He oohs and aahs when asked about his college days. “These are days that one needs to enjoy the moment and the sheer joy of being a student,” says Prasad Bidapa, the 55-year-old fashion guru.
During his college days at St Joseph’s College, Bangalore, Bidapa discovered his flair for choreographing fashion shows and putting together college events.
“As a 17-year old, I got to choreograph a fashion show. I still remember Renuka Chowdhury (MP) walking down the ramp. She was splendid and looked so beautiful.”
He graduated from Joseph’s in 1974 and his interest in textile designs, made him join the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, in 1975. “It is here that I realised how different Ahmedabad was as a city, when compared to the modern Bangalore,” he says.
He gradually realised that handloom was not his forte and went on to specialise in graphic designing. “It was the age of graphic designing and graphics were appearing everywhere — in magazines, ads, etc,” he says.
Bidapa calls himself an average student in college, though. “I used to be one of the few toppers in class, but not exceptionally good.”
A prankster in college, he recounts an incident. “The Sabarmati river is right next to NID and it generally used to overflow during monsoons. One morning, I went around waking up students and told them the river has entered the college premises and the hostels will be flooded soon. Everyone woke up with a start and began packing their belongings and storing it in the shaft above the beds. When they realised that I was joking, I had it! They curse me till date,” he chuckles.
A curious student with a ton of questions, Bidapa’s constant doubts used to bother a lot of students. At times, “It used to disrupt classes but I could never accept things as they were. I had to ask questions like why and why not,” he recalls.
He graduated from NID in 1979 and the professors who made an impact on his life were the likes of Mohan Bhandary, “who was unlike any other teacher. He was very friendly and taught us how to perceive designs.” A Finnish professor, Helena, taught them about the beauty of Indian textile designs.
As a student, Bidapa used to frequent the Mayuri restaurant at Cubbon Park, Bangalore. “My friends and I used to enjoy the kesari bath there. In Ahmedabad, our favourites were the idlis and dosas at Madras Cafe. They weren’t anything spectacular but it was something that was closer to home.” They also used to pig out at Green lodge, Ahmedabad, for authentic Goan food.
“I would love to relive those college years, where there was no real responsibility whatsoever. It was carefree and delightful,” he says.
—tasneem@expressbuzz.com
STARMAKER
Bidapa organises some of the biggest fashion events in India. The last event he presented was the Collection Show at UB City where Neeta Lulla, Manoviraj Khosla, Paul Smith, Canali and other designers showcased their creations. His upcoming shows include Karan Johar and Varun Bahl at Royal Gardenia on November 10 in Bangalore, BeYu Fashion Awards at Taj Vivanta, Bangalore, on November 19 and 20. His work as an image and fashion consultant has created a niche approach to retail fashion and branding exercises. This year, he was nominated as one of Bangalore’s 25 most influential people. Bidapa’s training programme includes finding models, grooming them and polishing their overall look. This includes intensive ramp and photo training sessions. The progamme is legendary for having created some of the biggest names in fashion and film industry like actors Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Dino Morea, Zulfi Syed, model Vidisha Pavate and Nicole Faria, Miss India (South) 2009.