CATEGORIES

Blooming desires

At 2am, while the rest of her family slumbers, 40-year-old Lakshmi gets ready for another day of work at Koyambedu _flower market, one of Chennai's busiest wholesale venues.

FINE FORM

Sports, fashion and femininity join forces for a culture-defining ménage à trois.

Highland fling

Behold Dior's take on the Scottish sporran.

Material girl

Does luck really change when you find a four-leaf clover? One Vogue India editor became a firm believer when certain mainstays in her wardrobe turned her fortunes around.

Current affairs

Elif Shafak’s work abounds with references, memories and a deep love of Istanbul. She talks to AANCHAL MALHOTRA about the significance of home and those who shape our recollections of the past

A drop of nostalgia

A whiff of Chanel N°5 L'Eau acts as a memory portal for TARINI SOOD, reminding her of the constant tussle between who we are and who we hope to become

Wild thing's

Zebras hold emerald-cut diamonds, panthers morph into ring-bracelets that move and a turtle escapes to become a brooch -Cartier's high jewellery collection Nature Sauvage is a playground of the animal kingdom.

Preity please

Two surprise red-carpet appearances and a movie announcement have everyone obsessing over Preity Zinta. The star behind the aughties’ biggest hits talks film wardrobe favourites, social media and keeping it real.

Honeymoon travels

Destination locked, visas acquired, bookings madewhat could stand between a newly-wed couple and pure, unadulterated conjugal bliss in some distant, romantic land? A lot, finds JYOTI KUMARI. Styled by LONGHCHENTI HANSO LONGCHAR

La La Land

They complete each other’s sentences, make music together and get lost on the streets of Paris—this is the love story of Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth.

A SHORE THING

Annalea Barreto and Mavrick Cardoz eschewed the big fat Goan wedding for a DIY, intimate, seaside affair that was true to their individual selves.

7 pheras around the buffet

Celebrating the only real love affair each wedding season: me and a feast.

Saving AI do

From getting ChatGPT to plan your wedding itinerary to designing your moodboard on Midjourneytech is officially third-wheeling the big fat Indian wedding

Love bomb me, please

Between breadcrumbing, cushioning and situationships, the language of romance seems to be lost in translation. SAACHI GUPTA asks, where has the passion gone?

Desperately seeking Gulzar

Even at the age of 90, the poet Gulzar still strikes a chord across generations. Gen-Z fan SAACHI GUPTA meets the legend at his Mumbai home to discuss his inspiration, writing schedule and love for the moon

League of champions

It’s not every day the world’s oldest tennis tournament lets you peek behind the curtain to see how the magic is made.

Together once more

Ahead of the opening of a landmark Indian exhibition in London, GAUTAMI REDDY assembles artists Nalini Malani, Nilima Sheikh and Madhvi Parekh, now in their seventies and eighties but just as iconoclastic as they were three decades ago

Child's play

Firpal Jawanda’s work has appeared on Skims tank tops, in cookbooks and been used for Palestinian fundraisers. Now their most ambitious work is a grudge against colonialism.Photographed by NOORUNISA

Weaving circles

While India’s esteemed couture ateliers may be dominated by skilled masterjis, all-female craft collectives are tipping the scales in their favour by rewriting the rules of our fashion economy.

Slow life

In the craft clusters of Kachchh, weaving is intensely personal and often the only bridge that connects the past with the present.

SONIC BOOM

There was a time when international artists announcing their India tour was all it took to make us happy. Today, with our nation on the cusp of a brave new aural world and desi rhythms reverberating across the globe, the sentiment feels more mutual. AKHIL SOOD speaks to 12 artists across the country whose talents and tenacity have catapulted their tunes to the top of everyone's playlists.

GOING DEEP

For a decade, Nicolas Ghesquière's Louis Vuitton has thought big globally bigwith its mix of historic narrative and futuristic vision. Fashion still holds a powerful sway for Ghesquière-but so too, he tells NATHAN HELLER, does a life far, far away from work. Portraits

ALMOST 25 YEARS INTO HER CAREER AND WORKING ON HER NEXT ROLE AS A PIRATE, PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS STILL BELIEVES IN THE POWER OF ROUTINES—WHETHER IT'S HER CAREER.FAMILY OR SKINCARE.

When asked about Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s biggest career-defining moments, film addicts might pick her playing Jhilmil in Barfi (2012) or perhaps portraying the boxing legend Mary Kom in the 2014 biopic or even the regal Kashibai in Bajirao Mastani (2015).

Team Players

The athletes at this year's Olympic Games are as diverse in their physical talents as they are in their stories. Ahead of Paris 2024, competitors from around the world get on their marks

Stuck On You

Once applied primarily to adolescent totems, stickers-for wellness! - are growing up.

Fit And Run

Committed to a healthy lifestyle, Milind Soman, Usha Soman and Ankita Konwar discuss their new book, fitness and what brings them together.

Keeping score

Are you even a fitness enthusiast if you haven't invested in wearable tech? As smart rings and continuous glucose monitors invade the world's largest smartwatch market, NIDHI GUPTA attempts to navigate the idea of the quantified self

With nail and I

Inspired by recent runways, LENA DUNHAM tries on inch-long talons and mere tip-skimming lengths, and wonders what our nails say about all we're asked to do

Off the grid

Losing her phone before she even boarded her flight was just what KALYANI ADHAV needed to allow herself to fully experience a holistic detox and emerge feeling renewed

Slow down, glow up

Surrendering to the island codes of soft living, BANDANA TEWARI and UJJWALA RAUT discuss the abandonment of hustle culture, the act of owning your bliss and the secret to true beauty.