UNIBROW

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VOLUME 1/ ISSUE 1

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Phool Mandi Publication

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FROM THE DESK...

‘Unibrow’ as an expression speaks a lot about the essence of an identity. The idea came about with the thought of creating content that is more real and not something aspirational or farfetched. It primarily focuses on standing up for your thoughts, your mind, your opinion, your journey and the multiple turns it takes through its course. I am of the strong belief that a person, understanding his or her own physical and mindful environment, must stand for their true self, whatever it may be. With this initiative I aim to target people who are not afraid to express their true self but yet, are not rebellious. Fashioning the first issue has been quite a journey of finding my true self too, amidst the entire hustle-bustle of coming up with a magazine. I can’t say that I’ve been entirely successful but working on this magazine has definitely been a catalyst in the process as this is who I want to be. This project has been the closest to my heart. This is my first attempt of exhibiting my true self and I sincerely hope that this initiative can in some way facilitate the process of finding one’s true self for the readers.

Sanya Gulati Editor-in-Chief

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As we grew up, a lot changed.

But, what? No more hiding or the way we define perfection?

I think the way we define perfection changed and the attitude towards the society changed from oh my god what will Sharma aunty think to ‘kabhi sexy legs nahi dekhi?’ Not going with what the society has in store for you, but living life on your own terms. Being a dictator and the spectator of your own life; I think that is what has changed and that is what Unibrow is all about, the change in the society. It is a journey of finding ones true identity. We found ours. I hope you do too.

So, be your very own Lady Gaga and let the aunties, uncles, all the handsome hunks and jealous freaks wonder if you just came out of the box because that is what ‘being yourself ’ always meant, thinking unusual and having fun with life. So, if you want to wear sweatpants to a social gathering go on, I’m not going to judge you and if you will stop judging yourselves then maybe others will too. Oh! Who am I kidding? People will still judge you so why not give them something better to judge or talk about... what better than a Unibrow woman?

Happy Reading :)

Radhika Anand Managing Editor

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Unique, is that not what we all strive to be? In a state, where more than a million people live, do we really want to be seen like the person standing next to us; No. We try as hard as we can to stand out just a little, may it be as simple as in how we dress or something as important as what we do in our work life. But, somewhere we still have the fear of being judged, of being labeled. It’s human nature to choose the easier path, to just follow a line so as not to face disappointment or failure. Being unconventional is chosen by very few, some who are a little more eccentric than rest, break-free from the norms our society have set on us and flourish in their lives. To them, it’s not a choice, but a need to take a path few have walked, knowing the problems they face but happily doing it because the way never leads to disappointment. So today, just for a moment, stand and think, do we really want to be a part of a melee? To just be? Or do we want to stand by our convictions, have the courage to follow the path that our heart desires and not really care for the norms, not really care for the supposed right path that our society may dictate.

Put yourself out there and believe me there will be no regrets.

Paridhi Goel Content Writer Public Relations

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“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Eleanor Roosevelt.

Unibrow tells us to live life freely without any pre conceived notion about fashion, art and lifestyle. It tells you go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined without any agitation and insecurities. As a part of the magazine we are trying to change the mindset of people who think fashion means being glamorous, who think lifestyle is all about luxurious, who think art is only about colors but that’s not true. We have more to all of this... Being true to yourself is what our magazine says...you can aspire yourself by not seeing others but following your values, your mind yet not being rebellious. Break barriers, set yourself free from the shackles of social taboos. Unibrow is rooted but not raw...Its dovetailed to cultural connection. I hope our first issue of the magazine would aspire the readers and will set them strong and put them free from social taboos.

Shivamm Paathak Photographer Creative Director

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Fashion 16.

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Breaking Bonds Fabric Fabricated Roots Out of the box Modest Charm Spot me if you can

Art 62.

Dayanita Singh-From the Heart of a Soloist

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Jalebi-Beware of the Artist

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Being normal is Non- Confirming, Manjari Sharma Creativity takes Courage Frida Kahlo

Lifestyle 96.

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Webbed Stop me if you can Kalki Koechlin ...and sometimes surprises come in big packages too Must Reads One must live to eat, not eat to live

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fashion 15

BreakiBonds ng

By Sanya Gulati Photographs by Shivamm Paathak

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t has always been believed that women must talk proper, dress proper, sit proper, walk proper and everything else that they possibly could do ‘properly’.

Hence came about the idea of looking proper or to look in a manner that was primarily thought of as the ‘ideal’.

Corsets were discarded long time back but the ideology of slim waist remained stuck in everyone’s mind and that began to form our idea of beautiful. This theory is slowly and progressively fading away and designers now are not sticking to the age old idea that a woman must be dressed in body hugging clothes which do not leave any scope for the body to breathe. Designers have the great power to influence our decision making capacity in terms of how we dress since what happens on the ramp sets a benchmark for us for the way we should look.

Lately designers have presented us with the idea of nonbody hugging clothes. Pero by Aneeth Arora, Bodice, Eka, 11.11, Anupamaa by Anupama Dayal are few designers whose designs are not as if one has to really try hard to get there rather they respect the Indian body form the

Freedom wraped in pink.

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Let me breathe?

way it is. “I often say that I want to make a woman happy not just make her conscious of her status or her waistline. Happiness for me is about feeling free and as a woman I dwell into what makes me free. I want be freed from the shackles of having to look a certain way or having to dress a certain way. I want to break free from all of this. Yet I am a woman I want to look beautiful, I want to get the compliments. So, I try to create a product which ticks all these boxes.

Where she is looking good enough getting the compliments yet it is practical and light enough for her to travel around in. I like to think that I set her free�, says Anupama Dayal.

The non-constricting silhouettes put across a thought of freeing a woman from apprehensions about her body.

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Pero by Aneeth Arora’s latest collection ‘Make love, not war’ explored androgyny with the models walking the ramp in uniforms with a twist of femininity Rina Singh of Eka believes that one must be true to their identities and not try to be someone you’re not. According to her a woman must not challenge herself by trying to fit into clothes that don’t complement one’s body type. She says “One must be extremely comfortable in whatever they are wearing. To be a non-conformist it is extremely important to justify your personality and your persona.”

She also offers her clients with a solution and presents the idea to them with fabrics that her audience is familiar with and has a sense of belonging to.

Prama by Pratima Pandey specializes in fusion garb with Indian sensibility. In her collection, this season, she focused on layering that makes one feel comfortable about them. There were kurtas with long jackets and palazzos.

Even Bollywood has undergone a change and has started accepting silhouettes that don’t demand women to try too hard. There was a time when Rani Mukherjee and Juhi Chawala sported fitted clothes but now we see Sonam Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez feeling free flaunting Anupama Dayal’s clothes as they did in ‘Khoobsurat’ and ‘Kick’ respectively. “It has really been an eye opener for me. I have never sought after Bollywood and have thought of it as something important and close to fashion but not fashion. I always thought that fashion is separate

Hang on blue.

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and we stand on our own feet. I have never even used Bollywood on my ramp. I didn’t there was place for us in Bollywood. But I feel overtime Bollywood has also changed and the movies are more and more real and intelligent and finding a way in our lives. Earlier the clothes they wore were costumes, which is why I thought there was a big line between us. Now it’s all about the storyline and which designer fits in. Lately, I’ve realized that nothing succeeds like Kareena wearing your skirt or the sales figures you achieve with just one picture of Sonam Kapoor wearing a saree. Bollywood is pretty much the most defining thing India has whether we like it or not.”- Anupama Dayal on the shift Bollywood has undergone in acceptance towards non constricting silhouettes.

It’s okay if one doesn’t want to do hundred crunches or drag them on the treadmill if one doesn’t want to. It is important to be yourself because it is not about how you look but who YOU are...

Bonding with green.

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Fabric,

fabricated

By Sanya Gulati

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he humble fabric is the designer’s guinea pig to innovate and play around with. It has been the vast canvas on which the designers have painted their portraits of creativity and have left their imagination to go to the wildest of creations in order to realize the dreams of their audience. As clothes are now coming alive, speaking for themselves through texturing and adding multi-dimensional perspective of human personality, fabric manipulation is the new avatar of textile re-engineering.

(Above & left) Stunning felt tikkis by Namrata Joshipura

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In an age when garments need that added jazz of sequins and embroidery to add the X factor, some designers are using just plain fabric to elaborate the clothes that are executed skillfully. It is done via a process called fabric manipulation that involves various techniques of twisting and turning the fabric through cording, pleating, quilting, braiding, applique and other such ways, as the name suggests.

This also seems like a prominent trend at the Amazon India Fashion Week A/W 2015. Namrata Joshipura, Paromita Banerjee, Rina Dhaka and Rajesh Pratap Singh are some of the game changers.

‘Night Goddess’ by Namrata Joshipura saw sequins and embroidery as always but a bit of texture was added with felt tikkis and dori work on her garments.

Her always sensual collections had a bit of a drama happening with the felt fabric. The black dominated collection true to its name looked stunning with this supplementary surprise element.

