fika

PROCESSES

FIKA

fika

INDIAN PRACTICES

ISSUE 01

SPRING 2021

ISSUE 01 SPRING/SUMMER 2021

PROCESSES

fika is a quarterly publication about Indian household practices and treasures Visit us online at: www.joinpaperplanes.com/ blogs/fika fika magazine, Issue no. 1 ISSN 6521-0756 Published in January 2021

2021 fika magazine ŠAll rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed,or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the editors. For any permission requests, please email Info@joinpaperplanes.com

Made in India.

Cover Art Asmita Katoch

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Founder & Co-creative director Asmita Katoch Shreeya Kamble Editor-in-chief Asmita Katoch Editor Shivani Kudale Photographer Soham Joshi Design & Art Direction Asmita Katoch Shreeya Kamble Illustrator Asmita Katoch

Special Thanks Jasleen Marwah Manisha Sonawane Vibha Bhandari Steve Calmiano

Dear Readers, Welcome to the inaugural issue of fika. As we kickstart this debut edition, I’d like to tell you more about the meaning of our magazine. fika comes from a vastly practices Nordic tradition of self-care, which simply can be described as taking a coffee break. The previous year, with all stuck at home, we faced loss in motivation, burnout & lost sense of hope. This is where taking a break became of utmost importance to nourish ourselves with good food & company.

But here’s another take on the same word; fikaflavorless in Hindi. A term heard commonly in Indian households being used by the dads saying the chai is ‘fiki’ and making mums annoyed.

Upon realizing this we deduced the following— If you don’t follow fika, then life becomes flavorless. & Life will become flavorless if you don’t follow fika.

With this understanding and amalgamation of these two diverse cultures, we introduce you to fika.

In this edition called “Processes” we highlight the everyday contemporary Indian living with an easy to follow along approach. We share a sole aim to help shift your focus more on your own journey’s and along the way find your own balance.

Before we delve ahead, we thank all of our family and friends, contributors and all readers for making this vision possible. Thank you. Here’s to another adventure.

—Asmita Katoch

Editor’s Note

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Creation

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Kajal Mehendi Ghee Mask Ubtan

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Deconstruction

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Dyeing Eco-Printing

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Preservation Sun-Drying Pickling Dry Roasting

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Content

Restoration

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Spine Repair

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Metamorphosis Mind-fullness Asanas

Creation

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Creation is an act of bringing about a new combination of natural elements in various ways of self-expression.

Beauty is believed as an expression of Godliness in the Indian culture, almost something to be revered. In Indian households, every family has its own distinct beauty recipe that, has been passed down through generations.

Learning these traditional age-old crafting methods of adornments, adds a newfound flair to personal grooming.

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Kajal Materials

A stroke of kajal brings out the innate beauty of your eyes so well. It empowers the glance of the wearer like nothing else. Not only does it enhance the beauty of eyes but also has certain health benefits. One would be astounded by how easy it is to make kajal at home using supplies all available in an Indian household!

Creation

A bell-metal plate (Kansa Plate) Container Carom seeds Almonds Pure almond oil Cotton ( used to light clay Diya) Mustard oil (Sarso ka tel ) Spoon Pestle & Mortar Matchstick or Lighter

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Process Crush 5 almonds using pestle and mortar, Take a cotton pad and pack the crushed almonds inside Add 2 spoons of Carom seeds (Ajwain) and close the cotton pad.

Fill the diya 1/4th with mustard oil.

Transfer the cotton roll to the clay diya and immerse in the oil.

Once all soaked in, add more oil to the clay diya and light it.

Use three, pillar-shaped containers to support the bell metal plate on top of the diya.

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The plate should be high enough to not completely put off the diya light and it should be close enough for the diya fire to deposit the black ink. you can see the fire lapping at the Kansa plate making it black.

Wait until the entire mustard oil is exhausted.

The black ash collected is the kajal/kohl. Collect it using a spoon and keep it in a small box.

Take a small amount of almond oil and mix it into the collected black powder.

Store in a cool place.

You can use the powder for eyeshadow it will prevent the kajal from smudging.

Make sure you keep it in a pan so that it is easy to take the product using a flat brush.

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Creation

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Mehendi

Once you’ve got the henna leaves, which is probably the most difficult step in the process, there’s only 3 easy steps to follow: Let the leaves dry crisp in shade (do not expose the leaves to sunlight). It will take a while, but you’ve got to wait.

Grind the dried leaves to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle, take out stems if any.

Sift the powder with a fine sieve or a muslin cloth.

Viola! Mehendi is ready to be used. You can also store it for later use in a sealed plastic bag.

