Best of Weekender: From the beauty of IPL folk art to the hearty flavours of Burmese Khow Suey

The Indian Premier League is a feast for cricket aficionados and this year, despite the pandemic and the subsequent restrictions, the excitement has not waned.

Adding to the anticipation and excitement of the sport, a creative studio called LastBench has launched a list of wacky ideas to create surreal posters of their favourite cricket players.

They began by imagining cricketers as mythical characters and later matched traditional arts from different states of India with respective cricket players and teams to create IPL folk art.

Don’t miss our interview with Sriram Sabhapathy, Co-Founder, LastBench, on the scope of their digital folk art and their passion for cricket and creativity.

Amidst the proliferation of digital technology and hectic pace of work, life has become increasingly mechanical and monotonous. Numerous lifestyle diseases and mental health problems affect millions of people globally – and mental health issues are a major one among them.

Estimates by the World Health Organisation indicate that over 90 million Indians, or 7.5 per cent of the country’s population of 1.3 billion, suffer from some form of mental disorder. This has further increased in the wake of the recent pandemic.

As we focus on World Mental Health issues this week, there is a need to raise awareness about paying attention to one’s mental health and wellness as much as focusing on physical health.

Find out how to look after your own mental health by monitoring your thoughts, diet, sleep, and fitness routines.

Some years ago, cardiologists started noticing that people with a personality type that they called “D” or distressed tended to get angry more often, were more negative than others, and did not particularly enjoy good interpersonal social relationships. This put them at greater risk for coronary heart disease.

Amid the pandemic, it is important to aim for “hopeful optimism”. This is an attitude where you view life as a challenge and a chance for opportunity and growth rather than a nerve-wracking, traumatic journey.

Learn how to strengthen your mind, understand the importance of deep breathing and take time to de-stress to stay positive during these difficult and trying times.

Whether it is Kung Pao Cauliflower, Street-Style Pad Thai, or a hearty Burmese Khow Suey you want to try out this weekend, you need to get hold of ex-restaurateur and food blogger Natasha Celmi’s new cookbook.

Titled Fast Fresh Flavourful, her cookbook specialises in using local ingredients and simplifying basic techniques to create global dishes. From satays, Singaporean laksa, mezze platters, Italian zucchini rolls, fiery Mexican burrito bowls to delectable desserts, this cookbook could be your ‘go-to’ reference for easy cooking, smart techniques, and interesting meal plans.

Don’t miss our interview with Natasha as she speaks about her favourite recipes and her culinary journey. Also, check out her tips for home chefs.

We've been advised for decades that a calorie is a calorie. Increasingly, however, it seems like it's not only what you eat; when you eat also matters when it comes to staying healthy.

The body doesn’t fiendishly stockpile food as fat when the clock strikes 6 pm, but eating late at night is linked to weight gain. This is because no one gets out of bed in the middle of the night to raid the refrigerator for salads. A lot of late-night eating is mindless and this habit is linked to overeating and weight gain. 

Learn why we should eat an early dinner from the founder of health food startup.

Are your favourite writers Carol Dweck and Ben Horowitz? Among famous men, do you admire Tim-Berners Lee (inventor, World Wide Web) the most? If so, meet Bhanu Chopra, the Founder and Chairman at RateGain, a SaaS company.

A second-generation entrepreneur, Bhanu identified an opportunity in the increasing popularity of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in the early 2000s, and the resultant shift in dynamics in the hospitality space, and founded RateGain in 2004. He is also a well-known speaker and writer.

He believes his motto, ‘Your vibe attracts your tribe. Stay insanely awesome’, and he think it is the best way to develop a positive attitude and build a happier place, at work and at home.

Find out all about Bhanu's greatest loves, hates, regrets, treasures and much more in his responses to our Proust questionnaire.