(Below & right) 3D pops of flowers and spider webs by Rina Dhaka

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Delicate flower blossoms and spider webs were coming to life with the 3D bit to Rina Dhaka’s collection. In an interview to FDCI she says, “The idea was to play on the spider web and create textures resembling that with pops of 3D effects,”

Images courtesy: https://plus.google.com/s/fdci

Paromita Benerjee uses waste fabric for patch work

Paromita Banerjee’s brand works closely with artisan and craft clusters around India narrating the saga of the craft persons to recreate drapes and outfits that define the aesthetic beauty of textiles. Inspired by the local dressing styles of people of various regions, it is a mode of storytelling and each ensemble tells a tale, rich in imagery and culture. In her latest collection Boro II, Paromita used a Japanese technique called ‘boro’ or using waste fabric to create textures. These geometric pieces of fabric placed at the base of her jackets contributed to the character of the garment as it seemed culturally rooted. They were placed together mostly and in various colours of indigo, mustard and grey with hints of carrot red.

Designers are optimizing the potential of fabrics and accentuating them, treating fabric as an entity rather than adding various external elements. Embellishments have come a long way from tila, dabka, gotapati, baadla to stone studded embroidery and now to fabric itself as enhancement. The fabric is being put to test by the designers to discover its true potential. It is absolutely

genius.

Rajesh Pratap Singh’s ‘Medicine is the best laughter’ was a masterpiece from the maestro himself. Known as the king of minimalism, Singh put up an entire collection in just white and black. Fabric manipulation was seen in the form of flowers at the base of his skirt testimony of his minimalism ideology done to great perfection.

Fabric manipulation is also a great way to reuse the fabric that is of no substantial use considering fashion industry generates the most amount of waste. This offbeat trend is sure to find its way to people’s closets as it defines individuality at its best. And it does so in a logical manner.

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RootS Styling: Radhika Anand, Sanya Gulati, Paridhi Goel

Model: Gautami Jain Make-up: Ishita Madhur Photography: Shivamm Paathak

Roots are what we hold onto to justify our existence. It may not be quite evidently visible but roots are sure the foundation of any strong individual.

This thought entwined with the honesty of the colour white, also a S/S’15 trend speaks the story of a woman who is on a journey to find herself.

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Top: ZARA Denims: Forever 21 Shoes: Koovz

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Dress: ZARA Shoes: Koovz

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Jumpsuit: ZARA Platforms: Forever 21

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Denim Jacket: Levis Bralet: Forever 21 Linen Pants: Marks and Spencers Sandals: Clarks

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Peplum: Elle Palazzo pants: People Tree Sandals: Forever 21

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Shirt: United Colours of Benetton Skirt: Forever 21 Platforms: Forever 21

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Let them wonder, if you

Just Came

Out of the

BOX

"We all strive for perfection when it comes to life or career but, when it comes to fashion we prefer being imperfect to look perfect."

By Radhika Anand Photography Shivamm Paathak

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W

hat do you call too much accessorising?

Quirky rings, ear cuffs, earrings, necklaces, handbags and all sorts of other accessories you can think of, have evolved into something that surely nobody even thought of. It’s bizarre; the industry is bizarre; it goes beyond that little kitten attached to your hair tie.

It’s called fashion.

It’s like an era of being a little different.

Where being perfect is completely boring be it in the clothes you wear, the way you talk, the way you walk or the way you accessorise yourself up. If you are too perfect or too conventional, sorry, my friend you are pretty old school.

Not all accessories are cool, some are really weird too, the ones we see and we are like, ah isn’t that necklace more of a tooth brush sort of a thing, you brush with it or what. We thought maybe it was just jewellery designer- Pamela Love who used to do this while she was in school, but, guess we were wrong.

More and more earring trends we see and we are like, hey, I think you forgot one of your earring and the looks that one get afterwards, they are more like “you don’t know fashion, back off ”.

From delicate pearls to a giant snake wrapped around someone’s neck we have been keen observers, we have seen it all. The shift in the accessory world cannot be ignored because, well, it is huge and anything and everything makes sense now.

We have seen fashion trends change every now and then; from a simple black hat to studded berets, from kitten heels to fur shoes. It’s crazy how fashion keeps evolving itself so often.

Fashion is a vicious circle, it goes and it comes back again, similarly, the trend of handmade accessories came in 2013 and went off but now the trend is back in action and this time it’s here to stay.

source: www.toms.com

source: www.net-a-porter.com

Being an unconventional accessory lover or say little miss imperfect, it has its own perks. I mean come on, you can wear all sorts of animals on you; how cool is that?

Backing off is definitely a good option here because imperfection is really in, not only in the fashion world but everywhere, even Kanta bai knows it because she thought it would be too happening to be like Kareena Kapoor from the movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and wear two different sandals and come to work and be like “isko fashion kehte hai, tum nahi jala?“ and the staring lasts for about 2 hours because Kanta bai too got stung by the insect of imperfection, so we know Spring Summer 2015 is definitely not a season for subtle accessories.

From ramp to the streets, people have showcased and worn accessories made out of paper, duct tape, MRI reports, and much more. These things are too hard for us to even imagine, but thanks to the zillions of creative minds we have in the industry who keep surprising us by their out of the box madness.

But, did you ever imagine handmade jewellery will still be in trend? School days were different when we were asked to create things out of waste paper, but people actually wearing earrings, necklaces made out of paper and showcasing them on the streets while shopping, going for work or even to parties; it’s becoming a rage.

Strangled yet fashionable

Thought of two.

Artwork by hand.

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Spotting people wearing such trendy handcrafted accessories on the streets, we couldn’t resist ourselves from asking if it was only us or if actually handmade accessories are back on the fashionable streets of the city. To which, Sanah, a 21 year-old regular shopper from Janpath and a student by profession says, “I can’t stop wearing these trendy pieces. They are so light and so handy. I used to see many people wearing these and am glad that now I am one of them. I adore handmade things, my favourite are the earrings”

Often seen everywhere, at fashion weeks or in any local market, people are crazy about handmade accessories and there are hundreds of e-commerce websites selling them; one of them being this really new and chic brand, Kagaz.

A brand that has about thousands of followers on Facebook and other social media sites and has made a niche for itself in the social circle in such a short span of time.

Founded by two young boys, Gagan Preet Singh and Aman Preet Singh, both science students and we have no clue why they did that.

Paper cubes worn as earrings

Harshita, a NIFT student studying Fashion Business Management says, “I have been an accessory lover since forever. I make my own necklaces using threads, paper and wires and I have been doing this since school time but, when I was in school, it never meant anything, people used to see it, give a compliment and leave but, now it’s so good to see that those school time accessories are actually trending these days and now when I think about it I actually see potential for the same in the long run.

There is a huge demand for it nowadays, my own friends ask me to make some for them. It is definitely trending.”

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They believe in what St. Francis once said, “He who works with his hands is a labourer.

He who works with his hands and head is a craftsman.

He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”

"Kagaz is about a thought, an idea to make valuables from the waste, an idea to bring about unconventional experiments in the form of art, to create an art store which has no boundaries, to never follow prescribed ways to make an accessory. It is an open platform for people who can make anything out of anything and if they fail, to give them the hope to try again. Kagaz is that hope."

"We don’t really have a design philosophy or we don’t call it one. We think about making a new design that is raw, generic and should be easily accessible. We try to get into the most basic of raw materials like paper, buttons, threads and we try merging them with our own creativity. We are not scared to try things and thus some of them become our products and some waste. We are just here to make the youth understand our ideology behind Kagaz and what it takes to preserve and respect art", says Gagan, one of the co-founders of the brand.

New Kids on the block Gagan Preet Singh (top) and Aman Preet Singh (Right)

Waste glass bottle caps turned into art.

Barefoot sandals by Kagaz.

When asked about how the concept came to his mind, he says “It was not something that I wanted to do. I mean I never thought about it. I remember it started when I flunked my 3rd semester exams and I didn’t tell my parents about them and started creating random things, it was then when one of my friend saw some pieces of jewellery which I had created and she was baffled and asked ‘why did you buy these?’ and was amazed when she got to know I had created them myself and pitched up the idea of Kagaz into my mind and even started with a Facebook page for me on ‘31st December 2013’ and it was then that Kagaz was born.

We started off with my mother’s black old sweater’s buttons then came a neckpiece of my mark sheet, newspapers, peanuts, stones, jute and many more items. ”

Wasn’t it difficult to come up with new materials every now and then? “Oh! It was like a scavenger hunt in the starting” There is a huge competition for imitation jewellery these days, how do you keep your brand up to the mark?

“We have a team of dedicated people who trust the idea behind the brand and work really hard to get to the goals, there are a lot of brands in the market which might be doing this even better than us, but, what we do it’s for a cause.

We do it to see that smile on peoples face when they are amazed to see the things that can be made with the help of waste materials, we do this for happiness for the people who use our products and for the people who help us achieve the goals of those products and that’s what really matters to us and as it is competition is where you have a chance to win. So, yes, we are aware

of the competition and also of the fact that if implemented well, this can be a revolution and we are up for it.”

On asking about how he came up with the unconventional name of the brand, he says, “I thought a lot and looked for a lot of options for a handicraft jewellery store and then, ‘kagaz ki duniya’ occurred to me because at that time most of my products were made from paper and then after a little brainstorming we came up with the name, Kagaz and the first logo was designed and we were up on the social media and running.”

“We are handmade and that’s what makes us different”, he says when asked about how Kagaz is different from the existing accessory brands. He further adds, we are not overpriced and at the same time we provide amazing quality for which we have a separate quality analysis team. We pick our materials

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up from roadside literally and make them usable. Our ideology is very unique, we support renewable art.”

