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business

Gift The Goodness Of Artisanal Ice Cream This Festive Season With Cold Love

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Cold Love Ice Cream, is artisanal ice cream made in small batches, loaded with carefully sourced fresh and all natural ingredients. The brand’s indulgent range of unusual, carefully crafted flavours do not contain any artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives.

For this festive season, cold love has come up with gifting hampers to bring some goodness of ice-creams and to spread smiles across the faces of your loved ones.

This season, the Chefs at Cold Love have curated two gift boxes for you to share and spread the love. Starting from their signature frozen bon-bons, “Love Bombs” which have proved to be a huge hit with everyone who is eating them. A Love Bomb is a bite-sized piece of ice-cream, encased in a coating of chocolate. A gift box contains sixteen Love Bombs in four enticing flavours:

Kesar Pista Cranberry Bomb – Roasted pistachio and cranberry ice cream dipped in white chocolate. Finished with saffron and cardamom;

Black and Gold Bomb – Peanut brittle encrusted soft caramel core surrounded by an intensely dark chocolate ice cream dipped in dark chocolate with 24K peanuts

Sparkling Orange Bomb – Tangy Orange ice cream dipped in PopRock dark chocolate, topped with Pop Rocks

Italian Berry Bomb – Strawberry balsamico & black pepper sorbet dipped in white chocolate with black pepper chicky dust

Cold Love is also offering a box of eight Cookies and Brookies. The stickiest. The Gooiest. The Chocolatiest. The Bestest Chocolate-Chunk and Brownie-Cookies in town. The cookies and brookies will be freshly baked and delivered to your door on order.
Both boxes are priced at Rs 765 (including GST).

For booking, visit their website: www.coldlove.in or visit their stores in Delhi NCR

business

ANAROCK Group Sales Jump 80% in H1 2021 Vs. H1 2020, MMR Sees Highest Sales Velocity

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Mumbai, 28 October 2021 – At approx. 9000 units sold, leading real estate services consultancy ANAROCK Group saw its sales increase by 80% in H1 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020. Of the total of INR 8084 Cr worth of inventory sold, affordable housing constituted 20% of ANAROCK Group’s sales so far.

The average ticket size of units sold was at Rs. 90 Lacs across the 13 cities of operation, which stayed consistent as compared to H1 of previous financial year. This dynamic stayed in line with the homebuyers’ focus on large homes to accommodate for WFH, open spaces, and e-schooling.

Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman – ANAROCK Group says, “Since its inception in 2017, ANAROCK has successfully serviced 592 exclusive mandates on behalf of quality A developers, with 108 in H1 2021 alone. The increased sales velocity and market uptake are very visible in the growth of inventory value transacted – INR 8084 Cr in H1 2021 over INR 4446 Cr last year, which is an increase of 80%. While Q1 of FY 2021 contributed 1/4th of the overall sales and revenues, Q2 saw these figures almost triple.”

MMR alone contributed almost INR 5000 Cr of sales value within H1 of this financial year. Next came the combined market of NCR amounting to INR 832 Cr of sales value. Bengaluru was next highest amounting to INR 657 Cr worth of sales value.

The remaining cities of Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, and Kolkata all contributed in part towards ANAROCK Group clocking in 8000+ Cr of sales value in H1 2021.

ANAROCK also saw continued interest in the super-luxury market of INR 10 Cr+ inventory, which in total contributed to almost 10% of the sales value so far. While the luxury market of INR 2.5+ Cr inventory has contributed almost 20% of the sales value so far.

Interestingly, with more and more millennials buying homes, they have constituted a sizable 40% of the customer base in H1 2021 for ANAROCK Group sales. Also, working professionals constituted 70% of the home buyers, while business owners accounted for 25% of buyers, with the other 5% being retirees or other non-working individuals.

Assuming that residential sales velocity remains the same as seen throughout Q2 2021, ANAROCK expects to double its revenue via housing sales by the end of H2 2021. The ongoing festive quarter will see at least 35-40% yearly rise in overall housing sales across the top cities.

In CY Q3 2021, the top seven cities saw total housing sales of approx. 62,800 units — already the best quarterly sales since the pandemic. Previously as a high in Q4 2020, the top seven cities saw total housing sales of about 50,900 units.

business

Language Curry Raises USD 600k Seed Round led by Lets Venture, IAN and others

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

Bengaluru, 28th October 2021- Language Curry, founded by Aneesha Jyoti (ISB, Hyderabad), Vatsala Sharma (CA) and Puneet Singh (SP Jain) – is a unique mobile app that is breaking cultural and language barriers to make India accessible to the world. They’re making Indian language learning effective through their culturally relevant colloquial approach that allows learners to “speak Indian”.

