Curated by Sucheta Chakraborty, Nidhi Lodaya, Anju Maskeri and Nasrin Modak Siddiqi
Kitu Pahooja who used to work as a teacher, founded Laviche Bath Essentials in 2017 when her son asked her about the process of saponification. This one question changed her life because she got extremely intrigued with the entire process and later mastered it. Pahooja went on to study Ayurveda and the benefits of natural herbs, plants and fruits on human skin and hair.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Soaps-ab_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
As a home-grown Indian brand, Laviche aims to provide for all skincare needs ranging from body care, face care, foot care, hand care, lip care to even hair care. Her range of products include scrubs, lotions, gels, masks, bath salts, serums, face mist, hair oil, shampoo and body butter.&nbsp; However, their soaps are what caught our attention. These come in unique and quirky shapes and designs. Her food soap collection looks so realistic that they could easily pass off as real food. You&rsquo;ll be amazed to find waffles, donuts, cupcakes, popsicles and macarons. Additionally, there&rsquo;s a quirky collection that includes unicorns, mini hearts, sea horses, trucks, buses, helicopters and more. The soaps are priced at Rs 200 per piece. lavichebathessentials.com
<h2>Time for some optimistic journalism</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Newspaper_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
Three entrepreneurs from Bhopal, Piyush Ghosh, Tuhin Sen and Tannison Mathews, with no background in journalism, started The Optimist Citizen, India&rsquo;s first positive print newspaper. The trio started this as a passion project when they were in college in 2014. &ldquo;Initially we didn&rsquo;t know how to sustain it, we were just exploring. It was after college in 2016 that we realised that we wanted to do this full time,&rdquo; says Mathews who is also the editor. Since all three of them came from simple, middle-class service families, it was a challenge for them to explain what they were trying to do to their parents, but eventually, they won their support.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Piyush-Ghosh_e.jpg" alt="Piyush Ghosh, Tannison Mathews and Tuhin Sen" width="1280" height="720" /> Piyush Ghosh, Tannison Mathews and Tuhin Sen
&ldquo;There is a lot of negative news around us and I was convinced of the idea that there is a dire need for a platform that tells people that there is enough good around us, one just needs to see it,&rdquo; says Mathews, explaining the core idea behind their initiative. The trio has been actively volunteering at many non-profit organisations. Ghosh&rsquo;s parents are, in fact, social workers and entrepreneurs and the trio noticed that social entrepreneurs often don&rsquo;t get the attention and coverage they deserve. With The Optimist Citizen, they aim to bring such people to the limelight. In April 2021, due to the impact of the second wave, they had to put an indefinite halt to their print production and have had to release their stories online. theoptimistcitizen.com
<h2>Attention, stationery lovers</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Minjal-Kadakia-a_e.jpg" alt="Minjal Kadakia, Samir Bharadwaj and Vishal K Bharadwaj" width="1280" height="720" /> Minjal Kadakia, Samir Bharadwaj and Vishal K Bharadwaj
In 2018, calligrapher Minjal Kadakia and artist Samir Bharadwaj started Inky Memo, a platform which documents stationery stories and art supply finds. &ldquo;I come from a family of stationers and have grown up listening to stories of how stationery objects are manufactured,&rdquo; says Kadakia. They have recently started a weekly video series called Stationery Test Drive where they create artworks using the stationery object being reviewed and discuss its pros and cons, for which they collaborated with illustrator Vishal K Bharadwaj. &ldquo;Art supplies used to be restricted to specialised stores carrying expensive, imported items. Now stationery stores are treasure troves, and we wanted to highlight their contents as well as classics such as the Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencil,&rdquo; says Vishal. &ldquo;We are trying to show that one can do a lot with very little,&rdquo; adds Samir. Their upcoming episode is on the Nataraj checking pencil, which might have its origins, they say, in wartime cartography. inkymemo.com
<h2>Mission, possible</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Chandrayaan-a_e.jpg" alt="Stills from Gareeb Scientist&rsquo;s video on Chandrayaan-2" width="1280" height="720" /> Stills from Gareeb Scientist&rsquo;s video on Chandrayaan-2
What good is our education if we don&rsquo;t understand the basic concepts of life and earth and the tiny miracles of the universe we live in? In this world full of cringe content, thank goodness there are people like the founder of Gareeb Scientist who produces videos on Indian space science and technology progress and explains them to the general public&mdash;in lay terms.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Chandrayaan-b_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
From an annual video on Indian science achievements to one on things that fall from an ISRO rocket, this is scientific curiosity satiated at its best. The messaging through his content is gyan ki gareebi hatani hai. &ldquo;I saw some incredible YouTubers in the West covering the works of their scientists but struggled to find such quality content in India. Indian scientists do some incredible work; just that very few talk about it. That&rsquo;s why I started Gareeb Scientist,&rdquo; says the YouTuber. @GareebScientist, YouTube
<h2>Meet the Samaritans</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Samaritans-a_e.jpg" alt="The Gratitude Wall features inspiring and exhilarating stories by users" width="1280" height="720" /> The Gratitude Wall features inspiring and exhilarating stories by users
In 2020, Sachin Shukla, a mentor to many start-ups, decided to leverage the power of technology to create a forum that can serve as a networking platform for Good Samaritans. Along with co-founders, Sonal Shukla and Satish Kumar, he launched UpDeed, a portal that connects individuals and communities in the social sector. It&rsquo;s a space to showcase the good deeds done by you or people around you; you can also express gratitude to others for their contribution. &nbsp;
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2021/dec/Sachin-Shukla_e.jpg" alt="Sachin Shukla" width="1280" height="720" /> Sachin Shukla
&ldquo;We are progressing to a world where more and more individuals are bringing a meaningful impact in the society by thinking beyond their own needs. We can start our bit just by appreciating and encouraging such acts, individuals and the organisations. What gets appreciated gets repeated is the core of UpDeed. We want to connect change makers to amplify their impact on individuals and the society,&rdquo; says Shukla. updeed.co
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Her food soap collection looks so realistic that they could easily pass off as real food

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