[words and picture - Nirmala Mayur Patil]
I wake up in the morning and outside, a New Year is born. With a newborn sun beaming in a new sky. Unlike before as a young adult when this day felt grandiose, to me now as someone stepping into her forties, this first, fresh day of the year feels like a quiet celebration. A celebration that is born of my relationship with the many New Years that have come, grown old with me and departed. Only to return, dressed as new - A New Year. That, which is both age-old and forever new - like me and everything around me.
So I celebrate quietly, this new sky, its light, the air, this new trembling in the leaves of trees and the new song they are singing.
I celebrate my seventy one-year-old Ma on her birthday, when she receives her favourite chocolate from my nine-year-old daughter as a present. The moment, like a drop of nectar between a grandmother and her granddaughter. Its sweetness reversing the aged and the young. When I bring out my camera to capture them together, Ma’s wrinkled face is twinkling child-like with a merry smile and my daughter is busy fixing her nani’s pallu.
I celebrate an old friendship that takes new and newer breaths when my childhood friend comes to visit me after fourteen years, bringing with her - her new self and her young daughter. We sit around the table eating home-cooked meals, wander the old lanes of my new city, and stay up late into the nights talking; catching-up on years spent apart and recalling memories. All the while, alongside us, a new friendship buds between both our daughters, who spend every single minute of a week-long stay frolicking together. And on the night they left for their home, my daughter cried in my arms listing all the things that will remind her of her new friend. I held her closer; my tears streaming down her cheeks. Our friendship with its deep old roots had sprouted a tender, new stalk.
Another new friend on Instagram, sends me a recording of her reciting Rūmī. As I listen again and again to her new voice uttering his old, familiar words, his ancient poem becomes our new meeting place. An unsaid celebration!
I celebrate our old home that I am slowly beginning to fill into cardboard boxes. All the curtains sun-faded from these tall windows, books that have pressed between their pages the flowers and foliage we gathered from the garden downstairs, our dear kitten sisters whom we first welcomed eight-months-ago into this very house, and plants green from drinking water from these taps everyday. Soon, we’ll find a new front door and inner walls to call ours. And one by one, the sealed boxes will burst open, letting our old home spill into the new.
I celebrate the six seasons that present themselves to me anew, year after year. The sweet-blossoming of neem flowers in Chaitra, the Khus-infused matke ka paani in Summers, the intoxication of Kohl dark clouds in Bhādra, the beautiful Śarad nights lit by earthen diyas, the fog-scented mornings in winter and the south-winds of Phālguna. Each season returns to my heart in all sorts of new forms.
In my balcony, a lone Madhukamini flower bloomed on the first day of the year. I brought it in and placed it on the table in an old brass bowl. A new, fragrant offering to my New Year. The first quiet celebration.
]]>Dear struggling mom,
There is a word in the dictionary that describes the process of becoming a mother. It’s called matrescence. (Still largely unexplored in the medical community)
Well I didn’t know that until recently but am glad they gave some due to the mother who goes through a lot but often is ignored or tends to ignore herself.
A lot of us are having or have had our own share of challenges in having a baby. Everyone’s journey is their own. You can’t really compare it with anyone else’s. But I think it teaches you to be kind and empathetic to the fellow tribe of women who have a baby or who may not have one out of choice or otherwise.
My own personal journey of having a baby was not very easy. I struggled to conceive because of certain conditions. I have had PCOD since I was 23-24 years old. After a lot of medications and tests, I realised I would need surgery before I could have a baby. The yearning to have a baby for a couple of years and this whole journey to get there just made my dream more distant. And the whole mental toll it took was quite a challenge.
]]>There is a word in the dictionary that describes the process of becoming a mother. It’s called matrescence. (Still largely unexplored in the medical community)
Well I didn’t know that until recently but am glad they gave some due to the mother who goes through a lot but often is ignored or tends to ignore herself.
A lot of us are having or have had our own share of challenges in having a baby. Everyone’s journey is their own. You can’t really compare it with anyone else’s. But I think it teaches you to be kind and empathetic to the fellow tribe of women who have a baby or who may not have one out of choice or otherwise.
My own personal journey of having a baby was not very easy. I struggled to conceive because of certain conditions. I have had PCOD since I was 23-24 years old. After a lot of medications and tests, I realised I would need surgery before I could have a baby. The yearning to have a baby for a couple of years and this whole journey to get there just made my dream more distant. And the whole mental toll it took was quite a challenge. Nor was the pregnancy journey easy. I weighed my least ever in life during my full term. I was unable to eat anything until the end with severe nausea. I remember surviving on just chapatis and dry fruits. I couldn’t deal with any food smell. Towards the end, I was put on complete bed rest and the last two weeks before I delivered, it was particularly challenging. I remember doing weekly scans as my baby movements were not felt. And then, 3 weeks before full term, during a scan, I was asked to be immediately admitted and go through an emergency C section. I remember family just appearing for me within seconds at the hospital and being by my side.
For some the maternal instinct doesn’t kick in immediately and you don’t connect with your baby right after. Very rarely do we say a mother is born, most often we say a baby is born with the entire focus being on the new child. But as a woman, a lot changes for us, physically and mentally and to a great extent how we lived earlier. I am glad that for me, the maternal instinct did kick in but I think the extremism of it did cause a lot of havoc in my mind.
I remember not being able to feed my child for the first month. And the extreme maternal instinct that had set in, made me very guilty. So guilty that I had slipped into depression soon after my delivery. Each day for the first month, I felt helpless, consulted lactation experts, had to be counselled, would keep crying and just penalised myself for being a bad mom. But when I think of it now, I think I had built this whole pressure of wanting to breastfeed. It also followed by not wanting to give milk via a bottle to the little one. So all I did along with weeping was pumping milk and feeding the baby every two hours with a diya and one month later, yay! I managed. And then I exclusively breast fed her for 1.5 years. When I look back, I feel I penalised myself too much and honestly there was no need to. She would have grown up fine, no matter what I had chosen to do then.
