Tabla de contenidos para December 2017 en Maxim India

SOPONA, THE GOD OF SMALLPOX The Yoruba people of Nigeria worshipped Sopona, the god of smallpox, embodied in a unique carved wooden figure layered with monkey skulls, cowrie shells, and fur. Why? Because Sopona and his priests were believed to be capable of causing outbreaks of smallpox if they were enraged. The Yoruba hence paid tribute to the priests out of fear for a century. Although the British outlawed the worshipping of Sopona in 1907, the practice continued in secret for a while. BULLET BABA The townspeople of Chotila, a small village in Rajasthan, have been worshipping a 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet, encased in glass, for almost 30 years now and, no, it’s not a village of motorheads. The legend: The people worship the ghost of Om Banna, the owner…

IT’S LIKE WHAT THE YOUNGER VERSION of your Dad would drive... on Mars. No, it’s not your imagination: Honda’s new pure-electric Urban EV Concept, which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show, looks like a cross between a late ’70s Civic and an original Volkswagen Rabbit (or the Golf, as many countries know it). Great cars have always served as prime inspiration for automobile designers, so this concept is no exception. The Urban EV is also a preview of Honda’s planned 2019 production electric car. “This is not some vision of the distant future; a production version of this car will be here in 2019,” says Honda Motor Co. President and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo. At 152 inches in length, the concept is a scant two inches longer than that original ’70s-vintage…

When John Varvatos launched his eponymous label some 17 years ago, the fashion world was so different it might as well have been the Palaeolithic era. “There was no online business out there. Until 2007, there wasn’t even an iPhone,” Varvatos says today from his office in New York City’s Flatiron District. The room is filled with rock and roll memorabilia, like a hall of fame: platinum records from Alice Cooper; moody black-and-white Jimi Hendrix photographs; a sound system with speakers so large that the setup takes up nearly an entire wall. “How we get information has changed so quickly,” Varvatos adds. “Today, everything’s instantaneous.” While some of these technological advancements may seem obvious—especially to a Millennial—what is a little harder to pin down is how, exactly, Varvatos Inc. has…

The watchmaker is experimenting with designs inspired by motorcycles and cars, with the aeronautical edge of its heritage. THE EXPRESSION OF TECHNICAL precision through “pure lines and timeless elegance.” That’s the guiding principle of Bell & Ross. Its watches have a distinct visceral appeal: wearing one makes you feel like a fighter pilot. Founded in Paris in 1992 and inspired by aircraft instrumentation, the brand has defied the conventions of centuries of watchmaking. In fact, for the first decade of its existence, the company enlisted help producing its own watches, but a devoted following developed anyway. In the early 2000s, Bell & Ross began manufacturing at its own facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. It was founded, of course, by a team of watch designers and aeronautical control panel specialists who…

FREERIDERS ARE, WELL, A DIFFERENT BREED. Not only do they take on the mountain, they also challenge the limits of their own performance. To make it far at the challenging Red Bull Rampage is an accomplishment, but to win is huge—because the Rampage is fairly unique in the elite sporting world. In this challenge, the competitors prepare their own insane natural lines into savage drops, jumps and berms to try and score the best points total from the judges. In effect, you’re competing with yourself as you compete with other MTB pros. The riders are judged on four sets of criteria—difficulty of line, air amplitude, control and fluidity, tricks and style. The 2017 edition had a new ridge-line, which sat to the rider’s right of the terrain from last…

Freshly pressed linen sheets, fluffy towels, calming colour palettes and indulgent interiors: just some of the reasons why Waterstones Hotel is perfect to recreate that cocooning feel at home. Tucked away in a quiet corner of chaotic Mumbai, Waterstones Hotel is a quiet paradise that combines the care and details of a boutique hotel with the comforts and luxuries of a five star to present you with the getaway you truly deserve. Paired with the facilities and lush grounds of one of Mumbai’s most exclusive private clubs, the property has been tastefully designed to surprise and delight you the discerning, creative traveller. Crystal chandeliers are replaced by warm lamps floated at varied levels over a peaceful sunken lobby. Waterstones brings Mumbai’s opulent past into the 21st century. Inspired from various…

COGNAC IS GUNNING FOR ITS TURN IN THE spotlight, but first it has a reigning champion to unseat. Whisky has dominated the luxury spirits world for a decade with long-aged products and experimental offerings. But the iconic producers of French brandy are starting to replicate whisky’s success by changing their way of doing business. In the world of aged spirits, cognac remains somewhat of a mystery. While whisky makers regularly print age statements and explain cask finishes, most bottles of cognac, which is a specific type of brandy, are packaged with little more than a couple of letters from the cryptic “VS, VSOP, XO” grading system. Cognac ages many of its products for decades, but XO only covers brandies that have aged a minimum of 10 years. Part of learning…

