Telly actor Saumya Tandon is part of a campaign to distribute reusable masks and face shields to frontline workers on the streets. The Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai actor was spotted in Andheri distributing the kits to vegetable vendors and police personnel.

Main bhi artist

Aishwarya Sakhuja, who has taken up sketching during the lockdown, is enjoying the process. "I never thought I would be good at it, but I've surprised myself. I still have a long way to go but my friends have been loving my sketches," she adds.

Mamma mia

Jag Jaanani Maa Vaishno Devi actor Madirakshi Mundle is bonding with her mother during the lockdown. She has special plans for Mother's Day. "I plan to cook her favourite meal and refurbish an old saree to a suit with embroidery work on it."

The web game

Mere Sai actor Tushar Dalvi is set to make his digital debut on Netflix with Anurag Kashyap's Choked. He says, "Working with Anurag Kashyap is a dream come true. His films don't underplay issues."

Slambook: Parull Chaudhry

One superpower you wish to possess?
The power of illusions.

One thing you won't share?
My mom's laddoos.

Your guilty pleasure movie?
Dumb and Dumber (1994).

One thing you are guilty of?
Of unknowingly hurting my parents.

Your worst project?
Being part of an episode of supernatural show in which I played a 300-year-old witch. Wearing prosthetics was painful.

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TV stars Smriti Khanna and Gautam Gupta have named their newborn daughter Anayka. On Tuesday, Smriti took to Instagram and shared the "first family picture", also revealing her baby's name. "Anayka...#family#FirstFamilyPic#DaddysGirl," she wrote on Instagram. Smriti and her husband Gautam welcomed their first child on April 15. The couple met on the sets of the TV show "Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi".

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Anayka ❤ï¸ÂðŸ§¿ #family #FirstFamilyPic #DaddysGirl

A post shared by Smriti Khanna (@smriti_khanna) onMay 5, 2020 at 5:26am PDT

A few days ago, Smriti posted her before and after childbirth pictures on social media, leaving everyone stunned with the loss of her pregnancy weight so quickly. "Amazed at what the human body can do!! 1st pic was taken one week before I gave birth. Second pic, a week after I gave birth. My inbox is flooded with questions from new moms and moms-to-be. I'll try and make a video soon answering all of them. Thank you for so much love and blessings for our little one #postpartum#postpartumtransformation#newmom #mombod," she had shared.

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Television actress Sambhavna Seth, who became a household name after Bigg Boss 2, was rushed to the hospital on May 4 for being unwell. The news was announced by her husband Avinash Dwivedi from the actress' Instagram account.

He wrote- "Hi Guys, Yesterday night we had to rush to the hospital as Sambhavna is unwell. We came back at 5 am in the morning..And now taking her to the hospital again..So there will be no vlog today. Regards Avinash Dwivedi." (sic)

Have a look at the post right here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sambhavna Seth (@sambhavnasethofficial) onMay 4, 2020 at 11:16pm PDT

Moments after the post, comments from friends and colleagues from the television industry started pouring in that expressed concern and worry for the actress and her health. One of the first ones to comment was actor and singer Lizaa Malik, who wrote- "What happened" (sic) Next in line was Bollywood actress Meghna Naidu, who also wrote- "What happened?" (sic) Sonali Raut had this to say- "Ohhho...get well soon darling...godbless" (sic)

There were a lot more comments that followed! Kamya Panjabi also expressed her worry and commented- "Get well soon darling! Avinash hope nothing serious!" (sic) Anara Gupta wrote- "What happened to her ... vo thik hain ...???? Pls update about her" (sic). And Pakkhi Hegde commented- "???????? M worried" (sic)

More details about her health are awaited! Given the support of the industry people and the wishes that have been pouring in, we are assured she's going to be fit and fine, hale and hearty!

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For all those who have seen the reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi 10, they all might know who Tejasswi Prakash is. She has one of the most interesting Instagram accounts as she keeps sharing some fantastic pictures on her account and she knows how to flirt with the camera and ooze oomph in all her pictures. Check them out if you haven't!

And now, in a recent interview with SpotBoyE, she talked about her photoshoots, her cheeks, and how they have been a boon but also a bane. Yes! Speaking about them, she said, "I look very young because of my cheeks. But they have troubled me a lot too. Because when we shoot for daily soaps the maximum shots are close ones as they focus on expressions more. So whenever they zoom in too much anyway camera adds in about 10 pounds of weight it adds lot."

