Tracking A-Beauty's rise, Rasmus Munk's plans and other trends

At her beautiful farmhouse in Coimbatore a few months ago, serial entrepreneur Rajshree Pathy showed me her new line of shampoos, conditioners and oils that looked, felt and smelt nothing like Ayurvedic formulations but had the same kind of gentle, nourishing impact. Her Qi Ayurveda is mildly scented, the colours are pleasing, the textures far removed from the viscous, smelly thailams (oils) I had to apply as a teen with eczema. She’s taken old Ayurvedic favourites such as hibiscus, amla and sandalwood and had them reformulated and certified in a Swiss lab, making them easier for urban—and even international—customers used to squeezy tubes and pump-top jars to slather on. “I’ve only used Ayurveda all my life. So I thought why not blend traditional Ayurvedic wisdom with Swiss innovation,” she explained. 

Pathy first did this about 20 years ago with Kama Ayurveda, which she has since exited, but she’s not the only one repackaging Ayurvedic beauty treatments as “clean”, “non-toxic” and “safe”, as we report this week. Globally too, beauty brands are turning to botanicals as customers seek out products that aren’t too harsh on their skin. Ayurveda, with its long history of using plant extracts, is way ahead of this curve, and its solutions are also gender-neutral in its focus on overall wellness for both men and women. A-Beauty is the next big beauty trend, giving K-beauty a run for its money, and we examine where it’s headed. The first person to see the potential of chemical-free, Ayurvedic treatments was, of course, the fabulous and unorthodox Shahnaz Husain—and she tells us how she did it in an exclusive interview.

Another story to bookmark this weekend is an interview with Copenhagen’s Rasmus Munk, recently crowned the world’s best chef, who is reimagining the future of food (Space Bread, anyone?), finding ways to reduce food waste and creating stunning dishes at his two-Michelin-star restaurant Alchemist. And as always, we have plenty of suggestions for what to put on your list of things to watch, do, eat and buy as well as what you should be reading. 

Book review: Zahid Rafiq’s ‘The World With Its Mouth Wide Open’

One of the best books I’ve read this year is Kashmiri writer Zahid Rafiq’s debut collection of short stories, The World With Its Mouth Wide Open. There’s a simplicity to the writing, not a word out of place, yet each story leaves your heart racing as everyday events are imbued with a sense of foreboding. Rafiq’s debut collection of short stories is tightly crafted and perfectly paced, and as Somak Ghoshal observes in his review, “wrenches the most harrowing emotions out of passages of seeming understatement.” 

‘Superboys of Malegaon’ review: The town that made movies

The simple point of Superboys of Malegaon is that, even at its bleakest, life can be made sweeter by cinema, writes Uday Bhatia in his review of Reema Kagti’s film based on the life of Nasir Shaikh, a wedding videographer, and other amateur filmmakers in the small town of Malegaon in Maharashtra. There’s a reference to the film Anand, for instance, that softens the blow of a cancer diagnosis for two movie-crazy men. After some success with editing, Nasir decides to make a film himself—Ramesh Sippy’s classic Sholay, done Malegaon-style, in their dialect, with shoutouts to local establishments. Progress is choppy, there’s barely any money, but somehow production stumbles on and it’s a hit. Kagti’s film affectionately chronicles the no-budget quickies. 

The smartphone is making your child angry. Here’s why

A January report released by Sapien Labs, The Youth Mind: Rising Aggression and Anger, found that increased use of smartphones is resulting in pre-teens and teens becoming more aggressive and angry. According to the report, which studied the mental health of 10,475 internet-enabled adolescents aged 13-17 across the US and India, “the younger the age at which someone gets their first smartphone, the poorer their mental health and wellbeing”. Sumitra Nair speaks to experts to understand why phones are making teens so aggressive and finds out what you can do to prevent it. 

Bengal’s textile history enters the gallery space

It may have been light as air but in its heyday, the Bengal Muslin was a heavyweight whose popularity extended to Europe—and an exhibition in Kolkata showcases its history alongside other textiles from undivided Bengal, including jamdani, brocades and lesser-known cotton weaves. The exhibition, Textiles of Bengal: A Shared Legacy, will run till 31 March. Sohini Dey visits the show and finds that it narrates a story of textiles and handloom traditions from the region. 

Designing a home for its residents

Design ought to consider the practice of living a little bit more than just the aesthetics. An amalgamation of expensive objects, art and fanciful detailing can add up to an Instagrammable space, but it does not add up to a well-designed one. Social media and design magazines have successfully enveloped the queries about ‘home’ around just aesthetics. But ‘home’ is an emotionally loaded place. The pictures we see in magazines are at pains to remove the flesh and grime of daily living. As if we all wake up in a cloud and float from room to room, barely sitting on the stiff sofa, never dropping a glass of milk. Home, instead, should be a space where you feel rested and relaxed, writes Manju Sara Rajan. 

Try Denmark’s delicious doughy sweet treat

Denmark has a cake for every season and reason but no baked delight is awaited with as much anticipation as the indulgent Danish pastry made for Fastelavn. The fastelavnsboller, a doughy bun with a sweet filing, is made for Fastelavn, a Danish holiday that has close ties to Lent. The old-fashioned variety is made with flour, yeast and remonce (a thick paste made of butter and sugar) and the other is made with Vienna pastry and cream. The most popular fastelavnsboller, however, is made from laminated dough and filled with custard, flavoured whipped cream and jams. Teja Lele tastes the beloved Danish pastry and finds that it combines sweet, dark, bitter and sour tastes, perfectly balanced by the texture of the bun.