Innholdsfortegnelse for October 4, 2021 i India Today

Happiness is a many-splendoured thing. It is different for everyone and impossible to define. If you ask spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, he will tell you, “Happiness is just an idea when you don’t know it, and you are it when you know it.” It is obviously a state of mind with a complete absence of negative emotions, which leaves a person feeling positive or relaxed. Ask a psychologist, and they will tell you that happiness has two aspects: the hedonistic one, where you feel pleasure and enjoyment but which by its very nature is fleeting; and the eudemonic one, which equates happiness with a meaningful life that is full of positive relations with people and the environment. It would be unusual for anyone to be constantly happy as…

Three Maharashtra politicians are on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate—former home minister Anil Deshmukh of the NCP and transport minister Anil Parab of the Shiv Sena for their alleged role in a Rs 100 crore extortion case, and rural development minister Hassan Mushrif of the NCP, for his alleged role in a Rs 127 crore bank scam. State leaders of the Congress, the third constituent of the ruling MVA troika, must wonder if/when the roving eye of the ED will focus on them.…

On September 12, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel to lead Gujarat, little did anyone expect that the new chief minister would also have a nearly all-new cabinet. As expected, the thorough overhaul left stalwarts like Nitin Patel, Saurabh Patel and Pradeepsinh Jadeja furious at being dropped and led to an unprecedented scenario where the Gujarat Raj Bhavan had to postpone the swearing-in ceremony of the new council of ministers by a day, to September 16. Barring three, all ministers, including the CM, have no previous experience of governance. In 2001, too, the party had taken a big gamble on an inexperienced Narendra Modi and made him chief minister in the wake of the devastating Bhuj earthquake that year. That gamble paid off handsomely for the…

Nilesh Shah always thought he had the good life. As managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, one of India’s largest financial services group, money was never an issue. Initially, material pursuits like getting a good job, a new car, a swank house made him happy. But, as he soon discovered, “it followed a law of diminishing returns.” When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, Shah joined a group of citizens in Mumbai to help find hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and transport for the seriously afflicted. It made him realise that true happiness “was to bring smiles to other people’s faces”. He then sings a few lines from an old Mukesh song to sum up his feelings: Kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisaar/kisi ka dard mil sake toh le…

Happiness is just an idea when you don’t know it and you are it when you know it! The most natural state for a human being, it manifests when you feel free from within. When we move away from our Self, our nature, we become unhappy. It is ironic, though, that being the very source of happiness, we keep looking for it everywhere, like a fish in the ocean searching for water. We must attend to the factors that impact our happiness. The first is health, the second is the environment and the third is finance. The fourth is ambition. Suppose we have the first three but are overambitious, it will agitate our state of being. Desire means projecting happiness through fulfilling desires in the future. Even if you say…

A believer is one who dedicates his soul and body completely to the will and wish of the Almighty who created him through processes unknown to him, sustains him through ways unexpected of him and calls back to Him, at a time that too is not in his knowledge. Accordingly, whatever fate delivers to a Muslim, he accepts it with a full heart and contentment. This quality of iman (belief) is called tawakkul (trust) or authorisation. Contentment is an inner feeling that is a state of richness, happiness, self-sufficiency and tranquility. It is the core of joy, the source of a happy life on Earth that brings peace of mind to the true believer. The Holy Quran teaches us that happiness is submission to God. So, to find happiness, one…

NIMESH DESAI Happiness is often seen as a state of mind without worries or negative emotions. Strictly speaking, it is one of the many emotional states of mind, that include sadness, anxiety, fear, etc. Over time, with the increasing occurrence of negative states of mind such as sadness and distress, the use of the term happiness, in public discourse, has become broad-based and all-encompassing to denote an overall positive state of mind. However, it is important to understand the contextualisation of the use of the term happiness to avoid the error of seeing it literally. It would be fairly abnormal for anyone to be constantly happy, specially without basis. The desirable goal should be to achieve a state of mind with more positive than negative elements. There are historical and…

