Best of Weekender: From tapping into your creative juices to hassle-free buying of second-hand goods

They say creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties, and this week in YS Weekender, we saw ample examples of creative souls follow their hearts and pursue their dreams with a vengeance.

Take for instance Prateek Sethi — Producer, Designer, Entrepreneur, and TEDx speaker based in Mumbai.

Best known for his stint on the popular TV show FAQ on Pogo channel, Prateek has since carved a niche for himself in the sphere of Creative Communication Design. He started his design firm Trip Creative Services in 2009, and hasn’t looked back since.

In a candid chat with YS Weekender, Prateek reveals, “I was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer when I was a teenager, which was a really difficult phase of life. It taught me to enjoy and be thankful for every moment I am alive,”

In his interview, Prateek also talks about the role of a supportive family in making these out-of-box ideas come to life. He reminisces how he grew up watching cartoons on broadcast and VHS recordings, which really spurred his imagination.

"I actually wanted to improve the quality of content on offer then and my grandfather, with the blessings of my parents, encouraged me to pursue animation."

From Mumbai, we move on to Bangalore, where Shariq Plasticwala decided to turn entrepreneur to follow his passion for performing arts and leverage technology to make it accessible to all with his venture Kafqa Academy

This ex-Amazon employee, who was among the key executives for the company when it started its India operations, is an IIT Bombay and Stanford Business School graduate who has been passionate about drama and theatre since he was 12 years old. His passion found expression through writing, directing, and even acting in plays during his IIT Bombay and Stanford days.

But the “aha moment” came when he came across a data point that revealed that hashtag dance viewership on TikTok overtook football, music, and fitness. In 2021, this led him to found Kafqa, a global performing arts academy that offers classes in dancing, singing, and speech and drama, which started as a bootstrapped venture.

The key target segment for the academy are people who are interested or passionate about some art form, those who can learn the skill and also put up their content online. As of now, an overwhelming majority of the learners are in the 6-14 age group.

Remember the good ol' days when you got hand-me-downs from siblings, cousins, aunts and family friends, and your day was just made? In this fast paced world of use and throw, using second hand goods has seen somewhat of a downward trend, and this is where the enterprising ladies behind Mumbai-based The Share Bear are making a difference.

Launched in 2021 by Kanika Vasudeva and Freyan Bhujwala, as a resale platform The Share Bear accepts everything related to babies and children. Their product categories include toys, books, clothes, shoes, accessories, baby gear, baby essentials, rockers, bouncers, play-gyms, cribs, cots, beds, strollers, prams, car seats, highchairs, booster chairs, nursery décor and appliances as well as age-specific or theme-specific party décor.

“The Share Bear stands for sustainable living, mindful parenting and promoting a circular economy, in an easy and convenient manner. Our vision is to normalise the buying and selling of pre-loved items,” affirm the founders in a chat with YSWeekender.

It's Sunday, and we're thinking indulgences. Be it afternoon naps, binge watching through the day or Biriyanis. That's right, Sundays and biriyanis are made for each other!

Mumbai-based Charcoal Eats has been delivering various flavours of this rice dish across Mumbai as well as in Pune and Jammu since 2015. The brainchild of Anurag Mehrotra, Krishnakant Thakur and Mohammed Bhol, this Biryani brand now boasts 31 outlets and claims to have served over 1.5 million consumers post-pandemic.

Named after the ‘Dhungaar’ process of smoked cooking, where the dish is cooked slowly with a heavy reliance on charcoal smoke, the name of this brand – Charcoal Eats – is an apt one. They also recently partnered with Blue Tribe to launch India’s first plant-based Biryani. This unusual offering is aimed at discerning consumers who love the taste of meat, but want to consciously cut down on their meat consumption for ethical, religious, environmental or health reasons.

Diabetes and metabolic conditions are rampant in India and there are reasons for this. The root causes of diabetes includes a long-term consumption of an inflammatory diet, a high sugar diet, diet low in healthy fats, diet low in optimal protein, high stress, perpetuating insomnia, poor liver health, nutrient deficiencies, and much more.

How can you avoid diabetes, specifically Type 2 diabetes that arises out of lifestyle factors? Here are 10 tips that help you avoid the disease and help you reverse a pre-diabetic state. These are safe interventions, and you can begin incorporating them, as you feel comfortable.