“I love the accessories Kagaz makes. I can wear them all day long without any heaviness on myself or in my pocket. They are that cheap.

A typical combination of ‘sasta, sundar, tikau’”, says Anshul, one of the frequent customers of Kagaz.

"The dream is to make

Kagaz world’s largest art store"

calculated steps; it’ll be always more of a ‘s***, look at that, looks brilliant. How did you make it?”

“We are making our own notions and making people believe in that.”

What kind of scope do you foresee for your brand? “We are not anywhere right now. But, I believe that in a year or so we will make our name in Indian market.”

“The dream is to make Kagaz world’s largest ‘art’ store and art has no limits, no boundaries. I want to keep it growing always never limiting it to any genre of art. I’ll achieve this. In coming two years, you’ll see Kagaz as India’s next big thing.” He concludes with a slight giggle and says, “Save this interview.”

Jhumka affair.

When asked what according to him being nonconformist is in his field of work he says, “The whole journey of Kagaz is very unconventional. We never followed any norms or rules governing fashion or handicrafts. We did it in our own way. Surprisingly, no one from our team is from a design, fashion or art background, it’s just what we love.

We are not being driven by threats of being a failure. We never create boundaries as I said earlier for anyone in our team for anything that they try.

It’s all about experiments after all.”

He further adds, “Who would have thought, a string picked from roadside will make a stunning pair of earrings.

So, you see, our decisions are not feared by the final results. We are a breed of doers and it’ll be always like this. The brand is not something with 42

Vibrant tassel.

It’s not only Kagaz’s story, I believe it’s what we have been doing all our lives, trying to preserve art be it in school, college or even when some of us joined those art classes during the summer break.

Different, but same, worlds of art and fashion share a serious and special relationship. When the two worlds blend, authentic creativity takes birth. Fashion and style are essential platforms for creative artists, like those of Kagaz, to evolve and expand globally.

So, as they say, go fill your cart with rainbows, cupcakes and kagaz.

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Modest Charm Styling: Sanya Gulati, Radhika Anand and Paridhi Goel Model: Neha Vohra Make-up: Kavisha Photography: Shivamm Paathak

Vocabulary of my life, easy to live; easy to learn. I accept myself for my individuality, I’m full of compassion. I’m not afraid of the truth, I’m an easy language. Don’t look at my size, look at me. I’m a woman and I’m enough.

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Dress: Anupama

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Kurti: Mae Skirt: Anupamaa

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Dress: Anupama Boots: Streetstylestore.com

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Dress: Anupama Sandals: Streetstylestore.com

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Kurti: Dastkar Culottes: Mae

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Jacket: Mae Skirt: Anupamaa Necklace: Forever 21

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spot me if you can

Photography by Shivamm Paathak Assisted by Sanya Gulati, Radhika Anand, Paridhi Goel

Gautami Jain 21

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Simar Walia 19

Shreya Sen 22

Srishti Khurana 21

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Sasha 21

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Radhika Khetrapal 22

art 61

FROM HEART OF A SOLOIST THE

D

ayanita Singh, born 1961, is a Delhi based Indian artist and bookmaker with photography as her forte. Her early education of visual communication was done at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and documentary photography at the International Center of Photography, New York.

Dayanita Singh found her true passion on the day she was pushed down by an aggravated official at the concert of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. That day she decided to become a photographer, not because she wanted to be but because she saw it as her ticket to freedom. For years she documented Hussain’s work, being whoever she wanted to be, doing whatever she wanted to do. Since them she has published 12 books: Museum of Chance (2014), Fileroom (2013), House of Love (2011), Dayanita Singh (2010), Dream Villa (2010), Blue Book (2009), Sent a Letter (2008), Go Away Closer (2007),Chairs (2005), Privacy (2003), Myself Mona Ahmed (2001) and Zakir Hussain (1986).

An impressionable young woman of 18 was told by her mother that marriage was not something she had to do. It was to be viewed as an option, to follow or not. Words that changed her life. Never needing a man to complete her life, Singh completely dedicated herself to her work. The idea of being responsible only to oneself is so freeing and so very different. Her life is a series of chance encounters, being open to change and having a very well-honed intuition.

Not letting society to put her in a box or categorise her, she has managed to hold onto her freedom. An idea she wants younger women to think about, 62

By Paridhi Goel

especially because of the many choices that life offers. She believes that being different has very much to do with the way you choose to live your life and once you accept the idea of being a soloist, everything becomes a lot easier.

“Some people play solo, some in a duet and others in an orchestra. I am simply a soloist,” says Dayanita Singh.

Seated at the Indian International Center, Delhi, she perfectly justified the stunning background of marigolds with her small stature, lively presence and bright-eyed curiosity.

A world of opportunities and options, there are also a set of rules that govern our lives. To follow would be to walk in a straight line and to believe would be to set your own path.

Singh set out viewing the world through a kaleidoscope of opportunities, of choices and to be the master of her own universe. She believed in the ideations of being a soloist, a person very happy with her own self. She would never say that she wasn’t in wonderful relationships but definitely says that those relationships did not define who she was.

Adamant at not being called single as it goes with the idea of being part of a couple; but being treated and accepted as a soloist. Laughingly, she confesses, that she was never much

of a team player. Her love of sound, movement should have been very successful in films but being a team player was not something she could do. But the world of photojournalism helped keep her dramatic streak alive.

She believes that life does not happen in a programmed way. Keeping your intuition antenna up helps you in segregating these choices and ultimately in finding your passion, your obsession. Singh doesn’t once say that getting married is something you should totally forfeit but just to renegotiate the terms to a more equal footing.

She considers her art to be an engagement with literature, with cinema and conversation at the heart of it.

Believing interesting conversation and correspondence- with people from all around the world- is the best source of all inspirwations. Apart from the beauty and the compositional sense, she invests a lot of time in her interests. A subject for her is never truly researched.

There is always more to done, more depths to be delved into. Her work is focused but very wide, constantly looking into more areas and being

Source: http://nothingmajor.com

Source: http://db-artmag.de

Mona Ahmed: Third Sex Series

Source: https://hyperallergic.com

Gayle and Sister: Deutsche Bank Collection

Source: http://www.rencontres-arles.com

A book whiich is not about answering questions: Go Away Closer Collection

Zakir Hussain: Tabla Maestro

Source: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/

Dayanita’s Go Away Closer Collection

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minutely aware of her surroundings.

She made the ordinary, special, and the special, ordinary.

Singh doesn’t really believe in spoonfeeding, wanting the person on the street to add his own version to her story. Always thinking of playing with the reader, she brings in photographs that allow him or her to read his own story through her view. Dayanita Singh’s photographic work often presents a curious view of the seemingly everyday. Her famous photograph of a girl lying facedown on a bed, still wearing her school uniform is a picture that is relatable to all. “The girl could be me, the girl could be you. We all know the feeling of coming back from school and falling from exhaustion or hunger,” says the riveting photographer.

Even though Dayanita now uses digital camera and has photographer full collections with her phone she still prefers film and its inbuilt limitations and advantages. In the world of technicolour, she masters in black and white clicks capturing the rawness and the life-like quality of the idea she wants to portray. A woman, who views life through her own telescope, manages

to capture hauntingly beautiful images of simple day-to-day happenings teasing the brain into thought, urging the eye to look beyond the surface.

“You sort of have to do dancing around what you’re photographing, see it from lots of different angles, watch the light but most importantly to watch the background,” advises Singh.

She never needed the technique of manipulation, always being happy with the results she has gotten. The trick, she says, is to look for those different angles, never giving the whole story away with one. Shooting half the scene while playing with light brings in the mystery that the reader needs to see. She swears that the results would not need a touch-up after.

around at her whimsy. Each museum was a cluster of images by rearranging them in panes- ‘Museum of Chance’, ‘Museum of Furniture’, ‘Museum of Machines’, ‘Museum of Little Ladies’ and so on- to evoke particular themes.

She managed to find a form from all the things she saw as limitations and created her own unique masterpiece.

“It must be part of your medium to question and change the set of rules.

You have to think outside- the-box but it cannot be different for the sake of being different!,” she concluded.

Portable museums were her way of making her work more accessible, outside the gallery but also within the system to show it in her own way.

Against the idea of prints stuck to the wall, Singh touched the creativity ball by designing museums that can contract and collapse at her will- wooden structures that display 40-50 images at a time and quite a lot in reserve, images that can be pulled and moved Source: https://www.flickr.com

A grandmother loving caring for her grand-child: Dayanita Singh

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Source: http://www.thehindu.com Source: http://www.amber-online.com

Presence and Absence, Reality and Dreams, Tradition and Progress: Go Away Closer Collection

Portable Museum

Koshy Kids, Bangalore, 1997/2005: Deutsche Bank Collection

Source: http://www.aperture.org

Source: http://jeffmatherphotography.com

Unclear Family: Crooks Workshop 1993

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BEWARE OF THE ARTIST "Art is a form of identity. 'Jalebi', takes you to a journey of a creative mind, a life everybody dreams of having someday, the power everyone desires, the power of being an artist."