NIMESH DESAI Since the issues of money and work are intertwined for many populations, the common misconception is about work-related success being an integral part of being happy. Indeed, the importance of work-related success for being happy or satisfied with life in recent times has, as a natural reaction, led to the oft repeated emphasis on work-life balance. This dichotomy or dualism may suggest that work is antithetical to life or being happy in life, thereby exhorting people to strike a more appropriate balance between work on the one hand, and other aspects of life on the other. However, the role of work in achieving happiness is irrefutable, not only for the money that is often earned through work and the success it brings, but also for the less tangible…

“Happiness for me is a state of equanimity and contentment with one’s situation. What makes me happy is a relaxed state of mind—which happens when I am with my family, spending time with them. Or when I am looking at a blue sky or am on a beach, watching and listening to the waves or just walking, when I am having a relaxed evening with friends or colleagues. I think we as humans naturally yearn and seek happiness—that is our state of equilibrium. Our happiness gets disturbed when our mind gets stressed and hence being happy requires doing things needed to relax one’s mind. And it is the seemingly small things which usually make us most relaxed and happy”ROHAN VERMACEO & Executive Director, MapmyIndia “The greatest happiness, in my experience,…

Standing under the shade of an Indian babool tree at Gurugram’s Badshahpur forest corridor, banker-turned-environmentalist Latika Thukral, 55, says that giving the city green habitats goes beyond flora and fauna for her. “Why should people have to walk through garbage and sewage to get to work? This corridor links housing societies together and, now, when your help walks through it for work, they are walking through lush forest. They have the dignity of space; this fact makes me happy every day,” she says. The three-kilometre Badshahpur corridor (soon to be extended to 5 km) is the third major reforestation project undertaken by the charity that Thukral co-founded 12 years ago—IAmGurgaon. The area was once an open stormwater drain overflowing with waste and construction debris. It took workers six months to…

Colourful towers, as high as 60 feet and dotting fields and temple complexes, invariably catch the eyes of visitors to Sanchore, a tehsil block in Rajasthan bordering Gujarat. Look closer and you will find locals gathered over there to offer feed—mostly millet seeds—to pigeons. Tiny compartments in the towers serve as home to hundreds of birds. “Sanchore’s 600,000 residents have built some 200 bird towers,” informs Satyendra Bishnoi, a chartered accountant. One such tower is in Choura Dhani, a hamlet of 3,000 people located a 15-minute drive away from Sanchore town. Each of its 672-odd compartments, made of ceramic, can house a pair of pigeons. Locals say the iron-and-cement structures, inside which the ceramic chambers are fitted, keep the birds safe from rain and predators. They are well-ventilated to guard…

After Karthik Subbaraj’s Pizza (2012), horror briefly became the breakout genre in Tamil cinema. Though Vijay Sethupathi kickstarted the wave, he staunchly refused to be part of it. Many similar roles came his way, and he refused them all. “They weren’t scary enough,” he says. Nine years later, a horror comedy by another debutant Deepak Sundarrajan has found him—Annabelle Sethupathi (now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar). He might have refused offers then, but now we see him everywhere—partly due to release delays attributed to the pandemic—but also because he is ready to work with anyone he finds interesting and shares his vibe. He looks for that one hook that pulled them into cinema. He quotes the late director S.P. Jananathan—“cinema is not entertainment”—and says, “A Kannadasan line pulled Ilaiyaraaja into music.…

Q. The theme of this year’s MTV Supermodel of the Year is ‘unapologetically you’. Has the Indian fashion industry embraced inclusivity? We have tried to be as inclusive as possible. We have a cross-section of girls—married, short, slightly plump and a transgender. Internationally, the fashion world has become very inclusive and I feel India is moving in the right direction, too. At the last few fashion weeks here, we have seen small steps in the right direction. Q. You have multiple businesses in the lifestyle, health and wellness space. Are there things you have learnt as a businesswoman that your life in the entertainment business hadn’t prepared you for? When I started with The Label Life, an online start-up, I didn’t even know what a start-up meant or what online…

