Relatable content is always enthralling to the audience. Binge’s The Sarkari Karyalay is one such affair, where, taking a jibe at the challenges government officials make you go through for something as simple as updating one’s Aadhaar card, makers and cast of the show take you on a bittersweet journey with them.

Vaibhav Shukla, the male lead who plays Rohan in the show, in an interaction with The Sunday Guardian, shared insights from his personal and professional life. 

Being an NIT graduate with a decent job, Vaibhav decided to pay heed to his calling, which was, of course, acting. “I left my job and enrolled myself into a theatre group in Delhi and started to work towards my dreams, without ever looking back at what I left behind,” he said.

Hailing from Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur, Vaibhav has had his share of hardships but he makes it all sound like a cakewalk. “Things finally started to fall in place after I got a job as a writer at The Viral Fever, after having served as an intern for a period of three months.”

According to Vaibhav, the first time he ever acted was for a Nukkad Natak in his college on a friend’s advice. After coming to Delhi, he faced countless auditions, rejections, ups and downs but what remained stuck in his head was the determination and eagerness to live up to his dreams. For his fanbase which is flourishing already, Vaibhav is currently working on a number of projects, one among them is his new show, Teen Tigaada.

As a fan of Shah Rukh Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput, Vaibhav believes that content is the king for a show. On the quick decisions he took in his life, he said that he never contemplated or gave second thoughts to his desires. “I just worked towards them as no matter how intense a situation gets, it still passes,” he said.

The name itself prepares you for its quaintness. Velvet Duck, a newest kid on the online fashion blog, is getting inundated with young girls queuing up for its peasant blousons and pinafore dresses. Not to forget easy to lounge in jumpsuits in the finest cotton.

Chic yet comfortable, stylish yet casual, well detailed yet understated, www.velvetduck.in emerges as the newest online fashion tale, launching with an endearingly beautiful collection of Western wear for women. Tailored and designed by Neetu Juneja, a fashion designer and entrepreneur, it makes available a range of silhouettes that one chooses from sitting in the comfort of their home. Fashionistas can click away, hand picking a smart shirt, combining with it a straight-lined skirt and adding cotton dress to their cart.

A quaint and chic fashion brand enriched by the evolved sensibility of Neetu Juneja, Velvet Duck is an ode to the comfy, chic, trending yet affordable clothing. Surprisingly well received from the word go, it has topped the charts in the visibility quotient, opening the floodgates of orders. Neetu attributes this acceptance to the fact that work from home culture has radically transformed fashion preferences across the world.

Over the last few months, as people were stuck to their homes, the need for comfortable apparel snowballed. “Work from home has removed all boundaries of formal and semi-formal attire. The office has moved from a chair to a couch to a bean bag and thus the shift to comfort clothing. Consumers’ preferences started gravitating towards apparel that were comfortable to work in yet presentable enough for virtual meetings and social-media appearances. Each of our ensembles meets this parameter,” shares Neetu Juneja, founder of Velvet Duck.

Sustainability too is at the core of this brand. “Fashion has emerged as a popular choice amongst new customers due to low-entry price points and rising popularity of social commerce.

We continue to expand our value fashion portfolio offering trending styles at affordable price points,” shares co-founder Manpreet Juneja.

Comfort is on top of consumers’ minds more than ever before. Consumers today are shifting focus from technicalities and performance to comfort-oriented silhouettes that promise versatility and utility. With an eye to fashion and an ear to history, Velvet Duck as a brand is constantly on a lookout for gems from Indian craft and culture.

Yoga has been our country’s preferred medium of attaining fitness since times immemorial. However, with new and more exciting fitness fads entering the market through Western channels, yoga is increasingly battling the perception of being an ‘easy’ and relaxing form of exercise—not one geared towards weight loss or achieving fitness goals. Paloma, a yoga teacher based in Mumbai, dispels these notions clearly.

