Cats on the wall
One of my favourites, an annual product I look forward to every year, is the Chennai-based Cattitude Trust’s fabulous cat calendars, the proceeds of which go towards kitty welfare. This year’s calendar, crammed with paintings of cats and executed by the Visual Arts students of KC High in Chennai, is as lovely as ever. From a painting of a ginger kitten having a “pawer nap” to a snoozing kitten, a “couch purrato”, the artworks as well as the quirky captions accompanying them are bound to put a smile on your face. Log in to Cattitude’s Facebook page for details on how to order these calendars and make 2023 a year of great caturdays. — Preeti Zachariah
No revenge, no glory
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A scar for a scar. The ones who injured shall suffer the same injury. Or not... Because that would be playing too fair, no?” The pilot episode of Netflix’s latest Korean drama, The Glory, ends with these lines, accompanied by an affecting visual of actor Song Hye-kyo’s welled-up eyes that convey her sadness and trauma. At 17, Song’s Moon Dong-eun is abused by five classmates. At 35, she’s back in their lives with a plan to exact revenge. And she’s going for the kill, quite literally. The bullying scenes shake your residual faith in humanity. The unravelling of the revenge, however, is extremely gratifying to watch. The next eight episodes will be out in March and I cannot wait to see how “unfairly” she scars her perpetrators. — Shephali Bhatt
An endearing stereotype
Recently, at a nearby park, I saw a middle-aged woman in a salwar-kameez and sneakers tie her dupatta into a neat knot by her waist and start what seemed to be her regular workout routine at the open gym. This was my last IRL sighting of #auntiesinsneakers, before following the hashtag populated by artist Alicia Souza on Instagram. She turns crowdsourced images of mothers, aunts, sisters and friends into adorable illustrations, never missing the little details that capture the contrast of pairing sneakers with a desi garment or accessory. In doing so, Souza lovingly documents everyday bits of home, making a stereotype endearing. — Vangmayi Parakala
Squeaky clean shoes
Despite my love for sneakers, I have been very late to graduate from using “just a piece of cloth” to a proper sneaker cleaner. In that sense, the Philips Sneaker Cleaner has been quite a find. This battery-operated cleaner comes with three brushes—a sponge brush for delicate surfaces like PVC, leather, suede and smooth rubber, a soft brush for use on mesh, canvas and other surfaces, and a hard brush for surfaces like textured rubber or the rubber sole. With around 500 rotations per minute, cleaning is quick. The portable, travel-friendly cleaner runs on 4 AA batteries. It has made a world of difference—it’s much easier to clean my suede sneakers, without worrying about damaging the material. At ₹2,595, this is a decent gadget for anyone who cares for their shoes. — Nitin Sreedhar
Lounge Loves: Paperdom planners, cocktail mixers, and more for the first few days of 2023
