Radhika Sharma (writing under Pauline Van Lynden)


Rajasthan
When I was the in-house stylist for Style Guide I had this incredibly beautiful Indian girl with dark eyes for an intern. She wore the brightest colors to work everyday and spoke in this rich lilting voice. One day, I finally asked her where she got it - “the clothes or the accent?” she asked, “Both”, said I. Well, she said, the colors are from my mother’s land and the accent is from my father’s land. Turns out that my pretty intern’s mom came from the desert state of Rajasthan, in the North Western part of India. I have since then browsed innumerable coffee table books on Rajasthan, but Pauline Van Lynden’s Rajasthan is certainly a notch above the rest. The photographs are lavish, the details touching, the effect spellbinding. Royals, artisans, dressmakers, housewives – Van Lynden gives us a breathtaking glimpse into these myriad lives.

Another plus is Van Lynden’s tone – always inquisitive but never condescending. There might be other books which will give you a lot of information about Rajasthan but Van Lynden’s Rajasthan shall remain a front runner due to its evocative prose and dazzling photographs which seem to leap off the page. I recommend Van Lynden’s Rajasthan as an antidote for any colorless day.

The Body Shop Skin Focus Face Illuminator
True or False?

Beauty is only skin deep (read: physical beauty is superficial).

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder (read: everyone is beautiful).

If anything my decade and half long stint as stylist and fashion editor has taught me, it is that a) physical beauty might be skin deep but its creation and maintenance is as complex a task as coming up with the theory of relativity b) beauty never lies in the eyes of the beholder…all beauty is about tricking the beholder to feel a certain kind of way.

So banish all your old worn out mantras about beauty and adopt a new one. Beauty is hard work and Beauty is savvy. The Body Shop Skin Focus Face Illuminator passes both these litmus tests. For starters you are going to save a cool 14 bucks when you add this petite tube to your arsenal and before you scream, “what about quality?” let me assure you that a few dabs of this booster boy at the beginning or the end of your day (remember to wash and pat dry your face though) and your face will glow with that fresh faced allure that you last saw only in the black and white scrap books of your grandma.

p.s: Everyone is not born beautiful. I have seen enough. I know. You have to work at it.

p.p.s.: And if it lightens your conscience any, the delightful gunk in this tiny tube has not been tried out on animals before. You’ll be the first person to get a rash. Just kidding!

Seven Spiritual Secrets of Success
One day, someday, you are going to be 40 (or 50 or whatever number that scares the daylights out of you). That day you’ll wake up on the wrong side of the bed, your skin will suddenly erupt a thousand wrinkles (they are just like acne, only scarier and harder to fix) and thereafter guzzling 20 cups of coffee will do nothing to restore your mojo. That will be the day you might want to pick up a book like this. I’ve seen a zillion self-help writers during my decade long stint as a fashion editor at StyleGuide and I have (confess, confess) many times been taken in by American diamonds masquerading as gem diamonds – still, Chopra writes with a certain intensity and honesty that seems almost impossible to fake for 100+ pages.

In The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Chopra breaks down the barriers between the internal and the external and shows us how we can affect change in our physical world by simply altering the subtle ways in which we think and view our world. Chopra’s writing style is a unique synthesis of art and science; his reinterpretation of sacred ancient Hindu texts and philosophies doesn’t seem at odds with his training in modern medicine, in fact his work appears to be an astonishing synthesis of both. While much of the book is filled with the typical spiritual mumbo jumbo about not being judgmental and opening your heart to everyone, nevertheless it might be worth a try, for Chopra promises us surefire success at the end of this experiment. Guess what, for success, I’ll do it.
p.s.: If you’re 40 despair not. 40 is the new 30. Or so I am told.

2-in-1 Vacuum by Kaplan Learning
Dusteeeeeeeeeee

I bought this vacuum as a gift for my niece last Christmas, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to give it to her. I just felt really drawn to this 2-in-1 vacuum with its bright colors and stylish frame – so much so that decided to give it a name, Dustee.
Dustee is this lightweight marvel; it has an upright vacuum with adjustable angles, a sonorous removable hand vacuum and a removable dust catcher! One weekend my hand vac broke down and Dustee was totally up to the task. In fact I was so impressed by my little Dustee that I just bundled my ex, the Rumba, in a brown bag and gave it a warm send off in a Salvation Army truck.

But….a few weeks ago tragedy struck. My sister and niece paid me an impromptu visit and I forgot to hide Dustee. I told my niece that I was building a small toy collection for her at my place so that she wouldn’t have to worry about carrying her toys everywhere. My sister kept mum for a long time and then before leaving said, “Probably its time to send your resume to both Vogue and Match.com?”