Life & Style

Fashion is a part of our lives, we breathe it every day. Look around, and you’ll find garment stores everywhere: from small roadside stalls to giant malls, from local shops to global brands. Fashion never goes out of trend. But have you heard of the term fast fashion? Let’s find out what it means.

What is fast fashion

Fast fashion is often linked to sustainability and environmental concerns. It refers to clothing that is mass-produced quickly to keep up with the latest trends. The goal? To get new designs from the runway to your wardrobe in record time, at the lowest possible cost.

To meet this growing demand, the fashion industry churns out massive quantities of garments at extremely low prices. Brands race against time to launch new collections before their competitors, creating a never-ending cycle of production and consumption.

This trend gained momentum with globalisation and the boom of e-commerce. Social media influencers, online shopping, and instant style updates have fuelled the demand for fresh collections almost every week, making fast fashion a global phenomenon.

Close up of lGarment Factory Waste
| Photo Credit:
Wokephoto17

How it evolved

Fashion has come a long way. In the past, new collections arrived only with the change of seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Designers would showcase their work, and that single collection set the trend for months.

But things changed as people began craving more variety. With the rise of technology and the explosion of social media, fashion trends started spreading as fast as the internet. To keep up, brands began producing new styles at breakneck speed, turning fashion into a constant cycle of “what’s next?”

Fast fashion waste at landfill
| Photo Credit:
Wokephoto17

How is it harming the environment

The fashion industry is responsible for about 8-10% of global carbon emissions and nearly 20% of the world’s wastewater. But how does a simple T-shirt or pair of jeans cause so much harm?

Fast fashion depends on resource-intensive processes. From growing raw materials to manufacturing and global transportation, every step consumes massive energy and resources. These processes release greenhouse gases, pollute water, and strain natural ecosystems.

What makes it worse? Most fast-fashion clothes aren’t built to last. Shoppers often wear them just a few times before discarding them. With trends changing almost every week, clothes pile up in landfills, creating an environmental nightmare.

Fashion’s dirty footprint

Water pollution and overuse: Dyeing and finishing fabrics require huge amounts of water and use toxic chemicals. Wastewater from factories often flows into rivers, poisoning aquatic life and contaminating drinking sources.

Carbon emissions: From growing cotton to manufacturing and shipping, the fashion supply chain uses fossil-fuel-heavy energy sources. This industry emits more CO₂ than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Microplastic pollution: Many fast-fashion garments are made of synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic. Every wash releases thousands of microplastic fibers into water bodies, harming marine life and entering the food chain.

Landfill crisis: Most fast-fashion clothes are low-quality and trend-driven, leading to short usage. Over 92 million tonnes of textile waste ends up in landfills globally each year, taking decades to decompose.

Resource depletion: Producing a single cotton T-shirt requires about 2,700 liters of water—enough for one person to drink for 900 days. The race to produce cheap garments leads to soil degradation and excessive pesticide use in cotton farming.

Many people assume cotton is an eco-friendly choice, but cotton farming is resource-hungry. It depletes soil nutrients, relies heavily on pesticides, and demands huge quantities of water, damaging ecosystems and reducing land fertility over time. If this cycle continues, the fashion industry alone could consume a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050, according to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Can we stop it?

Yes, but it needs action from both the fashion industry and consumers like us. Choosing quality over quantity, reusing and repairing clothes, and donating or swapping instead of throwing away can make a big difference.

Thrifting and buying pre-loved outfits reduce the demand for new production, while supporting sustainable brands encourages ethical practices. Even small steps, like washing clothes less often and in cold water, help cut down on microplastic pollution and water waste.

Big brands are slowly shifting to circular fashion models, and governments are introducing regulations, but real change starts with us. Every purchase we make is a choice, so before buying that trendy outfit, ask yourself: do I really need it, or will the planet pay the price?

Traders spread out secondhand clothes for sale at the Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana
| Photo Credit:
NIPAH DENNIS

Published – September 14, 2025 12:00 pm IST

Genshin Impact, Marvel Rivals and Black Myth: Wukong put China’s vibrant gaming industry on the map, with games such as Phantom Blade Zero and the recently revealed Black Myth: Zhong Kui holding a lot of promise. Lost Soul Aside was one of those eagerly anticipated games, and now that it is here, it does a lot of things right. However, it does feel the packaging of the game should not have been a Final Fantasy-style RPG; instead, it could have made a competent action game in the vein of Devil May Cry. 

