Best of Weekender: Celebrating women, tracing the journeys of Lokesh Verma and Tarini Manchanda, and more

In the second week of March, YS Weekender had a mixed bag of stories on International Women's Day, entrepreneurship, health and fitness, and entertainment.

Here's a compilation of all the top stories that you shouldn't miss from the week that was:

From flipping burgers at McDonald'sto becoming a tattoo artist to Bollywood stars

Delhi-based Lokesh Verma never got anything served on a platter. The self-taught tattoo artist had to juggle three jobs and college to buy his first tattoo machine.

Today, he is an internationally acclaimed tattoo artist, and founder of tattoo studios chain Devil’s Tattooz.

His client list includes Bollywood celebrities Tapsee Pannu, Swara Bhaskar, and Remo D’Souza, and cricketers Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav, among others.  

Lokesh is also the co-founder of Heartwork Tattoo Festival -- one of India’s biggest tattoo conventions. He holds a Guinness World Record with his team for tattooing the maximum number of flags on a human body. 

How this 28-year old influencer and entrepreneur is fueling the blooming personalised gifting industry

Founded by social media influencer and entrepreneur Tarini Manchanda, Delhi-based The Initial Studio, allows customers to order personalised gifts. The one-stop-shop studio focuses strongly on aesthetics and quality, while providing gifting solutions for both personal and business needs.

The Initial Studio boasts of a marquee list of clients that includes Saudi Aramco, BMW, Google, Tinder, and Bombay Sapphire, among others. 

From working with Arsenal FC to building a New York-based matrimony business, the story of Anuradha Gupta

Vows of Eternity is a global, bespoke, and confidential matrimonial service firm founded by New York-based Anuradha Gupta. Ever since its inception 10 years ago, the company has been bringing together life partners on the basis of mindsets, values, and personalities. It has members in over 65 countries, and offices in New York, London, Delhi, and Mumbai.

In an exclusive interaction with YS Weekender, Anuradha Gupta of matrimonial service firm Vows of Eternity spills the beans of being a global matchmaker and how marriages have changed over the years.

Startup tips for aspiring beauty entrepreneurs

Starting something from scratch is always daunting. And when it’s in the competitive world of beauty, the challenges seem to be vast. It takes a lot of effort, hard work, and dedication to build something from zero.

The beauty industry is constantly evolving, new trends are always emerging, creating a need for beauty entrepreneurs to stay on top of their game and make most of the resources available today. The challenges coupled with the pandemic may seem daunting, but don’t let them you stop from chasing your dreams and building your own beauty brand.

Indian television actor, model, and more recently an entrepreneur with her brand RENEE Cosmetics, Aashka Goradia Goble suggests trips to help budding entrepreneurs grow their brands in the world of beauty.

YourStory MediaReviews: Bombay Begums

NetflixOriginal Bombay Begums that tells the story of five women whose lives — and conflicts — crisscross in the city of Mumbai. Released on March 8, it touches upon issues of loveless marriages and infidelity; infertility and surrogacy; boardroom politics and workplace sexual harassment; teenage heartbreaks and substance abuse; alternative sexualities and gender power plays.

Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, Bombay Begums marks the comeback of actress Pooja Bhatt.

Here’s how to maintain a healthy lifestyle for people who work a 9-to-5 job

Working professionals often fail to implement a healthy diet plan due to their busy work schedules, which might lead to poor energy levels, irritability, fatigue, and restlessness. Skipping meals, eating unhealthy snacks during breaks, and an overall poor diet can prove to be very harmful in the long run, resulting in low metabolism, stress, and increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension, etc. 

Celebrity nutritionist and dietitian Shweta Gupta shares tips for office-goers to keep up their energy levels throughout the day and maintain optimal health.

The rise of women's wellness in India

All over the world, women’s health is a major concern, as the flip side of the increasing number of women in the global workforce shows itself in lesser focus and time spent on health maintenance.

Founder and Director of Wellness Forever Medicare, Gulshan Bakhtiani how besides proper nutrition, it is essential to maintain a hormonal balance, which can also influence the physical and mental health of women. 

Women’s health: Finding the root cause and what can be done to embrace good health

Women experience conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, PMS, infertility, early onset menopause, anxiety, etc, and all of them have the same root – estrogen dominance.

Functional nutritionist Deepa Kannan writes in her weekly column: "When it comes to women’s health, I truly believe that it is not as complex as most people think. The conditions and symptoms that women go through include fibroids, endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, PMS, infertility, early onset menopause, anxiety, etc. The truth is that none of these conditions is any different from the other. All of these conditions can be traced to the same root – estrogen dominance."

She further explains what estrogen dominance is, what leads to it, and how one can counter the problems it causes.