Saturday Feeling: Living with niggling pain every day

We’ve had one or all of them at some point—a frozen shoulder that requires care while sleeping, a back ache that recurs if one sits too long for a spell of “focused work”, a tennis elbow from phone or mouse use, a stiff neck that releases occasionally terrifying creaks and cracks. Niggling to chronic, pain dogs all of us, and more often than not, we learn to accommodate it rather than seek proper treatment. That’s probably because most experts think pain is to be tolerated and endured, and the medical system most often either over- or under-diagnoses pain. Or, we message a friend who recommends a tea infusion, a cushion, a video, a brace, a subscription to an app with nothing more than calming gibberish, that we swipe to buy in the hope that It Will Just Go Away.

India’s pain economy has moved beyond over-the-counter tablets and sprays to include ergonomic accessories, alternative treatments, retreats and a long list of ever-more expensive fixes, as we report this week. Loss of productivity and time aside, living with pain can affect self-esteem, confidence, mental health and quality of life. Longevity occupies so much of the conversation about health these days that doctors and fitness and wellness experts seem to have forgotten that effective pain relief could actually make life far better for the living today. Part of it is to do with our lifestyle—too many screens, too little movement—but living pain-free seems near impossible.

A special flashback episode of 'The Bear', the film adaptation of 'Remarkably Bright Creatures', and a few other titles are our suggestions for your watchlist. Apart from running the usual weekend errands, I’ve signed up for a book-binding workshop this weekend but if you need some help making plans, take a look at our weekend guide or check out our list of gift ideas for Mother’s Day.

Met Gala 2026: All excess, no imagination

It's most likely your social media feed was filled with Indians at the Met Gala parade—and there was more of everything except good taste on display, which makes us wonder who trendsetters really are, and why these extravagances are things we’re expected to go bonkers over. We also try the controversial Kolhapuri-meets-Prada chappals, which after multiple missteps and retakes, might turn out to be an example of thoughtful design intervention for traditional craft and art. There remains, of course, the concern that what’s everyday wear for Indians is being “elevated” out of reach but we’ll have to see how it plays out, whether promises of continued engagement will be kept, and whether you and I will actually experience the improved comfort.

Smaller menus for lighter eaters

With the semaglutide patent expiry expected to bring cheaper generics to India, monthly costs could fall from ₹28,000 to ₹5,000-10,000—and more people are expected to get on to these weight loss drugs despite the risks and the side effects. Restaurants in India are beginning to reflect similar patterns—and are creating new menus with smaller portions and lighter dishes even as prices remain the same or rise. With the Indian diner eating less, what’s on the plate is bite-sized formats, protein-forward dishes, smaller tasting portions and cocktail samplers, reports Geetika Sachdev.

How to work out safely this summer

As the temperature crosses the 40 degrees Celsius mark in many parts of the country, it’s near impossible to train or play sports outdoors. Doctors and fitness experts advise lighter workouts, a modified exercise regimen and indoor sessions during the peak summer months. When we exercise, body heat builds up, which the body usually manages by sweating, but when the outdoor temperature is very high, too, this process falters. Shrenik Avlani and Jahnabee Borah speak to doctors and fitness experts to offer tips to modify workouts to stay fit while staying safe.

Android tablets are back, and better

For more than a decade, Android tablets have lived in a strange limbo. They were declared dead when phones grew larger, dismissed as pandemic‑era stopgaps, and overshadowed by Apple’s iPad. Yet the category refuses to fade away. In India, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Lenovo and Samsung continue to launch new models every year, and many of them are selling far better than their reputation suggests, writes Abhishek Baxi, while examining this strange contradiction at the heart of the India tablet story. Android tabs like the Xiaomi Pad 8 with better tech, specs and design serve a purpose, and consumers treat them as a long‑term computing device rather than an auxiliary accessory.

Rebuild your relationship with sleep

Sleep, movement and food cravings are deeply linked, as research has shown, but often rest is the thing we see as a luxury to cut when the to-do list grows longer. But sleep is when the body heals, repairs and resets. Without it, immunity declines, hormones become imbalanced, inflammation increases and even the best food or exercise plan won’t produce results. Consistency matters more than perfection, write Sheeba de Souza and Luke Coutinho in this excerpt from their new book, Root Leaf Fire.

When in Japan, slow down in Takayama

Tokyo and Kyoto are the usual stops for Indians in Japan but to get a sense of its Edo-era history, shop in its traditional markets and soak in hot springs, add a trip to Takayama in the Japanese Alps to the itinerary. The quiet preserved city in Gifu prefecture, sits on the banks of the Miyagawa river and is breathtaking throughout the year—covered in snow during winters, cherry blossoms in spring, and trees brushed with colour through summer and autumn, writes Shirin Mehrotra. Takayama is a perfect getaway from Tokyo especially if you have limited days in Japan and not enough budget for the Shinkansen. A bus journey will take you just over five hours, and the views on the way are worth the ride.