Creme Magazine, March 2017.

27290003

Executive Director
ISHWARI MOHITE PATIL
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
AnjALI Shetty
Feature Writers
sanAA nALWALLA
Vidya UnnITHAn
Designer
Pravin VARUTE
Marketing and Branding Head
Gaurav SHIVAdekar
Marketing rEpresentatives
HARSHIT HUndET
akankSHA dHARMAni
consultant Designers
DebASHISH PadHEE
Gokul nAIR
consultant photographer
SHIVA SHARMA
Cover shoot location
THE Westin Pune kOREGAOn Park
Shivratna Media Pvt Ltd
Suyog Fusion, Office No. 901, Sr. No. 348/1,
Dhole Patil Road, Sangamwadi, Pune- 411001
Ph.: 020 6620 4111 / 222 / 333
Fax.: 020 6620 4777
email:info.crememagazine@gmail.com I
www.crememagazine.in
This monthly magazine is owned by Shivratna Media Private
Limited. Printed and published by Shivtejsinh Mohite Patil,
printed at JRD Printpack Private Limited, Manikchand House,
100 -101, D. Kennedy Road, Pune-411001.
Published at Suyog Fushion, Office No. 901, Sr. No. 348/1,
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Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission
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are used for illustrative purposes only. All prices and information are correct at the time of
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On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we dedicate this issue to all the
wonderful women around us. A woman leads her life as a daughter, sister, wife,
mother and countless other relationships with ease and utmost sincerity. She is
the epitome of patience and confidence. On the cover, we bring to you such strongwilled
business woman, who have carved a niche in their respective fields. This
month, we also highlight women artistes and a mixologist, and get them to share
their professional journey. Here’s to more women power!
– Shivtejsinh Mohite Patil,
Chairman

Contents
An act OF love
Pankaj and Kashyata share as beautiful a real-life chemistry as they portray on stage.
20
28
50
UPCYCLE YOUR LIFE
Medha Tadpatrikar discusses the cons of
plastic, pollution and the steps needed to
reverse the process of waste management.
SimPLICIty in maximalism
Indian design JJ Valaya speaks to Crème on
entering phase two of his creative evolution.
52
Authors OF Pune
We bring to you celebrated authors of the city,
who have made it big in the literary field.
60
An EPIdemIC OF haPPIness
Radhika Mukherji talks about her new venture
Happydemic and work-life balance.
FOR more images, stories and interesting reads,
log on to www.crememagazine.in

WOMEN, POWER AND DEVELOPMENT 72
We pick four strong-willed and interesting women from the city, who have
carved a niche for themselves.
96
A sPOON FULL OF SASS
Mumbai's latest offering has touched base in
Pune and the anxious wait is finally over.
98
Life as a fit mom
Crème brings to you fit mommies in the city,
who make it a point to train or exercise with
their little ones.
106
Of the woman, for the woman
and by the woman
Let's take a look at the journey of a woman who
pioneered the art of belly dancing in the city,
Essa Duhaime.
112
beach bOUNty
Goa is so much more than that, it is surreal,
intoxicating, quaint and liberating.
For more images, stories and interesting reads,
log on to www.crememagazine.in

society
Rishi Chopra
General Manager,
Le Meridien, Mahabaleshawar, Resort and Spa
One Word To Describe
Yourself:
An extrovert
Favourite book:
The Joy of Achievement:A
conversation with JRD Tata.
A motto you live by:
Live a day and you’ll never
regret it.
The most expensive
thing you’ve bought:
The classic Gucci perfume.
The best blend of
coffee that you like:
A shot of Illy espresso.
One thing about Pune
that you love:
The Vada pav and Chitale
Bandu pedhas.
One spot in the
property which is
your favourite:
The butterfly seats. It’s the most
beautiful spot because when the
flowers bloom it looks like the
butterflies are sitting on
the flowers.
favourite cuisine:
Asian, Japanese to be specific.
One adventure sport
you would love
to try:
I am afraid of heights, so anything
underwater, I’d like to try
scuba diving.
success mantra:
Success is all about hard work,
working differently and
innovation.
favourite sport:
Hockey.
most possessive item:
My car.
Go to guilty
pleasure: Chocolate,
chocolate, chocolate.
The best and worst
part of your job
Best: When you get compliments
that your team does their job right.
Worst: When I don’t get
compliments for a good job done.
Your go to hobby:
To just have a relaxing day on
the beach.
favourite travel
destination:
Maldives.
18 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

Pankaj and Kashyata share as beautiful a real-life chemistry as they
portray on stage. Crème speaks to them on their journey from being
co-workers to life partners
Photographer: Shiva Sharma
A
vision and a dream to do something different brought
together Pankaj and Kashyata. The couple believes the
deep, serious passion for events they both share was a
catalyst to their relationship. She’s childlike, he’s mature;
she is bubbly, he is composed; however, they both are
chatty and extremely transparent. They are as different as chalk and
cheese and this is why they create such magic together. “We can have
long, unending conversations that go on through the night. Be it heated
arguments or intellectual discussions, our conversations are the spice of
our life, that continually brings freshness in our relationship. Like every
other couple we do have our share of ups and downs, however that
brings us closer,” shares Pankaj.
While Pankaj is the brain and soul behind Oskar Entertainments,
Kashyata is the face. He shares, “The ‘K’ in Oskar Entertainments stands
for Kashyata, she is the anchor to my ship! She is determined, honest
and works with dignity. She is a very strong person and I have seen her
take new strides in her professional growth with ease.” Kashyata giggles
like a teenager when asked about Pankaj’s influence in her life. She
chirps, “It may sound cheesy, however, he is the reason life is so
wonderful. He helped me reach where I am today. The confident and
successful Kashyata today is courtesy Pankaj. He is very modest to
accept it, but he has played a vital role in shaping my career and
personal life.”
The mutual connection and creativity has brought them closer.
When they are together, conversations simply flow. They have
experienced creative differences, but they enjoy these clashes of
viewpoint. Kashyata shares, “After every event, I tell him that I won’t do
any more of his events. He is a hard taskmaster. He is extremely critical
of my work. I hate to admit it but our arguments actually enrich our
relationship. This is the fun and beauty of having a partner working in
the same field. His views are never biased. We can literally read each
other’s mind through a glass partition!”
The duo met five years ago and started off as friends. They were
engaged in 2014 and will soon be married. Pankaj started out with odd
jobs, moved to call centres, juggled between being a DJ and working for
an event company, to ultimately start his own entertainment company.
“Music is my greatest passion. It has brought me this far. It helped me
stick around and stay strong too. Today, I organise some of the finest
events and rub shoulders with celebrities but music will always remain
my first love. It was Kashyata who pushed me to pursue my dream as a
DJ. She suggested that I should never give up. Her suggestion did help
and I have been able to balance my passion and profession so well.”
20 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

Pankaj and Kashyata
Interestingly, it was Pankaj who guided Kashyata’s career graph too.
“I started off as an anchor for mall activities. He literally sketched the
path for me. He helped me make the right decisions and take the right
steps. Till date, he chooses my outfits for an event. I tend to pick gaudy
and glittery stuff, so it is him who makes me look a million bucks at
events,” she smiles.
Pankaj add, “I have seen how the industry works. I come with a
third person perspective. I don’t advice her because she is my fiancée.
My advice is professional and for her betterment. I know her potential
and calibre, I want to see her reach great heights. She has the right
combination of beauty and brains. She just needs a gentle push to go
get it.”
All this love and support may make it seem like they had a smooth
journey. However, life was a roller coaster ride before they found each
other. “I have spent nights at Deccan bus stop and would sleep on park
benches. I moved to Pune in 2006 and the decade long journey has
been eventful. I struggled my way to the top purely with hard work and
passion. I did not use my parents’ influence (Pankaj hails from an
influential political family in Shirdi) nor did I compromise on my
ethics. Whatever I have achieved today is because I chose a different
path and stood strong. I believed in my dreams and dared to be
different. It would have been easy to give in and take the influential
road. However, I wanted to carve a niche for myself.”
Kashyata has had quite a rocky road too. Life has not been a bed of
roses for this confident young girl. “Family problems and the need to
do something out-of-the-box are what drove me to shift to Pune. I don’t
regret any of my decisions and believe every step taken has made me
stronger. It has been an eventful journey.”
Oskar Entertainments has managed events for several big brands
like Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Toyota, Range Rover, Tata, Reliance
Communications, HTC, Samsung, Bajaj and Mitsubishi among
others. However, Pankaj is not satisfied as he believes there is so much
more to achieve. “I am passionate, energetic and dedicated to
everything I love. So, I feel I have achieved very little till date.
Appreciation, awards and bigger clients mean that the journey has just
begun. The real work starts now.”
Kashyata, who is admiringly looking at her better half chips in, “We
have been through a lot on individual levels. Together we have
overcome everything and made everyone proud. We want to do so
much more for the city too.”
The duo is currently working on a few projects and will soon be
making big announcements.
info@crememagazine.in
March 2017 21

society
The Rotary Club of Khadki is working on raising funds for
The Institute of Training and Research and residential
unit for individuals of Autism and those belonging
to the Autism spectrum of conditions. Dr Alok Patel,
chairman of the project shares, “We aim to help these
individuals live with dignity and purpose. Autism is the
fastest growing developmental disability in our nation.
It is up to us to recognise that there is huge need of work
in this arena to help families cope with this and live a
fruitful life. Rotary Club of Khadki is proud to address
this community need to create a correct environment
for the differently abled.”
The fundraiser organised on March 11 will have Dr
Palash Sen perform with his Euphoria band at blueFrog,
Pune. Dr Patel adds, “The Autism Project shall be a
unique one, probably the only one-of-its-kind in India. It
shall also be a model on which clubs across the country
or even the world can address the community need
related to the PDD group. A project of this magnitude
needs all the help that it can get. It is in this regard that
we the representatives from this club
Dr Palash Sen and his band
Euphoria will be performing in
the city on March 11 at a fund
raiser organised by Rotary Club
of Khadki
approach you. We exhort the good offices of you and
your esteemed institution to support us in all and any
way possible to reach our goals.”
The band Euphoria was formed in 1988 by a then
medical student Dr Palash Sen and his friends. Bass
player Debajyoti Bhaduri joined hands with Dr Palash
in the early 90s. Moving through several line-ups, the
band kept searching for their elusive break. It came
10 years after their inception when Euphoria released
their first studio album titled ‘Dhoom’ in the October
1998 to critical acclaim and commercial success. They
became the pioneers of ‘Hind Rock’ or rock music in
Hindi, with an unparalleled mass appeal, and critical
acclaim, Euphoria is considered as one of the biggest
bands of the subcontinent. The Band is also considered
a soul of the pop music wave which hit India in the mid
nineties. Their first single was titled ‘Dhoom Pichuk
Dhoom’ – and it became the most popular video to hit
TV screens in that decade. The organisation is proud to
bring this iconic band to Pune.
info@crememagazine.com
22 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

society
Beauty
as they
see it
Sakshi Arora
Someone rightly said “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. While most of us consider
Victoria’s Secret models as the ultimate beauty standard, there are several others out there, who
have varied and unique parameters of beauty. Crème lists the different versions of a ‘beautiful
woman’ across the globe
March 2017 23

society
24 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

society
info@crememagazine.in
March 2017 25

Despite the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights prohibiting discrimination on the basis
of gender, 69 years later, virtually no country has
achieved gender equality. Although there have
been considerable progresses in empowering
woman, gender discrimination still prevails and is
particularly evident in terms of employment. Not
only are women underrepresented (according to
World Bank data they make up only 39.6 per cent
of the global labor force), but also they regularly
face unequal pay despite being equally educated
and having similar skills.
However, India does not lack a propitious
legislative framework to ensure
gender equality. In fact, article
39(d) of the Constitution
of India provides that the
government must ensure equal
pay for equal work for both
men and women. The Equal
Remuneration Act, 1976,
was subsequently enacted to
implement this article, and
it prohibits discrimination
in recruitment of women
and provides for the setting
up of advisory committees
to promote employment
opportunities for women.
Further, although the Labour
Code of Wages Bill, 2015,
provides for the appointment
of an authority to try cases
relating to non-payment of
equal remuneration to men
and women, the Bill has not yet
turn into a law.
The Supreme Court
recently found, in State of
Punjab Vs Jagjit Singh (2016),
that every employee, whether
temporary or regular, has a right
to receive equal remuneration
and that there cannot be any distinction between
individuals employed at the same position. The
Apex court thus reaffirmed that the principle of
‘equal pay for equal work’ constitutes a clear and
unambiguous right vested in every employee.
In India, the gender pay
gap is damning. The World
Economic Forum Report
2010 suggests that in
corporate India, the
average annual income of
woman is $1,185,
considerably less than that
of a man ($3,698). The
International Labour
Organization’s Global
Wage Report also points
that India ranks amongst
countries with the worst
gender pay gap, i.e. more
than 30 percent. India
does not lack a propitious
legislative framework to
ensure gender equality.
Article 39(d) of the
Constitution of India
provides that government
must ensure equal pay for
equal work for both.
But such legislations and legal advancements
have not fulfilled their promises. Gender inequality
in employment is a complex problem that finds its
root in a plethora of factors. In fact, India remains
a strong patriarchal society resulting in cultural
barriers and occupational segregation of women
in employment. Many still believe that a woman
should only assist the man in a family rather than
equally contributing to it. This reflects in the
employment sector where it is not uncommon
for employers to think that a woman will probably
not be able to work after marriage, after having a
child or simply work as efficiently as a man. Such
gender-based stereotypes
prevent people from grasping
the productive and valuable
capacity of women’s input
in an organisation. But,
according to a 2015 study
conducted by McKinsey
Global Institute, India could
increase its GDP up to 60
per cent by 2025 simply by
bridging the gender-gap
in employment.
The issue of gender
discrimination in employment
is not specific to India. In fact,
according to UN data, women
earn 24 per cent less than men
on a global scale. Clearly, and
despite positive steps, progress
in woman empowerment is
stalled. It is advisable, that
existing forums and available
remedies are brought to
women’s awareness on a
broader scale; that counseling
and guidance on career
options are put into place; that
the values of gender equality
are promoted through
education. But, it is evident
that enabling ourselves with laws promoting gender
equality is not sufficient to cure a problem in our
collective mindset. We need to start changing our
attitude to truly seize the real potential of women as
active actors of our society and economy.

society
sanaa nalwalla
This is the story of two
fearless ladies, who imbibed
their passion and drive to
make Pune, pollution free but
recycling plastic into polyfuel.
In a candid interview,
Medha Tadpatrikar discusses
the cons of plastic, pollution
and the steps needed to
reverse the process of waste
management by fishing out
plastics from homes, gutters
and rivers
28 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

SOCIETY
Taking matters into her own hands, founder of Rudra
environmental solutions, Dr. Medha Tadpatrikar
successfully started converting non-degradable
plastic into poly-fuel which utilises polymer waste
to generate hydrocarbon fuels from plastic wastes.
Accepting all kinds of plastic waste right from bottles, bags,
food pouches, wrappers and, cable covers from household
across the city once every fortnight, Rudra then recycles it into
fuel, gas and sludge. Rudra was incepted when; Medha
witnessed the death of a deer in a wild life sanctuary due to
plastic and was devastated to see that defenceless animals had
died because of litter someone had unknowingly thrown away.
Deeply touched and motivated by this incident, Medha was
determined to find a solution to recycle plastic. The first pilot
machine was up and running by 2010 which successfully
recycled waste plastic in to usable fuel and have now expanded
to two full fledged working plants in and around Pune.
The machines produce poly-fuel utilising the process of
Pyrolysis, that is, the decomposition of condensed substances
by heating and the process is fairly simple. The collected plastic
from various homes and entities is dumped into the reactor.
The reactor is fed with the shredded plastic and is heated in
absence of oxygen that produces hydrocarbon vapours
(methane and propane). The condensed vapour produces the
fuel and synthetic gases, out of which the syngas is used as
energy source for the further heating of reactor. This synthetic
gas, which is a by product is passed through scrubber and
cleaned prior to use as a heating source; helping improve the
efficiency of the process. The fuel passes through filtration
system before it’s collected. The non-plastic material plastic falls
at the bottom of reactor, this can be collected after the shift or
during weekly maintenance. This can be used with the bitumen
in making roads. The team gives it to local builders who use it
for the construction of internal roads within housing societies.
In this way, 100 per cent of the plastic waste is recycled with no
emission and no harm to the environment. For every 100 kg of
plastic, 45-65 litres of fuel are generated. “Plastic is basically
made from crude oil. So we thought of reversing the process
and obtaining fuel from it,” says Medha.
Their small efforts have grown to a point where, the team
successfully collects five to six tons of plastic waste from 9,500
households, corporate, hotels and, businesses in a month! “As
it’s the easiest way to help environment, many are open and
welcome the idea of segregation and handing over the plastic
to us. We are changing people’s habits, and they are realising
that we all need to work together. We have recently started
collection from faraway places like Dombiwali, and Thane. We
have learned not to give up. We are changing people’s habits,
and they are realising that we all need to work together. I get a
chance to meet variety of people and learn from them and
when I see the collected plastic waste, it makes me happy,
knowing that at least that much plastic is not going to landfill,”
adds Medha.
As far as success stories go, Medha has come across senior
citizens, more than 90 years old who help out with segregating
and advocating the cause. Rudra also provides alternative fuel
options to women in villages which is encouraging them to not
burn plastic and use it as a heating source thus reducing
pollution. “When women in villages come and say how much
their lives have become easy due to use of fuel in stoves I am
encouraged to work harder,” says Medha.
In the coming future, Medha plans to install smaller
conversion plants in all taluka in India which will drive them to
increase their collections and hit the mark of more than 25,000
households. She is hopeful that there will be a change in peoples
discarding habits which will encourage people to start segregate
plastic in order for Medha and her to put it to better use. Every
day we pollute our earth, we forget that the earth does not need
us but we need it
Everything didn’t come easy to Medha. Being a woman, she
stopped at nothing. She was never raised to be a woman, but
rather a human being. There was no such thing as you can’t do
this in her household. “When I meet people they are more
amazed that I am not engineer rather than I am a woman,” says
Medha. When she started off with Rudra, creating awareness
was the big challenge, followed by logistics, even so that if
someone, a said driver falls ill, they miss their collection drive.
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in
MARCH 2017 29

in style
The epitome of love and romance, the Queen of all
flowers goes way back in history to the times of the
Greeks and Romans, who used rose petals to perfume
their baths and in distilled forms. Roses have been
infused in cosmetics, medicines and therapeutic
treatments for centuries. Essentially, the rose has
antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties,
making it ideal to treat a host of ailments.
30 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
March 2017 31

in style
This orange and yellow bulb of flower power is
packed with oodles of beauty and medicinal
properties. Right from containing antioxidants to
volatile oils, the marigold has recently found its
place in the books of cancer cures. This wonderful
garden flower, with its strong smell, vibrant colour
can heal your body in numerous ways.
32 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
March 2017 33