If you have ever wondered what Venom, the symbiote from Spiderman, would feel like, Lost Soul Aside comes close. You play Kaser, a rebel, who with his sister Lousia, joins the resistance to fend off the evil Empire. Except, in a mission gone wrong, the world is invaded by portal-hopping crystal monsters who destroy everything in their wake.

Kaser is a regular soldier with decent fighting skills who finds himself thrown into a secret underground lab where he bonds with a Venom-like crystal dragon called Lord Arena. With their powers combined, Kaser has to save his sister by getting her soul back from soul-stealing aliens.

The story beats feel like they have been cherry picked from popular games and then threaded together with cut scenes and sudden twists. In the first hour alone, there were so many characters on screen which were then casually thrown away. Then out of nowhere, the game dazzles you with magic, aliens and dragons, and nothing really feels grounded.

In the middle of it all, you have to contend with a fashionable cast of characters dressed more to inspire cosplay. While the narrative of Kaser saving his sister is good enough to get you invested, there so much tacked on, it dizzies more than it dazzles.

Sadly, Lost Soul Aside has an annoying cast of characters. Many of them are introduced as clever story devices, but are quickly shoved aside to make way for more. The breaking point was one particular character who serves as a scantily-clad save point and it feels wrong to wade through her dialogue just to checkpoint your game. Thankfully, Kaser and Lord Arena are decent, but the rest are quite hard to stomach. 

Where Lost Soul Aside shines is in its Devil May Cry inspired battle system, allowing you to pull off some very slick combos and moves. With the help of the dragon Lord Arena’s crystalline floating head, you are able to juggle enemies, send slashes of energy flying and then, when you fuse together, you can manifest giant claws. With just the action, without its terrible roster of characters or the RPG trappings, Lost Soul Aside would have been a Bayonetta, with the added twist of a morphing companion weapon, making it an excellent action game. 

Yet, the game we get is a third-person, action RPG which is tonally reminiscent of Final Fantasy XVI — from its world, mechanics and action, to RPG elements and its map and menus. Everything feels it was stretched to fit a game of that scope, leading to segments that seem repetitive and padded.

Take for instance, the shoddy platforming sections, which are jump puzzles as seen in games such as Mario Odyssey or Split Fiction. While the levels themselves have interesting elements, the character jumps are awkward and imprecise.

Normally in platforming games, if you double jump across a larger jump, you would jab the dash button to quickly close the distance. That is the secret to great traversal across platforms. Except here, it triggers a dive that looks like a dash, and before you know it, you respawn to a snarky remark from Lost Arena, which keeps repeating because it is stuck in a bug loop.

Graphically, there is nothing wrong with Lost Soul Aside. It looks decent, and in many cases beautiful. However, environments feel too spaced and out of proportion. The characters are a bit too tall and somewhat disproportionate. The action feedback is great, and moves react well with an appropriate level of flash.

This cements the fact that this game should not have been a bloated RPG. There is just not enough of it and you have to slog through cut scene after cut scene of annoying characters dumping their life stories on you, just to be able to swing the sword again. 

Lost Soul Aside is a collection of interesting ideas. You have a world that is full of magic, you have individuals with excellent superpowers, you have a protagonist who can bond with a dragon for some incredible moves. All of that in theory should make for an excellent game. Yet, all the bad ideas seem to pull down some of the great ones. It is tough recommending a game like this, since there is so much out there, like Death Stranding 2 or the upcoming Ghost of Yotei that would be well worth your gaming rupee.

Published – September 13, 2025 05:51 pm IST

A scene from Hell Is Us
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

IFA’s Project 560 seeks to create spaces and opportunities to stop, pause, connect and engage
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A sketch of the Red Fort
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Gayathri Krishna, Managing Trustee of Bhoomija Trust, always wanted to name the trust’s signature music festival for children ‘Jackfruit’. She recalls broaching this to Jayanthi Kumaresh, one of the first directors of the festival, who loved the idea. “She said that it was a great name for the festival because we are talking about the pursuit of music here, which (like a jackfruit) is very thorny and unwieldy when you begin,” she says.

