https://www.scmp.com/rss/506744/feed Anita Rao Kashi is an independent lifestyle journalist based in Bangalore, India. Her articles have appeared in the BBC, Nikkei Asia, The National, The Times of India among others. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Shruti Sah met her partner, Harsh Snehanshu, on a regular dating app a few years ago. But what truly ignited the relationship was his interest in James Joyce’s Ulysses, her disdain for it and their shared love of books. The couple took to reading in public spaces and they were certain there was a larger, like-minded community of partner seekers. In January 2023, they set up Cubbon Reads, a silent reading community in Bengaluru’s most popular park, and six months later more than 70 such... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3302398/tired-superficial-dating-apps-bookmark-app-book-lovers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3302398/tired-superficial-dating-apps-bookmark-app-book-lovers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Mar 2025 10:15:08 +0000 It’s a mouthful, but the name of Bengaluru’s main railway station recalls an early 19th century military leader from a village about 480km northwest of the Indian city who fought the British and was hanged for it. Standing under the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru station’s awning on a recent chilly Saturday morning, invoking his name feels apt for a trip down memory lane, the goal being to explore the city’s colonial railway history. A major junction, the station is always swarming. But... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3294017/bengaluru-train-ride-back-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3294017/bengaluru-train-ride-back-time?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jan 2025 09:15:08 +0000 The railway station in Waghai, a tiny town in India’s western Gujarat state, is small and old-fashioned: whitewashed stone walls are topped by a sloping metal roof whose overhang is supported by blue rafters and wooden pillars. A few people mill about on the platform, while many more find their seats in one of the three smaller coaches. It is approaching 2.30pm and the engine emits a series of piercing toots. It is my cue to get into the big coach, an improvised vistadome that, being midweek, is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3275935/indian-vistadome-train-ride-whose-scenic-beauty-saved-line-closure-what-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3275935/indian-vistadome-train-ride-whose-scenic-beauty-saved-line-closure-what-its?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Aug 2024 03:15:08 +0000 Bengaluru is South African comedian Trevor Noah’s favourite punchline. In September 2023 he landed in the Indian city, got stuck in unusually horrendous traffic, arrived late to a badly set up auditorium and cancelled his shows. Ever since, Bengaluru – formerly known as Bangalore – has been fodder for his comedy. But the fact he chose to perform in the city, along with Delhi and Mumbai, in the first place – and why his promises to return are so earnest – speaks volumes. Known by many nicknames –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3249936/why-indias-bangalore-now-beacon-culture-countrys-silicon-valley-has-seen-boom-creativity-across-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3249936/why-indias-bangalore-now-beacon-culture-countrys-silicon-valley-has-seen-boom-creativity-across-art?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jan 2024 04:45:11 +0000 On a cloudy Saturday morning in late June, a strange sight greets visitors to Bangalore’s central Cubbon Park: in one section, hundreds of people sit, sprawl, loll, lounge on colourful sheets or on the lush grass, books in their hands. Gusts of wind sweep through the thick tree cover. Rustling leaves, bird calls and the occasional yelp from a child or pet are the only sounds in an otherwise tranquil setting in India’s tech capital. Monsoon rains, which usually arrive in India during the first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3232101/reading-quietly-park-has-gone-viral-thanks-indian-instagram-page-now-there-are-chapters-across-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3232101/reading-quietly-park-has-gone-viral-thanks-indian-instagram-page-now-there-are-chapters-across-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Aug 2023 03:15:16 +0000 Eight years ago, Neelam Singh was on a night bus from Indore to Udaipur, northern Indian cities about 400km (nearly 250 miles) apart. It was past midnight when the bus stopped in a small town and she and her husband, Yashwant Suthar, left to use the bathroom. The women’s toilets were dirty and unusable, so Singh explored the surrounding wilderness for somewhere to relieve herself. Her husband stood guard, but what ensued left Singh traumatised. A group of men accosted her and tried to get... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3217583/smart-toilets-india-are-clean-hygienic-and-safe-space-women-meet-start-ups-building-tech-enabled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3217583/smart-toilets-india-are-clean-hygienic-and-safe-space-women-meet-start-ups-building-tech-enabled?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:15:07 +0000 On a warm, late March evening, in fading twilight, a dozen women gather outside the Central College metro station in the heart of the Indian city of Bangalore. Other than two pairs of friends, we are strangers. But introductions are made and soon all is excited anticipation and a will to conquer. As pompous as that sounds, a group of women setting out for a night walk on the streets of Bangalore’s Chickpete area, a crowded, congested traditional business district, is a rare occurrence. In... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3216301/how-night-walks-women-india-are-allowing-groups-tread-fearlessly-streets-most-would-otherwise-avoid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3216301/how-night-walks-women-india-are-allowing-groups-tread-fearlessly-streets-most-would-otherwise-avoid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Apr 2023 03:15:08 +0000 An ethereal sliver of light shimmers on rippling water, cast from a buttery full moon between mysterious rock forms that rise from the water and throw ghostly shadows. We are surrounded by several other such shapes, vague and undefined in the darkness. Except for the almost-imperceptible hum of a generator from below decks, it feels as though we’re a long way from civilisation. Which is a surprise, considering our boat is gently bobbing in Vietnam’s much-visited Halong Bay. The cruise didn’t... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3209743/how-cruise-vietnams-heaving-halong-bay-can-be-blissful-experience-head-its-outer-reaches?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3209743/how-cruise-vietnams-heaving-halong-bay-can-be-blissful-experience-head-its-outer-reaches?