in style
As decorative elements, Gerberas are known as
flowers for all seasons. Most commonly used for
their pop colours, but colour is not the only facet.
Attributing to the daisy family, the gerbera has
many hidden health benefits and versatility. Used
to make natural colours in cosmetics ranging
from nail polishes, lipsticks and perfumes, it is
also used to flavour a variety of dishes all over
the world.
000 34 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
March 2017 35

in style
36 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

IN STYLE
This ancient flower has been used for medicinal purposes
for centuries now. From medicinal teas in China and Japan
to cosmetics and skin care products in India, orchids have
been said to cure anything from a mild cough to even acne.
Orchids are not only some of the most beautiful blooms,
but orchids are considered as a fountain of youth and
unlocks the secret to longevity. These highly decorated
flowers are acknowledged as a symbol of beauty, refinement
and love.
Photographer: Shiva Sharma
Model: Tanwi Dixit
Makeup: Mojdeh Arab Farashahi
Hair: Sharvari Gandhe
Concept by: Sanaa Nalwalla
Shoot coordinator: Pravin Varute
MARCH 2017 000 37

in style
Since its launch three years ago, StyleCracker has been a ‘disruptive’ force in the
online personalised fashion styling space. Archana Walavalkar, co-founder and
creative director of StyleCracker speaks to Anjali Shetty on her journey so far
Archana Walavalkar is a prominent name in the fashion
industry with over a decade of experience in the same; she
is the co-founder and creative director of StyleCracker.com,
an online fashion styling portal. She has styled and worked
with the likes of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Deepika Padukone,
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shahid Kapoor and Imran Khan. Archana has
also been the creative look behind the big banners of Dharma
Productions and Phantom Films, styled brands and has been the official
stylist for Talent Box shows at Lakme Fashion Week. She adds glamour
with sophistication to whichever project she is part of and is a creative
genius when it comes to setting trends.
The first step
After I completed my specialisation in Apparel Manufacture and
Design, I started with editorial styling at L’Officiel magazine, after which
I joined Vogue as a fashion editor, as a part of their founding team. Then
I went on to film and celebrity styling with the likes of Priyanka Chopra,
Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and many more. After a
few years in the industry, I eventually started my own company —
StyleCracker, along with Dhimaan Shah, making it a first-of-its-kind
personalised styling and shopping platform. We provide our users with
a highly personalised experience and have created a massively trusted
platform through which users can discover, share and enhance their
personal style.
Go-to designers for styling
Huemn by Pranav Mishra and Shyma Shetty, and Vetements by Demna
Gvasalia - they’re bold and distinctive.
38 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
No-fail styling trick
There is no one way of saying this, but making someone
look like a million bucks comes from a combination of
many little things. One trick I would suggest is if you are
going for a plunging neckline or an outfit that could
probably shift around — simply strap on some tape to
feel a lot more at ease. Also, choosing the right kind of
lingerie can make a great amount of difference to your
outfit, as well as your mood.
Philosophy on the high low-mix?
I think it’s key. It’s a practical way of knowing where to
splurge, and where to save. An imaginative vision to put
it all together is important. How you wear it is more
important than where you shop. Olivia Palermo is
distinctly remarkable at this.
Future expansion plans
We have many online and offline properties under the
StyleCracker umbrella. Apart from constantly ensuring
that we meet our client expectations; we do actually have
a few exciting things in the pipeline — like the recently
launched StyleCracker Box, that fills the gap of
personalised shopping in the market. It is an easy access
to great, highly curated head to toe looks personalised for
our users who experience a time crunch.
The approach
When it comes to personal styling, I style based on my
thorough understanding of the client’s personal style,
body scale, preferences, work environment, lifestyle
choices and personality. Going through their closets
definitely gives me more perspective and information
about the kind of brands they like, what works for them
as well as what doesn’t — more like a wardrobe edit. The
more they tell me, the better it helps. If I’m styling for a
movie, it is important that I bring out the director’s vision
to life, also essentially depending on what the script and
the character demands. Coming to editorial styling, I
come up with the concept and theme of the shoot. The
idea is to make runway fashion wearable.
anjalishetty@crememagazine.in
Most fun part of your job
It’s simple — I’m happy if the client is happy and I work
to make them the best version of themselves.
Most challenging
My team is very important to me. Doing what I do, I have
to constantly work with different people, ensuring that
we’re on the same page and training them is essential.
One voice, one organisation.
Favorite look styled to date
It definitely has to be Alia Bhatt for Kar gayi chull from
Kapoor and Sons, and Varun Dhawan for Saturday
Saturday from Humpty Sharma ki dulhania.
March 2017
39

Summer moods are synonymous with
having fun and being playful! ONLY
enters Spring Summer with the
introduction of the high school inspired
‘Glitter cheerleader’ collection. The
line features classic varsity pieces
juxtaposed with girly prom styles,
giving this party theme a twist like
never before.
Fun, bold, conversational crop tops, ringer
tees and extremely on-trend metallic plisse
skirts raise the oomph factor of this
fabulous collection.
*Available at ONLY stores
1 CAN HEART TOP BOX ` 1299
2 MELISSA METALLIC MAXISKIRT ` 2999
3 ALICE SILVER PLISSE SKIRT ` 2499
4 SANNE METALLIC BOMBER ` 3999
5 BEAUTY SHINE L S BOMBER ` 3699
6 PRIMROSE STRAPPY TOP ` 1799
7 MELISSA METALLIC DRESS 3499
8 PRIMROSE LOOSE CROPPED PANT 2699

in style
42 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
March 2017 43

in style
This graceful silk lehenga in
beige with contrasting neon
green and turquoise is adorned
with beads and zardosi work.
The blouse and dupatta is
embellished with floral
intricate and minimalistic
zardosi work.
44 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
The maroon lehenga with
heavy beadwork is made for a
big fat Indian wedding.
Traditional design of the
lehenga is perfect for the bride
who loves her heritage and
wants to look her best on her
wedding day.
March 2017
45 45

in style
A crimson coloured
lehenga with beadwork,
is exquisite in it’s
appeal. Fine zari work
with a touch of gold,
depicts a traditional
ceremonies in action.
46 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
A perfectly curated bride and
grooms wear in hues of orange
make it a perfect ensemble for
a summer wedding. The
groom’s sherwani has stunning
brocade work in gold, while
the skirt of the bride’s lehenga
has a digitally printed bride
peeping through a palki.
march March 2017
47

in style
This red attire for the bride and
groom is crafted with fine
handiwork.While the bridal
lehenga has an elaborately
detailed lehenga in zari work,
the bandhgala for the groom has
a brocade with crafted
embellishments on the collar.
48 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
He surprises you with his jovial and
witty personality. Meet JJ Valaya, a
man who needs no introduction in
the fashion world. With over two
decades of impeccable designs and couture, JJ
Valaya is excited about entering the big 50 and
looking forward to creating more and more
interesting designs.
JJ Valaya’s couture collections have always been
elaborate and definitive. On his design process he
shares, “Every designer has an ethos, which they
run through everything they do. This
makes me wonder, have I complicated
my life too much? I keep things
simple. My quest has always been
to find simplicity in maximalism.
It's not easy and brings upon many
challenges. However, I don't see
life in any other way. I don't think
I will ever be able
to do clean lines
in interiors. This is
what makes each
designer unique.
You have to be
yourself. You are
silly if your try and
be everyone.”
He believes is no rule book. Rules bind you.
And, boundaries and creativity normally don't
work. He believes more in individuality, whether
it is a person or a space. “A person has a personality
and so does a space. Every space is not the same.
You have to look and sense the need. We are
more like psychologists. We try and understand
people and what they want. We try and give them
something that will change them positively. I
have seen people wear certain clothes and see
a difference in the way they walk and talk and
come across, because they are feeling good about
themselves.” The same thing is at home, if you love
the space you are in, your entire attitude changes.
Indian design and couturier
JJ Valaya speaks to Crème on
entering phase two of his creative
evolution and why he doesn’t
believe in praising his work
It is not about what is in trend or about latest
designs or where you bought it from? It is more
about what the garment or space does to you from
a deeper level. That kinds of defines it.
His fashion brand has been around for two
decades and has managed to create an impact.
What keeps him up and going to achieve and
deliver more? “Oh, I have just begun. I am in the
last year of my 40s and will turn 50 next year. But
my creative and energy levels are maybe higher
than when I joined National Institute of Fashion
Technology (NIFT). This also means
i am all set to get into phase two of
my creative evolution. I am looking
forward to it because everything
that could possibly go right or
wrong has happened. I have learnt
my lessons and reached where I had
to in terms of recall. Now the journey
is mine.” His piece
of advice for soonto-be
brides is to
stand in front of
the mirror and
be honest. Don’t
blindly follow
trends because your
best friend or worst
enemy was wearing something. This doesn’t work
anymore. If your instincts say yes, then go for it.
You will know what looks best on your, not your
aunt or mother or best friend.
To sum it up he shares what sets his label
apart from the rest? “We are in a visual medium
and any designer who is raving and ranting on
how he is so unique is an idiot. I have the biggest
library but don’t read a single book. I just look at
books. I take it in visually. Fashion, art, interiors
and photography should be judged by people who
wear, buy or look at it. They should make opinions,
we shouldn’t.” g
info@crememagazine.in
50 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

in style
March 2017 51

ART & CULTURE
They are the storytellers, the wordsmiths, the vagabonds of
literature. They are skilful and have a way with words. They write
to voice the untold story within, to inspire, to educate and to
masterfully crave a place in a reader’s life. They are the Authors
of Pune and they are all women, this Women’s Day we celebrate
these magnificent writers, their ability to live and breathe
through words and for making readers feel that we are not
particularly alone through their stories
52 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

ART & CULTURE
Gouri Dange started off as a copy editor and writing
columns and opinion and feature articles for acclaimed
publications. It wasn’t till 2008 that she penned her first
novel, 3 Zakia Mansion. What followed were five more
literary creations from the wordsmith. When it comes
to narrowing down her creative process every time she
writes a book, she proclaims herself as a scribbler. “The
conscious as well as unconscious mind throws up so
many ideas and impressions, and it is very important
to note them down, even as just a phrase or sentence
or even just a word,” she says. Being inspired right from
mundane tasks like driving, or watching a movie, when
that eureka moment strikes, she tends to jot them
down only to develop the idea later. In order to find real
life inspiration she looks at human struggle to the sums
right. The world around her is constantly inspiring her.
Music, art, great literature, nature, dogs, birds, human
interactions; all this finds its way, processed in different
ways, into her writing.
Penning a book is no easy feat. Like everything in
life, this too has its own set of pros and cons. Amongst
the pros, Gouri receives sheer joy and the sense of
actualisation from synthesising what she observes, feels
and imagines. Her pros also include looking inward to
reach yourself and outwards to people which opens
up a world of creative people to you other writers,
readers, illustrators, photographers and designers. The
cons include the whole business of marketing, sales,
distribution, etc, that every writer is simply forced
to get involved with, given the rather patchy support
by publishers.
Amongst famous authors whom she adores,
the darkness and discernment in the way Graham
Greene writes is something that appeals to her. In the
world around us she enjoys the non-fiction writing
of Paromita Vohra, the fiction of Manu Joseph and is
currently reading two history-based books, Dr Uday
Kulkarni’s The Era of Bajirao and Alan Duff ’s Sikkim:
Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom. She is not done yet,
she does have new found interest in material for standup
comedy. The combination of savage humour, subtle
innuendo and sheer performance has inspired her to
try her hand at it with a stand-up routine called ‘So you
want to be published, huh?’
To budding writers, Gouri suggests to write every
day. Literally, every day. At least 500 words and to reread
and go over your work many times. She also urges
to write across genres and not pick sides to quickly
(fiction OR non-fiction). She also urges them to read
vicariously, not to copy anyone’s style or content, but
to understand the craft better, to enjoy the sheer power
of a good narrative, to get a sense of all the wonderful
writing going on all around you and the great writers
across ages.
MARCH 2017
53

ART & CULTURE
For Sonja Chandrachud, books have always been her lifelong
companion. Her life changed when she turned down a
lucrative MNC offer and instead worked as a copywriter
where she fell in love with the vibrant exciting world of
advertising. The leap from advertising and columnist to
creative writing happened in 2005 with her first novel
Potion of Eternity, the first in the Hilarious Hauntings
Adventure series, that cleverly mixed fantasy and humour
with a unforgettable international cast of characters and
magical locations with a ‘Bollywood’ narrative flavour
earning her the title of ‘Desi Rowling’. Always opting for
the road less travelled, Sonja seeks to be challenged and
inspired by that one idea that would passionately propel the
story within her. After that comes months of scrutinising
data, research and corroborating facts, separating them
from fiction when attempting historical and even fantasy
genres. She strongly believes that characters drive most
stories and so she pays immense attention in making sure
that her characters come alive as the story unfolds.
Her stimulation to write is drawn from her desire to
explore the unknown, discover untold tales and recapture
the lost ethos of the past in a narrative that everyone can
read and enjoy. She is most fond of writing for young
adults as they are the most discerning yet open minded
readers any writer is lucky to write for. As a voracious
reader of historical nonfiction and fiction, her bookshelf
houses writers like Tolstoy, Wilbur Smith, Amitav Ghosh,
and William Darlymple. Books such as, Glimpses of World
History and, Discovery of India by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
have introduced her to a myriad of clever narrative styles
that the authors use to tell their brilliant stories. For Sonja
the process of writing its self is a fabulous way of getting
in touch with your innermost self. She compares writing
to climbing a Himalayan peak, charged with the thrill and
excitement of an amazing unforgettable adventure. The
drawbacks of penning 40,000 words in each of novels
means burning the midnight oil, waking up at unearthly
hours, going underground for almost 18 months and,
most importantly finding the time for her loved ones.
To any individual who would want to embark on
the journey of being an author, Sonja suggests one to be
sure for a long, lonely, and arduous, often heart breaking
journey that starts on your laptop and ends on the editor’s
chopping block. Then and only then to start small and
smart with short stories, attend creative writing workshops,
and fine tune your spellings, vocabulary and grammar.
There is no book currently on Sonja’s night stand, as she
is writing her next novel is a historical saga based around
the Peshwas. But, the books she is reading are academic
references by eminent historical writers such as Sardesai,
Parasnis and Duff. But there are a few authors, who have
left a mark on Sonja. Roald Dahl, Shashi Deshpande, Indu
Sundaresan and William Dalrymple have inspired and
influenced Sonja with the clarity and preciseness of their
prose combined with impeccable research that gives life to
their stories.
54 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

ART & CULTURE
Priyanka believes she is many people rolled into one
poet, writer, teacher, and copywriter but in reality,
she is just a dreamer. As a romantic novelist, her poetry
oscillates between romance and erotica to feminist and
political beats. She recounts her brush with writing a
novel five years ago, when Mills and Boon India started
an online contest called ‘PASSIONS’ where they were
on the lookout for Indian romance writers. Her first
two attempts were bleak, but on her third attempt, she
blazed through and won she self a sweet two-book deal
with the publisher. That’s how The One That Got Away
made its way into the world.
From her school days, Priyanka picked up quite an
unruly habit of always jumping straight to the climax
every time she picked up a book to read. Not much has
changed since then. As far as writing/plotting her novel
is concerned, she starts from the end. She pictures the
ending way before she starts during which the character,
plots, and subplots start taking shape in her head. Also,
she needs to link a face to her my protagonist(s). She
requires knowing whether her hero is going to look like
Hugh Jackman or Ranveer Singh. Although her father
being a voracious reader in the family, it was her mother
who was her bedtime storyteller. Priyanka owes a lot of
whom she is and who she has become to her mother,
because she never stopped reading to her and also
credits to be her biggest influencer.
Telling you just as it is, writing is not a simple affair.
In order to be fair and sincere to your subject and
readers, research becomes imperative. At the same time,
you also owe it to yourself as a writer to write the book
the way you want to. So, at the end of the day, it is a bit of
a Hobson’s choice. But all is not lost. Priyanka spends a
lot of time developing her characters which are inspired
by the people she has met during the course of her life.
For a writer, observing people in real life is a must, so as
to lend credibility to the characters you’ve created.
Up until a few years ago, Priyanka was an aspiring
novelist herself. The day she sort of breathed easy was
when she saw her name on the book cover. To aspiring
novelists all she can declare is that patience is golden.
Sift and bookmark your rejections. They’re the ultimate
psychological hurdles to overcome, as well as your main
propellers. Also, keep a set of people closest to you and
have them read your work from time to time. It helps
immensely. As partial as they may be to you, most of the
time they help you become a better version of yourself.
And as writer, constant evolution is critical.
MARCH 2017 55

ART & CULTURE
what inspired Sudha Menon to be a write was when she spent
her childhood in the strange, enticing, mysterious worlds
created by authors from different corners of the world. She
developed a great curiosity about people and their lives and
that made her want to write stories. At a young age of 20
she embarked on a career in journalism and after two plus
decades of a career that she absolutely adored, she decided
it was time to write books and tell her story. Since her forte
lain in Non-fiction writing, getting to know people is key.
Her creative process involves getting to know people and
to understand their lives and she finds interviewing people,
the fun side of the process. Uncovering the story behind a
person does require a lot of patience and perseverance, but
once you have earned the trust, they will let you into their
lives and talk about the things that truly matter to them. The
hard work begins when she has to put it down in words and
weave riveting stories from the material she has collected.
For Sudha the words tend to flow when the rest of the world
is in slumber and she is at peace.
As key influences, she is intrigued by the lives of people.
Where others might see an ordinary man or woman
going about their daily life, she sees layers of stories and
possibilities. She is inspired to write based on the lives of
ordinary people who soldier on bravely, despite the odds that
they have to face on an everyday basis. She is also inspired by
the courage of the women of our country who do so much
with their lives despite the challenges they face. Till today,
Sudha credits her mother as the person who inspires her the
most.
Sudha does find writing a book harder than journalism.
The cons of writing a book include having a great deal of
patience to put together a book in a year and a half ’s time and
having the ability to survive on very little money. Unlike what
most people assume, most authors make very little money
from writing their books. On the flipside the advantage for
Sudha is that her books are left for posterity. They will remain
on bookshelves much after she’s gone, it’s a legacy that she
will leave behind and there is not a single day that she is not
aware of the responsibility that she bestows upon herself.
There is no topic that Sudha feels apprehensive of writing,
yet writing the biography of her father, C.Radhakrishnan
seems to be an intimidating task for the author. She has
written about the lives of so many eminent men and women
and has easily told their stories but with her father’s story, she
can’t find the emotional distance or the words to describe
his journey.
To aspiring novelists, Sudha’s advice is to read and write.
Read every genre of writing. Develop a curiosity about
people and things and about the stuff you see around you.
If you don’t know a lot about things, find out. Make yourself
interesting and be interested.
56 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

