Azhar-Sangeeta on another wicket!

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

The Fabled Peacock, the maiden fashion show organised by Azhar Sangeeta Management Services, an event management and entertainment firm promoted by former Indian cricket skipper Mohammad Azharuddin and his actress wife Sangeeta Bijlani, turned out to be a memorable event for Hyderabadis.

Hosted on the spacious lawns of the newly renovated Taj Krishna Hotel on Sunday night, the fashion show -- meant to raise funds for assisting Gujarat earthquake victims -- drew an impressive gathering from a cross-section of the city's elite and middle-class. The guests of honour were Hema Malini and Telugu cine stars Venkatesh, Mohan Babu and Nagarjuna.

However, it was a long wait before the glitzy show got off-- one and a half hours behind schedule-- to a melodious start with soulful rendering of two ghazals by Hyderabad-born ghazal celebrity, Talat Aziz. The sprawling lawns (opposite Darbar Hall) where the programme was held reverberated with "Wah, wah" from the audience when Talat Aziz rendered his sedate ghazal Koi nahin phir bhi awaaz aa rahi hai, shahed meri mohabbat mujhko bulaa rahee Hai.

The next number was Chehre suno banaras, zulfen awad ki shaam, kitni haseen hai tu, tujhko mera salaam. While Talat Aziz sang, girls clad in Hyderabadi costumes danced. Hyderabad-born Miss Asia-Pacific Diya Mirza stood for a while in a stunning ghagra-choli.

She was the inspiration for Hyderabadi sherwani-clad Talat Aziz to render his ghazals. Hyderabad-based costume designer Vinita Pittie designed the costumes for Diya Mirza, Pooja Batra, Talat Aziz and the local dancers.

The next sequence was a short play based on Golconda's Queen Bhagmati. Diya Mirza played the beautiful Bhagmati, the legendary queen who inspired Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah, the fifth Sultan of Qutub Shahi dynasty, to found the city of Hyderabad in 1591.

The short play was followed by models taking the ramp in costumes designed by Wendell Rodricks, Gitanjali Kashyap, Krishna Mehta and Manish Malhotra. Tarun Raghavan, Dino Morea, Madhu Sapre, Tapur Chatterjee, Sheetal Mallar, Aditi Gowitrikar, Binal Trivedi, Waluscha, Svetlana Casper, Sampada Inamdar, Kiran Rao, Anchal and Uma were some of the models who walked the ramp.

While the male models donned sherwanis, the female models displayed ghagra cholis, salwar-kameezes and saris and blouses designed by Krishna Mehta.

While Wendell Rodricks displayed clothes in white and silver, Geetanjali Kashyap presented Indian costumes in different colours. Manish Malhotra put on display costumes of all shades and stripes. The designs and costumes ranged from Indian to Western. Music for the show was arranged by Harsh Walke.

The show was managed by Mohammad Azharuddin and Sangeeta Bijlani. Mementos were presented to Diya Mirza, the four fashion designers and others. Azharuddin handed over a cheque to Ms Mrinalini Sarabhai for the rehabilitation of artisans and craftsmen who lost their belongings in the Gujarat quake.

Mrinalini Sarabhai remarked, "Gujaratis are strong-willed. They will rebuild all that they have lost. But let us not forget their sorrow and share it equally with them," she added.