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Mehendi is typically associated with nuptials or festivities in India. Intricate patterns drawn on the hands and feet of the bride are auguries of the impending joyous ceremonies of marriage.

Mehendi, made from Henna leaves, apart from being a popular cosmetic, is a known body heat absorbent. As if this wasn’t persuading enough, the alluring scent of Mehendi is something that lingers in your mind long after the brick red colour fades.

Isn’t it then only better if you can make it yourself with labour of love? Follow the procedure below to make Mehendi on your own!

Editor’s Note Creation

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Honestly, growing up under the daunting western influence, embracing the good old Ghee, which is found in abundance in Indian food, is a struggle many went through.

A world going low-fat raised eyebrows on the notion of Ghee being a boon for the body in multiple ways. But kudos to those who did not succumb to the popular opinion!

A lesser known virtue of Ghee is the wonders it does for your skin and hair. For those open to exploring, here’s a recipe for Ghee mask you can use on your hair, which would visibly improve the health of your hair!

An act of self love which requires minimal efforts, ghee mask is just soothing after a long day.

Take 2 tbsp of ghee and 1 tbsp of olive/ coconut oil (while fighting the urge to slouch on the couch with a screen in front, projecting content you watch just to fit in).

Heat it for not more than 15 secs (and do not touch your phone because you got oil on your hands).

Add a few drops of essential oil of your choice (smell it first, always).

And that’s it. Apply on the hair using gentle massage motions.

Cover with a shower cap and wash away after 30 minutes. It will deep condition the hair making it more manageable for styling.

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Ghee Mask

Creation

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Ubtan Bathing is a sacred ritual. To get rid of the dirt and rejuvenate the skin is cathartic in a way. Ubtan is a slightly coarse fragrant powder used as an exfoliating scrub for the body. Made from all natural ingredients, Ubtan is completely safe for all skin types.

And it can be made within minutes from supplies readily available at home or a local store.

Materials 2 tbsp gram flour Ÿ tsp Turmeric 1 tsp sandalwood powder 1 tsp red lentils powder 2 tsp rose water or milk ½ tsp lemon juice

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Creation

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Combine the dry ingredients and then add the milk and freshly squeezed lemon juice Now apply this paste generously all over the skin.

Keep for 10 minutes or once dry rub off and wash with lukewarm water.

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Creation

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02

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Preservation The curing and optimal use of everything, promoting no spoilage—for better future utilization, preservation in Indian households involves a series of processes and passed on methodologies.

The great Vedas include the concept of material and home science, which has in-depth information with the pros and cons of each material. These techniques further nurture the values forward to the present & future generations.

Unfortunately, the current world has been adapted, to a system of consumption of foods containing harmful chemical preservatives stored in plastic containers.

Preservation

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Due to the hectic and tiring lifestyle patterns, ready to cook products are excessively used, which have several adverse effects on human health. In the current day and age by practicing the preservation of food, human communities can increase their food security through food storage and reduce food waste, thus increasing the resilience of local food systems and reducing their environmental impact of food production.

Sun-Drying Sun and wind both have been used for preserving food since time immemorial. Drying as a method of preservation has numerous advantages. Food becomes lightweight and easy to carry due to the reduced water content in it.

Process To get started, pre-process your fruit produce. Fruits with seeds should be split into two and the seeds should be removed.

Light coloured fruits such as apples, pears and apricot should be soaked in lemon juice, in order to protect them from discoloration.

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Ideally, the fruits should be cut into similar-sized pieces in order to ensure that all of them are evenly dried.

Use good drying racks to spread out the fruit in the tray. The racks can be made of bamboo wood or stainless steel.

Place your drying racks in an area that receives bright sunshine and a cool breeze.

Preferably stack the drying racks away from dust and traffic.

Normally, it takes three to seven days for sun drying most fruits. The best practice is to let them sit through the day and bring them back in the night.

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Vegetables laid out to sun-dry

Preservation

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Once the food is sun-dried, it is important to pasteurize and condition them before storage to make sure the produce is insect-free.

Here’s how— Conditioning—Take the dry fruits and pack them in a sealed container for seven to ten days. If condensation develops in the jar, then the fruit requires more drying before storage.

Pasteurization—To pasteurize in a freezer, simply store the cut and dried fruits in plastic bags in a freezer at zero degree Celsius for 48 hours. In case you want to use an oven instead, repeat the process by putting the sun dried produce on a tray and setting it at about 70 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

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Storing dried vegetables in glass jars

Preservation

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Pickling From selecting the right raw materials to carefully preparing the ingredients, from assembling the pickles to adding spices and then waiting for the pickle to be finally ready – a lasting memory of childhood vacations is that of helping our grandmothers make āchār. Those big ceramic jars filled to the brim with fresh pickles sitting under the sun on terraces evoke memories of carefree holidays. No meal is complete without a spoonful of the sweet, sour, spicy and mouthwatering Indian pickle. Here’s a foolproof and tangy recipe for your first experiment.