If you decide to buy this thorny, unwieldy fruit, it is “sticky and you can’t do anything with it.” Persist long enough, however, and you get to “one of the best fruits that you have eaten in your life.”

The name has clearly struck a chord. The Jackfruit Festival, organised in association with the Indian Music Experience Museum and the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, and supported by Arundhati Moorti Philanthropies, is now all geared up for its seventh edition. The festival, which has renowned Indian classical vocalist and composer Shubha Mudgal as Festival Director, will feature two concerts by children below 16, and five workshops conducted by maestros including Begum Parween Sultana, B Jayashri, Ranjit Barot, Sudhir Nayak and Sriranjani Santhanagopalan.

“In the process of curating for Jackfruit, I also realised that while we are able to identify very gifted children each year, it is also necessary to create an audience and an environment for them that is conducive to their progress in the future,” says Shubha.

For her, such an environment would provide the featured artistes with the time and opportunities to mingle with each other, learn about each other’s music, work as a team, be respectful of each other and of the artistes and specialists working with them, and enjoy each other’s music and talent.

“A young artiste featured in Jackfruit will therefore learn about other forms and styles of music, even as they come prepared to share the music they are studying,” she says. Also, in her opinion, music education is a crucial aspect of the initiative. “Therefore, our workshops are open not just to children but to adults too.”

Two concerts

Raghav Krishna
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The first concert, the Jackfruit 2025 Songsters, conceptualised, curated, and directed by Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan, will feature 150 school students under the age of 16, drawn from across the country and offer a diverse musical experience.

These will include popular melodies, theatre songs, regional tunes, and Carnatic classics, selected in collaboration with musicians such as Bombay Jayashri, Varijashree Venugopal, MD Pallavi, Priya Saraiya, Shantanu Herlekar, and Shatavisha Mukherjee.

“Shubha’s idea, this time, was to have a show with children from schools that have a music programme in their curriculum,” says Gayathri. “The beauty is that these children are not learning music in a formal classical way, but from their teachers at school, and are singing, literally, for the joy of it.”

Shubha feels that by featuring different forms of music, the diversity of Indian music becomes apparent to the artistes and listeners. According to her, it also fosters exchange of knowledge and skills, and offers new ways of communication. “Abstract art, per se, is an equaliser and has no space for hierarchies, and therefore we welcome all artistes coming from different backgrounds and circumstances with equal fervour.”

Shubha Mudgal
| Photo Credit:
Nitin Joshi

The second concert, Musicking Into the Future, on the other hand, features some young talent of Indian classical music, including Aishani Paul (Hindustani vocal), Arnav Mokashi (Sitar), Raghav Krishna (Mandolin), Rakshitha Ramji (Carnatic vocal), accompanied by Abhinav Kandala (Carnatic Violin), Pradyumna Karpur (Tabla), Siddhanth Anand (Mridangam), and Shreeraksha Shanbhog (Harmonium).

“In the last two years, we presented a concert series titled Singing into the Future, featuring young vocalists learning different styles and traditions,” explains Shubha, adding that this year, instrumentalists have been included in this format. “I am happy that we are able to include instrumentalists this year, because in the past, we were only able to feature instrumentalists as accompanying artists.”

As someone who has been curating this music festival for three years now, Shubha firmly believes that this process of identifying and selecting young artistes for this festival opens one’s eyes to the abundance of talent and the many gurus and mentors across the country who are nurturing the talent of young artists with quiet dedication.

“With Jackfruit, we try to provide a space to share talent, but with due care to acknowledge that these are young artistes under training, and for this reason, we do not include any child without consulting their respective guardians, gurus and institutions,” says Shubha. “I think it is important to maintain this perspective and acknowledge the contribution of the gurus and guardians who have nurtured the talent of our young featured artistes. “

The detailed schedule of the festival is available on Bhoomija’s social media pages, and tickets are available on BookMyShow. For more details, contact@bhoomija.org/ 9743734630.

