Holding on to heritage

Instagram page calcuttahouses captures Kolkatarsquos rich architectural history Manish Golder Sidhartha Hajra and Sayan Dutta who run the page are attempting to reignite the passion for the cityrsquos heritage and plan on capturing it before skyscrapers take over its skyline ldquoWersquove helped create a community of young people who are documenting it There are no monetary or commercial gains for us We just wanted to create awareness in people and I think wersquore doing just thatrdquo says Goldercalcuttahouses InstagramTo fauji wivesAnil SrivatsaHosted on audio platform Sochcast Trunk Tales is a fictional webseries about the lives of army wives ldquoIt gives a glimpse into the force behind the forcesmdashthe spouserdquo says Anil Srivatsa CEO Sochcast Media Srivatsa is a naval officerrsquos son and says the project was close to his heart reminding him of his motherrsquos role as she navigated his fatherrsquos professional life alongside her own career and household responsibilities ldquoI found that the civilian world was oblivious to this community that maintains the nationrsquos security and felt that their stories needed to be told Their lives are beyond just news about bloody skirmishes at the borderrdquo Each episode takes on an aspect of the protagonistrsquos life such as travel to a remote base finding and setting up a new home interactions with other army wives and the unsaid hierarchy of this world The makers have released three episodes on the platform and continue to release an episode every Wednesday Once all the episodes are out the show will get an offnetwork play on other major platforms tooOn SochcastA fresh startAnanya and Anushree MalooNuutjob is a Gujaratbased menrsquos intimate hygiene company run interestingly by two women Ananya and Anushree Maloo ldquoIt all started during the lockdown when there used to be a lot of powder spillage by our father We noticed and understood that there were no brands in India that provide for menrsquos intimate hygiene needsrdquo says AnanyaThe products they offer like allinone cleansers intimate liquid powders and onthego deo sprays are developed specifically for tropical countries like India ldquoIt discussion around menrsquos intimate hygiene is similar to that around condoms a while ago It has to get normalised We aim to infuse humour with education around this topic which will help reduce the taboo around the subjectrdquo adds Ananya Their products start at Rs 399nuutjobcomFreedom struggle storiesLubaina BandukwalaLubaina Bandukwalarsquos book The Chowpatty Cooking Club Rs 250 is a childrenrsquos book that tells the story of the underground Peoplersquos Radio which broadcast news that the British wanted concealed Itrsquos part of a new series called Songs of Freedom which explores the lives of children during the freedom struggle ldquoToday we learn about the freedom struggle from textbooks and political speeches but I wanted to make it personal a story that kids could relate to to truly understand the road that brought us to become the nation we are todayrdquo says BandukwalaHer mother grew up in Chowpatty in the 1940s in a big house similar to the one featured in her book and the area had a big role to play in the Quit India Movement The title points to the author lsquos own love for food ldquoFood is central to all Bohri households so when I wanted to create a bond between a group of people it seemed natural that they should bond over foodrdquo she notesAvailable at bookstores and online on Amazon and FlipkartStay warmManisha and Soumya IyerPunebased Manisha Iyer runs the onestop quilt shop Baani with her daughter Soumya making quilts from scratch and also working with the quilt top piecing community Besides quilts they offer quilted products like bags and pouches and special gifting solutions ldquoWe use a mix of Indian fabrics imported fabrics and threads and more often than not older material that is given to us by our clients Itrsquos very exciting and each day presents a new challengerdquo says Soumya Manisha who picked up quilting from her mother finds it to be the perfect amalgamation of art and technologyldquoBuyers are getting younger and smarter Young architects and interior designers are beginning to see the value in having products that are custom made for their clientsrsquo homes be it their favourite colours themes or patterns A lot of our young buyers have gifted our products to their friends or their kids and it has been a joy being able to help them outrdquo shares Soumya They also make personalised memory quilts ldquoWe have had people bringing in their late parentsrsquo clothes These quilts are highly customised and need special attentionrdquo Their products start at Rs 60baaniquiltscom