New project coming in hot. Introducing GARMI. 🔥🌶️
Subscribe on good ol’ Substack to stay tuned for what all the above buzzwords mean to me. (link 👏🏽 in 👏🏽 bio 👏🏽)
🎨 immaculate design by @divya_nayar
📸 by @aditinramesh
“Instead of saying, ‘Oh, but I’m only one person,’ say: ‘I AM one person.’” — Sheila Morovati at last week’s @hollywoodclimatesummit
We are each a playground for powerful change. 🥳✨❤️🔥
📸 @labrizness
We’re wrapping up two beautiful stories this weekend! First, our feature on @sanj___ , and second, the archival of our beloved Mango Jhumka.
Thanks @aashna_dev ! We couldn’t have imagined a more fitting reel to celebrate this moment! 🥭
.
PS: Two more days to go before we archive the Mango Jhumka!
As we unpack the idea of belonging with @sanj___ , she’s dedicated the 15th edition of her newsletter, @garmi.studio , to this exploration.
GARMI means heat, and symbolizes its ability to transform things. It is Sanjana’s playground to explore critical socioecological topics that demand change.
Scroll for some snippets from this edition on belonging. You can read the full article on garmi.substack.com
A huge shoutout to @aashna_dev for being the best director/DP/editor for all the photos and reels we’ve been sharing lately!
“I think of our planet warming. I think of hot-headedness and flammable emotions. Of fiery passion, motivation, resolve. Of sweat. Of sultry, sexy, hot, provocative. I think of the digestive fire in our bellies, responsible for helping us process food and transform it into nutrients.
It follows that @garmi.studio is my playground for processing transformation, sharing with you in real time what’s bringing me light, getting me hot and bothered, fueling my flame, keeping my pilot light strong, helping me digest, sparking my joy, making me feel like hot shit, burning down old paradigms and cracking open seeds of nourishment.”
— Sanjana Sekhar (@sanj___ )
.
In this second part of our feature on Sanjana, we explore how she’s finding her sense of belonging through her pursuit with @garmi.studio and sharing her discoveries via the ‘Garmi’ newsletter.
Captured and edited by the brilliant @aashna_dev ✨
We first connected with Sanjana (@sanj___ ) on a meandering journey of self-discovery in December 2022. Our hearts were heavy with the weight of previous explorations that had failed to flourish.
It was easy to fall into the trap of viewing these as failures, but Sanjana saw something different. She saw us making a brave choice, “embracing nourishment and intentionality over growth for growth’s sake.”
Sanjana (@sanj___ ) is a South Indian-American writer, filmmaker, and climate activist. Her work brings to life “thrutopian” stories that mend our relationships with ourselves, each other, and our planet.
Her words had offered us a new perspective, a lens through which we could see the beauty in our journey. She has shaped our story as @surmeyi and today we are overjoyed to be a small medium for her story.
A HUGE shout out to @aashna_dev for capturing this so exquisitely.
Imagination is not a soft skill — it’s a discipline that requires grit in the face of a system that actively works to convince us that there’s no better world out there. I’ve been in my climate fiction bag lately, but sometimes in the writing process, I find myself living in my own head. Lately, though, been remembering that writing is living; that inspiration is not a lightning strike but a cultivated muscle; that applying imagination requires us to pay attention to, learn about, and participate in the world. And in a way that’s not fleeting but core-deep — opening myself up like that is intimidating but thrilling.
In a similar vein, been thinking a lot about how I stay connected to the people, places, and movements I care about. I’ve found IG so valuable for community, news, and organizing efforts — it’s where I get so much information on gatherings and activations and ideas. It’s also not enough. There’s nothing quite like 3D spaces and long-form, long-term learning. Prioritizing more of that in my daily life as best as I can and sharing some of those resources in the last page — the actual watermelon resources link is in my bio! 😚
it was 102 degrees and I firmly believe the only thing that should be so hot is me // fill your cup (GARMI ramble #14 ) — an ayurvedic approach to rebalancing. in your inbox now.
👗the fit: inspired by @sloni.co ‘s work, I commissioned @riya.xx to bring this outfit to life — it’s based on the local LA ecosystem — the skirt is the ocean, the top has details of the mountains, wildflowers like foxglove and poppy, and moss. 🌊😍