It takes a lot to bring a human to a new world. But often there is a lot of judgement around everything a new mom or a to-be mom does. A lot of unsolicited advice is available for free, always! Which can be overwhelming because everyone has an opinion based on their experience which is always different for different people.
I wish I didn't feel so lost, lonely and guilty in my new journey as a mother.
But the one thing that it taught me is kindness and the fact that I have no right to judge a mother for the choices she makes as we’ll never know what’s her story.
So here’s what I want to say for whoever is struggling today just being a mom… create your own tribe that hears you, cheers for you and shows up for you without judgment.
For the ones who are reading this and have women around you who are on this journey of matrescence, support them and be kind every chance possible. Even to strangers with little babies on a flight or in a restaurant. And if you don’t know how to support, just don’t judge, and trust when she says she might be struggling even with all the help in the world.
Let’s give matrescence a real place in our day to day conversations by normalising the process of becoming a mother as a process filled with way too many life changes that deserve kindness, acknowledgement and truly the understanding of the whole society.
From a mom who struggled.
]]>
Rain clouds have emptied themselves, returning the sky to a washed, bright blue hue. Dragonflies fill the air and the unmissable saffron of genda (marigold) flowers sitting in wicker baskets on roadside stalls beckon the most-awaited festival of autumn - Diwali.
As the moon wanes into amavasya in the night sky preparing for the luminous festival, the memory of my childhood Diwalis come to mind. As a little girl, after I’d bathed and dressed for the festivity, the first scene in the morning that welcomed me every year when I entered the kitchen was my father in his crisp, white kurta pyjama squatting in front of an old kerosene stove.
]]>[Photos and words - Nirmala Patil]
Rain clouds have emptied themselves, returning the sky to a washed, bright blue hue. Dragonflies fill the air and the unmissable saffron of genda (marigold) flowers sitting in wicker baskets on roadside stalls beckon the most-awaited festival of autumn - Diwali.
As the moon wanes into amavasya in the night sky preparing for the luminous festival, the memory of my childhood Diwalis come to mind. As a little girl, after I’d bathed and dressed for the festivity, the first scene in the morning that welcomed me every year when I entered the kitchen was my father in his crisp, white kurta pyjama squatting in front of an old kerosene stove. A large brass patīlā (cooking pot) on top of it filled with what felt like enormous litres of milk to my tiny eyes, boiling and simmering. He would sit there patiently for well over an hour gently stirring the milk and scraping malai (cream) off the sides of the patīlā. The sweet smell of the condensing milk subtly flavoured with elaichi (cardamom) sauntered through our small house and permeated my little heart in the most special way. To me, to this day, that is the scent of Diwali. That sweet smell of my papa’s slow-cooked kheer.
Unlike other families around us who mostly celebrated the festivities with their tribe of relatives or extended families, for us as a family of four with Ma, Papa, Didi and I, Diwali always meant celebrating with the neighbours. Perhaps because both my parents were orphans since their childhood, their hearts placed remarkable value on the friendships they’d formed over the years with our many neighbours. Apart from their little daily interactions where Ma thoughtfully brought fresh supply of vegetables from the market for the neighbours too while she shopped for us, or Papa sprinkled bucketsful of water to cool off their door-front during hot summer afternoons while he did ours. It was a Diwali tradition to cook my father’s signature kheer, ladle it into banana leaf donnes (cups) and offer it as a token of love to our neighbours, assembled with the auspicious paan and fruits. It was not much. But watching my parents honour this tradition every Diwali during my growing up years taught me how even a simple and earnest gesture accomplished within their modest means became a thing of meaning and joy - both to the giver and the receiver. Because I remember how the next morning, the neighbours would invariably be all praises for the kheer, especially our muslim friends. Some of them secretly admitting to my father how they could never get the exact taste however much they tried and him responding with his shy smile.
At home, my sister and I loved to scoop the delicious kheer into warm puris and relish its sweet, deep taste. Now, papa is not here with us to slow-cook his kheer anymore. And I live in a different state, far away from all my old neighbours, who still tell me over our rare phone calls how they miss that kheer on Diwalis. It is precisely that smell that sealed our house on Diwali mornings, that taste that filled up our hearts and that feeling of community that I am thirsty for every Diwali. So on Diwali mornings, I continue to stand in my kitchen gently stirring the milk and slowly making that very kheer. Its sweetness connecting the past and the present.
And as a mother myself now, I wish to pass on to my little girl the gift of my father’s heirloom recipe. A recipe that I hope will seep into her the essence of all things made slowly and lovingly.
[Photos and words - Nirmala Patil]
Dark clouds have rolled in. The wind howls outside rattling our eleventh floor windows. Rain has come, making the world wet with its falling. It’s my favourite time of the year, but also a time when all our outings feel rationed. We are indoors so much more. And our hearts pursue a slower, succulent everyday.
In the monsoon, we begin our days by lighting diyas around the house. That comforting, flickering glow is like a familiar hand - holding and walking us into the season. Charcoal bits sprinkled with Sambrani dust sit inside a dhuni. When burnt, the scented fumes saunter through the rooms. It is beautiful how when it rains, everything goes quieter. And the quietness coaxes us to pause and gaze at rain scribbling on windowpanes. Then, there are books that we read when it rains. Books and rain that go well with each other. Like best friends. My daughter is an early reader, so we’re surrounded by more books than ever. We spend hours between their pages, the stillness only broken by pages turning and the rain song. We read in the afternoons - on bed accompanied by our snoozing kittens. There are early evening sessions where we read while snacking on boiled sweet potatoes seasoned with salt and ghee. And on days when rain lets up, the sky clears, and the morning is bright with a mellow sun that feels almost warm on our skin, we lay in our balcony with books in our hands and birds swooping high above us. But reading at bedtime is our most beloved. Snuggled in bed together and wrapped in layers, with lights dimmed while the rain continues to fall outside. It is the sort of magic that exists in the mundane.