Materials

Start by chopping the lemons into quarters and ginger into julienne.

Now shift these into a Mardaban or glass container.

Add the rest of the ingredients into this, and stir till lemons are evenly coated.

Place the container under the morning sun everyday and uncap after each session to burp the pickle.

In 4-5 days the pickle should be ready to pair up with your favorite paranthas.

6-7 Lemons 1 inch Ginger (optional) 1 Tb Salt 2 Tb Sugar 1 tsp Carom seeds 1 tsp Red chili Powder

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Dry-Roasting For most people, mornings are usually busy. Whether you have office to attend or have to get your kids ready for school, morning hours can turn out to be quite taxing. During those rushed morning hours, it’s not very easy to prepare an elaborate meal, especially when you are looking forward to a healthy one. One kitchen ingredient that is both healthy and satiating is sooji or semolina. However, while preparing upma, one has to spend a considerable amount of time in roasting sooji, which is an essential step. To save time and effort, just dry-roast sooji in advance and then store it in an air-tight container.

Materials 2 cup Sooji (Semolina) Non-stick pan A rubber or silicon spatula

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Here’s how you can easily roast up sooji in 3 steps Set burner on Low Flame To begin with, place the nonstick pan on the gas stove and bring it on low flame. After few seconds, add the sooji and dry roast it on low flame. Keep stirring to avoid burning Next, with the help of silicon spatula, stir the sooji so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring till the sooji turns a little aromatic or golden brown in hue.

Allow It To Cool Completely Before Transferring In Container

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Preservation

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Restoration To salvage old-damaged belongings is something that has been practiced in every family over the decades. Whether it’s the emotional sentiment attached to an item or just the plain resourceful use in mind, Indian elders hold this tradition of restoration still alive.

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Spine Repair Love found in between and for the pages of books is the escape many take refuge in. For this affair with books to not turn into a tragedy, you should periodically reorganize and tidy up your bookshelf. But what to do when you find your book wearing down on the spine ? Here’s an easy to follow way to give your book a new look and life

Materials Binder’s Tape Pva Glue Flat Brush Waxed Paper 2 large rubber bands

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First and foremost, you need to remove the hinge from the book entirely. We know this sounds counterintuitive but trust us, it is easier to repair a hinge that is removed than one that is clinging to the book.

Then grab your scissors and trim away any loose paper or threads. Now you’re ready to get started.

Cut a piece of binder tape that is the same height as the text block. Why not use the height of the book cover? Because the text block is almost always shorter and if you base your measurement on the book cover, you are likely to end up with way too much tape.

Carefully and evenly apply adhesive to one side of the tape and then attach it to the text block and spine. Find a flat item and use it to rub the tape so it sticks firmly.

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Let the glue dry, can take a few hours or it can take all night.

Place waxed paper on top of the text block while also in the spine. It should be on top of the binder tape you’ve glued into the book and under the binder tape that has not yet been glued.

Then apply glue to the two tabs, gently bring up the cover so the edge of it fits along the seam of the tape, and press the spine against one tab.

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Now you should attach the final tab to the cover of the book, smooth it with a flat object so that it is lying flat against the cover, and then close the book. Run your flat piece along the spine to make double-sure that the tabs are sticking to the spine.

Place stones to secure the book, and let the whole thing dry overnight.

Once it is dry, take off , remove the waxed paper, and open your book carefully so that it has time to acclimate to the repair.

If the pages are slightly uneven, use sandpaper to even them out.

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Metamorphosis Our forebears had a vision for their future generations and left a great treasure of knowledge which could be used practically even today to find a solution to the current day life problems.

Modern-day lifestyle changes have compelled us so much that one has a little time to think about their lifestyle and consumption patterns.

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Undermining that how adversely it is affecting their physical and mental well-being.

Practicing yogasana helps one to stay healthy and supports mindfulness. The process of changing and adapting according to the changing times brings upon the cycle of metamorphosis.

While learning to keep in touch with our roots and working it into our daily lives, thus creating a new ever-evolving outlook.

Mind-fullness Mindfulness and meditation for anxiety is a growing field that can help you navigate the many ways that anxiety can disorder your life. This guide is not meant to serve as a diagnosing tool or a treatment path—It’s simply a collection of some practices you can turn to as you begin to right your ship.

