Five lakh railway employees — front office staff, ticket examiners, guards, drivers and catering personnel — will soon don new uniforms created by fashion designer Ritu Beri woven around the theme of Indian culture.
Ms. Beri submitted four sets of uniform, each with a distinct theme, to the Railway Ministry five days ago, and the public transporter will soon launch an initiative on its website and Twitter and Facebook seeking the views of people to help it select the attire.
The new uniform will cost about Rs. 50 crore in the first phase covering five lakh of the 13 lakh staff.
Ms. Beri said the look of the uniform would be an ode to India and its exoticism. “The focus is to reflect modern India while respecting our deep-rooted tradition and culture, thus reflecting the glory of India. The uniforms will be Indo-western in cut and silhouette with comfort being the most important factor,” she said.
Ms. Beri’s new collection includes saris and T-shirts. The uniform is expected to be ready by the year-end, the official said.
One of the designs Ms. Beri has submitted is based on tribal art, while another is inspired by rustic coins and currency of the “golden age” of India. The third is based on the legacy of nawabs and the fourth is inspired by pop art.
The fourth option, classified as the vibrant soul of India, reflects elements of culture, business, music and entertainment.
Modern twist to khadi
“The work is in progress. For now, we have made the first presentation. We will work with khadi … I wish to retain our traditional look but give it a modern twist in keeping with the times,” Ms. Beri said .