Here are some children’s books we are living inside these days; that celebrate the spirit of that very magic. Hope you feel invited to cuddle up with your children (or alone) and escape into the alluring pages of your own rain collection.
WHEN I WAS YOUNG IN THE MOUNTAINS by Cynthia Rylant and Diane Goode
Each page in this 1983 Caldecott Honor book begins with ‘when I was young in the mountains’ like a sweet incantation drawing you into a young girl’s childhood spent with her grandparents and little brother in the mountains. Here, words flow like feelings and illustrations, like a sonnet.
THE BARBER’S DILEMMA AND OTHER STORIES FROM MANMARU STREET by Koki Oguma
An adorable little book, full of bite-sized vignettes of everyday life in Manmaru Street, Tokyo. Seen from the perspective of artist Koki Oguma, who sketches various scenes from the life he observes around him, each story and the accompanying doodle is unique and abstract. Every time we read it, we end up buoyant and inspired.
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORD by Nicola Edwards and Luisa Uribe
A handpicked collection of untranslatable words from around the world - assembled with beautiful artwork, fascinating cultural anecdotes and interesting facts. It is a delight to leaf through its pages, meet a new word and adopt it into our daily conversation. Now, every time my daughter floods me with questions, I fondly chide her as ‘Pochemuchka’ - Russian, for a child who asks ‘why?’ all the time; a person who asks too many questions’. Another gem of a word we love is ‘Pelinti’ from the Buli language that means ’to move food that is too hot around the mouth as you wait for it to cool down’.
KATIE MORAG AND THE BIRTHDAYS by Mairi Hedderwick
One of my daughter’s favourite characters - Katie Morag, is a cheerful little girl who lives on the Scottish Island of Struay with her family, and favours her wellingtons over pointy shoes. Charming, humorous and realistic, the more you read off Katie Morag, the more you enjoy all her stories. And this one is a celebration book that interweaves a story through the months of the year as Katie Morag celebrates all the birthdays in her family in diverse ways befitting their personality. The family tree in the beginning and a blank calendar at the end waiting to be customised are additional gifts for young readers.
TALES OF TROTTER STREET by Shirley Hughes
We fell down a Shirley Hughes rabbit hole after reading another of her enduring classics - Dogger. Hughes’ is a world, once you enter, you’d by no means want to exit. With her distinctive style and timeless appeal, all four stories in this book are set in a quaint, multicultural neighbourhood where children and their loving families deal with small, real concerns. All while racing brand new bikes, getting ready for Christmas and marvelling at the arrival of a big concrete lorry. We love to pore over the pages absorbing the story through the artwork alone - which, as always, is warm, detailed, full of movement, lifelike and exquisite.
BERTOLT by Jacques Goldstyn
“Sometimes people don’t like what’s different.
To tell you the truth,
I have a feeling I’m not like other people.”
Bertolt is a sweet tale about a boy who loves solitude and being in nature. And that’s how he befriends a giant oak tree which he names - Bertolt. The wispy line art with its subdued palette throughout strengthens the tenderness of the story. As does the heartwarming end. It is a book that sings to the hearts of young introverts, loners, and/or nature lovers. And even to those who are not; because it’s beautiful to be whoever you are regardless of what others think.
SLOW DOWN by Rachel Williams and Freya Hartas
A lovely volume of fifty nature stories, that is both fascinating and educational. Filled with stunning two-page spreads showcasing slow processes and magical transformations in nature, Slow Down is an invitation for young minds to explore how - a cloud forms, an oyster makes a pearl, dew collects on a leaf, a spider weaves its web and so much more. Over a hundred pages long and rich with intricate, vibrant illustrations and texts that explain complex natural occurrences in a simple and succinct way, this is a book to slow down with and savor a little bit at a time.
LIZZY BENNET’S DIARY by Marcia Williams
A cute introduction to the Jane Austen universe, Lizzy Bennet’s Diary is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice in the form of a diary written by Elizabeth Bennet. Laced with humour and drama, and told in a fun accessible way primarily for younger readers, the book actually looks like a diary with lots of illustrations and unfolding letters that can be opened-up and enjoyed. The endpapers showing maps of Longbourn and Pemberley are an adorable bonus. We are halfway through this treat of a book that tickles my daughter’s fanciful heart.
]]>The clarity of working with and supporting communities of artisans has always been part of Love the World Today’s vision. To really celebrate textile art and promote it through our designs is something that Dipti and I hold very close to our hearts.
As we are inching closer to launching our new cotton hand block-printed festive edit ‘This Little Light of Mine’ and seeing this beautiful collection come to life, here’s taking you on a behind the scenes journey from our trip to our new artisans and showing you what goes behind bringing something to life.
]]>As we are inching closer to launching our new cotton hand block-printed festive edit ‘This Little Light of Mine’ and seeing this beautiful collection come to life, here’s taking you on a behind the scenes journey from our trip to our new artisans and showing you what goes behind bringing something to life.
Some of the biggest life lessons we’ve learnt have been thanks to these work trips. Trips that make us love the world today and everyday, a little more!
We truly hope in the age of short format content, reels, algorithms, numbers, and a few seconds to catch attention, you’ll take some time to join us on this journey where we’ll be sharing a slice of our lives at Love the World Today with you. For it truly is what makes this brand what it is - the artisans, the craft, the love, the time, the thought, the patience, the joy!
I grew up seeing my best friend’s dad run a block printing company. It’s not an alien craft to me and yet, my mind was blown away at the word go seeing a block being hand carved. Every process of block printing - from drawing to tracing the design, carving the block, stretching the fabric, making the colour, printing on the fabric, washing the fabric, drying the fabric, every part involves human hands. And what can be more magical than that?