ART & CULTURE
Giving some competition to Doogie Howser, Manjari
wrote her first mystery novel when she was at a tender
age of seven. She wrote novels, more for private and
never with the thought of publishing it. It was when
Rupa Publications introduces, the ‘Rupa Romance
series’ when she sent out two of her novels and as luck
might have it, they both saw the light of day. All the
novels begin with Manjiri outlining her characters.
Once, she has them firmly embedded in her psyche, she
begins work by making notes, conceptualizing the plot
and sketching out sub-characters to go along, before
actually getting down to pen her story.
Manjiri’s strong capacity to imagine and fantasize
her characters and plot lines is more of a reality than
reality itself. Life is a mystery to her and, her my
inherent curiosity about the way the Universe works,
the way synchronicity and serendipity shape our lives –
all of it has a strong influence on my work. She is more
inspired by the machinations of the Universe – and the
process that leads miraculously to results – than the
actual results. So, she actually believes that imagination
plays a strong role in her writings. She was also awed by
the works of Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie. Films,
books, nature, friends, family, dogs, music, emotions,
and the magical journey of life have all inspire her to get
those creative juices flowing.
She regards the pros higher than the cons. Right
from the fascinating process of creating a world of your
own on a blank sheet of paper and of taking ownership
of your creation to seeing your name on a published
book, all of these entail the perks of writing. The cons
construe to the poor exposure authors get, the lonely
process of writing, poor sales and all of the marketing
gimmicks which need to gather more yield. Manjiri has
one advice to lend to all wishful novelists- write if you
believe in yourself, write only if you have something to
say from the heart.
Sometimes it is the people that Manjiri meets in life
that inspires her to base a certain character on them, and
sometimes the character comes alive from fragments of
her imagination which intersects into reality making
her characters believable and not actually real. She
paints her characters as inspirational figures, which
empower the reader in more ways than one. Manjiri is
obsessed and in love with all of her creations. Love for
them to grow, love for them to learn. For her, they are
friends, teachers and mentors on a fictitious journey
together.
MARCH 2017 57

ART & CULTURE
For Scharada Dubey, writing is an expression of herself
and her overall serious, quirky and humourous take on life.
Author of sixteen published books, including Footloose
on the West Coast, Malwa on My Mind and A Necessary
Journey for which she has won several accolades, recognition
and awards including the National Competition for Writers
of Children’s Books. Her books are a true reflection of herself
and her personality and like any creative writer; Scharada
takes time to let a story to ripen in her mind and heart before
she pens it. “For me, this process is more important than the
actual writing. Most of my work has involved a lot of travel
and observing people and situations is essential to my work.
When I finally sit down to write, I take breaks to sleep and
get over any blocks that may develop, or do the things I love
to do, being with pets or friends, music or movies, till I can
get back to work.”
Being a prominent figure in the literary world, she
credits her mother and her children to be her key influences
and get inspired by the time she spends with them. She is a
propeller of self love and loves spending time with herself.
Two of her very important books were written in the throes
of her relocation to different cities. Ask her about the pros
and cons of writing and she is quick to add, “I feel really
happy and uplifted when I am writing, when the flow of
thoughts and words has finally been unlocked and is making
something significant happen on paper. The challenge I face
is dealing with all the daily responsibilities – I have no one to
cushion me from a hundred chores, and every time I begin
a book, these seem to multiply and turn into full-blown
domestic crises! “
Scharada adores Anne Tyler and her novels about
families and relationships and is also fascinated by the
works of Kiran Desai and Rohinton Mistry, GEral Durrell
and Richmal Crompton. As a writer, she has carefully
stayed away from writing about the visceral topics that have
become visible in recent times like the the extreme reality
of hate, criminally murderous intent, rape and incest. “The
reason I have stayed away from these topics are because it
would mean that I first engage very closely with people who
have gone through this, and I haven’t done that. Maybe my
next book will have some of these elements.” Even then,
she lives her life without regret or wasted yearning and
advices budding authors to truly relish the moments in life
by taking time to observe and enjoy the little things which
will aid them in finding a way to be expressive, “Writers are
too much in a hurry these days to express fleeting opinions –
making their writing shallow and unlikely to last.”
58 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

ART & CULTURE
Sujata Sabnis started her career as a journalist
in Pune. Working with a leading news daily, Sujata
established herself as a bankable journalist. As a
journalist, Sujata discovered her talent for writing
mysterious and murderous stories and her ability to
create a gripping, pacy copy. But writing an article for
a newspaper with a limited word count was a far cry
away from penning a novel. Slowly but surely, she let
the story idea over power her and took the plunge into
pursuing a career as an author. She pursued the story
for over a year and got her first book ‘Silent whispers’
published. Subsequently, her love for words and stories
led her to publish another thriller under the title ‘A twist
in destiny’, making her a revered writer in the particular
genre. However, her third novel ‘Songs of Stone’ set up
in the Mughal period was a refreshing surprise to her
fans and all those who know her. “I have always been a
history buff and have found Mughal period fascinating.
But I can’t claim that I chose this topic , it would only be
fair to say that the story chose me. It came to me via this
wonderful story that struck me one day. I was petrified
at the idea of writing a love story and doubted my ability
to do justice to it. But once I started writing something
took over, it could be the characters themselves and I
managed to churn out a beautiful story.”
Her passion for words and stories are evident
through her books and she maintains that writing
a novel is heady. “Think about it you are creating
a world from your own imagination complete with
characters, events, twists. It’s a world in which your
reader will live while he is reading your novel. That is
powerful stuff, a feeling like no other. You fall in love
with your own characters, they occupy a delightful dark
corner of your mind, you laugh and cry with them, you
live vicariously through them.”
For her, the eureka moment that brings thrilling
moment when she is struck by a wonderful plot will
always be exhilarating and memorable but after the
initial high has worn off, the actually slog of developing
the story, characters and plot points set in. “A dauting
part in writing a novel is teaching yourself the discipline
needed to write itif you wait for inspiration to strike,
you may never finish the book. I adopted a rule that I
will write 1000 words a day, five days a week, even if
I later scrap most of it. I also learnt how to cope with
genuine writers’ block, how not to panic in such times
and have faith in the creative process that at some point
words will start flowing again. ”
MARCH 2017 59

art & culture
anjali shetty
Radhika Mukherji a thriving
entrepreneur with creative
instincts and passion for music
speaks to Crème on founding
Happydemic and work-life balance
Radhika Mukherji, founder; CEO of Happydemic envisions
a happy difference in the lives of artists and customers through
the platform. Happydemic is a one stop destination which
aims at democratising live performances and bringing them
to one’s doorstep at an affordable price. Radhika’s primary
motto is to enhance the joy of music enriching one’s soul,
leaving a mark in the lives of the artiste and the audience by
putting special focus on individual preferences.
What was the idea behind Happydemic?
Happydemic’s essence is spreading happiness within the artist
community by connecting them to the right audience. Shaan
has been a part of reality music shows and there was so much
talent out there. Once the season got over, their talent didn’t
get any direction. Happydemic strives to do that. Connecting
exceptional talent with honourable audiences and spreading
happiness to our artist and customers has been our aim. An
epidemic of happiness, thus Happydemic.
Where did the initial inspiration/
influence come from?
I have been with Shaan for 20 years now, and I have seen him
host a lot of reality shows, host them initially and then he
moved on to judging them, and there was exceptional talent
that came on to these platforms. So any reality show has a
whole lot of rounds that go in, and you have over hundred kids
with exceptional talent coming in but finally there’s one
winner. So, the idea behind Happydemic was to actually help
the other 99, to bring their talent up, to not let them spiral
down because they were as popular as their last season. A lot
of these kids leave their cities, their villages and they come to
Mumbai to pursue this dream of music, and like we all know
that the city of Mumbai is such an expensive city. They have
talent but nowhere to perform so the spirit of Happydemic
came from there, that we wanted to be that gust of wind
beneath their wings to help them get work and to connect
their exceptional talent with honourable audiences.
60 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

art & culture
Was it difficult to convince artistes to come
on board?
Luckily for us, because of Shaan’s goodwill in the industry, we didn’t
have too much of a problem convincing them to come on board. But
honestly, I think what stole the deal or rather what sealed the deal was
that, we’ve not bound them by a contract. What we do have is that the
artists work with us exclusively, because we curate acts, so those acts
belong to us. The artists come on board to execute those acts, and they
can’t use that same act elsewhere. Other than that you know we have
absolutely no restrictions on the artists, and I think that is a very big deal
clencher. It gives a lot of trust to the artist community that we are here
to give them work and not bind them. We also support the artist a lot
by giving, classes in our office like ‘Hindustani classical’ music and
guitar classes, and I think that tremendously helps the artist, because
they know we’re serious about nurturing and nourishing them.
What was the most challenging or easiest part of
the entire process?
The most challenging process in any business is getting the idea from a
paper into a sustainable business model. That was a challenging part,
because we wanted to make sure that we have a great business model
and after that there was proof of concept. Then we put fuel in the engine
and took off with Happydemic. The easiest part would be anything that
follows the proof on concept.
How involved is Shaan in this project? Do you
go up to him for advice?
Shaan is the soul of the company. He’s always available for advice and
more! Initially it was tough but not from family but for me to balance it
well. My sons are grown up now ... Soham is 15 and Shubh is 12, so I
don’t need to helicopter around them and that took time for me to
understand. There are 24 hours in the day and I’ve learned to manage
it well. Work has actually got a whole lot of discipline in our lives and
I’m really loving this phase of my life.
What about being a part of this project do you
enjoy the most?
The very fact that my designation reads ‘Chief Everything Officer’ says
it all. I love everything about the process, from having a concept in
mind, to creating and executing it and seeing that thrill on our customers
face when they call me up or message saying ‘What a fantastic
performance’ I enjoy the entire process fully.
Tell us about the process for an artiste to register
with you.
Initially we use to reach out to the artists via different reality shows but
now we are gaining a lot of popularity on online registrations
(registration is free). Once they have registered, our teams of mentors
go through their videos and with their talent, connect with them and
then we go live with their profile. We have a responsibility towards our
customers, who we promise exceptional performances.
How does one go about booking a performance?
It’s very easy. Our website is extremely user friendly. One just has to go
on the website as a customer. After which you can see multiple product
that we have. If you want to book a band for a house party or a wedding,
or you want to gift someone an experience for 20 minutes, you just have
to go there and follow the process. Today you can book a performance
in less than two minutes through Happydemic.
How do you balance work and home so well?
Your advice to young women entrepreneurs?
There are 24 hours in a day and I like to plan everything well in advance.
From the kitchen menu to meetings of the day, everything is planned
and I make sure that I stick to a schedule. I actually imagine my entire
day and figure out whether it is practical for me to fit in the kind of
things and if not, then I prioritise it accordingly. From kitchen menu to
meetings, chat with kids’ extracurricular activities, car pool, or even a
date with Shaan. Everything is planned! I have to-do notes all over my
cabin (in the office) and on the fridge (in my kitchen). The only thing
that I have stopped doing is, go to “show your face” kind of parties. I
really don’t have time to socialise and the time that I have, I rather spend
it with close family and friends. I’ll like to tell all the women out there
that to do what you’re afraid to do. You are the best version of yourself.
I don’t think you need to be a copy of someone else. Most importantly
women should seek respect and not attention.
anjalishetty@crememagazine.in
March 2017
61

art & culture
As fiction writers, we are
supposed to be lying to our
readers by spinning tales. But,
I want my lie to be believable
and I try to keep it as close to
the truth as possible.
ASHWIN SANGHI
Author
62 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

art & culture
Ashwin Sanghi’s list of credentials is endless, he is one of India’s most
marketable writers. He is uber talented, unassuming and nonchalant, in
both, his public and personal life. In the city to launch his latest book
Private Delhi, co-authored by James Patterson, Ashwin bares it all in an
unreserved interaction
VIDYA UNNITHAN
Known popularly as India’s very own ‘Dan Brown’, Ashwin Sanghi is a
thinker, speaker and a master storyteller. His engaging storylines
coupled with compelling narratives, makes him break the stereotypical
mould of Indian authors. Ranked as one of the highest selling English
fiction authors in India, he holds many affiliations and dons the role of ‘people’s
writer’ with perfection.
Being an entrepreneur by profession and writer by passion, Ashwin Sanghi’s
story is worthwhile. He credits his maternal grandfather for helping him find his
footing in literature. By using the convention of sending Ashwin books to read
each week, his grandfather helped transform the seven year old boy into a
voracious reader who had no intimation of the writer lurking within him. A
chanced visit to the everfamous Rozabal shrine in Srinagar propelled a sense of
curiosity within Ashwin as the legend that affirms the shrine to be a burial site of
Jesus Christ, fascinated him. His fascination soon grew into an obsession which
led him to read and research about the subject for over a year, a casual suggestion
from his wife to weave the disparate threads into a story, nudged Ashwin to pen
his first book, The Rozabal Line. Juggling a career as an entrepreneur five days a
week and writing for the other two, Ashwin took two years to complete his debut
novel, only to be rejected by 47 literary agents. Undeterred by the setback, he self
published his first book under the pseudonym Shawn Haigins in 2007. The
theological thriller based on the theory that Jesus died in Kashmir was
subsequently published by Westland India in 2008 under Ashwins name and the
March 2017
63

art & culture
book went on to become a bestseller. Since then he has published
Chanakya’s Chant, Krishna Key, The Sialkot Saga and a non fiction
series on 13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck and 13 Steps to Bloody
Good Wealth. He has also collaborated with James Patterson, a
thriller writer who holds the Guinness World Record for the most
#1 New York Times bestseller, for his Private Series called Private
India. Talking about the second addition of the Private India series,
Private Delhi, Ashwin recalled how co-authoring with James
Patterson seemed like a terrifying idea. “When the offer came to me,
I was a little concerned. I din’t want it to be a colour-book exercise,
meaning, I did not want someone to draw the outlines for me
because that invariably meant that my creativity would be curbed.
Surprisingly, James said that India is an alien territory to him, which
meant that the plot lines would come from me and that is precisely
what I wanted ,so I agreed to get onboard.”
The union of the two thriller writers is magical and is evident in
their Private Series, the research and storyline of Ashwin and the
supreme detailing and twists of
James makes an interesting read.
Priding himself in creating
grey characters, Ashwins
characters can neither be loved
nor loathed. For a regular reader,
his Private Series would seem
brutal and blood curdling, this
un-Ashwin Sanghi like quality
can be very well credited to the
creative geniuses of the duo ,
“The book was meant to be a
dark. Before James and I even
began writing, we were very
clear on the idea that the book
would be a Scandinavian or Nordic Noir. Typically in this genre the
thrill that one gets is through the open spaces, the freezing
temperatures, the fact that you have light for a very few hours and
the number of miles between one house and the next. But India is
the stark opposite of that, you have hot weather, you have daylight
most of the time and you have an ever swelling population, in that
sense, the overcrowding nature of our city gives us anonymity, you
can slip in and out unnoticed, you are just one in a million and that,
to us was an area that lend itself to a crime thriller. So, our attempt
to transform an Indian setting to fit the Nordic Noir genre gave way
to the blood curdling elements.”
Being a purposeful writer, Ashwin has always managed to merge
the past and the present beautifully. The plots would revolve around
actual controversies, political unrest and shocking incidents.
Keeping the pertinent theme of organ harvesting and medical
tourism at the centre, Private Delhi stirs up a feeling of unrest. “As
fiction writers, we are supposed to be lying to our readers by
spinning tales. But I want my lie to be believable and I try to keep
“ The reason behind the gravitation towards
such (crime) fiction is because there is a little
part of us which knows that we could also be
that way, there is an element of evil in all of
us. There is a strange preoccupation with serial
killers even though they account for less than
one percent of crime. The reason behind the
gravitation towards such fiction is because
there is a little part of us , which knows that
we could also be that way, there is an element
of evil in all of us. “
my lie as close to the truth as possible. The reason my readers can
recollect or relate with the incidences is because they have already
appeared in the newspapers, so everything sounds believable.”
Ashwin is fascinated by things around him, be it media, politics,
business, the interplay between them and even serial killers. “ There
is a strange preoccupation with serial killers even though they
account for less than one percent of crime. The reason behind the
gravitation towards such fiction is because there is a little part of us
, which knows that we could also be that way, there is an element of
evil in all of us. Our conscience mind would disagree but our
subconscious mind knows that we are a whisper away from being
mentally imbalanced and that realization is why 90 percent of crime
fiction is dominated by serial killers.
Ashwin is referred to as the ‘Sage of Research’, his quest for
knowledge has lead him to uncover information and realities that
help make his book seem real. “Research plays an important role in
my books, I want the readers to know that reality and fiction can
co-exist and that drives me. The
research for my Bharat series are
always nicer and as I can read
and talk to scholars and linguists
but the Private series is a whole
different ball game. I have to be
out there, talk to people, cops
and even conmen. But, it is
something which whas to be
done, the grittiness of world has
to be brought to peoples notice.”
With the idea rooted firmly in
his mind, Ashwin almost
effortlessly weaves tales that are
nothing but fictionalised truths.
With an established foothold in the literary world and nine
bestsellers in his kitty, Ashwin marches ahead steadfastly bettering
himself with every novel. He commits to keep co-authoring books
along with other experts, but also promises that his Bharat series
would continue to be authored solo. He concludes the hour long
interaction by urging budding writers to keep at it.
“Those who are trying to write should write, because most people
think about writing but they don’t get to it. Second would be to
never worry if your book would be sellable or not. Third, would be
to not look at the whole process as writing but rather as storytelling
because when you write a good story, the words take a back seat.
Any editor worth his merit could make your story read better but
he cannot write the story for you. Fourth, is to be thick skinned to
deal with inevitable rejections that come within the territory and
the fifth, and the most important would be to stay rooted if you
make it big.”
vidyaunnithan@crememagazine.in
64 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

For the second time around, Comic Con Pune is back, bigger, better and full of
excitement. Venture into the fantasy land of comics, TV characters and games and
unleash the fun
With tremendous response and after last year’s
success, Comic Con Pune is back again for its
second annual comic convention, taking place
on the first weekend of March. Filled with special
guests, gaming zones, cosplay contest and panel discussions,
this year, the convention is all geared up for famous international
personality, David Lloyd, British comic artist best known for his
work on V for Vendetta. In order to win assured prizes in an exciting
Cosplay contest, fans can come dressed as their favourite comic,
superhero or gaming characters of their choice.
Comic Con India brings a special treat for tech and gaming
enthusiasts, with an exclusive Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Experience
Zone, where gaming enthusiast can battle it out with feature games
such as Fifa 17, Battlefield 1 and many more.
Other exclusive experiential zones at Alto Pune Comic Con
includes AXN Live R.E.D Zone. AXN’s Live R.E.D. zone will have
exciting activities to highlight some of its iconic shows like Billions,
Justified, Supernatural, The Voice, Dexter and Sherlock. There will
also be a chance to experience Sherlock’s eccentric lifestyle and win
lots of goodies amongst other things. So don’t miss it. Don’t forget,
to meet and greet many comic artists and exhibitors and book
launches. Make sure you make time for Pune’s biggest pop-culture
event of the year!
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in

