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Rootsandleisure_Terra food cafe Ahmedabad

“While Studying in France, I Discovered Farm to Table Concept, and That Inspired My Fresh Food Venture” – Chat With Sriram Nair, Owner of Terra Cafe, Ahmedabad

Published by Samyama

Sriram Nair from Ahmedabad has always had a soft spot in his heart for food. He grew up with a family that bonded over food which helped him pick up his spatula when he was only 6-years-old. When he headed off to Europe to get his Masters in International Business, and later for work, he started to explore a whole new world of food whilst trying to learn new cultures.  What he was most inspired by was their concept of fresh farm to table meals. Sriram was overjoyed by how much the freshness added to the flavor of the dishes and how it also affected his health positively.  When he came back home to Ahmedabad, he decided to share his joy for these newly discovered ways of life. He wanted to create awareness and educate people about the harm processed food can do for you and how making things from scratch will usher a healthier lifestyle. With this goal in mind, he began Terra cafe, which is known today for its dishes from diverse cultures …

Rootsandleisure_Mustard seed-photo

“Nature Gives Me Creative Direction for My Recipes and Photoshoots” – Meet Chef and Food Stylist Akhrieno from Nagaland

Published by Roots & Leisure

  Our love for food and photography can take us places. This time it has taken us to art. We recently cam across this beautiful Instagram post by Akhrieno from Nagaland. It was a photo of a cake decorated with small whole mandarins, big green leaves, and lovely icing. It looked like a photo of a snow-covered town taken of some fictional world from a novel. Soft fragrant orange-scented cake coated with mandarin milk syrup, decorated with whole peeled satsuma mandarins | Baked and Styled by Akhrieno ‘Mustard.Seed’ We couldn’t help but check out more of her work, and by doing so, we were taken to this fascinating world of stories, as told by Akhrieno’s artwork, which had plenty of character and rustic charm. After filling our hearts with glee, we decided to finally reach out to their creator and find out her/his story! That’s when we found out that the artist behind was Akhrieno K Jamir from Nagaland, a full-time mom and food photographer, who used to be a professional chef in India and …

Rootsandleisure_Illustrator Lanu_The midget

This Petite Illustrator from Nagaland is Cracking People Up With Her Local Humor | Meet Lanu Tsudir – Creator of ‘The Midget’

Published by Aloli Achumi

  In the world of memes and Instagram reels, we found our little solace in Lanu’s Instagram page  “the______midget”, a page we discovered when someone from twitter shared her work. Not very long after that, we caught hold of her on Instagram and got chatting away but most of all who know her already will agree with us that her work is a dose of happiness and will leave you reminiscing about the bygone days and very ‘current mood’ instances. So, here we are, join us and get to know Lanu better.  We hope you enjoy scrolling through her work as much as we did. Meet Lanu Tsüdir, 28-year-old doodle artist from Kohima, Nagaland. With a Masters’s degree in English Literature from the University of Delhi, and taking a break at home in Nagaland, she is making her presence known during this quarantine through her webcomic ‘The Midget’ filled with unique local humor. We had a chat with her to know more about this awesome artist! Doodle artist Lanu Tsüdir from Nagaland Hello Lanu, please …

Rootsandleisure_Alu Fry Recipe

Here are Some Tips to Spice up Your Favorite ‘Aloo Fry’ Recipe

Published by Aloli Achumi

  A question to the millennial folks out here. Had this pandemic happened during our school days, what do you think you would be missing the most? Friends.. boybands chatter, gossip.. or perhaps our much anticipated tiffin time the most? Remember how we all had our own – or rather, our mom’s /dad’s version of ‘aloo fry’ packed neatly with rice? From mashed to dry fry to mixed curry, our relationship with aloo (potatoes) was a special one. In fact, our tiffins depended on it! The best part is, our love for ‘aloo fry’ has only grown over the years with many of us relying on this robust ingredient to liven up any dull meal. So we did a bit of searching on social media and found some friends from our community who were super happy to share the recipe of their signature aloo fry. Scroll through the recipe, take notes (maybe spin in your own ingredients), and may you find this familiar comfort in every meal 🙂 Alu Fry by Inukali K Zhimomi from …

Rootsandleisure_Mizo Puan_Zo Weave

We are Smitten by These Handwoven Mizo Puans (Mekhela) and Naupuakpuan ‘Baby Sling Wraps’ from ‘Zo Weave’ | Chat with Founder Malsawmi from Aizawl

Published by Roots & Leisure

  A striking thing about Mizo womenfolks – including the young fashion-forward ones, is the fact they love flaunting their ‘Mizo Puans’ which are traditional handwoven wraparounds (Mekhalas). Most interesting is the way how the younger generation is uplifting their traditional attire by incorporating them as fashion statement pieces – and inspiring many to copy the trend. All that being said, we are extremely excited to be chatting with Malsawmi, founder of ‘Zo Weave’ – a handwoven Puan brand from Mizoram. This mother of four is doing her bit to reinforce the efforts in the preservation of the Puan – while also employing local women weavers through this initiative. We talk about how ‘Zo Weave’ is keeping the love for Puans alive through her growing customer base – young and old. Another interesting revelation is on how she is reinventing the humble traditional Mizo ‘Naupuakpuan’ (baby Sling wrap) by incorporating modern floral designs and motifs (all handwoven) and is another hot selling item under her brand.  Malsawmi, founder of ‘Zo Weave’ Mizoram holding her child …

