Couple aims to detoxify water bodies with eco-friendly, home cleaning products

The surface cleaner worked on various floors, including tiles, wood, and ceramic

In 2019, Bengaluru resident Roopa Hariharan switched from a diesel car to an electric alternative, and powered her home with solar energy. "For over two decades, I have seen the steady deterioration of water bodies in my home state. Bengaluru's largest water body-the Bellandur Lake-often froths so high with waste that its smelly, toxin-laden foam flies to residential areas around. It became clear to me that leading an environment-friendly life was not a choice but a necessity." After attending a session at the World Economic Forum the same year, Hariharan made significant changes to her household. What started as a small experiment, gradually became a conscious effort of mobilising resources that led to constant research in house cleaning.

Sumit Anand

The result is her new venture, PureCult-a brand of eco-friendly home-cleaning products that she says are cleaner alternatives to chemical-laden stuff, for which she partnered with entrepreneur Sumit Anand. "Home cleaning products are big contributors to water pollution. They leave our homes clean, but you're degrading the ecosystem." From kitchen cleaners and fabric care to surface disinfectants, Hariharan has a range (R299 onwards) that contains natural antimicrobial agents and essential oils.

Roopa Hariharan

Anand says that the criteria for ingredient selection was that they should be biodegradable and safe, perform well in hard water, and work well in low dosages. "Finding effective but eco-friendly solutions to counter the havoc of hard water on bathroom fittings and laundry was challenging," he adds. Their mission is to build a line-up of 'zero-heroes' that cause zero harm to the environment. A part of the profits are also being used to sponsor India's otter conservation programme conducted by the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS). The products are being shipped across the country.

Face the natural facts
One thing that this writer looks forward to is the weekend skin-regime, applying a simple DIY home-made face mask. The experiments have ranged from turmeric-honey-milk paste to aloe vera, and multani mitti. So, when we stumbled upon the new set of face masks from Nourish Mantra by Ritika Jayaswa, we were curious. It offers three packs-holy basil and neem vardaan, and exotic black turmeric mud masks (Rs 1,695), and orange and saffron Ananda glow mask (Rs 1,895). You can either buy them separately, or try the mini trio pack (12 gm each/Rs 750). The black turmeric mask, which they claim improves skin elasticity, is the one we preferred-light on the skin, it doesn't itch , burn or crack like most mud masks. The basil and neem vardaan has a very natural astringent-like quality; so, it stings slightly. But, for someone with acne, it could help in the long run. The skin did feel hydrated and clean in the first application. The downside-the pricing is steep.
https://nourishmantra.com/

Zero waste in 30 days
If there was one over-arching meme for 2020, it would be the one in which humans were sent to their rooms to think about what they have done. We have been thinking, but decades of a consumption-led existence means that going zero-waste is not an easy, overnight solution. Thankfully, the team at Bare Necessities understands that. They have created a 30-day course that leads you over 10 modules, through how to ensure that no landfill-headed waste is generated from your home, not just in the kitchen but also in personal care routines, at home, while travelling, or at work.

The concept of zero-waste also aims to ensure that fewer items need to be recycled. Among the experts on board are CB Ramkumar, sustainability entrepreneur, and Amarpreet Singh, from Daily Dump-a 14-year-old waste management company that has revolutionised home and community composting.
www.barenecessities learning.in/p/zero-waste-in-30

Who runs the world? Girls!
Being the daughter of a sex worker means battling social stigma and police brutality. Jayashree Patil, 20, says she grew up thinking sex work was illegal. "I had internalised the cruelty the world showed me and my mother. It's only after I came to Kranti that I found pride in my identity," she says of the NGO that works with girls from red light areas, to make them agents of social change. Patil has been living at the NGO's hostel for nine years, and is now ready to share her life story In Global Girl Project's book, More Than One Voice (R1,715). The anthology of stories from girls around the world has a chapter by Patil called Mighty like Mummy (Mummy Ki Tarah Taqatvar). "My father died when I was 10 years old. He died in the morning, and that same day, in the evening, my mother brought a new man home and said, 'He's your new father.'" Domestic abuse became a reality for mother-daughter, but Patil says she respects her mother for trying to do the best she could to keep her safe. At Kranti, she found a community to call her own, and honed her love for singing and drama, says the member of Kranti's theatre group Lal Batti Express. "It has been the most wonderful and life changing experience, learning and living at Kranti," says Patil, who is pursuing a graduation degree from from Krea University. She dreams of opening a school-cum-centre for girls from red light districts, because Kranti can't accommodate everyone". Last year, her work with Apni Khoj in Punjab's Bajwa Kalan village saw her use theatre to discuss menstrual health and sexual abuse. "I continue to seek therapy to deal with my own traumas, but collaborating for the marginalised gives my life purpose."
https://www.globalgirlproject.org

Bakhtawar Master and S Venkatraman

Ishq-Vishk desi style
Last year, when a jewellery ad was called out for propagating "love jihad," journalists Samar Halarnkar, Priya Ramani and Niloufer Venkatraman got together for an Instagram project that turned out to be a reality check, for many naysayers who seemed oblivious about India's long history with inter-faith and inter-caste marriages. Launched on October 28, with the story of Niloufer's parents Bakhtawar Master and S Venkatraman, the new series, which we are totally loving, is bittersweet, honest and authentic. For a couple in love, negotiating the thin line of religion and caste, amplified by the rejection from family, is not easy. There are a few, however, for whom it has been smooth sailing. Like Tanvir Aeijaz says about his marriage to Vineeta Sharma: "That our Hindu-Muslim marriage can be a role model of secularism seems to belie people's expectations. They're almost disappointed that our love would have to be called love, and not love jihad." Read it like tiny love stories, or just as a quick primer on love that has broken many walls and boundaries. Either way, you are bound to feel warm and fuzzy.
@indialoveproject, Instagram

Test Drive
The surface cleaner helped clean windows, doors, knobs, and glass effectively without leaving smear marks and a small amount was sufficient. Because this writer has three cats at home, who tend to run, lick, and play on the floor, clean floors are essential at all times. We used the floor cleaner, with the fragrance of lavender and geranium, which Hariharan says kills microbes, including viruses and bacteria. The aromatic properties were pleasantly soothing and the fragance lingered after we were done.
www.purecult.in; @joinpurecult, Instagram

Curated by Jane Borges, Gitanjali Chandrasekharan and Prithvi Vatsalya