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The Three-Minute Space Meditation:

Breathing

Attend to what is. The first step invites attending broadly to one’s experience, noting it, but without the need to change what you’re observing.

Focus on the breath. The second step narrows the field of attention to a single, pointed focus on the breath in the body.

Attend to the body. The third step widens attention again to include the body as a whole and any sensations that are present.

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Asanas Yoga is an ancient art and a natural way to stay fit. the term yoga means yuj’ which is to bind. it bind your body mind and spirit.

Here are the yoga asanas that reduce stress & anxiety Balasana Gomukh Asana Shavasana Stretching exercises

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Metamorphosis

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Let’s try a simple yet effective asana - Gomukhasana. A Sanskrit word, Gomukhasana literally translates into a cow face posture (A seated yoga posture, Gomukhasana can be performed along with a set of different seated asanas. It helps stretch the arms, triceps, shoulders, and chest.

Sit on the yoga mat with your back straight and legs extended in front of you. Put your feet together and place your palms next to your hips.

Bend your right leg and place the right feet under your left buttock.

Stack left knee over your right knee.

Raise the left arm above your head and bend the elbow. Simultaneously, bring the right arm behind your back and interlock both of your hands.

Take deep ujjayi breaths and stay as long as you are comfortable.

Now, as you exhale, release your arms.

Uncross your legs and repeat for the other leg.

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Metamorphosis

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Deconstruction

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India is known around the world to be a place of mystical practices and diversified cultures. To draw inspiration from practices in the household and by breaking it down to its primary state, is a common way to practice deconstruction in living.

Whether driven by curiosity or need, dissecting an existing process, to further evolve it into something practical for the desired use has been long led to need inventions and thus practices. Such practices further represent cultures and traditions by illustrating a contemporary perspective on the process of deconstruction.

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Dyeing The art of Bandhani is a highly skilled process. The technique involves dyeing a fabric which is tied tightly with a thread at several points, thus producing a variety of patterns like Chandrakala, Bavan Baug, Shikari etcetera; depending on the manner in which the cloth is tied. The main colour used in Bandhana are yellow, red, blue, green and black.

Materials Cotton Cloth Squares Sewing Thread Black Chickpeas Scissors Dye Water Bath

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Let’s make your first Bandhani Tie-Die! First start by preparing your fabric, for this place the legumes as you wish the design to have rounded pattern and secure with wrapping thread around tightly.

Now wrap the thread at rest of the cloth according to the design to want.

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Dip these ready pieces in salt bath to help color fastness, transfer this to a boiling dye bath and let it simmer for hour Now rinse the fabric pieces in cold water bath Dry in shade to get rid of any moisture left Finally, unwrap and use these as hanker-chiefs, buntings etc.

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Eco-Printing Eco Printing, is the Earth friendly craft that anyone can do; transferring shapes and colours from nature onto textiles and paper.

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Materials Muslin Fabric Thread Scissor Alum Fresh Flowers Water Steamer

Decide on what you want to dye, and prepare it before printing by scouring in alum mordant bath.

Next pick the flowers; some of these might be easily available in your garden like marigold, sunflowers, roses, etc.

Lay your muslin or textile out on a large flat space, and take time to place your collection of nature onto only half of it.

Once done, spray with water.

Fold the fabric with no plant material onto the top of your creation, so that the plant material is sandwiched in between two layers of material. Then starting at one end, roll the fabric and everything in it all the way to the other end. It is important this is a tight roll.

Deconstruction

Another spray of water and it’s good to go in the steamer. Fill the bottom pot with water, making sure it doesn’t touch the steaming basket, place your muslin or fabric in the steaming basket, turn on low and leave for around 3 hours. Once the time is up, turn element off and leave your eco dyed bundle in there until it is at room temperature. Then move it into a bucket or pot.

Let the muslins sit for at least 3 days to give the plant cells time to release their colours, any longer and you risk mold growing. The longer you leave them, the deeper the hue and colour.

Open up when you can wait no longer, empty it of objects and give it a wash and then enjoy your very own piece, hand dyed with the colours of nature.

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Eco-printed hankerchiefs

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Sources 1. https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-tomake-henna-powder-from-leaves/ 2. https://www.herzindagi.com/beauty/ secret-grandmother-ubtan-face-maskmethod-for-women-beauty-tips-picsarticle-80862 3. https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/allabout-sun-drying-meaning-benefits-andhow-it-works-2239586 4. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/ articles/a-brief-history-of-the-humbleindian-pickle/ 5. https://www.mindful.org/mindfulnessmeditation-anxiety/ 6. https://sunnastudios.co/blogs/news/ecodyeing-an-introduction 7. https://bookriot.com/book-repair/

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