Photography by Radhika Anand Assisted by Shivamm Paathak

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"A place to be me, a place where I don't have to hide from the world, a place where I am my own judge"

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"Creating shades of my life"

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"Creating shades of my mind"

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"Because I am a mess, a mess of gorgeous choas"

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"I can do wonders" , says the box.

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"Hold on tight"

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"Which one is you?"

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"I have lived here, this is where I belong"

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"Tipi Tipi Tap, which colour do you want?"

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“Being normal is

non-conforming” -Says Manjari Sharma, an architect, potter, enamel artist, painter, designer, art therapist and a teacher

Interviewed by Sanya Gulati Photographs by Shivamm Paathak

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rom a School of Planning and Architecture graduate to venturing into various art forms to set out on an unconscious journey to reclaim the sacredness of the art expression talks to us about how she had to fight to be normal and how non-conforming can soon turn into conforming.

How being an architect graduate you got inclined towards pottery?

I took up architecture because I wanted a creative profession for myself. And while I was doing architecture I found that I was designing only for a part of a year the other time I was just running after the ‘thekedaars’ and MCD to get the work done. And the fact that so many people are required for one project that the ease of expressing what you want is just lost and I missed that. So then I ventured into art and landed with pottery.

What is your design philosophy and how does that translate in to your day to day life?

I feel about it more so strongly now after having done architecture, craft, design, art, art therapy. I think we’ve totally missed the point in these times. Art expression used to be very sacred, the tribal still hold it in that staturethey create a certain motif for a particular ceremony and then erase it. The process was always considered important because that is what is transformative. I feel that the whole purpose and intention of art has gone out of the window- now we’re looking at end products and people buy a painting because its frame matches with their sofa set. That is why I have created this space (her studio) where we have no desire to reach anywhere it is ‘Work in

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Progress’ all the time (laughs). I want art expressions to be transformative and that is the philosophy I follow when I teach or when I work with art or design. It has to be a life skill otherwise it’s of no use. Somewhere I also feel that we need to regain the sacredness of the creative process. In earlier times there would be an artist in a small gallery in worn out clothes with 20 paintings and you would see his journey through them and you could be a part of that process. Now nobody is interested in the artist or craftsmen they all look at the end product and that is sad. For that matter even in fashion it is supposed to be transforming, the first time a man wore pink was on the ramp. It can create a whole movement.

What do you indicate when you say art therapy?

I think I set out to reclaim the sacredness of art, unconsciously though. And so I went from architecture to pottery to painting, enamel then I moved to craft.

Now looking back I was actually trying to get in to peoples’ space leaving out the end product behind and get into the process behind it. Then I started working with HIV people, sex workers, street children and I found that art was so transforming.

I will never forget the first time a bought a box of wax crayons and took some old sheets of paper to PVR Saket. I sat down there with chocolates and toffees and called all the street children there. And then one little boy took the paper, put his hand on it and drew an outline of it and identified himself with that imprint. To me that was a transforming moment and this feeling of empowerment that this expression does is lost. I still get goose pimples when I recall that incident. For me even coming to teach was to help students find themselves. To see a student discover their magic, to validate and to rekindle their spirit

The mind’s language

is therapeutic for me. And I don’t see any other purpose for art, design and fashion.

and freedom and that does translate to my work. With freedom comes responsibility.

How do you encapsulate freedom in your art work?

Freedom is a very complex term. And I’m feeling it much more in my life now than ever before because I was the kind always wanted to break free from boundaries. And here I am today where I don’t need to earn money, I can do what I want to and my kids are grown up – I’m totally in whichever way ‘free’. And frankly I don’t use the word freedom anymore because I realized that freedom lies with commitment.

Freedom on its own means nothing.

For me freedom is liberation through commitment. It’s not about tearing down everything, breaking everything giving pain to people and then calling oneself an artist. It is about carrying the people with your community and your loved ones and liberating them.

Then again liberation from what is also something that needs to be looked at.

For me liberation is, going back to that incident of the little boy, about finding yourself and finding your uniqueness.

The fact that there have been humans ever since and no two humans look the same, they never have and never will, is just so fascinating. It blows my mind whenever I think about it. To me finding that uniqueness is liberation

What do you think is being a nonconformist in the field of art?

There was a time when there was a revolt, a rebellion inside me and my work was completely about breaking boundaries. I made masks and art that was almost grotesque and it was liberating for me at that point in time.

I was enjoying that process. I felt like I was finding myself and that I didn’t have to listen to anybody and I didn’t have to do things the way they were supposed to be done. And people loved my work. Then I began to realize that I had been completely slaughtered there and if I wanted to be ordinary or if I didn’t want to stand out like a sore thumb and wear blue and green lipstick which I very happily used to wear. I realized that I didn’t have the space to be normal. Everybody would expect something bizarre from me.

And then I had to fight to be normal.

So for me being non-conformist is actually fighting to be ‘you’, whoever you truly are. I kind of transcended from being in a space of conflict to being in a space of resolution or harmony. So if you see my pottery it is very rebellious and grotesque. And then I started doing paintings and they had a floral element and were visually 79

quite flowy. And they people who bought my pottery didn’t want to buy my paintings. When I did art shows one art curator came to me and said that my paintings are really nice but can we do it under some other name, because people expected bizarre from me, and the paintings didn’t speak that language.

I immediately refused to do a show with them. I wanted to be me. If bizarre is what I was then and if calm is what I am now then so be it. So non-conforming can also become conforming sooner than you realize it.

And I’ve seen most artists get stuck in that, they are quite miserable churning out that same thing. And I had to really fight to be normal and that was nonconforming for me.

“I realized that freedom lies with commitment. Freedom on its own means nothing.”

Manjari Sharma

Do you feel your work is defying pre-conceived notions about art?

Honestly, I don’t care. (Laughs) I just do what comes to my mind and to me a canvas, clay is an out pouring and I’m quite happy to have that space Her pottery coming alive

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and I don’t care what anybody thinks.

It’s my fight to be me.

What is your recent initiative LSD-Learn something different all about?

So the name came about when I felt that there has to be a space where people can come alive. Earlier I used to go to a lot of parties and meet people whose lives revolved around alcohol.

That was their only way to let go. I also found a lot of people who wanted to meet up and didn’t want to lose their mind with booze. I also felt that people had lost the capacity to talk.

I’ve opened this space to everyone so I have a fourteen year old and a sixty year old coming in the same batch.

There are people from all walks of life from a chartered accountant to a lawyer. And they are coming here not to make a career out of it but to learn how to use it as a life skill. We do a lot of exercises on self-discovery, how to be spontaneous to accept chaos.

It’s been quite a journey for me also because a fourteen year old can teach me as much as a sixty year old. So everything we do here is transforming.

And then we have monthly sessions on life stories, performances etc.

Her workspace

People come and talk about their transforming moments.

How necessary do you think is it to free oneself from social taboos?

I don’t know what social taboos are. Sometimes in that whole aspect of freeing somebody from something ruins it for them. There were these two craftswomen and they came from a very typical and traditional life and they were quite happy to be there looking after their kids and do madhubani paintings. Then they were brought into the city and here all the ‘Naari Shakti’ went on to liberate them from things like covering their head. And they began

to enjoy that and after about a year of working here and earning money they had to go back to the village where the things hadn’t changed at all. They couldn’t handle the reality and both committed suicide. It was so terrible for them. And after having worked with street children and sex workers I’ve realized that liberation comes out of a journey it can’t be handed on. I have a lot of young people coming to me and talking about coming out of the closet. Earlier I would totally stand up to fight for equality. Today I say do what you’re comfortable with. It is very personal and I think we should leave it at that. Of course we shouldn’t become victims of repression in this process.

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CREATIVITY TAKES

COURAGE -Henry Matisse

Art inspires, motivates and encourages. We cannot limit it within four walls, to be seen behind glass walls. Never to be touched or felt.

Street art is one beautiful form to bring art right into the hands of the people. It may not always be for vandalism or as a form of aggression, sometimes it can be for the right reasons as well. Painting run-down, moldy walls into gorgeous pictures not only is a pleasure to see but also enhances the infrastructure of the city. It doesn’t always have to be larger-than-life for it to make an impact, it can be as small as painting funny pictures on dustbins to make conscious of cleanliness.

But in a city of millions, with these million people doing a billion things, do we really have the time to notice the small things? Yogesh Saini, initiator of Delhi Street Art, did.

By Paridhi Goel Photography by Shivamm Paathak

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The artist himself: Yogesh Saini

Lodhi Garden’s colourful dustbins

U. What was your inspiration towards this initiative?

YS. As I said above it was a very small beginning and somehow it caught the fancy of a lot of artists and supporters.

Just seeing the plain green garbage cans made me want to do something different with them - turning them into more attractive garbage

receptacles while bringing art and artists into open public spaces.

U. Do you think your work breaks the notions present about street art?

YS. Several forms of street art have always existed in our cities - from hand painted truck signs to wall painted advertisements. While not as prevalent some graffiti also can be found in parts of our metros although in far smaller numbers than usually visible in western metros. Typically graffiti is associated either with currents of teen angst, gang rivalries and vandalising public property. What we bring to the streets is pure creativity, colour and new ideas which add to the aesthetic appeal of a wall or a building and sometimes help create an art revival of an entire neighborhood. Needless to say, all our efforts are overt (as against covert "spray and scoot" graffiti) and with permissions from appropriate agencies.