She added, "Even if I am thin, due to my face it looks very chubby and you won't believe there are times when people came to me and said that eat less because you're looking fat on the screen. And I'm like how can I be thinner than this?"

She was also asked about her process of taking care of her skin and her body, to which she said, "I don't do much for my skin like other celebrities, who follow a skin routine. Somehow when I am at home now and not stepping out at all, there is actually a good change in my skin. It's feeling healthy. I think right diet and drinking lot of water helps."

If you have been following her Instagram account, don't you feel she actually has perfect skin and a perfect body?

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Amitabh Bachchan has started shooting for the upcoming season of the popular quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (KBC) amid the COVID-19 lockdown, and from his latest blog post it seems like the actor is apprehensive about being judged for breaking social distancing rules. He seems defensive in the post, insisting that the shoot was done with essential precautionary measures.

"So yes I worked .. got a problem with that .. keep it to yourself then .. damned if you pour it out here in this locked in condition .. sufficient precaution as much that could be taken was taken .. and what had been scheduled for 2 days , was completed in one day .. starting 6pm .. ending a short while NOW … !!" wrote Amitabh Bachchan in his blog.

Viewers are wondering how the quiz show would be shot this year owing to the current restrictions including social distancing and the lockdown. Talking about the same, Big B mentioned in his blog: "Personal gratifications to the many that ask .. and then the KBC pile of several.. in all about 10 to 12 videos and then hours of audio recordings .. also for the same , KBC .. and the speculation as to how they shall conduct it .. there have been no definite answers for that .. but the authority hopes well and long .. so .."

The 77-year-old actor has also been suffering from a Hamstring pain. "Just back from work .. hamstring be damned .. social messaging videos .. acknowledging the 'angels' videos .. giving commendation to them that work so we exist .. and the invitations to the new season of KBC .. The show goes on ..heavy in heart , to all," Big B tweeted early on Wednesday.

Like everyone else, he is also concerned about the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Of one there is little doubt .. the debate on the outcome of this pandemic .. hesitation .. apprehension .. fear or recurrence .. strain of the conducting of the time of release .. and so much more .."

"How long then shall it hold the barrel .. what shall be the outcome when the barrel is held .. what alternatives shall prevail and what in God's name shall the future hold for us all. The World is all ‘shook up' .. as Elvis would say .. and would never be the same in the respects of community and reaction," he wrote.

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Bigg Boss 13 has to be the most popular, memorable, and explosive season of all time. Love stories were born and so were stars. Two of them were Paras Chhabra and Mahira Sharma, and fans have combined their names to Pahira. And for all the Pahira fans, here's something fun. The duo shared a rather unique video where they both could be seen grooving to the Bole Chudiyan song and the actress reminded us of Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Taking to her Instagram account, this is what she wrote, "This is for you all #pahira fans." (sic) Well, this is truly a fantastic gift for all their fans, a fun-filled video that they can watch on loop. And Kareena would be happy after seeing this too.

Have a look right here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

This is for you all #pahira fans❤ï¸Â @parasvchhabrra #pahiraourpride

A post shared by Mahira Sharma (mau) 💎 (@officialmahirasharma) onMay 3, 2020 at 3:45pm PDT

Dancing is a part of her soul and makes her happy. This was confirmed by this caption on her next Instagram post. Have a look right here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

dancing part of my Soul, makes me Happy ♥ï¸Â

A post shared by Mahira Sharma (mau) 💎 (@officialmahirasharma) onMay 5, 2020 at 5:32am PDT

The lockdown is going to take a while to end, so all we have is their videos to enjoy and cherish! When is the next one coming?

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Erica Fernandes is one of the most popular and successful television celebrities we have. She rose to fame and massive success right from her debut in the show, Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi, and continues ruling the hearts of the viewers with her role and performance in Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2. And today she celebrates her birthday and turns a year younger.

Speaking about her plans, she comes with a rather surprising answer. She says, "There are no concrete plans for my birthday this year. So it's just going to be a very simple affair at home with my family. We are going to take the day as it comes, and not really plan anything elaborate. Though to ensure that my day be absolutely relaxed, I am going to be disconnecting myself from social media and the outside world to just be with myself and my family."

