Best of Weekender: From fitness YouTuber Gaurav Taneja to binging on Amazon’s Modern Love and Banoffee bakes

When our writer met fitness vlogger and YouTuber Gaurav Taneja at our recent flagship event TechSparks 2019, she found that his journey as a digital influencer was as colourful as his online personality. Gaurav began his career as a civil engineer from IIT Kharagpur and later became a pilot.

Eventually, he decided to become a fitness vlogger.

Today, he is known as the Flying Beast among his three million fans. Gaurav runs two successful YouTube channels, where he shares his vlogs, daily life stories, and his knowledge on fitness and nutrition.

Don’t miss this interview, where we get up close and personal with this terrific YouTube legend.

As the long Diwali weekend approaches, it is a good time to make plans for the holidays. Check out our suggestions on how you can spend this long weekend - without the crackers and pomp. Our first stop?

A slew of new web series and TV shows, including Anne Hathaway's Modern Love on Amazon Prime, and the latest season of Modern Family on Hotstar. If you live in Bengaluru, you can take a short trip to Sangama, Mekedatu, and Savandurga Hills.

If you live elsewhere, check out your nearby holiday destinations for a long and leisurely weekends.

Read all our book suggestions, recipes, and tips for online shopping in our special holiday roundup this week.

If you’ve been shopping for gifts this Diwali, why settle for regular gifts from the stores? With a little more effort, you can buy eco-friendly gifts and do your bit to save the planet. Why not buy a range of coasters and trays made from recyclable material or pen stands made of recycled Tetra Pak cartons?

Our writers also suggest plantable seed pencils that sprout when watered and can be buried in your garden pot once you’ve finished using them.

Sounds interesting? Read more about such innovative products on our 'green gifting' story for this festive season.

Baking is both a science and an art, says our guest writer Chef Sandhya Seshadri. She suggests that instead of the regular sweets that you make every year, try your hand at baked desserts. Her company L’éclair Studio decided to make gift boxes crammed with baked goodies this year.

These boxes contain fabulous bakes in flavours like Orange with Cranberry, Almond with Apricot, Hazelnut and Rose with Pistachio, along with eggless tarts such as Banoffee and Chocolate Hazelnut. But baking is not an easy task for most people, which is why Chef Sandhya offers some excellent tips on how to get your recipes just right.

Get all this advice and more in our article on how to add a spot of baking to your festivities this year.

Did you know taking care of your skin begins with your diet? Your gut is literally at the root of how your skin behaves, says our diet and nutrition expert, Deepa Kannan. She offers loads of skin-friendly solutions on how to get your gut balance perfect and how to detox the right way.

She also suggests that you try to add turmeric to your diet and also add fermented foods like kombucha, kefir, yoghurt, and sourdough bread to your diet to maintain the microbiome balance in your body.

Find out all about all these good health initiatives that will help you get clear and glowing skin

Is your favourite fictional hero Howard Roark of The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand? Is Eric Segal your favourite author? Would you like to live in Ubud, Bali? If yes, meet Kausshal Dugarr, Founder of Teabox.

Founded in 2012, Teabox claims to be the world’s first vertically integrated tea brand. As Kausshal’s family has been in the tea business, it was inevitable that he would find his way into the trade too.

Don’t miss Kausshal’s responses to our Proust questionnaire where he talks about his greatest fears, loves, heroes and more.

And his motto, “There is nothing worse in life than being ordinary”, could be the secret behind his brilliance as a startup founder.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)

ALSO READ

Meet the Mommy Network, a platform for mom by mompreneurs

ALSO READ

Food is sacred but being able to cook is worship: Chef Niyati Rao