June Edition Syzygy Mag! by syzygy artsfestival

SYZYGY

Illustration by Oishi Mars 01

Editor’s Note By the end of March was when I decided it was time to roll out the second edition. That is when it happened. Chaos unravelled. Even the idea of creating a magazine during a raging pandemic seemed rather redundant. The thought of even me finding art pieces to go with particular articles while the world around me was struggling to find help to save their loved ones made me and my work feel so irrelevant.

The fear wasn’t transitioning into courage as it does in the romanticized version of our lives, heck I’m still sitting in fear and typing this. I started Praying again. One bad news after another and the magazine was put on indefinite hold, to invest my energies in helping people. Many more like me joined in and my faith in humanity wasn’t exactly restored but at least my skin stopped crawling. Coming back to the magazine, I was looping between the thoughts “What I’m doing is not relevant to the world right now” to “Maybe the people need this distraction right now”. I reminded myself that there are a lot of people connected with this platform, who actually do need this. Maybe I need this too, to stay sane. Hence, conceived and curated during the 2nd peak of this raging pandemic, I give you the 2nd edition of Syzygy magazine. But to be real, it’s not me who made this happen. If you really think about it, would this magazine even exist if it wasn’t for all the brilliant artists who painstakingly perfected every pixel/ word of their works? So really, WE give you this magazine! From the people to the people! And for the people, I also decided to donate all profits from this issue to Ngo’s working at the grassroots level who need funds to continue doing the brilliant work they do. Hence, Talent NGO.

- Soumya Joshi

Who is the Delhi-6 Talent Group? TALENT is an acronym for the organization’s guiding principles: Team (tenets of mutual aid), Association (community organization in Galli-mohallas), Learning-Education (imparting experiential and theoretical knowledge), and Natural Theatre (chronicling our journey in dramatic Reality). The Qissa Goi of Purani Dilli’s winding streets, and of the minority communities who inhabit them, were founded by Irshad Alam Khubi in 1998 (regd. 2000). Since the inception of the pandemic, and the created crisis of migrant laborers in India, they have been providing meals to at least 1500 people, twice daily, traveling across neighborhoods of Old Delhi in their battery rickshaw. Working with scarce resources, they’ve still managed to set up an oxygen-supplied ambulance in an auto-taxi. They’re currently working towards providing ration kits to families and individuals, including sex workers, rickshaw-pullers, rag pickers, homeless people, etc., thus ensuring basic hygiene and sustenance. They aim to establish a sustainable community kitchen and need funds to help secure a physical kitchen space and avail basic cooking equipment. Their prioritization of culture and community, as well as their consistency in showing up for those in need, make this initiative a crucial resource for Delhi’s unorganized and impoverished.

Read more about Talent @ talentdelhiqissagoi @talent_delhi

Enjoy reading -

CON TENTS - 01

0neByZer0 Article by Muskan Gupta

- 15

Handpicked Section featuring 14 thrift stores

- 04

Poem by Kriti

- 24

Now You See Me by Kumud

- 05

A Thrift Story by Arusha

- 27

Intersectional Environmentalism by Gunjan

- 08

Veganism with a Side of Mango Oats Shake by Chaitanya

- 30

Space Sessions Interview

- 34

Zenguin Interview

- 36

About Razai

- 41

Raqeeb Feature

- 11 - 14

Dairy is a Dead Feature by Nikita Essay on Favourite Soap by Girish Sharma

0neByZer0 is a small & upcoming art business. Based in Delhi the dynamic duo of Muskan Gupta & Arup Chakraborty started their journey on sustainability individually and saw the perfect opportunity of their two passions coming together with this venture.

Words Muskaan Gupta

0neByZer0 A step towards sustainability Q - What inspired you to lead a sustainable way of living and how difficult was the transition period?

ing the existing, using reusable, etc. unknowingly. Yet, getting the conversation going and raising awareness is hard as it’s a new conscious concept in India, but I’m optimistic that will get there, soon enough!

This started four years ago while pursuing my degree in fashion entrepreneurship, where I worked on a project around fashion and the exploitation of natural resources, including humans. Reading about the process of waste collection, mounting landfills, to tones of methane we breathe, to global warming, was alarming! Do you know there isn’t enough space left for landfills now? I was only wrapping my head around this when I started reading about the exploitation of marginalized communities from third-world countries (intersectional environmentalism), who are often overlooked in this area of conversation. This research with hard-hitting realizations inspired me to pledge my work towards sustainable fashion and lead me towards working for the cause, with the cause. To learn more about Intersectional read on Gunjan’s article I started small by changing my approach towards purchasing and started researching and questioning around, expecting my answers in green. Recycling-Reusing-Reducing were new mantras to my lifestyle. Now, I rarely shop for clothes and mostly thrift them. India has been practicing hand-me-downs, growing kitchen gardens from kitchen waste, repairing and DIY-

Read A Thrift Story by Arusha 01

Q - Can you throw some light on 0neByZer0’s journey and its niche in the business? Even though I have my own art business 0neByZer0, I am a questing new-bee. While growing up I had different dreams, but life is a surprise, being called an artist is a gift. Learning digital illustrations to expand my bandwidth, to enjoying contemporary illustrations was a step closer to my art. In 2020, I launched a sample drop which was followed by the lockdown, and then silence. It was the time to reflect and meditate on what 0neByZer0 means to me and most importantly, where do I stand with my initiative. To start it as a sustainable art business felt natural to me. My art is inspired by feelings of hopefulness and calmness. We aspire to reflect the same through our products while being conscious of our surroundings at the same time. We currently offer a wider range of prints, bookmarks, greeting cards, postcards, and stickers. Our official website is launching soon and we are super excited about it! Alongside, we’re working on products like journals, planners, and diaries.

Q - How do you ensure that the visual art that you print and ship is also complying with sustainability? Currently, (1) We digitally print our products (except stickers) on recycled and handmade cotton-rag paper (by Bluecat Papers). They are tree-free and biodegradable. (2) We custom-pack each order with old pattern/ craft papers using zero-waste folding techniques. For bigger orders, we reuse boxes and cartons. (3) We ship via road or railway courier options instead of air courier to minimize the carbon footprint.