Published – September 13, 2025 06:38 am IST

Deadlines, budgets, client briefs, endless site visits — on most days, architects and designers are consumed by the needs of others. But ask them what they create when no one is watching, and the answers reveal something far more intimate. Designing for themselves becomes a rare pause, a chance to play, experiment, and express: a reminder of why they fell in love with design in the first place.

“Designing for ourselves is an adventure of creativity. I have a penchant for the fantastical, and I am drawn to all things brutalist. My partner, however, favours minimalistic aesthetics, deep, moody hues and has a keen focus on functionality and quality. Such projects reflect not just our tastes, but the rhythm of our lives together,” says Smita Thomas, founder, Multitude of Sins.

The Solo Waltz has been painted in a cherry red tone and blends seamlessly with the rest of the space by e & co.
| Photo Credit:
Ishita Sitwala

These projects are often an unfiltered expression of their unique design sensibilities and philosophy. “Without a client brief or external expectations, the only constraint is our own clarity of purpose. Such designs emerge from a space of freedom,” says Bhadri Suthar, co-Founder, tHE gRID Architects, Research & Design Studio.

Designing something for their own use always feels rewarding. “Unlike working on client projects where there are multiple perspectives and requirements to balance, creating for my own space gives me complete freedom to experiment, blend different influences, and push boundaries. It becomes an honest reflection of my own story, memories and aesthetic, almost like a diary entry captured in design,” says Nishtha Duggal, co-founder and principal, The Concreate Story. Further, designing for yourself often means designing from the depths of self and soul. “Designing for myself feels like a dialogue with my own instincts. Unlike commissioned work, where you respond to someone else’s story, here it becomes about looking within; what I need, what feels right, what makes me smile. They carry emotion as much as craft. There is a joy in creating without boundaries, where playfulness can meet function seamlessly. These moments of self-design are special because they are pure and they remind me why I fell in love with design in the first place,” says Eshita Marwah, founder, by e & co. Here is a look at some eclectic products designed by the architects for their own spaces.

Mind the chair | tHE gRID Architects, Research & Design Studio

The raw log of wood symbolises nature and the live tree planted in the log stands for life on earth.
| Photo Credit:
 PHX INDIA

Co-founders Bhadri and Snehal Suthar have designed an exclusive chair named ‘Inclinaire’ and a desk called ‘Eunoia’ for their office space. “They embody our core values of simplicity, honesty and love for nature. These pieces are not just objects — they are manifestations of our thinking, shaped by years of refining design to its essence and a constant urge to simplify,” says Snehal. Inclinaire, crafted from mild steel with hand-polished teak wood, draws inspiration from honesty of form, integrity of joinery and reverence for natural materials. The chair, which is ergonomically aligned with the body’s natural posture, is a lesson in restraint with the geometry balancing the lightness of form with structural solidity. There is minimal use of screws, and the perforated teak seat balances weight while enhancing comfort. “The idea was to distil a chair to its essentials without sacrificing comfort or character. It was important for us to create a piece that anchors a space without dominating it,” adds Bhadri.

The horizontal lines on the seat, which have been treated as a series of linear perforations, help balance weight.
| Photo Credit:
Inclined Studio

‘Eunoia’ represents their love for nature and a material-driven approach. Built from a repurposed wooden log, the desk features exposed joinery and no synthetic overlays. “It is a living desk that is designed to house a bonsai plant as an intrinsic part of the piece. ‘Eunoia’ reimagines the workspace as a living ecosystem. More than a desk, it is a bridge between human creativity and the natural world. This was conceptualised not as a typical office desk, but as a piece that aligns with the energy of our studio,” quips Snehal. Both products were executed by their firm’s product design arm, Carpenters.

Tibetan table | The Concreate Story

A Tibetan chik found in a local market and antique columns from a European embassy.
| Photo Credit:
VRITIKA GERA

Adorning Nishtha Duggal’s living space is a centre table which, as she puts it, came together “rather serendipitously”. Duggal says, “I stumbled upon a beautiful Tibetan chik (a traditional woven partition or blind) at a thrift market. It immediately resonated with me, and I knew I had to give it a new lease of life. Around the same time, I had acquired four antique columns from a European embassy. We carefully cut the columns in half; two were transformed into graceful side tables, while the other two became the pedestal base for the centre table. The table itself has two overlapping planks and is crafted from a combination of solid wood (from the chik) and stone/wood detailing from the columns. Its uniqueness lies in how it merges distinct cultural narratives; with Tibetan craftsmanship meeting European architectural history and resulting in a functional yet aesthetic piece.” She adds that the table is a conversation starter and embodies the essence of storytelling through form and material.