They say‘we reap as we sow’. I wonder how us humans--just one out of the many thousands of species that constitute the planet- --have single-handedly managed to trigger irrevocable loss to this only known habitable planet. Our constant up gradation in lifestyle choices, exhaustive and compulsive consumption patterns, craving for retreats in the very lap of nature that we have been compromising with constant careless behaviour, have wreaked havoc. And the brunt of which is very prominent with the current global crisis. Hindsight the Covid-19 pandemic, the need to commit to a lifestyle overhaul and gear up to a more environmentally conscious way of living is more than ever before now! While we can’t undo the irreparable damage that has already been done, the good news is that people are…

For the new generation, there’s a great love for nostalgia, and grandma’s closets have been opened with a welcome flourish. Millennials believe that old is new again. The result? The granny-chic or the grandmillennial style. This design style is reminiscent of traditional interior design, but with a twist. Floral prints, retro browns and wedge wood blues lined with frills; using scalloped chairs and table covers; chinoiserie and rooms layered in pattern, yet with a modern, contemporary edge; are classic examples of the grand-millennial style. Here are a few easy hacks to style your home the granny-chic way. 1. Pattern on Pattern Group your favourite patterns together to create a striking contrast. Geometries (like stripes) and floral prints also work very well together. Combine prints in different designs but similar colour…

Bihar deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad recently called up the newly appointed Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel to congratulate him. During the call, the two chatted about their rise in their respective state units. Prasad was plucked out of the backbench to become deputy chief minister in November 2020, while Patel was chosen to replace Vijay Rupani. Is there a Gandhinagar-Patna bromance in the offing? —Sandeep Unnithan with Kiran D. Tare, Amitabh Srivastava and Ashish Misra…

Religion and spiritual practice may not be the most intuitive associations with happiness—and there’s no denying that human beings continue to use religious identity of every stripe as a rallying call for violence and the oppression of others. And yet, throughout the long, diverse history of spiritual endeavour, this has been an enduring path that has inspired people across the world to find and share happiness and even ecstasy. The five smiling men of the cloth featured on these pages offer glimpses of the common quest and distinct insights that make them a source of inspiration—and happiness—to thousands of others. For the Dalai Lama of Tibet, the purpose of life is to be happy and he holds karuna or the path of compassion as the surest path to this goal.…

Everyone seeks happiness. We seek it for others, for ourselves and for those we love. But can the world ever be fully happy? I always expected that as we got more advanced and made progress in philosophy, science, technology and communication, there would be greater peace, joy and happiness in the world. But one look at the world reveals that this just didn’t happen. Compare the world today with what it was a decade or two ago. There are still as many, if not more, conflicts—big and small. Wars continue, so do terrorism and hunger, and now we are in the midst of a pandemic. How, then, does one search for happiness? And can we ever achieve happiness in entirety? Besides, what is happiness? We could break it up into…

NIMESH DESAI The first fundamental factor is about a few basic needs being met, as essential for being happy in life or satisfied with life, for individuals or groups or communities. The fact that a few persons or groups of communities may have the ability to achieve happiness or contentment, even in adverse situations, or despite circumstances of gross deprivation, cannot take away from this truism. It is necessary for this to be realised and accepted at all levels that happiness can be based only on the plank of basic comforts. Further, the absence of any significant health or social problem can help in achieving happiness. Positive developments in any area of life can lead to the same goal but are not essential. Indeed, it has also been found that…

NIMESH DESAI One of the most useful tips for happiness is to increase awareness about mental health disorders, and to get appropriate treatment for persons affected by these problems. Secondly, accept reality. The reality of the Covid-19 pandemic, for instance, is surely harsh and unpleasant, and yet one of the essential processes is to develop acceptance of the reality. It helps us deal with the situation, find appropriate solutions while retaining our ability to do so. Thirdly, neutralise negative influences, as they can lead to distress and depressive disorders. Fourthly, take life in your stride. The ability to make the best of what life has to offer at various points of time is part of the characteristic of resilience. And last but not the least, reduce your needs. Adverse and…

