RAMP MUSIC: Chaurasia plays the flute at Satya Paul's fashion show

It was hard to tell what sparkled more in Delhi that night-the gold and glass that Ajay Leekha unveiled in his latest line of jewellery at Adamus boutique on October 3 or the clear notes of classical music that lent gravitas to the occasion. A jewellery show or a music recital, you would ask. It was the former. But Shubhendra Rao's sitar, Suma Sudhindra's veena and Saskia Rao-De Haas' violin-cello to the beat of tabla by Akram Khan and mridangam by Peravali Jaya Bhaskar, raised the event to a higher plane.

Product launches accompanied by classical music is fast gaining ground. In August, L Affaire Designs introduced "a symphony of saris" at Delhi's Oberoi with a concert by Shubha Mudgal. Models in saris and lehngas, studded with zardosi and crystals, sashayed as Mudgal's renditions reverberated on the ramps. In Mumbai, Satya Paul's Fall/Winter 2002-3 collection was launched with a Dhrupad recital by Wasifuddin Dagar. The models catwalked to Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia's flute strains and Pandit Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman's mridangam beats.

TIMED TUNE: Rao (left) at the Leekha show

While traditionalists are shocked that classical music is playing second fiddle to product launches which do not have the right audience to appreciate it, some musicians are willing to play along and experiment. Rao created a special composition, Magic Strings in raga Hamsadhwani, for the Leekha show. He is quick to defend his art: "I didn't lower the standard of my music. We have to try new creative avenues." The trend reflects the patronage of arts by corporate and business houses, which now occupy the space vacated by nawabs and rajas. Leekha found the association of music with his show just right. "We tried to link the classical aspects of music to our jewellery collection that includes the thewa, a Mughal art form fusing gold and glass."

Rudra veena player Ustad Asad Ali Khan is disturbed by the trend. "Jahan jism aur kapadon ki numaish ho rahi ho vahan shastriya sangeet ka kya kaam (what has classical music got to do with a display of body and clothes)?" he wonders. "An insult to music, it's a gimmick to promote oneself." Thumri singer Rashmi Aggarwal disagrees: "It is a new platform to promote classical music. An artist does not want to be in an ivory tower. He has to reach out and make himself heard."

The idea of fusion struck Paul's son Puneet Nanda who is training under Dagar. "Why should we play western music at fashion shows when we have Indian music?" asks Nanda who directed the show. "In fashion we work for months to create designs and when we present our clothes, it is a classic piece in itself."

While the shows render a modern air to classical music the ragas lend an attitude to the events. As designers and musicians seek new dimensions to their creativity and wider audiences, one note rings loud and clear: marketing is a favoured word in the arts firmament.