Imagine 1000s of meters of fabric being printed by human hands in the most matter of fact way because this is all these hands have known or done. It’s seeing art come to life in the most mundane human way.
That’s Ram Ratan Ji leading all the colour making. That’s his expertise and you can challenge him with any shade of Pantone and he will happily take it on and give you the shade in 5 minutes flat!
This was one of the most therapeutic processes for me. Just seeing colours swirl, change and become. A little addition of another and the whole colour changes. Much like us, no? Aren’t we all just swirling and changing and becoming all through life?
Our process has never been to study what’s trending. It’s always been to create clothes that are inspired by parts of us and that are timeless! Digging out and pouring all of the little favourite things that have been in our lives into our collections so they carry a little bit of us and our personal stories.
The artisan’s hands beat the block repeatedly like a hammer to transfer the design onto the fabric. Now imagine repeating this a few hundred times for just 5.5-6 meters of fabric (that’s the usual fabric that can be stretched at one go)
While we sampled various combinations, and watched these artisan hands create with such surety and precision of speed, pressure, placement and repetition…
I couldn’t get my eyes off their hands. And that made me realise how beating the wood block like a hammer with their bare hands might be impacting their hands and wrists. One of the most senior artisans who has been doing this for nearly 30 years, you could visibly notice his dominant hand a little bigger than the other hand.
I think moments of working in such closeness and having the time to purely observe makes you look at everything in such a macro lens and it’s such a humbling experience. I don’t think I’ll ever wear a hand block-printed outfit without taking a moment to really really notice what I am wearing and say thank you to the hands that make such beauty.
We even had a go at it ourselves. And these artisans patiently and encouragingly let us break their flow and then teach us a bit about their craft.
Aligning the joint / point where the two blocks meet needs a certain focus and experience. I have no idea how they do it with such confidence, precision and speed.
Our design philosophy at Love the World Today revolves around - PLAY
The one thing we forget as we grow up! But something we consciously try and indulge in in our ways of working at Love the World Today
Not everything needs to become. Likewise not all prints or colours or designs need to become. Sometimes we just play, experiment and mix things up to arrive at something that at a very instinct level seems right. And then we go on to pursue that idea.
Probably a good time to share one of my favourite quotes by Leo Buscaglia,
‘It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them’
And as we grow, replace learning with ‘work’.
We hope you’re able to receive all the joy that goes into hand making textiles when you wear them. I hope the next time you hold a hand block-printed outfit in your hand, you really take the time to touch, feel and notice how many times an artisan must have had to beat the block on it to create this magic. And then hold the outfit close, love it, cherish it and wear it for as long as you can!
Handmade truly is luxury.
With love,
Dipti and Dipna
[sisters and co-founders at Love the World Today ]
Memories as soft as muslin, woven on the loom of slow days - wishing on stars, swinging under the trees, gazing out of windows, leaving flower gifts in unthinkable places, hiding between curtains, making art on pavements, celebrating sweet messes, tiptoeing, scribbling, having long conversations with secret friends, and believing in fairies.’
]]>Spring has slowly ripened into summer. The earth is moving-in closer to the sun and the air is unbearably humid. Even as we go about our days with sticky skin and fretting minds, the Gulmohar tree bent with flowery clusters, resounds with the Koel’s song. I look out from my window, lured. A sweet respite amidst the sharp heat. And a beautiful reminder to love this world for the songs it sings for us.
One evening, a new friend comes home. And as with all new things, there’s an unfamiliarity. As we welcome him in, his eyes welcomes us into his heart. We begin talking; he shares himself sincerely and asks questions that makes us want to speak. The unfamiliar slowly melts into comfort and our simple exchange of thoughts turns into a connection. Later, he brings out a tiny packet of sunflower seeds as a gift for our daughter. We plan to buy a large flower pot and sow those seeds. And hope - our evening of connection will sprout into green saplings.
Love is not always songs and sunflowers. It is also the fog that blinds us and tears that fertile humankind. Every day I read and see stories of people who breathe and live and dream just as I do, being killed. My heart opens up to this big world that is bruised and crying. Right now, a war is raging in Europe. An unimaginable threat of a new world war hangs over us. And I am repeatedly reminded that everything that exists is now. Everything I should do is today. Even if I cannot do much, I can do. So I pray. And choose to love the world today. Because Ukraine is waiting. Waiting for love that can heal wounds.
On the player, a favourite ghazal written more than one and half centuries ago by Mirza Ghalib comes on.
dil hi to hai na sang-o-KHisht dard se bhar na aae kyun
roenge hum hazar bar koi hamein satae kyun
It's just a heart, no stony shard; why shouldn't it fill with pain
I will cry a thousand times, why should someone complain?
(English translation from rekha.org)
As I listen to it for a hundredth time, I’m moved yet again. It is as if those personal words born from a profound place of anguish in his heart has travelled through time like a letter sent from the future into the past. All our combined tears of now glinting in his words from before. When the ghazal ends, I am once again in love with the great poet of yesterday, today.
The moon grows in the sky. Even when you are not looking. Each night, one silver petal after another, blooming into a celestial flower. Look at the moon tonight. Soak up and swallow its dribbling light. Until the minutes are forgotten and the magic seeps into your skin, into your softly beating veins, into your yearning heart. Don’t just take pictures of the moon to post on social media pages. Love the moon tonight.
In old forgotten gardens, broken steps wait for someone to sit by them. And someday, when a little girl with her untainted eight-year-old heart chooses to perch over it, the fallen pieces offer themselves to hands that always find joy in making art. Soon, small wonky stars appear and tattoo the neglected steps with cheer. Because art is love made visible.
