Curated by Aastha Atray Banan, Jane Borges, Sucheta Chakraborty and Anju Maskeri
Pune artist Shikha Nambiar is an illustrator and hand letterer whose colourful and intricately designed illustrations, available as prints, bookmarks, postcards, note cards, pin badges and sticker sets, have caught this writer&rsquo;s eye.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Reindeer-Christmas-Card_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
Her themes range from city-specific ones to stationery with ocean, nature, love and cat lady motifs, Frida Kahlo illustrations, and those for writers, booklovers and road trip enthusiasts. For this holiday season, Nambiar has a special series of warm and cheery Christmas sticker sheets, gift tags and note cards on sale, which would also make for endearing presents.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Shikha-Nambiar_e.jpg" alt="Shikha Nambiar" width="1280" height="720" /> Shikha Nambiar
&ldquo;Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. I always look forward to creating colourful and festive illustrations for the occasion,&rdquo; says the artist, who likes to make a lot of rough sketches before finally picking the ones she likes best to illustrate using Procreate. She points out that apart from the usual Christmas characters like Santa Claus, snowmen and reindeer, cats are a constant feature in her designs. &ldquo;I am inspired by my two naughty cats, the brightly decorated balconies in my building and more.&rdquo; The items are priced at Rs 70 upwards. sunnyskiesstarryeyes.stores. instamojo.com
<h2>For a better future</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Beach-clean_e.jpg" alt="" />
In January 2020, Harshad Dhage, 23, along with some friends started For Future India to work towards the environment, along with other issues like children&rsquo;s education, food and shelter for street animals, and women&rsquo;s self defence. They also launched a beach clean-up programme, and managed to remove nearly 2,50,000 kg of waste and plastic materials from the shores of Uttan, Velankanni, Gorai, Manori, Arnala, Danapani, Juhu and Khardanda with over 3,000 volunteers.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Harshad-Dhage_e.jpg" alt="Harshad Dhage" width="1280" height="720" /> Harshad Dhage
&ldquo;While the BMC does cleanups in Juhu, in these parts, things are very bad,&rdquo; says founder Dhage, a resident of Mira Bhayandar. With the support of the local youth, For Future India is working towards educating the elderly local population to check their habits of trashing the beaches of Dharavi Island. &ldquo;There is one side to it where people don&rsquo;t like to see plastic strewn on the beaches. But very few people pay attention to the fact that marine animals suffer greatly as a result of plastic waste. Our motto is to remove this waste and help save these animals. It is also important to spread awareness among the Koli community which is dependent on these marine systems.&rdquo; January 2022 will mark the organisation&rsquo;s 100th cleanup. @forfutureindia, Instagram
<h2>Scrunchie that gives you space</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Scrunchie_e.jpg" alt="The pocket is ideal to keep earplugs and loose change" width="1280" height="720" /> The pocket is ideal to keep earplugs and loose change
If, like us, you are a scrunchie enthusiast, you might want to consider Gurmeen Shrivastav&rsquo;s collection which she has crafted using leftover materials. &nbsp;What&rsquo;s interesting is that she has given it a twist by adding a secret pocket where you can store your bite-sized paraphernalia. She collaborated with underprivileged women in Mumbai to create the scrunchies.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Gurmeen_e.jpg" alt="Gurmeen Shrivastav" width="1280" height="720" /> Gurmeen Shrivastav
&ldquo;As a fashion house, Nayshaa&rsquo;s Siyahi Sa Vastra, we see a lot of waste materials getting generated and letting go of it just seemed unfair. This idea was also a by-product of my collaboration with underprivileged women for various products that helped them make an extra buck,&rdquo; says Shrivastav. The storage space is ideal to keep earplugs and loose change. nayshaas.com
<h2>Colour yourself to peace</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Colour-book_e.jpg" alt="" />
We hate anxiety, but we all suffer from it anyway. We want to practice mindfulness, but our overwhelmed mind doesn&rsquo;t give us time to quieten down. It&rsquo;s then that we need something that will occupy our mind, and in that exercise, balance it out. And as this writer found out, Dreamland Publications&rsquo; adult colouring books are perfect for that. Divided into genres such as &ldquo;rejuvenate yourself&rdquo;, &nbsp;&ldquo;refreshing Mandala&rdquo; and &ldquo;mindfulness&rdquo;, the sketch books are intricate and detailed, and will challenge your brain. The nature-themed designs are soothing, and as you fill colour into the outlines of a bird, insect or a flower, you will feel your worries melt away and a lightness take its place. This writer&rsquo;s mood went from imagining dark clouds to thinking of a blue sky. Do take out time on a Sunday, or at the end of a busy day, and try it out. The books are priced between Rs 150 and Rs 300. Amazon and Flipkart
<h2>Meet Goa&rsquo;s Pascal Pinto</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Walt_e.jpg" alt="Pic Courtesy/Instagram" width="1280" height="720" /> Pic Courtesy/Instagram
The recent accent challenge on social media threw many happy surprises&mdash;one of them being actor Walter, who goes by the handle @im_waltube on Instagram, and whose &ldquo;Konkani accent is just so sexy&rdquo;. Walter, who only goes by his first name, is the King of all Paowallahs aka Goan Catholics. His social media avatar Pascal (pronounced Pascol) Pinto is an absolute treat to watch, especially for the Konkani-speaking community of Goa and Mangalore. From Pascal&rsquo;s tutorials on Konkani songs and dance to his short videos on &ldquo;how God created Catholics&rdquo; (a concoction of desi daaru) and his most recent and hilarious take on the Goan elections&mdash;strictly for single boys only&mdash;Walter&rsquo;s content is a laugh riot, and has our vote. Once too many, he reminded us of a relative or friend we knew from Goa and for that, we need to give complete credit to Walter and his ingenuity. Reimagining an often under-represented and otherwise stereotyped community, we must admit, is not as easy a task at all. &nbsp; @im_waltube, Instagram
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In January 2020, Harshad Dhage, 23, along with some friends started For Future India to work towards the environment, along with other issues like children’s education, food and shelter for street animals, and women’s self defence

Good things in small packages

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Good things in small packages

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