Lifestyle

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…

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…

Adaptive Dynamics: 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive, AMG RIDE CONTROL suspension and rear-axle steering for precision handling. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The latest arrival from Affalterbach has just touched down on Indian shores, aiming squarely at the sweet spot between style and speed. The Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé is the newest star in the brand’s top-end performance portfolio — a low-slung, two-door machine that looks just as comfortable parked outside a five-star hotel as it does carving through a series of switchbacks. It’s a car for those who live for the driving experience, yet refuse to compromise on luxury. Luxury…

Niranjan Narasipuram, Vishwa Kumar Narasipuram, Veda Madhurya Kowturu and Medha Vaishnavi Kowturu, aged between seven and 12, walk into the Saptaparni Cultural Centre in Hyderabad with a sense of familiarity, drawn to shelves filled with books, activity kits, and board games. “This is the team that approves the books we shortlist for Namaste Gang,” say their mothers, Visali Kopparthy and Shilpa Kowturu. Namaste Gang (thenamastegang.com) curates books for children in the age group of 0 to 10, predominantly in Telugu, with a few titles in English, Kannada, and Tamil.Visali teaches copyright and civil law at Siddhartha Law College, Vijayawada, and divides…

Bamboo chairs and wooden tables filled with art supplies and scribbles occupy the corridors of the Neighbour Gallery at Kesavadasapuram in Thiruvananthapuram, where Karu, a multidisciplinary art exhibition, is currently on. From outside, a faint sound of metal clinking from one of the exhibits syncs with the blaring horns on the road. Peaceful discussions, pleasant introductions, and artistic introspections between creators and visitors in the hallway precede a stillness inside the gallery, featuring works from artists across the country, spanning different media, from acrylic on canvas to audio-visual. The exhibition organised by Untitled Kitchen, an experimental moving collective kitchen, features…