Talking about the massive popularity of television celebrities on social media, she says, "I think TV reaches every nook and corner of the country. So, our reach is more. Plus, you have to wait for your favourite Bollywood actor’s movies."

Then comes a very tricky question, to choose between Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi and Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2! This is what she quips, "Everyone is asking me this but there is no comparison. Both are dear to my heart. I feel Prerna has let me explore a little more. The character has more drama and fun." We hope she has a grand birthday celebration next year, though!

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Beyhadh 2 actor Shivin Narang was hospitalised on May 4 and had to undergo surgery when he injured himself by accidentally falling on a glass table. All his fans and everyone from family and friends were worried about him. But now, all is well, that's what the actor's latest Instagram post says.

Yes, he has come back home and is on the road to recovery. Taking to his Instagram account, he shared a picture from the hospital where he could be seen smiling and wrote a long post to thank everyone. This is what he wrote- "All is well! For all my frnds , family n loved ones I'm back home.
Thankuu fr all your prayers & blessings.
unfortunately met with an accident at home injuring myself badly due to which I had undergone a surgery.
Thankuu to the doctors and healthcare staff of @kokilabenhospital for taking such good care of me in this difficult scenario.....
I remember one of the hospital staff saying
'Sir hum nhi karenge toh kaun karega '" (sic)

Have a look right here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

All is well ❤ï¸Â For all my frnds , family n loved ones I’m back home 😇 Thankuu fr all your prayers & blessings 🙏❤ï¸Â unfortunately met with an accident at home injuring myself badly due to which I had undergone a surgery. Thankuu to the doctors and healthcare staff of @kokilabenhospital for taking such good care of me in this difficult scenario..... I remember one of the hospital staff saying ‘Sir hum nhi karenge toh kaun karega ‘ #respect #realheroes #grateful 🙏🙏🙏

A post shared by Shivin Narang (@shivin7) onMay 6, 2020 at 6:17am PDT

We won't be able to see his work due to the lockdown since no shootings are happening, but we do hope to see him a lot more active on social media since all his fans were waiting for him to come back.

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Everyone seems to be cooking during the coronavirus lockdown. Hidden chefs seem to be awakened in almost all celebrities, and they've been giving us some major cooking goals. Recently, a video featuring TV's favourite couple, Vivek Dahiya and Divyanka Tripathi, has gone viral.

In the video, we can see that Vivek Dahiya has cooked some delicious-looking pasta, and it doesn't just look yummy, but it is yummy! And who better than wifey Divyanka to rate her husband's cooking skills? Take a look at the video below:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

@divyankatripathidahiya @vivekdahiya #divyanka #divyankafan #divyankadahiya #divyankatripathi #divyankatripathifans #divyankatripatidahiya #happybirthdt #divek #divekfanclub_ #vivek #vivekfanclub #vivekdahiya #vivekdahiyafanclub #divyankavivek

A post shared by Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya (@bans_life_div_viv) onMay 6, 2020 at 7:52pm PDT

Vivek Dahiya, pretending to be Italian, is funny, while Divyanka Tripathi is entertaining with her amusing expressions!

The couple has been on a cooking spree ever since the lockdown started. From Paneer Tikka to Kashmiri Pulao, Vivek and Divyanka have been whipping up a storm in their kitchen. 

Vivek and Divyanka first met on the sets of Yeh Hai Mohabbatein and after several months of dating, the two got married in 2016. Speaking about working with Divyanka again, Vivek told IANS, "I know our fans are waiting for long to see Divyanka and me together on the screen... I also want to work with her again... It's just that I am waiting for some right project to come our way. If the project is right and the script looks interesting, we would definitely give a heads-up."

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Sambhavna Seth was rushed to an Andheri hospital on Monday night, her celebs friends had expressed shock over her sudden hospital visit. The former Bigg Boss contestant is now back home and on the road to recovery. Her blood pressure dipped and she had a panic attack after experiencing temporary loss of hearing due to a blocked ear.

Sambhavna and husband Avinash Dwivedi shared a video talking about their ordeal to get hold of a doctor during COVID-19 times.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sambhavna Seth (@sambhavnasethofficial) onMay 6, 2020 at 12:44am PDT

Landmark celebration

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa completes 25 years this month and Zee is planning a celebration, Ek Desh Ek Raag, to mark the singing reality show's landmark year. It includes a 25-hour fundraising liveathon on the channel's Facebook page on May 23. It will be followed by a concert on May 24 on the channel in which iconic faces on the show, including Himesh Reshammiya, Richa Sharma and Javed Ali, will perform from their respective homes.