Q - There are many stages in the development of a single piece of art, how do you practice sustainability at every step? (About the nonreusable materials & non-biodegradable products used) Sustainability is at the core of all our practices. It's important to realize that sustainability is not absolute and no one can be 100% sustainable. However, we are committed to better our practices with every collection. We create designs and samples keeping the production process in mind. For example, using cotton-rag paper is one aspect, but it cannot be used for stickers, also the peel-off paper left from the sticker paper is nonbiodegradable. But we’re constantly looking for a feasible alternative for it. We are exploring other methods of printing and manufacturing where eco-friendly inks can be easily accommodated.

Q - More often than not, folks prefer convenience over sustainability, your advice to them? People can get overwhelmed by sustainability when introduced as a new concept. My advice is to take it slow, not go all in at once. The most sustainable thing you can do is buy less and use what you already own (Reduce). You can’t shift to a conscious lifestyle overnight. Just don’t follow trends blindly, understand, adapt and then act. This will lead to solutions that fit your lifestyle. Seek answers and reach out! Sustainability is not a goal in itself but a journey of many milestones. A long but truly worthy journey.

RRR approach surrounds and holds this business idea together. Our next explorations include eco-f riendly dyes, hand printing methods, and alternate papers for stickers. 02

Q - What can be the catalyst for people to switch to a more environmentally friendly way of living? More awareness and knowledge sharing. I think it’s all about starting new dialogues and continuing existing ones is essential. Sharing your thoughts with others and listening to what they have to say can lead people to find common grounds and collective solutions. Community building and collaborating are the way forward.

with time and voices and questions and simple green answers. My inspired friend, Tamanna Chawla (Co- founder of Curated Findings) became a sustainable fashion enthusiast and has joined this community to spread awareness. I’m thrilled and excited to influence people towards this cause, because this is our future, surely a better one!

I also work with Sustainable Style Speak (SUSS) - India’s first offline and online community for sustainable fashion in India.

Q - How can the community support and promote more sustainable businesses? Having more platforms like this allows sustainable brands like 0neByZer0 to be seen and reach a wider audience! Online and offline events can help build connections too. Most sustainable businesses are relatively operating at small to medium scales. For a bigger difference, we need to cater to bigger audiences, but that happens with time. The audience and community play a significant role here. Something as simple as telling your immediate network that you liked a product from a sustainable brand can take us a long way!

Q - Do you see your actions making a difference in today's date? Individually and through your business. Hell YES!! Many people from the art community and even customers have reached out to us to know about ways to live a sustainable lifestyle. I’m glad that people are considering alternative raw materials, which says a lot about our future. We are an open community that likes to share and move forward with something that benefits all. Taking an individual effort with difficult conversations around the cause can help this multiply and the chain reaction can be HUGE. Just speaking up like “I do it every day, Do you?”

About the founding members Muskaan Gupta : An illustrator who makes minimalist and contemporary digital art. She is the co-founder of and the artist behind 0neByZer0. She is a graduate in fashion entrepreneurship and has a background in apparel merchandising. She is a sustainability enthusiast and has been working in that space since 2017. Arup Chakroborty : A marketer who accidentally started his journey towards sustainability when he came across a video on how fur is produced. He was intrigued by business solutions that value the people, the planet, and profit. He joined hands with 0neByZer0 as a co-founder recently and oversees marketing, sales, and finance.

I also work with Sustainable Style Speak (SUSS) - India’s first offline and online community for sustainable fashion in India. My circle has turned conscious while making purchasing choices and has switched to reusable items vs single-use products. And this happened 03

मेरा दीमक सा शहर - कृि त गोस्वामी

इस शहर की तेज़ लहरों सी हवा जब चुभने लगी इस शहर की गर्मी जब आग सी लगने लगी ये डरावनी कहानियाँ,जो बस कानों ने ही महसूस की, अब आँखों तक चढ़ने लगीं । हाँ डर है, सब खोने का डर है । जो दिन अभी आया भी नहीं, उसको रोने का डर है।

@ letstellyousomething

आज तुम लड़ोगे, कल हम बढ़ेंगे, कल तुम चलोगे, हम सब साथ ही तो चलेंगे। आज बहुत हिम्मत है सब खोने की हिम्मत है और थोड़ा रोने की हिम्मत है इस दीमक से शहर में उस आने वाली हंसी की कोइ तो क़ीमत है? कोइ तो क़ीमत है। 04

Words by Arusha

A Thrift Story On the concrete of consumerism, the cultures of sustainability have grown like wildflowers and weeds through the cracks in the pavement. My favorite wildflower in these cracks is thrift culture.

I must have been 14 or 15 years old when a friend took me to Sarojini Nagar (a flea market in Delhi) for the first time &amp; taught me the ABC-s of thrifting. And now, here I am, trying to sound like a scholar. My grandmother was a skilled seamstress. Growing up, she made a majority of my clothing and the rest were mostly preloved family heirlooms. She really was the most wonderful seamstress; she could design, sew, knit, crochet, you name it. She was also almost always engaged in sustainable practices with how she ran the household and in her daily lifestyle choices. This investment in sustainability was evident in her little habits - putting leftover water from cooked rice into the plants, composting, homemade skincare, carrying her own bags for groceries. It seemed almost insignificant at the time, but now

these are considered recommended sustainability practices. Zero waste and sustainability were truly her unspoken lifelong mantras. Here I am, trying to pay tribute to the magic and wonder she taught me.

Sustainability has been a trend for billions of years otherwise we wouldn’t be alive - Orsola de Castro (co-Founder of Fashion Revolution)

Fashion, to me, almost feels like a desire to be different and yet belong at the same time. We want to be in the know and follow all the latest trends and yet have statement pieces that are rare and unique both at the same time. Our clothing carries not only our stories but our identities, our outer appearance and clothing choices are the stories we don’t have to speak to tell.

What’s deeply disappointing is how Fast Fashion is reducing our stories to what is conventional, idealized, and popular. Walk into an H&M or a Zara and you’ll see racks of clothing styles of celebrities or influencers, anything that’s currently trending. Walk in the next week and you’ll have a whole new rack of popular, idealized identities to choose from. Environmental and social impact aside, there is another very human cost to this. We, as the consumers, are also being dehumanized for a profit. However, identity can be reconstructed through consumption as well. That’s where sustainable fashion and eco-conscious practices come to shine a light in the dark. Your consumption is your choice and perhaps most importantly, it is your voice in the world. I truly believe that we can change the world but it only starts with changing ourselves.