U. How do you plan to make a difference with your work?

YS. We are opening new opportunities for artists to display their talent in Source: http://www.thebetterindia.com

Unibrow. Tell us something about yourself?

Yogesh Saini. I'm a mechanical engineer by education and went on to complete an MBA and post grad studies in the US. After several years in the corporate world and having launched a few technology startups in Silicon Valley I returned to India a couple of years back. I found that instead of trying to fit into the local corporate world I should do something different. Without any specific social agenda I set out to seek permission to add creative designs to garbage bins of Lodi Gardens. That's how Delhi Street Art was born and soon after Lodi, we started getting requests from several others to take on public art initiatives.

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Fun Grafitti Illustration

spaces previously unheard of. They no longer have to wait weeks or months to find slots in galleries to exhibit their work. They are also able to reach out to a far larger audience. We also feel we are totally changing the definition of a gallery or a museum - and for that matter the canvas itself. Often our art also carries a subtle social message which hopefully makes a small impact to some of the people who interact with it.

U. Do you think people will view street art differently by doing what you do? How is your work and the art community’s work different? Do you

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think it will no longer be considered vandalism?

YS. We surely hope so. As I have mentioned earlier, we practice legitimate art which happens to be on the streets and alleys instead of the confines of art venues. The very fact that we are invited by civic and municipal agencies to help them transform public spaces shows that our art is not seen as vandalism.

U. What do you want to express through your art, your community and your ideas?

YS. We hope that we can embellish public spaces with far more creative

expression than is usually visible in our cities. People tend to feel more positive when they encounter an unexpected piece of art on a wall which was being used as a public toilet or a garbage dumping site. It is this hope and optimism that makes living in our otherwise crowded and sometimes difficult urban spaces, more tenable and (we hope) a tad positive.

U. Do you think expressing yourself through your art frees you from the bounds set by society?

YS. Any form of creative expression is always liberating and somewhat exhilarating. Being able to leave a mark on a public space which can be appreciated (or criticised) by many is surely a good feeling for an artist.

U. Why did you choose Delhi as a place to express your art?

YS. I came back to live in Delhi after being away for many years so

it was a logical starting point. We have explored and expanded beyond Delhi to not only the NCR but also Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Rishikesh and a few other locations.

U. How do you think art is connected to day-to-day lifestyle of a common man?

YS. Our art is fairly straightforward and tends to be easily understood by people. We tend to stay away from abstract art forms. Having said this the creations still are open to as many interpretations as there are viewers.

U. They say art, in any form, is a great form of expression. How true is for you?

YS. From the times of cave dwelling humans art has been used as a form of communication and expression. In fact art predates modern languages and surely cuts across cultural and social barriers. By being on the streets

Yogesh Saini in Action

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it also eliminates the economic divide between the well to do gallery visitors and the people doing laborious work on the ground.

U. What are your upcoming projects?

YS. We will continue to explore newer avenues to add more creativity to our public spaces. Delhi is poised to become a very art-friendly colourful city and we surely see ourselves as part of that transformation.

U. Any advice for start-up artists?

YS. They should take part in as many street art opportunities as they can find - not always worrying just about the compensation. Some of the biggest rewards come when, just like a stage performer, a street artist gets to hear direct feedback - good and not so great - from the audience of onlookers, art admirers and "experts". It's a different medium to work on and can be daunting at first but once the rhythm settles in, it can be a very invigourating experience!

Transformation of Graffiti into Public Art

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Frida Kahlo

A woman who stole our hearts by her courage and her ability to love herself, a woman we can never stop admiring, Frida Kahlo.

By Radhika Anand

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“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone... because I am the subject I know best”

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rida Kahlo, a survivor, a feminist, an artist, a lover and a revolutionary.

As a young woman, becoming a painter was not her career goal. She wanted to be a doctor, but the accident changed the course of her life. Did it change for better? I guess it did. Most importantly it did not stop her from being who she was instead she reinvented herself.

Started painting, fell in love with both men and women, dressed sassy and oh that unibrow and that moustache, she was so proud of them that she used special tools to groom them.

She wanted to love and she wanted to be loved in return; maybe that is why she had mirrors all over her bedroom, she was obsessed with them. I think they helped her to be her own favourite subject, maybe they helped her know herself better.

It’s been 61 years since her tragic death but every time I read about her, I stare at the words and I wonder there is so much we can learn fromthis one woman who proclaimed;

“I have always admired Frida, she is my inspiration. I love how she never gave up on herself. In spite of being so helpless because of her situations and her medical conditions, she was upfront for anything and everything. Whenever I feel hopeless, I just think about this one lady who had such a rough life and yet a memorable one”, says Priyam, a 21 year-old Delhi University student.

Do we not agree with her? She was one woman everybody loved and she still stays in our hearts. Frida was involved in a fatal accident and was forced to stay on bed for weeks or sometimes months with the plaster cast, but she took it as a challenge and even the accident did not let her stop from pursuing her passion.

Even when she was on her death bed and got her feet amputated she said, “Feet, what do I need them for, if I have wings to fly?”

In today’s time, when all we want to do is look perfect with completely waxed body not even a single hair visible, properly trimmed hair, shaped eyebrows and clean upper lips, it is hard to find people so bold and daring to flaunt a unibrow or no waxed arms, they’ll prefer wearing a full-sleeves shirt on a burning summer afternoon instead of letting the skin breath.

But, Frida was totally opposite and whatever she did, whatever she wore from a maxi to shirt-pants she looked extremely sassy and confident from head to toe, with her all-time favourite hairdo with flowers and the unibrow to that big collection of long skirts.

“Courage, I admire her courage and she achieved a stage in her life at such a young age where she loved herself more than anything else, so much that she used to draw paintings of herself.

I could never reach to that stage” Ritika, a 12th class student confesses.

“I was born a bitch... I was born a painter.”

source: pixel.nymag.com

“The best thing I loved about Frida was how she never got her eyebrows done, so unconventional”, says Ruchika, a fourth-year design student.

She was in love, but not in love with someone or something. She was in love with herself.

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Aakriti, an MNC employee says, “I am a huge fan of Frida and Diego Rivera’s love story. They faced so many hurdles and fearlessly crossed them all. Love is definitely something which keeps you going even in such difficult times.”

Maybe because she was alone most of the time, she became her favourite person. It is definitely scary but being alone is not as bad as we all might think it is. She knew what her beliefs were; her likes, dislikes and yes, she learnt it the hard way but she never looked back.

“I paint flowers, so they will not die.”

source: bridgesandballoons.com

She was her favourite subject to paint because she spent so much time with herself that she couldn’t think of anyone who could be the subject of her art, but herself. She gifted people portraits of her so that they never forget about her, so that she’s always in their thoughts. She didn’t have to prove anything to anyone, but she just wanted to live a life that she could be proud of, be it painting while being bedridden or on the streets or on the terrace. She just wanted to create life using her creativity and that is what she did. Her paintings were often violent and severe -looking with blood and pain. But that is what her life was about; she was not hiding it, yet not proving anything.

In a world thriving for conflict, superficiality and stereotypes, I guess we all need a little bit of Frida in us.

The accident left her with major internal injuries where an iron handrail pierced her abdomen and uterus, damaging her reproductive ability and brutally breaking her spine, collarbone, ribs and pelvis as well as resulting in 11 fractures on her right leg. A world where a woman is known to give birth to a new life, Frida had three miscarriages and even though she wanted to be a mother and have a child with her lover Diego Rivera, she couldn’t. This did not stop her either; the anguish that she went through was shown in her art. She would paint the insides of flowers and fruits and used to say,

I suffered but I survived.

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Maybe she failed to give birth, but that did not make her less than anyone; she was still painting the skies by finding life in the other facets of nature.

The love that Diego and Frida shared was tumultuous. They were communists, painters and geniuses and they understood each other the best. So many ups and downs and still Diego was right by her side when she was on her death bed. He knew about all her affairs with both men and women and used to tell her how jealous he was with the men in her life.

Maybe she was right about painting the skies, maybe that is how we are supposed to live our lives, by living for today and enjoying and collecting all the moments and memories possible.

Frida Kahlo was, is and will always be an inspiration to a lot of young minds giving them hope and courage to be the best always.

lifestyle 91

WE O

B

D E B

By Shivamm Paathak

nce going through my phone I came across a message which actually made me think about how our life has been restricted to science, the message goes like this: “Once upon a time, when window was just a square hole in a room & application was something written on a paper when keyboard was a piano and mouse just an animal. When file was an important office material and hard drive just an uncomfortable road trip. When cut was done with knife and paste with glue. When web was a spider’s home and virus was flu. When Apple and Blackberry were just fruits, that’s when we had a lot of time for family and friends!”

Social media is a tool where people exchange information, ideas, videos through virtual communication and networks. Some of them like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram etc. are ruling over the internet for entertainment sake. From our morning tea to the good nights our phones don’t leave our sides. ‘The Last Seen’ have become but a cynical tool to peer onto the lives of others. Meanings of self has been lost and bounded to social media. In very clear words it has become a platform for ‘human advertisment’.

After seeing how this slummed world of social media is also affecting the young and the reckless it has become the part of the package of growing up.