Be my guest tonight

Ramman Handa is launching an online chat show, Quarantine Diary, in which actors will reveal unknown facts about themselves. The first guest is Ghajini (2008) actor Pradeep Rawat. It will give an insight into how the character actor bagged the film and lesser-known facts about the making of the Aamir Khan-starrer. As Handa resides in a Goregaon complex with several stars from the big and small screen as neighbours, he hopes they will feature on his YouTube show.

Hello, Anayka

Smriti Khanna and Gautam Gupta have named their newborn, Anayka. The Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi actor shared the news on social media. She shared the first family photo and revealed the name of her daughter. The telly couple welcomed their first child on April 15.

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Several television celebrities will get together in a virtual music concert to pay a tribute to Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, who passed away last week. Titled Dard-e-Dil, the concert includes artistes like Bharati Singh, Maniesh Paul, Hina Khan, Arjun Bijlani, Devoleena Bhattacharjee, Sukhwinder Singh and Aditya Narayan among others.

"This tribute is a great chance for us to pay respects to these two legends of Bollywood. Both Rishi Kapoor ji and Irrfan Khan have given so much joy to us fans through their work. The last week was indeed the worst week for Indian Cinema as we lost two legends one after the other. They may have gone from the world but they will live in our hearts forever through the work they have done. I am honoured beyond words that I have been chosen to give them tribute to them through this concert. We will celebrate their unforgettable contribution to Bollywood and pay the tribute," Bharati said.

Irrfan breathed his last on April 29 at the age of 54. He was admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection. However, unfortunately he succumbed to his ailment. Rishi Kapoor passed away a day later at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital on April 30. He had been battling leukemia for the past two years.

The concert will be aired on Colors channel on Sunday, May 10.

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The man with outstanding sense of humor and exceptional wit Maniesh Paul always takes his audience by surprise be it on stage or off stage. His comic timing and intelligent banters always lifts up everyone's mood.

Well when it comes to hair styling,our mothers hold a special place as they were out first hairstylists and Maniesh shares a glimpse of his cute childhood days where his mother had given him an adorable hairstyle and we are gushing over the cute picture forever now.

Maniesh recently posted a picture of his childhood where he mentioned about his mother tying ponytails or buns when he had long hair. He took his Instagram and shared his picture where he captioned it saying, "Ek toh meri mummy ko meri pony-tail banana bada acha lagta tha....yahan pe juda (bun)banaya hai!!hahahahaha but what amazing and stress free days those were!!"

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Ek toh meri mummy ko meri pony-tail banana bada acha lagta tha....yahan pe juda (bun)banaya hai!!hahahahaha but what amazing and stress free days those were!! #mp# childhood #free #mast #happy #memories #days #parents #delhiboy

A post shared by Maniesh Paul (@manieshpaul) onMay 6, 2020 at 11:50am PDT

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TV actress Devoleena Bhattacharjee, who was also seen in the thirteenth season of Bigg Boss, is currently in self-isolation after her cook has been quarantined. The cook, who is Devoleena's main domestic help, was quarantined after someone in a family he worked for tested positive for COVID-19.

In an interview with Spotboye, Devoleena has emphasised that she is well and her cook is not positive for coronavirus. She shared, "I don't know why it spread like wildfire that he has contracted Coronavirus. The government has put him up in a hotel. He's been looked after very well. Too much has been made out of this. It has made me only more tired."

Talking about how reports of her cook being positive have affected her, the actress said, "I have had to consequently quarantine myself. It's not going to be easy. Damn! This is the 4th time in the last 5 months that I cannot go out of the 4 walls - first Bigg Boss 13, then my back played up and confined me to bed rest, then the lockdown happened - and now just when I was managing to step out a bit for essentials, I have been asked to lock myself up."

Devoleena, however, has no problem cooking for herself, and she reminds us that she did it all the time in the Bigg Boss house.

Recently, the Saath Nibhaana Saathiya actress received death threats on social media after she took a stand against close friend Rashami Desai's ex, Arhaan Khan. Devoleena had taken to her Twitter account to extend her support to Rashami and asked her fans to ignore Arhaan.

Well, we sure hope things get back on track for Devoleena!

