Saturday Feeling: How climate change is endangering Indian crafts

Traditional Indian methods of creating and making are often held up as an example of sustainable living, of circular practices, and of countering climate change. But we rarely think of the ways in which climate change is itself disrupting these methods of production. In Kutch, for instance, long periods of unseasonal rain don’t give ajrakh printers enough time to dry their hand-blocked fabrics. In Assam, high temperatures destroy silkworm cocoons and put the livelihoods of muga silk weavers at risk. Their dependence on natural resources—mud, fibres, natural pigments, plant secretions, woods and metals—as the basis of their métier makes artisans particularly vulnerable to climate change. Artisans adjust, make do and find workarounds—but it doesn’t take away from the truth that climate change is impacting craft, endangering the production of the abundance of beautiful, handworked and largely natural items India makes, from kitchen implements to saris. And with it, the lifestyles and livelihoods of entire communities are at stake, as Avantika Bhuyan writes.

The cynical would say synthetic dyes can replace natural ones, polymers can be substitutes for clay, or polyester or modal yarns for cotton, and they’re not entirely wrong. After all, many ajrakh makers have taken to modal, and in other parts of the country, some tile and pottery-makers rely on heaters instead of the sun. But with such changes, we lose something ineffable to the value of hand-making—and we’re forcing people who once relied largely on their own environment into being entirely dependent on outside supply chains.

On a different note, we have reviews of new books, shows and films, and an interview with Gaggan Anand, who has brought his bold flavours to Delhi with a new restaurant.

Repeat your meals for wellbeing

What’s for breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? These questions consume us several times a day, every day of our adult lives. And they’re not easy to answer. Just ask the parent, spouse or flatmate whose carefully cooked meal evoked a frowning “not again” from someone at the dining table. But eating the same food every day is not only about convenience and familiarity, it can also be good for your overall health and wellbeing, reasons Shrenik Avlani, as long as the meal is nutritionally complete and provides adequate protein, healthy fats, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals. A balanced meal that sticks to a routine is also good for the gut, and repeating meals can also help with portion control or maintaining a particular nutritional target. Read more.

‘Babita Singh Reporting’: A sombre crime drama

It’s hard not to see the parallels between The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) and Babita Singh Reporting. Nimisha Sajayan is the protagonist, a timid wife, a people-pleaser and a silent sufferer, until the moment when she comes into her own. Babita sets out to solve her friend’s murder, and secrets come tumbling out. The procedural aspect of the film, adequate at best, feels like a Trojan horse to tell the story of women trying to survive in a society where everything—jobs, property, security—leads back to men. Though it's a bleak social drama at its core, Babita Singh Reporting is also a small-town crime film, a genre that’s been steadily mined, especially on streaming, in recent years, writes Uday Bhatia. Read more.

In Georgia's 8,000-year-old wine region

Georgia is considered birthplace of wine, its origins going back to 6000 BC. Wine is a big contributor to the economy, among its top five exports. Most of the wine is produced in Kakheti, Georgia’s easternmost province, sitting between mountains to the north and Alazani River valley in the south. From medieval times, monks harvested and pressed grapes and processed them in wineries in the region, many of which are still active. In Kakheti’s towns, such as Telavi and the lovely hilltop Sighnaghi, family-run wineries offer a variety of wines, often paired with apricots, cheese, churchkela, and hearty Georgian hospitality. Anita Rao Kashi travels across the Kakheti region, discovering its 8,000-year-old wine culture and explains why Georgians consider wine almost sacred. Read more.

Google’s reliable, new phone

The AI rush has resulted in a shortage of key memory chips for electronics manufacturers, which has made new phones and laptops more expensive. In such an environment, the new Google Pixel 11, while costing more than Pixel 10, should be default option of most people wanting an Android phone, writes Tushar Kanwar. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but continues to provide one of the best cameras, excellent performance, build and seamless Google Gemini integration. The battery, fully charged, gives a full day of intensive use, and wireless charging makes topping up the power more convenient. Read more.

Visit Delhi Contemporary Art Week

The Delhi Contemporary Art Week is back with its ninth edition, centred around themes of climate, ecology, memory, place and identity. The annual fixture in the Capital’s art calendar spotlights contemporary art practices from India and South Asia, highlighting six women-led galleries—Blueprint12, Exhibit 320, Gallery Espace, Latitude 28, Shrine Empire, and Vadehra Art Gallery. On view at Bikaner House till 5 September, the show also includes two curator-led exhibitions, Bye Bye Monsoon, about climate change, and This Animate Earth, about flora and fauna. Read more.