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Eco-Friendly Alternatives of Plastics

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We all know much about the harmful effects of plastics, but still, we continue to use them indiscriminately. One of the reasons for this is that their eco-friendly alternatives are not very popular, and in the absence of these alternatives, we are left with no other option other than using plastics.

To reduce plastic usage, here are a few environmental-friendly products that can make your life healthy.

  • Bamboo

Bamboos are used to make a wide range of products, including tissues, stationery, serving trays, straws, cutlery and much more. Bamboos are easy to grow and long-lasting, which makes them sustainable.

  • Coconut

Coconut shells are waste products, but they can be easily recycled and used as a substitute for plastic. They are natural, harmless and durable. Recycling them will reduce waste and solve the problem of using too many plastics.

  • Glass

Glasses should be used to replace plastic bottles and containers. They are a safe option as they release no toxic chemicals and prevent contamination of your food. Glass products look elegant and beautiful. Apart from this, they are also reusable and eco-friendly.

  • Jute 

Jute is a natural fabric. It is very easy to grow jute as it doesn’t require any usage of insecticides or pesticides. Hence, it is purely environmentally friendly. It has excellent tensile strength, durability and affordability. Jute bags, jute slippers, envelopes, notebooks and other products are available in the market and can be used for a healthy environment.

  • Cardboard

Plain cardboards are environmentally friendly and reusable. Instead of packaging food items in plastic bags or containers, you should prefer cardboard containers, which would cut the wastage and save the environment. Plain e-cardboards are fully compostable at home too.

Plastics are becoming a massive problem for our environment. Although governments and environmentalists run many campaigns from time to time to spread awareness about the harms of plastic, it’s hard for people to shift massively from plastic products to eco-friendly products. Even if people understand the intensity of damage that plastics can do, they are bound to use them because it is nearly impossible to replace all the plastics in our lives, as too many plastic products surround us. But making small lifestyle changes and mindful & healthy choices would definitely make a difference. All that you can do is keep doing your bit and make every possible change in your life for a healthy environment.

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General Health 

Advent of Paper

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The introduction of paper was a long way back when ancestors used stones, clay pots, Papyrus for writing purposes. The word paper comes from Papyrus used in ancient times, which is still the most straightforward material for writing, primarily introduced in the Chinese court years ago by a complex method—lifting a small amount of the slurry in a rectangular sieve of a silk sheet surrounded by a frame. Shaking the sieve gently, evenly distribute the fibers, and as the draining away of water they settle into a sheet, then drying in the sun produced papers. This process produced a long-lasting, high-quality paper.

The raw materials for paper-making were hemp and linen rags. By 1800, paper mills required 24 million tones of rags per year, and raw material supplies were short. The search for allow-cost, readily available, and renewable alternative began. The Four drinier paper-making machine employed a continuous wire-mesh belt instead of individual paper molds to make a sheet of paper, making the process faster and cheaper. England, in 1803, put an end to the time-consuming process of hand-making paper by applying the machine.

From early childhood to the present, we use paper, which is essential for writing, and find its applications in schools, colleges, offices, and almost everywhere. It is material to express ourselves, may it be in any form.

Uses of paper:

  • Nowadays, manypapers are there for official purposes in schools, colleges, courts, and otherworkplaces.
  • From exercise books to encyclopedias, there is paper for all forms of printing. The type of paper depends on the product’s eventual use and lifespan. High-quality pulp from new cotton rag trimmings and flax is helpful to make banknotes, which must be robust and long-lasting.
  • Another valuable attribute of paper is its absorbency, whose application is in tissues and other products.
  • Because it is light but robust, clothes soak up liquids quickly.
  • In the form of laminated products, the packaging industry also relies on a steady paper supply.
  • Other specialty paper products include electrical board insulation, printed circuits for the electronics industry, filters for various purposes, disposable medical clothes, bandages, and automobile filters, among others.

India manufactures many papers, including printing and writing paper, packaging paper, coated paper, and specialty papers. Cream weaved paper, super printing paper, map litho paper (non-surface and surface size), copier paper, bond paper, and coating base paper are examples of printing and writing paper varieties. Kraft paper, boards, poster paper, and various types of packing material are available. 10.6percent increase in per capita paper consumption India makes India the fastest growing market in terms of consumption.

The importance of paper plays a significant role in everyday life. Starting from the educational institutions, healthcare, courts, service sectors, and other organizations, the role of paper is immense and is present everywhere. The working professionals use paper daily and are an integral part of our society. Originating centuries back, the applications till today are everywhere. Papers are of different qualities, shapes, and utilization, serving the same purpose – the expressions through writing and utility for our daily lives.