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Feb 2023 08:45:09 +0000 When 13-year-old Tien wants to tell his mother he’s gay, he goes to the library. But he quickly realises there aren’t any appropriate words for homosexuality in Vietnamese. He eventually finds a mix of words in his native language and English to confide in his mother, who is not very conversant in English. Tien is the protagonist of The Magic Fish, a graphic novel for young adults by Vietnamese-American writer Trung Le Nguyen, published in October last year. Inspired by Nguyen’s own story, it... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3121473/how-come-out-when-gay-isnt-your-language-lgbt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3121473/how-come-out-when-gay-isnt-your-language-lgbt?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Feb 2021 23:15:12 +0000 Some people baked banana bread. Others tried their hand at sourdough. Then the trick of whisking instant coffee into froth exploded onto the scene. DIY projects became trendy. Tie-dye shirts coloured social media posts. Zoom meetings – for work, to meet family and friends, and to have parties – became the norm. The year of the pandemic had people turning into everyday ninjas. But not everyone wanted their day ruled by the pings of their Google calendar. Some were happy to purposefully do... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3115810/benefits-doing-nothing-stress-relief-having-more-creative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3115810/benefits-doing-nothing-stress-relief-having-more-creative?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Dec 2020 18:30:10 +0000 There is nothing quite like the guilt of diving down the rabbit hole, only to emerge a few hours later wondering where the time went.  But feel free to ignore that guilt when it comes to dog videos or clips of fluffy, adorable kittens on the internet.  It turns out there’s a rationale behind the addiction. A new study has found that watching such videos can lower your heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety — all health benefits we could use during the coronavirus pandemic.  The study took place... https://www.scmp.com/health/cuteness-overload-may-make-us-better-people/article/3111023?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/health/cuteness-overload-may-make-us-better-people/article/3111023?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Nov 2020 11:51:32 +0000 Have you ever fallen down a rabbit hole of endlessly scrolling through cute dog videos or clips of fluffy, adorable kittens on the internet, and felt guilty about doing so? Don’t – it turns out there’s a rationale behind the addiction. A new study has found that watching such videos can lower your heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety. In December 2019, an hour-and-a-half before their exams, 15 students at Britain’s University of Leeds took part in an unusual exercise. Rather than doing any... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3110643/best-animal-cams-watch-during-lockdown-and-why-cat-and-dog?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3110643/best-animal-cams-watch-during-lockdown-and-why-cat-and-dog?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Nov 2020 23:15:20 +0000 Just before the Covid-19 pandemic began to sweep the world, Singapore-based anthropologist Angad Chowdhry was shocked when he stumbled upon Europol’s Stop Child Abuse – Trace an Object page. Random images of objects were arranged on the website, including a comb, a tiny pair of yellow shorts, and parts of a bedcover and a T-shirt: all screenshots the European police network had culled from child sexual abuse videos circulating on the internet. Europol wanted people to make contact if they had... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3108612/it-firms-ai-program-deters-paedophiles-searching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3108612/it-firms-ai-program-deters-paedophiles-searching?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Nov 2020 20:15:17 +0000 In 2003, the world went eerily silent for Gordon Hempton. For an acoustic ecologist, losing his hearing was the equivalent of a footballer having a leg snatched away; not only was he out of work, he felt isolated and frustrated. To compensate for the lack of auditory input, his mind began to produce its own sounds, a condition that would become nightmarish. Eighteen months later, as his hearing was gradually returning, he vowed to save the world’s quiet places. After years of campaigning, in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3104638/one-worlds-quietest-places-urban-park-taiwan-meet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3104638/one-worlds-quietest-places-urban-park-taiwan-meet?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Oct 2020 09:15:12 +0000 A few weeks ago, a cheery email landed in inboxes around the world. “Hope this email finds you well!!” it began. There’s a pandemic raging; more than 27 million people have been ill and nearly a million have died. The email’s double exclamation marks were irritating: when people are feeling fragile they don’t need tone-deaf emails. “Stay safe and hang in there”, the generic email ended, perhaps to disarm hostile readers who might otherwise have slammed down the delete button. This year has been... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3101921/how-greet-someone-email-during-covid-19-without-sounding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3101921/how-greet-someone-email-during-covid-19-without-sounding?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2020 23:15:06 +0000 One slow morning in August, a shrill cry could be heard in the online ant colony: “Which one of you pesky six-legged punks found where I hid my Oreos? I went to get one and y’all were all over it.” All hell broke loose. The responses ranged from offers of sympathy to confessions, accusations, innuendo and veiled threats, with the accusations ranging from blasé to outlandish. Among the comments: “Nom nom”, “Selfish, and “Nobody gets to hoard Oreos unless The Queen permits.” Written in capital... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3098944/role-playing-ants-escape-stress-covid-19-millions-join?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3098944/role-playing-ants-escape-stress-covid-19-millions-join?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Aug 2020 21:15:15 +0000 The window next to my working space overlooks a chikoo tree favoured by noisy bulbuls and babblers. The bedroom window overlooks the neighbour’s backyard, which has three mango trees, a jackfruit tree and a gooseberry tree that are visited by soulful Asian koels, mynahs and the occasional drongo or kite. But these are fleeting visitors, and for much of the day, these views in Bangalore, India, are boring. The same cannot be said for the everyday views to be found at WindowSwap. The addictive... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3095471/addictive-online-video-carousel-views-windows-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3095471/addictive-online-video-carousel-views-windows-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Aug 2020 21:00:18 +0000