This is how I changed myself. It was in 2019 that I did the research and decided to give up fast fashion for good. My last purchase was a pair of black faux suede boots from H&M that I hope to make last forever. It was also in December 2019 that I had a rather vivid Greek mythology-based dream that almost felt like a message to start ‘The Golden Fleas’. At the time, there were barely any Indian thrift stores, I remember seeing @thelocalthrift and @carols.shop and feeling incredibly inspired to start my own little venture. I too wanted to share my stories with the world - through clothing, through art, and community.

@thelocalthrift

@carols.shop

Waste is nothing but a failed relationship. Models: Arusha (@clamshellindistress) & Rohan Sood (@ouirohan) Photographer: Jagrati Marwaha (@artelixir)

So I started off taking donations from people I knew and organizing a warm clothing drive for the homeless that December. Two of my juniors from high school- Anandi Ray and Arnav Nagpal, who had faith in my vision, came on board as the very first members of The Golden Fleas. I lovingly call everyone who works with TGF a ‘Fleabag’. So the fleabags and I packaged and labeled and gave out almost 80 winter clothes to people on the streets. And despite the weather, I think that was one of the warmest winters in my heart.

I also started ideating for an upcoming collection, by taking a few of the best pieces from the donations for the shop. Our first thrift story came out mid-pandemic in June and every single one ever since has been a veiled retelling of a personal story of my own. I started recycling preloved and donated clothing into conceptual photoshoots and ultimately also recycling and reworking my own emotions and experiences. So when you shop with us, you’re not just buying a thrifty nifty product, you’re also buying a part of my story! And I hope to continue telling them to those who are listening.

Floating girl by Ms. Thunderusa Instagram - @ms.thunderusa size : 300x300 mm Medium : digital art

Words by Chaitanya Talreja

Veganism 101 with a side of

Mango Oats Milkshake

Artwork : The Daily by Vaishaka Dayani (@dayanivishaka) Medium : digital painting

Often when I mention that I am a vegan to anyone, the conversation goes one of two ways: either they just want to dismiss my decision and tell me how I am depriving myself by not making a substantial impact, or they will be curious and bombard me with a generic questionnaire for which I now have all the answers memorized. Today, how veganism is marketed to most people is imagined as entailing fancy-looking dishes and exotic ingredients that produce a suspicion about how filling they would be. This is a commercial appropriation of veganism to sell various plantbased products. And honestly, they are not to be blamed, almost everything we engage with is being glorified.

So, allow me to break down the real meaning of Veganism that is contrary to the manicured image you get to see on social media. Veganism is about ethics that involves boycotting any product or service derived through animals as much as practically possible. Veganism is political because it seeks to question and change the power structures that ignore oppression and exploitation of animals and wildlife in the form of speciesism. It is a movement fundamentally aligned with other resistance efforts that seek to liberate humans from the systematically oppressive forces based on class, religion, caste, race, and gender identities that give socially and economically privileged humans the power to exploit and marginalize others.

I am pretty certain that almost every person on the internet has at least once come across a video about the barbaric nature of the poultry industry or how baby animals are treated so milk can be extracted from their lactating mothers. Such a video could have either popped on your explore page or been sent to you by that one friend who is a Vegan and is requesting you to transition into one too. Either way, there was no easy way out from it, you probably did feel a little guilty even shutting down the video.

make you uncomfortable at the dining table. Rather, consider me as your friendly vegan-nextdoor who would rather make you try dishes and leave you awestruck that they are actually vegan and maybe occasionally drop in a fact or two about how turning vegan is actually good for your health, the environment, and of course the animals.

Veganism isn’t just about what food you consume but also about boycotting animalsourced products such as leather or keeping animals captive in zoos.

When it comes to the environment, there is now mounting evidence to suggest that livestock farming and animal agriculture are major contributors to environmental degradation and climate change. These practices such as vital land and water resources, intensify deforestation, and destruction of wildlife. This is not to say that our current environmental problems can be solved Quarantine meal by Kritika Ghanghas by going vegan. This is because current intensive Instagram - @Kritikaghangas agricultural practices, whether livestock or cropbased, are both highly synthetic and destructive. Thinking about all this often makes me wonder But, within this current system, animal agriculture that as humans we exercise and wield immense expands the scale of degradation exponentially, power to exploit, torture, kill and destroy habitats simply because large amounts of crops are of animals, but do we have the right to do so? As grown specifically to feed and artificially breed civilized and moral beings could we continue to farm animals on a massive scale perpetually. This oppress and inflict pain and suffering on animals is also depicted by the huge difference in the by commodifying them as industrial inputs? Do carbon footprint or water depletion caused due to they deserve to be born just to end up on conveyor meat-dairy-based diets versus plant-based diets. belts, captive suffocating cages, or artificially Therefore, adopting a plant-based diet could not impregnated for milk by us? Aren’t they supposed only reduce the environmental impact within to be free in the wilderness without us controlling current agricultural practices as a whole but also their destiny, especially knowing well that they nudge the governments, farmers, and corporates resist the pain and suffering we inflict upon them? to adopt eco-friendly agricultural practices, if There are no easy answers to these questions larger sections of our population consciously because I think we as a species need to pause and choose to adopt this lifestyle. ask ourselves, “How our intelligence is useful if we Meanwhile, as you mull over it, here is how you can cannot create a society that is just and allows a make a delicious and healthy vegan milkshake peaceful co-existence of all species on this planet?” at home and move closer to adopting ethical Despite this, don’t imagine me as a stereotyped veganism by substituting dairy-based milk: vegan who holds a high moral ground and would 09

Ingredients One medium sized mango - peeled and chopped 4-5 de-seeded dates or to desired level of sweetness depending on the sweetness of the mango (Jaggery powder can also be used) 8-10 tbsp oats Half tbsp any nut butter (unsweetened-homemade or store bought) Optional One small banana 5-6 raisins 1tsp melon seeds 1tsp sunflower seeds 1tsp pumpkin seeds 3-4 cashews chopped

Soak oats in cold water for 20 minutes. Strain the water and add the oats to a mixer/processor. Blend for 30 seconds with 200 ml water. Strain through a normal strainer in a container using a spoon to press the solid contents and extract until the no more milk can be strained. Now add chopped mango, deseeded dates/ jaggery powder, nut butter and oatmilk (oatmilk can be added in small batches depending on the desired level of consistency. The quantity of oatmilk can be adjusted according to the desired level of thickness) to the mixer/processor. Blend until completely smooth. Garnish with raisins, nuts, seeds and banana slices.

g o n Oat a M m

Soak raisins, seeds and nuts in warm water for an hour and strain the water before adding to the shake.

