Lifestyle

15

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

Indian restaurants are reviving the culinary legacy lost during Partition with Pakistani dishes on their menus

In her book, Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory, author Aanchal Malhotra writes about the material memory that refugees from Pakistan carried with them during the Partition 1947— utensils, jewellery, soap boxes or combs. Along with these, they also carried intangible memories — the taste of creamy, delicious Lalla Musa dal from Pakistan’s city Lala Musa, Lahore’s famous street food katlama, chapli kebabs from Peshawar, and sajji from Balochistan. Sialkot masala raan at Ikk Panjab | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement These dishes are now finding their way once again into our culinary landscape. At Ikk…

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15

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

Avartana at ITC Grand Chola launches a new limited edition menu. Here’s what special about it

At Avartana, drumsticks — wrapped in a crunchy gram flour coat — look like they hopped off the Met Gala red carpet. Buttermilk — spiked with pepper, jaggery, beans, asparagus and toasted almonds — resembles an embroidered sari with pink-yellow petals and green leaves. The award-winning restaurant, launched in Chennai in 2017, is known for its progressive South Indian cuisine. The food is avant-garde, poised on technique, and marries surprising combinations. Loyalists are familiar with the menus available. Now, the team of chefs has added an inventive new collection of recipes to the roster. But you cannot just walk in…

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15

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

Dive deeper into the history of India’s lesser-known freedom fighters this Independence Day, with exhibition Hamaara Itihaas Archives of Freedom Fighters (HIAFF) in Delhi

Seventy-eight years ago, as the clock ticked towards midnight on August 14, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru announced the country’s independence with an iconic speech, Tryst with Destiny, at Parliament House. In the Art Gallery of Kamaladevi Complex at India International Centre, New Delhi, before I examine the exhibition, Hamaara Ithihaas Archives Of Freedom Fighters, I engage in a surreal study of my proximity with time and space from where I stand, physically and existentially. It leads me to juxtapose the distance of four-and-a-half kilometres from Parliament House and the nearly eight decades from 1947.Surrounded by the maze of…

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15

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

Independence Day 2025 | A nation in banknotes

The birth of a banknote occurred in the 18th century Defined by a nation and driven by commerce, a banknote — a promissory note issued by a bank and payable to the bearer on demand — is many things. For the longest time in history, the idea of money was transactional, pivoting from barter systems to commodity exchange such as grain, metal and metal coins, and a form of paper money in early Chinese history.The birth of a banknote, and money as we know it now, occurred only in the 18th century. Today, banknotes are so ubiquitous that few realise…

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14

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

How Kochi celebrated Independence Day on August 15, 1947, a day marked by heavy rain

It rained very heavily in Kochi on August 15, 1947. But that did not matter. Seventy nine years ago, to the day, bells rang all over the city, in schools and colleges, temples and churches, while the ships in the harbour, factories and mills sounded sirens to announce India’s independence. “Interestingly, the Indian flag was not hoisted at any official building in Thiruvananthapuram but the YMCA. In Kochi, the flag was hoisted at the Durbar Hall grounds, Ernakulam, by the Cochin Maharaja, Aikya Keralam Thampuran’s younger brother, the Elaya Raja Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran,” says Balagopal Varma, city historian.  A news…

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14

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

How the Ramayana has been a cultural bridge between India and Southeast Asia

Dancers from Apsaras Dance Company, Singapore, presented a thematic production ‘Ramayana: Celebrating the Shared Heritage’ at Bharata Kalakshetra Auditorium. | Photo Credit: SRINATH M The appeal of the Ramayana transcends geographical boundaries and genres. So what better way to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India, than by staging ‘Ramayana: Celebrating the Shared Heritage’. Presented by the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore in Chennai on August 8 and 9 at Kalakshetra. ‘Ramayana: Celebrating the Shared Heritage between Singapore and India’ on August 8 and 9 at Kalakshetra in Chennai. This cross-cultural performance…

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14

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Artist Kaveri Bharath’s art show connects ceramics,colours, and memories in Chennai

Some clay pieces from the exhibition. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Artist Kaveri Bharath’s ongoing exhibition, Fifty-50, in collaboration with the Alliance Française of Madras, is an ode to her journey as an artist and a ceramicist. “Inspired by my grandfather’s sculpting, I always played in mud and clay as a kid. The last 30 years of making, teaching, and thinking through clay is represented in the ceramics on display here,” says Kaveri.Born in Chennai, Kaveri grew up in a very non-traditional family that encouraged her love for creating with her hands. “For my parents, education was very important, but…

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14

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Down Under by Milan’s Formafantasma explores Nature and science through art

Illustrated by Clément Vuillier, the book is structured in two parts | Photo Credit: GREGORIO GONELLA Building on the conversations around the environment and educating children about Nature, Milan’s research-based design studio Formafantasma is out with a picture book for young readers and adults alike. Titled Down Under: The Curious Fall of a Child Who Knew Nothing and Became Everything, the book (illustrated by Clément Vuillier) is structured in two parts. It begins with the story about a child ‘who, upon falling into a hole in an open field, embarks on a journey through the hidden layers of the Earth,…

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14

Aug

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Independence Day: Memorials in Thiruvananthapuram that are reminders of India’s struggle for independence

On the occasion of the 79th year of India’s independence, here is a look at how the freedom movement swept through Thiruvananthapuram, then a part of Travancore and the monuments built in memory of freedom fighters as a reminder of their sacrifice. These are living stories of courage and resilience. “The fight was spearheaded by Travancore State Congress formed in February 1938 to work towards responsible governance. The Congress was up against not just the British but also the then Dewan, CP Ramaswamy Iyer, who resorted to brutal measures to crush the agitations,” says historian Malayinkil Gopalakrishnan.Remembering the bloodshed Veeraraghava…

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14

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

Artist Radhika Surana brings her versatile indigo-dyed fabrics to a New Delhi exhibition

Growing up in Jaipur, surrounded by the slow rhythms of a culturally rich city, artist Radhika Surana did not realise how deeply its textures and traditions were imprinting themselves on her. “The indigo blue which was all over the city, the culture of embroidery which I had at home, the relaxed slow life of a small city; this background shaped my technical vocabulary,” she says. Transformations VII: Watercolour on 300 GSM paper and hand embroidery on cloth | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Over time, Radhika understood that this influence was not just about skills or motifs, but about seeing making…

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