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General Knowledge Based Articles 

Easy at-home exercises to increase your endurance

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You may often hear out people who could not stop emphasizing the virtues of exercising. There are so many instances when we feel like taking a step towards exercising yet, some excuses like not enough time or lack of gym facility in the vicinity crawl in!
But, we all know the importance that exercise holds in keeping ourselves healthy and fit. Therefore, if you are keen on availing a fit body but excuses like the gym is far keeps coming to you – we have got you covered, read and thank us later!

Here is the list of exercises that you can try at home –

  1. The stairs – In order to increase your stamina taking stairs instead of life is important. Not just that, you should also incorporate mornings jogging and cycling in your regime. It truly helps you build your stamina and stay fit.
  2. The Boat Pose – Ditch the gym and opt for this exercise. It is simple! Just sit on the floor and your legs should be straight as you balance on your hips. Now life your leg and stretch your arms outwards, you will notice that it looks similar to a boat. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat it at least 5 times.
  3. Side Planks – Lie down on your side and take the support of your elbow, lift your body, and hold that position for at least 10 seconds. The longer you hold, the better it is! This can truly help you build your stamina and bring out the abs that you have been drooling over.
  4. Chair dips – This is especially for the ones who work sitting in the chair for long hours. All you have to do is, Sit in a chair with armrests. Further, keep your back straight and both your feet steady on the floor, shoulder-width apart. You may need to bend a little forward and with the support of the armrests. Then move your body off the chair slowly while breathing out. Hold the position for 5 counts and come back to the original position while breathing in slowly. You can do this as many times depending on your comfort level.
  5. Push-ups – Probably the most common ones, and indeed one of the effective ones. Push-ups are tough but you get a hand of it gradually. It helps you build your core strength and that is why it plays a pivotal role in fitness.
  6. Squats – Squats don’t just put stretch your muscles but also put them in good use. Keep your spine relaxed and straight. Then stand on the floor with your legs wide apart. Go down on the floor with your hips slightly going backward. Make sure that throughout this set your spine is super relaxed.

We hope that in the lockdown, your goal of fitness remains intact! With these easy home exercises and the right diet, you can remain perfectly fit and healthy. Go ahead and give it a shot on a regular basis. Do let us know what you think about it in the comment section below.

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General Health 

5 Clever Hacks to Beat the Business Travel Blues

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The mere idea of getting a business travel opportunity rings the bell of excitement for all of us. Perhaps, at some point, we all have envied our colleagues who get these privileges of sponsored air travel, luxurious hotels, fancy boardroom meetings, and an opportunity to network with C-suite executives.


However, there’s a stark difference in the reality of business travels. The stress of packing, repacking, jet lags, long business meetings, and a pressure of work deadlines are just some of the business travels issues that are experienced in reality. Owing to these issues, frequent business travelers look forward to solutions to beat these business travel blues.


Thus, to make it easier for them, here’s a list of some clever hacks that will save you the trouble of experiencing the business travel blues.


Travel Checklist Preparation: Travel checklist preparation often seems to be a daunting task. Writing every minute element can turn out to be a time-consuming activity. Hence, to solve this issue, you can make use of various travel list maker apps that cut down on the time consumed for travel checklist preparation. However, refrain from packing without a checklist as that will only add up to a disorganized travel packing.


Confusing Clothes Selection: The confusion of what to clothes to carry and how many sets to carry can often seem to be confusing. At such times, plan a smart move by going through your program schedule. This will give you a rough idea of the clothes that you will be needing for the trip. Likewise, opt for statement blazers or jackets which can be mixed and matched with a majority of your clothes.


Dealing with Packing/Unpacking: Packing and repacking can be a time-taking task. To avoid the hassle, prepare a set of the entire suite and pack it up. By creating such small sets of clothes and their accessories, it will become relatively easier for you to find your things without having to unpack your entire bag.


Tackling Boredom: Long flights or train journeys can seem to be boring. To tackle this boredom, try to stock up on music, movies and audiobooks which can keep you engaged during your travel period. Furthermore, remember to fully charge your laptops and mobile phones. As a backup, you can even carry your power banks.


Struggling with Jet Lags: Jet lags are quite common in international business travel trips. As you enter a new time zone, your body requires some time to get familiar with this zone. Therefore, the best way to deal with jet lag is to cut down on your alcohol or caffeine intake in flight. Similarly, keep yourself hydrated with a steady intake of water as that will eliminate the risk of dehydration. Also, avoid taking power naps in the day time.
In conclusion, we hope these tricks shall certainly prove helpful for you to beat those business travel blues.
Moreover, if you have any secret hacks, then feel free to mention them in our comment section.

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General Real Estate 

Why reading a book is always better than a Kindle?

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In the last few weeks, the book industry has released some extraordinary figures showing that this sale of eBooks online was quite down this year as compared to the sale of printed books. This has happened for the very first time in about two years. So in this article, we have published some of the reasons why printed books are much preferred than regular eBooks.

