Pick of the fortnight

Saarus Nirhali is a girl in love with glass. Butterflies, angels, swans and flowers make up most of her repertoire of original stained glass art. The enterprising 28 year old used to be a criminal lawyer in another life before her move to Bangalore from Mumbai, when she decided to learn something new and take a break. Saarus Nirhali, founder of Glasshopper. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborty. The ‘something new' turned out to be stained glass, something Saarus had always been fascinated by especially after noticing stained glass window panels in churches abroad as a child. She found 92-year-old, Vinayak Patel, a…

Saarus Nirhali is a girl in love with glass. Butterflies, angels, swans and flowers make up most of her repertoire of original stained glass art. The enterprising 28 year old used to be a criminal lawyer in another life before her move to Bangalore from Mumbai, when she decided to learn something new and take a break. Saarus Nirhali, founder of Glasshopper. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborty. The ‘something new' turned out to be stained glass, something Saarus had always been fascinated by especially after noticing stained glass window panels in churches abroad as a child. She found 92-year-old, Vinayak Patel, a…

If you are a parent who wants her child to do activities that require her to think and use her imagination, you've probably scoured the market for suitable craft kits. Yes, there's a lot of stuff available but after a point, most seem similar, with instructions that are often hard for kids to follow. It was the search for safe activities and crafts for their kids to do, that drove sisters Anu Parthasarathy and Rupa Vijendran to launch craft kits for children that are not only easy to make but also introduce them to traditional techniques like Channapatna woodwork, terracotta…

If you are a parent who wants her child to do activities that require her to think and use her imagination, you've probably scoured the market for suitable craft kits. Yes, there's a lot of stuff available but after a point, most seem similar, with instructions that are often hard for kids to follow. It was the search for safe activities and crafts for their kids to do, that drove sisters Anu Parthasarathy and Rupa Vijendran to launch craft kits for children that are not only easy to make but also introduce them to traditional techniques like Channapatna woodwork, terracotta…

For a mother who is often at loss about where to entertain her child, especially when you have no option but to take them along for some chores or shopping, it’s great to see some interesting play centers opening up in Bangalore. These are stand-alone activity centres with simple props and games that encourage action and provide a safe zone for kids to happily hop, skip and jump - not the noise pollution factories that masquerade as bowling alleys and gaming areas in most malls. There’s Monkey Maze in Indiranagar that has a huge soft play area for kids upstairs…

For a mother who is often at loss about where to entertain her child, especially when you have no option but to take them along for some chores or shopping, it’s great to see some interesting play centers opening up in Bangalore. These are stand-alone activity centres with simple props and games that encourage action and provide a safe zone for kids to happily hop, skip and jump - not the noise pollution factories that masquerade as bowling alleys and gaming areas in most malls. There’s Monkey Maze in Indiranagar that has a huge soft play area for kids upstairs…

You’d expect the members of a group that calls itself the Bangalore Classic Scooter Club to be older, gray-haired, bordering on their 50s perhaps. It therefore comes as a surprise that the founder-members of this group, four in all, are in their 20s and 30s. In fact, as Arun P, one of the founder-members and all of 23 tells me, most of their members are below the age of 35. If that’s the first of the clichés shattered (vintage scooters would appeal to those who belong to somewhat vintage years) then the next is yet another widely believed one. You’d…

You’d expect the members of a group that calls itself the Bangalore Classic Scooter Club to be older, gray-haired, bordering on their 50s perhaps. It therefore comes as a surprise that the founder-members of this group, four in all, are in their 20s and 30s. In fact, as Arun P, one of the founder-members and all of 23 tells me, most of their members are below the age of 35. If that’s the first of the clichés shattered (vintage scooters would appeal to those who belong to somewhat vintage years) then the next is yet another widely believed one. You’d…

Walking into this boutique garden store in Indiranagar is like visiting the terrace garden anyone might have always dreamt of creating. At Sunshine, there are pebbles strewn on the floor, a light green canopy softening the summer sun and beautiful Bonsais in pots, trays and pieces of wood adding to the abundance of green. Pic credit: Sunshine Boutique. If that's the terrace, the entrance to this Indiranagar bungalow is equally verdant with potted plants, colourful figures, bamboo and metal wind chimes, lamps hanging from branches and fountains. Most things are for sale but some aren't, as Veena Nanda, one of…

Walking into this boutique garden store in Indiranagar is like visiting the terrace garden anyone might have always dreamt of creating. At Sunshine, there are pebbles strewn on the floor, a light green canopy softening the summer sun and beautiful Bonsais in pots, trays and pieces of wood adding to the abundance of green. Pic credit: Sunshine Boutique. If that's the terrace, the entrance to this Indiranagar bungalow is equally verdant with potted plants, colourful figures, bamboo and metal wind chimes, lamps hanging from branches and fountains. Most things are for sale but some aren't, as Veena Nanda, one of…