Saikat Basu (left) and Mrutyunjaya Dash left their tech jobs to start Eimor in Hyderabad.

For this duo, it’s all about turning bikes into art

3 min read . 19 Aug 2019 Shail Desai

After several brainstorming sessions, Saikat Basu and Mrutyunjaya Dash decided to turn their interest in art and motorcycles into East India Motorcycle Revolution (Eimor), a custom bike art studio
Basu left his Accenture job in Hyderabad as he wasn't able to connect with it

Whether you’re leading a startup or a social movement, like the ongoing Hong Kong protests, you need to win over a critical mass. Photo: Reuters

Millennial Matters

Opinion | Why mission statements are vital for startups and social movements

3 min read . 19 Aug 2019 Utkarsh Amitabh

Persistence, not brute force, will help you bamboozle a competitor or an adversary

Visionaari founder Gauri Singhal. Photo: Pradeep Gaur

Head Office

Opinion | Blending cultures, branding tampons

5 min read . 19 Aug 2019 Aparna Piramal Raje

Visionaari founder Gauri Singhal merges the traditional approach of a family business and the modern thought processes of a startup to drive her feminine hygiene care business

(Jayachandran/Mint)

Ladakh: Engraved tales of ancient hunts

7 min read . 18 Aug 2019 Stephen Alter

Ladakh’s petroglyphs record the art of Stone Age hunter gatherers
The petroglyphs are ancient expressions of visual stories of hunts and the local wildlife

There is a reason Chanel flats have been ubiquitous for so long.

Flats that will work as hard as you do

5 min read . 18 Aug 2019 Deena Shanker ( with inputs from Bloomberg )

The search for comfortable work flats can be a real struggle, but the solutions are too
New York’s women speak up about the three styles of ballerinas, loafers and clogs

Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) posing for a portrait, circa 1969. (Photo: Getty Images)

First Beat

Celebrating 50 years of a maverick’s masterpiece

4 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Sanjoy Narayan

Trout Mask Replica, the masterpiece by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, turned 50 this June
The 28 songs on it are like a trip into the mind and unique creativity of an under-celebrated musical genius

Mamata Banerjee campaigning in West Bengal’s Swarupnagar in April. (Photo: Bloomberg)

Cult Friction

Is the post-election Mamata makeover real?

7 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Sandip Roy

The new, quieter Mamata Banerjee is the handiwork of political strategists
We are all about rebranding, but people are trickier to rebrand than products

(Photo: Nayan Shah)

Ed-line

Opinion | Srila Chatterjee’s notes of good living

4 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Anindita Ghose

Srila Chatterjee is all set to launch her newest initiative next weekend at her Mumbai store, Baro
Her goal in the curation of the 28 artisans and small studios from across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Shimla, Jaipur and Hampi is to present a sustainability that is all encompassing

‘Dora Maar In An Armchair’ (1939) by Pablo Picasso. Mukherjee writes evocatively on female desire and sexuality. (Photo: Alamy)

Three is a couple

3 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Somak Ghoshal

Rheea Mukherjee’s debut novel takes a piercing look into marriage, mental health and mania
The plot revolves around a menage à trois between a couple, Sara and Rahil, and their friend Mira

A Still from Gitanjali Rao’s animated feature ‘Bombay Rose’. The film is a love story between two flower-sellers, rendered in different animation styles that draw from various popular and folk art traditions. (Photo: Cinestaan Film Company)

The dreamlife of Bombay

3 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Uday Bhatia

Gitanjali Rao’s animated feature, ‘Bombay Rose’, opens Venice Critics’ Week
It's a rare Indian animated film that's painted frame-by-frame and not aimed at children

(Photo courtesy: Teabox )

Tea Nanny

When tea tastes like fine wine

2 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Aravinda Anantharaman

The Darjeeling Muscatel makes for a perfect rainy day cup

A top made from assembled vintage black gloves and a skirt made of assembled vintage skirts from ‘Artisanal’

Martin Margiela’s iconic designs to go under the hammer

1 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Sohini Dey

Martin Margiela’s imaginative designs from a privately curated collection are set be auctioned in an online auction by Sotheby’s
The designer often incorporated found objects in his designs, such as a vest made from old playing cards, which highlight his singular creativity

Parsis at an agiary in Mumbai.

Happy new years

1 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Diya Kohli

17 August is Parsi New Year but it is only one of three
Lounge explores the story through three calendars and millennia of history

Suketu Mehta’s new book makes a case for global migration. (Courtesy: Suketu Mehta)

‘Selling shiny stones wasn’t going to do it for me’

9 min read . 17 Aug 2019 Aarti Virani

In his new book, Suketu Mehta takes a sharp look at the story of migration the world over
In an interview in New York City, Mehta says people are moving like never before because the rich countries stole the future of the poor countries through colonialism, war, inequality and climate change

Women wait to have their names checked in the National Register of Citizens in Nagaon, Assam. (Photo: PTI)

Cranky Customer

Opinion | Are we a nation without empathy?

4 min read . 16 Aug 2019 Priya Ramani

For Kashmiris studying and working outside the state, their families just dropped off the grid
A people’s pain was dismissed and reduced to pithy opinions—“This was required”, “It needed to be done”—offered with a shrug

A 1951 photograph of Minnette de Silva inspecting a building under construction. twitter@gilliandarley

The marriage of two minds

5 min read . 16 Aug 2019 N. Kalyan Raman

This debut novel revisits the love story between two pioneering architects, Le Corbusier and Minnette de Silva
Told partly through the letters they wrote each other, the story looks back into the beating heart of a bygone era

The hero vanishes

2 min read . 16 Aug 2019 Somak Ghoshal

This posthumous novel, set in Bangladesh, bristles with an unfulfilled promise
From politics to near-future fantasy, the plot covers a wide and eclectic ground

(Photo: AFP)

Mood: How the Lounge team is feeling this week

2 min read . 16 Aug 2019 Livemint

Lounge's take on the biggest updates of the week

How to Lounge this weekend

2 min read . 16 Aug 2019 Livemint

One of India’s foremost abstract artists, V.S. Gaitonde’s paintings are on preview at CSMVS’s Jehangir Nicholson Gallery
With India’s festive season not too far away, designer Anavila Misra prepares to launch to her winter/festive collection, ‘Joy’, in honour of the happy times the festivals bring

Seventy-five-year-old Cecilia has become the project’s figurehead, her quotes and photographs can be seen on the ‘Cecilia’ed’ Instagram account. (Photo: Indu Antony/Cecilia’ed)

The gender disrupter

5 min read . 16 Aug 2019 Priyanka Sacheti

A community art project, ‘Cecilia’ed’, seeks to make public safety for women a priority in Bengaluru
Seventy-five-year-old Cecilia has become the project’s figurehead, and her quotes and photographs can be seen on the ‘Cecilia’ed’ Instagram account

Lounge