A nation can be thought of as an enduring stage where human beings strive to experience transformation and reach a calm and peaceful state. Bhutan has dreamt itself to be in such a cherished stage. But such unfolding dreams are tested when faced with sudden adversity, such as the current pandemic. Taking care of the people means protecting the happiness of all. His Majesty, King Jigme Khesar, has shown us how to take care during this pandemic through an impressive and wholesome resilience programme. Neither lives nor hopes have been ravaged in the country, and this is a result of a collective consciousness of Gross National Happiness (GNH). Founded by his revered father, the fourth king, it remains a prescient agenda reflecting his social intelligence. GNH represents the holistic potential…

HAPPINESS MANTRA“Happiness is the byproduct of doing good in this world. One must take responsibility for one’s deeds to be happy” A distress call from a friend in 1998 eventually turned mechanical engineer Jaswinder Pal Singh into a professional happiness trainer. The Delhi-based friend was depressed and bent on taking his life after several personal and professional setbacks. “I told him to postpone his ‘suicide plans’ for a month and focus on three Gs—gratitude, goodness and giving,” says Singh. The idea was to change the mindset, get his friend to realise that whatever he had achieved till then was because of his good work. Singh also asked his friend to thank everyone who was nice to him. His friend took his advice to heart and, after 32 days, was a…

What kind of men do feminist women want to have sex with? In 2004, the African-American feminist bell hooks came up with one response: women want to be with men who can love. In The Will to Change: On Men, Masculinity and Love, hooks argued that the women’s liberation movement had failed to get women the sex that they wanted. Even when sex became socially permissible for women, satisfying sex remained elusive because the family and the world produced men who had a deficit in their capacity for love as a part of sex. In 2021, Amia Srinivasan’s The Right to Sex reminds us that the dream of sexual freedom remains a distant aspiration for feminists. Srinivasan caught my attention in 2017 with her captivating essay on the Octopus; last…

Things didn’t end well the last time Abhishek Banerjee acted alongside a mannequin. Playing a rapist in the independent drama Ajji (2017), Banerjee’s character unleashed considerable horror. In Ankahi Kahaniya, an anthology that premiered on Netflix last week, the actor got to showcase his more human side. For her short, director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwary had him play a lonely salesman who finds himself drawn to a mannequin. “My biggest challenge was to make the audience forget the character [in Ajji],” says Banerjee. Another was to ensure his attraction to a plastic figurine doesn’t appear disturbing. Having a woman director helped. “Initially, I picked up the mannequin like an object, but she [Iyer] told me you need to give her the respect a woman deserves.” Ankahi Kahaniya is Banerjee’s third anthology.…

NOTHING SUMMONS THE WARM TINGLE OF COLLECTIVE national pride and excitement quite like a sporting victory on the international stage. So, it’s a great honour to have champion athlete and Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra as our cover star for India Today Spice—his first magazine cover since that magnificent win on August 8, 2021. We celebrate his win to commemorate a glory moment for the nation and to tell a truly inspiring story. As journeys go, the path he traversed—from a hardworking 13-year-old who would travel by bus from Khandra village in Haryana to the Sports Authority of India facility in Panipat, 15 km away, to star sportsman courted by big-ticket brands for endorsements—merits dramatisation. Today, Chopra can afford the luxury of spontaneous indulgence, from a life dependent on erratic…

Casual Chic Inimitable spirit that says vibrant and iconic defines Chopard’s Happy Sport Golf Edition watch. It captures the mesmerising energy of free-spirited women with five legendary Happy Diamonds, a dancing golf club and a golf ball in white ethical gold twirl on its frosted dial. Sophisticated, yet convincingly sporty. Now that’s a whole in one. Availability Timekeepers, Mumbai; Johnson, Delhi In Great Shape Curves are definitely in, especially when it comes to the Longines Evidenza. Borrowing from the formal language of the Art Deco style of its 1925 muse, it reinterprets the taut curve of the “tonneau” shape. It constitutes the true essence of the collection and it’s timeless aesthetic. Price on request; Availability Brand Stores Matinee Magic Aligned with the July release of Space Jam: A New Legacy,…

