The book, a work of fiction (rooted in our reality), tells the story of Planet Typewriter, home to 26 Vowels and Consonants, and the Italics
Alphabetica
Curated by Jane Borges, Sucheta Chakraborty, Kasturi Gadge, Nidhi Lodaya and Anju Maskeri
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When one is living in strange and extraordinary times, where jokes don’t fall flat, but land you in jail (and for a very long time), it almost becomes impossible to speak your truth. A new book, Alphabetica: A Satire on Majoritarianism (Notion Press; Rs 299) by Roy Phoenix, who has written under a pseudonym, is that rare kind of book, which trains the lens on our society and its people. The book, a work of fiction (rooted in our reality), tells the story of Planet Typewriter, home to 26 Vowels and Consonants, and the Italics. The Consonants are a clear majority, but despite everyone being acutely aware of these differences, they live together and peacefully. There is, however, a little troublemaker, Consonant Ypsi, who claims the Vowels are Greek trespassers, while the Consonants “a superior race”. Somewhere at the beginning of the novel, she tells her mates: “Enough of this appeasement policy for the Vowel Minority. Even as a Consonant, I can form words without Vowels. Article ‘an’ will be mine!” One can only wonder who Ypsi is, and which land this fictional Alphabetica is being played out in.
amazon.in
Cartman likes to bhangra
Adman Dalbir Singh started Sikh Park, a desi version of American animated sitcom South Park, about 15 years ago when he lived in the US. “This was post 9/11 when Sikhs were being mistaken for Arabs or members of the Taliban,” says Singh. At the time, a friend was starting a website on the art and culture of the Sikhs and wanted a section on humour, urging Singh to come up with the idea of a comic strip.
Dalbir Singh
Initial strips dealt with issues like racial profiling faced by the immigrant population, he recalls, his initial readers being Sikhs in Canada and the US. Since then, he has lived in eight countries and is presently in India, and the comic too has evolved, now dealing with clothing and music preferences of the community. He has however managed to stay away from politics, he says. Recently, Singh started creating NFTs and managed to sell a dozen Sikh Park NFTs in a month. He also harbours plans of turning the comic strip into a web series.
@sikhpark, Instagram
A peek into Hyderabad’s heritage
One of the many tombs inside the Qutb Shahi complex in Hyderabad that the podcast covered
Hyderabad-based Yunus Y Lasania, 32, started his podcast Beyond Charminar, currently in its second season, on platform Suno India for history lovers two years ago. “I was working specifically on Hyderabad’s history to raise awareness about our city’s heritage,” says Lasania. Lasania tries to keep the show people-centric. He says, “Most of the podcast episodes are not simply monologues but conversations or interviews.
Yunus Y Lasania
Topics range from socio-political events like the annexation of Hyderabad to the lives of common people. I once interviewed a senior citizen to understand how Hyderabad used to be decades ago, to give a perspective of how the city has changed.” His show has featured guests such as Sam Dalrymple, who is working on a book on Partition, which involves Hyderabad and its connection with Yemen in the 19th and 20th centuries. He adds, “I am also working on a book, which is an oral history account of people who lived in Hyderabad during its annexation into India in 1948.”
www.sunoindia.in/beyond-charminar
Go sustainable
Samesh Nayyar and Nikita Sonkhiya started ONEarth in January 2020, initially making bamboo toothbrushes and then moving on to other sustainable products. Their Yoga Collection has cork yoga mats, yoga bricks/blocks and yoga rollers. For amateurs, they have the cork yoga mat with natural rubber cushioning.
Nikita Sonkhiya and Samesh Nayyar
Nayyar says that since India doesn’t have a lot of items made of cork and because they wanted an eco-friendly alternative to rubber mats, they came up with these. Their other cork products include scented candles with cork lids, cork mouse pads, coasters, and a recycled paper and cork journal. Prices start at Rs 849.
myonearth.com
Making sozni cool again
Two young Kashmir-based entrepreneurs, Mohsin Fayaz and Owais Bhat, are working to give the traditional skull Sozni caps a modern twist with their online enterprise, Sozni Caps Kashmir (SCK).
The duo launched the business in 2019 after noticing growing demand for Kashmiri caps with Sozni, a popular needle-point thread embroidery. The collection is woven by traditional craftsmen from the Valley.
Mohsin Fayaz and Owais Bhat
“Sozni needlework embroidery is the most widely scattered and the most artistic of crafts in Kashmir. It provides sustenance to thousands of families, who pick up the Sozni needles and work on elaborate designs. It is essential everyday wear that is enriched with Sozni work, and a mark of humility and spirituality for the people in Pir Vaer, the valley of saints,” says Bhat. Created in the heart of the Valley, the Shahr-e-Khaas in downtown Srinagar, these artefacts are handmade by traditional craftsmen. The motifs are inspired by flowers, creepers and Chinar leaves.
@soznicapskashmir, Instagram
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