Recipe

k a h e

LET DAIRY DIE Nikita Kapoor is a photographer based in Gurgaon, India who tells stories through what she captures with her camera lens. Nikita say :

Through my Art, I want to show the reality of the Dairy industry. In the picture, the person is holding a glass of Milk which looks white but isn't literally white. White here refers to "Pure" meaning Dairy isn't Pure like a white milk. There's Blood of those innocent animals that are being exploited by the industry. And we as consumers have their blood on our hands whenever we choose to consume dairy. By not letting dairy die, we choose to keep letting animals die.

Instagram: @ineffable_captures Art Medium: Photography Genre: Fine Art Photography Style: Self Portrait

Cat in Train by Bhavya Gupta

Instagram: @iibhavyaii Size : 1080x1350 px Medium : Digital

Words by Girish Sharma

An Essay on my Favourite Soap I like to take bath with Pears soap. Because I like its shape, size, color, fragrance, and also its name. Although it does not claim to have a superior germ protection formula and is not the kind of soap your doctor would advise, thankfully it has kept me germ-free throughout my life. Or so I like to believe. Because I cannot really see my germs. They are micro-organisms. And one can only see macro-organisms with his naked eye. For example a spider is a macro-organism. And one really doesn’t need Pears soap or any soap for that matter to get rid of a spider crawling on one’s arm.

Because some things are just outside of one’s control.

Anyway my experiences with Pears soap have also instilled in me a virtue of immense patience. The Pears soap, as it turns out, becomes quite difficult to handle with usage. It has a tendency to slip out of the users’ hand and fall on the ground and then skid until it finally rests. This slipping and skidding of Pears soap could be attributed to its property of excessive smoothness. And it well may be that it is smoother against one’s body too, as compared with other soaps. Another reason to like Pears soap! Coming back to the topic of patience. This inherent tendency of slipping and falling and skidding also takes a toll on the bathers’ brain. Sometimes I find myself at the other end of my bathroom just so I could pick up Pears soap and resume bathing. And again it slips and falls, and now I pick it up from the drain cover. On an average, this phenomenon takes place around four to five times every time I take a shower. And it does make me quite angry if not livid. But over the years I have realized that getting angry over this matter has been rather fruitless for me. There is no point in burning myself every morning by hurling abuses at the Poor Soul. Nowadays when I bend to pick up Pears, I do so with great equanimity and return to my bathing position with an even greater composure…..

Serenity by Sanya Shankar @curlyyquirk medium: Poster colours size: 10 × 10 inches

@lazyygary

HANDPICKED SECTION GRANDMA WOULD APPROVE Grandma would approve is a Post-Consumers Textile Waste Management Brand that is rooted in Inclusivity through Exclusivity. Our Designs are ageless, timeless and season less. With Zero waste approach our production process is restorative through : Up-cycling, Repairing and Reconstruction.

DESERN With eco-friendly clothes that are constantly being upcycled, we aim at steadily polishing our USP, i.e. cute clothes at the most affordable prices! With the summers knocking on our doors already, Desern.in is looking forward to dropping a ruched tie-dye collection consisting of the hottest tie-dye garments that scream summer in your ears. Staying true to their purpose, all this exciting drip will be available at the most pocketfriendly prices!

M IN IM A L E X T R A V A G A NCE

less is more

Join the Desern family to become a part of an upcycling lifestyle!

@desern.in

HUCKLEBERRY (HH), is an eclectic, groovy & pocket friendly thrift store. It's greatly inspired by my father, a fashion icon of his own. He encouraged me to love and wear thrifted clothing ever since I can remember. Thus, with 2 decades of wearing, pre-loved & sharing thrifted finds, Huckleberry Hangers was born.

Colors :

Huckleberry HANGERS

Bold Colours &Patters

Off Beat Finds

BOSEYS What started as a closet clearance project in the pandemic, is now a space for gender-bending, aesthetic, one of a kind pieces curated by Tanushree Bose. In a span of under 8 months, Boseys has found its way into the closets of more than 700 customers including some famous names like Shruti Haasan, Sez on the beat, Seedhe Maut and many more. Since every drop sells out it merely minutes, Boseys has become an almost flex-factor for a lot of the customers, and let’s not forget, Sustainable all at the same time :)

BRUGT When two friends decided to share their love for fashion and sustainability buying, that’s how The Brugt Store started. One of our main mottos was to show people what exactly thrift is, it isn’t just buying pre-owned clothes or accessories, but also buying sustainable, pre-loved and handpicked products. We believe fashion does not always have to be expensive or exclusive and it can simply be available and affordable and that’s exactly what we try to do by bringing in products that are not just authentic and stylish but also budget-friendly.

AESTHETIC THRIFT We are a Ahmedabad based store run by two brothers, Nisarg Sisodia and Harsh Khatri, we deal with thrifted clothes basically Vintage Denims, though we ought to not limit ourselves for just that, we will soon be introducing our small brand of Shirts. We are very grateful for the support we have got from our customers and we hope to continue it.

UPKEEP THRIFTS A thrift store, who believes in making fashion sustainable and affordable at the same time. We believe looking good shouldn’t come at the expense of Mother Earth. Each piece of style in our collections is pre-loved or factory rejects. Our collections are about androgynous styles, bold prints, vibrant colors and hence no rules on how you style, the pieces are so versatile that you get to do YOU!

THE KIFAAYAT CO. Believing in quality over quantity, this homegrown thrift store is where fashion meets innovation. Each collection has been well thought of with conceptualized themes, and names given to each piece. Along with several other collections, Sew That 2.0 saw the best response. This collection was made entirely from scratch using beautiful bori ridas and yard-long sarees turned into contemporary outfits with desi patterns. Not just another store that does one-sided communication but takes interaction with their community to the next level with campaigns like #TheRewearChallenge. Our message to fashion enthusiasts out there“Don’t just add to the pile; choose well and make it last.” We are a part of something bigger than us; the slow movement revolution will look fabulous! #KaafiKifaayati

GAGGED A representation of aesthetic for anyone and everyone, a safe fashion space for you to represent yourselves with a variety of handpicked items by not confining fashion into genders.

