Mystery in the male closet

Curated by Jane Borges Sucheta Chakraborty and Cynera RodricksFinding gifts for men that are as rad as the ones theyrsquod buy for themselves is tricky So here is an option thatrsquos both convenient and surprising Mestermor ldquomore for the misterrdquo is a subscription box service dedicated to menrsquos fashion Subscription services whether for gifts or necessities have grown in popularity Becoming a member is like having a team of personal shoppers scour the country to upscale your wardrobe They claim to have a box for every kind of guymdashfitness fanatic style maven and everyone in betweenYou must first take a short quiz before you receive your personalised wardrobe in a box Itrsquos to assist the curators understand your style fit height size and weight and body type Choose between the Essentials Box handpicked products for everyday needs R4999 or the Indulgence Box limited edition collections reserved for those with discriminating taste Rs 14999 Choose the frequency once a month twice a month or three times a year and wait for pieces from homegrown clothing labels like Toffle and Son of a Noble to premium quirky accessories brands Sock Soho and Outback Stationery store Paper Clip and menrsquos grooming brand Beardo are also part of the mix You learn of the contents of each mix via mail before shipment and exchange is possiblehttpsmestermorcomEscape into the world of verseMeha Gupta Arpita Adhya and Anithya BalachandranGood literature is like balm for the soul And in times like these where uncertainty looms over everything one can do with a lot of it we feel Thatrsquos what got Meha Gupta Arpita Adhya and Anithya Balachandran together to start The Lit Archives on Instagram This incredible page which was started in September 2020 has some astounding works of verse by great literary minds of our times From Vikram Seth to Kashmiri poet Agha Shahid Ali Rebecca Hazelton and this writerrsquos personal favourite Naomi Shihab Nye this page is a treasure trove for any literature lover We love their lsquoPoet in Focusrsquo posts in particular where they delve deep into a writerrsquos oeuvre and offer a stellar curation of some of their best works in a series of slides Sometimes therersquos a painting accompanying an excerpt from a writerrsquos work and it becomes hard to decide what you love most about the post ldquoAudre Lorde wrote that poetry is not only a dream and a vision it is the skeletal architecture of our lives She goes on to write about how poetry is not a luxury It is a vital necessity and very much the crux of our existence We believe poetry and literature are necessary for our existence too This pandemic has brought us closer to literature we found comfort in poetry and sought solace in various other literary forms The idea behind starting this page was to bring comfort to people no matter how fleeting that comfort might be We last temporarily literature lasts forever So this little page was our humble attempt to be a reminder of the samerdquo the curators shared thelitarchives InstagramEverything has its placeThe effects of the pandemic might have you feeling anything but organised but there is Shreya Agarwal a National Association of Productivity and Organising Professionalscertified organiser to help you ldquoDecluttering and organising have been a part of me since childhood My immediate family and friends have always sought my advice and help when it came to managing their spaces After the birth of our first child I decided to take a break from corporate culture and switch to doing what I do best ldquoThat gave birth to my venture Declutter with Shreya in September 2020rdquo she says Agarwal assists clients in gaining more control over time and space as well as reducing stress and increasing productivity by providing information ideas and structure for keeping their spaces neat and organised She now offers online sessions and feels you donrsquot need fancy tools to declutter your space In fact one can begin by simply repurposing old shoe boxes trays phone boxes or even Amazon parcel boxes As an organising product anything that can contain items can be used It is also important to remember that decluttering a space is not a onetime event ldquoThe key is to do it consistentlyrdquo she says ldquoSchedule 1520 minutes on your calendar once a week or once a month and begin with a small project Put on some music or your favourite show to make it more enjoyable Once yoursquove successfully decluttered and organised an area give yourself a reward Even as a professional organiser I make time to keep my wardrobe and other spaces in good condition You can limit yourself to one category per spacerdquo Agarwal charges R1000 to 1500 per hour for athome services and Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 for virtual sessionsdeclutterwithshreya InstagramA protest flowers from the earthAn installation titled Shaheed Smarak came up at Rajasthanrsquos Shahjahanpur to honour the 370 peoplemdashas of April 14 2021mdashwho died while participating in the farmersrsquo struggle Ahmedabadbased artist Lalon saw it as an opportunity to engage with the protest in a real way ldquoArt is often placed in galleries for the benefit of intellectuals but itrsquos a different experience when those from the grassroots the ones the artwork actually addresses react to itrdquo he feels The structure assembled by the artist with the help of farmers in under three days is made up of traditional earthen pots fitted on iron rods giving it the appearance of a bed of flowersLalonldquoSoil and iron were my primary materials soil is associated with farmers and iron with strength I wanted the materials to lend their own meaning to the workrdquo says the National Institute of Design NID graduate The farmers who turned up at the site to pay their respects carried soilfilled earthen pots with them and Lalon decided to make them a part of his work The flower bedlike arrangement was inspired by that famous line by Pablo Neruda now a powerful anthem of protest ldquoYou can cut all the flowers but you canrsquot keep spring from comingrdquo Lalon says that the individual elements in his structure might look fragile but their interconnectedness has contributed to their strength In that too the artwork is a lot like the farmer community which united makes a formidable force Since the lockdown wonrsquot allow us to travel to see the artistrsquos work we must appreciate it on his social media accountlalonnolal Instagram