Life & Style

The Prakriti Foundation held a six-day poetry festival Poetry with Prakriti from January 5 to 10. Bringing back the 11th edition, the event had lined up a series of festivities across Chennai at venues ranging from colleges and art galleries to pubs. “Coming from the Banjara tribal community, the Prakriti Foundation gave me a platform to express myself through my work. It made poetry more accessible to everyone and allowed the audience to explore the worlds of different poets across the country,” said Ramesh Karthik Nayak, a Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraska recipient, who was also part of this well-curated festival.

The festivities began with a session on January 5 titled What Women Carry at Amdavadi Gujarati Snack House, Nungambakkam, where K Srilata, Shobana Kumar and Nithya Mariam John read their poetry. They explored themes such as women’s experiences, identities and landscapes through their poetry. Subequent days saw events at pubs, and cafes. Take, for instance, the surprise line-up at Pasha by The Park, Nungambakkam. The poems at the pub spanned college romance, a father’s quiet longing, and the restlessness of a buzzing phone, eliciting hoots and cheers. “We saw poetry as something that should reach every audience, from a disco to a school. We wanted something that would make people ask questions, create an impact, leave a legacy behind,” said Ranvir Shah, founder, Prakriti Foundation.

The poetry at the festival also attempted to relay raw emotion, particularly love. In other instances, the festival provided space to explore topics like caste, sensuality, and womanhood too. This was particularly evident in the panel consisting Kutty Revathi, Shripad Sinnakar and Aleena on January 8 at Punch comedy club. Besides this, poets like Akhil Katyal, Dibyajyoti Sarma, Gayatri Majumdar and Amal Matthew explored their processes as poets. The event ended with a reading that wove together Carnatic ragas, jazz, and spoken word. The poetry session featured three poets — Sivakami Velliangiri, Geetha Ravichandran and Shikhandin reading poems from their book, Footnotes in G Sharp. As each poet read their poems, singers Shreya Ramnath and Prashanth Gaspar added their spin.

As the event came to an end, it showed us that poetry is not just for everyone because of the emotions it carries; it is because of the impact it can make with just a few verses.

In Chennai’s chilly January Loyola College took a deep inhale. Mann Manam, which translates to fragrance of the soil, is the college’s Pongal festival, and it brought with it the joy of harvest.

Held at the Jubilee Quadrangle on campus, the festival revolved around honouring traditions of rural Tamil Nadu.

There were cultural performances and games that pay tribute to festival. The event was attended by Tamil folk singer Pushpavanam Kuppusaamy and his wife, Anitha Kuppusaamy.

“Loyola College’s Mann Manam is a celebration of Pongal that honours Tamil heritage, agrarian roots, and our bond with mother Earth and one another. It showcases rich folk arts, and the true spirit of harvest,” said Fr Justin Prabhu SJ, director, Loyola Students Support Services and chief coordinator of Mann Manam.

Loyola College invited 15 cultural teams from across Tamil Nadu to showcase various cultural performances, particularly through folk art forms such as therukoothu, baduga dance, ammanaatam, karagam, thadukku karagam, mayilatum, marakalatam and more.

“I performed karagattam, a traditional folk dance dedicated to the rain god Mariamman. Our main objective is not only to display our culture but also to help people understand it. This dance form has been practised for over a thousand years and is an essential part of our culture and traditions,” said Anuradha, a karagattam dancer.

Each department set up their own booth, cooking Pongal in earthen pots and hosted a competition.

Rangolis were made, and stalks of sugarcanes were set up. 

There were several activities that brought back old rural traditions of Pongal, including stone lifting, uriyadi, guess the grain, and a joyride of a bullock cart ride around campus.

“It was more than just an event for us; the student council and students alike wanted to reflect the values and the traditions of Pongal, while keeping the fun alive. It is easy to forget one’s traditions, however, holding on to your heritage through activities like this keeps the soul of the festival alive,” said Ashish Antony, part of the organising team of Loyola student council.

The festivities ended with a DJ night.

While the joy of Pongal lies in its time-honoured traditions, the true essence lies in celebrating community.

