; stepping in some time in the future.

Before all of that, there8217;s this to cheer about. Having recently dressed Posh Spice aka Victoria Beckham for the Vogue cover, Vallaya is now set to officially drape Bollywood. 8220;Dressing up Victoria was a pleasure. You know our celebrities could learn a lot from Hollywood. They are pretty grounded over there,8221; laughed Vallaya, who has signed on JP Dutta8217;s costume drama 8216;Akhri Mughal8217;. While he8217;s tight-lipped about the same, he is happy to talk about his 8216;Vallaya Magic Foundation8217;. 8220;It8217;s all for the girl child. We set up schools in villages and then send our people to convince families to send their girls to study there,8221; explains JJ who is looking to spread the Foundation8217;s wings. Punjab would be a good start, we tell him. 8220;Yes, we are killing our daughters and what can be worse than that,8221; rued the designer who is also looking to rope in filmmakers to work with him to make short films on female foeticide and present it in theatres. And you thought his work was just fluff!