“What excites me most is that this table is not perfect by conventional standards; instead, it carries the marks of time, the randomness of discovery, and the intentionality of design. That makes it truly one-of-a-kind,” quips Duggal.

A dog’s bed | by e & co.

Ella’s bed.
| Photo Credit:
Tanvi Arora Seth

Eshita Marwah’s office, which has a distinct Victorian tea room vibe replete with cottage core charm, has several exclusive pieces that have been designed in-house. Two standout pieces include her pet dog Ella’s bed and the chandelier, both of which Marwah terms as deeply personal gestures. “Ella’s bed is completely handmade and hand-painted as a cosy, protective nook that blends seamlessly into the studio’s design language. The structure sits on rounded ball-like solid wood legs and is detailed with a picket-style railing, striped mattress in red and white, which goes with the rest of the space, and soft sheer curtains. The detachable pitched roof adds versatility, allowing for easy cleaning and adaptability over time. Its compact scale ensures it does not overwhelm the room while still offering Ella a space of her own. My main consideration was comfort; for Ella to feel secure and cocooned, while making the bed visually charming enough to hold its place in the office,” says Marwah. The chandelier, named ‘The Solo Waltz’, is handmade in metal and hand-painted in a cherry red tone. Its organic, leaf-like extensions spread outward in a sculptural form that feels as though it’s caught mid-motion, like in a waltz, hence the name. It not only illuminates but also forms a poetic connection to the greenery visible outside the window. “My goal was to create a functional centre piece which brought rhythm, movement, and a sense of nature indoors. Together, these pieces capture my design ethos — where utility is inseparable from emotion. They are designed not only to serve a purpose but to evoke warmth and joy every day,” adds Marwah.

Concrete dining table | Multitude of Sins

A dining table.
| Photo Credit:
ISHITA SITWALA 

Inspired by her wish to enjoy a carefree dining experience, Smita Thomas decided to create a unique dining table using large concrete finish tiles. “It is a generous 10-ft.-long table that comfortably accommodates eight to nine guests. While stone, marble or wood might typically headline as tabletop material, I chose large concrete-finish tiles, which means we can spill, splatter, and enjoy meals without worrying about the aftermath. A two-shade marble inlay edges the table, curving atop the table top to frame the tiles. Between the tiles, a blue-stained wood inlay adds a touch of colour and complexity. The legs mimic tall concrete blocks in a profound stained grey, with bases featuring the same striped marble inlay as a design detail and to ward off wet mops. A cylindrical metal pipe, complete with carved wooden flowers at the ends, runs across the length of the table, connecting the legs,” says Thomas.

It is key to note that the dining table is almost an extension of the crockery unit, and the marble top of the crockery unit doubles as a buffet counter for entertaining.

Bronze-concrete balance | Studio Urban Form and Objects (UF+O)

A view of the studio. 
| Photo Credit:
NIVEDITAA GUPTA

Prachi Parekh Vora and Vineet Vora, co-founders of Studio UF+O, have designed an exclusive bench and lamp for their home, which they have christened ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Petal’, respectively. Both pieces push the boundaries of materiality and explore innovation in craft. Made from bronze, Inside Out is a creatively designed bench that is an interplay between material experimentation and form exploration. Bronze casting as a process was studied to attain a thin organic form with contrasting textures which offer varying tactile surfaces on the inside and outside while retaining the functionality of a seat. “Petal is a sculptural exploration, and this concrete-cast lamp rises with its fluid, petal-like form gracefully unfurling to reveal a warm, golden glow,” says Prachi. Blending minimalism with elegance, it transforms the space into a serene, ethereal ambience. “The main motivation was to explore the phase-changing properties of bronze and concrete, and we were drawn to the potential of these materials for sculpting. The experimentation was about striking a balance between controlling the material’s behaviour and embracing its inherent characteristics. We were able to play with the scale between functionality and aesthetics,” adds Vineet.