ART & CULTURE
Having made his way to the top 100 hottest architects to look
out for, Ash Parekh, architect and owner of Opus design
Studio sits down for candid chat with Sanaa Nalwalla and
talks about work, current projects and his journey up till now
Hailing from Mumbai, Ash
Parekh’s journey started when
he travelled to Washington
to complete his masters and
comfortably settled there for
20 years. He made the switch of shifting his
base to Pune and soon after, opened up The
Opus D’sign Studio, a leading architectural,
interior design and master planning firm
involved in projects all across India back in
2005. Since then, Opus D’sign Studio have
developed an extensive portfolio of niche and
unique projects when it comes to educational
schools and colleges, hospitals such as Jehangir,
N M Wadia and Ruby Hall and many other
prominent projects in the industrial sector.
Making headlines in 2015, as one of the
hottest 100 architects in India by Architect
and Interiors India Magazine, Parekh’s ethos
is well reflected through his skills and design
sensibilities. Parekh is a firm believer of hard
work. “You have got to work smart and more
importantly you have to be honest in your
work and with your clients. Sometimes success
might take a little longer but it’s the crux of what
we do. We always have
the client’s interest
in mind.” Moving
deeper into what most
of his designs reflect,
he holds the client’s
needs in high regard.
For an architect to
design a said space,
the client’s brief needs
to directly respond to
the space designed.
The architect needs to
share the same page
and navigate through
challenging decisions
in order to build a space, in a manner which
makes sense on a planning basis, makes sense
on an economic basis, technical basis and most
importantly on a creative basis.
As an architect, urban designer and
planner, Parekh has been subjected to many
hindrances along the way. “From a design
or planning angles, critical and paramount
importance is for the architect to understand
the clients design brief, their requirement,
and more importantly what has created that
particular requirement. He feels that the
construction industry needs to rapidly start
organising themselves better. From the lack of
man power to the availability of skilled labour
within the construction industries that are
needed to lend their expertise is direly lacking.
In efforts to better urban development and
provide industrial professionals a standard
66 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

centralised data bank is the
way to move forward. “Like
in the west, if architects,
interior designer or an
urban planner can actually
draw upon. Say there are
different types of floorings
or paints available; you need
to do your own homework.
There is no central bank
where anybody in the
construction business
can go and ask for
certain materials fit for
his special requirements.
The challenge has been
that sometimes one can
vision and one can dream
but design down to a
level where it s practical,
economical, technically
feasible and constructible
is a different matter,” says
Parekh.
An a witness to the ever changing urban
landscape of Pune, Parekh feels that Pune
started rapidly developing in the late 1990s and
saw real changes taking places during this time.
In terms of roads, infrastructure and water
managements he feels, that the government
needed to make certain changes when the
shift as underway of Pune becoming a more
developed city. On a positive note efforts are
being made now for new projects coming
online to respond to some of the needs that
buyers are now actually demanding. “That is a
good thing because buyers are well informed
and respond to global trends, planning trends
in terms or architectural trends and materials.
And this attitude is also reflected in the
builder’s attitude when it comes to catering to
an audience.”
In sans there is positivity on the horizon,
but the infrastructural needs to start rapidly
to meet the demand and change anticipated
in the near future. “Pune will obviously grow;
there is no two ways about it. We have a
tremendous influx of IT professionals turning
Pune into an educational and manufacturing
hub and we have people from all walks of life
who are going to continue to call Pune their
home. “I think positives like social culture
changes will impact and bring about a change
in a positive manner, and I hope it matches the
pace of the city, considering the rate at which it
is growing. Look at the future growth and say
30 years from now what are going to do? How
are we going to respond to the city doubling in
size? We need a master plan which responds
to the fact that if the city is growing at 5-7%
every year, you’ve got to plan 30 years into
the future,” says Parekh. With a few tweaks,
and future planning, the development control
roles are in the process of being modified and
they react looking at the future rather than
tackling an ongoing issue.
art & culture
Talking about offering
the best of both worlds in
terms of advantage and
designs, Parekh elaborates
that, “in the West there is a
certain design philosophy,
there are nuances of
design and planning that I
learnt, and imbibed while
I practiced architecture in
US. India has its own style
its own lifestyle. Giving a
classic example of a wet
and dry area in a bathroom
15 years ago didn’t exist.
When I started designing
this space for my clients, I
realised there was a need
for it in India, considering
it hadn’t been done before.
I didn’t invent anything
new; I simply applied a
design aspect and that as
that. Another thing we were the firsts to do
back in 1997 was introducing the concept of
a pre-engineered building. Where the entire
building came in containers and the entire
50,000 building was assembled in just 21
days. A deed like this was not even remotely
thought about 20 years ago. Even if you look
at the concept of the walk-in closet, if you look
at the concept of a cooking island, these are
things which are very prevalent in the west
but we have just now started imbibing into the
planning of homes.”
With positive prospects in the future,
Parekh will continue to do good work and
envisions growth in the tier two and tier three
cities of India. “Architects and planners need to
respond to the challenges in these cities, that is
where the need of the population lie. Hospitals
and schools and industries and clinics are
going to be need in those cities and they are
going to need qualified people. The name of
the game is going to be a more compressed
version of what is available in a metro into a tier
two and tier three cities offering you the same
functionality in design, sensibilities, aesthetics
and that is something that we are gearing up
for in the next 20 years.” Mean while projects
like the PICT Model School, Hinjewadi, the
new Ruby Hall at Amanora, and India’s first
eco friendly kinder garden centre. Following
suit, they are also underway designing an
economical, eco friendly residential projects
which focus on value housing which aims at
giving maximum benefit and maximum value
to the buyer.
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in
March 2017 67

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art & culture
As a well-versed artist and academician Shubigi Rao
is a pandora’s box of information whose interest lain
in various fields which requires one to be critical and
informed and openly opinionated to allow oneself to
conceptual frameworks in order to teach oneself
new things
sanaa nalwalla
Tell us a little about yourself...
I’m an artist and writer, based in Singapore. I’m really an artist
only because it gives me the freedom to research and make
work about any field, to be critical and informed and openly
opinionated, to switch between conceptual frameworks and
to teach myself new things, media, and ideas. So my interests
range from archaeology, neuroscience, outdated 13th-19th
century science, natural history, scholarship and exploration,
to language, libraries, and even historical acts of cultural
genocide, to name a few.
How did you come about working with the infamous
Raoul? Could you elaborate on your choice of a
male alias?
S Raoul was an erstwhile scientist, theorist, archaeologist and
scapegoat, as well as a mentor to me. As a male of no clear
ethnic persuasion, he became a very useful persona under
which I could make ten years worth of art, write scientific
papers (all hoaxes of course), and academic art history books
(also not wholly truthful). Its been fun watching how easily
people accept the word (and work) of a dead male over that of
a living female. So I’ve been the ‘booth girl’ who presented his
neuroscientific work at the global congress of neuroscientists
in 2010, while brilliant scientist admired S. Raoul’s collection
of 19 th century lobotomy tools (they were really rusty crochet
hooks), and have even written a biography of him. He’s really
just me, with a paper moustache, but a surprising number of
people bought into that fiction. I suppose it says a lot about
gender politics in art, academia, and authority, as well about
our willingness to believe even the most outlandish premise,
if it is presented in a convincing enough fashion.
What is the nature of your work which makes
it interesting?
I’m not sure if it’s interesting to anyone else, but I’m endlessly
fascinated by the breadth and range of knowledge and wonder
in the natural world, the cosmos, at the quantum level, in
70 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

science, technology, literature, really, just
almost all human endeavour. As an avid gamer
I’m also a reader of political and military
history. All this come out in strange ways – I
make tongue-in-cheek books, artworks, evil
board games, and complex installations of
pseudo-science machines, metaphysical
puzzles, video, objects, etchings, prints,
drawings, handmade books and scavenged
material. I’ve created archaeological archives
of garbage, written ‘How To’ manuals for the
aspiring tyrant seeking to build a nation and a
culture from scratch. No matter what I make,
there is a strong element of humour, though
that sometimes masks a deep anger at injustice
or human idiocy.
How did you immerse yourself in a
multitude of so many things, right from
history to languages to neuroscience?
I grew up with a huge and very eclectic library
– my parents had a wonderful collection of
rare and outdated books on natural history,
science, literature, and the humanities. I read
them as voraciosly as I read popular fiction
from Agatha Christie to Sherlock Holmes.
Since all I did was read as a child (friends were
a waste of time, and playing outdoors was
tedious), I learnt to read very quickly and
critically, and to parse subtext and layered,
submerged meanings or agendas. I still look to
books for answers, for escapist immersion, for
blurring the boundaries between fact and
fiction, and for trying to decipher the
inexplicable. History is much more than rise
and fall of empire. For me it is also the
migration of language, of culture, of
mathematical concepts, and of diseases.
What is the relationship between art
and curation? How does the curatorial
feature in your work?
I used to be particularly interested in the
politics of display, when I was a student, and in
the way knowledge is framed, ordered and
presented by institutions of authority. For
instance, the display of dead animals, or ‘native’
artefacts in a museum says more about the way
the original context is erased, and the need to
collect, classify, label, and display. All these are
acts of ownership. The curating of people, flora
and fauna, and the naming of things went hand
in hand with imperialist expansion and
eventual colonisation. Curating in the arts
involves a sometimes similar erasure of origial
context, and yet, I can enjoy these artifices,
because we betray more about ourselves when
we attempt to create order, or meaning, out of
chaos, whether it is classifying and studying
the teeming forms of life in the tropics, or
curating the disordered mind of the artist! A
lot of my installations replicate the museum
environment. I curate garbage, junk, scrap and
discarded ‘leftovers’ into ordered displays,
properly classified and labelled. The curatorial
note about my work in the guide to the Pune
Biennale encapsulates, quite neatly, the need
to question why and how we separate and
create hierarchies for things, animals, and
people. We are constantly curating — we sift
out what we deem irrelevant, and only choose
to remember or emphasise what confirms our
worldview.
Can talk to us about your obsession
with octopus and how they are relevant
to us beings?
The octopus is a fascinating creature — it is
now being studied as a wholly new form of
intelligence. If we were to study the evolution
of sentience, intelligence and conciousness,
then the cephalopod would be a completely
different branch. Instead of the usual single
brain (central nervous system), it has nine, as
each tentacle has a ganglion, in fact two-thirds
of its brain is in its arms. It is a master of
camouflage (its skin can look like seabed sand,
rusty metal or bright plastic garbage), it can
use tools, open jars from the inside, and
predict the winners of the FIFA World Cup.
It’s the closest we will probably come to
studying alien intelligence, since it’s the only
invertebrate that we know of (as of now), that
evolved a wholly different form of intelligence.
Some studies even show it capable of
distinguishing between human faces, of
having a rich inner life, of contemplation and
reflection. It can unravel puzzles, figure out
mazes, but its use of tools is doubly interesting
because unlike vertebrates who learn these
skills from parents or watching others in social
groups, the octopus is a solitary creature who
figures things out on its own. The brain, to me,
is a subject of immense interest, and to be
sharing a planet with this creature is a
huge privilege.
Can you talk about your decade-long
film, book and visual art project, ‘Pulp:
A Short Biography of the Banished
Book’?
Since 2013 I have been working on ‘Pulp: A
Short Biography of the Banished Book’, a
decade-long film, book and visual art project
about the history of book destruction,
censorship and other forms of repression, as
art & culture
well as the book as symbol and resistance. This
involves travelling around the world to film
public and private collections, libraries and
archives that have served as flashpoints in
history, collecting fragments, ephemera,
anecdotes, buried secrets, and piecing together
a composite chronology of the conjoined
literary and violent trajectories of our species.
I’m trying to recreate the history of our species
and our fear of culture, knowledge, and the
words of other people.
Can you decode–‘archiving and
destruction of knowledge in various
forms’ for us?
The library is like a brain. Apart from the
obvious shared archival nature, they are similar
because both are subject to decay. The brain
chooses to forget, and it is the disorder of
those choices that are of huge interest to me.
The library, or archive of knowledge, is full of
half-truths, outdated knowledge and
mouldering, unread books, information that
may never be accessed, and may not be wholly
trustworthy. Our brains don’t store memories
and then retrieve them–they remake the
memory every time we call upon, and are
therefore completely unreliable. Imagine that
everytime we ‘put away’ information in our
mental storehouses, we are destroying them,
knowing that the brain will rebuild them when
we need to recall them. Of course, there also
more overt forms of knowledge destruction
– the burning of books and libraries, the
censorship of information, rewriting of history,
the impostion of one language over all others,
and so on.
You are all about discourse, is
everything related in life? Is there order
to our chaos?
As a species we are terribly flawed - our
constant discontent and fear of what we
cannot control makes us impose order where
none is often needed. The mental gymnastics
required to justify our systems, structures and
beliefs are laughable, yet we are deathly serious
about ourselves, and in our arrogance still
believe we are the center of everything. So no,
I really hope there is no order, because if
entropy is the natural process of the universe,
then our foolish, feeble attempts at order is a
joke. Having said that, there are forms of order
that are exquisite forms of life-support, so to
speak, and are most readily apparent in the
natural world. g
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in
March 2017 71

COVER STORY
This International Women’s Day, Anjali Shetty
brings to you four energetic and willful women,
who have carved a niche in respective fields.
They chose to think differently and take up
professions that were different and challenging
PHOTOGRAPHER: SHIVA SHARMA
PARUL MEHTA,
Trustee, Ishanya Foundation
T
ELL US ABOUT JOURNEY AS AN
ENTREPRENEUR. WHAT GOT YOU TO JOIN
YOUR FAMILY BUSINESS?
Born and brought up in an economically sound family, life
has been kind enough to provide me with an opportunity
whereby I could focus towards betterment of society;
something that I was always inclined to and found solace
in. In the early years of my life, there was always a subtle
thought of pursing my interest and dedicate my full
attention towards it. But it was this one incident that hit the
nail hard. It was this one event where I was part of the
organising committee in our college that we organised an
eye camp. One feeble old lady walked up to me post her
cataract operation and mentioned that I was an angel sent
by God. It had been over a couple of years that she was
suffering from cataract but did not have the resources for
her treatment. It was a small incident and just one more
initiative among many others that I was already a part of.
The joy I experienced seeing the happiness of the old lady
truly touched my heart and made me think, there could be
thousands more such people who are suffering but do not
have appropriate support and resources. It is only after this
incident, I decided to work towards building a better society
and making a difference. As I met and interacted with more,
I started to realise that there is a huge need to unfold buried
talents and capabilities, empower people and provide them
with a platform that will help them become self-reliant. On
one side there were businesses that sought talented
resources but could not find and on the other hand there
were resources available but who were not technically
sound. Thus, there was an immediate gap that needed to be
bridged. It was my moment of truth and I found my path.
It started off with the charitable work close to the factories
in Chindran village around Taloja. Backed with an able
team, we conceptualised and initiated several income
generation programmes. One of the early initiative was for
the youth, where we started tailoring classes. This enabled
them to design and supply items to boutiques thereby
making them self-reliant. Driven by the success of this
project, and the underlying thought of helping people
identify and develop their true potential, Ishanya
Foundation (IsFon) started its journey in 2006 towards
building a self-reliant and self-sustainable society.
THIS WOMAN’S DAY, WHOM WOULD YOU
LIKE TO THANK FOR INSPIRING YOU?
My mother has been my biggest inspiration. She instilled
moral values in me and taught me to strive for my
aspirations. What have been the challenges of leading a
72 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

cover story
company, considering not everyone is comfortable with a woman boss.
There are countless challenges faced by women at various stages
beginning from their initial commencement of enterprise to successfully
sustain it. Entrepreneurship has been traditionally seen a male preserve
and idea of women taking it up is considered as a distant dream. Setting
up the foundation also came with its own set of challenges for me,
however, with the immense hard work and perseverance put in by me
together with my team enabled us to pursue our dreams.
Initially, there were huge challenges of
identifying beneficiaries, make them
understand the benefits of vocational
courses and enroll them. To get people out
of their comfort zones and to push them
towards training and away from what they
were currently doing was a challenge.
Word of mouth played an important part.
What are the inputs
brought in by you?
Armed with industry expertise, I have been
able to successfully combine a traditional
business model with a pressing social
mission in ways that have been helping to
transform lives of less fortunate. The
foundation today works towards
relentlessly identifying potential and gaps
in the economic and social support
systems, with special emphasis on youth,
women and marginal farmers. Under its
various initiatives, the foundation has been
conducting several outreach programmes
in the areas of women empowerment
through livelihood programmes, health
and education. Besides running income
generation programs for underprivileged
women and various vocational courses, we
also organise several medical camps and
initiatives across western India and mobile
libraries for schools in rural areas,
benefitting more than 2,000 girls and
women. Observing the challenges, NGOs faced to sell their products due
to lack of resources and a physical space, we conceptualized and put
together a novel idea that was named — Yellow Ribbon NGO Fair
(YRNF). Always held before diwali, YRNF is a unique platform that
brings the collective work of NGOs, artisans and SHGs across India
providing them with a platform to reach out to their stakeholders be it
— individuals, corporate, government bodies among others. It provides
them with a unique opportunity to learn, share, network, generate new
ideas and awareness about the marketing trends with the urban and rural
market. Actualising the potential of the digital medium that is connecting
The pathology lab
Its benefits and how can you associate:
• Extend support to this initiative by giving
a little of your time to generate awareness on
the unique lab services to doctors, suggest
innovative ways to reach the needy and
recommend this to family/friends and your
domestic help to avail the lab services,
improve their health and well-being. Ishanya
Foundation offers pathological investigations
and health care services, if prescribed by the
doctor, to the patients in the local community
at highly subsidised rates, which are at most
times unaffordable for these patients.
Be an Angel
Voluntary mentoring at Ishanya Foundation
• Make a real difference to the lives of young
people by mentoring and encouraging the
aspirants to continue with courses enrolled
for, to become financially independent
• Aspirants join the vocational courses at the
Foundation to enhance their livelihood
skills, such as the professional beautician
course, certificate course in IT, teachers
training programme, BPO training course
and need continuous encouragement,
inspiration, motivation and empowerment
in completing their course and placements.
the world today, we conceptualised and arrived at the idea of launching a
unique marketing platform — www.heart2hand.org.in to bring together
over 200 NGOs and open the world as their potential buyers and
stakeholders. This website currently features over 400 products from
these NGOs coming from different parts of the country. In the first year
of its launch, several NGOs tasted success by bagging huge orders from
both international and domestic markets. Today this website is constantly
growing by both bringing in new NGOs and trusts under its fold and
adding newer variety of products on the
list. The fact that the NGOs get to directly
deal with their customers once the order is
placed, goes a long way to showcase the
transparency of this initiative. Over the last
three years, Ishanya Foundation has
initiated another unique project named
Muskaan to empower financially
challenged women. Under this initiative,
Ishanya Foundation receives pre-owned
garments, clothes and accessories through
its ‘Muskaan Ambassadors’ in the city.
These products are checked for quality and
the ones found in good condition are sold
at affordable prices to underprivileged
families in various areas of Pune by 20
‘MuskaanParees’ — a self-help group of
women affiliated with the Foundation. My
inherent sense of design, art and aesthetics
has enabled me to start Pune’s first State-
Of-The-Art, art gallery called Tilting Art
Gallery. This gallery supports and
encourages budding artists to explore their
creativity complemented with training
sessions conducted by some of the best
names in the industry and later showcase
their art works. With our retail
establishment, we have become the
incubation centre for several upcoming
brands that display great potential.
What about Pune has
helped shaped you professionally and
personally?
Pune gives an opportunity for perfect work-life balance and thus
encourages entrepreneurship. Also, Pune being the cultural capital of
Maharashtra it offers me to foster my interest in art and culture along with
striking the perfect balance between my work and family responsibilities.
This enables to work better in various social fields and help me become
a better person.
March 2017 73

