Love story of a flowerpecker

An Indian nautch dancer wearing heavy jewellery, 1936. From Peoples of the World in Pictures, edited by Harold Wheeler, published by Odhams Press Ltd (London, 1936). PIC/The Print Collector, Print Collector/Getty Images

The more we read Indian translations, the more we realise that we've been sitting on literary gems. It's a tragedy though that these books have to wait for decades, before being discovered by a reader of English. Pandey Kapil's Phoolsunghi (1977), a historical novel originally written in Bhojpuri, has finally got a fresh lease of life with Gautam Choubey's English translation (Penguin Random House, Rs 399). The book, said to be the first ever English translation of a Bhojpuri novel, traverses a period of 90 years in colonial India, offering a glimpse into the life of tawaifs, and their tragic fortunes by the turn of the 20th century.

Gautam Choubey

Kapil's (1930-2017) inspiration for the novel came from local legends, which he had heard about. "Its plot must not be mistaken for history; events described in the novel aren't historically accurate, and its characters are fictional… but it is beyond doubt that Dhela, Mahendar Misir, Haliwant Sahay and Revel Sahib were real people," he wrote in a note, when he published the book 43 years ago.

The novel is the story of Sahay, a widower and powerful zamindar from Chappra, who upon laying his eyes on Dhelabai, the most popular and proud tawaif of Muzaffarpur, uses his wealth and might to trap her forever in a cage, the Red Mansion. He calls her his phoolsunghi (or flowerpecker). Mahendar, a man ensnared by her beauty, gets a chance to be closer to her, when he travels from Muzaffarpur to Chappra with his guru, Sahay's dearest friend.

Pandey Kapil

But, love seems to elude Dhelabai each time the events that unfold in Chappra and neighbouring Bengal only add to her misery. Her music and beauty fade, as does the cage, but the beauty of the novel is that somehow love endures. Through the story of Dhelabai and parallel narratives of her contemporaries we see how the tawaifs struggle in the absence of patrons. Choubey does well in capturing the mysticism and lyricism that one can only imagine reverberating in the original work.
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Frequently encountered trees in Ukhrul district of Manipur are gooseberry

Best of Manipur online
When 28-year-old Philachon Jelly went back from Bengaluru to her home in Manipur during the nationwide lockdown, she realised that several like her had lost their businesses and work. Having studied journalism from the Bishop Cotton Women's Christian College, she had experience in PR, and decided to use her communication skills to help others from Manipur get back on their feet.

Philachon Jelly

"Gradually, people had begun to set up small, local businesses in Manipur, but they didn't know how to leverage the Internet and social media. I thought I'd step in, and started Local Galleria," Jelly says. The one-stop online shop for Manipur products launched in September 2020, and has managed to get 37 businesses on board, shipping their products across India. "We are blessed with fertile farmland here. So local farmers have come on board. Soon, we will be selling gooseberries and freshly-picked tea leaves. We are also going to be selling bath and body products like soaps and handmade potli bags."
contact.localgalleria@gmail.com
@localgalleria; Instagram

Where do dead slippers go?
In the lockdown, used far more than any other period in this writer's life, two pairs of house slippers gave way. They have been promptly replaced, even as they found their way to the dustbin from where they have possibly found their way to the landfill. They'll probably be there forever. Archit Patil, 22, says the common rubber slippers that we find in the market today are made of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and PVC, materials that do not decompose. Caucho, a Mumbai-based startup with a February birthdate, instead makes flip-flops (R799) made of natural rubber sourced from Sri Lanka and Thailand. It was in Thailand that they met farmers who could make sheets from natural rubber, allowing them to be crafted into flip flops. Available across sizes and colours, these slippers will be delivered to you within days of placing an order. But, their best USP? Besides being anti-bacterial and anti-skid, they are cruelty free and completely bio-degradable.
www.caucho.in

Salmon pink planter from Sunset collection. The colour palette ranges from bright yellows to merlot wine

Let me plant one on, ya!
Entrepreneurs Armaan Mann and Atman Sandhu had been toying with the idea of launching a brand of artisanal planters for two years, but the lockdown finally gave them the time to get to work. "Life-size planters available are cemented grey/white or terracotta, which can be brittle and difficult to maintain. Our three-month-long R&D ensures that our planters are suited for long-term use," says Mann.

Armaan Mann

Made by local artisans, they use a mix of sand, cement, fiberglass and resin, which the team claims makes them lightweight, unbreakable and weather proof (Rs 2,599 onwards). According to Sandhu, there's a planter for every variety of foliage. "Aglaonema Anjamani, which is also an indoor air purifier, look amazing in a 10 or 12-inch planter.

Atman Sandhu

Erica Palm and Monstera look beautiful in 14 or 16-inch ones." The designs are inspired by different cities. While Amalfi takes cues from the French coastline, Jaipur is bathed in the unique pink colour of the Rajasthan's capital.
@shibui, Instagram

Curated by Gitanjali Chandrasekharan, Anju Maskeri and Prutha Bhosle