The Bengaluru-based freelance writer is passionate about all things design, travel, food, art and culture.

Almost every Communist village of Kerala’s northern Malabar has a Martyr’s Column and a library. My village, Madikkai in Kasaragod, has a memorial for slain DYFI leader, comrade Bhaskara Kumbala, and a library built in memory of Communist revolutionary A.K. Gopalan. They say libraries played a significant role in shaping Kerala’s reputation as an erudite State. And like many others, it is from one of these tiny, tiled-roof libraries that my world opened up.

I first heard of Victor Hugo from an uncle one summer afternoon, while we were building castles with wet mud in a palm orchard. He said to us children: “All of you should definitely read Victor Hugo’s Pavangal [Les Miserables].” That must have stayed on, for one evening I found myself at the library waiting for comrade Kottan, the librarian, to get there. He also had a job in a beedi company. As Kottettan (brother Kottan, as I used to call him) came in, I eagerly asked about Pavangal. With a torch torch in hand, he led me through the book-lined shelves of the dimly-lit, sparsely furnished library. However, we could not find the book that day.

Visitors at the Notre Dame
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

Instead, he handed me another one, Maxim Gorky’s Amma (Mother). A few days later, Kottettan told me he found the book I had been looking for. But it turned out to be another one by Hugo, Notre Damile Koonan (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). And that was the beginning of an experience I cherish to this day. In that dingy library, I read about the famed winters of St. Petersburg, the medieval cathedrals of Paris, and the cobbled streets of ancient cities. I felt a deep sense of anemoia — a word the dictionary describes as nostalgia for a place one has never been to. In a village with only harsh summers, brooding rains and a mere whiff of spring, I yearned for the alleyways of strange cities, their biting winters, and golden wheat fields.

Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Leaning into the familiar

This January, on a particularly cold evening, while walking across a bridge over the Seine to the Notre-Dame de Paris, I felt a sense of familiarity — the memories of what I had read intertwining with real life.

It had only been weeks since the cathedral, which was shut for restoration following a fire in 2019, was reopened to the public. Overwhelmed, I felt an urge to shout out to the tourists queuing to enter the cathedral that beneath the ground upon which they were standing, once upon a time, there had been 11 steps. I had read in The Hunchback… that the steps leading up to the cathedral had been destroyed by the repeated flooding of the Seine. As I stepped inside Notre Dame through the triple-arched entryway, I was struck by how much I remembered from the book. Did I hear someone call out “refuge” from behind the altar? Did I hear a faint Spanish lullaby from some secret chamber above? Or did I spot a lamb running through the maze of the visitors’ feet?

Glimpses from inside Notre Dame
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

Though I knew I wouldn’t find it, I kept looking for a word. On the floors speckled with sunlight filtering in through the coloured glass windows, in the gloomy corners with giant sculptures, on the walls adorned with pictures — ANArKH. Hugo, in his preface to the novel, says he chanced upon this mysterious word, meaning fate in Greek, casually scribbled on one of Notre Dame’s towers.

“… The man who wrote that word upon the wall disappeared from the midst of the generations of man many centuries ago; the word, in its turn, has been effaced from the wall of the church; the church will, perhaps, itself soon disappear from the face of the earth,” he writes, also alluding to the state of disrepair the cathedral had fallen into in the early 19th century. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame helped renew interest in the building and led to the efforts in its restoration.

Notre Dame at night
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

Over 860 years old, the cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, took 200 years and thousands of workers to build. Scores of artists and sculptors whose works it holds, the ordinary and the extraordinary people whose prayers and silences it has witnessed. Does this colossal monument know just how many lives have been linked to it in innumerable ways? Lives like mine?

Published – September 12, 2025 06:40 pm IST

Notre Dame caught on fire just days after I accepted the offer to teach at The American University of Paris. Hence, for most of my Parisian years, the cathedral has been inaccessible. But that has never stopped it from attracting crowds. For years now, I have seen tourists line up along the river to take pictures of the scaffolded façade. I’ve walked past it a hundred times, but now that it was finally open, I decided it was time to pay a visit.

