Life & Style

London, fashion and the importance of being … something

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

At first glance, it looked like it was back to business at London Fashion Week. A vast industrial show space was heaving on Friday, packed with public relations types and security guards in headsets, glowing floor-to-ceiling screens blasting social content (the venue was sponsored by TikTok) and tightly packed rows of fashion glitterati. They were out in force to celebrate Nensi Dojaka, the Albanian-born, London-based creator of carefully engineered, barely there little black dresses, who earlier this month became the latest winner of the LVMH Prize. It was her debut…

Radhika Madan keeps it glamorous in her recent appearances; check them out here

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Radhika Madan is definitely on a fashion spree these days as she keeps serving phenomenal looks regularly. The actor, who is currently promoting his next release Shiddat, has been opting for some super chic and glamorous outfits. It was no different this time as she, once again, left us impressed with her looks. Radhika, recently, was seen looking absolutely stunning in a shiny black leather full-sleeved top with a V-neckline styled with a matching bodycon skirt. Keeping the look stylish and edgy, she opted for a pair of black heels…

Well done, nose!

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

I fear I have not given enough thought to my nose. The role it plays in the appreciation of food figured prominently in a book I was reading recently, and I thought the time has come for an ode to the nose. “The most impressive, yet underrated, arsenal in our flavor-detection apparatus are the olfactory receptors in our noses,” writes Krish Ashok in Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking. I had never really associated coriander leaves with the nose, but I do so now. The herb has been on…

Breaking tradition this Onam

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Sreejith Jeevan has kasavu saris with nautical stripes and in orange (you read that right!) For Sreejith Jeevan, this Onam is about relevance. About weaves that are traditional yet contemporary enough to be used beyond the festival that falls on August 21. So while his new range features Kerala’s signature ivory gold kasavu saris, they come with contemporary tweaking. “It’s not a mood board driven line. Rather, it uses the age-old techniques such as plain weave, kattikara and extra weft patterning, but combined with different layouts,” says the founder-designer of…

The next hit web series

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Since our most committed relationships of late have been with web series through the lockdown, surely we’re experts at what makes one now? Bullet-proof chest: Everyone else gets shot and killed in every action scene. The hero clings on. The bad men are bad shots. Everyone misses the hero. Worrying about him in any episode is useless because he has to survive till the end of the series. Even if he’s killed in the first scene as Ganesh Gaitonde is in Sacred Games, he still lives through 16 episodes till…

The Showcase: room for more designers?

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

While digital networking skills are important, the jury behind Blenders Pride Fashion Tour’s online talent hunt says originality is what makes the cut The return has begun — of fashion to runways. Paris Couture Week set the tone, while carefully choreographed events by big names such as Marc Jacobs, who showcased his Fall 2021 ready-to-wear line at the New York Public Library, punctuated this return to live. But would this mean an end to the digital shows that the pandemic ushered in last year? We think not. Especially in India,…

Payasam, chips and pickle: Kochi is shopping for Onam

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

The annual Onam fair organized by TDM Hall, a much-anticipated affair in the city’s calendar, has returned after a rare gap in 2020 Work starts early in the kitchen of Ernakulam’s Thottekatt Diwans’ Memorial Hall (TDM Hall). It is between 4 am and 5 am that stoves are lit and the cooks start preparations to make paalada payasam and pradhamans, which have to be ready by 10 am. For ten days from Atham to Thiruvonam [the stars of the Malayalam calendar when Onam festivities begin and culminate] two varieties of…

Chennai’s food artists take centrestage

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Food historian Rakesh Raghunathan’s new documentary series tracks the people and emotions behind popular local eateries In the bylanes of Mandaveli, a man dressed in a low-slung pair of shorts has been tending wood-fired stoves in a soot-blackened kitchen for over 40 years now. And the hot meals he plates up have turned scores of customers into decades-long loyalists. Meet ‘trouser thatha‘ Rajendran, of Trouser Kadai — the name lovingly given to his no-name food joint, thanks to his signature look. He is one of seven cooks starring in FoodArt:…

India-made robots chat up diners at Hyderabad restaurant

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Chitti blinks her eyes, manoeuvres around cautiously and brings your food to the table. At Chitti In Town, a restaurant in Dilsukhnagar here, the excitement of diners, children, and adults alike is palpable. Chitti In Town is a robot-integrated multi-cuisine restaurant, where sensor-equipped robots draped in saris deliver food to diners at the tables and interact with them by shaking hands. These robots make children feel they are a part of a movie like Wall-E or meeting a distant cousin of Chappie. All the robots are made in Hyderabad by…

Hyderabad’s restaurant Feu 2.0 has a modern rustic vibe

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Feu 2.0 in Hyderabad is a restaurant that makes a style statement, enriching the dining experience Walking into Feu 2.0 in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad is like walking into a mini castle. This restaurant, spread across 10,000 square feet and three floors has a modern day fairytale setting: a broad staircase, a stone-finish floor, and cosy furniture you can relax in. Feu 2.0 owner Shilpa Datla says she wanted to make a style statement while bringing her passion project to life. The interiors are an outcome of her travel experiences…