The Company today announced their seed round of $600K. The round saw participation from LetsVenture, IAN, Varsha Rao (CEO, Nurx and Former Head of Global Operations AirBnB), and Rebalance. Angels who participated in this round include Ajay Rajgharia, Nitin Zamre, Shashvat Nakhrani (Co-founder, BharatPe), Karan Tanna (Founder, Ghost Kitchens India), and Rohit Chanana amongst others.

Language Curry was part of Rebalance Accelerator’s Inaugural Cohort and previously raised its angel round in 2020 which saw participation from Rebalance Angel Community, Chandigarh Angel Network and Sukhbir Singh (bollywood singer).

The company has grown over 500% in the past 6 months to close in on 8,00,000 downloads to become the most loved app in the language learning space, often pegged next to global language learning apps. They currently offer 10 Indian Languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Kannada, and Gujarati.

The bridge round earlier in 2021 was funded by Language Curry users.

The company will use the proceedings of the current round towards team building, building new superior products and expansion to other geographies.

The 4.4 rated app offers learning through a freemium model, where live sessions are paid. Language Curry also introduced an industry-first voluntary gurudakshina payment option – which has seen voluntary offers as high as $500 by its learners after using the platform.

Commenting on the fundraise, Vatsala Sharma, Co-founder Language Curry said, “Right from early days, Language Curry has received love with organic inbounds and use cases coming in from all over the world. With this raise, we will further our vision of introducing a new benchmark in language learning that leverages both context and relevance to make it fun and effective! We are happy to have found partners in Varsha, Lets Venture, and IAN who firmly believe in our vision and potential.”

“As an Indian American, I have always wanted to stay connected to my Indian roots and customs. Language Curry through its engaging app experience is the best way I’ve seen to learn Indian languages as well as the local culture. I found out about Language Curry through my cousins and began using it and enjoyed it so much I evaluated it as an investment. And I’m not alone. Language Curry has already gained users across 170 countries around the world. I believe the team and the product have great potential in the huge space of Language learning” said Varsha Rao, CEO of Nurx and Former Head of Global Operations, AirBnB)

“I fundamentally believe that the next wave of innovative startups will focus on innovation aimed at Bharat. Language Curry’s mission to make India accessible to the world with an easy to use platform available across 170+ countries to learn Indian languages is already witnessing tremendous growth. As the Indian economy witnessed a resurgence, vernacular focused ed-tech platforms will see an uptick in demand as the Indian ed-tech ecosystem is poised to be one of the largest in the world. Language Curry has a fantastic team and track record focused on scale, growth, monetisation and I am delighted to join their captable. My best wishes to the team for the next phase in their journey” says Shanti Mohan, Co-Founder & CEO, LetsVenture.

Further adding, Ajay Rajgarhia, Lead Investor from IAN said, “Language Curry is a new-age learning platform that is making learning Indian languages easy and culturally relevant. With a focus on learning Hindi and regional languages in an easy and convenient manner, Language Curry has a first-mover advantage and have already built a strong name for themselves. We are delighted to support this venture with a great team of founders and strongly believe that they will create a significant impact in vernacular language learning.”

About Language Curry:
Aneesha, one of the co-founders spent a decade in Canada. She often heard her friends, colleagues, and neighbours chat about wanting to learn their native Indian language, connect with their roots but struggled with options that were boringly academic, expensive, time-consuming, or weren’t relevant to their needs. Upon digging, she found that the larger non-Indian community was also interested to learn Indian languages either for work, education, travel within India, or to simply communicate with their Indian friends/spouse. With India’s economy gaining ground as a global point of interest, this is a massive, underserved market.

When Aneesha moved back to India, she connected with Vatsala and Puneet over this common passion and founded Language Curry in 2019. They collectively bring more than 50 years of experience in senior positions across education, banking and learning and development.

About Indian Angel Network:
Indian Angel Network is India’s first and world’s largest business angel network with close to 500 members across the world, comprising the who’s who of successful entrepreneurs and dynamic CEOs. With investors from 12 countries, IAN’s presence spans 7 locations, which includes cities in India and the UK. The network is sector agnostic and has funded start-ups across 17 sectors in India and 7 other countries growing global footprint companies. With an excellent track record, IAN has been giving excellent cash exits year-on-year to its investor-members, for the last 11 years. Some of its marquee investee companies include Druva, Box8, Sapience Analytics, WOW Momos, Consure, Fareye amongst many others.

IAN has also launched the IAN Fund, an INR 375 crore fund, is a uniquely differentiated seed/early stage Fund which aims to transform India’s entrepreneurial landscape. The fund invests in innovative companies in sectors including healthcare and medical devices, VR, AI, software as a service, marketplaces, fin-tech, big data, artificial intelligence, agritech, and hardware. With this, IAN has created the single largest platform for seed and early-stage investing, enabling entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 25 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores.

health

The Back Pain Pandemic – Rising up to the Challenge

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

In order to create awareness about the back pain issues which is troubling people, even more, post the pandemic, Spine Wellness and Care Foundation is organizing a webinar on 29 Oct 2021 at 7 pm. There would be a presentation followed by a Question & Answer session by Dr HS Chhabra, Chairman-Spine Wellness and Care Foundation, Chief of Spine Service & Medical Director- Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, President –Spinal Cord Society, Immediate Past President- Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI) and International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS).

Back pain has become a pertinent issue in India irrespective of age group and gender. Various reports suggest that back pain incidences in India is rising at an average of 58 per cent annually, especially in people aged between 16 and 34 years. Older adults are suffering back pain due to poor bone health, but a large number of the young population encounters pain in the back due to long sitting hours and poor ergonomic choices. Moreover, our homes are designed more for leisure than for work. Therefore, when we strain our bodies for work in an unaccustomed space not fit for the activity, it causes pain and discomfort. With remote or blended working likely to become a new normal for a large section of people, it is important to know what changes and modifications can help them avoid this discomfort, which can turn into an ailment.

The event will be on Zoom and live on Facebook and the Youtube page of Spine Wellness and Care Foundation-
To join the discussion – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83319113052?pwd=VU1BUm03dHZhMkRGNUNBTjJqR3FJZz09
To join Facebook Live- https://www.facebook.com/SpineWellnessCareFoundation

business

Shiprocket’s latest D2C festive season report reveals the growth of over 191% in sellers from Tier-III markets as opposed to 2020

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

New Delhi, October, 28th, 2021: As India’s most-awaited festival, Diwali, is around the corner Shiprocket, India’s leading tech-enabled logistics and fulfillment platform, has released its annual Festive Season Report for the D2C sector. The report highlights various aspects such as growth in the number of sellers from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, top cities for delivery and pickup, most popular categories, and more.

The report focuses on shipment trends just before the grand festive season in the D2C sector between August 2020 and August 2021.

As opposed to 2020, Shiprocket has observed a 191%+ increase in sellers in the Tier-III market while the Tier-II cities saw a surge of nearly 176%, and Tier-I cities registered an increase of over 138%. The report also revealed an uptick of over 213% in the percentage of first-time sellers in Tier-III cities, while Tier-II and Tier-I cities saw a growth of more than 138% and 175%, respectively. The platform now has over 47,000 sellers from Tier-III cities as compared to the 16,000+ sellers in 2020.

Shiprocket also noted that offline channels were the most popular this year, having registered a growth of over 301% compared to last year. While social media witnessed a growth of more than 153% growth, followed by online stores that saw an increase of 115%+ sellers. Among the various channels, marketplaces observed the least change at just over 71% compared to 2020.

Furthermore, Shiprocket took into account the top cities for pickup and delivery. New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore once again topped the charts for the highest number of shipments

delivered, while Hyderabad and Kolkata came in fourth and fifth respectively.

Shiprocket’s detailed report also analyzed the method of payment that sellers used to pay for availing the platform’s services and noted an uptick in the prepaid transactions with 71% prepaid orders while Cash on Delivery (COD) shipments comprised of just over 28%. One of the primary reasons for this is the increased digitization, internet penetration, and smartphone usage. In addition, Shiprocket’s report also revealed that the platform has more male sellers rather than female sellers.

While analyzing the most popular categories, Electronics, which comprised almost 26%, topped the list, followed by Apparel and Personal Care, which consist of more than 25% each, Food and Groceries which constituted nearly 14%, and Health Care which comprised of over 9%. Overall, Shiprocket’s report showed that the volume of shipments witnessed an increase of more than 51% in September 2021.

