Author: David Sangma

RootsandLeisure_Shop

Roots & Leisure Marketplace is Live!

We are super excited about this next step in the Roots & Leisure journey : A Buying and Selling Platform! Today we launch R&L Shop – an online marketplace, where our readers can now buy and sell anything handmade. It all started with a cup of tea with some good ‘ol friends, and it has come to a point where we have a whole community driving the initiative. Ever since the launch of the blog [in the month of March 2016], many stories about entrepreneurs, local artists and people have donned the face of the blog – in addition to stories about various nuggets of culture like food, travel, local art etc. We now bring to you an online marketplace, from where our readers can start buying from artists/entrepreneurs that we have written about. Most importantly, we want this marketplace to act as a source of inspiration for each one of our readers, so that they can also start a hobby soon – and start selling!   What to expect from the shop We currently have some really cool …

RootsandlLeisure-Yakuza-BambooBike

Meet The Man from Nagaland Travelling the World on a Bamboo Bike

If an analogy of taking your roots around the world would have to be written, we can simply write about Yakuza’s story and be done with it. Kudos to this trailblazer for setting the stage –  hopefully, we will have many more such stories to share. Say hi to Yakuza Solo (Sievituo Chevy) from Nagaland, who’s going around the world on a bicycle made out of bamboo! His mission is to tell the world about the Nagas and Nagaland. In Nagaland, bamboo plays a huge part in the lives of the people – from being consumed as a food item to a spice, and a material used for building furniture and lovely houses. It is, therefore, very fitting that Yakuza chose to ride a bamboo bicycle to embark on his adventure, and to tell the world about the rich cultural land of the Nagas.  Yakuza will be travelling to Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and the United States of America. Here …

RootsandLeisuer_Lulu Tribal Kitchen

Naga Food in Belgium | Lulu’s Tribal Kitchen

Say hello to Lulu Pheiga who has taken her roots across continents – to Genk, Belgium. When we came across her story and her lovely food truck that says “Back to the roots“, we had to write about her. After all, Roots and Leisure is all about staying connected to your roots – no matter where you are and how far you are from home. Thanks to Lulu, people can now literally taste the diversity of India! And yes, Indian food is more than just Samosas and butter chicken 🙂 You can get in touch with Lulu on her Facebook Page on through her website.  All Images Courtesy : Lulu’s Tribal Kitchen

rootsandleisure-ikaiDolls

Cute Naga Dolls Handcrafted by Artist Ikali Sukhalu

Say hello to Ikali Sukhalu! She is a 29-year-old fashion designer from Nagaland, who has reached fame as the creator of ‘Lil’ Naga’ – a range of amazingly cute dolls that can lighten up anyone’s mood! She’s a graduate from Wigan & Leigh Mumbai in fashion technology and fashion business, and holds a degree from London College of Fashion. Her journey started in 2015 when she won NIAPA (North East India Academy of Performing Arts) contest. She also showcased her work “Tribal Trible” in the New York Couture Week in 2014. We caught up with Ikali and learned about her inspiration behind ‘Lil Naga’ – the range of cute dolls that depict Nagaland’s traditional tribal attire. Hi Ikali, what was the inspiration behind these Naga dolls? I saw them first in Hong Kong. There were these Chinese dolls and I thought it would be fun to try and make something similar but with a local twist. I started experimenting with them in my studio and voila! ‘Lil Naga’ was born. Each doll is wearing a Naga traditional …