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Actress Nisha Rawal has slammed people who belly-shamed her by asking if she is pregnant.

Nisha, who is married to Karan Mehra of "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai", took to Instagram and wrote: "This picture was clicked yesterday & ‘No! I ain't pregnant' & ‘Yes! I have a belly'. Belly shame is one of the many kinds of shaming we have in our stigmatised society! I have always had a tummy. It would become smaller or bigger depending on my fitness regime but would never go away! I was always ashamed of it and that made me do things that would either injure me by beating myself up in the gym doing crunches until my muscles went into a cramp or would do the opposite with my hog-sprees!"

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nisha Rawal (@missnisharawal) onMay 7, 2020 at 5:53am PDT

She added: "After we got married, all eyes were even more on my tummy! And now they had the audacity of transforming into questions, at the red carpet, in the lift, in interviews, coffee shops: ‘Are u pregnant?' While I was like, ‘Am I supposed to be or am I even supposed to answer that question or should I work more on my belly, and towards the end of it, that shame would make me indulge more, making it a vicious cycle!"

Nisha believes in being fit over fat.

"See that's what shaming does, it just makes the victim do more of what he is shamed about.We all have shamed someone, knowingly or unknowingly because our culture conditions us to believe it's normal to ask anyone,
‘Hey why all the weight?'
‘Don't u eat anything?'
‘You must be dieting too much',
and on goes the list!

And after we have babies, except for a rare, few women, our bellies are never the same! They sag and have stretch marks! We won't wear a bikini, won't have sex with lights on and would suddenly become so conscious of the bodies we have lived in all our lives!It's not easy to accept this new found body post birth.But let's atleast hold each other's hands and try! Let's uplift each other," she urged.

Karan and Nisha have a boy named Kavish who was born in 2017.

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Sumeet Vyas and Ekta Kaul are all set to embrace parenthood. The duo is enjoying this time as much as they can and keep sharing their happy moments with their fans on their social media handles. Owing to the countrywide lockdown imposed due to coronavirus, the couple recently hosted a virtual godbharai.

Ekta took to her Instagram page to share pictures of her godbharai. She looked lovely in a printed, maroon maxi dress, while Sumeet kept it casual with cargo shorts and a quirky, navy blue t-shirt. Ekta was seen flaunting her baby bump. She captioned the picture as "Just like that." Take a look at the picture here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Just like that!

A post shared by Ekta Rajinder Kaul (@ektakaul11) onMay 8, 2020 at 11:25am PDT

Ekta also took to Facebook to share a glimpse from her godbharai. Here's what she shared:

Last month, Ekta had shared the news of her pregnancy with an adorable and witty caption! In the picture, we could see Sumeet planting a kiss on Ekta's cheeks.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Proudly announcing our new project together. 👶🏻👶🏻 Introducing Jr. KaulVyas (soon) Created, Directed and Produced by US.... @sumeetvyas and I 🙏🏻🙏🏻

A post shared by Ekta Rajinder Kaul (@ektakaul11) onApr 4, 2020 at 10:19pm PDT

Sumeet Vyas and Ekta Kaul tied the knot in a traditional ceremony in Jammu on September 18, 2018. Sumeet was earlier married to theatre actor Shivani Tanksale. They divorced in 2017.

Talking about his love story, Sumeet Vyas in an earlier interview had said, "We actually met six years ago when we were shooting for a pilot of a television show which never took off. I met her again on a show I was hosting, where she was a contestant. We kept in touch. I discovered the art of conversation with her. We don't discuss common people we know or criticise projects that aren't good enough. She became the home I could come back to and disconnect from work. I love that we both are desi. It was a moment of sheer astonishment when she said she likes me too. That's love, it requires no logic and no reason."

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It's the time to rejoice for Kaun Banega Crorepati fans. The makers of the decade-old quiz show have finally revealed the registration date for the new season. The fresh season is expected to air in a shortly from now.

Kaun Banega Crorepati, is a show that most of us have grown up with and have participated in, sitting comfortably at our homes, yet feeling the same complex set of emotions as the participants on the coveted Hot Seat. We have all felt the adrenaline rush in this quest of knowledge, to deduce the answers to questions that can take one from being a nobody to a somebody.

KBC has been synonymous with knowledge and has constantly provided a platform to millions in realizing their dreams. From the civil services aspirant Harshvardhan Navathe, the very first Crorepati, to a mid-day meal cook Babita Tade, KBC has set an example for people to believe in themselves and achieve big in life.