IT ALL STARTED WITH A PHOTO OF Jon Hamm. When Australian Mark Hawwa saw an image of the dashing Mad Men actor in full Don Draper garb atop a vintage bike, he came up with an idea that would bring together a community of café racers that had been growing steadily for years. Now called the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, the event has grown into a charitable movement, having expanded from 2,500 riders in 64 cities in 2012 to more than 57,000 participants in 505 cities and 90 countries last year. Funds from the ride go to Movember, the men’s health nonprofit, to fund prostate cancer research and male suicide prevention programmes. This year’s event brought together more than 95,000 bikers globally and raised close to $5 million.…

THUMB THE REMOTE START BUTTON ON your car’s key and you’ve roused the Cadillac ghost in the machine. The electric starter that makes remote start possible is a Cadillac innovation dating from 1912. Before that (and for other brands, for many years afterward), drivers had to hand-crank their car’s engine to life. Since its founding in 1902, Cadillac has continuously pioneered design and engineering, introducing countless new technologies and trends. “Cadillac’s history has been marked by technical innovations and the development of ground-breaking technology,” says Uwe Ellinghaus, the company’s chief marketing officer. To avoid being trapped by that history, relegated to rehashing its greatest hits, Cadillac relocated from its Detroit home to New York City in 2015 and is diving headfirst into city life. That has meant endeavours such as…

1 ALL CONTROLLER This is a video game remote control with a built-in screen that is compatible with almost any gaming device out there—consoles, PCs, mobile devices, smartphones. The ALL universal controller is a streamlined solution you can rely on at home, in VR or even when you’re looking to your phone for your gaming fix. Its versatility and compatibility make it tempting for casual gamers, but hardcore fans will definitely appreciate its unprecedented customisability, where nearly every component on the controller can be changed, adjusted, refined or swapped via the screen and saved as a preset. That means adjusting trigger pressure, thumbstick sensitivity, remapping buttons et al. 2 SAMSUNG STAR WARS POWERBOT VR7000 Want to use the Force to clean floors? This is as close as it comes. And…

1. A power strip saves a lot of aggravation if you’ve got multiple devices. 2. Mini bungee cords have many uses—from making makeshift clotheslines to securing room doors. 3. Zip ties help secure luggage and fix broken gear. 4. Ziploc bags can protect your gear if it’s raining. 5. Keep a spare debit card in your hotel safe—it’ll come in handy if you ever lose your wallet. 6. Get credit card fraud protection before you fly abroad. 7. Fill lotion in old contact lens cases. 8. Don’t forget to download an offline map (on Google Maps). 9. Google Trips (an itinerary tracker) and Google Translate are other useful apps. 10. Keep a selfie on your camera or phone—if stolen and recovered, it’ll help you prove ownership. 11. Wrap all toiletries…

And if ever there was a time, to be incredibly excited about the state of space tech in this world, today is as good a time as any with multiple players—both private and state-owned, pushing the boundaries of human conquests over space. I NEVER KNEW KALPANA CHAWLA. BUT ON THE NIGHT OF February 1, 2003 when news of Space Shuttle Columbia falling apart struck our TV screens, with her picture in an orange spacesuit as the prominent thumbnail, I remembered thinking what her family must’ve gone through that night. That morning, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, she and her crew were expected to safely land at 09:16 hours EST. About ten minutes before the scheduled landing, at 09:05 hours, residents of north central Texas, reported seeing smoke trails and debris from…

Jackie Chan , Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao did a series of “Three Dragons” films, including 1983’s Project A , which gave each of them a sterling action profile across the world. Chow Yun Fat also bridged the Hong Kong-Taiwan-Hollywood gap with his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo especially with The Killer and Hard Boiled and, of course, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. ALTHOUGH HONG KONG CINEMA IS now world-famous in its own right, the first films shown in the former British colony were, in fact, brought in from France by mail steamer. The year was 1897, and at the end of April, Professor Maurice…

p. 8 Astronaut by Vladi333/Shutterstock; drink by V_L/Shutterstock.com; biking by Bartek Wolinski/ RedBull pp. 14-16 Woman with wine by Igor Normann/Shutterstock.com; man with wine by Kiselev Andrey Valerevich/Shutterstock.com p. 20 Images courtesy of Alpha imagery, Rohan Thomson, David Marvier, George Aufreiter, Mihail Jershov, Scott Hopkin, Gianluca Colagross, Luciano Consolini p. 24 Images courtesy of JW Marriott p. 26 Emma McIntyre/ Getty Images pp. 28-31 lmages courtesy of Cadillac pp. 32-33 lmages courtesy of Norton pp. 34-35 lmages courtesy of Honda p. 36 lmages courtesy of the respective brands p. 37 lmages courtesy of Tesla Motors pp. 38-41 Images courtesy of John Varvatos p. 42 Raen, raen.com; Grown Alchemist, grownalchemist.com; Clinique For Men, Shop No. G-43-44, Select CityWalk Mall, Saket, New Delhi; Sunday Riley, sundayriley.com; Bateman Skincare, batemanskincare.com; Salvatore Ferragamo, Shop…