COVER STORY
SANJANA DESAI
Head Business Development, Desai Brothers Ltd – Food Division
TELL US ABOUT JOURNEY AS AN ENTREPRENEUR.
WHAT GOT YOU TO JOIN YOUR FAMILY BUSINESS?
Having watched my granddad, my father and my uncles work so diligently
with profuse discipline every day to give me the education and the life I
lived, joining my family business and putting in all my best efforts was
always my ambition. Being a part of the family business was never an
afterthought, it was always where I wanted to be. In a class full of ‘I want
to be an astronaut’ I had always said proudly that my ambition was to be
a successful business woman. My father always told me “learn how to read
your accounts first”, which is the ground rule of any business or
entrepreneurship. His advice struck a chord and I went on to pursue my
majors in Finance, Economics with a minor in International Business
from Bryant University in Rhode Island, USA. These years of education
also broadened by understanding of business and I discovered that I was
meant to join my family business. I was the first woman in four generations
to join my family business. where I walked into the office with no fear nor
any biased expectations.
THIS WOMAN’S DAY, WHOM WOULD YOU LIKE TO
THANK FOR INSPIRING YOU?
My mother has been my unabated support, pushing me and inspiring me
to achieve things that I didn’t think possible and she continues to give me
strength so I can focus on long hours of work and travel. We never say it
enough but, ‘thank you mom’ for being there, for being you.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE CHALLENGES OF LEADING A
COMPANY, CONSIDERING NOT EVERYONE IS
COMFORTABLE WITH A WOMAN BOSS.
After completing my graduation, as a 23-year-old ‘entitled’ girl, the first
thing was to learn the basic ropes of the business I was getting into and
subsequently earn respect and position based on merit. Also, being the
youngest one in the top management, I knew my work needs to talk
louder than my name. I work hard everyday on becoming a better leader,
they say ‘lack of listening’ is like the common cold in leaders. I believe it
is important to be observant at all times. Listening to your stakeholders
both internal and external is the key. It helps in gaining respect and loyalty
from your team as well as aids in easy motivation. We cannot be
complacent in life as it curbs an individual’s growth and learning.
Additionally, we have a healthy gender balance in our company and are
proud of it! Girls cannot spend late hours at work is a passé which is
constantly being proved by the young and motivated women workforce
in our enterprise. We have created a very conducive environment for
women. We as promoters, set the tone and ensure that we communicate
company values and shape policy with regard to gender equality.
74 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

cover story
What are the inputs brought in by you in
the business?
Working closely with my team of experts to conceptualise, develop
and introduce a range of innovative products that connect the brand
with the burgeoning youth segment and keeping in mind
consumption trends. Apart from developing new products, creating
the complete marketing communication platform for Mother’s
Recipe including the social media and digital marketing to connect
with the mothers of today. Created an e-commerce vertical where
we are currently selling our products through 25 E-Grocers such as
Big Basket, Grofers, Amazon, Snapdeal and our own exclusive
e-store ‘www.shop.mothersrecipe.com’. I have been leading the
International Business vertical for 6 years, I have helped created
SOPs that are regarded the best in the Indian Food Processing
sector, took charge of exports sales and marketing as a result, the
company’s export sales have witnessed an exponential growth of 63
per cent and export profitability by 70 per cent. Worked on
successful acquisition of Kolkata based ELMAC brand, integrating
and enhancing production capacities by five times & currently
spearheading the national sales and distribution expansion plans.
What about Pune has helped shaped you
professionally and personally?
The quality of life in Pune is incredible, it has always been a very
supporting environment for women in terms of education, skill
development whether it be — musical instruments, sports or art. It
is a creative town with liberal culture and I have always felt safe here.
What would your suggestions be to
ensure independent women?
For every woman to be independent they need to become selfsustainable
and to achieve self-sustenance one of the basic
requirement is education. So in my view it is imperative to provide
basic education to ever girl to make them independent. Education
lays the basic foundation for any individual to develop selfconfidence
and awareness at the same time pursue their dreams.
And being strong doesn’t mean behaving the way a man does, rather
it is the act of embracing feminism and taking pride in expressing it
to the world. Take control and responsibility for your own actions
and complete them rather than getting bounded by social norms.
March 2017 75

cover story
Manisha Cooper
Director, Marketing & Corporate Communication,
Cooper Corporation
Tell us about journey as an entrepreneur.
What got you to join your family business?
I have been a destiny’s child, born in an illustrious business family based
out of Satara and being the only child my education and upbringing was
governed or driven by the business environment. With an expectation to
take on the business mantle from my father, after completing my
graduation I joined my family business under the guidance of my father
Mr. Farrokh Cooper, who is an entrepreneur. My father will always be an
inspiration for me who has crafted his own journey from scratch and built
Cooper Corporation, a name that has brought industrial revolution in a
small city like Satara and has become household name. After becoming
part of Cooper Corporation, the first personal goal was to learn the
nuances of the business which is predominately driven by men. Currently
my journey is of an individual who is part of this big Cooper family trying
to make her own mark. Apart from this I have been fortunate enough to
manage my time during weekends to pursue my interest of working for
the welfare of animals with which I get best of both sides.
This Woman’s day, whom would you like to
thank for inspiring you?
My mother taught me to be an independent individual and being the only
child I always stood up for myself. I got the taste of the real world pretty
early in my life as I was away from home for my studies at a very young
age. It actually taught me to be myself, to survive and take inspiration from
every experiences in my life. I always believed in living by my own rules,
because if you live by someone else’s dream or look up to them, your true
self gets blocked in some way, so be an inspiration to yourself first then to
others.
What have been the challenges of leading a
company, considering not everyone is
comfortable with a woman boss
One of the basic challenge which I observed was lack of gender equality,
considering that the manufacturing industry on the whole is dominated
by men, acceptance of the opposite gender takes time. One of the key
changes I’m pushing for is to bring more gender equality and create a
team with perfect blend of youth and experience to take the company
growth story forward. Also being the youngest in the team my first
priority was to learn the basics and enhance my knowledge from the
experienced people in the company. It helped me build a strong
foundation for myself to contribute and add value to the organization.
We at Cooper has been continuously working on a platform where
everyone’s opinion/ ideas is heard and treated on merit without any
gender or age bias.
What are the inputs brought in by you in the
business?
• Working closely with the team, my first objective was to enhance
76 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

visibility of the company and the quality
products we manufacture from our 12
state of the art facilities in Satara.
• Improve awareness about the company
and its entire product offerings through
well thought out marketing and digital
media plan, at the same time highlight the
company legacy to enhance overall brand
equity
• Streamlining all the CSR work and
undertaking various initiatives to enhance
the standard of living for people in Satara.
Also, we have commissioned activities
within the company for all employees to
improve communication and encourage
team work.
• Though my journey has just started and
my team has been successful in bringing in
changes; however, I believe we still have a
long way to go and lot more to offer to the
organization.
What about Pune has
helped shaped you
professionally
and
personally?
Pune in way was majorly responsible for
bringing in a transformation in my life.
After completing my high-school from a
small town like Satara, when I moved to
Pune for my college (+2) the city life was
an enriching experience and sometimes
even too much to absorb. The city provided
me better education and exposure which
led me to pursue my graduation from
Scotland. Hailing from a small town where
I lived in a well-protected environment,
Pune exposed me to the real world and
made me self-reliant.
What would your
suggestion be to ensure
independent women?
Education plays a key role in making any
individual independent. One of the
initiative which I’m really passionate about
is child education and women
empowerment. Compulsory basic
education helps any individual to create a
frame work for their future and pursue
their dreams. It will open up a world of
opportunities for anyone specially women
to become self-sustainable.
cover story
about CooPER CORPORATION:
Sir Dhanjisha B. Cooper started from humble beginnings
where his father, Bomanjee Cooper worked as a carpenter
in a distillery repairing barrels and hence the name Cooper
which means a carpenter making barrels became the
family name. From this level, Sir DB Cooper went into the
business of buying land and planting date palm trees from
which he extracted toddy and sold it throughout the state
through retail counters.
Simultaneously, he was actively running a number of
liquor shops throughout the erstwhile state of Bombay
Presidency. Being an entrepreneur, he utilised his profits
into starting a small company in Satara Road making
ploughs, agriculture equipment, and later on diesel
engines. Eventually the company became known as
Cooper Engineering Limited. In those days of the British
Rule, it was difficult for an Indian to establish an industry
anywhere leave aside the rural areas . He was one of three
families- the other two being Kirloskar and Ogale who
chose to locate their factories on one common railway line.
With this foresight the company Cooper Engineering
grew in later years under the joint ownership of Walchand
into a multi-faceted engineering company making diesel
engines, machine tools, looms etc.
On the strong foundation of its intrinsic strengths,
Cooper Corporation has undertaken mega expansion and
diversification projects to reap the rewards of synergies.
The manufacturing systems of Cooper are equal to the
best internationally and comprise state of the art facilities
for assembly and machining of major engine components.
In managing the foundry business profitably, Cooper
Corporation has achieved commendable costeffectiveness
in factory operations through prudent cost
control over operations and optimal use of funds. Its
centrifugal casting process ensures manufacture of defectfree,
wear-resistant and durable castings.
The Cooper Corporation employs more than 3,000
people; a number of these operate in our various regional
offices, making us the largest employer in the area. With a
modern working environment utilising high specification,
computerised, and often robotic, equipment, in-house
staff training programmes, excellent pay rates and staff and
family benefits, the Cooper Corporation enjoys a high
staff retention rate, with many employees having been
recognised for 20, 25, 30, and recently 33 years’ service
with the company. This experienced and well-qualified
workforce using the best quality equipment and the latest
delivery systems enables us to continue to build on our
reputation for innovative, high quality and cost-effective
engineering products and excellent customer service.
With the following expansion plans being worked out in
this year, it looks to build on its growth trajectory and scale
to new heights. Hence, it always looks ahead towards new
horizons and sets goals that make them even more
valuable to their customers.
March 2017 77

cover story
Kanchan Naikawadi
Founder-Director, Indus Health Plus Pvt Ltd
Tell us about journey as an entrepreneur. What
got you to join your family business?
When I lost my father due to late detection of an advanced cancer, it struck
us real hard that maybe we could have saved him if we got aware of it early.
That huge blow in our personal lives impelled us to take a step further and
create awareness in the society about this still less provoked concept of
‘Prevention’. ‘Prevention Is Better than Cure’ is something that we have all
heard since our school days but seldom do we actually implement it. We lay
the odds and we wait and watch – our health. It’s time to wake up to the
concept of preventive healthcare. Keeping this in mind, Indus Health Plus
was established in the year 2000 by me and a team of like-minded professionals
to provide affordable, comprehensive and qualitative preventive health
checkups and diagnostics for symptomatic Indians.
This Woman’s day, whom would you like to thank
for inspiring you?
Sadanand Bapat, an eminent entrepreneur, my uncle and friend, philosopher
and mentor, has been an inspiration in my life and played an influential role
in moulding my personality.
Your advice to aspiring woman entrepreneurs.
Woman entrepreneur should have immense passion towards their work.
They should not be afraid of taking risks. Initially, it wasn’t easy for me, being
a commerce graduate to move into healthcare industry, but because I was
determined and was not afraid of venturing out, Indus was born and is
successfully spreading the message of preventive healthcare to the masses.
Another factor that women entrepreneurs should possess is the desire for
control. Women should have the ability to multitask as they need to manage
office and home with their goal-oriented approach.
How Pune has helped shaped you professionally
and personally?
When we started our business, we thought that Pune suited our requirements
completely. Being a diverse city like Mumbai, Pune has all the facilities that a
metro or cosmopolitan city has to offer. Good infrastructure, hi-tech superspeciality
hospitals, proximity to other tier II and III cities of Maharashtra, a
good network of expert doctors, and a technological sound city. Keeping all
these factors into consideration, we established Indus Health Plus in Model
Colony, Pune. Right from here, our concept of prevention has reached out to
almost 80 lakh people in almost 78 cities of India and UAE in a span of 16
years. From the personal point of view, being from Mumbai, the charm of
Pune’s easy-going life appealed to me the most. Pune also gives you that
perfect work-life balance that you have longed for. The recreational facilities
such as malls, playgrounds, movie theatres, and plethora of travelling spots
nearby Pune help you to unwind with your family. Moreover, Pune’s weather
is also soothing and the green cover in few areas is very pleasing.
Photographer: Shiva Sharma
Location Courtesy: The Westin Pune
anjalishetty@crememagazine.in
78 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

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Log on to www.crememagazine.in to read more food trends and reviews.

UPSHIFT
The all new Mercedes-Benz E-Class takes
luxury to a whole new dimension as
Vikram Gour got to find out on a drive
through sunny Goa!
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been around for close
to 20 years now in India and currently there are over
34,000 of them on our roads. With each generation,
Mercedes-Benz definitely upped the game; however the
latest one is an evolutionary step ahead of the others. It
is bigger, styled to perfection and comes with enough
gizmos and gadgets to keep a technophile happy as well.
Set your eyes on the new E-Class and the first thing that
hits you is its sheer size. This is the first extended wheelbase
Mercedes-Benz E-Class to be offered in India and it
measures over 5,000mm in length. As compared to the
older E-Class, this is a full 184mm longer and boasts a
3,000mm wheelbase. The new design language goes a
long way in disguising the length as everything looks
rather proportional and the elegant character lines play
a vital role in creating that aura of elegance that the E-
Class has always been known for. Further you get the
classy looking LED high performance headlamps up
front, a nice large two-slat grille with the large threepointed
star integrated as part of the design, a panoramic
sunroof, neat 17-inch alloys and a rear that resembles
that of the S-Class. The new version might not look as
edgy as its predecessor, however it definitely has a classier
appeal; something that aficionados will appreciate.
80 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

UPSHIFT
March 2017 81

UPSHIFT
CUSTOM BLEND
Royal Enfield enthusiasts take customisation seriously
– turning the passion into art
A popularly quote adage among Enfield enthusiasts
is that no two models from the brand look the same.
The reason Royal Enfields are treated as blank
canvasses for modifications is that the bike behaves
like an extension of the rider’s personality. It is a
journey of design, character and art mixed with a
healthy dose of emotion that transforms a stock
Bullet into a stunning piece of machinery that’s
borderline art. We take a look at some of the most
unique mods we’ve seen in recent times.
vikram gour & muntaser mirkar
82 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

UPSHIFT
Among the many custom outfits catering to
the Royal Enfield community, Thrissur
(Kerala)-based Grid7 managed to catch our
eye with its rare creations. Owned and run
by Robin Davis, Grid7 offers a kit for the stock Bullet
Classic 350 that’s a dark, cruiser inspired makeover. The
transformation process which eventually resulted in
this stunning looking machine you see here is nothing
short of a piece of fine artwork.
Grid7 Customs decided to do away with the regular
exhaust system and fit this with a G7 custom
performance exhaust that offers an enhanced sound
experience. Grid7 Customs has a strong focus on
creating exhaust systems and it is one of their signature
changes when it comes to offering customised solutions to customers. The other custom bits on this bike include the seats, indicator
lamps, front and rear mudguards, handlebars, rear view mirrors, the custom projector headlamp with a split DRL, and the Harley-
Davidson tail lamp.
The bike is also kitted out with a customised swing arm, a side-mounted number plate and powder coating on just about every part
of the bike including the engine. The final touches to the bike include the strikingly mean looking custom black paint job with red stripes
on the tank and new wheels an 18-inch front rim that runs a 100/80/18 tyre and a 15-inch rim at the rear fitted with 140/90/15
rubber.
The fine attention to detail and the passion that went into modifying this bike shows no matter which angle you look at it from. Sadly,
Grid7 Customs hasn’t given this bike a name just yet, but us fans of the Star Wars franchise have christened it ‘The Sith’, inspired by the
warmongerers from the dark side of The Force.
www.motorscribes.com
Muntaser Mirkar @BullSpeech
MARCH 2017
83

UPSHIFT
Grid7 Customs also got to work
on a Himalayan belonging to
Shambu Vinayan, who felt that
his motorcycle needed to be
more personal and fit his tastes. A single
worker was appointed the task of
transforming this bike into a sleeker looking
machine, yet retaining its core ability to be
taken anywhere. The following additions can
be made to make any Himalayan look
distinctive. The additional mudguard below
the headlight was removed, followed by the
stock meter and headlight to make way for
the new unit along with new clamps. The
meter cluster was placed on a brace fitted to
the left side of the modified tank guard.
The other modification that Shambu’s
Himalayan went through was at the rear.
Firstly, the tail piece was removed and the
number plate was mounted on the left swing
arm. Afterwards, the exhaust system was
completely redesigned and
repositioned under the tail.
The new pipes have been
crafted from stainless steel,
meaning they won’t rust and
can withstand temperatures
up to 1260 degrees. They
have been made in a special
way that utilizes a different
technology in order to
develop more back pressure
and thus more power out of
the 411cc engine.
Grid7 got rid of the
original black paint and went
in for a darker shade of forest
green – which is how it earns the
nickname we gave it. While the
paint is metallic, it has been given
a matte finish in order to suit the
style elements of the makeover. A
glossy finish would have, in all
likelihood, looked rather garish.
Completing the makeover are the
new set of wheels. The stock
Himalayan comes with a 21-inch
front wheel as stock fitment and a
17-inch rear.
84 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

UPSHIFT
oining the modified RE bandwagon is DC Design,
India’s premiere design house headed by Dilip
Chhabria. Their foray into custom bikes marks the
introduction of their sub-brand DC 2.The idea behind
DC 2 is to bring DC’s expertise in design and materials
to this segment and work on various ways to add
value and accessorise bikes.
Their first product, the CarbonShot is again based on a Bullet.
Changes to the stock bike include the new all-LED headlamps
and front indicators with a billet casing, a stylish carbon fibre
fuel tank cover that is designed to mount onto the original
tank, a front micro fender finished in carbon fibre, a single
rider seat finished in leather and it also comes with a built-in
LED stop lamp and turn indicators. The rear fender is also
made from carbon fibre and the other signature element on
the CarbonShot includes the luxury watch inspired air filter
and battery cover made from a mix of billet aluminium and
carbon fibre. The end result is drool-worthy!
Offered as a limited run of just 5,000 bikes (each one is
numbered for authenticity), the CarbonShot makeover costs
76,000 over and above the price of the base
Royal Enfield.
March 2017 85