9th May will see Mr. Bachchan asking the very first KBC Registration question at 9:00PM on Sony Entertainment Television. This will continue until 22nd May. There will be a new question presented by Mr. Bachchan every night. All one has to do is nswer these questions correctly via SMS or through SonyLIV.

Given the current times, while one ponders how to get through the day, KBC has come as an answer to use all your time productively, while at home. While we may be under a lockdown, knowledge knows no bounds, and it’s always good to value the power of knowledge and put it to good use.

Get ready to let knowledge fulfil your dreams with Kaun Banega Crorepati, starting 9th May at 9:00 PM only on Sony Entertainment Television

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FIlipino lawmakers are expected to soon sign off on a long-awaited tax reform bill to bring about personal income tax regime reform and broaden the value-added tax base.

US business associations say the Philippines' proposed sugar-sweetened beverage tax may infringe World Trade Organization rules and would dent the country's competitiveness.

On February 19 the Philippines Senate adopted three resolutions ratifying agreements for the avoidance of double taxation with Mexico, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

Business leaders in the Philippines say they fully support the Duterte Administration's proposed corporate tax reforms and investment incentives package.

Filipino Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has called on lawmakers to pass a package of tax measures, including a cut to the corporate tax rate and a reduction in tax breaks and holidays.

Filipino non-profit private schools and hospitals that adhere to high standards will continue to enjoy a corporate tax rate of 10 percent if a bill before the House of Representatives is adopted.

Benjamin Diokno, the Philippines' Budget and Management Secretary, says the Government should secure the passage of all the remaining comprehensive tax reform bills within the next two months.

The Commissioner of the Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue, Caesar Dulay, has said the country will introduce a more stringent audit program in 2019, to further improve the tax take.

The Philippines Government has said that it hopes to secure approval from Congress of the corporate income tax reform package within the next few months.

Women prefer casual sex as well
If you thought men are more likely to accept a sexual invitation from a stranger than women are, you are probably wrong. A team of German researchers has revealed that the rates of interest in casual sex are exactly the same for men and women. A recent study conducted at a university in Mainz, Germany, revealed that when societal judgement and safety risks are removed, women are more likely to accept sex propositions from strangers.

Women crave more sex as they get older
A recent survey conducted by an American marketing firm, which included more than 1000 women aged 18 and above has debunked the theory that women are not interested in sex as they get older. The survey found that 89 percent of women in the age group 45 to 55 are the most experimental. Twenty-eight percent women said they had sex between two and seven times a week.

Menopause is not the end
Researchers at a London college have found that menopause doesn't kill-off a woman's sex drive as it is usually believed. They studied four years' worth of answers that women provided about their sexual health both before and after menopause. The rate of sexual dysfunction over the four-year study period was about the same -- 22 percent to 23 percent -- for both pre and post-menopausal women, which suggested that menopause isn't as important a contributor to sexual issues as once thought.

Straight women have same-sex fantasies too
A recent study on the sexual behaviour and preferences of women conducted at an American university found 60 percent of heterosexual women admitted to being attracted to other women, while 45 percent had kissed another woman. Fifty percent of those participants also reported same-sex sexual fantasies. The findings showed that straight women, not just lesbians, ogle at beautiful women.

Women don't 'strike first' when it comes to online dating
In the online dating world, women do not like to send personal messages to initiate contact and later mating and would rather send "weak signals" than making the first move. While studying dating behaviour of women on the internet, researchers found that users with anonymous browsing viewed more profiles. They were also more likely to check out potential same-sex and interracial matches. Surprisingly, however, users who browsed anonymously also wound up with fewer matches than their non-anonymous counterparts. This was especially true for female users: those with anonymous browsing wound up with an average of 14 percent fewer matches.

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A recent study conducted in the US revealed that although men think about sex nearly 24 times a day, women are not that far behind. The research showed that the average woman thinks about sex around 18 times a day.

Also, women think about getting naughty between the covers once every hour. The study was conducted by a team of researchers, during which, 283 college students aged between 18 and 25 were asked about various things, including food, sleep and sex over the course of the week.

The female mind during sex
Another study revealed that, a Hollywood hunk, ex-lovers, a blue film scene and even what to buy in a grocery store are some of the many things that women think of while having sex. They even think of men they secretly fantasise of.