In this age where I stand in amidst of what to choose and who to believe this question has really struck my head therefore; I would love to find the other side of me that is hidden behind these huge doors of social media.

But often when I try understanding myself or taking some time out from the busy schedule …tring tring there goes my WhatsApp asking me, no no… actually calling out for my attention. Deliberately wanting me to forget myself and bother about others as to what that person has texted for? What he wants me to reply? Something made me

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uncomfortable as to why my most priced time has been given or rather chased for a second person. When all this time of contemplation was going on I realised how far I have come from myself or from the urge to love myself. Social media has made me dependent on others. To know ‘what’s on my mind’ for people have become a necessity rather than a treat for others’ entertainment. Life has become an entertainment treat which gets elevated with 2k likes and 15k comments. Being called beautiful has got more meaning that feeling beautiful.

Here I am stuck by default in this era where I actually have started to question my sources of entertainment, here messages are sent by the help of Internet and not by post.

People stay connected through social networking sites rather than meeting up for coffee. Somehow essence of real life is getting over and there is no such thing called privacy untill and unless you buy some. Earlier we used to spend time with our families and friends but now we are just too busy with social media. There were times when people used to celebrate festivals with customs and traditions. Greeting each other by meeting each other were usual of those times. But now the celebration is the ‘click & send button’. It’s like internet created gaps which broke the real meanings of life.

Source: http://www.hrzone.com/community

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We live in a scenario where someone who doesn’t have a social networking account is probably not active in the world.

Social networking sites are another world in itself. Where people don’t have to pay to enter...and once they are in, it’s too difficult to come out. Mark Zuckerberg made another cigarette which doesn’t affect your lungs but your time and mind called Facebook with 62 billion active users all over the world and 1.19 billion in India as per wikipedia.com. We can see how it has impacted the world in masses.

It started with the motive of interaction and being connected but it has lead to different paths like business, advertisement and promotion. Social media is a kind of communicable virus which hits everyone eventually like Ridhie Vinayak, fashion student who is in her 3rd year, joined social networking site after 14 years since Facebook came to being. She says “I want to be shallow. I don’t like interacting on social networking site; if I am missing someone I rather call them up and tell them to meet for a cup of coffee. I feel something better can happen than sitting on social networking site. I don’t want 100 people to see my personal life and I don’t want 100 people to comment on my picture and tell me that I am beautiful because I know I am.”

But in this digitally driven world there are some people who have managed to successfully get through life without it being aided by social media. Yagnya Ummat, a fashion student at Pearl academy who gave up social media 3 years back feels that people have misinterpreted social media. Social media was for

http://www.10wallpaper.com/view/social_media

Ridhie Vinayak, Fashion Media Communication Student

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promotional purposes and awareness, connecting people but rather than doing that it’s disconnecting them. Now people don’t have time to meet or talk. Earlier people use to make efforts in meeting when all of this media was not available.

People use to meet and wish on their birthdays or any festivals but now everyone just writes a message on Facebook, twitter or any other social networking portal. People have forgotten the real living; they have forgotten the Life process. When I joined Facebook just because the whole world was doing it but I got really irritated and depressed in 2 days. Just because I feel people get too judgmental in it and its like T.R.P. Televisions serials want T.R.P and Facebook needs F.R.L (Facebook Rating likes). We can do lot better things than social networking and we can still work without it ... because it’s a manmade trap and now its ruling us.

In this technology driven world people cannot stay away from internet and everything that leads to social networking site.

You just can’t ignore the social networking site because more than half of the world is on it and it is extremely difficult to get out of it. It’s good to stay in touch with people who are away and love sharing photos and talking to different people and seeing what’s going on in their life. But getting too much on it is also not right. I feel it is important to strike a balance between the two. We have to advance with the times but at the same time not let it takeover our lives.

Busy socialising.

Yagnya Ummat, Fashion Media Commuincation Student

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STOP ME IF YOU CAN

Photography by Sanya Gulati Assisted by Shivamm Paathak

Albert Einstein once said, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” Nature has its own mystical ways of teaching us lessons of life. This is an attempt to acknowledge nature’s way of expressing its true identity and not altering itself just because the world around it thinks its not the ‘ideal’.

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“I shall go where my heart takes me.”

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“If I won’t express myself, who will?”

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“Spirit like flowing water.”

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“The invincible might.”

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“I know how to find my way through!”

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“Breaking bounds.”

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“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth.”

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“It’s about who I am and I will choose my path.”

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“The road less travelled.”

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Source: Elle

K

ALKI

K

OECHLIN

Shades of Unconventional The woman she has evolved to be from Chadramukhi to Laila, has made her an exceptional actress. Kalki plays unconventional roles both on-screen and off-screen. She has surpassed the narrow mindset of people for women in India and managed to make the audience fall in love with her sultry looks.

By Radhika Anand

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W

e live in a country where fashion changes like numbers at box office every weekend, where it depends on how Deepika Padukone dressed the last night or what Kareena Kapoor Khan wore to Soha Ali Khan’s wedding the day before.

Similarly, our favourites change from Deepika to Kareena or from Ranbir Kapoor to Ranveer Singh. The only thing that doesn’t change is the fact that we all are diehard Bollywood fans, we’ll love it, we’ll hate it, we’ll cry with it and sometime we’ll even want to just shut it out, but we’ll never stop watching Bollywood movies with almost the same story lines all the time, love, hatred, revenge, happy endings and our favourite stars - that’s all what takes for a movie to attract us. Our favourite stars play the most important role in this. They are the ones for whom we go to the theatres ... oh come on, most of us do and we know we are guilty for it. I am. The story comes second. If both are great, well, then it just becomes a ‘sone pe suhaga’ kind of combination.

It’s like a race where all our Bollywood actors are fighting against each other either to be our favourite or

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to get that tag of superstar.

But do we really need that? Or do we need people who are intelligent, sensitive and who do not care if people like them or not; instead they do things that are supposed to be done when you are in Bollywood; say acting and in a way that no one can judge if it really happened or if he or she is just acting.

Such is this 31 year-old French descendent who is an actor, a writer, a poet and an activist, Kalki Koechlin. She started her career by debuting in Anurag Kashyap’s "Dev D". We all know about the movie because of two things, how gracefully Anurag directed the Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas by giving a modern take on it and how smooth Kalki was while playing the role of Chandramukhi in it.

Kalki with her sultry looks and a talent to brighten up any role will not only amaze you with her acting or her selection of movies and roles, but also the issues she takes up for the society’s well-being. She has been a strong contender for fighting for women on various social media platforms; one of

them being the satirical video, titled “Rape? It’s your fault”, which she shot with VJ Juhi Pandey and the very famous stand-up comedian group, AIB or be it through her column where she writes about the myths and perceptions about disability and sexuality keeping in context with her movie, Margarita with the Straw which is yet to be released in India. She wrote, how there are double standards in our society, “I’ve seen, for instance, men harp on about women’s freedom, women’s rights and then at that very moment, have their lunch served to them by their submissive wives.” Well, we cannot help but agree to her.

Earlier this year, she also gave a 16-minute monologue titled, ‘Truths of Womanhood” on how women feel staying in a patriarchal society and being subjected to sexual, physical and mental abuse by men.

Being the dynamic woman that she is, Kalki even shared her story of how at the age of 9 she was sexually abused through a leading channel and how she thought she did something wrong and couldn’t tell it to her parents; this made her have

Source: Elle

Those sultry looks.

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some really tough years while she was still young. When asked in an interview, what made her talk about being sexually abused? The answer she had made me fan girl over her even more. She said, “I am trying to help bring the difficult subject of child sexual abuse out in the open.

I don’t think public platform is the only way to talk about it, I think sometimes it’s important to speak

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award for the play, ‘Skeleton Woman’ for which she was a co-writer with her friend and colleague, Prashant Prakash.

Kalki is one of those actresses who proved her talent with her versatility towards various roles and her acting not only in the theatre world, but also in the mainstream Indian cinema.

look at themselves. Why are they uncomfortable with a woman who is powerful? Why are they uncomfortable with a woman who is evil? I think it’s very easy to blame.

Bollywood gets blamed for a lot of things but it is a reflection of the society we live in and until we take responsibility as a society, each one of us, we cannot blame it on the art.”

Further when asked if she would

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It is a great time to be me for sure.

I am happy. I hate differentiating women and men.

about it and break the silence.”

Before being an activist and a mainstream actor, Kalki also worked as a theatre artist. She has written, produced and acted in many plays. In an interview she said, “Theatre is really an actor’s playground. There’s nothing like performing for a live audience. It doesn’t matter what day you are having, good or bad, once you come to the rehearsal hall, you leave everything behind. When you are on stage, you’re in the show. That’s the thing I love to come back to. I always get sharpened as an actor.”

Even while Kalki was completing her degree in drama and theatre in London, she was in a theatre group and later co-founded a theatre group, Ouaff, in 2008. She has also won many awards including the prestigious MetroPlus Playwright

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It has been quite a journey for her filled with such unconventional roles and still being critic’s favourite.

When asked about how an actor automatically has a bigger social responsibility, about the selection of her roles and if they put out any kind of message to the public, in an interview by Anupama Chopra, the stellar actress replied, “I think a film industry or any industry of art is a reflection of society and showing them what we are, the good and the bad. That is responsible cinema.

