Innehållsförteckning för 26 December 2022 från India Today

In India, we tend to focus on the central government and its policymaking, often forgetting that we are not a unitary state. The makers of our Constitution decided against having a unitary model like that of the UK, or a federation of states that the US has, but instead evolved a judicious blend of the two. What makes India a truly federal union is how the powers are divided between the Union government and the states, with certain subjects being put on a concurrent list for better coordination. The Union List currently has 97 subjects listed as its exclusive preserve, including defence, foreign affairs, railways and national highways, posts and telegraphs, foreign trade and commerce and the banking and financial systems, among others. The 28 states have untrammelled jurisdiction over…

The day Bhupendra Patel and his cabinet took oath, there were relaxed smiles all around. Gujarat’s electorate had upturned the very notion of anti-incumbency with a whopping mandate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP. But as the euphoria of the election ebbs away, people reckon with the reality of the ‘same’ new government. To beat back any creeping sense of stasis, the state leadership has to maintain the tempo of 2022 till 2024, actively working on improving the economy, creating jobs and dealing with a bunch of contentious issues like EWS quota implementation and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The BJP has won all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat since 2014, its vote share increasing every time. Ensuring the trend continues rests squarely on Patel and his team now…

Q. The Chinese navy is on an expansion mission and is projected to operate up to 10 carriers by 2049. How do you see this? A. The Chinese navy’s force accretion has been rapid. We are monitoring their build-up. The Indian Navy has plans in place, based on a constant scan of geo-security developments, to ensure our interests are always protected. In this, aircraft carriers have a crucial role to play—for India to have the capability to dominate the Indian Ocean and project power away from its shores. They are central to fleet operations and the concept of Sea Control, as they offer flexibility of a very high order…across vast maritime spaces. We feel a third carrier will further our objectives. Q. What’s the status of the Navy’s demand for…

Several comm unities in Gujarat firmly believe in kamurta, the inauspicious planetary alignment between December 15 and January 15. The previous two cabinets, in 2012 and 2017, were sworn in during this period and we all know how things panned out for the incumbent chief ministers. Which is why Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was reportedly keen on taking oath not just before the kamurta period kicked in, but also at the exact vijay mahurat (occasion for victory)—12.39 pm on December 12. However, while Patel may have astrologically force-fielded his government, one hopes his stars stay alig ned with the BJP brass too.…

Like everything else about Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, his house in the heart of Chennai, too, is understated. He chose not to shift to the chief minister’s official residence after coming to power in May 2021, preferring instead to stay on in his elegant two-storeyed bungalow off Mount Road where security for visitors is discreet. Upstairs is a multi-purpose gym that Stalin likes to visit early every morning, combining weight training with yoga and meditation sessions to keep fit. You will find him most often in a spotless white veshti and bush shirt that has one distinguishing feature—the tall, unbuttoned spearpoint collar that contrasts well with his puffed jet-black hairdo. In much the same way as Prince Charles, now the king of England, the 69-year-old Stalin also had to wait an…

It was 15 minutes past midnight when the doorbell of Samir Sinha, principal secretary to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, rang. Jayant Narlikar, commissioner and secretary to the state’s finance department, had come calling. The two had to iron out a couple of issues related to a few of the government schemes, but they also had CM Sarma on the phone line from his residence. Sarma and his two officers were engaged in intermittent conversations and by the time all the issues were resolved, it was nearly 2 am. In the administrative machinery of the Sarma-led Assam government, it was just a regular day, which usually begins at 8 in the morning. On some days, though, calls from the chief minister’s office can start even at 7 am. If…

1 “To revive the economy post-Covid is a difficult task. We cut wasteful expenditure, worked with the central government to get utilisation certificates and get money stuck with various departments released” 2 “We restructured our loans and increased our exposure to government-backed NBFCs like NABARD and SIDBI. Penny saved was a penny earned at that time and we spent the money to augment the infrastructure” 3 “We got a lot of support from the central government; as we put it, it was a double-engine growth. We got money from various heads to build tourism, health and road infrastructure etc.” 4 “There are some groups propelling sub-regional nationalism. They evoke sentiments for jobs. Some people do get carried away. But we are Indians; anyone can come here to do a job…

Agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas have catapulted Gujarat to the top, making it the best performing big state in terms of the economy. Among the small states, Goa takes the lead, riding on the back of its revived tourism and mining sectors. While Gujarat moved to the top from No. 2 last year, Goa is No. 1 this year, up from its third position last year. Among the most improved big states, Haryana has jumped from No. 9 to No. 1. Besides being a leader in software services exports, Haryana has factories in Manesar and Faridabad that make up for almost 60 per cent of the country’s automobile manufacturing capacity. Among small states, Manipur occupies the summit, improving its No. 3 rank from last year—primarily riding on a rise…

With the highest per capita health expenditure of Rs 9,871 in 2021-22, more than thrice the national average of just over Rs 3,000, and a well-structured healthcare network, Kerala has emerged as the best performing big state in health for the third consecutive year. Puducherry, meanwhile, continues to be the best performing small state. When it comes to states that have shown most improvement in the past five years, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram grab the honours among the big and small states, respectively. Other than expenditure on health per person, these states were evaluated on parameters such as the infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality rate (MMR), registered doctors and government hospitals per lakh persons, average patients served and number of beds per government hospital, and life expectancy. Best Performing…

Two years of the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a massive blow to Indian tourism. Things, however, finally seem to be picking up. Governments have launched fresh policies to attract more footfalls, and the complete lifting of travel restrictions has helped the industry. Best Performing Big State: Kerala Kerala seems to be recovering from its dark days that started in 2018 with successive mega floods, and then the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020. In the first three quarters ending in September, around 13,380,836 domestic tourists visited Kerala. Foreign tourist arrival, however, remains sluggish. To enhance tourism post the pandemic, the government introduced the Caravan Tourism policy in 2021 promising a customised and close-to-nature travel experience. Being developed on a PPP mode, it comprises tourism caravans and caravan parks. The government has also announced…

Managing money isn’t easy. Education up to graduation rarely focuses on this essential life skill. Often, what one gathers is from parents, siblings and friends who may have unknowingly committed mistakes in their financial decisions. Moreover, easy credit, mixed voices, conflicting advice on finance from various sources and financial jargon prove to be the other challenges. It is easy to commit financial mistakes, especially when one has so many things to juggle around and distract us. Naturally, mistakes related to money happen all the time and you are not alone if you have any financial regrets of your own. Regardless of your age or life stage or current financial position, understanding money-related mistakes and how you can avoid them can help you get back on the path to financial independence.…

1. NOT CHECKING YOUR CREDIT SCORE Borrowers are unaware of their credit scores when they apply for a loan. Often, loans are denied simply due to a poor credit score. THE SOLUTION: Lenders typically look for a good credit score when reviewing a loan application, so it is advisable to make sure that you have a good credit score before you apply. You could check your credit easily and free of cost on credit bureaus or on lending platforms. Check your credit score at least once a year or 3-6 months before applying for a loan. If there are errors on your credit report, which are affecting the score, report and rectify the mistake. At no time ignore past unsettled loans. 2. REVOLVING CREDIT It is tempting to pay the…

There’s something poetic, even vague about the word ‘otherwhile’, but having picked it as the title of his new exhibition at Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, Jitish Kallat would prefer that we didn’t go looking up its meaning in a nearby dictionary. “That would dismantle the show in ways that may not be most interesting. Otherwhile has to do with temporality and the idea of time. Time remains a central, key theme in the exhibition, but also in my life’s work.” In ‘Otherwhile’, a photographic work on glass, we see people try to hold with their fingers the sun, that daily marker of our days. Like time, the work, too, is fragile. As you gaze harder, your perspective slips, “and the glass itself seems to strip”. Kallat’s work has always had…

NEW TOOL HAUTE IDEAS Orient Electric has launched the Aura Neo Art instant water heater with a marble finish. It has a shockproof body, pressure bearing capacity of up to 6.5 bar and glass wool insulation for better heat retention. PRICE ₹7,990 QUICK PICK WASH WARE Whirlpool’s latest Xpert Care range of premium front-load washing machines use sensors and algorithms to intelligently sense the load and adapt the speed, minimise friction and maximises performance. PRICE ₹40,600 to ₹74,490 TRIED AND TESTED THE BLACK BEAUTY Coffee machines are like people. They have their personalities, quirks, and temperaments. They can be loud or quiet, fast or slow—but they all do one thing: they make coffee. So, what’s special about the Wonderchef Regalia Capsule Coffee Maker? For one, convenience—The Regalia offers a no-nonsense…

