MAM
Aditya Birla’s initiative Liva Protégé enables aspiring students to make a mark in the fashion industry
India’s premiere fashion competition is back with its third season in association with Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), this time with more fluid fashion and fluid imagination. The nationwide talent hunt gave a chance to 3000+ young designers from 100+ institutes across the country to showcase their talent with guidance from India’s best design mentors.
After three successful seasons, Liva Protégé is larger than ever this year as they have associated with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) to promote young designers at India Fashion Week, 2019.The winners of Liva Protégé will receive an award of INR 2 Lac, INR 1 Lac and INR 50K, respectively.
The Liva Protégé platform was conceived with an objective of giving young designers a platform and exposes them to the global platforms like India Fashion Week so that they are future ready.
India’s top fashion institutes like NIFT, Pearl Academy, NID etc participated in the event. Top 12 candidates were shortlisted from 6 zones based on their concept and interpretation, research, design skills, commercial awareness, garment construction and finish as well as the Liva Fluid Magic. The candidates were then nurtured and mentored by known fashion designers Aarti Vijay Gupta (Mumbai), Ujjwal Shah Noya (Ahmedabad), Samant Chauhan (Delhi), Rimi Nayak (Kolkata), Althea Krishna (Hyderabad) and Raj Shroff (Bangalore).
“Innovative designs that have the potential to turn headspropel the designers to fashion stardom and take them ahead of their peers are the winning parameters for me” says jury member Shalini Passi.
The young designers created a collection of evening gowns with Liva Fabric which was showcased at FDCI’s India Fashion Week and judged by the eminent jury which included Shalini Passi, JJ Valaya and Suneer Verma.
“Liva Protégé aims at recognizing and nurturing young talent, which has made it one of the most prestigious fashion competitions in the country. We, as a company, thrive on newer ideas, fresher concepts and believe in leading and revolutionizing the industry withinnovative products like Liva and LivaEco” said Mr. Manohar Samuel, President Marketing & Business Development, Birla Cellulose.
“After successful launch 2015, we are proud to introduce Liva Protégé '19 in association with FDCI, this unique platform attracts the best of budding fashion designers across India to showcase their creativity and make an indelible mark on the fashion circuit in India” says Sunil Sethi, President FDCI. “Powered by Liva – a new-age fabric designed to infuse incredible fluidity into garments, from the house of Grasim Industries Ltd., Liva Protégé aims to tap into the great Indian talent pool and ensure that promising fashion designers in India get their rightful place under the sun, and help India keep shining across the global fashion landscape” adds Sethi.
The winner of the event was Tista Roy from NID, Ahemdabad. The first runner up was Aditi Vij from Pearl Academy, Delhi and the second runner up was Nishigandha Khaladkar from NID, Ahemdabad.
Nishtha Sethi from Pearl Academy, Delhi won the award for Most Innovative Design.
MAM
Raghu Rai passes away at 83, leaves behind iconic legacy
Padma Shri-winning photographer documented history across 5 decades.
MUMBAI: The lens may have stilled, but the stories it captured will never fade. Raghu Rai, one of India’s most celebrated photojournalists, passed away on April 26, 2026, at the age of 83. He breathed his last at a private hospital in New Delhi after battling cancer and age-related health issues.
His son, Nitin Rai, revealed that Rai had been diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, which later spread to the stomach and, more recently, the brain. Despite multiple rounds of treatment, his health had declined in recent months.
Born in 1942 in Jhang, Punjab (now in Pakistan), Rai entered photography in his early twenties, inspired by his elder brother, photographer S. Paul. Beginning his career in the mid-1960s, he went on to build a body of work that spanned more than five decades, contributing to global publications such as Time, Life, GEO, Le Figaro, The New York Times, Vogue, GQ and Marie Claire.
His global recognition took a decisive leap in 1977 when legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson nominated him to join Magnum Photos, placing him among the world’s most respected visual storytellers.
Rai’s lens chronicled both power and poignancy. He photographed towering figures such as Indira Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Bal Thackeray, Satyajit Ray and Mother Teresa, while also documenting defining moments like the Bhopal gas tragedy later captured in his book Exposure: A Corporate Crime.
Over the years, he published more than 18 books, building an archive that blended journalism with artistry. His contributions were recognised early when he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 for his coverage of the Bangladesh War and refugee crisis. In 1992, he was named “Photographer of the Year” in the United States for his work in National Geographic, and in 2009, he was honoured with the Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Rai is survived by his wife Gurmeet, son Nitin, and daughters Lagan, Avani and Purvai. His last rites will be held at Lodhi Cremation Ground in New Delhi at 4 pm on Sunday.
With his passing, Indian photojournalism loses not just a pioneer, but a patient observer of history, one frame at a time.