As I gather all the songs, friendships, wounds, poetry, brokenness, and magic this world offers, the stark sun of this May afternoon slowly climbs up my wall through the gap in the curtains, beaming beautifully. Another reason to love the world today. And everyday.
[Nirmala Patil]
]]>I have never cared for the big labels. Clothes for me have always been an expression of who I am - on some days what I feel like but on all days what my choices and value systems are. I knew my wedding outfit had to be one of a kind, timeless and carry an energy. And more than anything, something that I can reuse again and again and again for years to come. Picking things off the rack was not on the cards and I didn’t even bother visiting the designer labels.
Luckily for me, my childhood best friend agreed to design my outfit (no one better to dress you than someone who has known you since you were 7 years old).
I put a lot of references and details together for her which led us to conclude the colour palettes (though I think I had that clarity all along) - some ivory gold, some deep red and some grey/black!
I wanted to pick textiles that were rooted in Indian art and were rich enough to not need any embroidery or embellishment on them. The star was the textile! Also because I wanted to reuse ALL my wedding outfits in various combinations.
(This has also been the inspiration for all the ethnic wear we design at Love the World Today. These are handwoven and artisanal textiles. Our star is the textile and silhouettes keeping in mind comfort at the core. The outfits are timeless and often make for heirloom pieces. One can even choose to resell them on our website via the Relove program)
Before wedding, my parents and I had the opportunity to travel a lot across the country and my trousseau basically carried handwoven sarees from different regions - Ikkat from Orissa, Paithani from Maharashtra, Bandhani from Gujarat, Kanjeevaram from Tamil Nadu, Kasavu from Kerala, Lucknowi from Lucknow, Benarasis from Benaras, Jamdani from Kolkatta, so on and so forth.
This was built over a period of time and something I cherish with all my heart and use ever so often. In my 5 years of being married, I haven’t shopped once for an Indian outfit. Each saree brings back a memory of travel or gift from my parents and each saree feels like a piece of art.
During these travels, I picked up 2 sarees that would then go on to become my wedding lehengas.
A gorgeous handwoven gold tussar silk benarasi saree from Ekaya Ahmedabad and an unusual grey handwoven silk saree with gold polkas and temple border from a now 80 year old store called Rukmini Hall in Bangalore.
Sigh! Only a textile lover will understand the beauty in the simplicity and history of these sarees.
Took me some heart to cut these sarees into lehengas but I am so glad I did because Eka made the most joyous lehengas for a dancer like me. Voluminous, incredibly versatile AND with pockets!
For the mehendi ceremony (though I didn't wear mehendi), I wore a mix and match outfit, the only one that I picked off the rack, from Vaishali Sagar. This was an absolute last minute purchase thanks to an event for Love the World Today where I discovered Vaishali's label. Her work is so inspirational in bringing the weavers of Maheshwar to the fore. And the silhouettes and details are absolutely delightful. The outfit is in handwoven cotton silk - a one shoulder draped tunic paired with a crinkled skirt. Both in shades of deep maroon with gold zari weaves, a contrast green selvedge and handmade tassels.
For the Ganesh puja, I wore an outfit gifted by a dear friend though much senior and also someone who designed clothes for our entire family for years - Puja. She made me the most comfortable mustard silk kurta and churidaar that I paired with a bright and loud pink benarasi dupatta from my engagement. (Won’t own it if I can’t reuse it!)
The wedding outfit carried my favourite word ‘grace’ (a lot of our infant wear at Love the World Today is named after the word 'grace' too :) )and our wedding date embroidered on it. The only piece of embroidery on that outfit besides the waist belt.
The tassels on my lehenga carried cherry blossom flowers (a personal story here) and the first gift Dev ever gave me - 3 shells from his dive trip in Andaman.
The dupatta I wore on my head was a very old sheer white dupatta that I owned easily from 8-10 years before I got married. During the wedding preps, we found an old photograph from a party where Dev and I were in the same frame without knowing each other. I was wearing this white dupatta in the photograph and it only felt symbolic to make this dupatta part of my wedding outfit.
We had a beautiful sundowner as the last ceremony, one that was closest to my heart because we danced and danced and danced from sunset to moonrise. The only way I understand expressing love and joy. This one had to be a hassle free outfit. We used the grey handwoven silk saree for this ceremony. A gorgeous lehenga with layers of soft net to give it the flounce. Detailed with colour pops - a mustard lining, a hot pink panel, olive green pockets, potli buttons and a temple border.
The blouse was fun and allowed me to have my hands and mind free. The only detail it carried was the strappy back and some french knots in the front. I also carried a black pashmina stole in case it got chilly by the sea. We embroidered the shawl with one of Dev’s favourite quotes and also a reminder to me ‘You have everything you need to be happy’ and then put a bright happy tassel with leftover coloured fabrics.
This lehenga was cut at floor length because I wanted to wear flat shoes. Picked by my dad of course! I loved how he was so invested in my outfits, jewellery, make up, footwear. And he truly made me believe that I am beautiful and need no special preps besides being myself gracefully and assertively! My shoes for this function was a secret between dad and me - a pair of light up sneakers (embracing the Sindhi within!)
When I look back now, I feel so glad I stuck with my instinct on my looks and kept them simple and minimal. I have used every single outfit from the wedding at least 5 times each in 5 years. And that to me is the best investment. The textiles carry so much history and the energy of the hands that have woven them. The 2 sarees were converted into lehengas by my childhood best friend and stitched by a local tailor - Aslam Master. No one else has these outfits. And they are detailed with my life and my stories. I mean how much more special can it get? Each time I wear these outfits, it’s like I am embraced by love.
I’ve always been shy of talking about my personal life which is also why I’ve probably not shared ALL details here but I also wonder who reads so much in today’s day and age. If you made it till here, I hope this article makes you think about your clothes in some way. And if you are a bride to be, then all the more.