“CREATIVITY TAKES COURAGE,” AS HENRI Matisse famously said. It couldn’t hold more true today, given the influx of stimuli all around us. Art is as art does, and you’ll find ample proof in a quaint little 50-sq. m. studio-meets-gallery-meets-store in the heart of Kala Ghoda, Mumbai’s art district. It’s called dayDREAM, and is the brainchild of ace lensman Prasad Naik and designer Manish Mansinh. The two are childhood buddies, and the idea behind the store is to allow everyone access to art. We caught up with the duo to sample the merch, and also to snag some ideas about following your passion, doing up a space and, of course, the future of a creative enterprise. Hi guys, we love this place. How did the idea for this place come about?…

TINGE OF DAZE Stir together 60ml dry coconut infused whisky, 45ml tea decoction and one teaspoon orange marmalade to create a delicious, modern adult iced tea. BARREL-AGED SPICED RUM Who doesn’t love a bit of rum in the cold? For a twist, take 60ml barrel-aged rum that has been spiced with an orange peel, thyme and some cinnamon for 20 days (DIY style), add to it three dashes of bitters and top it off with tonic water. STRIKING GIN AND TONIC Impress your guest with a Michelin star style concoction right at home. All it takes is some pre-show prep: create edible flower ice cubes earlier in the day. Now stir together 60 ml gin, three edible flower ice bars and some tonic water. Mucho impressed!…

TAKE A GLANCE AT THE NEW Norton V4 RR motorcycle and you might think it’s a museum piece instead of a high-performance machine. But don’t be fooled by the stylish design. Norton developed this mobile work of art at the most difficult motorcycle course on earth, the Isle of Man circuit, perfecting the 1,200-cc V-4 engine capable of producing more than 200 brake horsepower. The V4 RR is a feat of engineering. Its aluminium twin-tube shotgun chassis takes 26 hours to hand-polish, and the bodywork is formed from lightweight carbon fibre. Even the gas tank is made from carbon fibre, combined with Kevlar reinforcement, which may help prevent a potential puncture. Both wheels are crafted of forged aluminium, and 330-mm Brembo disc brakes are entrusted to bring the speed demon…

FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT BIG highway trucks: that they are sluggish, loud and dirty. If Tesla Motors succeeds in popularising its new Tesla Semi, trucks can become surprisingly quick, quiet and clean (depending on the method of generating their electricity). Tesla boss Elon Musk promises an astounding 0–100 kmph acceleration time for the 1,000-hp bob-tail (U.S. trucker jargon for “no trailer”) Semi of just 5.0 seconds, compared to 15 seconds for a typical diesel truck. Pulling around 36,000-kg load, it can still get to 100 kmph in 20 seconds, which compares to about a minute for a diesel. And it can climb a steep five per cent grade faster as well. Musk has said the truck has a coefficient of drag of 0.36, making it even more absurdly aerodynamic…

Visas done, tickets in hand, and dreaming of that European getaway? Hang on though—there’s a lot you can still do to make your upcoming trip a lot easier. It’s nice to romanticise the idea of being a spontaneous traveller who comes back to regale his friends with tales of hitching rides with wine salesmen and of roughing it out in the seedy quarters of a port city, but all that excitement lasts only as long as it takes you to realise your dream vacay could have been much better had you looked beyond the basics. So here’s a list of hacks to help you get a lot more out of your next getaway. FOR THE SOLO TRAVELLER You’ve got every reason to head out on your own, without a significant…

INDIA'S UNDER-17 FOOTBALL TEAM RECENTLY MADE HISTORY BY becoming the first Indian team across age groups or gender to play in a FIFA World Cup. Sporting leagues with massive television audiences and broadcasting deals are sprouting up all across the country, and our obsession with cricket continues to reach dizzying proportions. Indian badminton is breaking new ground with both their women and men winning competitions. All those other sports may not be as popular as what cricket is today and what hockey once was, but they still enjoy a good audience; they are mainstream sports after all. But how does an ironman athlete, a figure skater or a surfer—all from seemingly less popular sports but just as competitive—make it big in a country that isn’t even a sporting one? A…

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