Lifestyle

National Geographic India’s SUPERFACTORIES to take viewers inside OPPO’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in India

Published

5 years ago

February 24, 2021

NatGeo Superfactories Oppo e1614170520267

Premiering on February 27^th, the documentary will give viewers an overview of the unique production facility of the smartphone manufacturer – OPPO in India

SUPERFACTORIES from National Geographic India will be taking the viewers behind-the-scenes at OPPO’s sprawling state-of-the-art factory in India. Premiering February 27^th at 7.00 pm, the upcoming documentary will give an insight into the manufacturing process adopted by the company to produce millions of smartphones with their iconic designs to satisfy their loyal customers.

The documentary will introduce the viewers to the mechanism behind the operations and how the brand has managed to establish a large footprint in the country. Featuring the mega facility that aims to produce more than 6 million units every month during peak season – that is going to be one smartphone in every 3 seconds, the film will also highlight the crucial role played by operational managers, R&D teams, and engineers; in bringing alive the company’s vision to develop and adopt new-age technology solutions.

“With SUPERFACTORIES, we offer a deeper understanding of high-tech factories by showcasing novel production techniques, innovative engineering, and cutting-edge technologies adopted by some of the most renowned brands in the world. Keeping with this promise, the documentary gives viewers access to OPPO’s digital pathway; providing them with knowledge of the smart manufacturing technology and practices implemented at the company to deliver great value and products to their customers,” said a National Geographic India Spokesperson

“OPPO is a pioneering force in building India’s smartphone manufacturing ecosystem. Being featured on SUPERFACTORIES is a testimony to OPPO’s innovative and industry defining ethos of ‘Technology for Mankind. Kindness for the world’. I am confident tech enthusiasts and millions of OPPO consumers in India will enjoy seeing what goes into creating their favourite smartphones” said Damyant Singh Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India

OPPO in the last six years has built its legacy as a Global Technology Innovator by launching Several ‘Firsts’ in the smartphone market, therefore, becoming one of the leading global premium smartphone brands in India. It is committed to bringing innovative technology solutions backed by a strong after-sales service strategy centered on consumer needs. With a robust network of over 500 exclusive service centers across 500+ cities, the brand, today, services consumers even from the remotest places in the country.

National Geographic India’s upcoming documentary, ‘SUPERFACTORIES: OPPO’ will premiere on February 27^th, 2021, at 7.00 pm on National Geographic Channel India.

About National Geographic Partners

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivalled portfolio of media assets. . NGP returns 27% of the proceeds to the non-profit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. In India, National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild are available across five languages and have a wide-ranging mix of international shows which are made local relevant and shows that are developed and created locally.

Decor in Style

The Great Eastern Home Presents The Stallion

Published

2 days ago

June 3, 2026

Neha Tyagi

The Stallion handcrafted ceramic horse sculpture with oceanic blue glaze by The Great Eastern Home.

A Distinctive Ceramic Sculpture from its New Collection

The Great Eastern Home continues to celebrate timeless artistry and exceptional craftsmanship with The Stallion, one of the most distinctive pieces from its newly launched ceramic collection. Handmade by skilled artisans at The Great Eastern Home’s workshop and glazed in-house, this sculptural creation reflects the brand’s commitment to preserving artisanal heritage while continuously redefining contemporary design possibilities.

Inspired by the grace and power of the horse, The Stallion captures the animal in its most regal and dignified stance. The sculpture beautifully highlights the fluid transition from the curve of the neck into the sculpted head, before sharpening into a strong, commanding jawline. Every contour is carefully shaped to convey movement, strength, and elegance, resulting in a piece that feels both artistic and deeply expressive.

Its rich, oceanic glaze further elevates the sculpture’s character. Flowing between tones of indigo, verdigris, and midnight black, the finish catches light differently from every angle, creating remarkable depth and visual intrigue. The constantly shifting tones lend the piece an almost living presence, making it a striking focal point within any interior setting.

Entirely handcrafted, no two pieces of The Stallion are ever identical, making each sculpture truly one of a kind. More than a decorative object, it stands as a collectible work of art that embodies craftsmanship, individuality, and timeless sophistication.

