https://www.scmp.com/rss/505861/feed Reem is an independent writer based in New Delhi. Writing on travel, culture and social issues and trends, she contributes to publications like The Hindu, Mint, Scroll.in, The Times of India, National Geographic Traveller India and more. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reem Khokhar Reem Khokhar On winter mornings in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, vendors gather near the Gol Darwaza gateway as the city stirs. They hover over high tables crowned with large basins, which are heaped with what looks like whipped cream. Early customers gather as the vendors dole out these pale yellow clouds in pattals (leaf bowls). They are topped with shards of silver varq (edible foil) and crushed pistachios or chironji, a nutty seed. The foam dissolves immediately on the tongue – a fleeting sweetness,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/100-top-tables/article/3341256/these-pale-clouds-are-lucknows-favourite-winter-dessert-and-modern-restaurants-have-noticed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/100-top-tables/article/3341256/these-pale-clouds-are-lucknows-favourite-winter-dessert-and-modern-restaurants-have-noticed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Reem Khokhar Reem Khokhar Sandwiched between the Mediterranean Sea and the northwestern corner of Syria is Turkey’s southernmost province, Hatay, a region known for its beauty, cultural diversity, storied past and distinctive cuisine. Settled since at least the early Bronze Age, the region has been controlled by the Akkadians, the Hurrians, the Assyrians, the Macedonians, the Byzantines and the Ottomans, among others. The province’s capital, Antakya – known in Roman and medieval times as Antioch – was built by one of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/100-top-tables/article/3317901/southern-turkeys-hatay-cuisine-how-mediterranean-hub-silk-road-gave-birth-600-dishes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/100-top-tables/article/3317901/southern-turkeys-hatay-cuisine-how-mediterranean-hub-silk-road-gave-birth-600-dishes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2025 23:00:15 +0000 India was once a land of kingdoms ruled over by nawabs and maharajas. After independence in 1947, the royal families had to cede power to the national government, but managed to retain their prestige – as well as their palaces and forts. Many have now turned to tourism, opening up their properties to paying guests. Here are some of the most notable boutique hotels run by Indians of royal lineage. 1. Karan Mahal – Srinagar, Kashmir This seven-guest room villa overlooks Srinagar’s Dal Lake and... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3302979/4-boutique-hotels-india-where-kings-and-queens-once-lived?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3302979/4-boutique-hotels-india-where-kings-and-queens-once-lived?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Mar 2025 10:15:16 +0000 Our jeep rolls down a dusty road in Tehla village, flanked by expanses of dry earth peppered with boulders, in clusters, and green shrubs, the cascading blue shadows of northwestern India’s Aravalli mountains in the distance. Women in bright orange and green dupattas herd goats across the rocky terrain. A group of children scamper by, waving and shouting, their words carried off by the wind. Sitting up front in the jeep, Franklin Dolder waves back. “They know me from my visits to their school”,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3278254/how-sustainable-boutique-hotels-are-revamping-environment-and-local-communities-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3278254/how-sustainable-boutique-hotels-are-revamping-environment-and-local-communities-india?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Sep 2024 00:15:08 +0000 Eden Morales has an interest in words that capture complex feelings, featuring them in a series of Instagram reels. Terms like the Portuguese saudade, a sad state of intense longing for someone or something that is absent, or oubaitori – the Japanese idea that people, like flowers, bloom in their own times and in their individual ways. One word in particular resonated strongly with him, capturing what he has often felt: cherophobia. From the Greek word chairo, to rejoice, it describes an... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3271698/cherophobia-irrational-fear-being-happy-heres-how-overcome-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3271698/cherophobia-irrational-fear-being-happy-heres-how-overcome-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:15:09 +0000 Best friends Niki Costa, 26, and Tiffany Schiro, 27, have been travelling together since 2018, and are co-founders of the business Went There Loved That, which provides travel guides, itineraries and tips. Their travel schedule involves sometimes forgoing the most popular spots, as the Los Angeles-based duo look at more cost-effective options, including “destination dupes” – places that are similar in look and feel to popular locations but are cheaper and often less busy. One of their favourites... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3266862/destination-dupes-albania-greece-zanzibar-bora-bora-cheaper-and-just-good?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3266862/destination-dupes-albania-greece-zanzibar-bora-bora-cheaper-and-just-good?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 2024 10:15:08 +0000 As a child, Alakananda Bhattacharya loved when her English teacher would ask her to read aloud to the class. Over the years, the 43-year-old singer and writer based in Delhi, India, has continued to read aloud. She credits the practice with improving her diction and pronunciation, which helps her singing and promotes her interest in theatre. But she also finds connection, entertainment and joy through reading aloud. “I sometimes read to myself, but mostly to others, including my young nephews... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3262217/why-reading-aloud-isnt-just-children-it-reduces-stress-improves-memory-and-strengthens-relationships?