Rootsandleisure_Mask Fashion_Mekhalamama

Fashion Folks Talk Mask Trends and Shopping Choices in the Times of COVID

Published by Aloli Achumi

Whether we like it or not, face masks are going to be a part of our daily lives for some more time. As we adapt to this new lifestyle which was born as a safety measure for you and your loved ones, many of us saw an opportunity for a fashion trend. So we dug a little deeper into the trend, and we found inspiration from among our community who are not only encouraging people to wear masks but are making the most of it through their style. Scroll down and be inspired…  Theyiesinuo Keditsu, 39, Assistant Professor, Kohima “COVID has rendered the Mekhalas I wore to work obsolete as well as most of my wardrobe. I spent the first lockdown literally interchanging between two lounging outfits. While I have always shopped sparingly, this pandemic has made shopping for clothing, makeup & most accessories a futile and an insensitive exercise for me personally..given the grave threat of the virus & the suffering it has unleashed. But with so many local businesses – fashion-centered ones included, …

Rootsandleisure_rapper_SlowCheeta

“I Want My Listeners to Find a Piece of Themselves in My Songs” – A Chat with Indian Rapper SlowCheeta from Mumbai

Published by Roots & Leisure

  “SlowCheeta is a clever artist, who likes to wrap his sharp words in an easy-going sound, presenting them to the audience sometimes almost in disguise.” That’s how we were first introduced to Chaitnya Sharma aka SlowCheeta. So we reached out to the artist himself to know more about the person and the soul behind the rapper. We got talking about his roots, his inspirations, his creative style, and his recently launched music video ‘WANNABE RAPPER’. Read on for the full interview below…  Rapper Chaitnya Sharma aka SlowCheeta from Mumbai gets candid with R&L as he shares about his roots, his love for ’90s Hip Hop, his new music video ‘Wannabe Rapper’ and more.. Hello Chaitanya, good to have you here today! Please introduce yourself to our readers. Hi my name is Chaitnya Sharma aka SlowCheeta. I’m a rapper and actor from Mumbai and I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now. I just turned 30, and it has been a hell of a ride! Why did you choose music? I always wrote poetry as …

Rootsandleisure_Travel_Thlengi Zote 2

Travellers Talk About the Last Trip Before COVID, and Their Next Travel Destination Once This Pandemic is Over

Published by Aloli Achumi

  Staying indoors catching up with yourself and dear ones, Zoom dinners, .. and maybe picnics in your backyard are some surprising activities we have come to enjoy during this pandemic. But raise your hands if you’re itching to pack your bags and get out of your house – and out of the city/ town! To find some solidarity, we reached out to some of our traveler friends to talk about their last trip before COVID, and their next travel destination on their list once this pandemic is over. Scroll down below to see if there are more people planning to travel to the same destination as you!  Riddhi Debh | Entrepreneur, Published Photographer, Award-winning marketer, Bangalore/Kolkata Just before COVID pandemic: Nilgiris mountains in Tamil Nadu. Post-pandemic travel list: “Hampi in Karnataka or and Tanzania, when international travel opens up!” ~ Ridhi Sachin Miglani | 27, Interior Designer, New Delhi Just before COVID pandemic: Kufri in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Post-pandemic travel list: “Planning to travel Meghalaya or Kerela after COVID” ~ Sachin Miglani Thlengi Zote | …

Rootsandleisure_Meal thalis

Showcasing Unique Food Cultures of all Eight States of North East India and Beyond

Published by Aloli Achumi

What’s on your plate? Or What is India eating today? No celebration is complete without food, and most of the time food itself becomes a celebration. Before you sit and ponder on what to have for dinner/lunch this weekend, here is an eclectic collection of meals from all over India celebrating the very fact that food does, in fact, bring all of us together – and at the same time, highlights the uniqueness of each culture.  Let us start with the 8 states of North East India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura – and then continue exploring some handpicked states from all 4 corners of India. Let us start! TRIPURA: Rice meal with pigeon pea salad mixed with roasted green chili and fermented fish, boiled mustard leaves, chicken with pumpkin curry, boiled eggs, and papad. [Contributed by Hrishikesh Tripura, 22, Agartala Tripura, Student of Human Physiology] NAGALAND: Rice meal with Pork and bamboo shoot, mixed boiled vegetables, mashed potato & dried fish curry/stew and fresh leafy & [Contributed by Kristi Kikon, Homemaker and …

Rootsandleisure_Tanya Abraham

“I found that Food is an Expression of Identities and Histories” – Art Curator and Author Tanya Abraham from Kerala Chats about Her Newly Launched Book ‘Eating with History’

Published by Roots & Leisure

Today, we have with us, a very interesting guest who is here to share some insight into the evolution of the very rich culture and cuisines of Kerala, that emerged as a result of the ancient spice trade in this southern part of the country. Spices still are a huge part of trading activity in Kerala with over three-fourths of spice exports from India sourced from the state. That said, let us say hello to Tanya Abraham from Kochi, an ex-journo, and now a published author, who has just launched her second book  titled ‘Eating With History: Ancient Trade-Influenced Cuisines of Kerala.’ Over a quick chat, we dig into her roots, colorful journey of Kerala cuisine, and of course her book. Hi Tanya, so nice to have you with us! Please introduce yourself to our readers. My name is Tanya Abraham and I was raised in Fort Kochi, an ancient town in Kerala. I currently live in Kochi. I work as an art curator and am the founder of the non-profit ‘The Art Outreach Society …