VISUAL FEAST Go the extra mile this year with Christmas-themed crockery. This one from Nestasia, called the Holly Jolly Christmas collection features six dinner plates, snack plates and soup bowls, one platter, and two platters with handles. PRICE ₹24,830; AT www.nestasia.in SPREAD YOUR WINGS The winged angel sculptures from Beyond Designs Home come in an array of sizes and colours from pastels to deep red. Made of metal and resin, the sculptures will add to the overall look of your home. PRICE on request; AT www.beyonddesigns.in SHINING STAR A beautiful network of gold metal lines intersects to create this attractive and impactful star cluster from Logam. PRICE ₹2,490; AT www.logam.in PERSONAL TOUCH Give your holiday ornaments a personal touch with Christofle available at Emery Studio. You can customise your silver…

For too long that fine bubbly, worth a special connoisseurship graced glasses of foreign origin. Finally, there seems to be an Indian contender that believes glass adds more than class to your decor. The brand in question—Renovation Factory that specialises in bespoke lighting, furniture, barware and luxe home accents. In fact, step into their (by appointment only) design gallery and get ready to see glass in all shapes and forms. As you enter the space, you are ushered into the Red Room. The temperature here has purposely been kept hot and represents the heat of the kiln where these glass beauties are created. The brand’s most popular and top-selling pieces have been displayed here and the red lighting, adds to the drama of the space. One corner is dedicated to…

Designing your own home is a unique and memorable experience, primarily due to the distinct dual perspective of being the client as well as the designer. Mezze Home reflects my vision for my home with the use of tactile and natural finishes with a Mediterranean theme while still being modern and understated. Textured walls with open-pore wooden finishes (inspired by the mud-filled walls of Greece) add to the grounded feel of the home. This was done as a mock-up three to four times before it finally fit the space. The living room has a static Jhula that was built on-site using two large blocks of oakwood. The blue leather couch is one of the rare high-end finishes used in the home. Large indoor greens have been incorporated into the living…

Part light, part art, The Whim by Mumbai-based, light and installation designer Rhea Mehta (above) is a true beauty. “Inspired by the Waves of Arizona, the forms of The Whim have been developed after extensive form studies and detailed research on the beautiful sandstone rock formation in Arizona,” says Mehta. Made in handcarved wood, the sculptural light can be used as a floor standing light, a pendant light, a table lamp or even a wall hung lamp and in various sizes. PRICE on request AT www.rhea-mehta.com…

For sharp analysis on topical issues by the editors of INDIA TODAY, log on to www.indiatoday.in/india-today-magazine-insight STORY OF THE DAY: Why 2023 could be a do-ordie election year for KCR By Amarnath K. Menon The Telangana CM will need a third assembly poll win to give steam to his party’s national expansion plans and pitch himself against Modi in 2024 https://bit.ly/3HBdSwZ FROM THE STATES: MADHYA PRADESH Who is Raja Pateria, the Congress leader who allegedly said ‘kill PM Modi’? By Rahul Noronha The Brahmin leader from Bundelkhand has been arrested by the MP police and also served a show-cause notice by the Congress https://bit.ly/3FODeGz SPORTS: CRICKET Why Rohit Sharma’s Mirpur ODI inning shows ‘the Hitman’ is back Amitabh Srivastava India narrowly lost the match against Bangladesh but Sharma’s heroic knock,…

All are not destined to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth. But a few commoners reach uncommon heights just by virtue of their persistence. It took a four-decade trek for Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, son of a state transport bus driver, to arrive at the summit of Himachal Pradesh’s politics. But like all those who walk in the mountains, the new chief minister will likely find that even taller peaks loom ahead of him. More daunting than he may have imagined when he successfully fought off a stiff challenge to the post from PCC president Pratibha Singh, Mandi MP and widow of former CM Virbhadra Singh. Anti-incumbency is sometimes seen as an abstract sense of disenchantment, but in Himachal there were concrete policy issues at stake. The demand…

Khela hobe (Game on)’ seems to have become West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s lucky charm. It was her rallying cry against the BJP in the 2021 assembly polls; she later used the catchphrase for a popular state programme that distributes footballs to local clubs. Now, she wants a special segment showcasing sports-centric films at the Kolkata International Film Festival to be called ‘Game On’. The Bengal CM will be hoping the slogan continues to energise party workers, at least till the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Anyway, there’s no harm in sending the BJP reminders of their repeated failures to breach her Kolkata fortress.…

