Models scorch the ramp for burn victims

We are reduced to mere statistics, says acid attack survivor

Blaring foot-tapping music greeted visitors at V. Grill Convention hall near Benz Circle on Sunday evening. The auditorium in the first floor exuded vibrancy as young girls and boys darted from one end to the other making brisk arrangements for a unique event — a fashion show to garner support for burn victims.

Dressed in shimmering glad rags, boys and girls took to the ramp to send home a message loud and clear — carnal beauty is only skin deep.

The best part of the event was that it was conceptualised by a young individual P. Venkata Harikrishna, a 23-year-old software employee who gathered a few like-minded youthful friends and put together a first-of-its-kind show in the city.

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart,” Kahlil Gibran’s famous lines echoed in the mind even as one watched the bevy of beauties scorching the ramp in the company of male models.

Neehari Mandali, a known acid attack survivor who has waged a relentless war against discrimination against burn victims in all public places, was there too, a picture of steely grit and rare confidence. “Beauty is not about outward attractiveness; this is what we are trying to tell the world from this platform. This is the first event highlighting the plight of burn victims. Study shows that instances of domestic violence are very high in Krishna, Chittoor and a few other districts of Andhra Pradesh,” she says.

She says there are platforms for survivors of other offences but burn and acid attack survivors seldom come out of their home due to social taboo. “There is no support from the Government side. We are reduced to mere statistics,” she says with a tinge of sarcasm laced with anguish.

She says her effort is to use every possible available platform to urge burn and acid attack victims to come out of their homes and fight for their due share of justice and Government support.

The young models, meanwhile, continued to regale the young crowd, appearing in different attire in the sequences that followed. Karthik of popular comedy show Zabardast, did his bit to entertain the select crowd that left the place with wide grins on their faces.