They say, “Life is a journey that must be travelled no matter how bad the roads and accomodations.” Neeraj Chopra’s journey to the top of the Olympic podium may have involved many a bumpy road and diverse accomodations, but it has always been an inspired one. It all began at the age of 13, when as a pudgy boy he’d take the bus from Khandra, a village in Haryana, to the Sports Authority of India facility in Panipat, located about 15 km away. “I’d return from school and immediately change into my exercise gear and head to the bus stand,” he says. Chopra recalls waiting for long spells for the bus since it was an hourly service. The return would be more complicated. With frequency reduced at night, he’d either…

There is a joyful iridescence to jewellery that steals the shine from all else. It is this explosion of resplendent novelty that defines the unexpected talismans of gold and shimmering diamonds that are worshipped in the Star Blossom jewellery collection from Louis Vuitton. The collection embodies the monogram flower, which is an emblem of Maison Louis Vuitton, which became a symbol of femininity in the Star Blossom collection created in 2018. The collection reimagined the iconic star-shaped flower designed by Georges Vuitton in 1896. The collection is a glittering tribute to the star-shaped Monogram. The bold audacity of its pointed contours, this quatrefoil, is the perfect complement to confident femininity—a delicate blossoming with a fiery star that seeks to carve out the untold tale of a new narrative. The flower…

It is perhaps the ultimate ode to Scotch whisky and whisky tourism—the Johnnie Walker Experience Centre on Edinburgh’s Princess Street is a labour of love that comes after four and a half years in the making. This is the centrepiece of Diageo’s L185million pound investment in Scotch whisky tourism in Scotland—the largest single investment programme of its kind ever seen in Scotch whisky tourism. A sensory explosion that reimagines whisky across a languorous sprawl of 71,500 sq. feet area, this eight-floor new visitor experience officially opened on September 6, 2021. Prepare to be whisked away on a personalised journey of flavour and discovery that identifies unique tastes and aromas. Journey through the brand’s fascinating 200-year-old passage brought to life by actors. According to Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive, Diageo, “Johnnie Walker…

Over 125 projects in just 7 years since the inception of his architecture firm. With the likelihood of being the first man from the homeland to achieve such an impeccable record in the UK, the story of this exceptional Indian who built himself on British soil, is an interesting one. Ninad Patil, an architecture graduate from Rachna Sansad in Mumbai, completed his Masters in Urban Design from New Castle University in the UK. In 2014, his brainchild Bryonn Architecture Limited was born, quickly gaining recognition for specialization across a broad range of sectors, within a span of just 7 years. Their spectrum includes master planning, bespoke architecture, mixed-use developments, Grade ll heritage buildings, developments in conservation areas, retail and hospitality. Bryonn Architecture has managed to stand out amongst the competition…

DINER’S CLUB Be it a sit-down dinner or a buffet style one, a good dining table that adds equal parts drama and style is what you will need to standout from the crowd. Get a hold on this in inlay stone top with solid crafted wood base and upholstered chairs from Beyond Designs. PRICE on request AT www.beyonddesigns.in IN HIGH SPIRITS Whether you thank or blame the pandemic, but the celebration has shifted indoors. So, investing in a good bar for your space will make the festivities that much better. Take this one from CPRN Homood available at Ottimo for instance. The glass bar cabinet features the signature zig-zag engraving of the brand. PRICE on request AT www.ottimo.in DRESS THE TABLE Dinner parties are the norm during the festive season…

On September 13, BJP chose the relatively unknown Bhupendra Patel as Gujarat chief minister, and went on to name 21 first-timers in a cabinet of 24 ministers. While the party hopes to beat anti-incumbency with this daring overhaul barely months ahead of the 2022 assembly election, it is also proving to be a nightmare for the state government’s publicity department, which has to trash all the publicity material—hoardings, calendars and posters—created for former chief minister Vijay Rupani, his deputy Nitin Patel and the old cabinet. It’s still calculating costs for a new mega publicity drive to introduce Patel and his new cabinet to the voters. The costs, officials believe, will be steep. Changing governments in an election year clearly isn’t cheap.…

