Moving away from the large, ugly bins, a city- based design studio, Upcykle, has come up with baskets under their product line – ‘Sorted’ — to help households and small office spaces recycle waste better.
“Baskets or bins for recyclable waste are generally bulky and take up a lot of space. We decided to make these baskets more compact so that it can be placed in any room of an average Indian apartment,” said Tanuja Ramani, product lead with Upcykle.
The design studio focusses on working with sustainable models and materials.
“Through this, we want to make the concept of recycling more central to household spaces. Bins meant for segregation and recycling are usually kept out of sight and we want people to incorporate this into their daily lives,” Ms. Tanuja explained.
The baskets, which are designed minimally as a set of three, are made of ‘korai’ or straw. They were recently launched and available on Upcykle’s webpage. They are designed to hold newspapers, old magazines, soft drink cans and plastic bottles among other everyday waste generated, which can be recycled.
In a bid to encourage recycling further, people who have purchased the bins are urged to send their recyclable waste to the right destination as well.
“The Kabadiwalla Connect app which can be accessed on smartphones can help people find the neighbourhood scrap dealer and many readily come home and pick up newspapers, old plastic and bottles which are then effectively recycled and don’t end up in dumpyards,” Ms. Tanuja said.
Age no bar to learn dance
Classical dance, for long synonymous with a lifelong pursuit beginning from childhood, is also increasingly becoming something those slightly older are delving into.
Sindhu Suresh, a lawyer by profession, has been learning Mohiniyattam after a gap of 30 years. “I was very little when I learnt it, now I again am,” she said. “Today women are more independent and less bound by restrictions. They now go and learn whatever they want or have desired at any age. This is a very progressive trend,” she said. Sindhu also praised her friend who took up Kalaripayattu at the age of 49.
“It is not about age anymore, it’s about passion,” said Parvathy. R, who began learning Bharatanatyam at the age of 25. “I have longed to learn this dance form, but due to various commitments I couldn’t. When I see young girls performing so well I am motivated to work harder. It is indeed a blissful exhaustion,” she said.
Merry who also took up Mohiniyattam after a long gap pointed out that many women have begun to go back to their roots and learn classical dances. “It is not about losing weight or anything, women have now begun to do what they like irrespective of their age,” said Merry.
( Reporting by S. Poorvaja and Aditi R. )
