‘travelfriendly sarod’ to Bieber

MUMBAI: From an exclusive autographed sarod to designer outfits, American pop sensation Justin Bieber will be given several souvenirs upon his maiden visit to India. The 23-year-old singer will be performing at the JIO Justin Bieber Purpose World Tour by White Fox India, on May 10 at DY Patil stadium here. As a goodwill gesture Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan will be gifting an autographed sarod to the Grammy winner on his arrival, a statement from the organisers said. Designer Varun Bahl has curated and embellished traditional Indian instruments of symphony. The instruments have been decorated with fine silk – printed with dainty floral artworks and highlighted with metallic golds. Rohit Bal has created a biker jacket in cotton velvet for Bieber. Keeping in sync with the singer’s universal appeal, black will depict the mood board and the entire outfit has been handcrafted and hand embroidered with sequins and crystals from Swarovski. Bal said the jacket is an “amalgamation of Justin’s personal style, Indian music and my vision of a cross cultural fashion statement.” Anamika Khanna has created a long floor length jacket for Bieber’s mother. The piece utilises embroidery inspired by tribal India with chanderi silk as the base material and embellishment in thread work. Apart from this, Bieber’s mother will also be gifted a bespoke wreath shaped necklace embellished in ornate rubies and marquise diamonds encrusted in platinum and 18k gold by Riddhima Kapoor Sahni. Amit Aggarwal has created a jacket with Khadi, metallic hints with malleable recycled polymer sheet used on the sleeves fusing traditional weaves with industrial waste. Bieber will also be in conversation with celebrated filmmaker Karan Johar on his show ‘Koffee With Karan’, says a source. If everything goes as planned, Karan, who has interviewed Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, will host Bieber on his show. ‘Koffee with Karan’ has completed five seasons and Karan will be celebrating season six by unveiling it with Bieber. “This will be the first time an international celebrity of Bieber’s calibre will be featuring in an Indian chat show format,” said a source. Apart from Mumbai, Bieber will also visit New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra.