Anjali Awasthi

For nearly a year, Anuradha Awasthi's relationship existed in the space between certainty and possibility. She and the man she met on a dating app lived over 1,500 kilometres apart. There were no grand declarations, no conversations about where things were headed within the first few weeks, and certainly no pressure to hit relationship milestones. Instead, they simply kept showing up for each other.

The skincare space has never been more crowded. There are acids to exfoliate, peptides to plump, retinols to renew, and serums promise everything from glass skin to eternal youth. Yet somewhere between the latest viral routine and a cabinet full of products, many people have discovered an uncomfortable truth: their skin isn't getting better—it's becoming more irritated by such treatments. The conversation is shifting from chasing miracle ingredients to protecting something far less visible but far more important: the skin barrier. This thin outer layer locks in moisture while shielding the body from pollution, bacteria, allergens and other environmental stressors. When it is healthy, skin remains resilient and hydrated. When it is damaged, even well-formulated products can make matters worse.

Forgetting why you opened an app. Losing your train of thought mid-sentence. Walking into a room and drawing a blank. For many women, these aren't random lapses but perimenopausal brain fog—a surprisingly common symptom affecting 44-62 per cent of women during the menopause transition.

Forget the hour-long gym session. Exercise snacking is all about short bursts of physical activity—anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes—sprinkled through the day. A few squats while the coffee brews, stairs instead of the lift, a brisk walk during a phone call: the idea is simple—movement need not come in one uninterrupted workout to count. Research has found that accumulating short bouts of activity through the day can improve cardiorespiratory fitness, particularly among inactive adults. It can also break up long periods of sitting and make exercise feel less daunting for people who cite lack of time as their biggest barrier.

For 26-year-old digital marketer Karishma Pramanik, the first sign that she was bored of her own routine came in the form of a Metro stop she had never used before. “I was just tired of doing the same thing every day,” she says. She felt life was reduced to a familiar circuit: office, commute and home, repeated with little variation. So, one day, she simply got off at a different stop. There was no plan, no particular destination and certainly no larger purpose behind it. She just wanted to see where the detour took her. “At some point, I just embarked at a different stop and realised it might actually be good to do things like that more often. It breaks the monotony in a way that feels surprisingly refreshing.”

Ganpati, Navratri, weddings, back-to-back celebrations—the Indian social calendar is becoming grand in scale and busier. And IV drips seems to be the new shortcut to get going. Promising hydration, energy, recovery and a glowing skin, they have moved from hospital wards to bridal suites and even wedding venues. The appeal is obvious. Weddings stretch across days; Navratri brings nine nights of dancing, and late nights. Add work, travel, fasting, and socialising, and the promise of feeling refreshed, just under an hour, is hard to resist. But is a quick IV drip infusion really the wellness hack it promises to be?

Abstract Herein, Parthenium hysterophorus -derived biochar, titanium dioxide and polyvinyl alcohol ternary composite hydrogel was fabricated

Mousumi Bose, a PR professional in Mumbai, has a hectic work schedule. She had come across an unheard virtue of October earlier. Come September was done and dusted, but the punishing stress had almost burned her out leaving her with no time for fitness, mental or physical. She recalled coming across an intriguing phrase—“October Theory”—trending on the internet. “When I read about it, I realised I had been postponing many tasks I should have completed. In a hectic work life, fitness can easily take a back seat. So, I thought I could use October as reset time instead of waiting for January, the month which takes off with New Year resolutions. Going by what I read, October seemed a good time to start my routine all over again without putting too much pressure on myself,” she says.

There is nothing called the best grain. Understanding their variety in Indian food is the key to good health

Black Cat Energy is the art of being deeply in love without being joined at the hip: affectionate but independent, committed but perfectly happy doing your own thing