Lounge Loves: From BTS variety shows to a new coffee cracker
Things to watch, read, hear, do — and other curated experiences from the team
A tribute to horses
For as long as I can remember, I have been in awe of horses. In school, I took riding lessons and volunteered to clean stables. In the art world, it was M.F. Husain’s famous horses that drew my attention but—unpopular opinion—I am not a fan. Then, a few months ago, I walked into a room full of life-sized acrylic paintings of galloping stallions at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery. The exhibition, Polo Series, by Pune-based artist M.Narayan had smaller canvases too, in watercolour and charcoal. The paintings were vibrant in colour and expert in composition. Narayan’s rendition of polo matches hooked me. The horses were depicted with great attention to detail even as their riders, painted in blurry strokes, seemed to fade away—transcendence of sorts for a rider. Since then I have been following the artist’s work. One day, I hope to buy one of his works. — Jahnabee Borah
The dunk and snap test
A few weeks ago, I spotted a new biscuit in the supermarket: Britannia Biscafe coffee cracker. While Britannia has positioned it as the "perfect partner to your coffee", I paired it with my tea. Morning tea/coffee with one, maybe two, biscuits is a ritual, setting the tone for the day. At my parents’ home, Marie, and later Cream Cracker, were the staid companions to Darjeeling tea and morning newspapers. The point being, the biscuit should not overpower the tea/coffee—or the morning stillness. Neither should it—when dunked—leave its footprints in the tea (personally, I find that ginger biscuits and HobNobs are good dunkers). Biscafe’s beauty lies in the lightness of its being: The ₹10 packet weighs only 37g. The biscuit is super thin, speckled with holes (24 of them, in case you want to know) and fine sugar. It has a great snap, and was still holding strong after a quick dunk. Plus, it is not overly sweet. It does have that faint smell of machine-spewed instant coffee, though. — Nipa Charagi
The BTS variety shows
Members of the Korean boy band BTS plan to devote some time to solo projects before composing new music as a group. Since we may not see them together on screen as often for a while, it’s the perfect opportunity to revisit their reality shows. BTS have a song for every mood but it is through their reality shows (called variety shows in Korea) that I got to know the people behind the pop idols. In Run BTS, which runs into 150-plus episodes, you see them participating in a variety of games. It reminds me of the blissful chaos my cousins and I would unleash during summer breaks. The travel show Bon Voyage gives a peek into their growing popularity. And the pandemic-led staycation show, In The Soop 1 & 2, is every bit as “healing” as the headlines suggest. You can check these out on platforms like Weverse, V Live and even YouTube. — Shephali Bhatt
Be an amateur perfumer
Finding the right perfume is not easy. Something you adored a few years ago doesn’t appeal any more, or your favourite scent is off the market, or there are just too many choices out there. All Good Scents’ AGS Pairing range is a godsend if you are still exploring—with 30ml bottles of 10 basic scents, priced at a very reasonable ₹399 each, you can mix and match till you find The One. With each bottle, the company sends a different miniature spray free, so you actually get four for the price of two. I tried the Sparkling Citrus and Dewy Rose fragrances (they came together very nicely) and got tiny spray bottles of Smoky Patchouli and Gourmand Vanilla. The 10 varieties cover most of the basic fragrance types: floral, citrus, woody, spicy and fruity, so you can be as conservative or bold in your pairing. Next on my list—Warm Oud and Creamy Sandalwood. — Shrabonti Bagchi
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First Published:17 Jun 2022, 06:15 PM IST
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