Lifestyle

15

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Lifestyle

Bengaluru’s Beku brings together books, bakes and beverages

Prarthana Prasad says that her founding of Beku, a café, bakery, and bookstore, which just opened its doors to the public, came from a very “selfish place of creating the kind of space that I would have loved to go to.” The Bengaluru-based queer influencer says there are not many experiential places in the city, especially in South Bengaluru, where Beku is located. “It is a common complaint that people make about Bengaluru: that there is nothing to do, only restaurants and pubs to go to,” says Prarthana.Beku, which is all set to host a day-long launch event on August…

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15

Aug

By The Press Editor

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Entertainment, Lifestyle

Film review | Here’s what Coolie and War 2 could learn from Sholay

Two huge films, with hundreds of crores riding on them, clashed on a rainy Thursday morning as I braced myself for the big-screen battle before sunrise. I made it to a 6am show in Andheri because there’s no better feeling than watching a full house Rajinikanth film first day, first show. Coolie, directed by crowd favourite Lokesh Kanagaraj, was released on the occasion of the superstar completing 50 years since he pushed open the gate in style in Apoorva Raagangal, a 1975 Tamil-language romantic film. The hype was massive — second only to the Kamal Haasan-Mani Ratnam-AR Rahman combo Thug Life.And…

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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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Lifestyle

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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Lifestyle

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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