“Dreamscape, portrait and meditation, Shantih Shantih Shantih is a distinctly Singaporean book that echoes the loneliness of living in a global city – together yet apart, intimate yet distant, aspirational yet melancholic.”

“I finished this novelette of interconnected stories on my way home one evening, half-expecting snow to fall in Singapore like in the book. There is just no other local author who writes with Daryl’s emo-Piscean sense of awe and wonder, making him as queerly unique as a pirouetting flake of starry snow.”

“I loved Shantih Shantih Shantih’s combination of beautifully precise language with the contemplative, yearning, dreamy looseness of that hinterland time between late night and early morning. In twelve unassumingly luminous vignettes, we’re given snapshots of a small group of sleepless people around Singapore, whose lives just happen to intersect and resonate at the moment of the strange almost-miracle of a few minutes of snowfall, just after half-past four in the morning. I found myself captivated by the book’s particular blend of melancholy, tenderness and idealism, and also found myself reminded – in the absolute best of ways – of one of my all-time favourite films, Jim Jarmusch’s Night On Earth.”

“Everything is entangled and separate, everyone’s in love and lonely, everywhere afflicted by the same unnatural and luminous phenomenon in the air. Yam’s taken the narratives we use to hide from the world, picked out their brightest emotional threads, and spun something wondrous to linger over, to examine from all angles. I haven’t been this invigorated by fiction in a while.”

“Daryl Qilin Yam’s Shantih Shantih Shantih is a tricky one. While the title means ‘inner peace’ in Sanskrit, the book has an almost apocalyptic undertone that chronicles the stories of 12 people on a snowy day in Singapore and how their lives have intertwined. As we follow them throughout the day, we start to see their lives unravel in fragments, broaching the subjects of love and loss, meeting and passing, serendipities and mishaps among the imperfections that make life worth remembering.

Through Daryl’s characters, I have seen pieces of myself, my unanswered questions and thoughts. This ‘Scent of Snow’ essential oil blend kit is my feeble attempt to understand our shared humanity. Inspired by the fleeting nature of snow, we want to create an experience that is both personal and elusive through scents. I hope your blend will speak your truth and share your story. For this special project, we have also collaborated with Hong Kong artist, Nicolas Ho, to create a knot bag that celebrates our melancholy.”