On September 20, the Towers of Notre Dame, with its chimera gallery, will open to the public.

Notre Dame stands on the tip of an island, the Île de la Cité, the ancient heart of Paris. The Romans were here in 500 BC. Construction of the church began in 1163 under Maurice de Sully and ended a hundred years later, and there would be no major work until the French Revolution, when much of the bronze, lead, and precious metals were removed and melted down. Major restoration was done to the church in the mid-19th century. And in 2019, the fire happened.

I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to look out your window and watch the cathedral burn. And what it must be like now, after years of construction, to watch it come back to life. The fire pushed the cathedral into another round of upkeep. To rebuild the historic roof called “Le foret” or the forest, 1,000 historic oak trees from 200 French forests were selected and sacrificed — a move that was sharply criticised. At the same time, artisans from all over France gathered to restore the cathedral, and continue to do so daily. During the time of writing this article, statues that belong up on the famous spire have been restored. On September 20, the Towers of Notre Dame, with its chimera gallery, will open to the public. And soon the wooden shafts on which the two bells, Emmanuel and Marie, are suspended will be replaced.

Artisans from all over France gathered to restore the cathedral.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

Place for everyone

Standing across from Notre Dame, one does get the sense of being in the centre of the historic city of Paris. To one side of the church, on the Left Bank of the river Seine, is the Latin Quarter, brimming with students, because it is home to one of the world’s revered universities, the Sorbonne. Adjacent to Notre Dame is the Hotêl Dieu, one of the world’s oldest hospitals.

On the Right Bank is the Marais, the old Jewish neighbourhood, which is now Paris’s gay district, dotted with bars, museums, and boutiques. The paved-in square in front of Notre Dame is roughly the size of a football field. It’s a place for everyone from musicians to pickpockets to earn their livelihood. Here, dancers draw applause as they perform hip-hop routines. Tourists pose for photographs. Couples kiss amidst a cacophony of languages. And sporty French men and women jog across, oblivious to it all. It’s a spot where the many sides of Paris converge.

Inside the Notre Dame
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

On the day of my visit, I found a long line of extremely well-dressed people outside the doors to Notre Dame. Walking past them, I noticed almost everyone in that line spoke French. Families stood together — children, parents, and grandparents — just before dinner time. I joined the line and when a woman in a beautiful dress stood behind me, I asked her if I needed a reservation. Yes, she said. Especially for the concert. It was then that I realised that I won’t be able to get in, because this wasn’t a regular evening at Notre Dame.

Churches in Paris — as in the rest of the world — often double as musical venues. On that gorgeous Wednesday evening, it was Requiem by Mozart. The woman told me she used to come to the church with her mother, who had worshipped there often. As she grew older, she brought friends visiting from out of town to hear concerts. She hadn’t returned since the fire. This evening, she was back — this time with her four-year-old — reviving a family tradition.

On the day of my visit, I found a long line of extremely well-dressed people outside the doors to Notre Dame.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

Bridging the past and the present

Since I couldn’t enter the church that evening, I decided to return early one morning, just in time for Mass. There was barely a line, and inside, worshippers almost outnumbered the tourists. From the inside, you can catch the shadow of workers moving across the stained-glass windows because the renovation won’t be complete until 2026. However, much of the outside has been restored to its previous glory, including the iconic spire and roof.

Notre Dame stands on the tip of an island, the Île de la Cité.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

Inside, things look drastically different. During the renovation, a latex paste was applied to the walls, then peeled off once dried, lifting away centuries of soot and grime. Coupled with the brilliance of the stained glass, the effect is luminous. Now, the past and present exist together. You can buy candles at the click of a button, make donations with contactless payments.

Notre Dame is also a museum. While it famously houses the Crown of Thorns and Wood of the Cross, it is also home to paintings by 20th century masters such as Henri Matisse and George Braque, which stand in quiet dialogue with statues and religious paintings from centuries past.

Notre Dame is also a museum. 
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat

On my way back from Mass that morning, I saw a much longer line just across the street — outside the Préfecture de Police — where hundreds of immigrants queue up each day to apply for residency permits. I’ve stood in that line more than once. And I wondered how many prayers have been whispered to the God inside by those who may never enter the cathedral. Many of them don’t share its faith. But perhaps that’s the magic of Notre Dame: it makes a convert of us all.

