Minutes before dusk, a group of surfers in Goa a makes its way to the beach. Here, it is common for boards, bodies and the ocean to become one. As they ride the ebb and flow of the Arabian Sea, lithe bodies dressed in second-skin swimwear and utilitarian gear, their insouciance inspires countercultures and catwalks alike
I strain my neck looking over my shoulder for the next wave I can catch. “Is that it? Should I start paddling?” I ask Asif, my instructor at The Shaka Surf Club, signalling to a dark shadow forming in the distance over a strip of green sea, still unsure of how to read the waves. Turns out that swell is too small to ride, and I go back to being prone on the board, closing my eyes as it passes under me and gently buoys me as if I weigh nothing. It’s a few minutes before the right wave comes along and Asif jolts me out of my inertia with a sudden shout of “Paddle, paddle, paddle!” In a flurry of strenuous activity, I manage to pop up on the board and drift along with the wave, immersed in the moment, my body, mind and board acting like one. Upon reaching the shore, the spell is broken—I topple off the board and the process starts all over again.
Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.