1 The chief minister keeps long working hours—from 8 in the morning to around 3 in the morning. He monitors the works of every department minutely, making regular assessment of progress and instant amends wherever needed. He doesn’t keep any file for more than 24 hours without comment 2 He has made performance the principal policy of the bureaucracy under him. Efficient bureaucrats were identified and even junior officers were given charge of crucial departments such as industry and transport. Senior officers are no more burdened with multiple departments 3 His government has continued the trend of increased budgetary expenditure—from Rs 41,931 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 1.2 crore now. The expenditure has been dovetailed strategically into the social sector and the infrastructure sector in the past few years 4…

Quality of life anywhere in the modern world is directly proportional to the quality of infrastructure—roads, supply of power and piped water, rail and air connectivity. Mobile/ internet connectivity is important too. Another factor is the number of projects completed, in relation to those sanctioned. These and other elements were taken into account to arrive at the Best Performing/ Most Improved states in this category. Best Performing Big State: Punjab Punjab is justifiably proud of its web of quality roads, both national and state highways, that connect every town with Chandigarh. The 2018-19 data of MORTH ratio of road length to the total area is 2.94, and the ratio of road length (every square km) to 1,000 vehicles is 0.10 in Punjab—among India’s best. It is among the first states…

Ambitious schemes for the common weal do not bear the fruit of socio-economic inclusivity by themselves. For that most desired result to come about, one requires a synergy between good governance, an astute and honest administration coupled with the best-laid plans. Setting an example in inclusive development, Tamil Nadu and Mizoram are the best performing states this year. Best Performing Big State: Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu stands out in its parallel focus on social welfare policies, in the areas of public education, social security and healthcare. It achieved the Millennium Development Goals far ahead of most states and is well on its way to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)—the state moved up to the second position in NITI Aayog’s SDG index in 2020-21 from the third in 2019-20.…

Four states, in particular, have set a fine example in terms of environmental action. While the rankings are based on various parameters such as SO2, NO2 and particu-late matter (PM) concentration and forest cover, the four states have taken steps that address issues beyond these factors. Best Performing Big State: Kerala Even though Kerala constitutes only 1.2 per cent of India, its forest cover is 2.3 per cent of the national average. Blessed with the Western Ghats, 44 rivers and a long coastal belt, it’s one of the most sensitive bio-hotspots in the country. The recorded forest area is about 29.65 per cent of the geographical area (38,863 sq. km). Currently, the state’s biggest challenge in dealing with climate change is carbon emissions and introducing scientific meth-ods for greenhouse technology.…

1. WAITING TO START Retirement means different things to different people, but it is the stage in life when you no more have an active income and live off your savings and investments. Don’t wait for the best day to start working towards your retirement. THE SOLUTION: You need to start planning towards your retirement from the day you start earning. Retirement is a long-term financial goal and it will be in your interest to start saving towards it at the earliest. Start by saving small and then add to it over time as your affordability goes up and you know how much you may actually need to save towards retirement. 2. NOT MAKING A PLAN Unlike other financial goals, which can also be met with loans or delayed, retirement…

A country’s artistic power centres tend to shift from city to city across time. In modern India, Calcutta retained a primacy in the arts for over a 150 years, piggy-backing on the city being the colonial as well as the commercial capital of the subcontinent. Across the first half of the 20th century, Bombay wrestled away the commercial crown from Calcutta and by the time Independence came around, Bombay/ Mumbai/Bambai was ready to start prising away the Cultural Capital tag from the City of Many Former Glories. Khorshed and Kekoo Gandhy, a wealthy Bombay Parsi couple (but not among the very wealthiest of wealthy Parsis, it has to be noted) became central to one major strand of the Bombay Ascendancy. Jerry Pinto’s book tells the story of the Gandhys and…

Q. Did playing the part of a lyricist in Qala teach you something about your craft? No, it didn’t teach me anything about being a lyricist, but it did teach me that acting is a very difficult job. Actors get to be arrogant and vain because it takes a lot of work to be a good actor. Actors have to be in rhythm with co-actors, the camera, the essence of their lines. It is a bit like group meditation. Q. While there’s something deeply compelling about your lyrics for Qala and Monica, O My Darling, do you feel Hindi film music has maybe lost some of its earlier appeal? Volumes have gone up and not all of it has the required longevity. A lot of these songs are made for…

