The fantastic range of jewellery in India: inventive and imaginative
The range of jewellery available in India in terms of materials used, designs and techniques of craftsmanship is unparalleled,” says author and jewellery expert Usha Balakrishnan. She gives examples. The Nagas make jewellery using beetle wings, feathers and bones; Bengalis use conch shells for their bangles; Keralites include tiger claws and elephant hair in their jewellery; Maharashtrians use black beads; many states, including Tamil Nadu, use terracotta. The language of Indian ornamentation is vast. There is no such thing as pan-Indian jewellery.
Traditional jewelry brands going modern for Mint Lounge
Star trek How a traditional jewellery house can morph [...]
Napa Valley wines Part 2 for Mint Lounge
Beyond the blue yonder where chocolate-coloured grapevines stretch as far as the eye can see, a plant is making choices about its future. It is gnarly and old. Its snaking brown roots sink deep into the land that has been its sole and only home; a land that made its name through Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa, they call this place. It used to be farmland until the 1970s. A young Stanford graduate, Robert Mondavi, moved there to start a winery in 1966. That changed everything.
Dead cow in the Ganga: for Mint on Sunday
Kashi is endlessly fascinating as is the Ganga, the river [...]
Ways of Seeing at Indian Institute of Science
Teaching sculpture to 115 bright scientists is-- shall we say-- [...]
Kashi, Ganga and the politics of religion
I enjoyed writing this four part series for Mint on [...]
Napa Valley wines Part 1 for Mint Lounge
Nicholson Ranch was the last stop on Day 1. By then, Platypus Wine Tours had taken a group of us wine tourists to three Napa Valley wineries in California. Buena Vista, because it was the oldest; Robledo, because it was the first to be owned by a migrant Mexican worker; and Peter Cellars, because it was a one-man show by a transplanted Brit. They say Pinot Noirs are the hardest to grow, but really, it could apply to any varietal. Blame it on Sideways.
Love after fifty
Fifty by heart Love after 50 is a complex [...]
The art of collaboration between dancers, artists and social scientists
Rehearsals are a vicarious pleasure; a way of accessing the genius of performers without the pressure of a performance. A few arts institutions—the Lincoln Center in New York, for instance—accord the privilege of watching a rehearsal for a price. I am at Kamani at the behest of Minaakshi Dass, whose venture, India Heritage Desk, aims to discover the next Aditi Mangaldas or Malavika Sarukkai. Gauri Diwakar may be one candidate.
O&M creates quirky, edgy campaign for Rajasthan Tourism
01/18/16--02:14: MUMBAI: The Rajasthan government will be launching a multi-year, [...]