In Chennai’s chilly January Loyola College took a deep inhale. Mann Manam, which translates to fragrance of the soil, is the college’s Pongal festival, and it brought with it the joy of harvest.

Held at the Jubilee Quadrangle on campus, the festival revolved around honouring traditions of rural Tamil Nadu.

There were cultural performances and games that pay tribute to festival. The event was attended by Tamil folk singer Pushpavanam Kuppusaamy and his wife, Anitha Kuppusaamy.

“Loyola College’s Mann Manam is a celebration of Pongal that honours Tamil heritage, agrarian roots, and our bond with mother Earth and one another. It showcases rich folk arts, and the true spirit of harvest,” said Fr Justin Prabhu SJ, director, Loyola Students Support Services and chief coordinator of Mann Manam.

Loyola College invited 15 cultural teams from across Tamil Nadu to showcase various cultural performances, particularly through folk art forms such as therukoothu, baduga dance, ammanaatam, karagam, thadukku karagam, mayilatum, marakalatam and more.

“I performed karagattam, a traditional folk dance dedicated to the rain god Mariamman. Our main objective is not only to display our culture but also to help people understand it. This dance form has been practised for over a thousand years and is an essential part of our culture and traditions,” said Anuradha, a karagattam dancer.

Each department set up their own booth, cooking Pongal in earthen pots and hosted a competition.

Rangolis were made, and stalks of sugarcanes were set up. 

There were several activities that brought back old rural traditions of Pongal, including stone lifting, uriyadi, guess the grain, and a joyride of a bullock cart ride around campus.

“It was more than just an event for us; the student council and students alike wanted to reflect the values and the traditions of Pongal, while keeping the fun alive. It is easy to forget one’s traditions, however, holding on to your heritage through activities like this keeps the soul of the festival alive,” said Ashish Antony, part of the organising team of Loyola student council.

The festivities ended with a DJ night.

While the joy of Pongal lies in its time-honoured traditions, the true essence lies in celebrating community.

At the ongoing tribal jewellery exhibition organised by the Crafts Council of India, Chennai, contemporary design finds meaningful expression through the traditions of India’s tribal communities.

The exhibition presents a collection of handcrafted jewellery that draws from indigenous cultures across the country , bringing together earthy yet vibrant creations made from natural materials such as beads, textiles, shells, wood and metal.

Jewellery on display and for sale includes large pendants, long necklaces, beadwork malas, cloth-based ornaments, bracelets and jhumkas. Nazari Arts from New Delhi, Peno India from Mumbai, Sonam Dorjee from Himachal Pradesh, Studio Vam from Indore and Chennai-based Zola India are among the participating brands.

Creation by Studio Vam
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Drawing inspiration from regions beyond India’s borders as well, Seyfullah Nazarogulu, a third-generation entrepreneur, presents vintage tribal jewellery under his brand Nazari Arts. His collections are influenced by select tribal regions of Afghanistan, the Kutch region of Gujarat and the Hazara tribes of Kashmir. The display features statement necklaces, earrings, bracelets, foot kadas, hip belts and even décor pieces. Emphasising authenticity, Seyfullah notes that the brand’s focus remains on classic, vintage designs that are largely handcrafted.

Chennai-based designer Gina Joseph’s brand Zola India, has Dokra jewellery, made from the ancient metal casting tradition originating in Odisha. Having worked extensively with tribal crafts, from the Toda community of the Nilgiris to Kerala mural artists, Andhra Pradesh’s leather puppetry artisans and Dogra art, Gina presents a collection of necklaces, anklets and bangles at the exhibition.

Textiles play a central role in the work of Dr Shriram Pawar and Vijaya Pawar, who have been promoting Indus Valley Civilisation art and reviving the legacy of Gormati (Banjara) embroidery since 2019 under their brand, Peno. Their jewellery incorporates textiles in colours traditionally associated with the Gormati tribe; yellow, red and blue paired with motifs drawn from the Indus Valley Civilisation. The collection combines textile, embroidery and metal in their collection of long necklaces, chokers, bangles and earrings

Wearable art by Peno
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

From the hills of Himachal Pradesh, Sonam Dorjee Negi presents jewellery inspired by the tribes of the Kinnaur district. Working closely with the community and drawing from Kinnauri culture, heritage, traditional crafts and lifestyle, he creates tribal-inspired jewellery in bronze. His collection includes long, elaborate necklaces, anklets, earrings and accessories that reflect the distinctive identity of the region.

