Naveen Ansal and wife Raseel Gujral with some of the new introductions at Paradox One

Anil Kapoor, Anjali Mukherjee, Shiamak Davar and Rashmi Uday Singh at Crossword

Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth with one of their glass sculptures

Do you know all about the healing properties of milk or fresh lime juice? Or for that matter, the pros and cons of your diet? In today’s age, healthy eating is being hailed all over the world, and the latest to write about it is none other than nutritionist Dr Anjali Mukherjee. The focal point of her debut book, Healing With Food (published by Popular Prakashan) deals with the importance of a good diet and its health benefits. The book was released in Mumbai recently at Crossword and the good doctor dished out nuggets of health-related wisdom to an audience, which included actor Anil Kapoor, food-critic Rashmi Uday Singh and choreographer Shiamak Davar.

A qualified nutritionist for 20 years now, Mukherjee has specialised in Nutrition and Dietetics and has completed her MD in Alternative Medicine. Her area of work has been in the field of preventive healthcare and she has been running her clinic, Health Total in Mumbai since 1997.

Mukherjee said, “More and more people are falling prey to various chronic conditions related to stress and modern lifestyle. The food we consume can rejuvenate, heal and restore health. This book is therefore an attempt to reach out to people and explain that the key to good health is to eat correctly.”

So what’s the book about? It has chapters dedicated to such health-related matters as detoxification, ageing and immunity boosters among other things. Mukherjee also explains how our daily vegetables and fruits can actually help in fighting serious diseases. Interesting add-ons are the diet plans she has chalked out for those suffering from diabetes, hypertension and other ailments.

 

Living large

If accessories are the flavour of the moment — in fashion and homes — interior designers are turning their attention to them like never before. Paradox One — the signature store of designers Naveen Ansal and Raseel Gujral — is the latest to worship the trimming. Last week saw the duo throw open their sprawling store Paradox One at The Crescent (it offers a stunning view of the towering Qutub Minar) with a collection of home accessories culled from all over Europe. The pieces had been either handpicked at European home décor fairs or custom-made for Paradox One.

It was a showing that they called Livable Art and Delhi turned up in considerable numbers to buy furiously — notwithstanding the hefty tags that went anywhere from Rs 15,000 to Rs 1.75 lakh. Some eye-catchers: vases in a myriad shapes and sizes — from a foot to some 4ft high — came in ceramic or glass; glass lamps shaped like apples, tomato and bell peppers; buffed seashells to place on mantelpieces and conical shells placed in outsized wineglasses.

It was also a line that was replete with an unusual combination of elements. So polymer (or plastic) combined with glass and ceramic and was blended to make bowls and vases. Grabbing eyeballs were lamps made with real snakeskin and just as real skin of stingrays (a style statement for sure, but is PETA listening?).

“This collection is an ode to all evolved homemakers,” says Gujral. The idea, she says, is to shift art from the wall into every aspect of home interiors. “What’s more, today Indians are looking for unique shapes in even utilitarian objects,” she adds.

Glass apart

It wasn’t just the recently concluded fashion week in the Capital that drew plenty of inspiration from nature. Artist too have been drawing deeply from it. Delhi’s Visual Arts Gallery brought the outdoors in (real trees, plants and grass included) when artists Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth showcased their latest works in an exhibition titled Shimmer Shine Radiate. And it’s not everyday that an art gallery is turned into a botanical garden for a showing. But the artists were convinced that there was no better way to show their nature-inspired sculputures than in a faux garden setting.

The artists had filled the gallery with eye-catching installations of trees, sunflowers and lotuses frozen in glass. Vases shaped like buds and chandeliers clinked in glass with nature-inspired motifs. For those not much in favour of glass, the showstoppers were mushroom-shaped metal mesh installations. The glass collection came alive no sooner than the bulbs attached to the sculptures were switched on. In case you are wondering, the glass used in making of the sculptures is heat-resistant while the gold-based colours make every piece shimmer in the light.

“Innovation has been the leitmotif of this show. We have married contemporary materials with state-of-the-art engineering to create lifestyle products which are appealing and reflect refined design aesthetics,” said Seth.

Before the artists began work on their line in their own studio in Delhi, they learnt the art of making blow glass from the craftsmen of Firozabad. Their efforts have been rewarded, as their pieces — priced between Rs 15,000 to Rs 3.5 lakh have found plenty of buyers.

Photographs of Delhi events by Jagan Negi and Rupinder Sharma