DESIDE Imagine a mall full of thrift stores; that's how exactly Deside's website works. It is a one-stop marketplace where more than 50+ thrift stores are registered. More than a market, it is a community trying to break the stigma of second-hand clothing in India. Deside is the place where you'll get the most trendy and unique pieces. You can set up your thrift store as well with few simple steps. To top it up with a cherry, the "CLOSET CLEARANCE" option is also available with Deside.

THE GOLDEN FLEAS The idea of TGF was came to Arusha in a dream that seemed more like a message. Started in june 2020, the community has grown strong and put out many successful collections all the while bringing sustainable fashion to people with the magic of art and storytelling.

FIGURES THRIFT Offering the customers something that they truly desire. A way into the universe of fashion without putting too much thought into it and expressing yourself through an extension of yourself. Not catering to the people who are mindlessly buying into the idea of fast fashion but innovative way of offering the designs and clothes that minimize the self-doubt and offers transparency into the self. A reflection of how you perceive yourself and express through the unique collection of pieces.

THE LOCAL VINTAGE TLV was founded in 2018 as an alternative to fast fashion. We curate our pieces keeping timelessness and femininity as key elements. Our collection spans across the '60s-'90s with a focus of styling them in a modern way. Apart from sourcing from thrift shops, we do special collections where we source pieces directly from private collections of people. With TLV we aim to promote vintage shopping in India as a method to adopt slow fashion.

CURATED FINDINGS Fashion industry generates a lot of wastage and utilizes a considerable number of resources during its production (for example, a single T-shirt requires 700 gallons of water to be produced) and adding to it, we as consumers do not use what we buy to its full efficiency and discard clothing very quickly. While people want to make a difference, buying from sustainable brands is not feasible for all, we are here with an even more fashionable solution- Thrifting!

Smash the Patriarchy by Tushar Madaan

Instagram: @tushaaaaaaaaaar Size : 2000x3000 px Medium : Digital

Words by Kumud Gupta

Now You See Me -

Women-led businesses and how we view them Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a land not so far away, women of a house were preferred to stay in the house and those who did go out to make a living of their own were somehow looked down upon. Has that worldview changed? Is the idea of women working and bringing in money slowly becoming acceptable? If you ask me for a woman, prioritizing work always comes with a long list of Terms and conditions, there is a natural assumption for them to make a sacrifice or compromise. And while I come from a place of privilege, I am aware that people from different socio-economic backgrounds may have to go through a lot more. Starting from a place of disadvantage due to something that doesn’t affect your talent and skills can be exhausting and then further have your gender identity guide your career path? But that’s a whole talk in itself, lemme get back to the topic at hand here. My story isn’t something you’ve never heard before. A classic shift from academic career into Arts. For as long as I can remember, I was urged by my family to become a teacher, which I wanted too initially. So naturally I was skeptical to say the least when I decided to make a career switch later. To my surprise, I was generously supported in my decision to shift from Math to Design, and my happiness knew no bounds.

career’s get treated as hobbies, which they’re expected to grow out of. Despite my family’s support towards my ‘hobby’, it was clear that my work and passion were not taken as seriously. I would hear ‘advice’ along the lines of, “It’s okay if you don’t grow much, as a woman you have the luxury to get married and let your husband take care of the money”, from my mother to ease my work-stress! Professional work in a woman’s life is still deemed as an unnecessary nuisance in many homes, and until this idea changes, women’s careers will continue to be trivialized. This kind of baseless chatter continues outside homes as well. Everything from ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ to the social media has led the society to believe that women are each other’s worst enemies. Having worked in a woman-led agency with an all-women dream team, I know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. I was shown an example of solidarity and sisterhood, in the face of competition. We women really do have each other’s back more than the men, right from borrowing a pad from a total stranger to having a senior guide us step by step for anything. Cold Feet turned Toasty warm.

Albeit once the rose-tinted glasses came off, the realities of my decision set in. When asked about my work, my father would deflect the questions because he was embarrassed to admit my decision to others. My first internship was treated like a summer-camp hobby class. Similarly, for many women, their 24

We women really do have each other’s back more than the men, right f rom borrowing a pad f rom a total stranger to having a senior guide us step by step for anything.

A while back, I used to work in a fashion house established by a husband-wife duo. The wife was in charge of the apparel design while the husband would take care of the marketing and business development. Much to my frustration, I observed that even though the man had no design sensibility or customer experience, he still had the final say on what would or wouldn’t go in the store. The woman who actually made all the clothes, who was actually running the whole show, was reduced to just a paragraph on their website! I learned that as a business owner and a woman, one needs to choose one’s team carefully.

saw the work and didn’t know the gender of the person behind it. Working for women-led businesses brought its own challenges. The businesses would usually be under-funded. With minimal investment, many potential female clients didn’t have money for advertising and design. The biggest challenge was navigating through this and establishing my capacity as a designer beyond my gender identity. I have clients who trust me even with things I haven’t attempted before, and who value my opinion and give payments on time, despite their or my gender! They key, I’ve come to realize, is observing how someone is speaking to you, how their emails read, how they sound on the phone, before you jump the gun get anybody onboard. It hasn’t been all bad though. I’ve met and worked with people who have been fair and amazing. My goal is that my work gets its due and is seen as a reflection of my skills and capabilities, not my gender identity.

For the next phase of my design journey as a freelancer, I closely observed my superiors and their clients. I knew that I wanted to work with businesses that were led or co-led by women, until I had a few projects under my belt, as it felt safer to me. As I grew in my experience, I noticed that older men seemed to have a problem with trusting women in creative fields, in terms of investing in them. I wonder how they would feel if they just

I noticed that " older men seemed

to have a problem with trusting women in creative f ields, in terms of investing in them. I wonder how they would feel if they just saw the work and didn’t know the gender of the person behind it.