Speaking on the report, Saahil Goel, CEO, and Co-Founder of Shiprocket said, “The festive season is usually the busiest time of the year with sellers observing skyrocketing demand. Our festive season report aims to analyze the current position of existing and newly onboarded D2C sellers on our platform to forecast the progress and further augment our offerings. We have noticed that the volume of shipments has surged massively compared to last year, and we are expecting an uptick in revenue. Shiprocket will continue to expand its services and cater efficiently to sellers across the country.”

With a PAN India reach of over 29,000 pin codes and 17+ expert courier partners, Shiprocket leverages cutting-edge technology in nearly every aspect of its operations for seamless last-mile deliveries and hassle-free fulfillment.

Kagool’s rapid growth continues with fifth overseas office opening this year

technology

Cloud-based Solutions Provider Eka Unveils Sustainability and ESG Reporting Solution

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

India, October 28, 2021: Eka Software Solutions, a cloud-based enterprise solutions provider, announced today the launch of the Eka Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting solution driven by its Cloud Platform to help enterprises comply with operational and compliance best practices.

This solution was introduced as part of Eka’s long term vision to unify critical business processes from procurement to payments, to provide enterprises an in-depth view of their business for greater agility and faster decision making.

Enterprises are aware that their achievements are no longer measured solely by their profit and loss statements but also by their relationships with the environment, community, and economy. Chief sustainability officers are looking for ways to capture the essence of their sustainability initiatives by measuring their overall impact that includes profitability, shareholder values, social, human and environmental capital.

In recognizing the growing need to create a technology solution to help firms meet the ESG responsibilities and reporting unique to their businesses, Eka was able to tap into its own highly informed client base who sit at the leading edge of the global sustainability effort, as well as leading

requirements of various industries, frameworks, and reporting standards.

The announcement comes on the heels of significant customer adoption of Eka’s Sustainability and ESG reporting solution. Commenting on the launch, Gautam Khurana, Director Finance, Precious Shipping Public Company Limited said, “Integrity and sustainability are at the core of our company ethos. We are keen to make a difference with our sustainability practices and ensure that our stakeholders are empowered with the right information to make important decisions. Leveraging Eka’s cloud-driven Sustainability solution will help us automate key processes related to tracking, measuring, and reporting ESG data with a wide selection of reporting standards and frameworks to address the diverse interests of our many stakeholders.”

Shuchi Nijhawan, Eka’s ESG and Sustainability Head said, “ESG regulations, requirements and guidelines are helping guide companies on the path to becoming better corporates. The Eka Sustainability and ESG Reporting Solution will enable companies to more closely monitor and report on their performance relative to those metrics. We are proud to be on this journey with our clients and look forward to making further enhancements to our platform as the industry evolves.”

The Eka Sustainability and ESG reporting solution is highly configurable and enables companies across varied sectors to track, measure and report against relevant industry standards, regulations, and guidelines. The cloud-driven solution can be used as a stand-alone product or can be seamlessly integrated into the existing tech-infrastructure that powers other critical business functions.

The Eka Sustainability and ESG reporting solution monitors against key metrics including:

Environmental sustainability – ethical sourcing and carbon emissions can be visualized in prebuilt sustainability reports to monitor the strategic use of energy and resources.
Corporate and social responsibility – to ensure sustainable supplier relationships and regulatory compliance.
Workplace health and safety – to provide a clear understanding of each workforce, laying the foundations for ethical recruitment and worker engagement.

Applications include:

Tools to facilitate training programs, incident captures, legal proceedings and course correction measures.
Compliance tools for accurate corporate reporting and measurement against requirements such as GRI, UN SDG, CGP and other commonly used standards.
Custom dashboards based to measure sustainability.
Collaboration tools to digitally connect the entire business network with one common experience, one security model and one integrated source of data.

According to Manav Garg, founder and CEO of Eka, “As the world shifts towards a sustainable future, we are all recognizing the pressing need to embed ESG and Sustainability discipline into our business operations. With the launch of Eka Sustainability and ESG reporting solution we are empowering enterprises with their sustainability disclosures and helping them address opportunities and risks that affect their operations, and most importantly their reputation.”