UPSHIFT
Streety Treats, a mobile food chain run by Bangalore-based
student Arun Varma and his band of friends, led to the creation
of something uniquely quaint. After successfully running
three food trucks across the city, they decided to work
on the BBQ Bullet — or the ‘BBQ Ride India’ as they like to call
it. The custom bike was conceived to take their business to places
they previously couldn’t reach out to. Further to that, the novelty
factor of having a unique contraption to serve food from had its
own charm and would in many ways be a self-marketing tool.
The BBQ Bullet is a neat contraption with a sidecar which is
really where the story lies. Designed and developed by Arun and
his friends from scratch, the sidecar houses the main BBQ pit, an
additional gas stove powered by a 5 kg cylinder, two boxes for the
chef ’s tools and three food grade storage boxes complete with dry
ice. There is also the option of attaching a garden umbrella once
the bike is parked and set up for business. The structure and frame
of the sidecar is solid, while the two mounts that attach it to the
Bullet have been fabricated using a thick slab of sheet metal, along
with four strong bolts holding each mount in place. The Royal
Enfield Bullet 350cc was chosen for the job, thanks to the low end
grunt that the engine generates. The BBQ Bullet is fairly easy to
ride around at slow speeds and allows the convenience of quickly
setting up shop in an empty lot or outside a mall.
THE BARBEQUE BULLET
86 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

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GASTRONOMY
SANAA NALWALLA
Super foods are the natural
superheroes of food; they are
nutrient-rich, low in calories
and are considered to be
extremely beneficial for one’s
health and wellbeing. Though
there are no formal definitions
of the same, they can be
described as the nutrient
powerhouses that are perfect
to give you a healthy boost.
Crème lists 10 super foods,
along with their respective
benefits, that you need to
look forward to in 2017
1
Among many other types of tea that
have already taken over the market,
we predict that 2017 will put a box
of rooibos tea in the kitchen of the
health conscious out there. While
locals in Africa have been drinking
this tea since forever, it is only
recently that exports have increased
to other countries, including India.
According to experts, this tea has 50
times more antioxidants than green tea.
It is also rich in Vitamin C, low in tannins
and may ease digestive problems. Studies also
show that this tea may help strengthen bones, teeth, and
has a positive effect on the skin and hair. Anyone who
has suffered from asthma, skin issues, eczema, insomnia,
bone weakness or hypertension may also want to consider
drinking rooibos tea. Most people prefer to drink this in
its natural form, without any sweeteners. This red coloured
drink is an excellent thirst quencher and does wonders
for active people like professional athletes, hyperactive
children, and of course, tea lovers. It is the ideal drink for
those who simply refreshing drink without a caffeine boost.
The small reddish-purple acai berry is actually a fruit that comes from
the acai palm tree- and its shape is similar to that of a grape. Despite the
several myths circling around it, acai berry a super foods which is full in
anti-aging and weight loss properties. The acai fruit is prominently rich
in antioxidants, and is packed with amino acids, fibre, essential fatty
acids, vitamins and minerals. The fibre found in the berry’s pulp and skin
can improve digestion and can even support a healthy cardiovascular
system. Its high level of fatty acids shows a link between a healthy heart
and a healthy nervous system, too. The amino acids promote muscle
performance, energy production, endurance and strength. In short, acai
berries are one of the small things that have the ability to make the
biggest difference.
2
88 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

GASTRONOMY
Garlic roots are closely related to the onion
family, and this ‘stinking rose’ shows health
potential in every area of your body. The
Koreans discovered it just about five years
ago, when they converted white garlic into black
through a month-long process of fermentation. This
3
process is what makes it super garlic, and possesses twice
the amount of compounds found in white garlic. These compounds are
thought to help lower cholesterol and decrease the risk of cancer. Black garlic
is extremely potent and its high level of antioxidants offers protection from
chronic diseases. The best part is that the black garlic has none of the strong
odour of white garlic and can be consumed in large quantities without the
olfactory effects.
4
Duckweed, or water lens, are grown in
nutrient rich stagnant water. It is a small
aquatic plant that grows in dense groups
on the surface of the water. The whole
plant is used in herbal medicine, either
fresh, or even dried. It contains up to 45%
protein and may therefore attract many
bodybuilders and vegetarians. The herb can
even be used to cure headaches caused due to
overexposure to the sun. Due to this cooling
property, duckweed is considered to have
inflammatory and diuretic effect. Externally,
it has been used to treat skin rashes, eczema,
swellings, and insect bites.
6
Seaweed is an ancient super
food and is a health secret to
longevity. It’s consumed for optimum
nutrition, and the plant draws an extraordinary
wealth of mineral elements from the sea. Thus,
it contains high amounts of iodine, calcium,
magnesium, iron, vitamin A and C, Protein, Vitamin
B, fibre and so much more. It contains more Vitamin
C than oranges. It contains more vitamins than
fruits and other vegetables as well. It helps improve
memory, clear skin, good eyesight, dental health,
improved thyroid and immune systems, lowers
blood pressure, and much more. It can be used in
salads, and even soups.
7
5
Hemp protein is made from the hemp seed, and is a high fibre
protein supplement that can be used to enhance total protein
intake. It is a superior protein source due to its above average
digestibility. This enhances its anti fatigue properties as well
as kidney protective effects. This high quality protein has
greater nutritional value, if not equal to, some grains, nuts and
legumes. Besides this, Hemp is extremely rich in fibre – thus,
its consumption can reduce the risk of a heart disease, diabetes,
constipation and diverticular diseases. A recommended portion
of Hemp protein per day is 20-35 grams. Other benefits of Hemp
include anti-fatigue and immune enhancing benefits.
Maca Root is a member of the cruciferous familywhich also
includes broccoli and cabbage. Due to its unique properties, it
is considered as a super food. It is one of the few super foods
that are known for its pleasant taste, and is usually available
in the form of powder in the market. The Maca root benefits
include a positive effect on hormone balance, energy levels and
a holistic health booster. It has an extremely high calcium level,
even higher than milk. Feedback from consumers include that
people feel more ‘alive’, energetic, leaving them with a sense of
well-being. Maca Root Powder helps with PMS, menopause,
women with PCOS, hormones, fertility, energy, memory,
and mood and like other super foods; it is also an antioxidant
booster. You can mix Maca Powder with smoothies, oatmeal,
cereal, or just milk.
MARCH 2017 89

GASTRONOMY
10
Nutritional yeast is essentially deactivated yeast and is available in the market
in the form of flakes or as yellow powder. It is a significant source of Vitamin
B and is a popular cheese substitute because of its nutty, cheesy and creamy
texture. Despite its unappetizing name and appearance, it could be one of
the most valuable additions to your diet. It provides a wealth of nutrients,
vitamins, minerals and protein. However, stay away from bakers or brewer’s
yeast. It is a complete protein, and it contains even those amino acids that our
body cannot produce. Through with nutritional yeast, you get a significant
dose of minerals iron, selenium and zinc. Since it is a good substitute for
cheese, it is even used as a condiment or a topping for popcorn. It can be
used in mashed potatoes, any pasta/rice dish, or any other dish to enhance its
flavours and give it a creamy texture.
8
These two versions
of gluten free flour
are way healthier
than you could
imagine normal
flour to be. Sweet
potato has been a
significant source
of nutrition and an
integral part of one’s
cuisine. It is high
in fibre, Vitamin A,
Iron and calcium,
and helps stabilize
blood sugar levels.
Sweet potato flour
produced from dried
and milled native
sweet potatoes
is an easy substitution for baking, whether the fare is sweet or savoury.
This versatile flour holds moisture well, brings a richness of flavour and
adds a slight touch of sweetness to anything you make out of it. Despite
the name sweet, it is actually an essential in your diet if you’re a diabetic.
Similarly, Banana flour is dried unripe banana milled into powder. There
is an only one ingredient, green banana. If you eat it raw, it has a hint of
banana flavour, but when you bake with it, it has an earthy, wholesome
flavour. It brings all the properties of banana with itself, high potassium
and starch. This gluten-free flour works as well as a wheat flour and can
be used as a full or partial replacement in the wide range of applications,
from smoothies and baked goods to desserts, pancakes, stir fry, waffles
and even as a thickener for soup.
9
Watermelon water is on the same lines as watermelon juice, except that it
contains watermelon flesh, watermelon rind and lemon. The experience
of having watermelon water has aptly been described as ‘summer in your
mouth’. In terms of its nutritional value, it has double the potassium of a
single banana. It also replenishes nutrients and is rich in antioxidants such
as vitamin C and Vitamin A. This helps in preventing many ailments, right
from the common cold to deadly diseases like cancer. It can be further
mixed to create various kinds of mocktails like watermelon cherry mint,
watermelon lychee, and so on. This water is also packed with electrolytes
and amino acid that reduces muscle soreness and boost performance.
It is generally used as a sport drink, and gives you more energy and
stamina. It is a natural replacement for soda, or if you crave something
sweet. A simple recommendation for pairing up watermelon water is with
some sort of protein like a hardboiled egg, or even a handful of nuts.
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in
90 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

gastronomy
Baan Tao’s newest additions to the menu encompass many nuances from China,
Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia. Gorge your way through steamed dim sums and wok
tossed delicacies to satiate your hunger
sanaa nalwalla
Nasi Goreng
Yum Ma Muang
Salt and pepper prawns
Ahot myriad of flavours is offered with the latest additions of items on Baan Tao’s
newest menu. Tossing together the essence of China, Japan, Korea, Malaysian
and Vietnam is what Chef Sumit excels at. Having recently won the coveted
Times Food Award for the Best Pan-Asian fine dining restaurant, Baan Tao is a
taste test for the best of Pan-Asian cuisine has to offer.
Their latest additions onto to the menu offer a bevy of variants. From the steam
station order yourself a Baan Tao non-vegetarian dim sum platter which will
allows you to sample a few of their best bets. The platter consisting of chicken bao,
chicken hargao, pan seared chicken gyoza and mushroom and chicken crystal is
almost too pretty to eat. The prawn and chicken siu-mai are little balls of comfort.
The Salt and pepper prawns with mint and scallions are simple, yet delicious. The
Vietnamese steamed rice paper wraps were fresh and incredibly crunchy giving
you a multitude of textural experiences. The Sichuan pepper mushroom are crisp
button mushrooms tossed in generous amount of Sichuan peppers, hailing in
from China. These peppers are not spicy, but they their pungent flavours do not
go unnoticed.
A must try is their selection of salads. The Yum Ma Muang is a Thai raw
mango salad with crushed peanuts, chilli and desiccated coconut. The sourness
of the mango creates a wonderful backdrop for the chilli, onions and crunchy
peanuts. The Mandarin poached chicken salad with preserved vegetables, lettuce
is another must try. The traditional Malay favourite, Nasi Goreng, is presented
with a helping of fried rice, pieces of chicken satay and a glistening fried egg on
top to seal the deal.
In terms of indulgence, the Matcha tea opera is presented covered in a
chocolate ball, which dissipates when warm liquid is poured all over it. The cake
is light and the layers of chocolate made the cake decadent.
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in
March 2017 91

The vineyard at
Akluj by Fratelli
wines calls for
an exciting and
relaxing visit to
witness serene
beauty
SMS ‘creme’ to 56767
000 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

gastronomy
taste of the month
Monthly column on
fratelli wine varietals
Craig Wedge
As I lounge on this particular morning, shaking off the detritus
of another busy week of wine dinners and tastings showcasing
all that is good about Fratelli, my mind moves to the obvious
contemplation of what to put in my glass, as a respect of sorts, to
the malaise of a slow winding Sunday afternoon in Mumbai…
My mind turns to something uncomplicated. Something in my
glass where there is not a need for me to get on my wine horse
and dissect the liquid it into a million pieces, something where
there is no need to think but only to drink. After a pondering
stroll into the darkest recesses of my wine mind, I have decided
on this seventh day, to look at the world through a Rosé coloured
wine in my glass.
Ahhh Rosé!!...That oft-maligned sometimes misunderstood,
poor cousin of the all things white and red. Ahhh Rosé!!...,
That quintessential wine style of varying shades of pink, that
according to the self-professed real men of the world that drink
nothing but those wines that are as dark and opaque as spent
engine oil, should be left for the girls, along with all the other
wines that are sleek, effervescent and certainly sweet…. Ahhh
Rosé!!... Let me be the one to make a firm stand in your honour.
As a real man, all six feet three inches and 200 pounds of me, and
as a lover of all those things sweet, effervescent and sleek in the
world, you are the new black!
Now, there are varying interpretations of what constitutes
a good Rosé, but this is exactly the point. Rosé cannot be
misconstrued as just a simple after thought of a wine anymore
. It can be technical, it can be nuanced and it can be a glorious
thing to put in your glass for the hot Indian summer. And with
food, I stand unabashed in my belief that when it comes to
anything Indian on your plate, be it Paneer Tikka Masala, Vada
Pav, or Awadhi Seekh kebabs, Rosé is the king and the queen…
So, is it red or is it white? Neither! It is the sum of its own parts.
It can be red and white wine mixed, but in most cases, it is red
grapes that have been gently pressed and not crushed. Simple
fermentation. No oak, usually. Fresh and vibrant, uncomplicated,
ready to drink, young. The simplest of wine equations. It so
happens that this week at Fratelli, sees the launch of the newest
interpretation of a Rosé from our master winemaker Piero Masi.
This wine is made in conjunction with noted international wine
judge, editor, journalist and all-round good guy Steven Spurrier,
and fills the third spot in the line-up that is the M/S Master
Selection range of wines.
In this particular case, Masi’s muse Sangiovese, is the grape
of choice for this very stylish Rosé. A shade of peach skin pink
greats you in the glass with a delightful spring fragrance of forest
fruit and subtle sweet spice notes filling the nose. Bright and
fresh in the mouth with an impeccable balance of flavour and
texture with bright zippy acidity on the finish. This is a very
serious Rose, but I impress on you not to take it too seriously,
just get it in your glass and enjoy it for what it is delicious and
classy. I was fortunate to taste this wine at the winery earlier last
week, and with young Amol’s Maharashtrian food in ample
supply. My tough job, but someone has to do.
info@crememagazine.in
March 2017 93

gastronomy
In conversation with Nupur Joshi, a mixologist who is
determined to concoct and offer to the world —sangrias
and her version of wine cocktails with a desi twist to
enthral the connoisseur as well as the adventurous
palates with her stellar combinations of flavours
sanaa nalwalla
Nupur joshi was only 18 when she
tasted her first drink and ever since
she was determined to follow
her dream, to learn the nuances
of mixology and pursue it as a focused area of
study and experimentation. She received her
Hotel Management training from American
Hotel and Lodging Association and backed
it by completing two levels from WSET
(Wines and Spirits Education Trust of U.K)
the foremost authority on beverage education
and training, worldwide. She is now preparing
for the advanced levels. During her training,
Nupur spent some time basking in the Vineyard
of Spain in a 100-year-old vineyard and learnt
how to perfect the sangria. Her fascination
with wines led her to return to her roots and
experiment with various Indian based wines to
concoct cocktails. After receiving a wonderful
feedback, Nupur didn’t stop there, she kept
experimenting at various wine tasting festivals,
wherein the focus on mixing Indian wines with
Indian mixers, flavour’s and spices haven`t
stopped since. At many a cocktail festivals, she
is seen indulging in her passion and enticing the
crowd to get involved in her magical journey.
Owing to the fact that every person comes
with a different palate, this allows mixologists
to experiment with various combinations,
which one consumer may not like, but another
might just love. Is there a best match of flavour
combinations when it comes to mixing and
matching? Nupur believes that every mixologist
keeps experimenting and evolving all the time
and gradually builds a repertoire of mixes for
specific palettes and occasions. Ideally it is
essential to unite spirits in a way that the essence
of every ingredient stays intact. However, it is
necessary for mixologists to have substantial
knowledge about mixing flavour’s that might
cause damage to digestion or health and
consumers should be aware of what alky suites
them or not. There are no bounds when it comes
to mixing different alcohols, but, the biggest
exception to the rule of mixing different types of
alcohol is the classic long island iced tea which
entails mixing varied dark spirits together.
Gone are the days when a woman behind
the bar is spawned upon or looked down upon
due to her association with the liquor industry.
Male or female, it is solely the individuals talent
and quest that is respected and there are many
who have already created a buzz in the world of
the mixology. Luckily, for Nupur all the male
mixologists she has encountered have been
nothing but encouraging and supportive in
94 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

GASTRONOMY
PHOTOGRAPHER: SHIVA SHARMA
all her endeavours. This, entail has allowed her to carve a niche
for herself in the industry by exploring various possibilities to
take wine tourism experience in India into a space of substantial
immersion not just with wine tasting but the allied aspects as a
complete multi-sensory experience.
Because Nupur, took the road less travelled approach and
learnt mixology all by herself more as self-experiments .than
receiving formal education and training. She faced a few hiccups
along the way, when it came to form her own processes and
directions before she could feel more confident about offering
a consolidated range of concoctions to people to try. Making
people opt for a new drink was another task she faced. Given that
in the world of cocktails, Winetails are definitely a new entrant
especially so in the Indian, market, however sangrias and mimosas
have always been popular classics that the consumer prefers with
certain foods. Today, the experimental youngsters have an open
mind to try out well-crafted bubbly and keep diverting from their
regular choice of drinks.
In the future, Nupur wishes to keep experimenting with wine
cocktails and create a range of ready to drink bottled Winetails that
can be bought off the rack at wine outlets. She is also planning on
immersing back into an intense training at vineyards with expert
winemakers. Hopefully this could be journey towards designing
experiential wine tours and crafting some delicious
signature Winetails.
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in
PAGE DESIGN: SANAA NALWALLA
MARCH 2017
95