The wedding landscape is changing big time. Everyone is making it their own in their own little ways. And clothes form a big part of that identity, Whether you choose a pant suit, a cotton saree or a full blown designer lehenga, each choice is a story that you carry. Choose responsibly. Because our love stories have the power to impact the world and our wedding outfits are part of that impact in the way we hold space, in the way we support the world at large, in the way we break generational patterns, in the way we choose to look back at our wedding day.
Mehendi Outfit - Vaishali Sagar
Wedding and Sundowner Outfit - Eka Lakhani (The saree for the wedding outfit is from Ekaya Benaras and the saree for the sundowner outfit is from Rukmini Hall, Bangalore)
Photos - Sarah Pista and Joanne D'silva
Hair and make up - Shamita Gogia
]]>Over time the meaning of the word has changed for me from a macro to micro level. The realisation that change truly starts with ourselves. It has made me question about the ways in which we function at Love the World Today. It makes me revisit our core every now and then and stick to it like nothing else matters. That also simplifies decision making.
Of course two of the most critical aspects are
But beyond these measures, our focus has shifted greatly to the things I’m about to mention. These have always been part of our processes but now hold a much higher value because of the contribution they make towards building a sustainable brand.
1. Design elements - Paying attention to how a garment’s usage can be made longer, especially in the case of children since they outgrow clothes so quickly.
Use of elastic waist bands (and ensuring they are of good quality so they last), roomy neck openings, adjustable tie up options, loose yet stylish silhouettes, layering possibilities so outfits are not bound by seasonality and versatility to ensure clothes can be used from occasion wear to casual wear with just a little tweak in styling.
2. QUALITY! - Cannot emphasise enough on this. The chances of clothes reaching landfills or discarded easily is lower if they are made of great quality and if they are designed to love and last. Great design and quality also encourages people to hand down the clothes to another loved one.
Quality comes from investing in durable textiles, skilful un compromised tailoring (for example - the use of french seam finishes, which is more time consuming and expensive but ensures the garment will have fewer chances of tears and rips apart from the fact that it’s these little details that make a difference in finish. Another example is something as basic as providing extra buttons to encourage people to repair and fix instead of discard.
We’ve had customers tell us that LTWT designs have lasted them almost 2+ years (in spite of a growing child) and even after that they’ve been able to pass them on to others.
3. Closing the loop by offering to take responsibility - Providing a solution to the busy ones, the non-creative ones.
Sometimes people do care but may not be able to do much for whatever reasons. This is where as a brand, we step in and offer support beyond the relationship of just a purchase.
For LTWT customers, once your child outgrows a Love the World Today garment, you can send the clothes back to us. We will donate the ones in good condition and upcycle the ones that aren’t. This is our attempt at closing the loop and finding solutions for the complex issues of the fashion industry.
We set this policy out even before we were available for purchase in October 2015. Of course it helps since we started out small and it seemed implementable and manageable at our scale.
To be honest, in over 4 years, we’ve only had three enquiries about clothes being returned and never received any clothes. We are hopeful that this is because in India we still have a system of hand me downs. But we keep reiterating and reminding in our communications to ensure that customers know that they can reach out to us even 2-3 years after purchase.
With this we hope we are able to give you an insight into our approach to sustainability besides our choice to work with organic cotton, handwoven cotton, natural dye, low impact dye textiles, recycled fabric packaging, upcycling waste.
And with this we are also looking at replacing the term ‘sustainable’ clothing brand with ‘mindful’ clothing brand because every choice we make at LTWT is one that must support our vision of creating a mindful, kind, inclusive world.
]]>Past year has been about dresses and skirts. With this intention, we bought the tie & dye, panelled pinafore maxi dress from Love The World Today for Noor’s 5th birthday. This soon became her favourite dress. I guess it made her feel fancy yet comfortable. This dress has been extensively used to dance and prance around in throughout the day.
Earlier this year, a friend loaned us The Clever Tailor by Srividhya Venkat to read over the summers. It is the story of a thrifty tailor who uses his creativity and imagination to make something for each member of his family. He repurposes the same piece of fabric to make something for his entire family thereby creating a beautiful kahaani (story) that would never wear out.
For me, this was a beautiful story of upcycling, of creatively reusing an item, to keep it in use indefinitely.
A few days back, I noticed that the bib part of the pinafore dress was getting tighter. My daughter pulled the straps tightly and one of the buttons came off. My immediate thought was to retire this dress, maybe put it in the donation pile. In today's day and age, it seems easier to just go out and pick up new things.
My mother, masi and granny would often talk about how they wore each other’s clothes, borrowed baby clothes for the next child in the family. However, somewhere during our parent’s aspirational generation, the practice of repurposing (upcycling), exchanging and passing on items to others (swap or preloved) faded. Our generation grew up always wanting more, shopping for therapy and throwing away regardless of the environmental costs and concerns.
I was no different. I decided to donate the dress. I washed it and put it out to dry and started browsing for new dresses. However, little miss sunshine wasn't ready to part ways with her dress. She picked it up from the clothesline and tied the loose straps into a knot at the back, and happily got busy playing in her halter dress. I noticed that she wore her shirt on top of the dress to keep warm. The earthy mama angel took over my thought process and I started browsing Pinterest on ideas to upcycle the pinafore maxi dress into a skirt.
Originally, I thought that I could DIY myself around this upcycling project. But, I don't know how to mend, never bothered to learn it. In fact, mending as a skill isn't taught anymore in homes and schools. Repurposing, Repairing and Refashioning are becoming a lost art.
The greater challenge that I faced was that this dress came with invisible pockets, and like me, my daughter likes her dresses with pockets. Usable pockets to sneak in her pretend house keys, her handkerchief or few coins, crayons and chalks. I wasn't about to lose these pretty pockets while trying to refashion the dress myself. So, crippled by my own lack of sewing and mending skills, I went to my local tailor. I explained to him my intentions with urgent passion. He smiled and said, "Madamji, yeh toh hamare roz ka kaam hai. Aap tension mat lo!" (Madam, we do this repair work on a daily basis. You don’t stress, we will take care of it)… And voila, in 10 minutes a totally rad skirt was refashioned with pockets and all. I call it the Super Speedy Skirt!