Claiming that yoga is the universal answer to holistic well-being, she believes it is the ideal medium to promote physical agility while also enhancing mental wellness. Especially when it comes to women, yoga plays an essential role in keeping them healthy in the long run. And if women are healthy, it bodes well for global health both for present as well as future generations. Paloma claims, “Today, women are coming forth in every walk of life as a strong force to reckon with. At Paloma Yoga, we focus particularly on women’s health while looking at the effective reversal of many women related issues like breast cancer and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). My work is targeted towards the well-being of all my students, by building a balance between the body and mind in the most natural and organic way possible.” Yoga is a great way to remove stress, resulting in overall peace, harmony and a feeling of deep detoxification.

Paloma goes on to stress that yoga is a practise of emotional, physical and spiritual transformation. The physical part might take a long time to manifest, but it is a process, as with everything in life. Just as sculptors cannot create beautiful works of art in a day, yoga needs time and patience to allow you to look your physical best. When done correctly, yoga is the ideal medium to address both weight loss as well as adequate toning of the muscles of the body. Classical and hatha yoga practises require very agile movements from the body. These strong, even masculine, yoga postures work well on reducing body fat, burning them down with effective strength and movement. Further, the hatha and vinyasa yoga series are also aimed at weight loss—to get the body in shape while allowing it to build strength and stamina. These practices are especially known to do wonders for the core.

While explaining the effectiveness of the movements, Paloma says, “Anything that is methodical, technical, and result-oriented is slow and gradual by its very nature. Yoga is a subject that falls under this category. It is an alternative science that positively affects each and every bone joint, ligament and tendon simultaneously. We must remember that the body is made of millions and billions of particles and multiple organs, hence the practise of yoga takes a certain amount of time to show the desired result, but rest assured that throughout the process, you will feel a positive impact on your body.”

When asked about yoga’s efficacy at building one’s immunity, Paloma wholeheartedly affirms that as a practice, yoga was created entirely for that purpose. Whether through asanas or meditation—yoga is designed to work on the body’s immunity levels. In particular, surya namaskar or the traditional sun salutation, the practice of breath control through anulom-vilom, the cleansing breath work known as bhastrika; along with postures like trikonasana, camel pose, vajrasana and utkatasana work really well to increase the human body’s immunity. Ultimately, yoga is a healing science, and has been used traditionally and effectively for centuries to heal the human body and ensure overall fitness and wellness of the human body and mind.

For Paloma, yoga is a scientific method of healing the mind, body and soul all at once. Through her methodology and practice, she teaches postures with scientific precision and imparts an emotional understanding of the human mind and spirit. Specifically, she teaches medical yoga, which she believes is the need of the hour. This is done by identifying the source of physical pain and solving the problem pragmatically through yoga.

One can reach out to Paloma for a better understanding of their yoga-related doubts, or to learn the art of classical hatha yoga for overall wellness. She can be reached on email at palomagangopadhyay1@gmail.com or through her social media pages.

The writer is a lawyer who pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be contacted on nooranand@gmail.com.

India’s rich cultural heritage has always been a strong influence on the clothes we wear, despite the advent of Western trends. The success of Tilfi, an indigenous brand born in Banaras in 2016, personifies this idea to the core. By offering fine Banarasi handloom saris, dupattas and lehengas, woven in pure silk, cotton, koras, georgettes and more, Tilfi has quickly become a name to reckon with.

Aditi Chand, co-founder & CEO, Tilfi Banaras.

Aditi Chand, co-founder and CEO of the brand, is committed to highlighting and investing in Banaras’ rich past to ensure its exquisite handicrafts are valued by future generations. With the vision of establishing the concept of ‘Banarasi’ as the epitome of luxury handloom—the brand swears by its promise of purity, craftsmanship, artistry and durability.

Its signature piece Kashi, is a pure Katan silk Banarasi handloom saree. Made with the classic handwoven Banarasi technique passed down through generations of weavers, on pure Katan silk described as being ‘soft as butter’, it is their most hot-selling item. The glorious outline of Varanasi’s ghats are handwoven on to the borders of these resplendent silk sarees, with Roopa Sona or Gold and Silver zari work. The detailed designs mirror the splendour of Banaras viewed from the river Ganga. Additionally, the brand offers a multitude of sarees, suits, lehengas, jackets, dresses and off-beat ensembles through the wide selection on its website.