That fluffy, warm and inviting fabric—bouclé, owes everything to Florence Knoll, a renowned American architect, interior designer and entrepreneur. Knoll had asked her long-time friend Finnish American architect and industrial designer Eero Saarinen to design a chair she could “really curl up in”. The Saarinen’s Womb Chair debuted in 1948, used bouclé and took the design world by storm. So, what is this fabric all about? Bouclé means loop or curl in French. It refers to a yarn, made from a series of looped fibre. While wool is the most commonly used fibre for this technique, however, cotton, linen, and silk can also be used to create this textured fabric. Gaining Popularity After the launch of the Womb Chair, everyone from fashion houses such as Chanel to furniture and home…

“We are constantly creating new products with no timeline” FASCINATED BY MACHINES and automobiles as a child, Anil Jain would often tinker with bikes along with the mechanics at his father’s spare parts shop. Though he studied mechanical engineering in the US, the passion for building stuff got reignited while building a new house during the pandemic. He felt a void in the market for good home décor products and that’s when Studio Aurawala was launched. “We take inspiration from things all around us; be it the flora-fauna where we have mimicked the shape of the leaf and tree branches or the anatomy of the animals in our furniture designs,” says Jain. Material World Jain’s specialty is making furniture using the casting process and brass and aluminium are two key…

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother Shivpal Yadav played no bit role in Dimple Yadav’s victory in the Lok Sabha byelection in Mainpuri on December 5. The death of the Samajwadi Party stalwart had necessitated the bypoll, and Dimple and Akhilesh Yadav personally visited their uncle to make amends and seek his support. The result was the Yadav bahu’s huge win against BJP’s Raghuraj Shakya. Speculation is now rife on what the ‘return gift’ for Shivpal will be: will he be made leader of the opposition in the state assembly or will he get the SP national general secretary’s post? Party workers wait with bated breath.…

Battleground Andhra Pradesh will soon have an emerald green truck dressed as an armoured vehicle rumbling through the 175 constituencies in the run-up to the next assembly election. Actor-turnedneta Pawan Kalyan has named it ‘Varahi’ after the Hindu goddess whose worship weakens the enemy. It will be flanked by ex-army personnel, also in green with red turbans, as security. Varahi may please the BJP, the most likely ally of Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, but replicating what Telugu Desam Party founder N.T. Rama Rao did with his Chaitanya Ratham, an emerald green refurbished Chevrolet van, will be no easy task.…

The India Today State of the States 2022 study was conducted by Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA), a premier Delhi-based research agency. The robust methodology is designed to rank the states on the basis of most relevant and exhaustive data, covering aspects which are crucial in fostering inter-state competition and upholding the true spirit of India’s federal structure. The states were ranked under two broad groups: ↘ Best performing states # Indicates latest performance of the state specific to the category # Based on most recent data across multiple parameters ↘ Most improved states #Indicates improvement of the state in the past five years # Based on positive changes (outcome-based) in the past five years The states were also divided into two broad groups—big states and small states—based on…

As winter finally begins to descend on north India and the holiday season is upon a pandemic-free population, India’s party hotspot Goa is gearing up to welcome back the tourists again to its smooth, sandy beaches. The tourist—domestic as well as international—is the coastal state’s greatest hope to bring its economy back on track post the hiccups of the economic slowdown and later the Covid lockdowns. The domestic tourists are back, but the dollar spenders, or foreign tourists, still elude the lively beach shacks and noisy bars. In the pre-pandemic days, the state hosted nine million tourists out of which about a million landed from foreign shores. In the INDIA TODAY State of the States survey this year, Goa has emerged as the overall best performing small state and topped…

1 Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s past experience as a journalist and footballer. Journalism made him aware of the roots of every problem and the sportsman spirit helped him become solution-oriented 2 Mass outreach programmes such as the CM Durbar, Go to Hills and Go to Village helped the CM understand public grievances first-hand and detect leaks in execution of government schemes 3 The immediate steps taken to bring down insurgency, ushering in an environment of peace, triggering public confidence and economic activity 4 Developing the rural economy based on locally available resources has boosted the MSME sector; peace has been a catalyst for tourism 5 The Centre’s focus on the northeast, leading to massive infrastructural development in Manipur…

