'21 Issue 01

January 30, 2024

“Decay is a form of preservation”: Asim Waqif

Text by Anish Gawande. Photographs by Asad Sheikh.

A contentious negotiation with the material he uses is at the centre of artist Asim Waqif’s oeuvre. Best known for his work with bamboo, the artist also creates aesthetic sculptural forms from waste. Verve interacts with the recipient of the first Asia Arts Pathbreaker Award 2024 at his studio in New Delhi
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January 10, 2024

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Adaptation, Arts

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Text by Ranjabati Das. Photography by Ali Monis Naqvi. Art Direction and Styling by Akanksha Pandey. Hair and Make-Up by Seerath Sheik Shabbir; assisted by Dixita Dhargalkar.

Its propensity to provoke thought and challenge the status quo sets Goa-based Theatre Flamingo apart. Verve talks to three core members to find out how the troupe is opening up dialogues around sociocultural issues and tenaciously driving change in their state through theatre and the grassroots initiatives built around it
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October 10, 2023

Artisans, cc-tapis, Designers

Knotting The Past With The Future

Text by Mallika Chandra. Photographs courtesy Sean Davidson | Yabu Pushelberg

Personal memories are delicately woven into Himalayan wool in Memento, the recently launched collection of seven hand-knotted rugs produced by the North American design studio Yabu Pushelberg, with the Italian rug-makers cc-tapis. Verve finds out more about the nuances of their collaborative process that celebrates craft and innovation
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October 05, 2023

Art, Artist, London Design Festival

“This exhibition is centred around the resilience of memory recall, the potentials of sound and the active participation of listening”: Nirbhai (Nep) Singh Sidhu

Text by Avani Thakkar, with inputs from Asad Sheikh. Photography by Raajadharshini.

In 'Unstruck Melody', the British-born, Toronto-based artist’s latest exhibition for the London Design Festival 2023 at the Victoria & Albert Museum, he presents mindful tools to reinvent our approach to living. Verve takes a walk through the interdisciplinary showcase
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September 06, 2023

Credits, Gangs of Wasseypur, Gully Boy

Jumping Off The Page With Studio Kokaachi — From Comics To Credit Sequences

Text by Prachi Sibal. Photographs by Rose Tommy.

The Kochi-based comic book publishing house serendipitously found itself stepping into the Indian film industry about a decade ago — thanks to and partly due to their intent to fund their first love. Verve speaks to founders Tina and Pratheek Thomas to trace the changing face of title sequences with the advent of OTT and their ascendence within the worlds of credits and comic books
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August 17, 2023

Arabisque, Bakery, Chefs

How this crop of young chefs is giving cloud kitchens new focus and meaning

Text and Photography by Mallika Chandra.

These Mumbai-based food entrepreneurs, who left their promising careers in fine dining to start their own enterprises, in interviews with Verve, talk about the process of — and challenges in — breaking free of the unsavoury practices that the restaurant industry is notorious for, while bringing the sensibilities of gourmet cooking into the delivery-only model
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