the telegraph article mentioning HD & Rati Pandey

Hitler makeover for uniform

Hitler Didi is coming to Sri Arvind Mahila College — not the strict disciplinarian of the popular TV serial but the confident woman in her.

Sri Arvind Mahila College in Patna has introduced a new uniform from this year's Part I batch and it is based on the pattern of the patiala suit sported by Rati Pandey, the lead actress of Hitler Didi.

Principal Asha Singh said she decided to introduce the new uniform from this batch to add to the confidence and personality of her students. The Part II and Part III students will, however, stick to their old uniform of maroon kameez with white dupatta and salwar.

Singh said: "I like the character of Hitler Didi, portrayed by Rati Pandey, very much. She does an excellent job in playing Indira Sharma (better known as Hitler Didi). But what sets the character apart is her patiala suit. I had the character of Hitler Didi in my mind when I thought about changing the students' uniform. With a uniform similar to Hitler Didi's costume, I feel my college students will become more confident. So I approached Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC), Patna, to come up with the uniform I had in mind.

"Three faculty members of ATDC, Patna, have designed the uniform. I had contacted ATDC principal Anjani Kumar Mishra in April and his team took only a month to complete the project," she added.

Classes for the new batch will start on August 25 and students who have taken admission to the first year will have a smart uniform of pink patiala and dupatta with a purple and blue short kurta to wear at college.

Mishra, the ATDC principal, said: "We are lucky to have got the opportunity to design the new uniform of Sri Arvind Mahila College. The principal suggested us to make the uniform similar to the attire of Hitler Didi and we tried to do our best. The challenge was to make the uniform at a reasonable rate so that the students were not burdened. We worked on it and came up with the uniform that costs only Rs 700."

The students are, no doubt, excited about their uniform.

Pooja Kumari, who has taken admission in BA, said: "The uniform is similar to what the lead actress in Hitler Didi wears. I am anxiously waiting for my first day in college. When my sisters saw my uniform, they were jealous."

BSc first-year student Nupur Jha said: "My college uniform is great. Before taking admission to the college, I had thought that I would have to wear the old uniform but now I am happy. I can flaunt my style with my uniform."

"The new uniform has been inspired from Hitler Didi. I feel our college has added another feather to its cap. The new uniform will lift the style quotient of our students, add to their personality and make them confident," said Poonam Choudhary, head of department, history.