Punjab continues its dominance in agriculture in India, but questions are being raised on its agri model, especially its inability to move from a monocrop culture focusing on water-intensive crops. Meanwhile, two states in the south, Telangana and Puducherry, are betting on innovation and farm-centric schemes to boost agriculture output and improve the lot of their farmers. This has also helped them move to the top of the rankings, having done admirably in many of the criteria such as contribution of agriculture to GDP, agriculture GSDP/ rural population and percentage of irrigated land. Best Performing Big State: Punjab The country’s largest wheat grower is on track to produce enough to fill buffer stocks this year too. The state has already completed sowing on farms spread over 2.9 million hectare. The…

What’s common between Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, other than the fact that the two states have emerged as bastions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? It’s their performance in the field of law and order, with Gujarat cementing its position as the best performing big state and Uttar Pradesh, likewise, retaining the most improved tag for the second year running. Meanwhile, Nagaland—which is also ruled by the BJP and its allies—is the best performing and most improved small state in the rankings that took into account the police strength, incidence of murder, kidnapping, rape, molestation and riots, and tot0al as well as pending IPC cases to evaluate the states. Best Performing Big State: Gujarat “Earlier, on entering the district of Porbandar, one would read in bold letters ‘Gujarat Police’s…

1. FAILING TO FILE RETURNS There are chances that you have forgotten to file your tax returns or have mistakenly assumed that TDS (tax deducted at source) or any other tax deduction is equivalent to having filed tax returns. THE SOLUTION: TDS or any other form of deduction is on the income that you earn. If this income is above Rs 2.5 lakh in a given financial year, then you are bound to duly file an Income Tax Return or ITR. This income is calculated before accounting for all the deductions. 2. MISSING THE DEADLINE There is a last date to file tax returns for a financial year, which is mostly the last day of July 2022. One may miss this deadline due to many reasons—inadequate time to keep the…

↘ IN AN INTEREST rate increase cycle, debt funds have been impacted the most over the past year-and-a-half and many short-term funds and gilt funds have been volatile with their returns. With this rise in repo rate, investors may continue to make decent returns in the short-term-oriented mutual funds. However, this may be the time to explore long-duration funds as the yields offered on such funds are attractive ↘ TARGET MATURITY funds could be considered by conservative investors for the long run to avail benefits from the structure of these funds. Investments in gilt as well as long-duration funds should be made with a three-year window at least. Do not ignore investments in debt funds, as in this phase of rising interest rate, yields get impacted and one has to…

FESTIVE FARE Cheese boards are so last season. This year, it’s all about candy boards dressed in Christmas hues. This one called Christmas Candyland Board from Gifted, features a beautiful wooden board, Xmas votive and tea light, cookies, candy cane and assorted Yuletide goodies. PRICE ₹1,600; AT gifted.co.in (Instagram) GROUND ZERO The souks of Morocco are known for intriguing horseshoe and multifoil arches, honeycombed vaults and colourful tiles. The Moor Collection by The Blue Knot borrows motifs from here and reinterprets them for a modern household. Crafted using the age-old panja weaving technique by artisans results in beautiful, light-weighted, and good quality dhurries. PRICE ₹18,500 onwards; AT @theblueknotofficial (Instagram) BEAN THERE A coffee table ties the entire room together. However, the Doh Coffee table from Escape by Creatomy’s Pench Collection,…

Much like chalk and cheese, the Mumbai homes of the father-son duo Anil and Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor are a study in contrasts. While Anil’s bungalow in Mumbai is all about a rich colour palette, Harsh Varrdhan’s sea-facing apartment revels in neutral tones. The former was slowly built over decades, the latter is just a few years old. However, their love for cinema, open spaces, art and greenery forms a connecting link between the two homes. The fifth episode of season 6 of Asian Paints Where the Heart is, offers a tale of two generations, love of design and a true look into their most pri-vate spaces. The episode begins with Anil walking us through his regal bungalow and sharing personal anecdotes, he then take us to Harsh Varrdhan’s modern and…

It was 2010, when I moved to Goa from New York to start Grounded. In Goa, I have always lived in Panjim and have a real soft spot for this small town that is steeped in history and has the kindest people and the most amazing food. If one wants to really feel like a local in Goa, then my recommendation would be to live in Panjim. We currently occupy a full floor in a four-storey apartment building that is five minutes from Miramar Beach. When we are in Goa, my children go to the beach every morning. On their way back, they bring shells from the beach and flowers from the roadsides. One day, my six-year-old brought back a bag full of plastic caps in her attempt at beach…