Mohua Das

The Times of India • 20th December 2020

'Adopt' a museum artefact, save history this festive season

Know someone who would like a sixth century ‘ Head of a Damsel ’ for Christmas? Or maybe a 400-year-old silk thangka painting of Chundhaa, goddess and protector from epidemics and diseases? Instead of the predictable exchange of presents this festive season, these endangered objects can make for a gift that can keep on giving with the CSMVS allowing people to adopt centuries-old artefacts as a way to mitigate pandemic-induced losses and care for precious pieces from the past.

The Times of India • 13th December 2020

Tackling the new homeschool challenge of kids playing hooky

Remember the time when playing hooky in school meant making excuses to go to the toilet or to drink water and cheating was all about peeking into the neighbour’s answer sheet, writing precious information on thighs or carrying scribbled notes inside the pencil box? The homeschooling era has curiously ushered in a new truant landscape with students using their imagination and—inadvisable but ingenious—digital hacks to steal a march on their virtual invigilators.

The Times of India • 7th December 2020

Digital makeover turns back time on Ajanta’s 5th century murals

The idea of digital technology to resurrect a 5th century painting might seem a bit odd at first but the creative effects of such anachronism can occasionally be startling. Twenty nine years after photographer and art historian Benoy Behl stepped into the dark recesses of the Ajanta and revealed its cave paintings as it had never been revealed before, the 65-year-old has managed to digitally repair the ravages of time, blunders of less competent restorers and damages inflicted by the occasional visitor — to arrive at what they looked like 1500 years ago.

The Times of India • 18th November 2020

In a 1st, Mumbai development plan makes space for women

Cities have historically been built with no particular care or thought in its design and planning for women. But Mumbai has become the first Indian city to have an urban plan with a gender-specific focus—land reservations for physical-social infrastructure designed to meet women’s needs.

The Times of India • 15th November 2020

Your lockdown videos, handmade face masks to tell pandemic story

That face mask you made at home, your child’s homeschool routine, the poem you wrote in lockdown, video recordings of your remote work meetings and happy hours, and other such fleeting moments from your stay-at-home life in the coronavirus pandemic have historical value that could soon become an artefact.

The Times of India • 10th November 2020

Keema is losing the mutton, and bhurji its anda

Guess the meal these ingredients make when you blend wheat, rice, gram and quinoa flour; throw in beetroot powder and some pea protein; a dash of garlic, onion, salt and dhania; a smattering of binders; and then toss the mix into a hot kadai? A bowl of what its creators call the “unmutton curry”. One part plant, one part tech-engineered meat and one part activism—this jigsaw aimed at making it easier for meateaters to embrace a world-saving movement—comes in the shape of a kebab, omelette and sausage.

The Times of India • 25th October 2020

Locals fear construction work is muddying 1,000-year-old Banganga

All is not well at Banganga , the ancient talao or freshwater tank that rests at the southwest corner of Malabar Hill and survived for centuries as a living heritage precinct in the city where pilgrims have found their way since the 12th century Shilahara period.

The Times of India • 30th September 2020

‘Maal’: A slang that’s open to interpretations

At a time when eavesdropping on people’s phone conversations could lead you to words like ‘dope’ (which isn’t drug but millennial lingo for ‘cool’) or ‘slay’ (that doesn’t mean killing someone but excelling at something), the Hindi word ‘maal’ is curiously at risk after it drew the attention of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and a lot of fire on social media.

The Times of India • 19th September 2020

Eating in has elevated food delivery to restaurant-level experience

That fine dining can arrive at your home in a cardboard box was the kind of idea that would have seemed preposterous even a few months ago. Now, it’s just another part of the new world order. The Covid-19 outbreak may have forced restaurants to put up their shutters but behind their darkened windows the kitchens have been a hive of activity.