Know more about Kumud: www.designsbykumud.com 25

Artwork by Kumud Gupta

Instagram: @designsbykumud

Words by Gunjun Nanda

Intersectional Environmentalism Embracing diversity in the fashion industry

Sustainability has become the most trending buzzword in fashion these past couple of years. If you get down to the depths of sustainability, it works on three core pillars: economy, society and the environment. Somehow, we only get to see and act upon the environmental aspect of it while the human side of fashion takes a back seat. Somehow the environmental aspect has become the showstopper and the human aspect shoved in the back for no one to notice. We see too many brands preaching ‘conscious’ and ‘slow’ fashion in the name of environmentalism yet simultaneously fall grossly short of achieving social justice due to their inherent lack of diversity, inclusivity, intersectionality, and any mere

depiction of that. And in order for a brand to be termed as ‘truly sustainable’, intersectionality must be accounted for, not just as a trend or an aesthetic but something we can all be proud and empathetic about as humans. Ever since fashion’s been making a switch to organic and eco conscious materials, it somewhere neglected to acknowledge the poor communities, especially people of colour who experience injustice from the industry processes – one of them being the impact of fashion’s enormous contribution to landfill. This indeed is not a new conversation, but it’s the one that has taken the urgency of a pandemic and political unrest to be reignited.

What is Intersectional Environmentalism? Intersectional environmentalism focuses on the connection between the environment and the race. Leah Thomas (IG: @greengirlleah), founder of the Intersectional Environmentalist movement defines the term as – ‘an inclusive version of environmentalism that advocates for both the protection of people and the planet. It identifies the ways in which injustices happening to marginalized communities and the earth are interconnected. It brings injustices done to the most vulnerable communities, and the earth, to the forefront and does not minimize or silence social inequality. Intersectional Environmentalism advocates for justice for people + the planet.’

Somehow the environmental aspect has become the showstopper and the human aspect shoved in the back for no one to notice.

Why Intersectional Environmentalism matters and should matter? Within the fashion industry, with the current systems in place, the elite benefit the most while the black and brown communities are being harmed and taken advantage of on an everyday basis. Mass production of fast fashion is done and then dumped at landfills in poorer countries. It affects those most at risk of climate change and pollution, on top of limited access to basic human rights such as clean water and medical treatment. In wealthier countries, communities of colour live and work in the most polluted areas such as garment manufacturers in LA, California. In developing regions of Asia, Bangladesh is one such country witnessing a huge POC (People of Colour) impact within their communities, as compared to other nations. Since the #BlackLivesMatter movement, many fast fashion brands took to social media to show support for the coloured communities, people quickly started to point out failures of these companies to look inward and address the injustices happening in their supply chains with mainly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) workers exposed to dangerous working conditions and low wages. As we move forward, race and privilege will need to intertwine with retailers’ sustainability agendas with an attached focus on transparency and accountability. Because of the pandemic, sustainability has been given widespread attention with fast fashion experiencing a much-needed slowdown. However, if we look at the financial repercussions of orders that are cancelled and factories being shut down, marginalised communities have been hit severely leaving garment workers unable to sustain even a normal life with basic necessities. Leading brands and retailers sourcing from India have cancelled o rders as well. In fact, one of the top apparel manufacturers of the North Indian apparel industry shed light on the situation, all the while being anonymous, “Landmark Group has asked us to stop production. But as we already had production in process with raw material ready with us, almost Rs. 11 crores are stuck now. It will impact

According to Remake, The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) reported more than $3billion in cancelled orders, impacting more than 2 million garment workers. Other parts of SE Asia, Central America and Haiti are also deeply affected.

our entire business and will have a cascading impact on our suppliers also.” There are more than 200 vendors of the company in India and it also sources from other apparel manufacturing hubs in the country worth of somewhere Rs. 400 crores. The group, having prestigious brands like Max, Splash, Lifestyle etc. has around 500 stores in India, and over 2300 outlets worldwide.

The Future of Intersectional Environmentalism in the fashion industry Ever since the pandemic broke out in 2020, it has become pretty clear that fashion cannot return to its original state. The arrival of Covid-19 itself has led to several conversations being initiated around rethinking and revamping the retail calendar, increasing sustainability throughout supply chains through the use of minimal waste in textiles and other materials. @gunjan.nanda

One of the approaches we support is for brands to use deadstock (materials leftover from the manufacturing process) in their production. We also advocate for reducing the amount of clothing that enters landfills. Slow fashion isn’t just about buying higher quality, ethically produced garments – its caring for the things you already own. There’s a growing mindset shift around the degrowth movement – working less, buying less and making less. Going beyond the need for minimalism, retailers need to encourage consumers to make slower and more ethical fashion choices, putting the concept of ‘buy less, buy better’ under the limelight. Now, I ask all of you – How are you doing your bit for the people and the environment? Initiate this conversation with yourself as well as with others around you.

Artwork by Trisha Srivastava Instagram: @trishabelieve

SPACE SESSIONS A Feature Interview

Spacesseions is a Meta indie music community of India who organize and curate music gigs and artists collective for the people of the community every month all throughout India. They have been bringing artists and indie music lovers together since 2018 and with every session there is something new in store for the guests. Having done an incredible job at creating a platform for the upcoming artist’s, we decided to talk to the man behind the show, Ankit Kathuria himself.

together a myriad of Musicians, Artists, Hosts, and Pop-up stalls. I was already making music under the moniker 'Spacecake' (IG: @spacecakemusic) and 'session' was the word floating around for upcoming communities. Intuitively 'Space Sessi on' seemed like a perfect name for such an Alternate Music community. We do this for our love for Music, to promote independent music across the country, and curate one-off experiences.

@avidguitars

Q - So how did it all start? And why do you do what you do? The idea for Space Session sprouted in a usual setting in May 2018 when my friends KC, Doody, and I were discussing how the Indie music scene is filled with amazing artists but lacks the required stage for it to bloom fully. It was like we finally saw the elephant in the room and so, decided to create an (Indie)pendent community that would bring

Photo by Ramesh Iyer

Q - What’s been your most iconic gig? What makes a gig successful according to you? The most iconic gig for me would be 'The Irregulars Art Fair' (IG: @ theirregularsartfair) which was held in Delhi. TIRAF had over 30 acts spread across 7 days which ranged from a 14-piece act to solo Singer-Songwriters and various other genres. Recently, we had Zenguin play at Anavrin's, (an Art Commune, with a terracegarden cafe in South Delhi) rooftop. It was a memorable and quite a remarkable gig. We went old-school and blasted a Progressive-Rock band while projecting visuals on them.

Gig poster by Himani Raina (IG: @talkcolours)

Read more about Zenguin in their feature interview up next!

Q - Artists who are looking to be a part of the community, your advice to them?

