On an Anniversary Trip to Bhutan, Swapping 25 Years of Whirlwind Travels for Stillness Shunali Khullar Shroff and her husband embrace companionable silence in Bhutan. I’ve spent the entire flight from Katmandu to Paro filming out the window, but when the captain points out Mount Everest, I freeze. At check-in my husband, Shravan, quietly insisted on these seats. After 25 years of marriage, it’s these small acts of foresight that still catch me by surprise. Read More

The glass glows a furious orange as Robert Comploj lifts it from the furnace, turning the molten sphere with the casual authority of someone who has long befriended fire. Then he hands me the blowpipe. I take it gingerly, half thrilled, half terrified, as I hold the cooler end on the stick to which the caramelly sphere is stuck. Under his gentle instructions, I roll the living orb across a metal slab, coax it into shape and blow. For a fleeting moment, I feel like a Greek god conjuring the sun. We pinch the rim open, cool it with a hiss of water, and the piece snaps cleanly from the pipe. We’re in Studio Comploj, a small studio that has found patronage in museums and mansions across the world. It is tucked into a hushed Viennese

It’s my first time in Mexico City and I am excited to visit La Casa Azul (The Blue House), Frida Kahlo’s former home, which is now a museum. Years ago, a glimpse into her personal life through her art and belongings, exhibited at the Victoria and Albert museum in London, drew me into Kahlo’s world, and with good reason. Her artistic journey, defiance of convention, and stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera, made for an undeniably compelling story. This February morning, I step into the cobalt house in the neighbourhood of Coyoacán with a sense of expectation. Walking through the sun-dappled garden and from room to room, I catch glimpses of the artist as daughter, lover, patient, and wife. On display are Kahlo’s childhood photos, letters, and a bed with a mirror fixed above it,