  1. All the printed books have pages that are quite nice and are tender to the touch. The papers on which the books are printed makes reading physically pleasurable. However, reading an eBook on the other hand usually feels like using an ATM. So after staring at the computer screen for more than 9 to 10 hours at work every day, how relaxing is it to curl up in your bed and stare at another screen?
  2. The printed books are way better at conveying different types of information. A study in a recent journal reported that the readers who read stories or other blogs using kindle were less likely to remember and recall all the events in a mystery novel or a blog than the people who were reading it from the same novel in print. So if you want to follow up or remember the things and acquire other information, print is the best way to do it.
  3. The printed books are yours for your entire life. The books which you bought while you were in college or you were in school will still be readable even after 50years. However on the other hand after 10 years do you really think your e-book reader or your kindle might work well with the modern eBooks of the time?
  4. The printed books carry and keep a lot of physical reminders and memories of your intellectual journeys. The Enid Blyton storybooks or our Chacha Chaudharystorybooks take you back to the early years of your childhood. However, aKindle is incapable of sharing such emotions and other memories.
  5. The printed books are great to share. You would love to hand over a book to a close friend and say you that ‘You’ve got to read this’.  Definitely, there are ways of sharing an e-book if both your friend and you can navigate through the digital rights management system efficiently. But sharing an ebook is just similar to sharing an email or paying someone through PayPal or something else.
  6. One can write different things in the margins of a printed book, dog-ear, or bookmark all the important pages and also underline the important sentences with the pencil. The eBooks often allow the user to do the same in the form of digital acts, but there is a huge difference between physical gestures and digital release.
  7. The printed books have jackets so that the people nearby know what exactly you are reading thus making reading a community-building activity.
  8. The printed books are much fairer to the writers and are also better for your health. These books are also theft-resistant as if you leave the book in the car or on the library table, you can be sure to find it there when you return back.
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Ten martial arts you can think of learning

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Getting yourself involved in martial arts is one of the best things you can do for your fitness. Whether you want to study martial art to become a professional or just as a part of your fitness regime or as self-defense, it should not matter. If you want to enjoy yourself while you learn and are determined to stick to it, picking the right form of martial art is essential. Learning martial arts involve a whole lot of time as well as money. So you want to pick the right one for yourself. Here are 10 of the most famous forms of martial arts for you to choose from:

  1. JUDO: Judo, a competition based sport from Japan involves throwing or taking down your opponent for the win. Judo calls for minimum effort but maximum efficiency. If you can master the proper technique and get a good grip on your balance you can take down a person larger than you.
  2. BOXING: Though it might take several years to just learn how to throw punches properly, boxing can be a lot of fun. This is the kind of sport that teaches you discipline, governing backed by fighting. This keeps you quick on your toes and your body lean.
  3. KARATE: Karate is another sport from Japan that involves a lot of punching, kicking, and freestyle hand techniques. It helps you to gain balance. You learn how to divert the attack coming your way as well as disable and control your opponent’s ambush.
  4. AIKIDO: Aikido is primarily designed for self-defense, making sure you don’t injure your attackers.  Instead of fighting back, you use the momentum of your attacker against them only.
  5. BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: This sport coming out of Brazil has been named one of the most callous sports ever. This form of martial art focuses mainly on manipulating your attacker’s body and getting them off of you. It is best for street defense.
  6. TAEKWONDO: Taekwondo is a form of Korean martial art that blends attack and self-defense. Using your legs is very important in this sport, not only you use it as a weapon you also use it to keep your attackers away.
  7. WRESTLING: Generally falls under performance art, wrestling is an extremely demanding total body workout. It involves constant pushing and pulling while maintaining proper balance. A simple match of 6minutes duration can help you burn hundreds of calories.
  8. KRAV MAGA: It is the national martial art of Israel. This martial art combines some aspects of Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, and traditional boxing. It is a sort of counter-attack, where you aim for the weak areas of your opponent.
  9. MUAY THAI: Muay Thai also known as the Art of EightLimbs originated from the heart of Thailand. It can get very violent or harsh, thus with certain precautions, Muay Thai has been made a universal sport for entertainment now.
  10. MMA: MMA short for Mixed Martial Arts is a combination of all kinds of martial arts listed above. This involves a wide range of techniques and styles. MMA involves many risk factors but if you aim to become the next Conor McGregor, can go for it.
General Health 

Places you must travel before you turn 40

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Let us face the fact that there are millions of places to travel and enjoy if you are a travel freak. On the internet you will find thousands of articles like cities you must travel in your twenties, places to visit before you turn 30 and many more. So if you are about to turn 40 or 50 and you haven’t been to any of the places, that does not mean that somehow your life has been shortened and you missed most of it. Actually travelling is for all ages with the only difference being that is different generation will have a different perspective on the definition of a great travel adventure. After all, life does not really get started until you turn for 40, so here are some of the places that you must travel before you turn 40.