EATOPIA
SANAA NALWALLA
Mumbai’s latest offering has finally touched base in Pune and the anxious
wait is finally over. Read on to find out what’s good and what’s not with
their offerings
You would have to be living under a proverbial rock, not to have
heard about Sassy Spoon finally touching base in Pune. Brain child
of Rachel Goenka and chef Irfan Pabaney, this is their third official
venture in Koregaon Park after Sassy Spoon, Nariman Point and
Bandra. The restaurant has managed to recreate the same sassy
experience from previous ventures with quirky bites and an
innovative menu, which retains the favourite, yet makes new
additions to suit the palate of Pune.
The sassy experience started with a hot crispy plate of
Tenderloin jerky with coriander seeds and lemon, spicy cherry
tomato and chilli dip which is the perfect bar bite. Team this up
with a Spiked very berry khatta with seasonal mulberries
muddled with orange and hints of grape and kala khatta; which not
only takes you back to your childhood days, but it’s also a match
made in heaven. The Coriander and rava crusted bombil
with a sweet raw mango chutney are like Romeo and Juliet. One
cannot do without the other. The delicate, yet crispy bombil is
encased in green chutney and fried to goodness. Delicious. The
Cajun spiced, butter garlic prawns with crusty baguette is
quite similar to the garlic prawns found all-around Spain, with a
touch of cajun, the dish is completely transformed. Don’t forget
to mop up the flavourful oils with the handy bread and soak up all
the goodness. Moving on to the substantials, the creamy Grilled
chicken poi dressed with mint, coriander and jalapenos seems a
little bland, but the spicy kick from the jalapeno kicks the dish up
a notch. At Sassy Spoon the menu is well distributed from Indian,
to European to Asian. Drawing its influence from Asia, the Otak
otak is a serving of fish mousse mixed with spices and chilli and
steamed in neatly packed banana leaves. The texture s smooth
with a strong lemongrass hit served with a sweet chilli dip and
cucumber relish to cool down your palate.
Everyone loves BBQ. Chicken BBQ, fish BBQ, BBQ wings...
but there are two BBQ lovers, one who like the sweet more sticky
BBQ sauce, where as the other prefer the more spicy yet thin coat
of pungency. The BBQ pork ribs here are on the sweeter side,
and what else they have on their side are generous portions! The
ribs come in four-five portions on a plate with a side of extremely
creamy mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. I would have liked
the ribs to be cooked for a longer time just so that the meat can
just fall off the bone, but for this one some assistance from my
knife was needed. Vegetarians have no fear. The Aglio Olio style
risotto with curried zucchini, baby corn, beans and broccoli will
make your day. Pair that with a Soul cooler, which comes with
or without alcohol and you’ll be thanking your stars. The sourness
from the kokam and the pungency from the chilli will satiate
your senses.
For the sweeter treats, we tried chef Rachel’s special Red
velvet Sassy stacks which is three layers of red velvet cake neatly
stacked with generous and copious amount of cream cheese. You
really need to love your cream cheese to truly appreciate this
96 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

PHOTOGRAPHER: SHIVA SHARMA
dessert. The side of coffee foam will help you
to cut down the sweetness. The Sticky toffee
pudding is a must try! The classic hot pud
with a sticky, sweet caramel sauce and a scoop
of vanilla ice cream, hit the right spot. Do give
the Coffee and almond fudge a try; it’s a
gluten free dessert, which I have liked in a long
time. It’s not dry and crumbly and actually
moist. The chunky apricot preserve goes well
with little pieces of meringue for some added
texture. Forget about the dwindling winters
and dig into their house made ice creams,
out of which the Guava chilli sorbet and
Caramel are my best picks.
The servers at Sassy Spoon are well
educated, but a little slow on their feet. The
ambiance is a right fit for an overall calm yet
hip feel. The painter mug chandelier and little
rustic pink bricks on the walls, or the neatly
stacked library which will make any OCD
person at ease is all about the thought and
effort put into composing the restaurant. The
portions are generous, and with little to fault,
I need to go back to try the rest of the items
on the menu. g
sanaanalwalla@crememagazine.in
PAGE DESIGN: SANAA NALWALLA
March 2017
97

fitness and well-being
Crème brings to you fit mommies,
who make it a point to train or
exercise with their little ones. Here’s a
sneak peek into their fitness regimen
PHOTOGRAPHER: SHIVA SHARMA
LOCATION COURTESY: HYATT REGENCY PUNE
98 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

fitness and well-being
LOCATION COURTESY: FITNESS CENTRE, HYATT REGENCY PUNE
March 2017
99

fitness and well-being
LOCATION COURTESY: AROGYA SPA ENTRANCE, HYATT REGENCY PUNE
100 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

fitness and well-being
LOCATION COURTESY: FITNESS CENTRE, HYATT REGENCY PUNE
March 2017 101

fitness and well-being
Aarav, Nimisha and
Arnav Nadkarni
Fitness has always been a preferred lifestyle in her family. Weekdays each does their specific fitness
related activities, but weekends are reserved for family fitness sessions which is usually trekking. “My
husband and I are avid trekkers and introduced our kids to local treks. We started taking them to the
local fort treks around Pune, then longer overnight treks and gradually to the Himalayas.”
LOCATION COURTESY: HALLWAY, HYATT REGENCY PUNE
102 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

fitness and well-being
Sara, Mayuri and
Sanaa Kapasi
Mayuri’s fitness mantra is one should choose or pick a regimen which they enjoy, Don’t slave to get
results. Have fun with it. “I most enjoy yoga with my kids as it’s something we can do on our own
without a class or gym as well. So on holidays or lazy days we gather around, open up our mats and
stretch.Yoga exercises the mind and body and that’s an incredible gift to equip our kids with.”
LOCATION COURTESY: FITNESS CENTRE, HYATT REGENCY PUNE
March 2017 103

fitness and well-being
Medha and
Samara Gurbaxani
As a mom, Medha’s fitness mantra is
to be as active as possible even if she
can’t hit the gym or make it to a yoga
class and with a toddler, that’s not
difficult to achieve. “I enjoy going for a
walk with my toddler. I also practise
exercises with her at home which she
finds quite entertaining.”
LOCATION COURTESY: HALLWAY, HYATT REGENCY PUNE
ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHER: GOPINATH TEGGI
SHOOT COORDINATION: SANAA NALWALLA
104 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

fitness and well-being
March 2017 105

FITNESS AND WELL-BEING
THE ART
Essa Duhaime describes the form of dance
which is closest to her heart for us. She says,
“Belly dance is juicy-gooey and sensuous with
soft movements and isolations. It is a very
intense form of exercise. It helps in regaining
the proper alignment of your feet and getting
a good posture. This form looks easy but it’s
initially very difficult to learn. People feel
awkward initially, but then they slowly gain
confidence. It tones up your body and makes
you feel beautiful. It is beneficial for one’s
digestive system and enhances muscle control,
which in turn is better for the mind as one
needs to think to isolate and use muscles in
different movements. Belly dance is a very, soft,
gentle and feminine form of dance and hence,
there is less risk of injuries. It improves posture
and can cure misalignments of the body.” It
covers the three most important elements of
fitness, namely, core strengthening, flexibility
and cardio. It is a way of relieving the stress of
your daily life. It teaches you to love yourself,
be less self-conscious and to appreciate your
own body.
TRAINING WITH THE DIVA
Diva Belly Dance Academy trains women
exclusively. Training involves classes on
techniques initially, which is followed by
choreography sessions. She even conducts a
teachers’ training course wherein she trains
dancers in order to become teachers. This
is an authentic certification course in belly
dancing. The technical classes are intense and
involve a combination of warm up exercises,
dance movements, pilates which is an intense
core strengthening workout and cool down
exercises. The higher levels introduce the
use of veils and the students even learn to
create their own rhythms or music along with
dancing. Also, bellyfit, which is a combination
of aerobics, core strength and yoga exercises
is conducted.
DANCING IS HAPPINESS
Essa believes that not just dancing, but
any physical activity may it be running,
swimming or dancing makes you happy. She
says, “Dancing, is a great physical activity
which makes you strong, agile and flexible.
It enhances your blood circulation, leads to
effective oxygen intake and gets in line all your
bodily systems such as your digestive and
reproductive system.”
A DIVALICIOUS ROUTINE
Essa starts her day early with a nutritious
breakfast of fruits, oats and eggs. She follows
this with an extremely healthy diet throughout
the day, by eating wholesome food at regular
intervals. She believes in maintaining a
balance when it comes to food, exercise and
lifestyle. She tries to maintain a varied pattern
of exercise.
CHALLENGES IN THE JOURNEY
When asked whether she faced a lot of
challenges in her journey of becoming a belly
dancer, she says, “I have been dancing since
I was five, but I started belly dance at 21. I
believe, it’s never too late to start anything in
life. I started in Canada, where I come from
originally. Belly dancing was very popular
there. I believe, every dancer has one style,
that is his/her! I had learned different styles
of dancing, but somehow never found my
style. But when I started learning belly dance,
it just came naturally to me, I had found my
perfect style. And that’s why it was never too
challenging for me. It was ‘love at first feel for
me’. The only challenge that I faced was that
there were not many Arabic speaking people in
Canada back then so I had difficulties getting
songs translated and getting musicians.”
106 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

FITNESS AND WELL-BEING
As we gear up to celebrate the International Women's day, let's take a look at
the journey of a woman who pioneered the art of belly dancing in the city, Essa
Duhaime. She is not just a performer of the form belly dance, but also a teacher
and she runs her own institute known as the Diva belly dance academy in Pune.
Essa talks to Tanwi Dixit about how she celebrates womanhood
BUSTING THE MYTHS
This form has no age bar as anyone right from kids to women, 70 years of
age, can learn belly dance. There is a lot of doubt about the kind of clothes
women are expected to wear in a belly dance class. Many are conscious
of exposing their bellies. She clarifies, “I don’t make it mandatory for
anyone to wear anything in my classes, they can wear full length clothes.
Also, there is a lot of concern about the body type required for belly
dancing. There is no body type requirement. In fact, belly dance looks
better on curvier women as the movements are more pronounced.”
THE SOCIAL ANGLE
Essa explains the response that the form initially received from the society.
She says, “The Indian society had a lot of hesitations and misconceptions
when it came to belly dancing. This mainly happened because, most of
the Indian classical dance forms focus on linear movements while belly
dance has circular movements, so this was a totally different
style of dancing. Also, the kind of costumes used
in belly dance performances bothered people
as they thought of it as sleazy and seductive.
But slowly, the society opened up to the form.
People started realising that it depends on the
performer if a dance looks sleazy or elegant.
It’s all about the programming of one’s mind.
Initially, as a performer, I didn’t get a good
response from the audience and that exhausted
me. Therefore, I ventured into teaching
and slowly realised this was what made me
feel satisfied.”
EXPLORING THE FORM
Essa teaches us three easy to perform
steps which can be practised at home and
which will benefit the body. The first one
is the lateral hip circle which is a circular
movement of the hips while keeping them
at the same level. This step strengthens the
core and tones up the belly. The second
movement is hip lifts, which involves
lifting one side of the hip at a time and
bringing it back to the original position. This
movement requires isolation of muscles as no
other muscle is moving during this and this
improves muscle control. The third movement
is shoulder shimmies which involves the forward and back pushing of
shoulders. This movement looks elegant and strengthens the back and
shoulder muscles.
BELLY DANCE AND PREGNANCY
Belly dance originated as a prenatal dance to ensure that the woman had
a smooth, easy and less painful delivery. The science behind this, is that
the form strengthens your core and pelvic muscles. A stronger pelvis
leads to the woman having more control over her muscles and being
able to push better. Good body alignment and core strength is extremely
helpful in pregnancy. Essa cites her own example, “When I was pregnant,
I exercised throughout and my labour pains lasted just for two hours.”
FOR THE BEGINNER
She advises her students and those who want to learn saying, “A dancer
should know that there are no quick results. Focus on what you’re
learning at the moment rather than trying to learn too fast. Allow yourself
to be a beginner as your body and mind needs time to get comfortable
and adapt to a new physical activity. Your body will also need time to
tone up and show results. Some people, connect quickly while
some take more time but everyone gets there eventually.
Focus on perfecting the techniques and you will be able to
create your own choreographies.”
MEN AND THE DANCE FORM
Essa expresses , “For me, belly dance is a woman’s dance. Women
in the middle east, when they didn’t have a lot of freedom, would
go to each other’s places, dance together and have fun. This was
their form of social interaction and recreation. I don’t take
men in my class because I feel, if a man is there in the class,
women become more conscious, they’re not as free. This
dance form, for me, signifies women empowerment.”
FITNESS AND THE WORKING WOMAN
Fitness and a healthy lifestyle are major concerns when
it comes to working women as they hardly get free time.
Essa gives her take on how a working woman should look
after herself. She says, “Eat well, exercise and get enough
sleep.Take some time out for yourself, to do something you
love, to pursue a hobby. Go out, meet friends and don’t get
stuck in a pattern. Pace yourself and realize that life is all
about happiness.”
info@crememagazine.in
MARCH 2017 107

fitness and well-being
There is a difference between being gymfit
and physically robust. 35 year old, Aarti
Pandey, Founder of Folk Fitness,
understands this difference in all its entity.
With her well-conceptualised routines that
disband the otherwise popular western
form of dance fitness, she clubs India’s
rich culture into a fitness routine to provide
a fun, quirky and desi routine to meet
one’s fitness needs. In an exclusive
interview with Vidya Unnithan, Aarti
reveals the idea behind folk fitness and its
many benefits
Like a quintessential Indian kid, Aarti Pandey’s tryst with
dance began at a young age when she joined a Bharatnatiyam
class. The dance form and the fluidity it offered,
proffered her to venture deep into the foxtrot. Being
limitless in her persuasion, she gathered knowledge and understanding
of each form, from the myriad international dance
routines to the traditional folk dances of India, she mastered
it all, almost compulsively.
Leaving behind six years of corporate experience to
pursue her calling, she set up a dance studio Danza De La Liga
in 2010 as her first and very successful entrepreneurial endeavour.
“I started dancing at a very young age and I always knew that
dance was my passion but back in 1990s dance was not really
pursued as a career, so I followed what everyone else was doing
and did my MBA and dancing continued to be a hobby. So, I
worked for five days a week and I would attend Latin dance classes
on weekends. During my certification, I was offered a position to
teach and I continued to do so for a long time. It was only after my
first kid was born that I truly considered letting my corporate
career go to pursue passion and that’s how Danza De La Liga
happened. I went places with it, I went abroad taught these dance
forms and got certified in Zumba. While I was in a happy place
in my life, I also realised that there is a lot of fitness opportunity
through dance and thats when me and the co-founders ideated
Folk Fitness.”
108 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

fitness and well-being
Delivering fitness through folk dance was an alien concept, but the
determination was in dismissible. Aarti decided to seek help from
her brother, Ashwin, who like her was a gifted dancer but it was his
passion for India and its culture that lead her to actualise the concept
of Folk Fitness. “After Ashwin was on board everything took pace
and we were driven by the idea of merging folk with fitness but we
did not stop there, we wanted it to be purely scientific and researched
upon. It took us two years to complete the process before we brought
Folk Fitness into the market.” Today, the intensely satisfying dance
form is approved by NASN, AFFA and FSSA and they have
successfully trained over 85 trainers. The routines are tested by
Velocity Fitness from US to ensure that they are injury proof. “The
process is demanding, once we get a thumbs up from Velocity and
the physiotherapist on the board, the routines are video graphed and
sent across to the trainers.”
In Folk Fitness, every routine starts and ends with meditation
and lasts for about an hour. A minimum 10-15 folk styles are used
in a session and it is ensured that the routines change each month to
ward of monotony. “The idea behind the meditation is simple.
When we workout we are always stressed out and looking at the
clock, the meditation helps calm your nerves and bring all your
energy in one place. It is nothing but a ‘me’ time.” The routine is
divided perfectly into eight minutes each targeting upper and lower
body and cardio. Being the only fitness programme designed under
the ‘Make in India’ module, the fitness programme is India’s biggest
gift to Global Fitness Fraternity. “We have a team that ensures that
the programme is highly authentic, even the music we use are actual
recorded and written folk songs, which are re-created using live
musicians and singers keeping in mind the tempo of the workout”
For most people, the idea of visiting a gym or even working out in a
crowded, competitive environment is horrifying and Folk Fitness
aims to and have successfully tweeted this attitude by making their
workouts fun, relatable and effective.
Since its inception, Folk Fitness has been widely mistaken to be
a dance based workout. “It is actually a fitness routine inspired by
folk steps. For example, the Kohli dance, which is the fishermen
dance uses upper body movements like rowing, these movements
are inspired by their daily chore of pulling the fishing net out of the
water or even anchoring the boat. So the entire fitness routines is
based on movements like this which target special group of muscles.
It is not a dance routine but rather a fitness routine, inspired by our
folk dances.” Each session of folk fitness is designed to be intense and
targets to burn around 900-1,000 calories making the members
yield higher benefits. “Although we try to make our routines fun, we
also ensure that the purpose of working out is met. The fact that the
workout is done in a group is helpful as people don’t keep a track of
the time and are not always in a hurry to leave. And because the
tempo of the workout is relatable, people usually leave feeling
energised and positive and that for us is an achievement.” The fitness
program is also divided further into three categories — folk fitness
Yuva, Nanhe and Pranaam for adults, kids and elders respectively.
Unlike regular gyms in the city, Folk Fitness sways away from
offering diet or nutrition charts, “We are not dieticians or
nutritionists, it is a very different study that we are not qualified to
advise. However, there are a few basic dos and don’ts like ensuring
an adequate intake of protein or finding a right balance between
carbs and fat. But other than that, we do not advise anything, we
maintain folk fitness devoid all this unnecessary implications.”
Flexibility, weightloss and even endurance are few of the benefits
that regular folk fitness members have observed. The many
testimonials on their website is just another proof of the effect Folk
Fitness has on the members.
Being flexible in its form, folk fitness can be combined with a
regular workout twice or thrice a week. “It is important to give our
body its fair share of rest and also folk fitness cannot do what lifting
weights can and vice versa, so it is important to strike a balance
between the two workout to achieve optimum result.” With the
whole idea of reinventing the fitness scene in our country, the
founders and trainers understand that fitness requirement is
subjective and ensure that the members are not pushed into
something they do not require. “For a housewife, lifting weights is
not a must because her daily chores involve fair share of lifting. For
a person who sits for eight hours in front of a computer, it is not
important for him to have a six pack, for him, having a strong back
is important so that is something we hold true to and explain to all
our members.”
India is a dominant theme at Folk Fitness, from using the 140
plus folk dances to educating the members about the origin of
certain folks, Aarti and her team has managed to keep the roots firm,
“Most fitness form have originated from the west, even Yoga for that
matter was popularised due to its western influence. Pilates, Piloxing,
Zumba, Aerobics are are adapted by us without realising that our
country is rich, not only cultural but even when it comes to fitness.
My whole idea was to put India on the map, create an Indianised
form of fitness, go abroad and teach the westerners our form of
fitness.” Currently, Folk Fitness is spread out in major cities like Pune,
Mumbai, Bangalore, Indore and Aurangabad and is set to soon
establish itself as a pan India movement.
vidyaunnithan@crememagazine.in
March 2017 109