My daughter was over the moon with this dress to skirt refashion. She twirled around in her skirt for a long time, pairing it with different colors. This basic transformation came with a personal parental realization that being happy with what we have is an important lesson that we as parents need to imbibe and transfer onto our children.
Half year later, the dress that became a skirt and the skirt that had been worn way too many times, got a rip. My daughter still wanted to keep wearing her skirt. You know how well-worn clothes are softer and comfortable. They feel nice and warm against the skin. The same was the case with this skirt. We retired the skirt from outdoor box and made a space for it in the home wear box. However, months later she had completely worn this skirt out. So, taking clues from the book ‘The Clever Tailor’, I decided to get the skirt repurposed into a doll dress and some handkerchiefs.
The best part about upcycling is that you are always giving a new use or value adding to an old item. It is essentially giving something old a new meaning! That’s exciting for sure.
Also, there is an indescribable feeling of reverence towards the workmanship of the tailor who helps one in making something broken, whole again. This time too, our local tailor stitched the doll dress with same patience, as he would do for any human garment. This time, Noor sat at his shop observing while he sewed Velcro patches onto her doll dress.
I have seen the LTWT dress go through these transformations, thereby extending the lifecycle of the clothing. I would like to think that we too were weaving a beautiful kahaani (story) with each upcycling idea with this dress. I have seen firsthand the joy that it brought to my daughter. I am documenting this so that when she grows up she can read this and relive the story and also in the hopes that it inspires readers to start and share their upcycling ideas and initiatives with their favorite LTWT clothes.
[believes that people around the world have an innate desire to dream, share and express. She is an earthy mama storyteller and lifestyle blogger at Jugniology and a Birth Photographer & Filmmaker at Storiously. She is a prenatal and babywearing dance teacher at GroovaRoo with Jugni , it is her passion to spread the joyful energy of rhythm and movement to babies and their families in India.]
]]>
'It is the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure.'
Now I wonder who decides what the group or structure is?
Who decides what can be in or out?
Who decides there is a border separating the in and out?
Who decides what is normal and what is not?
Who decides what is special and what is not?
Ideally, we are all made up of the same compostion of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. We are all equals in death no matter how old, preferred sexuality, how big or small, how rich or poor. The same thing happens to all of us, and it can happen when we least expect it. And then we will be wormfood. And that goes on to say something about our journeys.
We are all the same yet so unique. What makes us same is our start and end point and what makes us unique is the journey we take from start to end. We will all have different needs at different points in time and unique ways of being and meeting our needs. So then how can we define what’s special here and what isn’t.
Today is Autism Awareness Day and I’m sure that you’re going to come across a lot of material about what is autism, how do you identity symptoms, how do you help, etc. And even if you don’t come across any of that, hopefully you should be curious enough to go find out for yourself. What I want to share with you today, is a question -
]]>
For someone who detested routines for years and years, I’m finally finding the value in routines. Except I like calling them rituals. Suddenly shifts the focus from monotony to something of value.
I find that rituals help in instilling a sense of discipline, they help in looking at the little details in life, they help mark progress and they help in centering. These for me have been the most valuable effects of creating rituals.
Though I work extensively with children and see great value in repetition (especially with preschoolers), I’ve always wondered how do you inculcate a sense of discipline in them that’s self led. And imagine if we could actually get them to develop habits like pursuing a hobby for the joy of it, engaging in physical activity every single day, meditating, etc, we could truly be contributing towards a better world. The more I think about this, I feel the only way to get them to do it, is by not telling them to do it but instead getting ourselves to form daily habits. Because then you’re allowing your experience to touch them in ways that could help shape their day to day practice. Because the way we do anything is the way we do everything.
Here are 5 rituals that I’ve started inculcating in my life -
I’m also wondering if I should make a list of things not to flush down the toilet since I’m pretty sure that we all have or still end up flushing down a lot of things that don’t actually belong there.
So here’s my list of 5 daily habits.
I find it interesting that sometimes we may not know why we do certain things or how are they helping us, except that they contribute to some sense of peace. And that part about humans fascinates me. The habits that make people who they are. And I cannot wait to read about some of your daily habits!
Do share in comments what habits are you choosing to turn into daily rituals?
WAtaday to be alive?!
I mean that in a happppyyy sad way.
There’s just so much going on in the world and it’s hard to decide which battle to pick. Everyone’s picking battles and here I am, just chilling on my bum because that’s my way of battling. Yep! Chilling on my bum!
But I can afford to do that because my makers put a lot of thought behind me and they say I’m ever changing since I’m an upcycled doll!
I know! I know! It does look like they didn’t put any thought behind me because I don’t have any features or hair or you can’t even tell my gender.
But that’s exactly where they put so much thought behind me. They think it’s amazing to have a doll like me who doesn’t fit a certain idea of what one should look like. The children I go to are free to decide my gender, my face, my expression, my mood. These children are pretty creative I’ve been told! I’m quite excited to meet them. I hear they are like adults but with better imagination, mind and heart. Is that true? Would you know?
I think what the children are going to love the most about me is how much I love to talk. Oh! And my bendy limbs. Yep! Told you! My makers did put a lot of thought behind me. They made my limbs all bendy because they know how much I love to dance after Gerald the giraffe told me, ‘We all can dance, when we find music that we love.’
By the way, have I told you about my clothes? They are all made from leftover fabrics and production scraps. Isn’t that amazing? That means I save these scraps from going to the landfills and I also help support a sweet old lady who uses her skillful hands to put me together.
