4 JUNE - JULY 2019
FOREWORD
By far the greatest and most admirable form of wisdom is that needed to
plan and beautify cities and human communities.”“The magic of the street is the mingling of the errand and the epiphany.”It’s hard to distinguish the line written by Socrates from the one by Solnit (Rebecca). For,
both the oft-quoted ancient Greek philosopher and the 20th-century writer have mined the
human experience for its essence and, interestingly, found themselves ennobling the practice
of urban planning. The far-reaching impact of a city’s blueprint on quality of life — whether
we consider the day-to-day navigation of our environment or the deeper nourishment of the
soul — is indisputably evident.
In this year’s Design issue, we focus on how contemporary spaces are conceptualised and
built to co-exist with the pre-ordained architecture of nature; and the way citizens function in or
are inspired by the jigsaw of man-made and natural elements that make up their metropolises.
Take, for instance, cover personality Kavi Ahuja Moltz. One half of the duo behind
cult fragrance label D. S. & Durga (DSD), the trained architect speaks to Verve about the
multifaceted Muse that she calls upon — her creativity comprises layers that are informed by
everything she encounters; from her Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bed-Stuy, Russian literature
and Indian mythology to goth fashion and Stevie Nicks. The brand is a well-blended pastiche
of the varied backgrounds and shared lives of Kavi and her Massachusetts-native husband,
David, and the couple has infused their diverse yet harmoniously aligned spirits into every
aspect of DSD, including the design of their flagship Manhattan store.
Or Aditi Agrawal and Anjali Menon, the women behind Gudgudee, a studio that is
revolutionising outdoor recreation for children in Indian cities where it is much needed, with
customised products and play areas. Textile designer Sneha Krishnan and photographer
Bjorn Wallander turn their camera lenses into shape-shifting apparatuses exclusively for us,
and their impressionistic black-and-white vignettes appear to transpose the aura of Mumbai
into New York and vice versa. We look at the lesser-known side of Satyajit Ray while putting
together a retrospective from his striking graphic design portfolio. It draws from his bond with
Bangla art traditions, but is inflected by a progressive Western tone (derived in part from
his time spent in London in 1950). Remaining in the vicinity of nostalgia, we revisit Mumbai’s
first amusement park and veritable storehouse of preserved vintage design, EsselWorld, and
employ its assortment of vibrant and larger-than-life rides as a complementary backdrop for
this season’s fashion colour palette.
In this issue, you can also explore the arts and crafts of Andhra Pradesh via a hotel in
Visakhapatnam, the stylistically divided buildings of Berlin through a curious photographer’s
eye, a traveller’s experience in the decadent spas of wellness haven Baden-Baden and the
queer aesthetic of a boundary-pushing Ahmedabad-based zine, among other things.
Tradition meets disruption. Utility meets potential. Logic meets sensibility. We constantly
find ourselves at these crossroads in our minds — the point at which practicality attempts to
merge with imagination — and they manifest in our cities’ DNAs too and, consequently, in our
lives within them...ad infinitum. Traverse these pathways through the pages of Verve, and come
to a revelation at every turn....