  1. The wine regions in France
    The land of wine and cheese bacon in France has some of the spectacular wine regions. The burgundy region is mostly for the red lovers, for a romantic setting in the vineyards of the Alsace region or for a beautiful setting, drive your bicycle and explore all the provinces and the Rhone Valley wine region.
  2. Tuscany in Italy
    Tuscany is a little mediaeval village situated on Hilltops with picture-perfect scenery and good rustic delicious Italian food. Spending a week or two in your own Villa in the village will help you effortlessly blend into the local life. You would definitely love the outside dining set with your new neighbours in the balmy sunny evening while looking at the valleys below.
  3. The Greek islands
    With the impossibly beautiful whitewashed villages, the magical sunsets and the stunning caldera, you might feel that you have arrived in paradise in the Greek islands of England. You would love the Santorini island which is mainly known for the breathtaking scenery, sunsets and the romantic aura.
  4. Petra in Jordan
    This legendary lost city is the main site for the people who come in search of the treasury, temples and the historic monuments. Petra is an ancient city that can only be accessed through a narrow gorge and had been forgotten for centuries by the Western world until it was rediscovered in the year 1812. If you are a person who loves to visit the ancient ruins, a pilgrimage to Petra in the valley of Moses is an absolute must.
  5. Cappadocia in Turkey
    Cappadocia is well known for its stunning landscape which is made up of the volcanic rock formations also known as the fairy chimneys. At various point throughout the time, the rocks were inhabited with castles, houses and the larger ones even had cities. The best way to explore the region is to take a hot air balloon ride at sunrise, sipping some of the champagne and enjoying the marvellous sight below.
  6. Angkor Wat Cambodia
    You must not visit the incredible sunrise over the Angkor Wat temple while you are visiting Cambodia. The Temple is a religious structure and was built using hands. People from all over the globe have been flocking to witness this beautiful sight.
General Knowledge Based Articles 

10 Must-read Books from Authors Around the World

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Reading books is one of the best ways to spend your free time and gather knowledge.Here is a collection of 10 famous books from authors all over the world.

  1. Children of the blood and bone by Tomi Adeyemi

The story, Children of blood and Bone revolves around the story of Zelie a young girl from a fantasy kingdom which is known as Orisha where magic and magical items have been banned. Zelie’s white hair is a sign that the girl possesses the latent magical powers that can only be activated by a scroll that has disappeared centuries ago. The novel has a smart and reverting adventure story which has been targeted to the readers of the age of around 14 and up.

2. My sister – the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

The writer’s debut novel My sister the serial killer is basically about a woman named Korede and her younger sister Ayoola who have had an unfortunate habit of murdering their boyfriends and their ex-boyfriends. Every time the younger sibling takes a life, Korede is always present to clear things up for her.

3. The black leopard, red wolf by Marlon James

In the novel, Black leopard, Red wolf, tracker is a well respected Hunter who always loves working alone. He is hired to locate a boy who has been missing for nearly three years. He ends up joining a gang of unusual characters which also includes a shape-shifting man-animal called the leopard who is also engaged in the hunt. Marlon James writer also won the 2015 man Booker prize for his novel a brief history of seven killings.

4. An orchestra of minorities by Chigozie Obioma

The story has been narrated by the guardian spirit known as chi. The novel narrates the story of a poor poultry farmer named Chinoso who cleverly saves the life of young women named Ndali by throwing away two of his prized chickens into a river where the young lady is about to jump. The farmer falls in love with a young lady but her wealthy family disapproves due to his lack of education.

5. On the come up by Angie Thomas

As the only daughter of the famous underground Hip Hop icon and who died too young, the 16-year-old Bridge aspires of becoming the greatest rap artists of all times.

6. Go ahead in the rain by Hanif Abdurraqib

The novel, go ahead in the rain is the author’s third non-fiction book. It is basically a love letter to the era of hip hop and critical essays and poetic language has been used to pay homage to The tribe called quest.

7. Thick by Tressie Cotton

In the essay collection Thick, American author focuses on social media, the feminism rites, violence, body positivity and more through the eyes of a black lady.

8. Heavy by Kiese Laymon

Heavy is basically a collection of the autobiographical essays that draws on the author’s life growing up in southern America.

9. The sources of Self-regard by Tonight Morrison

The books first part features a prayer for the departed souls of 9/11, the second part is a meditation from Martin Luther King Junior and the last part offers a eulogy for James Baldwin.

10. Feel free by Zadie Smith

The famous novelist Zadie Smith writes this essay on the collection of the cultural criticism that addresses the impact that has affected the past and present artist from pop cultures like Michael Jackson, Fred Astaire and Beyonce.

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