To be able to show as strongly the bad in society as you are showing the good. So when you do get a film that is horror or a film that is about a controversial subject, it is making people uncomfortable because they suddenly have to look at themselves. Why are they uncomfortable with a woman because they suddenly have to

agree on the fact that it’s a great time for women in Bollywood? To which she replied, “It is a great time to be me for sure. I am happy. I hate differentiating women and men. I get all these interviews where people ask me, ‘Who is your favourite actress?’ and ‘Who is your favourite actor?’

They are immediately separating us. We are professionals and we are equals and we work together in an industry. Until we start to call ourselves equals, nobody else is going to start calling us equals.

Yes, it is a great time for women but it is a great time for cinema and it is a great time for actors.”

Kalki has always left a significant impact on her audience by portraying unconventional characters in Shaitan, Shanghai, Zindagi na Milegi Doobara, Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani, Ek thi

Source: Elle

Daayan and the much appreciated film, That Girl in Yellow Boots in which she was not only playing the lead but also the co-writer of the story.

Appreciating the performance by the talented actress, Taran Adarsh wrote, “That Girl in Yellow Boots is embellished with top notch performances, Kalki has the right look for her part, but it does take a lot of guts to portray this intricate role. She has an inimitable talent and onscreen presence by means of which she singlehandedly carries the film with her gut wrenching raw performance".

From Chanda in Dev D to Laila in Margarita with the Straw, Kalki in a span of just few years has carved a niche for herself in Bollywood.

As The Hindu rightly wrote, “Many years from now, Kalki Koechlin will be remembered for being an unconventional actor who managed to find her grove in a hero-first Bollywood.”

Being a woman in a man’s world is certainly not an easy task, we all struggle to make our mark, but this lady here has made it with her great sense of selection of roles, with her utmost intelligence and her will to do anything and everything to make the world a better place for the women to live, with not being so in to our faces and yet being our favourite. It’s amazing how a woman can have so many shades of unconventional.

Eyes of Innocence.

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.. .an d s o m e t im e s su rp r is e s com e in b ig p a ck a ge s t oo "Big is beautiful... but with such fast changing roles of women in the Indian cinema, will the audience be able to cope up with the changes?"

By Radhika Anand Photography by Shivamm Paathak

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W

e live in a country where people are confused whether to judge a woman by the way she looks or the way she thinks.

Who is to be blamed for this confusion?

All of us have grown watching Shah Rukh Khan from Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejayenge to Varun Dhawan in Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya, and we have pictured our prince charming just the same way, Shah Rukh’s way of talking and Varun’s sense of humour and maybe a little bit of Salman Khan’s body but, really? Is it possible?

But with time, things changed. Be it Chuttki from Hum Paanch on the small screen to Bhumi from Dum laga ke haisha on 70mm, we have come a long way. From portraying a large woman as a dumb, with explicit desires and with a nobodyloves-me attitude to an intelligent, successful and with an I think am-just-so-perfect attitude we have definitely seen the shift of how we perceive the large women in the Indian cinema. I don’t know if we should be thankful for the monotonous things that the Indian cinema is responsible for or should we be offended because the impact these movies had on the audience, it’s been there ever since.

source: 3.bp.blogspot.com

source: www.clapsnslaps.com

The influence of both small screen, as well as 70mm has been so massive on all of us that we forgot to even think what it’s been doing to us.

Just the way we picture our prince charming, the boys picture their little miss perfect.

However, what the brain has in store doesn’t concern them because we have been taught since childhood that beauty matters the most, chuck the brain.

Indian cinema, started portraying large women as a subject of laughter way back in the 60’s with the famous playback singer and actress/comedian Tun Tun be it in the 1968 movie Aabroo where she played Whiskey Rani or the very famous actress, Guddi Maruti in the 1992 movie, Umar Pachpan ki Dil bachpan ka or even Manorama in the movie, Seeta aur Geeta where though she played a devil aunt, but her character still made people laugh. That’s when it all started, portrayal of large woman as a laughing stock.

Guddi Maruti, hey girl!

Bhumi Padnekar, the flawless woman

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"The show made me fall in love with myself ", says Shally a 22-yearold student when asked which show she would want a sequel to be made of. She further adds, "I used to feel so depressed because I was so overweight and I have been this way since forever but I was really good in studies and yes just like others I wanted a boyfriend too and just like others I also made efforts but the only difference was that I was large and others were not and I was called a girl with explicit desires while others were called sweet. It was really sad.

But then Mahi Way started and it became my life it was as if I was watching myself. I really want the show to come up with season 2"

source: www.india-forums.com

It’s funny how we as audience are so easily influenced by the cinema that in reality we start believing things that we see on television, be it small screen or big. The tricky part is now that the Indian cinema has changed its tracks and is doing a slight role reversal of portraying the same large woman as a much intelligent woman and showcasing the rise of the cerebral woman how is the audience going to take it ?

We have had actresses like Vidya Balan and Parineeti Chopra who have played several roles and are loved by the audience and there is Bhumi Pednekar, now playing this large girl in the recently released movie, 'Dum laga ke haisha' staring opposite the lean Ayushman Khurana. In an interview with DNA India she says,"I have been an over-weight girl all my life and I have been very comfortable with it. I wore what I wanted, did what I wanted.

It was never a hindrance for me.”

While Bhumi made some crazy fans on the big screen, Pushtiie Shiv Shakti aka our very own Mahi from the famous Yashraj produced show, Mahi Way got candid with us for an interview.

It’s been a long time that the show got over but there is still serious fan following for Pushtiie.

She lived in Goa for 5 years and still is as sober as a new I was actually trying to get out of the fact that people born, no alcohol, no smoking, no non-vegetarian and called me fat, that people thought I was useless and no random sex, which is Pushtiee, our very own Mahi. I could be nothing else but be fat in my work and it got me agitated and I decided to leave and I left.”

On asking about her role in Mahi Way she says, “I took up the role because I thought it would reach out to a So how did Mahi Way happen? “When I came back, I lot of people.” She further adds, “See, my entire life has went for the auditions and got selected and at that time always been about healing. Whatever I do, has been I kept telling myself that it won’t be a good idea to do about healing, not about acting and never will be and this because I was like I have just gotten out of it and it’s it’s definitely not about earning money. Just the fact that going to be really easy to dip into that zone again, it’s I wanted to heal people because that is what I know like an addiction like something that’s been hammered and that is what my life has always been about”.Did you into your subconscious mind through all these years.” yourself go through something similar? “I actually did, Then what made you change your mind? “I told myself, most of the things I portrayed in it. I had worked myself no fine, I will do it. It was like a challenge for me to in Goa, that’s exactly what I was doing for 5 years. see if I’ve gotten over what I wanted to get over or not

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Pushtiie ShivShakti, soul for all.

and apparently, I did and it did help a lot of people. I still get people calling me and saying, why don’t you do season 2? And am always like, I can’t do it, I am not Yashraj”, she laughs.

Do you consider yourself as an unconventional person?

“See, I am 35, unmarried and in my caste it’s a big thing.

I am still not settled in life. I make dream catchers and soaps in my kitchen to which everybody’s reaction is like, ‘listen woman, are you going to be like this forever?’ but the point is I don’t need all that to be living my life.

I heal people and that is what makes me happy. My barometer comes from my internal happiness. Living the life the way I want is what I am happy doing”. She further adds, “I am an internationally trained yoga teacher and half the people don’t know that. People

are surprised by my flexibility but unfortunately, the only thing they say is, ‘she’s fat’. Nobody’s refusing, I am fat but the fact is that there’s much more to me which people never realise and I don’t think they even want to realise. I have said no to a lot of characters, a lot of roles because of the same reason and for being and thinking like that is pretty unconventional.”

As an actress yourself, you know that most of them aim for that perfect figure. When you started off acting weren’t you apprehensive about it? “Not really, I had confidence in my ability to perform and I never felt as if what if I can’t do that, what’s going to happen then. I feel that I can try to do anything that I am told to do and acting in itself is

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funny. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad, any sort of judgement never crosses my mind.”

It’s really hard to reach that zone.

“I don’t know that, maybe I was born like this” she says and laughs.

“I feel everybody’s got their space in the world and they’re all doing what they need to and what they are supposed to do who is anybody to judge anyone”.

But, don’t you think the fact is that the world works on judgement? “It does and when it hits me I go in a very weird zone and I feel lost. It gets complicated for me because am a person who speaks first and then thinks. That’s my process. So, am pretty much prone to various kinds of judgements which I try ignoring by not paying attention.”

What is your take on the shift of small screen and big screen that it has undergone in terms of endorsing full-bodied and intelligent women?

“I am glad it’s happening because people are getting to see the other side of them instead of just looking at the body; it goes beyond it. I keep telling people, even today that characters I get are either angry, hungry or horny, it’s just not fair, you see. There’s a lot more to us be it in professional life or personal. People get very surprised when I tell them that I had four men and they’re very good looking, ontop-of-their career, kind, wanted to date me and marry me. Maybe I’ve been lucky. So, not everyone is like that but most of them are. They didn’t care if I was short, fat and they seemed to have more understanding of me.”

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That’s commendable. “Yes, and I would really love to play a character where someone is brutally honest about how they find a fat plump woman attractive in front of a group of men because that’s who she really is. I really want someone to create a series or a film that is about one simple person, where it does not have to be just about one man in her life; there can be multiple numbers of men and it is not about them falling in love with her, but finding her physically attractive. The fat shouldn’t matter, he should find her sexy.

