Jelena Fürst

Hey Alma — There is a certain kind of dress a certain kind of woman has in her closet. She is most likely Hungarian, though not necessarily, but she is definitely of a certain age. The dress is of a fine material and sophisticated cut, with a distinctly European flair that reflects the era it hails from.

Quillette — Balatonalmádi is a small lakeside village in Hungary still brimming with socialist influence: Stalinist architecture, standardized everything, alongside the serenity of the lake after which it is named. It was here that on July 19th, 2019, a 90-year-old woman went for a swim and did not come back.

bangalorereview.com — Spending nights playing with diceGoing out on moonlight nightsKeeping the festive day in honour of springPlucking the sprouts and fruits of the mango treesEating the fibres of lotusesEating the tender ears of cornPicnicking in the forests when the trees get their new foliageDecorating each other with the flowers of some treesPelting each other with the flowers of the Kadamba tree[...]These and similar other amusementsShould always be carried on by citizens.

Bread&Beauty Literary Magazine — Immediately after the title card, this film feels a lot like the director's first picture, Son of Saul. The camera, the score, the acting.

uncharted.io — This week 250 years ago, a tiny, unassuming island nation was founded. A minuscule speck on the map of Italy, you will find it somewhere under Corsica and above the main island of Sardinia, a grain of sand in the Mediterranean sea.

uncharted.io — Mumbai*, the city of dreams, is a handful. Things are hard in India's second city, with suffering, poverty and struggles at every corner. But from this strife comes the ingenuity of its residents, or Mumbaikars, both human and animal: everyone has to hustle and turn tricks just to make it through the day, because the Indian entertainment capital moves fast and doesn't mess around.

uncharted.io — I was born in Budapest. Many things change about a person, but where one is born does not, usually. Now, of course some people were born in Leningrad but learned to walk in St. Petersburg, and I could have been born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but I wasn't.

www.mustgo.com — With such amazing food, friendly people, rich history, and great weather, it is no wonder Italy is a traveler's dream come true. Plus, the country is shaped like a boot. What's not to love? Italy holds something for everyone and is one of the most diverse countries in the world.

uncharted.io — Berlin, du bist so wunderbar. The German capital, known for being the coolest place to be if you're trying to look like you're not trying, is many things to many people. Beloved by a truly diverse bunch of visitors and inhabitants, many weirdos from David Bowie through Nina Hagen to Klaus Kinski have fallen for this fickle mistress hook, line and sinker.

HuffPost India — People, all of them western, often counter my amorous accounts of India with "escapism" - the concept of hiding from one's mundane daily life behind a wall of a fascinating but ultimately unsupportable lifestyle - like being in a punk band, or going to India, in my case.

HuffPost India — It was one of those easy, balmy Indian nights when, watching the sun come up over the mess that is Bombay, my last drink of the night turning into the first one of the day, I noticed myself thinking that I didn't want to leave.

HuffPost India — If I've learned one thing about India it's that you need to accept things. And by things I mean all of the things. Accepting things as they are opens up a world of wonders, a world so colourful, spiritual, and wildly different from what you are used to that you will wonder why you ever questioned anything in the first place.

HuffPost India — India is an incredibly colourful place. And I'm not just talking about the tamarind that stains your hands, clothes, face, and everything around you - I'm talking about the contrast between its countless layers of people, animals, objects and all things beyond.

HuffPost India — The rains aren't all bad, though - the first drops of rain are welcomed by screaming children and the first downpour celebrated by young and old taking to the puddles to dance.

HuffPost India — We're fast approaching that time where gyms start to empty out again after the initial rush of "I will get my neighbours body". And this is the real time to reflect, after our resolve to do it all has died off, and we have had to note that nothing much has changed since last year, the sky didn't fall and the sun comes up and goes down just like it did in 2015.

Medium — Established in 1918, and located in Mumbai, The Yoga Institute is recognized as the oldest organized yoga center in the world, and currently, has over 1,000 students enrolled. I was privileged to interview Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra, who has served as the director of the Institute since 1997.

Medium —

The Bangalore Review — Images of India wax and wane, over five years spent there only serving to confuse, now. This is an essay on traveling, in so far as coming home is a kind of travel. Because once you have lived away from your place of birth long enough, it becomes strangely unfamiliar in a way that ought to be forbidden.