Education

Hot temper, cool parenting: Tips on managing your child’s meltdowns

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

By Ms. Fatema Agarkar, Educationist and Founder of ACE

Last year through the country-wide lockdown showed us what disruptions are all about. This second wave that engulfs our country and subsequently forcing many States into lockdown is indicative of how volatile our days have been and will continue to be, and the importance of treating the challenges, one day at a time. As homes turn into WFH office spaces, as bedrooms become make-shift classrooms, as devices are shared and used to communicate, learn and work, parenting in Covid19 times requires a different mindset. I have been saying this from the first lockdown in March 2020, that Pre pandemic efforts were blessed with an ability to shift some responsibility to the school, the classes that children enrolled themselves in, playdates organized. It is essential to have some ‘personal space’ be it for the children or the adults, but in the lockdown world, the ‘chain’ does not really break and the circle is a continuous series of days that at times may lead to frustration for both the adults and the children caught in that ‘bubble.’

The summer months in this country, do nothing to ‘calm’ nerves either, and as one waits for the cool monsoon months, and things to normalize, the reality of the times is that ‘normalization’ is still a distance away in this marathon called Covid. Therefore, it is important to put all of this in perspective, if we have to approach the next 15-18 months with a sense of purpose and make these months count more than ever.

Acceptance that these times are different and difficult will be a good starting point for parents. Approach it like a ‘forced’ adventure, one that can you in fact control. The priority must be wellness and wellbeing, and attention paid to what you are feeling, and compassion for what your children are experiencing. As adults, our conditioning over a period of time, allows us to ‘manage’ emotions, unfortunately, which children as ‘work -in – progress’ cannot have the same ability, and therefore they need direction and role modeling, tons of patience, and lots of unconditional love. It sounds easy to pen this down on paper, well, truth to be told, it is not. This navigation is maneuvering a ship through stormy waters, and while there will be calm that eventually happens, the timing is something that remains beyond control; hence it is important to create short-term and long-term goals to keep that ship afloat.

Some ‘cool’ tips:

Every educator has been emphasizing the need to create some sort of routine for your children. Children thrive when given freedom, but remember, they need to structure that in a way that allows them some purpose as well. Over the years, as a mother and an educator, I find that children feel ‘comforted’ when given freedom, but also a direction, a path, and some goals to achieve. It allows them to think and plan and gives them a sense of ownership and responsibility. These could be the fun exercises you lead every Sunday with them after watching their favorite serial. It is important that the environment is relaxed and not rushed, and Sunday works best devoid of work tasks (please keep them away), and their school routines. Think of this as a ‘contract’ between your child and you and defining the ‘week’s goal’ will help both parties to have clarity and reduce the disappointments that usually arise when a parent ‘expects’ something, and the child has totally missed the point because she/he was not paying attention and does something completely different. This routine would include negotiations on screen time, play time, study time, reading time, eating time, exercise time, bath time, tidying up time, tv time, etc. I use the word negotiation because this cannot be a one-way street with you dictating what time they should eat, sleep, etc. It involves a dialog and the rationale and explaining your points of you to get their buy-in and being open-minded to their suggestions. As adults, you can navigate this conversation to what you would eventually like it to be, but involving children in a discussion makes them ‘listen’ and also ‘locks’ them in
Have clear consequences for when the routine is compromised. I do not mean that for half an hour of extra playtime means they are denied their favourite meal. What I mean is that for resistance to give up screen time for extended periods, there must be ‘3 strikes’ after which the child automatically accepts that there will be consequences for ‘pushing’ the deadline cut-off. The importance of being consistent is also a clear sign for the children and must be adhered to. Often parents give in, and this then becomes a battleground when the parents do not want to bend the rules. This approach leads to fewer confrontations, and tears because once the child has consented to something, he/she is aware that there will be consequences and yes, expect some resistance and pleading and sometimes mood swings, but children get over this very quickly when they realise their parents mean business! This is the same moment to get over compared to when there are no rules.
Set your own expectations as a family. I cannot emphasize this. While I am a huge advocator for using social media sensibly, at times I realise parents start to use these comparisons. For that matter even on social chats when parents share notes with each other about their children – what works for your family is unique to your household circumstances and do not make the mistake of thinking it can be modelled along the lines of what someone else is managing. This is a huge trigger point for conflicts in homes, and best to always be appreciative of what others manage, but as a family, you have to set your own goals.
Humour – laughter and plain old ‘monkeying’ around is very important if you have to keep the mood light and lively. This also works wonders for acceptance levels when parents have to set deadlines. A happy, joyful atmosphere is important especially with the kind of overwhelmingly sad news that is reported every day. Your job as a parent is to keep your children safe, and happy and also to keep their morale up. They do not need to know all the facts of the world, as this leads to anxiety which is another trigger point for tantrums as children also get worried and are unable to always express this through words.
Knowing the pulse of your children and what works and what does not must be your biggest driving force. Leave the academic goals aside for a moment, know what makes your child happy, what is confusing your child, what is tiring your child, what is difficult for your child and accepting that, you will be able to reach out to different professionals – be it your child’s teacher in a school or a therapist for intervention. When you are not able to manage the emotions as a family, and the sooner you get professional help, the safer it is for your relationship. This could be a behavioral change or an academic dip, or even an emotional indifference, it is very important to spot the signs and address them quickly.
Ensure that the time you spend with your child involves quality interactions, and also some time for the child to manage independently explaining you have household chores or work tasks or need to connect with the family of friends socially (this is important for them to know so that they also put a price on these relationships). This ‘distancing’ is also healthy, as lockdown times demand every minute of your energy, and as an adult, it is unrealistic to believe you can sustain like a superhuman with the same tenacity. Distancing therefore allows for personal time, which is just the oxygen that your relationship needs. What it also does is that after your personal ‘quotient’ is in a happy place, allow you to give your child all the attention, energy which is the memory they must be left with. Not a parent who is drained with work tasks, and emotional about a friend not well who is leaning on them for support. This passes over to the child who will no doubt exhibit this behaviour in time as a response to something you may suggest as a way of ‘acting’ out. As they say, get the oxygen mask on yourself before you even begin to help those around you!

