It wasn’t a great cover at all. We were excited, but nobody really noticed — we just heard good things from people about the music, ki yeh gaana bahut achcha laga, us gaane ka guitar part kitna amazing hai or Asheem sounds magical in that song, etc.”Explaining the band’s current approach towards cover art, Amit Kilam, percussionist, drummer and another founding member of Indian Ocean explains, “We give a very basic brief to our artists/illustrators, and give them the freedom to come up with something unique.P, Unbroken. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a few bands for their cover art/photo-shoots. Personally, most of our albums are not high on concept artwork. I think corporate projects that I take up are more structured; I make notes and sketch and they can be very methodical. In 2010, we released 16/330 Khajoor Road, and once again went through a lot of discussions, and finally, picked a cover that all of us disliked the least. and Curtain Blue for the cover art of his E.”Album art has definitely evolved in India, from basic derivative covers to high-on-concept and art covers. The second album (Desert Rain, 1997) had an interesting cover with a meaning to it. Our good friend Vasu Dixit, vocalist of the band Swarathma who is also a brilliant artist, came up with a lovely design that agreed with our sensibilities.

We speak to musicians and illustrators about the importance and relevance of album cover art in an age where music listeners increasingly download or upload songs on social media platforms, and where record sleeves seem to be an under-appreciated art form. While some musicians feel that cover art can be an influential factor in a record’s success and choose to release their work inside brilliantly designed packages that make a statement about their style of music, there are others who feel that it is an overrated concept. Describing his creative process, Chacko says, “I prefer listening to music from the band I’m illustrating art for. Further, I also do some research on the genre of the band and their kind of music to understand their requirement. “A lot of musicians are actively involved in conceptualising the art and ensuring that it blends seamlessly with the album. Bold images like the one on Curtain Blue’s cover stands out even though it’s a simple photograph. If I like the music, then I listen to the album and then draw to it.P. Literally, desert and rain!”He goes on, “For our third album Kandisa, we had a very derivative cover picture of a giant wave in the ocean.Metallica’s recently released cover for their forthcoming album Hardwired To Self Destruct, featuring four meshed-together faces became a talking point with music lovers noticing that the cover artwork bore similarities to records by Crowbar and Foo Fighters.

In the recent past, I’ve shot The Circus for their album With Love, Soul Inclination for their debut E. The more striking the cover, the more the chances were that someone would check it out, possibly even buy it and sample the music. In this day and age, physical sales of albums are not significant (when compared to digital sales) and albums themselves are swiftly losing relevance, so album art is definitely an overrated concept.From nostalgic and sophisticated jazz covers to the coolest, wildest psychedelic designs of the late 60s — including the Beatles’ Sgt. Elucidating on his work in this direction, drummer Srijan, who is also making his presence felt in the music circuit for his photography and cover art, puts forth, “An album cover is very important since it’s the first impression of your music that someone has! It’s imperative SEALUP-E3 Sealing Cover Film Factory to have striking artwork because it draws people towards your music. The name of the album is the address of our practice studio in Karol Bagh, where we spent 14 wonderful years of our musical journey.”Ram adds, “That’s when we collectively realised that the music should be the hero; nobody cares about the cover if the album is good. Not spectacular at all, but the album went on to do extremely well. I like a consolidated brief from the band’s end, and I mostly prefer working towards a deadline,” says Sonali who hand draws most of her illustrations and loves charcoal, acrylics and dry pastels to experiment with her visuals. Our first album (Indian Ocean, 1990) cover was a piece of art that a friend gave us, we were just happy that it was something exclusively made for us. Talking about their different album covers Rahul Ram, bassist, vocalist and founder member of Indian Ocean shares, “Traditionally, album artwork served the purpose of making an album stand out among others on a rack.”

Explaining their selection of cover art for their debut album, guitarist-vocalist of Fuzz Culture Arsh puts forth, “We wanted to get the illustrator, graphic designer and bassist of Delhi groove metal band Undying Inc, Reuben Bhattacharya on board for the artwork but he has always been associated with very dark artwork, so we decided to give him a completely unexpected choice of colour — hot pink — to work with! We knew he would certainly come up with something unusual and unique, and he did. Jhini, 2003 our fourth album is the only album where we invested in the cover art, and had a meaningful concept. For instance, the brief for our album Tandanu (2014) was a difficult one, as the word itself means nothing and we were clear that we did not want the faces of the band or the collaborators on it. For us, what the album stood for was way more important than the art.”When quizzed if picture-oriented cover art stands out more than sketched, illustrated and painted versions, Srijan says, “It all depends on the context and what the artwork/picture is. It depicted a barren, parched desert in the background and all the band members were shown in colourful outfits under a giant umbrella in the foreground. but nobody talked about the cover. Bhayanak Maut’s Man had a massive 118-page booklet that came with the album (a pdf version on digital downloads) featuring some really horrific but beautiful art. It is important to understand the feel, the genre and the kind of music a band plays in order to do justice to an artwork that speaks volumes about their music.

