As luck would have it, I was talking to my aunt, and she reminded me about the terracotta planters that we once had at home.” Rungta is now the founder of Eco-Gardening, a homegrown venture that offers hardy plants and terracotta planters made by local potters. They have also tied up with a few households in Bhiwandi to procure paper bags that they use for their deliveries.

Terracotta planters made by potters in Dharavi

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“Instead of using a mainstream logistics company, we thought why not rope in youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds living in and around Versova for deliveries.” They offer plants that thrive in tropical climate like Areca palm, Monstera, Fiddle Leaf, Snake Plant and Agloenema.

Bishal Rungta

Apart from this, they also have perennial flowering plants like Mogra, Hibiscus, Ixora, Adenium and Champa. “We are helping local potters design their terracotta planters as we realised that design was one of the main reasons why they were failing to attract customers as compared to ceramic or plastic planters.”
@Ecogardening_, Instagram

Painting utopia

There’s something dreamy about art that captures the beauty of life. We felt that way, when we chanced upon Goa-based artist Richa Kashelkar’s paintings, which capture everything from   vernacular and heritage architecture, to fabrics, and the local flora and fauna. Her hues, mostly pastel, draw you into her world, as she sees it, or imagines it to be. From a couple seated with their backs against each other, which she has titled Companionable Silence, to the riveting architectural details captured in her work, Art Deco Bombay, the rolling hillscapes of Goa, and the stillness of time as witnessed from a Goan balcao, Kashelkar’s works are a visual treat, as deep and vivid as a real photograph.

“I started painting because I felt a limitation with photography, in trying to convey what I’m imagining. The only medium that comes close to visually translating your imagination and letting you express so freely, is painting,” admits the artist. “When I started out, I didn’t have a set idea in mind about what I wanted to paint; I just did whatever appealed to me naturally. But looking back now, I can see a clear pull towards depicting a certain utopia—both in terms of ideas and materials.” She takes inspiration from a world where “people are inseparable from nature, in moments of repose, contemplation, and wonder”.

 Richa Kashelkar

“I like to think of a world where all the beauties and mysteries of life are held sacred with love and basked in,” she says. Her artworks, which are on sale, are available on Giclee prints. These printers use 12 pigment-based inks instead of the usual four dye-based inks, so colour reproduction is more accurate, the artist shares. Kashelkar’s artworks are priced at Rs 2,800 and above.
https://store.richakashelkar.com/

Where self-care meets planet-care

There is a delicate balance between our health and our planet’s. Abhishek Kumar and Rhea Shukla, co-founders of The Switch Fix (TSF), are conscious of the fact that what we consume affects our planet and that, in turn, affects our well-being—mental and physical. Reading about our depleting water sources that are continually pumped with toxins and plastic from the beauty and personal care industry, the founders were determined to remove water and plastic from a product we all use regularly. The result was clean and conscious personal care that helps the user curb the damage caused to their scalp, hair and skin by pollution, heat, humidity and stress. Their products are plant-based, plastic-free and help to save water.

As they like to say, “it’s where self-care meets planet-care”. TSF has recently introduced a new line of vegan shampoo bars. With their expertise and “wild tamed by science” approach, they have created plant-based bars that are easy to lather, promising gentle cleansing and conditioning. There are seven shampoo bars that solve problems such as hair fall, flakiness, dryness and frizziness. As opposed to other shampoos, TSF’s shampoo bars are sulfate-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free and also free of harmful chemicals derived from petroleum. TSF’s shampoo bars are suitable specifically for the Indian scalp and hair types. They offer varieties like Acai of Relief, made using antioxidant-rich acai berries, plant keratin and onion extract, to fight hair fall, the Blue-Tea-Ful Shampoo Bar formulated with blue pea flower extract that is especially soothing for a sensitive and flaky scalp, and the Mylky Way Shampoo Bar co-created with Goodmylk, utilising the latter’s protein-rich plant milk to tame the frizziness caused by heat and humidity. They also have the Viva La Sative for dry and damaged hair, Play It Coal for scalp build-up, Slay with Clay for oily scalps and The Grape Escape for colour-treated hair. TSF’s shampoo bars are priced at Rs 429.
https://theswitchfix.co/

Tales of humanity

Ulka Mayur, who has a doctorate in Literature from Mumbai University, started the theatre company The Story Circus in 2010 with screenwriter and actor Mayur Puri as a platform to showcase her love for storytelling and theatre. In 2020, she decided to take to digital media to tell stories for a series titled, 21 Shades of Humanity. Directed and produced by Mayur, the series documents the personal narratives of 21 people.

Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal during the shooting of an episode of 21 Shades of Humanity

“Each story brings out a distinct shade of humanity such as giving, goodness, poignance and love,” says Mayur. So far, the series has released eight episodes featuring people like Sadiya Siddiqui, Danish Husain, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Bhavna Pani and Rahul Pandey. “History captures horrifying events. But as Gandhiji points out in Hind Swaraj, there must be plenty of good things that happen [too] but are never documented. I strongly believe that for our well-being, we need to document and propagate the positive stories—stories that might not be dramatic or over-the-top, but of little moments where humanity shone,” Mayur pointed out.

One episode features textile designer Hima Dholakia who is hearing-impaired. Mayur recalls that during the shoot, Dholakia struggled to fathom instructions, which made her understand the challenges of her day-to-day life. Another episode was with actor Danish Husain. “Danish being the master storyteller that he is, had many to share. In the final cut, the story that we have retained is a beautiful one about how one can give while keeping the dignity of the recipient intact,” Mayur says. The show releases a new video every alternate Saturday. 
Story Circus, YouTube

Curated by Jane Borges, Kasturi Gadge and Cynera Rodricks