These are some basic reminders to get you through the months ahead. Remember, no parent has a complete fix on this, and no child is perfectly going to follow all rules and all one can do as a family is making this relationship about communication, mistakes, corrections with some funny and happy memories.

Happy parenting!

business

First Miss India 2021: Get To Know The Bedazzling Jury!

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

The much-awaited day has finally arrived with the announcement of the jury of the First Miss India. This event organised by The First India is being held under the able guidance of Jagdeesh Chandra with the finale to be held in Goa on October 30. Before the finale, several auditions were conducted in the major cities of India in which hundreds of girls participated, but only 46 finalists made their way to the Goa finale. Now, these finalists will undergo a mentorship program followed by a finale in the three day event to be held in Goa. The finale will see judgements from industry experts namely Hina Khan (actress), Dabboo Ratnani (Ace Photographer), Ken Ferns (Designer), Deepti Gujaral (Actress), Anita Hada (Editor, The First India)

Know the Judges:
Hina Khan, actress with appearances in Hindi television and films. She is known for playing Akshara in Star Plus’s Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Komolika in Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2. In 2017, she participated in the reality shows Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 and Bigg Boss 11 and emerged as the runner up in both.

Dabboo Ratnani is a leading Indian model photographer, mostly known for his annual calendar which has become a highly notable showbiz event in India since its first publication in 1999. The calendar is compared to the Kingfisher Calendar as a pioneer of the genre of sensational calendars. He was the cover photographer for the first issue of the Indian edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. In 2006, he was on the jury for the Miss India contest. A name that is synonymous with excellence & creativity. For over a decade, Dabboo Ratnani has continued to master the art of photography. From personality portraits and advertising campaigns to fashion and magazine layouts, Dabboo has developed and showcased a discriminating and unique style.

Deepti Gujral is an Indian Actress, VJ, and a well-known model. She also has successfully hosted popular MTV shows. She began her journey with modelling and rose to fame when

she appeared on the famous Kingfisher Calendar. She is considered one of the hottest models from India and has also endorsed multiple renowned brands via print media as well as Television Advertisements.

Ken Ferns, a confident designer who believes in constructing his own pieces of creativity. He pursued his graduation in designing from L.S Raheja College in Mumbai. He further launched his label, ‘Ken Ferns’ at the India Resort Fashion Week, Goa, in 2010.

