Lounge Loves: 'Rang Barse', baby clothes with cheer and more

A Film to Bond Over

At a party recently, a friend—mother to a teenage daughter—was lamenting that there’s barely anything on TV they can sit and watch together. It reminded me of Aamhi Doghi (The Two of Us), a Marathi film I had watched when it released in 2018. Directed by Pratima Joshi, who worked as a costume designer in the Marathi film industry before moving into filmmaking, the movie traces the evolving friendship between a young woman, played by Priya Bapat, and her stepmother, played by Mukta Barve. It is based on short stories by feminist writer Gauri Deshpande, and the movie was wholesome and evocative. I recommended it to my friend to watch with her daughter. Incidentally, my mother was visiting me a week later, so I suggested we watch it together, too. We had a rare, unhurried movie date. The two of us.

—Shephali Bhatt

Emoji Recognition

In India, technology is often used in ways even founders of tech products may not have predicted. I recently found that my domestic help, who is practically unlettered, saves contacts on her smartphone using emojis. The numbers are saved using a combination of icons and emojis, including unusual ones related to the individual (mine has a cat) in a way that she can identify who she is calling and who’s calling her, relying on her excellent visual memory instead of letters. On WhatsApp, she uses voice notes extensively to communicate, and it is as effective as text messaging. Most of us may use emojis as an aid to enhance communication, imply tone, or try to look cool, but for some, it is an entire visual vocabulary.

—Shrabonti Bagchi

Gulabi Over Baby Pink

The one thing western kidswear brands lack is colour. Every trouser, T-shirt and frilly dress has a palette of airy blues, light pink and white with tiny prints. In contrast, Indian labels offer leaf green, sunshine yellow and gulabi pink. One wouldn’t say they have a riot of colours in their kids section, but they add the much needed cheer. One such brand that I discovered is The Shop. It has a range of clothes for little ones in softest cotton washed in joyful prints and colours. Some of their infant dresses even have pockets. The only drawback is most of these are not available online, and you’d have to visit their store. But I am not complaining.

—Jahnabee Borah

Songs That Pop

What happened in 1981? A Google search will tell you that Ronald Reagan took the oath as US President, Bob Marley died, there was an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, Charles and Diana got married, and MTV was launched. Yes, quite a happening year. It’s unlikely though to mention that Silsila released that year, and besides making tulips an object of desire, it gave us Rang Barse. In this age of AI, Gen Z, Gen Alpha and nano-second attention spans, this song from 45 years ago still drenches our Holi festivities, blaring from neighbourhoods and housing societies. There are other songs too that pop up on this day, like Daler Mehndi’s Bolo Tara Rara (1995) and Do Me a Favour, Let’s Play Holi from Waqt (2005).A few decades from now, Gen Beta too will probably be grooving to this rumbustious song.

—Nipa Charagi