Metal band Bevar Sea’s guitarist and visual artist Rahul Chacko who has designed posters and album artwork for heavy metal band Albatross, old school metal band Kryptos and death metal band Dhwesha, asserts that music bands are gradually warming up to the idea of spending a decent amount on album sleeves. We feel that giving space and freedom to an artist to experiment is important.”Professional photographer, illustrator and designer Sonali Zohra alias Dangercat prefers a concrete brief from the band on the kind of artwork they want, and then gives it her personal touch.”Album cover artwork is enjoyed by sophisticated music connoisseurs and young listeners alike, as well as those with an interest in style and graphic design, feel visual designers and illustrators. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon — some of the most memorable, groundbreaking images of the last five decades have graced covers of rock albums. Delhi-based electro-rock duo Fuzz Culture comprising Arsh Sharma and Srijan Mahajan opted for a pretty pink cover with quirky artwork for their debut album No. Black Friday, our next album in 2005 was a motion picture soundtrack, so the cover was more about the film than the music. That album featured all of Asheem’s last recordings with the band, an album through which we bid farewell to our home and beloved friend and band mate Asheem Chakravarty. Nucleya and his Bass Rani cover have become a sort of rage with it adorning graffiti walls, and people getting it tattooed as well!” adds Amit. Some examples are Dualist Inquiry’s Subterra that used the paper-cut light box concept very beautifully. “My creative process is purely based on music. We do not interfere or over-involve ourselves in the creative process. A beautiful green and purple fabric flowing from the cover to the inlay to the back resonated with the Kabir Das poetry likening life to a cloth

Mumbaikars can dial the collection service on a toll-free helpline and the municipal vehicle will arrive to pick up the plastic waste from, a top official said. We are planning to assign separate vehicles for each 24 administrative wards to collect trash by visiting the housing societies.“People can ask the BMC to collect plastic waste by dialing the number.Mumbai: The civic authorities are planning a dial-a-doorstep collection service to ease the pain of the proposed plastic ban on the public.According to civic officials, the ban thrust is on three things — plastic carry bags, thermocol and disposable cutlery. “Cloth, paper or jute bags should also be made available as an alternative to plastic bags,” said civic activist Nikhil Desai.“Though collection bins have been installed at these places, we feel that collecting banned plastic from citizens’ houses would be more useful for the effective implementation of the ban,” said the official.

Once the registration is done, the helpline will be made open for Yisile-P Easy-tear Film Factory public,” the official said.“We are in the process of registering the toll-free helpline number, which will take few days.”The civic body has also identified 25 public places across the city including the Gateway of India, Fashion Street and Girgaum Chowpatty where collection bins have been installed.Civic activists have said the BMC should provide alternatives to plastic bags.For the implementation of plastic ban, the civic body has decided to start a special helpline, which is likely to be operational next week, said the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)

Plastic cups, plates, spoons, and bowls are commonly used to avoid the hassle of washing the traditional cutleries and utensils. According to data released by civic bodies, every year about 50 tonnes of excess waste is collected in comparison to normal days on the very next day of Diwali.The recent decision to stop the use of single-use plastic is a commendable decision taken by our PeoplePrime Minister Narendra Modi. As bad as imagining this scenario, the worst part is the consequences we face every year due to our incoherent actions. After we dump plastic waste; it is collected and further thrown into landfill sites. It contains Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical which is proven to promote breast cancer cell growth and lower sperm counts. Further, in Delhi alone, out of the total waste collected, a massive amount of 800 tons is only classified as plastic waste. Many families are also using plastic vessels in microwave to re-heat food white is a cause of worry.The dangers of plastic disposal are tremendous. Yisile-P Easy-tear Film Suppliers we have developed a dependency on the use of plastic vessels. Let us all switch over to the use of biodegradable and paper plates, cups and other cutleries. Letspread joy and happiness and not plastic. An estimated increase of 62% has been witnessed in Sanitation and ODF since 2014. And when they start to break down, it has a direct effect on the food that we eat, leading to detrimental health problems. According to doctors, chemicals used in plastic has a high probability of causing diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Infertility along with others.