Indore-based designer Mrunmayee Namjoshi’s brand Studio Vam collaborates with ajrakh block printers, brass metalsmiths, hand embroiderers and bead weavers from Bhuj and Kutch. Each piece is partially crafted at a craft cluster and later assembled at the studio’s workshop, resulting in heirloom-quality jewellery that combines Ajrakh textiles with brass embellishments.

Together, these collections form a compelling showcase of how tribal aesthetics, age-old techniques and regional identities continue to inspire contemporary jewellery, offering visitors stories shaped by craft, culture and community.

@Kamala, the craft store, on till January 20, 10 am to 7 pm. For details, call: 9840700445.

A school bus approaches, and even from far away, its bright yellow coat catches your eye, gleaming in the sunlight. There’s a reason you rarely see school buses in red, blue, or green.

And it’s all yellow

In the VIBGYOR spectrum, yellow falls in the mid-to-long wavelength range (approximately 570-590 nm), which makes it one of the easiest colours for the human eye to detect. Because it scatters less than blue or violet light, which are easily scattered by moisture droplets and dust (the reason the sky appears blue), yellow remains clear and bright even in fog, rain, or low light.

But it’s not just the wavelength that helps. Yellow also stands out strongly in our lateral peripheral vision, the part of our sight that notices things from the corners of our eyes. This means drivers can spot a yellow bus more quickly than most other colours. And when bold black lettering is added, the high contrast makes names and signs easy to read from far away, enhancing safety on the road.

The day safety got colour

The story goes back to 1939, when education expert Dr. Frank W. Cyr, now known as the “Father of the Yellow School Bus,” organised a national conference at Columbia University in the United States to standardize school transportation (like size, capacity, and color) across the US.

Experts studied different colours and decided that yellow was the easiest to spot on the road. They even created a specific shade for school buses, called “National School Bus Glossy Yellow.” The colour soon became the official standard, and its popularity spread around the world.

Have you ever sat in a car and assumed the driver should be sitting on the right side? In India, that feels normal. But travel to countries like the United States, France, or Japan, and you’ll notice something surprising, either the driving seat or the side of the road changes!

So why does this happen?

Believe it or not, the answer goes back hundreds of years back, long before cars even existed. It has to do with swords, horses, and later colonial rule and global influence.

Medieval habits that shaped traffic

This behaviour goes back to the time when there were horses and people walking. Most people were right handed, especially knights and soldiers. They preferred to stay on the left side of the road so their sword arm faced anyone coming from the opposite direction. This made it easier to defend themselves and also kept their right hand free to greet someone or shake hands.

Riders also mounted and dismounted their horses from the left, as horses were trained that way. Staying on the left made this safer and more convenient.

Over time, this habit turned into a common practice, then an unwritten rule, and later an official law in many places. This early tradition is a major reason why some countries still drive on the left today.

The shift: How right side came into practice

Before the French Revolution in the late 1700s, nobles in France travelled on the left side of the road. After the revolution, ordinary people wanted to distance themselves from anything associated with the nobility, so they gradually began walking and riding on the right side. Later, Napoleon made right-side travel a law in the territories he controlled. His influence spread across the regions he conquered, and countries like Spain, Italy, Belgium, Poland, and the Netherlands adopted the right-side rule. Meanwhile, places not conquered by Napoleon (like Britain) continued driving on the left.

America’s wagon problem

In the USA, large freight wagons were pulled by multiple horses, and the drivers sat on the left rear horse rather than inside the carriage. To better see oncoming traffic and avoid collisions, they kept to the right side of the road. Industrialisation strengthened this habit—mass production of cars placed the steering wheel on the left side, making right-side driving more practical. This design choice helped spread right-side driving worldwide.

Why India stayed left

India, being a major British colony, adopted the left-side driving rule. From the early days, railways, road rules, and imported vehicles followed British standards. This system became deeply established, and switching sides later would have been expensive and dangerous.