Thinking their way to sexual climax?
Scientists have long been intrigued by the claims of some women who insist that they can 'think themselves to orgasm' even when they are completely alone, with no physical touch involved. And now, they have confirmed that for women, at least, it’s all in the mind.
- With inputs from agencies 

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London: Parents, take note! Your kids may get along with their pets better than their siblings, according to a new study which shows that children get more satisfaction from the relationships with animals. The new study by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK adds to the increasing evidence that household pets may have a major influence on child development and could have a positive impact on children's social skills and emotional well-being.

Pets are almost as common as siblings in western households, although there are relatively few studies on the importance of child-pet relationships.
"Anyone who has loved a childhood pet knows that we turn to them for companionship and disclosure, just like relationships between people," said Matt Cassells from University of Cambridge, who led the study.

"We wanted to know how strong these relationships are with pets relative to other close family ties. Ultimately this may enable us to understand how animals contribute to healthy child development," said Cassells. Researchers surveyed 12 year old children from 77 families with one or more pets of any type and more than one child at home. Children reported strong relationships with their pets relative to their siblings, with lower levels of conflict and
greater satisfaction in owners of dogs than other kinds of pets.

"Even though pets may not fully understand or respond verbally, the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to siblings," said Cassels. "The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental," Cassels added. "While previous research has often found that boys report stronger relationships with their pets than girls do, we actually found the opposite," he said.

"While boys and girls were equally satisfied with their pets, girls reported more disclosure, companionship, and conflict with their pet than did boys, perhaps indicating that girls may interact with their pets in more nuanced ways," he added. The study was published in the Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology.

No strings attached, here's the money!
Gigolos, who cater exclusively to women and used to be considered a sort of urban legend, has now become mainstream as more women are willing to pay for sex in no-strings-attached situations.

No cuddling only sex!
Researchers have found that acts of affection like hugs and kisses were more important to men than women.

Men who reported frequent kissing and cuddling were three times as happy, on average, as those who had less snuggling with their wives or girlfriends.

Women, meanwhile, said that such shows of affection had very little impact on their happiness.

But men were more likely to say they were happy with their relationship while women were more likely to report being satisfied with the sex.

Love watching two guys!
It may not at all surprise you to learn that some men watch lesbian porn. However, what may come as a shock is the news that some women are into erotica featuring men having sex with men.

An online porn study, led by an Indian-origin neuroscientist, has unveiled a shocking new vision of human desires that overturn conventional thinking: plenty of straight women are into male-male porn and erotica.

Long kisses
Women tend to use kissing to create a bond with their partners, and to assess them as potential mates. Meanwhile, men use kissing as a means to an end," say relationship experts.

While women usually consider a bad kiss to be a deal-breaker, men reported that they would more than likely still have sex with a woman even if she were a bad kisser.

Psychologists hypothesize that males "perceive a greater wetness or salivary exchange during kissing as an index of the female's sexual arousal/receptivity, similar to the act of sexual intercourse," they said.

Is he hitched? I want him!
A scientific study has found evidence that women like to target men who are already in relationships.

Researchers at an eminent university in the US use the term 'mate poaching' to describe this phenomenon.

During the study, they showed a picture of a moderately attractive man or woman to participants.

Half of the participants were told that the prospective mate was single, while the rest were told that they were not.

Researchers observed that 90 per cent of the women participants were interested in a man when told that he was in a relationship, compared to 59 per cent when told the same man was single.

The results showed that only single women were more interested in pursuing an attached target rather than a single target.

According to some women, they like paying for what they called the "perfect boyfriend experience", because at the end of the night, they pay the guy to go away.

Cheesy chat up lines
The next time you approach a girl, do not hesitate to try out a cheesy chat-up line because girls absolutely love it, for they give a glimpse of a man's sense of humour.

According to a study, six out of 10 ladies are more likely to fall for a man if he breaks the ice with a light-hearted one-liner.

Conducted by a poll website, the survey, which questioned 4,000 adults, revealed that four out of 10 women were still dating or were married to a man who first approached them with a funny quip.

However, not every line can do the trick for you-it was found that there are do's and don'ts in the dating game as well.

Lines such as "Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?", and "Apart from being beautiful, what do you do for a living?" worked "most of the time".