Former IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma made a dramatic entry into Uttar Pradesh politics this January when he was sworn in as an MLC. After briefly slipping into the background, Sharma made news again recently for distributing calendars in UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s home district Gorakhpur. This was not good publicity, though, since local BJP leaders were quick to point out that the calendars only had photos of Sharma with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and none of Adityanath. Sharma has worked with Modi often in the past two decades—first during the latter’s time as Gujarat CM and then as PM. His loyalties are well known.…

The basic source of all happiness is a sense of kindness and warm-heartedness towards others. We are all the same as human beings. We are born the same way, we die the same way, and we all want to lead happy lives. The key to happiness is peace of mind. This is not something that can be bought. Inner peace has to be cultivated by each of us from within. All our religious traditions, despite whatever philosophical differences there may be among them, carry the same message of love and warm-heartedness that is the foundation of such peace of mind. I sometimes wish that we were more like children, who are naturally open and accepting of others. Instead, as we grow up, we fail to nurture our natural potential and…

Happiness is the universal quest and pursuit of every human being. We are born happy as a child, but somehow struggle to hold on to this blissful state while growing up. We do everything possible for attaining happiness in our life, right from eating good food to wearing expensive clothes, from education to travelling across the world, from owning a dream home to buying a comfortable car and much more. Happiness still remains an elusive aspiration. Happiness has a different meaning for different people, based on their desire and its fulfilment. Happiness that comes from fruition of desires is temporary and ephemeral. One desire leads to a second and the second leads to the third and so on, eventually becoming an endless chain of expectations. But happiness continues to be…

NIMESH DESAI Although the term “mind game” may have a different connotation, the role of the mind and brain in our state of mental wellness or psychological wellbeing is certainly critical, not only in terms of the fundamental propensity of different individuals to be prone to various mood states, but also in as much as that persons can surely improve upon their natural tendencies and proclivities. The fact that all psychological and mental processes, including emotional wellness, operate through brain mechanisms and that these can be modulated through one's own effort is encouraging. Any sense of helplessness would be inappropriate because while happiness (or as I prefer to see it, satisfaction with life) is contingent upon the MACRO environment of the economic milieu and socio-technological development, as well as the…

INDICATORS AND WEIGHTAGE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING Life satisfaction ⅓ Positive emotion ⅙ Negative emotion ⅙ Spirituality ⅓ HEALTH Self-reported health status 1/10 Number of healthy days 3/10 Disability 3/10 Mental health 3/10 TIME USE Work ½ Sleep ½ EDUCATION Literacy 3/10 Schooling 3/10 Knowledge ⅕ Value ⅕ CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND RESILIENCE Zorig chusum skills (artisan skills) 3/10 Cultural participation 3/10 Speak native language ⅕ Driglam namzha (Code of conduct) ⅕ GOOD GOVERNANCE Political participation ⅖ Services ⅖ Governance performance 1/10 Fundamental rights 1/10 COMMUNITY VITALITY Donation (time and money) 3/10 Safety 3/10 Community relationship ⅕ Family ⅕ ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY & RESILIENCE Wildlife damage ⅖ Urban issues ⅖ Responsibility to environment 1/10 Ecological issues 1/10 LIVING STANDARDS Income ⅓ Assets ⅓ Housing ⅓ Source: 2015 GNH Survey…

On a September afternoon, sitting on her wheelchair, 15-year-old Kamakshi waits patiently. She is looking forward to feeding lunch, a frugal meal of lentil and rice, to her adoptive father Kumud Kalita with her own hand. What makes this little domestic display of love sweeter is that Kamakshi, a cerebral palsy patient, can barely move her hands and yet attempts to make small morsels of food with her left hand to feed Kalita. Mostly, though, she just keeps him company while he eats. Kamakshi was three when Kalita had rescued her from a temple compound, where she had been abandoned by her biological parents. This daily lunch-time ritual is the happiest moment of Kamakshi’s day. She is not the only one who looks up to Kalita. For the past 16…

