Love story of a flowerpecker

The more we read Indian translations the more we realise that wersquove been sitting on literary gems Itrsquos a tragedy though that these books have to wait for decades before being discovered by a reader of English Pandey Kapilrsquos Phoolsunghi 1977 a historical novel originally written in Bhojpuri has finally got a fresh lease of life with Gautam Choubeyrsquos 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 centuryGautam ChoubeyKapilrsquos 19302017 inspiration for the novel came from local legends which he had heard about ldquoIts plot must not be mistaken for history events described in the novel arenrsquot historically accurate and its characters are fictionalhellip but it is beyond doubt that Dhela Mahendar Misir Haliwant Sahay and Revel Sahib were real peoplerdquo he wrote in a note when he published the book 43 years agoThe 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 Sahayrsquos dearest friendPandey KapilBut 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 amazoninFrequently encountered trees in Ukhrul district of Manipur are gooseberryBest of Manipur onlineWhen 28yearold 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 Womenrsquos Christian College she had experience in PR and decided to use her communication skills to help others from Manipur get back on their feetPhilachon JellyldquoGradually people had begun to set up small local businesses in Manipur but they didnrsquot know how to leverage the Internet and social media I thought Irsquod step in and started Local Galleriardquo Jelly says The onestop online shop for Manipur products launched in September 2020 and has managed to get 37 businesses on board shipping their products across India ldquoWe are blessed with fertile farmland here So local farmers have come on board Soon we will be selling gooseberries and freshlypicked tea leaves We are also going to be selling bath and body products like soaps and handmade potli bagsrdquocontactlocalgalleriagmailcomlocalgalleria InstagramWhere do dead slippers goIn the lockdown used far more than any other period in this writerrsquos 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 Theyrsquoll probably be there forever Archit Patil 22 says the common rubber slippers that we find in the market today are made of ethylenevinyl acetate EVA and PVC materials that do not decompose Caucho a Mumbaibased startup with a February birthdate instead makes flipflops 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 antibacterial and antiskid they are cruelty free and completely biodegradablewwwcauchoinSalmon pink planter from Sunset collection The colour palette ranges from bright yellows to merlot wineLet me plant one on yaEntrepreneurs 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 ldquoLifesize planters available are cemented greywhite or terracotta which can be brittle and difficult to maintain Our threemonthlong RampD ensures that our planters are suited for longterm userdquo says MannArmaan MannMade 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 2599 onwards According to Sandhu therersquos a planter for every variety of foliage ldquoAglaonema Anjamani which is also an indoor air purifier look amazing in a 10 or 12inch planterAtman SandhuErica Palm and Monstera look beautiful in 14 or 16inch onesrdquo 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 Rajasthanrsquos capitalshibui InstagramCurated by Gitanjali Chandrasekharan Anju Maskeri and Prutha Bhosle