02-06-2025
Lounge Loves: Creating space, Wyngaard Chevre Gris and more
Pretty, hand-embroidered towels put out for daily use have always spelt the height of luxury for me, having been brought up on the strict understanding that nice things are to be kept tucked away in cupboards or, at the very least, brought out only when guests are coming over. So when I acquired this set of handwoven waffle towels from Cananore Guild, a Kannur, Kerala-based home linen brand that's almost a century old, I started using them every day almost defiantly, even though a small part of me was tempted to hoard (because look how pretty they are!). I am a fan of the lavender set with the thistle motif, but have also got a set of pastel hand towels that come in their own cute basket, and am now eyeing their dainty table and bed linen sets that I promise will be used immediately. I think my mum would approve.
A friend gifted a narrow wedge of Wyngaard Chevre Gris. I am cheese illiterate. For me, cheese paradise is placing a slice of processed cheese between two pieces of bread, slathering it with ketchup and grilling it to a crisp. Or having musk melon with cheese on holidays at hotel buffets. I sampled a thin slice of this fancy cheese; it was complex, a bit sweet, a touch acidic with a crystalline texture. Piqued, I decided to read the one-page leaflet that came with it. Turns out it's a special goat's cheese aged for 10 months at a cheese warehouse belonging to the Wijngaard family in the Netherlands, and pairs well with sparkling wines. And here I was, in very desi style, putting shavings of it on my cucumber slices and boiled eggs.
A few years ago, I discovered bedsheet clippers—elastic suspenders that clip on to the edges of the sheet and prevent crumpling. I thought I must be the last person on earth to know about them, given I'm usually the last to hear any gossip. But oddly enough, every time I've mentioned them to some of the most ardent home-improvement pros in my circle, I've been met with blank stares. So I thought it best to write a small tribute. I use hypoallergenic fitted bedsheets layered over a mattress cover, which already helps keep things in place. But it's the bedsheet clippers that give the bed that perfectly taut, hotel-like finish. A quiet joy for the orderliness freak in me.
Across cities, Metro rail construction has transformed skylines, often erasing green spaces—the massive Shenoy Nagar Park in Chennai, a green belt in Delhi's Mayur Vihar, among others. Many mourn the loss of the old MG Road boulevard in Bengaluru, a simple walkway with trees and benches, which the authorities replaced with an award-winning, somewhat soulless, sleek, granite space with an art gallery, performance stages and play areas. There have been reports of the space being underutilised and poorly lit, but people have made it their own. On weekdays, students with laptops study in spaces meant to host performances, a group learns to paint Kerala mural art in the hall that was supposed to be a gallery, friends sit on the children's play equipment and chat. In crowded cities, we always find spaces of our own.
