I was 40 years of age when I got my first pet. Actually that’s not strictly true; I was 40 when I got my first two pets, because they came as a duo: fluffy, mewling peas in pod, or rather kittens in a cage. Mini and Mouse—spindly, inseparable siblings—had a noticeably special bond in their litter of rescue kittens and so had been kept together. She and he were a non-negotiable ‘we’, whose prospective owners (not that you can ever really own a cat, of course) were asked to take together from a pet charity’s adoption day at the Dubai Garden Centre.
Not that I had any intention of going home with a cat, never mind two. No, I was just window shopping, cooing at the kittens and murmuring sweet, empty words. Because, you see, I’m not a pet person. Or at least I thought I wasn’t a pet person. Like many South Asian families, the one I grew up in was not concerned with petting animals; steering children on the righteous path to success—no distractions, no decadence—was the overriding concern.
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STYLE BOOK
FROM THE HOTTEST PRODUCTS TO THE COOLEST LAUNCHES, HERE’S THE LOW - DOWN ON THE LATEST IN THEM MARKET
READY-TO-WALLPAPER
THE LATEST COLLECTION FROM GUCCI DÉCOR REINVENTS PRINTS FROM THE FASHION HOUSE’S ARCHIVES INTO VINTAGELIKE HOMEWARE
HAUTE CUSHIONS
FASHION DESIGNER PETER COPPING FUSES TASSELS, BROCADES AND EMBROIDERY INTO A NEW COLLECTION OF LUXE, SUPER-SOFT FURNISHINGS
EVOCATIVE
BIDRI METALWORK GOES GLOBAL AT EVOKE LONDON, A NEW STORE THAT CELEBRATES CRAFTSMANSHIP FROM INDIA AND AFRICA
ASHISH GUPTA
ON A QUIET WEST LONDON STREET, FASHION DESIGNER ASHISH GUPTA’S VIVID HOME CATERS TO HIS ESCAPIST FANTASIES
LADY BHARTI
DIOR COLLABORATES WITH BHARTI KHER ON A HANDBAG EMBLAZONED WITH THE ARTIST’S SIGNATURE BINDIS
DIANA KELLOGG
DIANA KELLOGG THE NEW YORK BASED ARCHITECT BRIDGES THE GAPS OF GEOGRAPHY, CULTURE AND LANGUAGE TO BUILD A SCHOOL FOR GIRLS IN THE MYSTIC DESERTS OF JAISALMER. WELCOME TO THERAJKUMARI RATNAVATIGIRLS SCHOOL
ANDREFU
The superstar designer’s Hong Kong apartment makes a compelling case for the slow life in a fast city
ROLL CALL
INTRODUCING OUR NEW CONTRIBUTING EDITORS. THE CLEVER TASTEMAKERS WE RELY ON FOR INSIDER INSIGHT. FROM NEW YORK TO VENICE AND MUMBAI TO DELHI, WE DRESSED THEM ALL IN GUCCI FOR THEIR FIRST DAY AT WORK
TALIB CHOUDHRY
THE ADVENTURES OF MINI AND MOUSE IN DUBAI. TALIB CHOUDHRY, THE EDITOR OF AD MIDDLE EAST, EXPLORES CORNERS OF HIS HOME THROUGH A SERIES OF PORTRAITS OF HIS ADORABLE CATS
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The Three Gunas– Sattva, Rajas, Tamas
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Asthma alert
Summer, and the hot weeks following the official end of the season, can be a tricky time for asthma sufferers
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The festive season is extra special for Nicole Doherty, 35, and husband Paul, 38, from Essex, after their daughter Evie, seven, spent nearly a year waiting for a life-saving heart transplant
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Kamala Venkat recommends the Cobra Pose to boost your immunity against diseases this rainy season