Pleasure of a quiet cafe
For close to a decade, any trip to Jaipur has been for work. I have always promised myself a trip back filled with little joys: eating good food, buying pretty clothes, going fort-hopping. On a recent, hectic-as-always trip to the city, I finally made my way to the Anokhi Café in C-Scheme. While Anokhi, the clothes store, has opened up branches in other cities, their café, snugly tucked on one side of the store here, remains the only one. Content with the comforting buzz of low conversations or the occasional sigh resulting from a satisfying bite of cake, they play no music; it’s an ideal place to zone out while eating from their small menu of home-made cakes, sandwiches and fresh salads. There is only one coffee here—a French press from the Nandan Estate in Tamil Nadu—and it doesn’t leave you feeling the need for choice. —Vangmayi Parakala
Daily bread
Whether you are headed to Fort Kochi on a weekend break or for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a visit to Quality Bakers to try their breudher bread (also spelt as brueder or bruder) is a must-do. This Dutch-origin loaf, a mix between bread and cake, is a speciality of the Fort Kochi area, thanks to the town’s Dutch heritage, and Quality does the best version. The bruder, typically baked using yeast and loads of butter, is studded with raisins and is dense, sweet and delicious. It also stays well, so you can pick up multiple loaves on the day you are headed out. Once home, cut off thick slices and toast very lightly in an oven, spread with butter and eat with steaming mugs of coffee—perfect for elevenses! — Shrabonti Bagchi
Bedside routine
If you live in Mumbai, it’s only a matter of time before you get into storage porn. Space is a luxury more precious (and scarce) than time in this city that never sleeps. You are always on the lookout for smart storage ideas. I found one in a “bedside pocket” while browsing through a popular furniture retailer’s site. It’s a great hack to keep all your bedside items within arm’s reach. After the initial thrill of getting one, I started seeing the flaws in it—hard to clean, the hanging mount loses its grip after a while so the pocket keeps falling off the bedside. My search for an alternative led me to a bedside basket (this one from MosQuick) which is sturdier and whose hanging mount is detachable—making it easy to clean. The bedside items seem happy in their new home. — Shephali Bhatt
Shell magic
I am a fan of those who can turn the most mundane things, easily overlooked, into a work of art. Recently, while scrolling on Instagram, I came across a video of a coconut shell being turned into a wine cup with minimal tools. It looked so doable that I had to add it to my never-looked-at-twice saved list. Dheeraj from Kozhikode, Kerala, uses the Instagram page, Coco Crab, to highlight how something that we often throw away without a thought can serve a practical purpose, while also showing that sustainability can be simple. The name reminded me of coconut crabs, a species of hermit crab found in coastal regions that are known for their ability to use their large pincers to crack open coconuts. Dheeraj has used his craftsmanship skills to turn the coconut shells into curry pots, decorative stars, hair clips, spoons, even a bird’s nest. — Aisiri Amin
Lounge Loves: Ambient Renders on YouTube, a hanging neck fan, and more
