It came out last month and ideally, should be on the shelves of school libraries or on their curriculum
Leeza Mangaldas
Curated by Jane Borges, Heena Khandelwal, Nidhi Lodaya and Yusra Husain
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This book is the kind you would be leaving around your home for teenagers to find, if we didn’t live in a time when they are Googling every question already. Nonetheless, The Sex Book: The Joyful Journey of Self-discovery by Leeza Mangaldas (HarperCollins, Rs 399) is a comprehensive and non-judgemental book on the subject: It covers anatomy (and addresses questions about seeming irregularities), disorders and diseases, types of sexuality, the act itself and its variations, and the morality and ethics of consent, monogamy, polyandry, and pleasure and its implements. The book is essentially a compilation of her posts and interactions on social media. The subjects are covered through definitions, as in a textbook, and in the form of questions (a bit racier than what would be allowed to a sex expert in a newspaper). There is explanation about sexual slang and terms, and demystification about position. It’s advice from your non-binary gay biology teacher with a PhD in Kamasutra, but with the dry vocabulary of science. While all of this information is undoubtedly out there, to have it methodically arranged and addressed makes all the difference. It came out last month and ideally, should be on the shelves of school libraries or on their curriculum.
Available at all leading bookstores
Feel as you learn
PIC COURTESY/@BUBBLESNCOCO, INSTAGRAM
Founded by art director Dhvani Advani, Wow and Now has a series of sensory quiet books for young children. These fabric-based interactive books help children up to the age of four develop vital physical, communication and intellectual skills through activities such as pinch, grasp, visually track or arrange things in a particular order, while boosting creative imagination. Want more? The books can be personalised. For instance, for Peek-A-Boo Animal Safari (Rs 2,999) your child could have a lion buddy named Zuba, an elephant named Bailey, an owl named Ollie or Jerry the giraffe. You can also add your child’s name to the book. There is also a colour-pop sensory book (Rs 2,099) to familiarise children with learning, recognising and sorting numbers and colours; another titled Jolly Baby (R1,999) helps them learn how to tie shoes, braid their hair or the concept of laundry.
Available on wowandnow.in
I do, the comic style
Illustrator and comic artist Rahul Patil is known for personalised wedding portraits. His photograph-based illustrations are enriched with elements that symbolise cultures, personalities, interests and personal journeys of his clients. Besides wedding portraits, he sketches out daily life, and custom-makes art for special occasions, and does superhero illustrations.
@sketchedup20, Instagram
Tune in for a change
Srishti Bakshi and Anna Susarenco
Have you ever come across a news story or an incident that has moved you to such an extent that you have taken charge to bring about change? Most of us have had this feeling, and this new podcast by Feminism in India and the Swedish Institute talks about the importance of such mobilisation. Two episodes of Advocacy, Passion & Beyond: Voices from SI Leader Lab, are out already. In one, host Japleen Pasricha explores how digital tools can be weaponised against social challenges. We especially liked the episode where Srishti Bakshi from India and Anna Susarenco from Moldova speak about their experiences of bringing change in the lives of women who were unsupported. It made us realise that social media and digital tools are not all that bad when used for the good fight.
Available on spotify.com
A special dating app
MatchAble, a dating, matchmaking and networking platform dedicated to people with special needs caught our attention. The idea, we learnt, was to break free from societal taboos that limit the chances and likelihood of people with special needs to bond with other people in a romantic scenario. The first thing we found interesting (besides the use of purple on its interface) is that it gives users plenty of choices and none of them centre around disability. The options are based on gender (man, woman and other) and sexuality (straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or anonymous). It asks what you are seeking: Relationships, something casual, marriage, don’t know yet. The downside is that the app barely has enough users, we hope that changes soon!
Available free-of-cost for Android users on playstore
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