India Hemp Organics’ Hemp Hearts landed on my table a few months ago, when a friend dropped by. I had used skincare products with hemp extracts before, but this was the first time I was incorporating them in my diet. It was finding out that hemp-based protein supplements contain edestin, an easily digestible protein, that convinced me to try it. Hemp hearts, essentially the inner part of the Cannabis sativa plant’s seeds, are supposed to be rich in nutrients. A few weeks in, I am unsure of their effect on my health, but the delicately nutty flavour of hemp hearts has meant that I can sprinkle them as a topping on any upma or chutney without having to, in the quest for more protein, change my diet drastically. The brand also sells hemp protein powder that can be folded into any flour or blended into smoothies. —Vangmayi Parakala
At a house party a few weeks back, I found myself arm-wrestling, then in a staring contest and finally, mimicking Rosesh Sarabhai (from the TV show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai). The prompts were a hoot but I’ll credit the inventiveness not to my friends, but to a new party game called The Ultimate Indian Drinking Game by Dring (a house-party brand). Like every party game, this one’s agenda is to get its players buzzed, all while they do silly and outrageous things for every round requires the person picking the card or the rest of the group to have a few sips of their drink. Containing 54 “fun cards” and a Dring bell, it’s best played with a big group because that’s when a prompt like “Ring the dring, click a goofy group picture and upload it on your Instagram right now!” can make for a cherished party memory. — Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran
Leigh Bardugo’s adult fantasy series set in an alternate version of our reality, specifically Yale University, bristles with magic. In Ninth House, Bardugo, the author of fan-favourite Young Adult series like Shadow And Bone and Six Of Crows, goes to a really dark place—a prestigious university where secret societies dabble in magic and have done so for centuries, with sometimes disastrous results. This is not a benign Hogwarts replica—the magic practised by the “Ancient Eight” houses can be malicious and malevolent, and this, along with the efforts of the titular “Ninth House” that tries to keep them in check, form the crux of this tale. Can’t wait to get on to the sequel, Hell Bound, which released a few months ago. — Shrabonti Bagchi
How often do you come across a prince who takes you on a tour of his 1,000- year-old castle in northern Italy, while demystifying his collection of antique tantric paintings, old maps and jewellery? Meet Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, or Prince Stash, 81. He started sharing information about his life, both inside and outside the castle, over a year ago on TikTok and later on Instagram, where I discovered him last week. Through Reels, Stash shares his knowledge of things as varied as old Turkish swords and lapis lazuli jewellery. Recently, he asked his 267,000 Instagram followers to investigate the meaning behind a Tibetan shamanic object he picked up in Italy. The page is an entertaining deep dive into global history. —Pooja Singh