Sunday Exhale: Letter to India, Jaipur Lit Fest, Baking 101 & More

Sit back and enjoy some of The Quint’s finest reads this week.

It’s Sunday. Relax, exhale and sample some of The Quint’s finest stories from the week gone by.

Dear Indians, Let’s Sign This Letter to India

The Quint is getting Indians from across the country and the world to write a Letter To India. To pen their emotions on a beautiful, traditional postcard. Why a postcard in the digital world, you wonder? You see, a postcard is the only form of letter writing, which is not password or envelope protected. It’s out in the open for the whole world to know what’s in your head. And that’s exactly what we aim to do this Republic Day – send a postcard from your heart to India.

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Baking 101: Here’s How to Make the Yummiest Winter Cookies at Home

The moment we sat up to write winter off, it surprised us – and how!

Ladies and gents, don’t let go of that cuppa hot chocolate just yet. Instead, pair it with some warm cookies! If you’re the kind with an irrevocable sweet tooth – you know, the one that yells “COOKIE” when the alphabet line comes to C – then this post is just for you.

Let that inner baker run loose and create sweet little treats of pure joy, stat! Because it ain’t no end to the winter, before I dig into a LARGE NUTELLA COOKIE!

S for Sex, S for Sunny, S for Sita

The word ‘Sita’ is probably more loaded with meaning than ‘Ram’, the word that promises to launch a thousand ships any minute now. In this piece, I intend to compare Sunny Leone with Sita, both prototypes rather than people in our minds, not to legitimise the already-several-times-legitimised-but-just-not-enough-Sunny but try and draw a parallel in the women as women.

If Fatema Kagalwala tread on any feet or offended someone, please kill the comment section with your ire and leave it at that, don’t we have way better things to spend offence time on?

5 Reasons Why Akshay Kumar is the Smartest Bollywood Star

Unlike most Bollywood stars, Akshay Kumar does multiple films in a year. He smoothly switches from one genre to the other, works with new directors, attends film awards and performs at most of the big events of the year. The actor is also honest in his interviews and is still one of the most bankable stars, all this makes Akshay Kumar one of Bollywood’s smartest stars.

Dear Parents, Here’s How You Can Raise Your Boys to Respect Women

So how do parents ‘tackle’ teaching boys not to give in to gender stereotypes? How do they ensure that gender sensitisation doesn’t end up being gender discrimination?

There’s probably no ONE right way.

But you could take a cue from these parents who are raising young boys.

What It’s Really Like to Endure Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD as it is better known, is a type of anxiety disorder which mostly develops in people after they’ve witnessed or experienced horrifying events like war, homicide, natural disasters, accidents and any violent assaults.

PTSD can be a harrowing, painful experience – but there are ways in which you can cope and come out of it.

Mumbai Top Cop Ahmed Javed Tweets Like a Boss & So Does His Team

The Mumbai Police and Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmed Javed have established their Twitter credentials. They’ve been doling out some rocking tweets, jan hit mein jaari style. Javed is no ordinary cop with strict, father-like advice that you’re likely to see and hit the snooze button. He and his force have been tweeting 140 character advisories and they are EPIC.

Living on Your Own is an Absolute Must in Your 20s. Here’s Why

Living alone ain’t for the faint-hearted. After spending almost 8 years on her own, here are some pearls of wisdom writer Sohini Guharoy has accumulated, that she believes many her age will relate to.

Iranian Women Bloody Well Know How to Keep It Stylish

Nina Ansary writes, even with the backdrop of a post-revolutionary patriarchal society, a full-blown feminist movement started. That’s partly to do with the mobilisation of women by the Islamic Revolution to topple the Shah empire in the first place, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) that compelled women to join the workforce. Ironically, as this book says, the Islamic revolution gave women a keener sense of their rights.

These recent pictures are proof. Take a look at these skater girls as seen in Vanak Sq in Tehran, Iran, who are called “modern day Iranian hipsters”.

QSatire: Here’s Why Baba Ram Rahim Singh ‘Insaan’ is Comedy Gold

So Kiku Sharda has been forgiven by His Excellency, Baba Ram Rahim Singh ji Insaan for nakalofying him. And the guru made a reasonable point, he claims the objections to the mimicry were because Kiku portrayed him as a drinking, womanising fellow, which is slanderous.

Fair enough.

But for all the aspiring comedians out there, there’s nothing to worry about. His Excellency, Baba Ram Rahim Singh ji Insaan has given you more than enough material to go on.

The Quint Chats With Author Aleksandar Hemon at Jaipur Lit Fest

The Quint catches up with noted author Aleksandar Hemon at the Jaipur Literature Festival. He tells us about his experience growing up in the United States as a young Bosnian, his take on the form of a novel and the writers who influenced him.

Here’s How Your Eggs and His Sperms Age With Time

There’s a clock ticking somewhere close. Tick tock, tick tock!

A woman is 10% less fertile at 27, that’s when the biological clock starts ticking. New research has now found that there’s a limited window for fatherhood too – every year after the age of 30, testosterone levels drop by 1% in men and post 40, the sperms are associated with more genetic abnormalities.

So if you missed learning the birds and the bees of fertility in high school, let’s re-start your sexual education about making a baby that (probably) your teachers and parents never told you about.