Because of this, many former British colonies, such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, continued driving on the left as well.

“Kantha is the traditional art of patchwork quilting from Bengal; we choose it for this festival as it shows how different things can come together in unexpected, new ways,” says Abhijit Nath, curator of Kantha Hubba, the musical sub-festival of the BLR Hubba.

Abhijit says their vision is to make Kantha Hubba a premier world music festival with a focus on Asia. “The subtitle for Kantha Hubba is Sounds of Asia, and it is reflected in our lineup,” he adds.

Now in its second edition, Kantha Hubba will see artistes such as Tajdar Junaid, Sudan, The Down Troddence and others perform alongside the likes of Marty Friedman, long-time guitarist for Megadeth, Roysten Abel’s The Manganiyar Seduction and Pankh, a musical about life’s journey featuring Shantanu Moitra and Kaushiki Charaborty.

Marty, who relocated to Tokyo over 20 years ago, comes to Kantha with Japanese artistes he has been working with over there, says Abhijit, adding that is the Asian connect bringing him to the festival.

Marty Friedman
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Much like that patchwork quilt, the lineup this year is as eclectic as it is melodious. Talking about the curation of musical acts, Abhijit says, “Our priority was to get some familiar faces, so audiences would know who they were coming for, as well as those acts they would find unexpected and interesting.”

He says two interesting acts to look out for are Echoes of Shakti, a fusion band formed as tribute to the original Shakti established in 1973. “Four youngsters — one from New York and three from India, have been endorsed by original members of the troupe who believe the torch must be carried forward following the passing of Zakir Hussain.”

The other ensemble to catch is the Freak Audio Lab comprising artistes from Sweden, Israel, the United States and India, which includes mridangist BC Manjunath and Mattias Ia Eklundh. The Hubba will be Freak Audio Lab’s world premiere following the release of their album Resist the Erosion four months ago.

“Moving forward we hope to commission other premieres as well,” says Abhijit, adding with acts such as Mother Jane, Indian Ocean, and Swarathma, as well as bands from Norway and Thailand, “the festival is full of sounds both familiar and new.”

“With free entry to the festival, one needn’t worry about catching acts they haven’t heard of before as there is no money to lose, just an experience to enjoy.”

Kantha Hubba will take place from January 16 to 25 at Freedom Park. Schedule of events available on blrhubba.in

Global sensation K-pop group BTS, comprising RM, Jin, SUGA, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, will embark on an extensive world tour in April this year following the release of their album, and will perform in several cities including Tokyo, Busan, Las Vegas, London, Toronto, Chicago, Sydney, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

India, which was hotly anticipated to be a pitstop for their tour, does not feature on their current tour schedule, which has concert dates and venues scheduled till March 2027. The group however is expected to announce more cities that they will be performing at next year, sometime in the future.

Over the last three years, the members were on a hiatus as a group, as they completed their mandatory military enlistment in South Korea and worked on solo projects including albums and concerts. In July 2025, on a Weverse live broadcast, the group made its first public appearance since 2022, stating that they would reunite and work on music together. 

Fans have since then eagerly awaited news of their music reunion. Earlier this month, BTS announced their comeback with their fifth full length album, set to release on March 20 and an extensive world tour in support of this album. 

The group has worked on their new album, which has 14 tracks, through the second half of 2025.

A statement from HYBE, the entertainment company that manages BTS says the album is driven by each member’s honest introspection, and they collectively shaped its direction by weaving individual perspectives into the music.

As five-time GRAMMY nominees, BTS has seen a meteoric rise in popularity in the last decade and is considered among the most impactful pop music icons, breaking several world records and staying on top of music charts globally. 

For members of the group’s vast fanbase (referred to as ARMY) who have memberships on the global fan platform Weverse, BTS sent handwritten letters earlier this month expressing their gratitude and sharing the news of their comeback. 

India had its first official BTS-related event from December through January this year with GOLDEN: The Moments, an immersive exhibition exploring Jungkook’s artistry and debut solo album, Golden. The exhibition came close on the heels of HYBE setting up an office in Mumbai, which had further added to aniticipation of the country possibly playing host to the group for their world tour.