Shruti Patil and Priyanuj Choudhary

Covid-induced brain fog can be quite unsettling. Friends Priyanuj Choudhary and Shruti Patil would only know better. Choudhary and Patil, who tested positive for the virus during the early part of the two waves, remember experiencing side-effects, including moments of forgetfulness. “It wasn’t the same kind of memory loss where you enter a room and forget why you are here. It’s more like you can’t remember things that you can see in front of you. Or, sometimes just struggle with thinking of a right word. We started seeing patterns here. As writers/researchers, we rely so much on remembering things,” shares Patil. While reading about brain fog, they learnt that it was an experience shared by many. Brain fog isn’t a medical diagnosis, but a neurological impairment that some people with COVID-19 experience. Some of the symptoms include lack of mental clarity, poor concentration, and confusion. The duo felt there was a need to start a collective where they could engage with others who were going through something similar. That’s how they started a WhatsApp group. “It’s a safe space for people to share what they are feeling, so that we can all navigate this confusion together. We share articles and research, as well. At some stage, we also want to get an expert to come to talk to us and address how much of this is something we need to worry about.” To join, direct message them on Twitter (@shoe_tea) or Instagram (@priyanujc).

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Verified art

When it comes to buying art, factors such as lack of information, discrepancies in pricing and lack of discoverability makes the entire process seem like a complicated purchase. It’s what prompted Vaishnavi Murali, founder of contemporary art gallery Eikowa, to introduce a blockchain certification, becoming the first one to do so in India.

Vaishnavi Murali

“Registering on the blockchain implies that the certificate becomes one of a kind, and cannot be forged. We also attach a link to this registration on the actual painting to create a clear line of traceability. Overall, this ensures that neither painting nor its certification can be forged,” explains Murali, adding that the incidents of forgery has increased in the last few years. Each work purchased from Eikowa has two accompaniments—a non-replicable digital certificate, which is registered on the Bitcoin blockchain and a tamper-evident tag that contains the digital certificate and is tagged to the physical artwork.
https://www.eikowa.com

Discovering India

Sonia Mehta

During her research, children’s writer Sonia Mehta found that children enjoy information more if they can put it to fun use. So, she added two more books to her Discover India series—101 Awesome Facts About India and Mountains and Rivers of India (R250 each). “In these books, every section has activities like crosswords, puzzles, sudoku, art and craft, which help children internalise the information. While the former addresses different aspects of India, including out-of-the-ordinary facts about food, sport, music, literature and history like a hill where cars roll upwards and desserts made of salt. The latter talks about life in the mountains and along the rivers, and the myths and legends that surround them,” she shares, adding that the activities in the books help children develop skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving.
Available at leading bookstores

Oils of the valley

A family business spanning over eight decades has been moulded to cater to the new-age consumer. Shubhrata Anil, co-owner of Trikuta Oils, manufactures a wide variety of nut oils, which are not only edible, but are also said to be beneficial for hair, face and body.

“The idea of starting a new range of exotic oils came when the pandemic hit us. Being a travel consultant, things weren’t looking too bright in the foreseeable future so I asked my father if I could join his business,” shares Anil, who came on board to start new variants of nut oils, including mamra almond oil, Kashmir walnut oil, and wild apricot oil. “These oils are free from bleaching agents, chemicals and artificial essence,” she adds.
trikutaoilsjammu.com