Culinary fables with Chef Akshraj Jodha: The Rajasthani Baati

November 20, 2020

Winters are rapidly setting in and what accompanies a balmy afternoon better than Rajasthan’s classic daal-baati-choorma? This unparalleled stereotype of standard Rajasthani cuisines finds an omnipresence that closely rivals the South’s idli-dosa-sambhar. But their touristic connotations aside, these traditional meals find varied renditions in most traditional households of the state-urban...

A BRAND TO DELIGHT MODERN-DAY CONNOISSEURS OF THE SAREE

November 13, 2020

Saturated with floral clichés and trunks full of French chiffons, she is seeking to explore the vintage-chic vibe. She appreciates zardosi artistry over mukaish, but her millennial daughter is more drawn towards sequinned Art Deco motifs. She’s never thought of draping contemporary patterns or geometric abstractions before, but is daring to give it...

Riding the white elephant: Huber’s odyssey with Safed Haathi

September 25, 2020

If one pictures the dreamers who voyaged into India through the hippie trail, the last image to muster is that of an erstwhile German noble rattling across the Afghani frontiers on a magic bus. But such were the likes of Robert Huber, who made an overland trip to India in...

Lockdown portraits documenting feminine energy

September 18, 2020

When the national lockdown to battle Covid-19 was announced, I was pursuing my photography diploma in Delhi. I wouldn’t complain about the extent to which the pandemic derailed my life, because I am aware of most other people having it far worse for themselves. On the contrary, my privilege enabled...

Made for Maharajas: Costumes that inspired the Ranas

September 11, 2020

The very famous and mysterious ‘Naulakha Haar’, meaning the necklace worth Rs 9 lakh, which hap- pened to be a huge sum in the early 19th century, was a neck- lace comprising the best quali- ties of emeralds, pearls and diamonds. This necklace was bought by the famous Peshwa Baji...

Two ‘preachers’ and the mountains

September 4, 2020

In 2016, in the Biyanli village of Uttarakhand’s Garhwal district, the 165 lives changed forever. They encountered the vision of two “Teach for India” fellows—one was an engineer-turned-educator, and the other was an economist-turned-social entrepreneur. Both envisioned setting up a school or learning centre for children in inaccessible rural pockets...

Himachali Dhaam: Elaborate table spreads & divine communion

August 28, 2020

After spending the better part of the lockdown dreaming of the hills, my impending journey to my Himalayan home brought me a huge sigh of relief. It was time to pay my annual homage to my most beloved place on this earth, and even though the hoteliers’ world had suffered...

Sweetening palates with raw flower honey

August 21, 2020

These incredible facts around the art of honey-making have continued to baffle me since I first learned of them from Mriganka Kumari of Pratapgarh. This talented entrepreneur — who also happens to be my distant cousin, from our common roots in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghabana — has recently launched a brand...

Sunita Shekhawat: A modern-day Meenakar

August 14, 2020

With a few hours to go before her wedding ceremony, the bedecked bride is surrounded by her flock of damsels in sustained preparation. One brushes together her lustrous locks while another flatly strokes the immaculate pleats of her attire. Her hierarchically-assembled bangles have been slid through her delicate, mehendi-smeared forearms...

Loyal royals: Pampered pooches of the Maharajas

August 7, 2020

Over the past hundred thousand years, our four-legged best friends have served mankind as its loyalist companions. Right from the ‘hunter-gatherer’ phase of our ancestors, pooches have evolved alongside humans, and are recorded amongst the first animal species that we domesticated. In colonial times, Britishers brought shiploads of diverse pedigreed...