This makes me realise WAtaday it is to say hello!
For those of you who didn’t meet me on Instagram Stories a couple of Sundays ago, my name is WA. the good people at Love the World Today have given me life using some of their yummy leftover fabrics and their brains! My name means ‘harmony’ in Japanese culture. Quite apt, ain’t it? I love whiling away time amidst nature, dancing and cake!! I’ll be popping by every now and then and giving you a taste of my life and my mnd! Follow #WAtaday and stay tuned!
And in case anyone of you wants to meet me, just drop a line on instagram message or write to hello@ltwt.in saying you’d like to purchase a WA doll :)
Love and WArmth!
Tadaa!
As bed time nears we have a negotiation ritual each day.
‘Mama can we please have one story today?'
And as I am a little strict about A sticking to her bed time each night, some days I have to decline. She is getting better at her negotiation skills though. Last night she said, “You know, right? I will not always ask you to read me a story and I will not always need a torch light, I will grow up some day”
:(
With THAT dialogue and some drama not only did she manage one, but two stories from me!
When I look back now, I realise I have actually learnt a lot from her in the last five years. Today being Children’s day, it just seems like the perfect opportunity to thank her for this gift of motherhood and a lot more.
So here's a letter to you dearest A,
Thank you for all the little things you have made me relearn over the last few years!
Well, the list will go on! But here’s a small wish for you on this special day, I hope your life turns out to be such, that each day you get to do something that makes your heart sing!
]]>
On the outside it does look quite pretty - to lead a life on your own terms. But only people in the start up world know what it takes - the hours, the non existent social life, the struggle, the anxieties, the months without salary.
There’s a lot that we give to our businesses, our so called babies.
But I’ve realised there’s a lot more that my business has given to me in 1.5 years than I could have ever managed on my own.
So here’s writing a letter to my business today.
Dear Love the World Today,
We started out a while back and I honestly didn’t think it would be such a tough and satisfying ride. I always hated the term ‘business’ and I remember being shy of telling the world that I’ve started my own business out of fear of being looked down upon as someone who has sold their soul to the big bad world driven by money. But I’ve seen such a transformation in the past 1.5 years thanks to all that you’ve brought into my life. I now take immense pride in saying that I’m the co-founder of a purposeful business. You’ve given me so much and I must let you know how thankful I am for that,
Of course, the more you read and research on sustainability, it’s like pandora’s box and now I’m beginning to see the true extent of damage we might have caused to the world around us, how every single choice we make (right from the toothbrush we use) affects the planet and I also feel depressed at times that we might have reached a point of no return. But something inside of me tells me that we’ve got to try.
So here it is, a small list of all positive things you’ve brought to my life. They may seem really small but to me they are a big change in who I am and who I am becoming. And that to me is far more important than any other ambition.
Love!
]]>
It looks all rosy to be living a start-up life, well, from the outside. But no one told me it’s going to be such a bittersweet struggle.
There have been times in the beginning, when we have struggled with cash flows. You are constantly worried about when will you break even, and the financial viability of your business. Exciting times, aren’t they? Then there are times when the sales are lower as compared to other months, times when a product line takes off slowly and doesn’t perform the way you expected it to. And there are times when you are struggling with production hiccups. At times you are just following your gut, taking the risks, simply because you are passionate about what you are doing and see some meaning in all of this. And at the same time, you feel alienated because not many relate to what you are doing and the purpose of your business.
In the last one-year or more, both of us have done a lot of labor work (quite literally). Managed operations, logistics, quality checking, tagging clothes, packing couriers, being the delivery boy, the accountant, the runner - all of which you may not associate with an entrepreneur life. You name it and we have done it all. And then in the middle of all this, yes I have wondered – What am I doing?
And then ofcourse you are sometimes tempted to go back to that not so cushy but well paying job that will sort most of your material life goals, ensure you go on holidays every three months and much more.
And then since we are human, at times we, actually not at times, but many a times have self-doubt – which I feel is the biggest struggle when you are out on your own. Sub-consciously, there is also this struggle to prove yourself to others and to the society you live in. The struggle is against our conditioning and the amount of importance we give to everyone else around us but ourselves.
And it’s these times that are the testing times. That make you ponder each and every decision you have taken in the past.
And in the middle of this retrospection, I chanced upon the below image, the emotional journey of an entrepreneur –
Coincidently it came by at the right time. I had a hearty laugh when I looked at this and it completely resonated with me.
Other than the downs and struggles associated with any new venture, it made me think of all that we have managed to create in the last one year. What reaffirmed this was the appreciation from most customers and fellow parents who simply loved what we were doing, loved our designs and appreciated our brand for great quality. And then we had parents who went a step ahead and opted for organic cotton clothing for their little one's birthday and shared pictures with us, adding more cheer to our routine days!
May be there is something we are doing right!
Gave a kick to myself and I am back on track. I don’t know if we will land up creating something great, but then I thought to myself the journey itself definitely will be worth it. And yes, we are proud of what we have created.
The task on hand for us is quite challenging, given more than just selling children’s clothes we are hoping to create a mindset change around responsible buying. We are hoping parents will choose sustainable options for their children and move away from the throwaway culture.
Since it’s that time of the year when you want to look back, and identify things that helped you be on track - I would like to reiterate these things to myself so that I keep walking!
Below is my list, not in any particular order. The ones that kept me on track.
And yes not to forget the humor in the middle of all of this chaos!
]]>
Photo credit – Ishan Tankha
Mehneer Sudan | 36 | Delhi | Dance artist
What does the word ‘love’ mean to you?Something that you associate love with?
I associate it with my whole being because I really have relentlessly been seeking it!
What makes you love the world?
The world makes me love the world.
[When I asked for a picture of her, this is what Mehneer shared.
'I had once taken a picture of this lovely old auto driver, will that suffice for a picture of me?']