01 August,2021 06:18 AM IST | Mumbai | Anju Maskeri
The passion flower extract helps in reducing mood swings
For those of us who menstruate, PMS can sometimes be more troubling than the period itself. It's true that some women experience it more severely than others, but what can be done about it? Divij Bajaj, CEO and founder of Power Gummies, has put in a whole lot of R&D to come up with scrumptious gummies to ease PMS agony. "Despite the fact that PMS is a common medical condition that women suffer from every month, no one talks about it," he says. The curated gummies are packed with the goodness of traditional ingredients such as chaste berry extract, which helps in fighting the gut-wrenching cramps and body pain along with bloating and fullness of the breast.
Divij Bajaj
"The milk thistle extract is effective in keeping the hormonal acne at bay. Vitamin C makes the period flow smooth by causing the uterus to contract and its lining to break down, ensuring that the flow isn't painful. PMSing women go through mood swings and the passion flower extract masters the art of handling these twists and turns. The pain and anxiety make some women lose sleep. With magnesium sulphate infused in the gummies, you can get sound sleep." Other ingredients like citrus bioflavonoids and Vitamin B6, he adds, help in bidding goodbye to the blood clots and all your sugar cravings during that time of the month. The intake is simple: three gummies before the onset of the menstrual cycle; consume the same amount for four days during the cycle and three days after it ends. "Basically, it is a 10-day game changer around your period. All our ingredients are proven to be pain relievers with scientifically-backed research. All women deserve to be free from this pain."
powergummies.com
Ananya Agarwal
Ananya Kejriwal Agarwal, who has a BS in engineering and an MBA from Harvard Business School, has worked across product, growth and business operations at Microsoft in Seattle. After she learned how to build scalable products that users love, Agarwal started Nyumi, with the promise of clean nutrition without any compromise. Nyumi has reinvented the daily vitamin for Indian women with its credible, approachable gummy format that blends the best of Indian herbs with western science. Today, 70 per cent of urban Indian women are nutrient-deficient. Agarwal says, "We've done the research for you and here's a solution that is vegan, anti-allergen and most importantly, clean with no hidden fine print - we have actively eliminated any bad additives, preservatives and ingredients that don't meet our standards of good nutrition." All you got to do is pop these gummies after a meal. Nyumi has five variants to address the most common health and beauty issues that women in India face: skin, immunity, hair, sleep and urinary tract wellness.
https://nyumi.com
Postcard project India is a Mumbai-based initiative started this year by Lamia Bagasrawala with the hope of building connections across India by encouraging individuals to sign up and send postcards to their loved ones, and to bring back fond memories through art and handwritten notes. As a psychotherapist, Bagasrawala recognises the potential of human bonds, especially in these trying times. This project is her way of fostering connections, and combining it with her love for art and writing.
Lamia Bagasrawala
People across India can sign up using a Google form link and can request a postcard to be sent to themselves or their friends and family. The postcards are designed by Bagasrawala herself. These are prints of her artwork, which are on specific metaphors or emotions like love and grief. The postcard will include a handwritten message in English or Hindi. You can also purchase sets of designed postcards if you wish to write one on your own. The price of each postcard is R50.
@postcardproject_india, Instagram
Married for seven years, Dr Srishti, a periodontist, and Dr Vivasvan Parekh, a paediatrician, are nothing like your ordinary couple. "We were introduced by a mutual friend, who always wanted to set us up, even when we were dating other people. What piqued our interest in each other was our love and passion for dancing despite being in such a demanding profession," Srishti tells us. Soon after, they started rehearsing for a dance performance representing The Phoenix Dance Studio at a festival. This was also when they knew they had fallen in love and made it official by telling their parents. Today, they are known as the dancing doctors. "We created an Instagram page under this name. Other than dancing, we also love travelling, so we combined both into our videos, shooting at different locations. We also conducted a Bollywood workshop for a contemporary dance school in Madrid, Spain. Posting these videos online gave us a creative motive and a distraction from our mundane work life," Vivasvan adds. The page has received great response. "Five months ago, we had a baby boy and we announced it on the page. There is more to come for our followers."
@thedancingdoctors, Instagram
Shilpa Mudbi
Shilpa Mudbi Kothakota is a filmmaker, theatre practitioner and vocalist born and brought up in Bengaluru. She has spent several years working in the hinterlands of Karnataka, documenting agrarian lifestyles and cultural politics. At one point, Mudbi started researching the myth of Yellamma (Renuka - the patron goddess of Maharashtra and the south Indian states). According to mythology, Renuka got married to Sage Jamadagni and was then banished. She gave birth to Parasurama, who beheaded her. In between, there are a lot of moving pieces about why she was banished, how she gave birth to Parasurama, and whose son Parasurama really was. These vary depending on the community that is telling the story. In Maharashtra alone, there are many versions. Now, Mudbi has started the Urban Folk Project to tell Yellamma's story. It is a collective that aims to bring folk experiences to an urban audience. While there are diverse stories on this platform, this writer's favourite is the one where Mudbi gives Yellamma a voice to fight hierarchies in society.
www.urbanfolkproject.org
Chandramahal building, Princess Street. Pic Courtesy/@beyond_heritage, Instagram
Conservation architect Mallika Keer's Instagram account @beyond_heritage allows you to experience the Bombay of yore. From the century-old BIT chawls to the East Indian cottages in the gaothans, Art Deco buildings and quaint structures in Dadar's Hindu Colony, this page is an exploration of the city's built heritage. "Amidst the shiny new skyscrapers lie the traces of our culture, nostalgia, and heritage that with time are fading away. As a conservation architect, it breaks my heart to see people not acknowledge and respect this heritage. This account is a tiny step to prevent old identity from getting wiped away, and hope that restoration will be favoured over replacement," says Keer.
@beyond_heritage, Instagram
Curated by Prutha Bhosle, Jane Borges and Cynera Rodricks