Price: On Request

Website: http://www.thegreateasternhome.com/

Instagram: The Great Eastern Home

Fashion

Sound to Silhouette: A History of Mutual Influence

Published

2 days ago

June 2, 2026

Jiya Jaitly

Fashion and music have never existed as isolated cultural forms; they are parallel languages of identity. One clothes the body while the other clothes the atmosphere, emotion, and ideology. A musical movement without a recognisable visual code rarely survives beyond sound. Their interrelation rests in a shared capacity to signal rebellion, status, class mobility, seduction, politics, spirituality, and generational dissent without explicit explanation. This confluence explains why every significant cultural movement inevitably develops a distinct silhouette, colour palette, grooming code, and behavioural aesthetic.

Fashion and music influencing culture and style

The earliest traceable entanglement between fashion and music reaches back to ancient civilisations.

· In Egypt, court musicians wore garments that signified sacred or elite status, while dancers and performers used adornment to amplify theatrical presence.

· In Greece, musical performances during religious festivals unfolded alongside carefully structured drapery and ornamentation that reflected philosophical ideals of harmony and proportion.

· In early India, classical musical traditions and courtly attire evolved in tandem: ragas, dance, jewellery, textiles, and performance aesthetics formed an integrated cultural expression rather than discrete disciplines.

In medieval and Renaissance Europe, music and fashion functioned as instruments of aristocratic distinction. Court musicians did not merely perform; they embodied prestige through embroidered fabrics, powdered wigs, structured tailoring, and elaborate ornament. Opera later refined this fusion, transforming costume into emotional architecture and using fabric, silhouette, and visual symbolism to externalize psychological and social tensions long before cinema emerged. The jazz age carried fluid tailoring and liberated femininity; punk arrived ripped, confrontational, and anti-establishment; hip-hop transformed streetwear into global luxury language; grunge made deliberate dishevelment an aesthetic weapon against polished consumerism.

The postwar decades accelerated this fusion into a cultural machine. Rock and roll in the 1950s weaponized youth style against the conservative social order: leather jackets, slicked hair, and slim silhouettes became emblems of defiance. The 1960s fractured into competing aesthetic ideologies: psychedelic maximalism, mod minimalism, and bohemian romanticism, each carrying its own musical identity. By the 1970s, glam rock turned gender presentation into a theatrical experiment, while punk repudiated luxury with torn fabrics, safety pins, and anti-fashion rhetoric; ironically, the industry eventually commodified even that rebellion.

Hip-hop’s emergence in the late twentieth century fundamentally altered the power dynamic between fashion and music. Where earlier eras often saw fashion houses shaping performers, hip-hop reversed the vector: street culture began dictating luxury. Sneakers, oversized tailoring, gold jewellery, and sportswear migrated from expressions of survival and neighbourhood identity to symbols of global aspiration.

This phenomenon was strikingly visible with the rise of The Beatles. Before them, mainstream male fashion remained restrained, conservative, and tethered to postwar uniformity. The Beatles introduced something deceptively simple yet revolutionary: youth styling as mass identity. Their slim-cut suits, Chelsea boots, and mop-top haircuts, then later, psychedelic experimentation reoriented a generation’s look. Early Beatles fashion projected polished accessibility; their later phase embraced flamboyant military jackets, Indian-inspired garments, tinted glasses, and bohemian layering.

Soon after, David Bowie dissolved the notion of a fixed identity through glam rock. His Ziggy Stardust persona fused theatrical makeup, metallic fabrics, platform boots, asymmetrical silhouettes, and androgynous styling into a cultural detonation. He unsettled rigid constructs of masculinity long before mainstream discourse possessed the vocabulary to discuss gender fluidity. Elvis Presley’s influence is equally central: in the 1950s, he translated rebellious sensuality into a visual lexicon: high collars, slicked hair, dramatic tailoring, jewellery, and overt physical charisma laid the blueprint for the modern pop star. Kiss Band converted face paint and exaggerated stage costumes into a commercial spectacle, anticipating branding strategies that would later be amplified by influencers. Meanwhile, Black Sabbath helped anchor darker visual codes that matured into gothic and metal aesthetics.