It is high time that we change this habit. But, hardly ever we think about what happens to post the celebrations.Putting aside the harm caused by dumping plastic disposable, there is also the health risks associated with using plastic vessels. After a huge success of Open Defecation Free (ODF) India under Swachh Bharat Mission, ittime we lay our focus equally on another immerging issue that is freeing the environment from Single-Use Plastic.The plastic used in making these dishes and other storage containers is made using harmful chemicals. But what we don't realize is that instead of showing off love towards them we are slowly serving them poison in small amounts. The overflowing waste is not only polluting the surrounding land but also air and groundwater.BY Jatin Ahlawat, Director, Pi-Lo Shudh Pani Seva Foundation.We all look forward to the festive vibes that Diwali brings along with it, especially friends and family gathering together for a celebration.

The very next morning the first sight on the roads is that of burnt crackers, polluted air and a huge dump of plastic disposable cutleries in a black garbage bag. For instance, food delivery companies, as well as restaurants, also need to become a part of this process of eliminating the use of single-use plastic, as a lot of people order food during Diwali parties to save time and energy.Plastic has become an unavoidable part of our lives in the past three decades or so. India is generating Tones of plastic waste rapidly, as per the reports by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) 25,940 tones of plastic waste is added every day which almost equivalent to 9000 Asian elephants and 86 Boeing 747 jets. Pregnant women, infants, and children are especially at high risk caused by the usage of plastic.Cutting down on plastic utensils, decorations and gift packaging during festivals is a good start to avoid the hazards of plastic usage.This Diwali, let us all unite and make a new ritual to pledge for a ‘Plastic-free Diwali'. But when it comes to ‘Single-Use Plastic-Free' nation, we are far behind and there is still a long road ahead. Just like we promote the concept of pollution-free Diwali, we should also promote ‘Plastic-free Diwali'.

United effort put up by the general public as well as restaurants and other food providers is the only way to reduce plastic consumption. But this is not a one-man job; to achieve this objective, we need to ensure a united front from both the general public and corporate set-ups. Plastic does not last forever and the more it is used, the more amount of chemicals used to prepare that container begins to break down. Often to avoid workloads during the festival, people serve food in plastic vessels.In Indian tradition, serving food to our guests is not just any ritual but an act to show our love and gratitude for them.Each year we hear government taking strict actions to curb air pollution by imposing strict regulations on burning crackers, but no action is taken to reduce the usage of plastic/thermacol disposable cutleries. According to figures mentioned under Swachh Bharat Mission, 35 states and Union Territories have been declared Open Defecation Free with around 10,07,25,000 household toilets built under this yojana, ever since its announcement on October 2 in 2014. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Delhi, the amount of waste collected and discarded at landfill sites exceeds the amount it can accommodate. Not only in our food, we also use a plastic sheet, carry bags and boxes for gifting purposes. Out of these 10,376 tons, a day is an uncollected plastic. It may cost a little more than the usual plastic, but in return will ensure good health for you and your family

But, the momentum seems to have lost.Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has deployed over 300 inspectors who were assigned to visit the various shops and hawkers to fine them for using single-use plastic materials.However, there are allegations that the visits by the inspectors and raids to seize the plastic have decreased PE shrink films Manufacturers in last few months can be attributed to the BMC’s failure to re-cycle the already collected plastic. The inspectors should continue the raids to uphold the ban.18 crore as fine from the offenders. Some allege that the inspectors visit roadside shops and hawkers often and the shopping malls are exempted from these surprise visit checks. The inspectors visited a total of 1.The BMC collects penalty amount ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 along with a three-month jail term. Now-a-days plastic carry bags are available in markets with hawkers.

The BMC in the past few months have floated tenders twice to recycle the collected plastic but have received poor response. Speaking on plastic ban activist Anil Galgali said, “The ban is required to avoid environment hazards and issues like waterlogging as the waste plastic blocks the drains.68 lakh shops and hawkers seizing 60,886 kg of plastic.”The plastic ban was implemented on June 23 last year and till May 31 this year, the BMC has collected Rs 3. The plastic the BMC has seized is stored in its godown, which is supposed to be re-cycled by the companies/registered recyclers empanelled by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).However, the citizens feel that the zest of the civic body taking action against the offenders has lost its pace in last couple of months