Anita Hada, a dynamic personality in the field of media, currently heads The First India Newspaper as the editor and looks after its national publications in Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad & Jaipur. With years of experience of hosting several shows, conducting events & being the confident face of Indian media, she will look forward to judging the finalists in a lot many aspects.

health

Make this Diwali Happy Diwali, by keeping 5 healthcare items with you

Oct 28, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments

By Kunal Saha, Director & Co-founder, Vandelay

Amidst the all-around panic and even paranoia triggered by the ongoing pandemic, stepping into the month of September has quietly heralded the grand festive season of this year. A season that all Indians fervently look forward to. Even as the devastating second wave apparently seems to have faded away, the specter of a potentially more damaging third wave has continued to hover in our minds. As such, a bewildering mix of apprehension, anticipation, and a sense of celebration has been in the air. While it’s all very well to be emotionally carried away by all this celebratory fervor, a modicum of moderation and caution must be exercised in the coming festive season. With the outdoor celebrations likely to remain somewhat subdued in the light of the need for observing Covid-appropriate behaviour, people must also not let their guards down in their home settings and indoor spaces.

So, with safety necessarily being the overarching watchword during upcoming celebrations, whether outdoor or indoors, there are five healthcare items that people must ensure they have in their homes in the coming weeks and months for any possible emergency.

An assortment of measurement devices:

First and foremost, a regular thermometer also preferably including a digital infrared one must remain an indispensable healthcare item in people’s homes. After all, a temperature check is one of the first measures that we unfailingly take to not only for Covid-19 but also for any other illnesses or disorders. Then particularly with respect to Covid-19 as also other respiratory conditions, a pulse oximeter to keep a track of our oxygen levels must also become an essential tool in our healthcare toolkit at home.

High-quality masks:

Second, it goes without saying that in the times of Covid, high-quality masks are our first line of defense against the dreaded virus. With their ability to prevent the spread of respiratory droplets from one person to another and thereby enable containment of the infection, a mask is a key prerequisite for our upcoming celebrations, even indoors. However, instead of settling for an ordinary mask that may not provide full protection, people must look for high-quality Spunbond Meltblown Spunbond or SMS masks which are usually four-layered and can keep the finest of particles at bay. Additionally, people must also be careful with regard to the ear loop of the mask which must be anti-allergic and adjustable and thereby providing maximum comfort. A mask washable for a reasonable number of times besides being free-size being suitable for all must also guide people’s choices.

A ready stockpile of nutraceuticals & supplements:

Third, we all know-how developing and strengthening our immune systems have been a key safeguard against the so-called ‘invasion’ of our bodies by the virus. Keeping this in mind, people must keep a ready repository of an assortment of nutraceuticals, dietary and food supplements, and multivitamins and minerals among others. These could range from vitamin D to vitamin C supplements to micronutrients in the form of chewable zinc tablets and omega 3 supplements. While lack of Vitamin D has been long associated with respiratory issues, vitamin C is critical for the health of white blood cells which help fight infections. Similarly, while Omega 3’s anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties and other benefits are fairly well known, zinc to has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant functions, critical to the fight against Covid-19. However, the dosage and quantity of these supplements must be decided in consultation with a practitioner.

Steamers/vaporisers:

Fourth, although experts have expressed doubt over the efficacy of steaming inhalations in curing the coronavirus, these inhalations have often been cited as a home remedy for common cold, stuffy nose, blocked air passages, and other similar respiratory conditions. So, despite not being useful in the treatment of Covid-19 in an absolute sense, the impact on nasal passages and respiratory airways in a Covid case requires that we keep these steaming devices ready at hand in our homes. At the very least, these would go some way in relieving congestion and blockage in the upper respiratory tract, which in turn could ward off compounding of respiratory woes in a Covid patient. The incoming winter bringing in with its common colds, flu, etc further makes it necessary that we have these steaming devices at home regardless of covid-19.

Oxygen Concentrators:

And finally, wising up by the experiences during the second wave when our hospitals had struggled maintaining uninterrupted supplies of medical oxygen, having oxygen concentrators at home would go a long way in bolstering our Covid-19 preparedness during the incoming festivities. Knowing full well how oxygen saturation can drop to dangerous levels on account of Covid-19, the presence of these devices can not only stabilize a patient in case of an emergency but can also serve as a ready source of life-saving oxygen within the confines of a home. Because they are self-sufficient units constantly turning out medical oxygen from the ambient air while filtering out nitrogen, they need not be replenished as is the case with oxygen cylinders at hospitals. However, people should know that these machines are useful only for moderate Covid cases and patients with oxygen saturation levels below 90 must require hospital admission. Importantly, they are also useful for other respiratory disorders such as COPD and asthma, all of which could be aggravated owing to excessive playfulness and physical activities during the celebrations.

So, instead of blindingly taking a plunge into the celebrations marking the incoming festivities, we must welcome them with caution and care. Keeping these five items at home would be the much-needed first step in that direction.