I would love to play that kind of role.”

How important do you think it is to free oneself from social taboos?

“I think currently that is the only thing people need to work at.

Social taboo is what is actually pulling people down. You can’t do this because of xyz, you can’t do that because of xyz.” It is a very strong stigma indeed. “Yes, like how people say about women not going to the temple when she’s got her periods, but in the past it was completely different. Women were treated like queens and worshipped and today they are treated like untouchables but I don’t blame men for that. I blame the society and the situations for this and why is it only now that we are looking at women-centric films, earlier also this used to happen, like Mother India but why now with Queen or Dirty picture even something

like Margarita with a Straw, it’s nice to see that women are a very strong part of the society so, am sure it will come together”.

“If you see on one hand we are constantly cribbing about society and the taboos, but what are we feeding them? Look at TV today, it’s so regressing. Are we stopping that? No, we just want money and TRP. But we don’t realise that we’re affecting people’s mind track, then we have no right to say that society is suffering with such taboos. We need to take responsibility for what we’re doing. Someone can say I just want to make money, which is great, no judgments.

But do you think you can make that money in a better way?

Why can’t we think more openly, more beautifully?

Does conflict only have to come with this, the kind of stuff we see on TV? “There are so many different types of conflicts in the world. Why can’t we pick on that and work on that? I feel that should be our main aim and this is what I feel really strong about, people should respect the zone of truth”, she says and signs off.

Guess it’s high time we all open our eyes and see what lies behind the camera-the reality. We all need to stop considering woman as an object, and start respecting her – looking beyond her body and beauty – trying to understand her soul. We need to understand that size does not matter – what matters is the beauty and purity of the soul.

When people start realising this, we all will breathe in a new society.

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Must reads!

By Sanya Gulati

Strong personalities are hard to miss in a crowd but we often forget to acknowledge the extraordinary spirits in ordinary women who have lived through the suppression and dismal of the confinement in the past. Here is a list of books on the same lines. By being biased to Indian authors we are attempting to pay a tribute to the sensitivity of these authors and standing up for what they strongly felt!

The splendor of Silence- Indu Sundaresan One fine day Olivia, residing in the USA, receives a trunk full treasure from India and an anonymous letter that finally fills the silence of her childhood. The story then rewinds back in time when Sam, an American Army captain and Olivia’s father, lands at the princely state of Rudrakot in May of 1942 on a quest to find his lost brother. His mission is disrupted when he falls in love with Mila, daughter of a local political agent. And Mila is torn between the loyalty to her family and the man she truly loves.

Olivia is finally exposed to the enduring love affair of her parents that throws them in the path of racial prejudice, nationalist intrigue, and the explosive situations of a country on the brink of independence from British rule.

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Choker Bali- Rabindranath Tagore Binodini, a convent educated young girl is faced by the death of her husband. As per customs of the early twentieth century India she returned to her village and continued her humble life. Soon she accepts the invitation of Rajlakshmi to live with her and her son Mahendra (who had overruled a former marriage proposal with Binodini) in Calcutta. The story takes on a new tangent when the newly wed Mahendra slowly gets attracted to Binodini. Bihari, best friend of Mahendra is also betrayed by him and the story revolves around distrust, betrayal, lies and problems between the three. It is a melancholy tale that arises from deceit and discontent, set in the twentieth century Bengali society.

That Long Silence- Shashi Deshpande Story of a woman, Jaya, who is suddenly confronted with the tainted reputation of her husband accused for business malpractice and is out of job. The family’s uncertain future, disappointment in her two teenage kids and the frustration of her seventeen year old marriage leaves her haunted. Jaya, who could not make a substantial career out of writing and the agonies of her childhood begin to surface. In her small out-of-town Bombay flat she struggles with the truths of her life the biggest being her failure as a writer and her fear of anger. She deals with the long silence with her own self which has been unaddressed since so many years.

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My Story- Kamala Das An autobiography of a woman that commences when the British raj is at its peak. Her battle is against racial discrimination and the cruel and indulgent relationship with her husband. It is a journey of sexual awakening, her extra-marital affairs, the birth for her children and her strong passion for writing. The book concludes on her eventual coming to terms with her husband, literary career and her sexuality. The author narrates the trials of her marriage and her painful self-awakening as a woman and writer. The book provoked violent reactions but is still considered as one of the best woman’s autobiography in India.

Cold Feet- Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan Story of five women living in Mumbai entwined together through a common thread of search for love. Amisha manages to find her perfect match and is about to tie the knot with him but suddenly wants to push the limits of their relationship. Akshara is madly in love with her best friend but he doesn’t reciprocate her love in any way possible.

Ladli has her heart shattered after her break up from a serious relationship and takes a break by going to Goa. Shayna is pretty clear on what she wants in a man but the man she wants is nothing like that. And there is another girl who loves Shayna.

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ONE MUST

LIVE TO

EAT LIVE

NOT

TO

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By Paridhi Goel Photography by Shivamm Paathak

Happiness is in relishing a dish and licking the very last moral from your fingertips.

T

here’s food, there’s comfort food and then there’s food that induces happiness in a person. While the former two need not be necessarily healthy for the person in question, it has been researched time and again by experts and philosophers alike that find out the perfect foods to bring about not only happiness but to also preserve it.

After due research, some foods have been found more than others to provide this happiness.

Chocolates: who doesn’t love chocolate…give it to kids and its over in a minute. Give it to an adult and it immediately improves a downcast mood. But be aware, it’s the dark coloured variety that has proved beneficial. It contains pleasure-inducing chemicals dopamine and serotonin.

Just the imaginings of hershey’s decadent chocolate cake, waffles dripping in cream and dark chocolate or raspberry’s stuffed with dark chocolate has me salivating. Also, dark chocolate tastes simply amazing when mixed in with flavour of oranges.

I’m Strong To The Finch, ‘Cause I Eats Me Spinach

“Quantity matters. Anything eaten in larger numbers is bound take a negative effect. For example, chocolates, when your BP is high, a small piece of chocolate can do wonders. But if it is taken in a larger quantity all at once, it can harm you,” says the wonderful Dr. Shiksha Sharma, practicing dietician.

Spinach: a nostalgic reminder of ‘Popeye, The Sailor Man’, it truly was his happy food but it could be for you and me too. Spinach actually contains compounds that actively work to keep

your brain happy and boosts moods.

Spinach and kale are high in folate, natural form of folic and found in food that helps the brain create serotonin.

I know, I know, you would rather eat a scoop of ice-cream or a slice of pizza than munch on ‘the leaves’, but it doesn’t really have to be in boring quantities. You can make food fun by sautéing it, adding drops of olive oil or a zing of lemons. Colourful veggies like cherry tomatoes, yellow/red capsicums or deep purple mushrooms not only help in adding flavour but also look appealing to the eye.

“Anti-oxidents like salads and vegetables are in a constant battle within our bodies. They help the body kill radicals (bad bacteria) and releases the happy and clean hormones,” as quoted

by Dr. Rachna Sethi, food expert.

Walnuts: daily handful of the walnuts give your brain a boost of mineral magnesium. It not only gives healthy bones and perfect teeth but also helps fight depression. Research shows that these small ‘brain-shaped’ nuts improve your memory, maths and puzzlesolving skills and organizational ability.

You can even go a little crazy and have them as a topping in your apple and cranberry salad or broccoli and apple salad with proper dressing.

Go on, give that complicated Sudoku a try now!

“It’s essential for neurons to communicate with each other.”

Dr. Ramsey, The Happiness Diet Sweet Potato: these orange slicers are filled with beta-carotene, a 125

The Brain-Shaped Nut

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A Chocolate A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

vitamin linked with decrease risk in dementia. High in B6, which belongs to a group of compounds that are used to threat mood disorders.

Quirky and easy, dishes like spicy potato wedges, potato fries and fry sauce or roasted sweet potatoes with honey and cinnamon can be a great side dishes and add an edge of kick to the rest of the meal.

Yogurt: Along with a healthy dose of probiotics, yogurt has been shown to reduce the activity of brain cells linked to anxiety. Even in full-fat yogurts, as long as the source is grass-fed, the fats act like healthy brain boosters.

Not only is the original flavour just delicious, you can also get a variety of flavours like strawberry and blueberry to add to its delectability.

Fish: something which is not only low in calories and saturated fats which isn’t just good for your health but can also help you kick that depressive funk. Research has found that daily doses of oily fish which is rich with

omega-3 is most effective at reducing depression symptoms, including insomnia, sadness, pessimism, low libido and lack of motivation than any other prescribed antidepressants.

Fish dishes can be garnished with mouth-watering lemon butter sauce, thyme or creamy dill sauce. Vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, roasted asparagus spears and cherry tomatoes just add the extra blast of flavour.

Egg: whoever said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day wasn’t kidding. Adding eggs into the equation just enhances the nutritional qualities. The yolks are high in choline, which helps with signalling between memory-supporting neurons.

Funnily enough, eggs can also be eaten baked or as a breakfast casserole of eggs and bacon and veggies. So let go of the boring scrambled eggs and make your breakfast more fun by trying out new recipes!

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

-Thomas Edison 127

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