Paper Planes – Celebrating Thoughtful Design

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Editor's Picks

Lessons on Coexistence & Conservation from the Nilgiris

The Todas, an ancient, indigenous community in the Nilgiri hills, have a deep ecological understanding of their surrounds that is interwoven with their folklore and everyday life

Pantry-Trippin’ with the Rolling Pin

A tool found in Indian kitchens, ancient Italy, and around the world

Books That Bring You Closer to the Sea

Maritime story recommendations from five Indian writers

INTERVIEWS

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Prasenjeet Yadav

The Larger Picture

ESSAYS

The Art of Losing

Words by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

Books and Reading

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5 Books To Understand Caste Issues, From Navayana

Five recommended reads from the independent, anti-caste publishing house

EVENTS

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Oddly Enough N°5: Where Will Our Food Come From?

Presenting — the fifth edition of Oddly Enough, a series by Paper Planes

DESIGN & LIVING

For Business & Back Roads: Cycling During the Pandemic

A day in the lives of cyclists in Mumbai

VIDEOS

Publications | Conversations | Events

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Terracotta Bowl Staggered Stance 5/7 Portion by Thukral and Tagra

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Hidden Kingdom by Nirupa Rao

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One month to go until we’ve got a new year befor

Heads-up! An international film festival — the U

Heads-up! An international film festival — the Urban Lens Film Festival — that focuses on our urban experiences streams online tomorrow onwards. Hosted by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (@iihs_in), the line-up includes several films that examine the relationship between people, cities and architecture. One, for instance, follows five taxi drivers in five different cities through their day on the job. There’s a documentary on the residents of the iconic, now-demolished White Building in Phnom Penh. And another tracks the fictitious battles of an immigrant in Delhi hired as a contractual monkey repeller. Swipe to see some of the films screening at this year’s edition of the festival, and find the complete schedule at www.iihsurbanlens.in
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The Urban Lens Film Festival is free — December 1 to 6, 2020.

“It’s 5.15 am on a Saturday morning, and Antho

“It’s 5.15 am on a Saturday morning, and Anthony Dcosta, 31, is in his home in Charkop, Kandivali, prepping for an off-road biking trip.”

As India went under lockdown earlier this year, people around the country turned to their cycles — some out of necessity and some for the freedom they offer. Bicycle sales grew more than twofold between May and September, and city corporations across the country have been encouraging too, via campaigns and proposed changes to infrastructure. As Mumbai opened up, @jessicajani_ cautiously stepped out of her home to meet the folks who’ve treasured their two wheels amid the pandemic — from mountain bikers to businessmen. Here’s a day in the life of some of the city’s cyclists. Read via the link in our bio.
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With photos by @zahra.amiruddin.

Prasenjeet Yadav (@prasen.yadav), molecular biolog

Prasenjeet Yadav (@prasen.yadav), molecular biologist turned National Geographic Photographer and Explorer, spent the last three years photographing the snow leopard in Kibber, a village up in Himachal Pradesh’s Spiti Valley. Prior to that, he’s spent time tracking the effect of climate change on Sikkim’s fragile ecosystem, carnivorous bats in Mexico, mountain goats in Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and birds in the Himalayas. For our Interviews section, he tells us why it’s important to live a story before you narrate it, what a powerful photograph means to him, and why in order to give back to the ecology, one has to simply begin at home. Read — link in bio.
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Pictured here: A snow leopard in Himachal’s Spiti Valley, and the blue-eyed frog, a nocturnal frog, endemic to the Western Ghats in India. Photos by Prasenjeet Yadav.

Yesteryear Indian cinema holds a lot to appreciate

Yesteryear Indian cinema holds a lot to appreciate and to inspire. We love @titlerecall for its curation of title designs and title sequences of films from the 1960s–80s. At a time when film titles were hand-drawn and played an important part in establishing the identity of the film, the wackiest, most expressive and innovative title designs emerged. These are neatly laid out at Title Recall, for nostalgia, posterity and, most importantly, inspiration. Run by @jahansinghbakshi, who also curates iconic film posters from India and around the world at @posterphilia, with @tanyatypes and @pseudoinsudo, the Instagram account — which also examines more recent films — is a treasure trove for film buffs and designers. 📽

A mountain biker scouring for a trail in a locked-

A mountain biker scouring for a trail in a locked-down city. A middle-aged mother pedalling down the street for the first time. A tea and cigarette seller whose business rests largely on his two rickety wheels.

For many of us, cycles are our first memory of being completely independent, so it is no surprise that in the wake of a pandemic that has left us scared and anxious, we have turned to those trusty old agents of self-reliance. As Mumbai opened up after months in lockdown, @jessicajani_ stepped out to see her neighbourhood dotted with cyclists. Accompanied with photographs by @zahra.amiruddin, Jessica takes us through a day in the lives of cyclists in the city. Link in bio.

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