According to me, a gig is successful when everybody is on time from the Sound Vendor to the crew to the Artists and when everything flows smoothly from the stage set up to soundcheck to crowd management and most importantly when everyone has a good and safe time while enjoying the music.

Please be patient with us. Generally, we curate for 2 months ahead but sometimes we're programmed for 3-4 months and there are a lot of Indie artists in the country who share their profiles with us. My advice- keep making original music, keep performing. The Indie music scene is growing and the opportunities are more now especially because of technology. Q - What’s the future looking like for Spacesessions and its community? After being in the scene for some time now, apart from metropolitan cities, we are also there in cities such as Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad. We are also coming up with 2-day Music and Arts Festival and the future is looking big!

Groovesmen at NIV Photo by Sourav Nanda

Truth bomb? Indie is a tough scene.

Q - It would be easy to assume that after so many gigs you have everything mapped out, any truth bombs you wanna drop?

Uh no not really. After 60 gigs and majorly being active in Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, and Pune, we still learn something new every now and then. We are also now charting out new territories and associations for Space Session. Truth bomb? Indie is a tough scene. 31

Photo by Sourav Nanda

About Anavrin

About TIRAF

Anavrin is an artist-in-residence community initiative based out of India. They aim at showcasing artists and creatives by providing an eco-friendly, Open & healthy environment to reside in and grow as a community. An experimental institution where people regardless of their orientation are welcome, staying at a reasonable cost of living.

The Irregulars Art Fair is India’s first Anti-art-fair for independent artists to foster a dialogue that transcends prescribed geographies, hierarchies, and markets. TIRAF aims to create a cultural community amongst all genres of art and culture and seeks to present new artists in spaces that were not originally created for an art exhibition and to display their art in ways that are not usually meant for display.

Mess by Manika Nagpal Instagram: @manikaart

Size - 14x9 in

Medium - Charcoal on paper

Words by Saksham Gupta & Vasu Singal

Catching a wild Zenguin Zenguin is a progressive rock band based in Delhi who have been making music for years and slowly starting to get recognized. The syzygy team had the chance to get candid with them and this is what we dug up for you.

Q - Where does the name Zenguin come from? How did the band get together? We had already been making music for some time before we decided on the name. While trying to come up with an identity for the music we thought it’d be cool to create an entity/character/ being to represent us. Zenguin just fit in with the vibe of the music we were making and seemed to be sufficiently open ended and yet having this definite identity Saksham had been playing with the Metal band Colossal Figures but that came to an abrupt end when their vocalist passed away. Ended up meeting Akash, an old schoolmate who had just left his job and was looking to make music. There was a sense of shared musical tastes and influences and so they started off as a duo. A couple of EP’s and Music videos later, met Vasu at a Guthrie Govan gig, made plans to jam and since then we’ve had him on board as our drummer. There have been some lineup changes since then, with the most recent being the addition of Danik on bass. Q - Tell us a bit about the members. How would you describe each other? Vasu : Saksham has his own way of counting, he counts like he's a tabla player, took me a while to understand his way, but I dig it. Love how he keeps coming with new ideas/riffs and most importantly sounds, which actually expands our horizon to experiment as a band. He's

the only guitar player I can jam with without a bass player. We never even think twice, once we are set up, jumping straight into random jams, the guy is too rhythmic! Saksham: I think Vasu has all the attributes you want from a drummer in a prog band. Dependability, brains, and the ability to keep a cool head. He’s also one of the most Zen people I know in general and has good taste in everything. Our newest member Danik can get some really crazy far-out sounds from his bass and pedalboard setup. I first jammed with him as part of the band Ioish and loved his playing. Glad to have him on board. What can I say, Danik is a super positive lad who loves the sunshine.

Over the years we’ve had lots of amazing people and musicians be a part of Zenguin, and I am deeply grateful to all of them for their invaluable contributions. Q - What’s been your most iconic gig so far?

music have a huge effect. Exploring sound design using Analog synthesizers, effects pedals, and DAWs also helps unleash new potentials.

It was an opening set for Indus Creed. We were asked to play this show and at the 11th hour when one of the bands on the lineup had backed out. And this was at a time when we were between band members, looking for a new bass player and figuring out if the band could even go on. We ended up asking our friend Akshay (doodie) and that's how he came into the picture. That was when we played one of our greatest sets and with barely any rehearsal mind you.

Q - What’s the future looking like for Zenguin? Make a prediction. Best believe our new EP is gonna kick ass. Get Excited!

Photo by Prabal Deep

Q - Share one of your favorite moments as a band? So our first EP to feature live drums was ‘Kensho’. We were really excited about this and had been planning it for a while. We had booked a studio, studied up on drum recording techniques, and had been jamming on the songs with Vasu. Everything was set and we were really looking forward to it. On the day of the drum recording session, Vasu arrived at the studio and informed us that he had forgotten to bring his cymbals! So we all had a good laugh about it and just hung out instead, and the recording was moved to another day.

Photo by Prabal Deep

The set was laced with a cool improvisational vibe. Artists being candid really does work amazingly with the audience because after that set we saw a spike in our fan base.

Q - How do you synergize the creative input of different members? Multivitamins. Sunlight. Hydration (Lots of water at rehearsals). Q - Where do you draw your inspiration from & how does it reflect in your music?

@zenguinofficial Members - Saksham Gupta, Vasu Singhal, Danish

Vasu : We listen to a lot of varied stuff, hence the urge to experiment. From Thundercat to Spaven to Nerve to Kendrick to Ben Bohmer, Karnivool, Gojira, Meshuggah. Saksham: Some of the ideas from Eastern mystical traditions, often about inner exploration contribute to the vibe and intention of our music. The tools that we use to make and record our

Check out Zenguin’s Music here 35

Words by Ketan (Founder)

Razaai Razaai came as a response to a growing feeling that the way in which we (students, largely) were carrying out political conversations was futile, enclosed, and irritating. A deep ennui and disempowerment was coming on to us – and still does – by the larger political conditions around us. And, even as we participated in resistant activism, we also sensed an increased distrust that was fragmenting solidarity. An accusatory and divisive outlook to community took hold. A deadlock of conversations was formed because of an excessive belief in identity and a punishment. Moreover, a simplistic template of conversation – that already presumed what power meant, where phobia was housed, and what the “correct” politics is – was creeping in.

