This was my first—an animated movie on IMAX—and I don’t think I could have chosen a better movie than Japanese director and animator Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume, which hit movie theatres in India earlier this month. The movie follows school student Suzume Iwato, who teams up with mysterious traveller Souta Munakata to prevent a series of disasters across Japan caused by opened doors—that act as portals—at old, abandoned places. The two things that stand out are the animation—Shinkai’s depiction of the natural world is beautiful—and the captivating soundtrack. Suzume is Shinkai’s third collaboration with the Japanese rock band Radwimps and their music forms an integral part of the movie. Listen to the soundtrack even if you skip the movie. But if you are a fan of fantasy and anime, Suzume is an excellent watch. —Nitin Sreedhar
It’s hard to carry off a bow-tie with aplomb. It usually looks stuffy and uncomfortable—unless one is James Hong, wearing a googly-eye bow-tie to the Oscar Awards night in honour of that magnificently confusing yet surreal film, Everything Everywhere All At Once. I usually hate bows of all sizes and hues, and I especially hate them on pets. So I surprised myself when I ordered a Bow-wow Dog Collar with a bow from the sustainable, zero-waste indie brand Tamarind Chutney. It’s created from scraps of handmade fabric and is far softer, lighter and more pliant than off-the-shelf collars. The doggo (not the one in the photograph) seems to love it. I am telling myself it’s just a collar, not one with a bow. —Shalini Umachandran
Internet Archive is a place where I often end up in search of cultural flotsam: out-of-print books, obscure films. On one such trawl, I came across a compilation of African desert blues (This Blues Gives Me The Hump) by someone with the username “Zappology”. Upon browsing further, I found out that Zappology has been doing this for a long time—1,036 playlists since 2010. These can be streamed on Internet Archive or downloaded as a single MP3 file (there’s a track list but you will have to keep a note of which one is playing). It’s a treasure trove for the sonically adventurous, ranging from old and new blues, jazz and folk to more eclectic offerings like Fruit Juices Of The World (“Afrobeat to Cumbia, Arabic to Reggae”) and Nunc Pede Libero Pulsanda Tellus (“Latin Beats, Modern Funk, Afro-Beat Revival”).—Uday Bhatia
I am suspicious of ready-to-drink cocktail mixers. They are too sugary, overtly synthetic and loaded with everything that the doctor would vehemently advise us to avoid. But, call it a occupational hazard, I have tried several before finding (in my opinion) the best so far: a blend named Winning Shot, which combines cucumber, kaffir lime and Earl Grey tea, from the homegrown brand Bartisans. The melting heat makes it even more fetching. So far, I have tried it with gin, vodka and, of course, on its own, with a ton of ice and a sprig of mint. It could go with other clear spirits, like tequila or white rum, with a splash of plain soda. But before I could get there, the bottle was polished off. I enjoyed every sip.—Jahnabee Borah