The 1980s produced perhaps the most complete fusion of fashion and musical mythology in Michael Jackson. He wielded visual symbolism with near-military precision: the single white glove, military-inspired jackets, loafers with cropped trousers, aviators, sequined stagewear, and sharply structured performance garments became instantly recognizable emblems.

Madonna treated fashion as a machinery of reinvention. Lace gloves, corsetry, crucifixes, lingerie-as-outerwear, platinum hair, and mutable personae repeatedly destabilized expectations around femininity and sexuality. Artists such as Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and later Kanye West translated streetwear into a language of luxury oversized silhouettes, sneakers, sports jerseys, chains, varsity aesthetics, and designer collaborations rose from urban identity and economic aspiration. More recently, Harry Styles has mainstreamed softer, gender-fluid menswear for younger audiences, signalling another shift in how pop figures mediate sartorial norms.

These two have been connected to each other since the creation of both, as they work as Yin-Yang of art form, and they will keep evolving together and shaping our society, as Art is a place where humans find resonance.

Jewellery

The Stillness of Craft, The Movement of Code

Published

2 weeks ago

May 25, 2026

Jiya Jaitly

Jewellery has always been more than ornamentation. Long before circuitry and sensors found their place beneath polished surfaces, adornment carried meaning far beyond aesthetics — symbolising power, identity, protection, and self-expression. In India especially, jewellery has long existed as a living extension of culture and belief. Intricate Navratna pieces were thought to align cosmic energies, while shell and faience girdles discovered in Mohenjo-daro reflected some of the earliest expressions of decorative identity. The iconic “Dancing Girl” figurine, layered in stacked bangles, stands as an enduring reminder that adornment has always communicated individuality and status. Similarly, the delicate Maang Tikka was never merely decorative; positioned along the forehead, it was associated with the Ajna chakra, believed to represent intuition and inner awareness.

For centuries, luxury in jewellery was measured through the rarity of gemstones, the purity of gold, and the mastery of craftsmanship. Today, however, luxury is increasingly being redefined through intelligence and functionality.

Modern technology has introduced a new dimension to jewellery, though some would argue it has also distanced adornment from its deeply personal artistry. What once existed as quiet symbolism has gradually evolved into something interactive and responsive — designed to move in rhythm with contemporary life. Yet unlike the overt dominance of screens and devices, this transformation is often subtle. Technology in jewellery rarely announces itself loudly; instead, it integrates seamlessly into design.

Digital jewellery can best be described as wearable technology that merges communication, health tracking, and utility with adornment. The Oura Ring, for instance, appears deceptively simple in form, yet quietly monitors sleep cycles, recovery patterns, and physiological changes with remarkable precision. Smartwatches, meanwhile, have become symbols of both status and technological sophistication. Devices such as the Nimb Ring extend functionality even further by offering emergency assistance through a discreet trigger that alerts selected contacts and shares real-time location data. Smart pendants are also emerging as tools capable of monitoring stress levels, sleep patterns, and heart rhythms, subtly integrating wellness awareness into daily life without replacing professional medical care.

Luxury houses such as Swarovski have also experimented with embedded technology, suggesting a future in which craftsmanship and circuitry no longer exist as opposing ideas, but rather as collaborative forces within design.

The evolution of jewellery does not signal a complete shift in purpose; instead, it reflects an expansion of what adornment can represent. Jewellery once symbolised identity alone, but now it increasingly participates in experience — bridging heritage with innovation while adapting to the demands of a more responsive world.

Yet balance remains essential. Not every object must justify itself through utility or performance. Some creations exist purely for their beauty, emotion, and craftsmanship. Technology may enhance convenience and awareness, but it cannot replicate the instinct of the artisan, the patience behind hand-forged details, or the emotional depth embedded within human creation. The soul of jewellery still resides not in code, but in the hands and imagination that shape it.