New Delhi: The ghost of Gujarat riots was brought alive at the Lakme India Fashion Week today (May 3, 2004) with a designer depicting the agony through her creations.

The ramp also became a spot for showcasing 'India Shining' campaign.

Designer Nandita Basu used T-shirts as a canvas to express her anger and grief over the Gujarat riots in general and the Best Bakery case in particular.

While one of Basu's T-shirts had picture of Zaheera Sheikh, the Best Bakery case witness, another had Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi dressed up as Hitler. There was also a shirt with a message decrying witnesses going hostile in the Jessica Lal murder case.

"Angry at what was happening in the country, the best way to express it was through my work," said Basu.

"People have appreciated the T-shirts and have told me that they found them thought-provoking," she said.

Adding a dash of patriotism and nationalism to the event was Kiran Uttam Ghosh, who welcomed the audience by placing the national flag on the seats. The nationalistic mood deepened as she played the speech of Jawaharlal Nehru delivered to the nation on the occasion of India achieving Independence.

The young designer's show began with slides showing India's journey from the night of Independence till date, and celebrated the country's achievements in various fields like cricket, textiles, the telecom revolution, IT excellence or the stock market boom.