Life & Style

Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra is often celebrated with the thunderous beats of dhol-tasha, energetic street processions and large crowds gathering to enjoy the festive atmosphere. But amid the excitement, one small detail at a procession on Pune’s FC Road caught the attention of a woman online: a couple watching the performance with their baby had…

Ankur and Ruchi Warikoo (Facebook) For many, buying a house is a dream. Some save years to buy their first home and some end up taking home loans in their early age to fulfil their dream. However entrepreneur, author and personal finance educator Ankur Warikoo, known for sharing insights on money management and life decisions…

A toddler may sit quietly watching a movie, appearing completely absorbed in what is happening on the screen. But a new study suggests that the brain responds differently when children read a book, solve a puzzle or play with a parent. These everyday interactions were associated with brain activity linked to attention and social engagement,…

Anthurium looks like it belongs in a boutique hotel, with shiny, heart-shaped flowers in red, pink or white above dark green leaves. Despite its glamorous look, it is quite happy in bright, indirect light and a little humidity. Use a light, well-draining potting mix and water when the surface feels slightly dry. Keep it out…

The sky in parts of Indonesia has turned an alarming shade of orange, and people living there are struggling to cope with the smoke. Videos shared on social media show buildings and roads barely visible through a thick orange-brown haze. The scenes look almost unreal, but the fires behind them are very real, and so…

AI-generated image /ChatGPT An old pressure cooker and a household mixer-grinder may seem unlikely tools for making tea. But for 51-year-old farmer Ratan Ray from Assam, these everyday appliances became the foundation of an improvised machine designed to solve a practical problem faced by small tea growers: the high cost of specialised processing equipment.Ray, who…

Parents often try to ease a child’s anxiety by offering repeated reassurance, adjusting family routines or helping them avoid situations that cause distress. While these responses may bring relief in the moment, a new study suggests that such patterns of parental behaviour are associated with more severe social-anxiety symptoms among children and adolescents already experiencing…

Photo: @RajeevOjha13/ Instagram Have you ever wondered how a snake with no hands, no teeth for chewing, and no claws to bite down on prey can swallow an animal much bigger than its own head?It sounds impossible, yet pythons do it with their bodies, which are built for exactly this way of hunting. It doesn’t…

Amla is one of those trees many Indian households grow up with, whether it stood in a grandparent’s courtyard or just appeared in jars of pickle and bowls of murabba. It’s also tougher than it looks. The tree copes with heat, doesn’t need much fussing, and can fruit well even in a large pot on…

Sharmila earned an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Columbia University. As a child growing up in Kolkata, Sharmila Mona Sinha often felt that being the third daughter in her family came with expectations she could never quite escape. She recalled wanting to be a boy and do the things boys did. Decades later, after…