An art commune

will continue – with people of different social backgrounds and positions. Our first series of workshops – threads – involved multiple painting workshops with students at our university and children from nearby villages. Using art, we would ask people in the workshop to talk about what they think about certain issues – and these workshops were guided by both a focus on aesthetics (how one is expressing oneself) and criticism (why is one expressing the way one does). We were very insistent not to go with a set agenda and, instead, push a set of questions.

An established idea of activism was solidified: privilege, experience, and identity came to become packaged commodities with a standard application in almost every conversation. Such a self-assured ecosystem was further aggravated through social media, where we would see a political vocabulary being very easily used across different channels without giving the care and understanding it deserved. Along with this was a misplaced belief in new age media activism that they’re doing something that has never been done before – as though this politics is like a new, glamorous product, and history would see how “we” changed the world.

My friends and I wanted to initiate difficult conversations in spaces unexplored and through unconventional mediums that put pressure on what counts as politics and activism. razaai was knitted together through these conversations. Our primary focus was to think of conversations as a process – not delineated from history as something “new,” nor putting forth a specific solution that ends questions. razaai tried to grasp at a politics that was always there and

How to watch a Solar Eclipse, Lakshmi Ramesh Instagram: @inkedbylax Size - 420×297 mm Medium - Pen and ink, colour pencil on paper

For instance, our workshops on gender and sexuality would not involve an index of identities that need to be learnt and memorized. Instead, it entailed a reflection through art about the ways in which we ourselves thought of our own relationships to our bodies, clothing, expression, norms, and desires. We realized that having conversations offline really helped. A more honest

approach to community, oppression, and social impact came to aid us. Using arts as a medium to talk was especially useful in as much as art could encode ideas that were otherwise very slippery and ineffable. razaai ended up doing many activities – film screenings, reselling discarded artwork, therapy workshops, poetry readings, magazine features among others. 37

As the pandemic hit us, another wave of difficulties spewed – we realized we would have to go back to online platforms again. As time passed by, the fickle nature of community and politics also revealed themselves to us: we realized people move away, things fall apart, new ideas take the centre stage, and, indeed, students don’t always remain students. As of now, our orientation to expand ways of thinking, engage with marginalized ideas and people, and think about more honest and deep modes of speaking still stands in our series of interviews on Instagram entitled strands. Where razaai would go, what will it cover, and uncover, is uncertain.

like method of using items that are lost, ugly, and easy to find in order to form its aesthetics. This aesthetics does not pay homage for peace-making activities, even as it is against violence, but is an inclination towards using whatever we have – no matter how limited, how rudimentary – to speak in manners that are not obvious. A desire, that is, to think of a politics that does not have a fixed template of meanings, that rejects a final answer. In this way, then, razaai aims to fabricate not only to make a fabric – using multiples threads and weave together – but to fabricate – to construct, to fictionalize, to make unreal.

Indeed, we still have no answers – perhaps never will – of the questions we started by. What razaai does have, though, is a method of approaching the world. It is not the most effective, it’s not an out, and it most certainly is not correct, but is helpful in some degrees: a method that focuses on making and remaking from eclectic sources.

In Italo Calvino’s “Say It With Knots” from his book Collection of Sands, he describes how in New Caledonia, messages of war and peace were not spoken out or declared through a self-evident language, but were transmitted through knots on a rope. A peace offering was a “question of persuading [the addressee] to return to their destroyed village and rebuild it,” this is why, “the knot for this message would tie together pieces of the reeds, shrubs and leaves that were used for building huts”. razaai wants to use this collage-

@razaaiarts 38

Columbarium of Pandals Artwork by Deepesh Sangtani

Each year, the city of Kolkata sees a lot of pandals being made as a tribute to the goddess Durga. However, at the end of the festivities, the pandal is torn down and the city returns to a state of tabula rasa. The Columbarium acts as a museum for the pandals that have been built over the years and can be revisited by its residents. The graphic is a playful re-imagination of Soviet Architects Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin's Columbarium Habitable, 1989.

@multiloguecollective 40

RAQEEB Raqeeb runs the pages @daintystrangerphotos & @framesbyraqeeb on Instagram. An artist, published poet, researcher, and writer based in Delhi, India. His photographic work focuses on queer intimacies and intricacies of male sexuality. Most of his work tries to dismantle the mainstream representation of the ‘Indian male’ and aims to bring forth a vision of inclusive, diverse, and intersectional ‘Indian/South Asian Mxn’.

Model - Parth

Instagram - paxrth

"Another

aspect of his work looks into intimacy between same-sex partners. Here, the pictures focus more on intimacy rather than the eroticism of the act.

Model - Mitra

Instagram - mitravisvesh

Through the representation of everyday intimacy, his work tries to normalize bodies and desires, especially about the queer community. His work featured in Homegrown India, Cosmopolitan India, Mans World India, Vogue Italia, Gaysi Family, Vice India, SheThePeople, Feminism In India, and MidDay Sunday Raqeeb is humble and always on the lookout for new talent to collaborate with.

EDITORIAL TEAM: Razaai team / Kumud Gupta/ Chaitanya Talreja/ Girish Sharma/ Ketan/ Arusha/ Gunjan Nanda / Kumud / Kriti Goswami/ Girish Sharma/ Ketan/ Arusha/ Muskaan Gupta/ Saksham Gupta/ Ankit Kathuria/ Soumya DESIGN: Radhika Kedia ART: Tushar Madaan/ Raqeeb/ Trisha Srivastava / Kumud/ Muskaan Gupta/ Pramod/ Deeksha Malhotra/ Sanya Shankar/ Vaishaka Dayani/ Lakshmi Ramesh/ Ramesh Iyer/ Sourav Nanda / Prabal Deep/ Oishi Dutta/ Bhavya Gupta/ Oishi Dutta/ Nikita Kapoor/ Himani Raina/ Kritika Ghangas/ Manika Nagpal CREDITS FOR THE FIRST EDITION OF SYZYGY MAG: Razaai team / 0neByZer0 Team/ Zenguin Team/ Spacesession Team/ TGF Team/ Radkhika Kedia/ Kumud Gupta/ Chaitanya Talreja/ Girish Sharma/ Arusha/ Kriti Goswami / Tushar Madaan/ Raqeeb/ Trisha/ Kumud/ Apoorva Joshi. Special Mentions: Arusha/ Ketan/ Rimisha Saleem.