Not every person inclined towards a performing art needs a film or a web series to showcase their talent. Some like Ashish Chanchlani and Yashraj Mukhate simply start YouTube channels where they let their work speak for themselves. The two twentysomethings from Maharashtra have amassed a huge following with their funny, viral videos. Chanchlani started Ashish Chanchlani Vines seven years back (26.4 million followers) with the intention of taking his “class clown” act to a larger audience. His approach was simple: be himself as he brought forth his experiences as a student, son, brother, friend, boyfriend, gamer and many other avatars. “We take a subject that’s relatable and then exaggerate the hell out of it,” says Chanchlani about his artistic process. It fits with the kind of humour, he feels,…

Among the statement clothing on display at this year’s Met Gala was a gown worn by US Representative Carolyn Maloney, in suffragette colours, festooned with sashes proclaiming “Equal Rights for Women”. Maloney tweeted that she had “long used fashion as a force 4 change”. As some commentators pointed out, 20 years ago, she wore a burqa to a House session to lend ‘feminist’ support for the invasion of Afghanistan, while praising America for “balancing war with compassion” and “dropping food as well as bombs”. This is what Rafia Zakaria might call a prime example of white feminism, the damaging effects of which can be seen in Afghanistan’s current disarray. She calls the ‘War on Terror’ the US’s first “feminist” war in her third book, an argument against white feminism, which…

Rekindle the Glow Nothing sets the mood or soothes jangled nerves like an aromatic candle. Reconnect with your inner self or simply set the rendezvous ambience with handcrafted organic soy wax candles from Firefly Décor & Fragrances. Price on request; Availability www.fireflydecors.com Sneak Peek Fashion, movies and sport forge the holy trinity with Japanese fashion brand, Onitsuka Tiger’s limited-edition sneaker. To be released this September, the shoes are born from a collaboration between Amazon Prime Video Movie, Cinderella and the brand. The P-TRAINER PRZM sneaker is the sporty, ingenious equivalent of the glass slipper. Anyone can be the protagonist of their own fairytale. Price ₹16,999 Availability Onitsuka Tiger DLF Promenade store Bubble Wrap Nothing celebrates happy times as evocatively as chattering bubbles in a crystal flute. Set your sights on…

Shining bright comes naturally to the House of Breguet, but the brand created quite the conversation starter with its Tradition line: Timepieces from this collection were the first to feature the entire movement on the dial. The models from this peerless line are contemporary interpretations of the subscription watches designed by Abraham-Louis Breguet, and particularly impressive for the architecture of their fully symmetrical calibre. Today, Breguet completes this iconic line with a limited edition of 88 timepieces. The new Tradition 7035 bears all the hallmarks of the collection, including the offset dial, housed here at 12 o’clock. The 18-carat gold chosen for the dial, plate and bridges are all set with different-sized diamonds in order to keep the visible material to a minimum. The result: brilliance. Illuminating the bezel, brilliant-cut…

CRAFTED WITH CARE A designer that has grabbed everyone’s eyeballs is Shailesh Rajput, whose eponymous studio creates such imaginative pieces that you can’t help but take notice. Rajput is craft driven, who infuses soul into his pieces. Take for instance the Yog Surya Namaskar wall clock that features handcrafted hard clay figurines in the 12 yoga asanas. His designs borrow from the old and mould it for contemporary spaces. Get This Shown here are the Arma-ter lights (previous page) crafted in cast glass, brass representing duality in nature. A ripple effect piece of glass is placed carefully inside a rigid and stiff form of the shell. Seepi (left) is the first from the Jal series that explores life below water. PRICE ₹25,000 per piece (Arma-ter); ₹22,000 (Seepi) TOP TIP FOR…