This Week In Culture: Your Grandma's Pickles, A Homegrown Lynchian Allegory, & More

I have a confession to make: lately, I have been experiencing the peculiar nostalgia that many Kolkatans like to indulge in.

There isn't a specific word for this yearning in Bengali, but there should be. It's akin to the Czech idea of 'lítost', which Milan Kundera described as "a state of torment caused by the sudden sight of one's own misery" — not quite sadness, not quite regret, but more like the ache of realising something irreversible has already happened. The French 'nostalgie', too, is somewhat similar to this — it is more textured than mere longing. It carries not simply a wish to return to something, but the profound melancholy of knowing that you cannot.

But perhaps, and this is what makes these feelings so potent, you can remake it. You can remix an old song, rework a classic silhouette, and re-live the summer of your childhood memories. You can carry these memories, not as burden, but as a foundation to build on — to reshape, rather than to replicate.

From Sakré’s genre-bending mixtape tribute to the retro Tamil sounds of his childhood and pickles packed with nostalgia for summers at your grandmother's house, this week we are looking at homegrown creators who are reaching into memory, tradition, and inherited forms to draw inspiration from the past, not merely with nostalgia for what once was, but with curiosity for what it can become. These aren't just throwbacks or tributes; they are acts of cultural archaeology; of turning archives into instruments; of making the old feel unfamiliar, alive, and entirely new.

So, without further ado, here's what we have for you this week:

Megha Ramaswamy's 'Lalanna's Song' Is A Lynchian Allegory About Everyday Cruelty Masked As Civility

Like a folk tale half-remembered or a dream you can't quite explain, 'Lalanna's Song' lingers in the mind long after it ends. In a cinematic landscape where horror is often loud and literal, Ramaswamy offers something far more disturbing: the quiet terror of everyday cruelty, masked as civility. Read the full review here.

Sakré's 'Raja Has No Friends' Is A Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Tribute To Retro Tamil Classics

In Raja Has No Friends, Joel Sakkari — aka Sakré — says he took phrases from Raja’s compositions, chopped and rearranged them over a new harmonic structure, bass line and a groove, effectively sticking to the philosophy of sampling. The resulting beat tapes are a dynamic, groovy fusion of the past and present. "While Western lo-fi may feel nostalgic for its DIY, throwback feel, Raja Has No Friends elevates those elements by reaching out to a distinctly Indian audience," Pari Pradhan writes here.

One True Pairing Makes Timeless Personal Fashion That Doesn't Follow Trends

"New Delhi-based fashion label One True Pairing's ethos is simple yet quietly radical," Fathima Abdul Kader writes. "They create pieces that help people find their own 'one true pairing' with clothes that don’t follow trends, but still feel timeless, personal, and bold. And yes, the name is a rather cute nod to their own relationship too."

Learn more about the homegrown label here.

Aamra Is Bringing Your Grandma's Chutneys & Pickles To The Modern Table

"As a child, the fragrance of jarred pickles and masalas filled our home, indicating the arrival of a season. Summers in my Nani’s home always smelled like chillies, with everyone around sneezing like R K Laxman's cartoons. Aamra, founded by Jaya Bajaj in 2017 under the Nari Shiksha Kendra, is a brand that packages this nostalgia," Manasvini Sekar writes here.

The Geometry Of Ordinary Lives: Prasant Sahu Maps Memory & Craft At Emami Art Solo

'The Geometry of Ordinary Lives' is not only a reflection on the persistence of traditional artisanal practices; it is also a critique of the erasures caused by dominant narratives of progress. Sahu's work reclaims art as a space for epistemological resistance and cultural preservation, reminding viewers that the everyday is imbued with complex geometries of meaning, memory, and resilience. Learn more about the exhibition here.

Chennai-Based Bottega Pereira Brings Warmth & Soul To Indian Homes

"Bottega Pereira's ethos is based on how things feel and not just in a purely tactile way, though there’s plenty of that as well in their soft cotton sheets, sun-drenched linens, and richly dyed fabrics. They cherish how objects fit in a home; by their emotional resonance," Disha Bijolia writes about the Chennai-based mother-daughter led atelier here.

If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:

The Outsider: Adi Shankar’s ‘Devil May Cry’ Is Sublime & Undeniable Creative Defiance

From Restored Classics To A Migrant Student Film: A Homegrown Guide To India At Cannes '25

The Tropical Way: Paloma Monappa's Guide To Discovering The Paradise That Is Sri Lanka