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3262217/why-reading-aloud-isnt-just-children-it-reduces-stress-improves-memory-and-strengthens-relationships?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 May 2024 08:15:11 +0000 During her childhood, Nupoor Christian watched her mother take afternoon naps on the floor, and wondered how the hard surface could be more comfortable than a bed. But as a teenager, she gravitated to the floor herself, and found calm and relaxation there. The 31-year-old learning and development trainer in Hyderabad, India, lies on the floor daily, from 30 minutes to a few hours, either in her home or in the garden. “This instantly calms me, and helps me control my thoughts and put them at... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3258750/how-lying-floor-can-ease-pain-and-anxiety-reduce-stress-and-bring-your-blood-pressure-down?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3258750/how-lying-floor-can-ease-pain-and-anxiety-reduce-stress-and-bring-your-blood-pressure-down?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Apr 2024 08:15:22 +0000 Vikas Chhabra ate butter chicken for the first time as a young boy, and was immediately hooked on the velvety gravy and succulent pieces of chicken. The dish has since featured prominently at family outings and special occasions. But it is not just any butter chicken that Chhabra, 52, likes. The textile business owner has tasted the dish at various Delhi restaurants, but none comes close to the decadent creaminess of his favourite version, served at New Minar, in south Delhi’s affluent Greater... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3258671/butter-chicken-wars-who-does-delhis-signature-dish-best-everyone-has-their-opinion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3258671/butter-chicken-wars-who-does-delhis-signature-dish-best-everyone-has-their-opinion?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Apr 2024 03:15:14 +0000 Tara is leaning sideways on a mud pile. A man hovers over her clutching a large rasp, a metal tool that looks like an oversized cheese grater. Beads of sweat cover his forehead. After all, an elephant manicure takes some muscle. When it’s over, Tara accepts a handful of peanuts and fruit as a treat. A few minutes earlier, a team of vets gently took an X-ray of her elbow. The scan shows joint damage, probably caused by kneeling on concrete surfaces. Tara is one of 32 rescued elephants housed... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3252451/indian-elephant-hospital-and-conservation-centre-provides-sanctuary-32-rescued-animals-offers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3252451/indian-elephant-hospital-and-conservation-centre-provides-sanctuary-32-rescued-animals-offers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Feb 2024 08:15:08 +0000 What do the British prime minister, an Indian creative agency founder, a software professional in Denmark, and an American salon manager have in common? They all regularly follow the 36-hour monk fast. The weekly detox ritual of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a 43-year-old father of two and a teetotaller, has gained attention after a recent media report. His regimen, known as the monk fast, includes a Sunday evening to Tuesday morning fast to balance indulging his sweet tooth during the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3252007/36-hour-monk-fast-british-pm-rishi-sunak-practises-dietitian-reveals-how-it-works-and-followers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3252007/36-hour-monk-fast-british-pm-rishi-sunak-practises-dietitian-reveals-how-it-works-and-followers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Feb 2024 10:15:19 +0000 Kannauj, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, resembles many other Indian towns, its narrow lanes brimming with activity: men on their haunches chatting; cows winding languidly around two-wheelers and pedestrians; giggling children in uniform making their way to school. But it doesn’t smell like other Indian towns, at least in parts. This is the country’s perfume capital, where attar – a fragrant essential oil made mainly from botanical ingredients – has been produced for centuries.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3244644/roses-henna-essential-oil-indias-perfume-capital-8th-generation-maker-starts-scent-tour-kannauj-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3244644/roses-henna-essential-oil-indias-perfume-capital-8th-generation-maker-starts-scent-tour-kannauj-his?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Dec 2023 03:15:17 +0000 Watching a censored version of the 1973 movie The Exorcist, one of the most horrifying movies ever made, terrified a 10-year-old Sana Shawkath Khan – even without the most gory bits. In the film, Linda Blair stars as a charming 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil, who takes on the characteristics and voices of others, before priests perform the ancient rite of demonic exorcism. Although she couldn’t sleep at all the night she watched it, that film triggered Khan’s enduring love of horror... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3239249/mental-health-benefits-watching-horror-movies-it-can-make-real-life-less-scary-release-stress-manage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3239249/mental-health-benefits-watching-horror-movies-it-can-make-real-life-less-scary-release-stress-manage?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Oct 2023 10:15:11 +0000 When her maternity leave ended, amateur photographer Lizzie Holson tapped into an Instagram trend to deal with her anxiousness about returning to work. She had stumbled upon “glimmers”, a term used to describe micro-moments of joy and comfort that punctuate our day. “It dawned on me that for the last 15 to 20 years I had been photographing my ‘glimmers’,” says the education mental health practitioner in Sheffield, in the UK. She made a daily practice of capturing “glimmers” – a bumblebee... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3236724/how-instagrams-glimmers-trend-helping-people-manage-stress-and-anxiety-comforting-life-moments-feel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3236724/how-instagrams-glimmers-trend-helping-people-manage-stress-and-anxiety-comforting-life-moments-feel?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2023 08:15:16 +0000 Can dying be a good experience? An upcoming documentary, The Last Ecstatic Days, considers this question as it chronicles the final days of Ethan Sisser, a 36-year-old Jewish-American massage teacher and yogi who died on April 2, 2021. Diagnosed with brain cancer in 2019 and isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sisser wished to die surrounded by a community, even if they were strangers. Sitting alone in his hospice room in Charlotte, in the US state of North Carolina, he started live-streaming... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3228296/how-die-less-fear-and-anxiety-planning-end-life-care-and-living-funeral-services-can-help-person?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3228296/how-die-less-fear-and-anxiety-planning-end-life-care-and-living-funeral-services-can-help-person?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jul 2023 11:15:09 +0000 Anchal Kaushal was conditioned to see sex as a performance, done to benefit her partner, with little connection to her own body and desires. But she found the emphasis on looking perfect and following a script exhausting. What was missing was a sense of satisfaction, connection and belonging. She really wanted to understand and identify her own desires and preferences, rather than be influenced by her ingrained interpretations of good sex and intimacy. In 2015, Kaushal set out to learn more... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3223384/how-have-better-sex-through-body-based-awareness-well-build-self-love-and-overcome-sexual?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3223384/how-have-better-sex-through-body-based-awareness-well-build-self-love-and-overcome-sexual?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jun 2023 11:15:13 +0000 When she was a girl, Montana Honeylion’s mother regularly brewed a giant pot of herbal tea, consisting mainly of mint, to soothe sniffles and colds. “I resisted it as a child, but began to enjoy it as a teenager, sitting around the table with my friends, all drinking cups of mom’s ‘medicine tea’, because it worked. We rarely went to the doctor,” she says. With her interest in holistic health kindled early, Honeylion later pursued a degree in herbal sciences and started her own business, Warrior... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3208685/health-benefits-edible-flowers-better-skin-aiding-digestion-their-anti-inflammatory-properties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3208685/health-benefits-edible-flowers-better-skin-aiding-digestion-their-anti-inflammatory-properties?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Feb 2023 23:15:09 +0000 Kevin Tillman was first drawn to a neti pot in the health food store he worked at in 2004. The physical education and parkour teacher in San Jose, Costa Rica, struggled with seasonal allergies for years and found relief in nasal rinsing with the mini teapot-shaped vessel. “When I lived in California, there were consecutive years of wildfires. I found it essential to use a neti pot to manage allergies and deal with air pollution,” he says. “These days, I use it almost daily, depending on the air... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3170961/neti-pot-basics-how-ayurvedic-nasal-rinse-relieves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3170961/neti-pot-basics-how-ayurvedic-nasal-rinse-relieves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Mar 2022 03:15:12 +0000 When wood craftsman James Prior opened a wood shop in 2014, an acquaintance suggested a novel product line. “Wooden dildos! I chuckled a bit at first, but then I thought about how unique and interesting it sounded,” says Prior, a technical sales professional in the US state of North Carolina. “I loved the idea of carving abstract art that people enjoy in a way that’s more personal than just staring at a painting or statue.” He started an online store on Etsy, called Craving Wood, specialising in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3166530/how-sex-toys-condoms-and-lubes-can-be-sustainable-while?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3166530/how-sex-toys-condoms-and-lubes-can-be-sustainable-while?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Feb 2022 08:15:26 +0000 Kartika Dubey kicked off her shoes in February 2020 after moving to a village in the Palani Hills in southern India. It was easier going barefoot in the lush upland surroundings. “Being shoeless was more comfortable on the uneven, often wet, surfaces and I just kept extending my time barefoot. I feel healthier and grounded. My feet are strong and my immunity is good,” said Dubey, a life coach and dance movement therapist. She goes barefoot beyond the village – to the nearest town, Kodaikanal,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3135749/could-you-benefit-barefoot-walking-meet-people-taking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3135749/could-you-benefit-barefoot-walking-meet-people-taking?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jun 2021 23:15:10 +0000 On March 22, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented a janta curfew – the people’s curfew. Everyone was to stay indoors from 7am to 9pm and observe social distancing to help fight the coronavirus, which at the time sat at just over 300 reported cases in the country (current numbers are well past 70,000). But there was more at work than Modi’s usual calls for patriotic tokenism: the mass lighting of candles, the clanging of pots, or in this case, five minutes of clapping for health... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3084310/urban-indians-took-their-domestic-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3084310/urban-indians-took-their-domestic-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 May 2020 02:30:15 +0000