The Writer’s Flight

There are a whole lot of gadgets to fight pain, address mobility issues and live a better life. They come at various price points but their perceived value is pretty high Namrata Kohli   |   New Delhi Forty-eight-year-old Bhubaneswar based Priyadarshi Nanu Pany recently gifted his mother an Acorn Stairlift Chair from Seniority.in and says the ease it offers his mother is priceless "When I needed an air mattress for my father some years ago, it was so hard to find. But I love the fact that today you have everything from a long-handled toenail clipper, to a nail cutter with a magnifying glass, to a pill organizer and a wheelchair that allows you to climb stairs--just all that a senior may require and more at the click of a mouse," says Dr Pragya Bansal, a regular shopper for senior care products for her octogenarian parents. Another buyer says the Saregama Carvaan he bought for his 75-year-old mother a year ago was the perfect gift for her as she is very fond of old Hindi music

Always buy from a reputable outlet, not from trinket shops outside tourist spots; remember that the beauty in a genuine piece lies in its flaws, unlike a machine-made copy Namrata Kohli   |  New Delhi  Ganapati idols made of different materials in two sections of an establishment run by Central Cottage Industries Corporation Recently craft crusaders called out a famous fashion designer (Sabyasachi) for digitizing Sanganer block prints and there were headlines screaming “What Sabya owes Sanganer”. Patrons of handicrafts felt he was too focussed on promoting himself for his special collection for an international brand (H&M) and nearly hijacked the story of India’s rich heritage weaved by the artisans and karigar community, their art form and livelihood. According to founder of Dilli Haat Jaya Jaitly who leads a handicraft initiative-  Dastkari Haat Samiti , “My noise with Sabyasachi was on why he took over the karigaar’s work and digitized it. Collaboration is one thing but digitizi

Today apps will help you pick up European, Oriental and Arabic on your smartphone. You can also go for short-term courses at edtechs or full-blown ones at regular institutions Namrata Kohli   |   New Delhi Students at a foreign language class at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan Credits: Goethe-Institut If you’ve spent time in a country whose native language you don’t speak, you know how painful and embarrassing it can be to be able to communicate only through facial expressions, sign language and a handful of poorly-pronounced phrases. “When I was in France, I went to a beauty salon for a haircut,” recalls Delhi-based homemaker Manju Malhotra. “When I asked them to make my hair “petite” as that was the only word I knew, they cut it so short that I hated myself.” She confesses that being able to speak the right language, even at a basic level, makes it convenient to run small errands such as shopping or ordering food at restaurants, understanding cultural nuances, and exploring new pl