Marjorie from Paris, is a former curator for books, tea, as well as designer products, especially illustrated postcards, notebooks, prints. She rediscovered the her childhood joy of solving puzzles during the lockdown. She discovers and shares beautiful, modern puzzles from across the globe. This series of reviews are shared from her Instagram page, @gorgeouspuzzles. Here is her take on the beautiful Narthaki 500 piece puzzle

And here's our lovely dancer coming alive

Overall it was a pleasant puzzle to do : an easy one obviously, thanks to its clear-cut image and colors, so I'd recommend it for family puzzling, beginners or as a "break puzzle" in the middle of a more difficult one. I realize I actually do more and more 500-piece puzzles in that aim

But beyond the puzzling experience and their refined design, I think that what really distinguishes Aurva's puzzles is the philosophy and the intention behind them.As they say on the box, they "craft contemporary products out of nostalgia and lore. [Their] products strive and contrive to give you reflection, identity, comfort and belonging". These are profound words that will surely resonate with people who have roots in one part of the world and live in another. India has the largest diaspora in the world (18 million people approximately, which amounts to the entire population of the Netherlands for instance, to put the number in perspective) ; and I can only imagine how enjoyable this puzzle would be to do for instance between Indian parents and their kids.

I guess we always want to pass on our cultures to our children, the cultures we grew up in, that come from our grandparents and the ones we've learnt to love. It's about simple things, like telling stories from the past or sharing recipes. Or maybe even creating a brand like Revathi, the founder of Aurva, did. But there's something even more special about transmitting beauty, like the sound of a traditional instrument, a few verses from a poem or a millennial-old dance.

That being said, it does not mean of course that this puzzle is only aimed at Indian people. You can just be a puzzle lover like me, who, extra-bonus, happens to have fond memories of the few performances of Bharatanatyam she attended to And in case you don't know much about this form of dance, Aurva actually provides a product story on the box, and a nice and useful booklet giving an introduction about the theme of the puzzle (see my pictures), in line with their concept