The Times of India • 19th September 2020

Hush-hush parties keep neighbours on toes

Nightclubs may still be waiting to unbolt and watering holes running dry, but that doesn’t mean the city is staying home. Despite the grim rise in cases everyday, Mumbai’s party loving folks have chosen to return to their pre-pandemic ways, ditching safety guidelines and socialising at house parties or at beaches and parks — sometimes openly or in secret, despite the risks and the backlash. Earlier this month, at a hush-hush party organised quietly behind downed-shutters of a plush restaurant

The Times Of India • 31st August 2020

Covid plays villain with film preservation efforts, rare material ruined

Unlike typical desk jobs where one could pack up their laptop and embrace the work-from-home culture when the growing coronavirus emptied out offices and institutions, remote work for archivists can be tricky and almost unfeasible in a line of work that requires physical access to the fragile pieces of history in their care.

The Times Of India • 26th August 2020

Sack of potatoes for squats, bottles for dumbbells...

When the Covid-19 outbreak locked him out of the gym, Rahul Tarfe’s search for items that could double as weights didn’t need to go any further than his kitchen. He grabbed the gas cylinder for a deadlift; yanked the wooden rod from an old cupboard to do pull ups; stuffed his backpack with potatoes to balance on his back for squats, and filled a bucket with water to practise bicep curls.

The Times Of India • 28th July 2020

Boomerang kids turn childhood bedrooms into their offices

Many young adults, who left home to build their own independent lives, have now moved back in with mom and dad in the pandemic. They speak to Sunday Times losing freedom, finding a safe haven, and rediscovering karelas and curfews.

The Times Of India • 6th July 2020

The holiday is back but it’s now called a workation

Can’t go to office but you can take your office for a holiday. Tired of being stuck in city apartments, some WFHers are opting for for long-stay breaks in beach, mountain resorts. After the pandemic forced people out of their office and strapped them to their couch for months, the idea of a ‘workation’ — previously deemed problematic for blurring the line between work and leisure — now seems like an appealing compromise.

The Times Of India • 23rd June 2020

Lights, camera but no action! Social distancing is killing the sex scene

Fear of a different sort of Covid casualty is looming large over film and TV folks — the death of the steamy sex scene in the wake of a pandemic and strict social distancing protocol imposed by an official directive from the cultural affairs ministry that allows shooting to resume within the two weeks but with a compulsory two-metre distance between members of the cast and crew.

The Times Of India • 31st May 2020

Solo dwellers master solitude skills to beat lockdown loneliness

Rinesh got “smashed” drinking with friends across the laptop screen; Sreyashi spent four relentless hours playing online Scrabble with strangers willing to humour her next move; Olinca box-braided her hair and performed solo karaokes for her mirror; and Turna had a conversation with her pressure cooker, “because it’s the only thing that responds!” Sixty eight days into the stay-at-home mandate, as parents complain about homeschooling and couples about their partner’s annoying habits, solo dwellers have a problem that is quite the opposite — being too alone.

The Times Of India • 24th May 2020

Locked at home, people running marathons in their bedroom & balcony

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The pandemic and subsequent lockdown may have stopped runners from letting loose on unending roads, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go for a long-distance run.

The Times Of India • 11th May 2020

With ban on crowds, e-funerals are the new normal

If the Hindu shradh is a long, social goodbye packed with rites and rituals, hundreds gather at church pews to honour and eulogise their loved one at a Roman Catholic funeral mass . The rituals of saying final goodbyes run deep in every faith. But the Covid-19 pandemic has robbed families of such tradition, no matter the cause of death. Now, the new normal is a few prayers in a cemetery or crematorium attended by the barest few.

The Times Of India • 4th May 2020

7 ways Covid may change our world

The full effects of the pandemic are yet to be measured, but change is already here. Some trends such as digital learning and work from home will speed up. Some habits will be snapped: you won’t be casually jet-setting between continents. Here are some things that may change in the future.

The Times Of India • 5th April 2020

The music plays on, virtually

It was his fourth day in quarantine. In the morning, he played an online word game. In the afternoon, he video-called friends. By evening, he headed to the balcony for a performance of ‘Covid of the County’ – a parody of Kenny Rogers’ ‘Coward of the County’ that he wrote and sang while staring down a webcam and playing to his virtual fans.