fitness and well-being
Farah Khan with her kids
Anya, Czar and Diva
Anjali Shetty
Farah Khan leads the talk on
infertility with Merck’s ‘Parents of
Fertility’ initiative. She speaks to
Crème on the procedure and why
one should go in for it
Farah Khan, ace director, actor and choreographer recently
released a video on infertility. The video, a personal memoir of
Farah’s journey to parenthood is a vivid recollection of her fears,
challenges, doubts and ultimately her story of hope, belief and
positivity towards IVF that led her to become a mother. Merck
released this video as part of their ‘Parents of Fertility’ awareness initiative
that helps and supports couples in India through this journey of
parenthood. Farah Khan talks about her experience of going through IVF.
As a society, we still haven’t accepted IVF as
a whole. People still frown upon the idea.
What got you to embrace it?
I got married at the age of 40, and my husband, Shirish, and I were keen
to start a family soon. We tried for two years but had no success, which
got me worried. I did not think I would require any special help as my
gynaecologist then, seemed to think I would get pregnant naturally. It
was at a chance meeting with a friend of mine at someone’s party where
she gave me her doctor’s number. It was as if the universe had it all
planned from the beginning that I would meet an IVF expert. I was
pretty sure from day one that I wanted to have a family, taking the first
step was hard but it was one of the best decisions that I’ve made and my
doctor helped me through each step of the way. But I didn’t lose hope
and now I’m blessed with beautiful angels. We make society, it rests in
our able hands and minds, we are the components that make it
function as a unit, so the faster we adapt to changes the more we grow
as individuals and as a whole. I would have never let any frowns come
in the way of the smiles I am blessed with.
What is your advice to young/old couples
hoping to be parents?
My advice to all couples out there trying to conceive will be that,
infertility can be dealt with. Relatives will talk about a lot of things and
there will be weird suggestions. But please don’t waste time searching
for solutions outside the medical domain. It changed my life and could
change yours too. It’s about time you take that step.
Did you face any challenges while
undertaking the treatment?
Seeking treatment for infertility is challenging – emotionally and
physically. My first session with the doctor included a detailed history
and review of all my past treatments. The great part about it was that my
doctor was completely honest with me. In the same way, support from
your family and husband is of utmost importance. Shirish was with me
throughout the sessions, he even used to carry his laptop and work at
the IVF centre when I used to go for check-ups. It’s true that one needs
equal amounts of iron will and faith that the procedure will work. It will
be stressful and things may not always go your way. It thus becomes
important to have someone, family/husband/confidante to help you
during these tough times. When the doctor told me that I had
conceived, I knew right away that becoming a mother would add more
meaning to my life as I was happy when it came to my career.
What hAS been the best part of being
ASSociated with Merck?
It has been amazing partnering with Merck, a global leader in fertility.
They are always coming out with cause-driven initiatives intended to
reach out to the public at large, and this time the cause was close to my
heart. It gave me a chance to share my journey of hope with couples
seeking help to fulfil their dream of parenthood.
110 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

fitness and well-being
Srinivas Madabusi, director specialities, Merck India throws light on the Parents of Fertility
initiative, which has begun a journey of hope that infertility can be dealt with.
The initiative
Parents of Fertility is an educational initiative by Merck which aims to spread awareness
about infertility and help couples fulfil their dream of parent-hood. Today, despite rapid
advances in treatment infertility affects nearly 10-15 per cent of married couples in India,
nearly 27.5 million couples. Nambiar says, “With this initiative, we aim to reach out to them
with the message of hope that infertility can be dealt with. We understand that seeking
treatment is emotionally physically challenging. Also, there is a lot of stigma associated
around IVF. Therefore, our objective was to simplify the entire process of sharing
information for couples seeking help for infertility and connect them with fertility centres
that will provide them with quality care. Through this initiative, we want to reach out to
couples across segments who are seeking help.”
The USP
Merck combines more than 60 years of heritage in fertility and a deep understanding of
the needs of patients and healthcare practioners globally. They believe it is their responsibility
to use their knowledge and expertise to spread fertility awareness. They are also working
with stakeholders to drive awareness on quality in IVF and build capability and capacity.
Challenges
The stigma around infertility in India and the limited information available on IVF pose as
a major hurdle for people seeking treatment. Given the taboo around infertility, it is difficult
to convince some parents to take up IVF. Sometimes even if the couple is ready, due to
parental and societal pressures they do not reach out to seek help of specialists. Although
society is opening up to this medium and we have seen many successful cases with IVF,
there is still a gap in the number of infertile couples in India and the ones who actually seek
intervention. To bust myths and support this journey, we recently released a video on
infertility. The video, a personal memoir of Farah’s journey into parenthood is a vivid
recollection of her fears, challenges, doubts and ultimately her story of hope, belief and
positivity towards IVF that led her to become a mother. With this video, they expect to
reach out to millions of couples seeking help with the message that infertility can be dealt
with and one should not lose hope and seek help of specialists to fulfil their dream.
anjalishetty@crememagazine.in
March 2017 111

eyond pune
For most people, the beguiling state of Goa stirs up images of raves and parties,
youngsters and foreigners, sun-kissed beaches and water sports. But Goa is so much
more than that, it is surreal, intoxicating, quaint and liberating. It is far and beyond a
mere vacation spot, it is magnetic as much as it is addictive. Head to Goa this summer
to break free from your daily routine and unwind while gaping at the swaying palms
trees and unhurried waves
112 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

eyond pune
Goa like most other states is
divided into North and
South, creating a clear distinction
between the two
areas with regards to tourism, food and
ambience. Tourist flock to North Goa
for reasons varied and different including
the over popularised beaches and
party destinations, but for anyone
looking to visit Goa, purely to relax,
South Goa is the best bet. It is laid-back
and nonchalant and serves some of the
best sea food in the country.
Dwelling heavily on the old
Portuguese charm, with well-maintained
colonies and impossibly green
countryside, the place is for anyone
seeking an uninterrupted break from
daily routine. ituated 2 km away from
Colva lies the tranquil town of
Benaulim. Untouched by domestic
tourists and shrouded in mythology,
the tiny beach town is said to have
come into existence when Parusharama,
the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu
shot an arrow from the Sahyadri
ranges into the sea asking it to retreat
till the point the arrow was shot. The
sea god Varuna relented, leading to the
creation of Goa. The place where the
arrow landed has been identified as the
village of Benaulim or Benahalli- Bena
meaning arrow in Sanskrit and Halli
meaning village in Kannada.
The census town of Benaulim, with a merger population of over ten thousand,
is a treasure cove in true sense, tucked away neatly among palm
fringed golden beaches. Being well connected to Margoa and all other
cities by road, the town offers budgeted stays in peaceful locales, most
hotels and resorts are located a kilometre or two away from the beaches,
making it an ideal location to enjoy days at the beach and nights, away
from it.
Being a popular fishing centre, the day breaks in early in Benaulim as
boats filled with fishermen traverse into the sea at day break. You could
head to the beach in the morning to watch the fishermen head back with
their catch, an event that is almost ceremonious for localities.
Popular mostly among European travellers, the beach is dotted by
tourists who come in to experience the Zen life while basking in the sun.
Apart from the carefree crowd, one can also spot locals indulging in beach
games or honeymooners making most of their stay, each enjoying a common
fix- the Benaulim Vibe. The beaches in Beanulim are open all day
long offering services at all hours, from relaxing beach beds to on-call
service.
If you stay long enough to watch the setting sun, it can be guaranteed
that you will find it difficult to tear yourself away from your spot. The atmosphere
is magical as the warm orange glow disappears to give rise to
descending darkness, the beach lights along the coast being your only
guide. Barring a few, most restaurants in Benaulim set up candlelit tables
along the beach, creating a picturesque ambience to help amplify your
experience. Fipless, AJ’s, Johncy’s and Hawaii Garden are few of the reatuarant
that can help satiate your epicurean hunger in Benaulim.
Being famous for its handicraft markets and local crafts, the beaches
are abuzz with shops each with its unique products, catering to toursits,
both domestic and international. Benaulim also has several monumental
churches including the Holy Trinity Church and the Church of St. John
the Baptist, which was originally built near the shore and was shifted to
the hill beyond Benaulim in 1956. The Goa Chitra and the Art Escape
Mueseum also deserve a visit.
vidyaunnithan@crememagazine.in
March 2017 113

eyond pune
Hawa Mahal
Architect Saleel Savarkar
is an avid traveller and
shares his latest journey to
Rajasthan with us
Saleel Savarkar
We all remember a
famous quote by
Saint Augustine
where he said,
“The world is a book, and those
who don’t travel — read just one
page.” But we fail to understand
the depth of it, until when our
travels take us to new places, and
we meet new people.
Rajasthan is the place to
be, for winter travel in India,
but you need to plan your trip
beforehand to avoid last minute
disappointments. Although
Rajasthan has a variety of
offerings — one needs to be
sure what suits his/her interest
and choose accordingly, art,
culture, touristy travel, or
even architecture!
The capital city of Jaipur, is
India’s first ever planned city.
Designed and built in the mid
eighteenth century by Maharaja
Jai Singh II, Jaipur boasts of nice
wide roads, characteristic shaded
walkways along the busy streets,
strong aesthetic fortifications
around the old city and not to
forget architectural marvels
playing the role of essential spices
for a perfect recipe! While one
should make it a point to visit the
Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar
Mantar and other attractions, a
visit to the erstwhile capital of
Amer just a few km away from
the city will complete your trip
to Jaipur. Amer is the same place
where Sanjay Leela Bhansali
shot his magnum opus Bajirao
Mastani! Jaipur is abuzz with many
old havelis or mansions converted
into heritage hotels, where you
will be treated like royalty.
As one embarks on his
journey down south, the next stop
is Pushkar, which enshrines the
only temple of Lord Brahma in
this whole wide world. Although
not a very tourist friendly city, you
may fall in love with the beautiful
temple complexes along the
lake Pushkar. Next up you drive
through the beautiful Pushkar
Ghati to reach Jodhpur. Jodhpur
114 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

is a quaint city, home to one of India’s biggest military set ups. ‘On the Rocks’
is a lounge — restaurant which is designed and run by the royal family and
is the local favourite. Begin your day at Jodhpur by visiting the historical
Mehrangarh fort. The fort houses beautifully kept royal possessions and offers
splendid views of the blue city. If you’re an adventure freak, don’t miss the
famous ZipLine at the fort. Umaid Bhawan Palace, a part hotel, part museum
is also the residence of the Jodhpur Royal Family. It is a magnificently built
structure, and is tastefully decorated in art deco style!
Mount Abu comes next on the itinerary. Nestled high up in the Aravalis,
Mount Abu is paradise. The Jain temples at Delwada are in fact poetry
carved in marble, so be sure not to miss this. As one begins his journey to
Udaipur from here, a small detour from the national highway, leads you to
another treasure hidden in the forests of Kumbalgarh — the Ranakpur Jain
Temple. Plan to reach here by noon, so that post lunch one can reach Fort
Kumbhalgarh, the birthplace of Maharana Pratap. The mighty 12th century
fortress, has Asia’s longest fortified wall admeasuring 36 km in length, only
second to the great wall in China! The road from Kumbhalharh takes you to
the last stop on your journey — Udaipur, the city of lakes. Udaipur houses a
total of four big lakes, and the city is built around these serene water bodies.
One of the most picturesque locations, Udaipur offers you the most fitting
conclusion to your trip. The city offers the traveller sometime of leisure. The
newly opened cable car allows you to capture a bird’s eye view of the city, that
unravels in front of you in colours of blue, green and white. Chittorgarh, the
capital of Mewad, is just 120 km from Udaipur. It is estimated to be one of
the biggest forts in India and houses some of the most beautiful monuments.
Spend a day at Chittor and return for a cosy candle light dinner by the lake
with your loved ones. Udaipur is a shopper’s paradise, and you can really
get some good deals in the market. Shilpgram, a handicraft village-museum
offers tourists some of the finest collection of local art and culture and one
cannot miss this place.
Rajasthan, stands testimony to the colourful palette that India has
to offer. Adorned with one of the most scenic locations, coupled with
magnanimous history immortalised in its forts, and complemented by an
array of arts, Rajasthan is a must visit by every tourist. Travel often has several
Mehrangarh Jodhpur
beyond pune
Amer fort
Kumbhalgarh Vantage Pt
take homes to each individual, and this
place essentially allows you to enjoy this
very aspect of it. The warm hospitality,
the tasty food leaves a lingering taste in
your mind, one which makes sure you
come back again and again.
info@crememagazine.in
March 2017 115

crème de la crème
Dmitrii Ebel and family
Linda Sowerby, Vikas Roongta
and Paul Sowerby
Richard Jamison, Vikas Roongta,
Chris Lloyd and Paul Dawson
Vikas Roongta, Preeti Roongta and Anirudh Seolekar
116 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

Beth and Richard Winsor
Shweta and Vishal
Agarwal
Vishal Agarwal,
Bavaria Motors
Bogdain with family
March 2017 117

crème de la crèmee
Hutokshi and Cawas Pundole
Aneeshya Aurora
Moushumi
Kuvawala
Antje Wittek
Nicky and Anil Lamba
Archana Rathi, Bhavna Mehta, Sonja Fritz, Esther, Iris, Jill Grant,
Antje Wittek, Nicola Pawar, Nishita Shah and Aneeshya Aurora
118 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

CRÈME DE LA CRÈMEE
Anupama and Asheet Pasricha
Iris
Mala & Kinnary
Bhavna Mehta
Glenda Bouzek
Birgit
Joyce Khatri
MALA & KINNARY adorned women
from all over the world at a fashion p
arade held recently by a women’s club
as a part of their annual event to pro-
Mmote intercultural friendship. Ladies from Germany,
France, Italy, Korea, America, Russia, Canada and
India walked the ramp in Indo-western wear, gowns,
lehengas and sarees. It was a spectacular sight!
Sonja Fritz
Nicola
Pawar
Illaria Gaudino
Isadora
MARCH 2017 119

crème de la crème
120 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

crème de la crème
As the sun set on Vh1 Supersonic, Pune
witnessed a multitude of emotions in the
span of a few hours. The three-day festival
set a new benchmark with its final
electrifying lineup and mesmerizing experiences. There
was a palpable sense of electricity in the air that
contained a certain level of nostalgia, as well as
excitement, when headlining act ZEDD hit the final beat
at the festival. The fourth edition of Vh1 Supersonic
witnessed a lot of love from its audience through their
overwhelming response to the festival’s transformation.
Thousands of music lovers united at Laxmi Lawns to
experience the biggest names in international music
such as Eric Prydz, Macklemore and Zedd. What
brought the festival to life were the immersive
experiences curated by Team Supersonic keeping in
mind every need of festival goers.
March 2017 121

crème de la crème
Four-legged guests had a
blast at The Little Next
Door on a Saturday
afternoon with
arrangements like grooming
sessions, trainers and delicious
pet food that was spread around
for them.
While pets enjoyed the special
arrangements, their owners
also had a blast while shopping
and meeting other pet owners
and exchanging tips and tricks
from pet trainers, vets, etc. The
event was organised by NGO
partner Bodhisattva, headed by
Mojdeh Arab Farashahi. And
the event was lovingly
photographed by Manisha
Cooper of Cooper
corporation. All in all, it was a
fun day out for people with
their four-legged love.
122 march 2017 www.crememagazine.in

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME
Sabina Sanghvi, Usha Chandani, Maneesha
Shah, Ritu Kochar, Reshma Shah and Namita Pal
Gayatri Malli, Samantha Sirohi and Katya Hegde
Natasha Seth, Devika Vohra, Irfan Pabaney, Zia
Chaney, Archana Rathi, Tanaz Irani and Tanaaz
Kothari
Jeet, Nuni and Niku Gaiekwar
An afternoon of giggles and
gossip took place at The Sassy
Spoon, Pune. A specially
designed lunch featuring some brand
favorites was dished out to Pune’s
sassiest ladies! Chef Irfan Pabaney was
at the helm, introducing dishes and
sharing his passion for the brand with
the ladies. Mixologists from behind the
bar had the ladies unwinding with
cocktails such as Love Lorn, Very Berry
Khatta and Morning Brew. The Cajun
Spiced Prawns, Warm Lemony
Couscous Salad, Homestyle Prawns,
Pumpkin Tart with Goat Cheese were
amongst the dishes served. Signature
desserts were enjoyed and even taken
home. Swati Dholepatil, Namita Pal,
Sabina Sanghvi, Samantha Sirohi,
Smita Kulkarni were amongst the ladies
who lunched!
Maitry Lawyer with friends
Sunita Mukar, Nimisha Nadkarni,
Smita Kulkarni, Rina Popat, Dr
Saroj Ratta, Moushumi Kuvawala
Sunita Mukar, Nimisha Nadkarni and
Sunita Singh
Anita Advani, Shirley Punjabi, Ripple Mirchandani,
Tarvin Veenu Kaur and Diva Budhrani
MARCH 2017 123

HOROSCOPE
THE STARS SPEAK
Communicate to a medium level
keeping out unwarranted calls as
trouble might lurk around. Forget
the past and live in the present. It
has a lot to offer in your love and
relationship arena. Your emotional
and mental makeup has a lot to play
in this time.
The positioning of stars and planets undergo
constant changes in the universal paradigm,
due to which every aspect of your life, be it
health, love, career or finance will also be
constantly evolving.
Some luck and fortune is in store
for you this month. Some high value
purchases are predicted during the
first week. Make sure your bond
with partner remains intact despite
the problems ahead. Your honesty
would certainly pay in the long term.
Some luck and fortune is in store.
Improvement is predicted in your
career for March. It does not mean
that it would be a path of roses. You
have to untangle many knots. Your
love life is in for better stability. Make
sure your desires and wishes are
met by your partner. Avoid unwanted
food that add nothing but calories.
Your social status and living also
gets an enhancement. If willing there
is scope for a change of residence,
career or relationship. However, the
uncertainty that had been looming
large shall leave you. There would be
a total change in your visualisation
of love, romance and emotions.
This month certain compromises
ought to be made in your personal
and professional life. Learn to
balance your expenditure and
savings. Your emotions need to be
caged up. Patience would be the
keyword here. Your health is likely to
get some negative aspects.
New ideas of all sorts take shape
this month. Keep your cool, and
enter into actions to meet your
plans. Confidence shall help you to
ward off any negative effects in the
career side. Maintain your financial
balance in a sensible way. Stability in
relationships is also guaranteed.
Here is a comprehensive
insight, along with details
about your lucky number
and lucky tips, from celebrity
astrologer Jai Madaan!
Emotional happiness is predicted for
the year ahead. Manage your energy
levels in the best possible way. You
would be attracted to those who
understand your feelings, emotions
and sensitivity. Express your feelings
with an open heart to your partner.
Some of your resolutions shall take
wings and land on better grounds.
Pursue your ambitions with renewed
vigor and you would be able to
meet a considerable amount of your
pursuits. Come out and show the
world that you have soft feelings.
Take life as it comes by and live
positively. Though personal
problems might drag you, you shall
come out with good colors in the
professional field. Many sensual
and intense moments in your
relationship are in the forecast for
the month ahead.
Be optimistic and try
to avoid all sorts of
nervousness and negativity.
Decide precisely what
is to be done in your
professional field. Avoid all
unnecessary impulses to
spend money. Take careful
decisions and do not
overspend in this month.
You would be empowered by
much freedom than before.
Some expenses related
to health issues for family
members might hinder your
financial development. If
frustrations and loss of
partner comes on the way do
not lose your heart. It is just
a passing phase.
Time is on your side and hence
do not compromise on quality and
quantity of work done this month.
Do not rely on any transitory
partners or friends. There would be
a tendency to neglect your general
health but beware. Luck is on your
side this month.
124 MARCH 2017 www.crememagazine.in

RNITC: MAHENG 13565/13/1/2014 -TC