The writer teaches at The American University of Paris and is the author of Hundred Greatest Love Songs.

Published – September 12, 2025 06:17 pm IST

Under a sunlit glass roof, with the pristine blue Chennai sky overhead, Dhruv V. Patel, 33, sits at his favourite spot in his store, now spread over 3,000 sq. ft, away from the bustling traffic near Cathedral Road. Patel talks about the relaunch of the Vishvesh store and that they are on to something — “luxury home furnishing”.

The family-run Vishvesh has been a pioneer in that space, in the city, for over five decades. When it comes to picking curtains for homes, Dhruv says, “It’s no longer just about privacy, but also about dressing up the home, to make it look beautiful and feel luxurious.”

Vishvesh’s custom-designed rug that shows the natural rings of a tree, symbolising the growth and years of the store.

The store has expanded its focus now to include rugs, beddings and furniture. It showcases a wide array of custom-made drapery and rugs (sourced from Jaipur and Mirzapur), handcrafted carpets, premium wallpapers (Armani Casa, Mayflower, Sabyasachi, among others), and statement furniture pieces, which they have just begun manufacturing.

Armani/Casa pays tribute to Emily Dickinson’s iconic garden with a poetic wall covering inspired by the wildflowers she cherished. 

First launched in 1971 by Dhruv’s grandfather Jashbhai Patel, and named after his father Vishvesh, the store sold curtain fabrics. It is now managed by Dhruv and his brother Harsh.

From 150 varieties then, the catalogue has expanded to 500-600 options today. The change reflects evolving customer demands for diverse textures and contemporary styles. “Customers don’t always know what they want; they just want a house. The real credit goes to architects and interior designers,” he says.

Dhruv V. Patel (far right) with his father and brother Harsh.

‘Luxurious, one-stop solution’

The idea is to “offer a luxurious, one-stop solution by bringing together multiple brands, giving each segment a significant space to be displayed properly,” he says, since “limited areas per brand often mean customers have to visit multiple times to make selections, which can be inconvenient.”

Vishvesh’s custom fabric lounge chair.

From polyester, cotton, and viscose mixes to silk and natural linen, the store exhibits a strong focus on fabric. Curtains are priced between ₹600 and ₹60,000 per metre of cloth while wallpapers start at ₹55-₹70 per sq.ft. “For the curtains, we work with a mix of well-established Indian and international brands to cater to diverse tastes and requirements. Our long-term Indian partners include Atmosphere and Vaya from Bengaluru, Ara Deco from Delhi, and Pure Fine Fabrics (an associate of Asian Paints). Internationally, we source from Clarke & Clarke (U.K.), Didar (Iran), Elites, and Nobilis (Paris), to ensure that our customers and architects get premium options. For wall coverings, we collaborate with Arte, Harley Quinn, Elites, Noblis, and Armani Casa,” he says.

Premium silk wallcovering by Omexco.

Besides hand-tufted carpets, accent tables inspired by nature, and upholstered furniture pieces, there’s also a dedicated bedding section, in collaboration with Delhi’s Sheers of India, that offer exclusive handmade bedding and pillows.

Curated taste

Chennai’s home-buyers began shifting towards luxury goods post-pandemic, he says, adding that the market is still nascent. Besides Casagrand real-estate chain, Vishvesh has worked on show flats with Tulip residences.

Vishvesh’s custom-made rug.

Architect Indu Sugumar, of I and S Studio in K.K. Nagar, who has been working with Vishvesh for over 25 years and has extensively used their products in her residential projects, has designed the new retail store over eight months. Dhruv ensured sustainability was woven into the renovated space by using LED lighting, and more than 70% of old plywood in the false ceiling to avoid wastage. Stretch ceilings create the illusion of natural light, while select wall coverings, including CMO Paris and Armani, add opulent textures — some with animal prints.

In addition to tapping into the social media audience, Dhruv also plans on hosting small monthly workshops for artisans at his showroom.

Published – September 12, 2025 05:30 pm IST