Having lived in various cities of India and abroad, Chand returned to India to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. She claims that her years of professional experience of leading multicultural teams in high-performing environments, and her MBA degree from INSEAD, equipped her with the skills and expertise required to build an Indian artisanal brand. Her experience and desire were shared by her spouse Udit Khanna and his brother Ujjwal Khanna, who came from a family that had worked with Banarsi textiles for over 100 years. As wholesalers of handwoven textiles across Northern India, the Khanna family was firmly entrenched in this business, when things changed drastically in the late 2000s. Changing consumer preferences, the proliferation of creations made in power-looms and the gradual decline of weaving traditions in artisan families, resulted in a steady contraction of the business.

However, a chance conversation with a weaver inspired their journey back to their roots.

Chand says, “as the weaver lamented the unwillingness of his sons to follow in his footsteps, we suggested ideas to motivate them to pursue their “hunar”. Ironically, the old man asked us why we chose not to join our father and grandfather’s trade? A moment’s self-reflection made the inherent hypocrisy of our stance clear. How could they hope to preserve and further the cause of this beautiful art and persuade others to join the trade, if we would not do it ourselves?”

Soon after, Tilfi was born with a new vision. Modelled on modern business practices, the idea was not merely to encourage the survival of Banarasi handloom, but to have it grow and thrive. One of the biggest changes was the decision to go direct-to-consumer through online retail, bypassing traditional channels of sale that had long alienated consumers from the craft. The founders proudly declare that Tilfi was the first to adopt a digital strategy in the traditional space of luxury textiles.

Chand explains tacitly, “The brand was begun to fix the broken system that prevailed. Traditionally, the textiles were sold through multiple layers of intermediaries—this resulted in loss of value at every stage, with poor quality standards, a disconnect with the end consumer and a general lack of trust. In addition to this, competition from machine made alternatives and the absence of innovation had led to the craft losing its premium appeal. Unfortunately, the most impacted were artisans, especially during economic downturns.”

The founders of Tilfi attempted to address each of these issues. By going direct to consumers, they maintain complete control over the make and sale of textiles, ensuring impeccable quality and technically accurate communication. Shorter feedback loops help in keeping a finger on the pulse of the consumers. By investing in design and innovation, they are able to push the craft forward and create more demand.

Chand and her fellow founders, started the business with the belief that a small home-grown brand had the potential to introduce Banaras and its beautiful crafts to the world. Five years on, Tilfi has managed to do so. The conviction that local talent makes some of the finest textiles available in the world today, backed with operational efficiency, quality standards and a considered business model, has ensured the brand’s success.

Having lived in various cities of India and abroad, Chand returned to India to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. She claims that her years of professional experience of leading multicultural teams in high-performing environments, and her MBA degree from INSEAD, equipped her with the skills and expertise required to build an Indian artisanal brand.

Katrina Kaif on Tuesday informed that she has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently ‘under home quarantine’. The ‘Namaste London’ star confirmed the news on her Instagram story. “I have tested positive for Covid-19. Have immediately isolated myself and will be under home quarantine. I’m following all safety protocols under the advice of my doctors,” read Katrina’s statement. “Requesting everyone who came in contact with me to get tested immediately too. Grateful for all your love & support.” Urging fans to be safe amid the coronavirus pandemic, the ‘Humko Deewana Kar Gaye’ star added, “Please stay safe and take care.” 

MUMBAI: Rani Mukerji, who has ruled the silver screen for 25 years now with her breath-taking performances, on Wednesday shared a piece of advice for young girls wanting to become a Bollywood star.

“My only advice would be that being an actress in the film industry is not easy. It’s a very, very difficult profession to be in as there are a lot of expectations that the audiences have from you once you become an established star. Also, to be able to work in different conditions is not very easy,” said Rani.

The ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ star added that behind all the glamour that people see, lies a lot of passion for the craft which an actress has to put in every single day in the film industry.

“Of course, on-screen it all looks very glamorous and very easy and nice. It looks serene and beautiful especially the locations where we shoot sometimes but actually working in the industry is very hard,” she explained.

The 43-year-old concluded that the focus after entering the industry should only be work to gain loyal fans for life. “So, if you are ready to work really hard and you really love the craft of acting then you should be there, not for any other reason because success, glamour, name and fame come only when the audiences love you.”