But "Do you have a map? Because I keep getting lost in your eyes" and "Is there a rainbow, because you''re the treasure I''ve been searching for," were likely to end up in red-faced failure for being "too over the top".

A truly clean shaven man
Researchers have found that a majority of women really do prefer a man with a smooth chest. They team from Slovakia, who compared the attractiveness of men before and after shaving their chest, and found only 20 percent of women preferred the more hirsute version. They admitted to being baffled as to why so many women chose the hair free men.

One of the most prominent theories has been that, by choosing a hairless mate, women are actually trying to avoid the lice and other bugs that can live in a furry male.

However, in one of the biggest ever studies into women’s body hair preferences, the team found this so-called “ectoparasite avoidance hypothesis” was not the answer.

The taller the better!
The research team at a prominent American university in Utah opine that women find tall men more attractive. Greater height is also associated with health, social dominance, symmetrical faces and intelligence in men and women.

These correlations have led some scientists to suggest that women prefer tall men because height indicates "good genes" that can be passed on to offspring.

The alternative explanation is that tall males among our ancestors were better able to defend their resources, partners and offspring. If males can hit down harder than they can hit up, a tall male has the advantage in a fight because he can punch down to hit his opponent''s most vulnerable targets.

Male brain wired to remember 'good sex': A pair of neurons that has been found to remember and seek sex even at the expense of food. These male-specific neurons are required for sex-based differences in learning, suggesting that sex differences in cognitive abilities can be genetically hardwired. A research team at an eminent American medical college has found in a recent study discovered how genetic and developmental differences between the two sexes lead to structural changes in the brain of male worms during sexual maturation.

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The team were surprised to find previously unidentified cells that are responsible for the behavioural change as worms are an extremely well studied model organism. They were able to show that the cells from which these male brain neurons are born share common characteristics to the cells that give rise to human brain neurons.

They are glial cells -- companion and support cells of neurons.The newly identified pair of neurons -- called 'mystery cells of the male' or “MCMs” - create behavioural differences between the sexes by changing a brain circuit common to both. The “MCM” neurons are only made from glial cells that have male chromosomes.

Why men lie about who they slept with: Researchers at a reputed American university found that, when it came to sex, men wanted to be seen as “real men:” the kind who had many partners and a lot of sexual experience. They discovered how people would honestly respond to questions about sexuality and other gender-role behaviors by asking some study participants questions when they thought they were hooked up to a lie detector machine.

293 college students between the ages of 18 and 25 participated in the study. This result confirms what the team found in an earlier study, back in 2003 – with one important difference. Back in 2003, women went from having fewer sexual partners than men (when not hooked up to a lie detector) to being essentially even to men (when hooked up to the lie detector.) In this new study, women actually reported more sexual partners than men when they were both hooked up to a lie detector and thought they had to be truthful.

Women's tears kill sexual arousal in men: According to cognitive neuroscientists at a medical institue in Israel, tears contain chemical signals that decrease sexual arousal and testosterone levels in men. In the study, men were asked to sniff vials containing either the women's tears or saline that had been applied to their cheeks. Results showed that men who sniffed the tears perceived those women as sexually less attractive than did men who sniffed saline.

And men who took a whiff of tears (and not saline) reported a decrease in sexual arousal. These men also reported reduced activity in the areas of brain that are associated with sexual arousal, such as the hypothalamus. Interestingly, on the other hand, tears are considered to heighten empathy and induce caring behaviour, and they act as sexual attractants in mice but decrease sexual arousal in humans.

Men are made to ogle women! While often linked to aggression and hostility, testosterone is also the hormone of the libido. And, guys have six times the amount surging through their veins as women, say researchers at a New York varsity. They found that testosterone impairs the impulse-control region of the brain. While it has yet to be studied, this may explain why, as Brizendine says, men ogle women as if on "auto-pilot" and often forget about the woman once she is out of their visual field.

In June 2015, when two friends, Chetan Agarwal and Rohit Pansari decided to move from Delhi to Gurgaon, they struggled to cope with the odd jobs that were a part of the shifting process. "We had run out of leave from our day jobs, and the list of things to do was endless. Chores like arranging for an extra pair of keys or even getting paperwork and notaries done for the lease agreement took a toll. It's when we decided to start the Done Thing," informs 28-year-old Agarwal, who co-founded the company along with his friends Karan Saharan, Sonal Saraogi, Shivani Agarwal and Pansari. Based in Gurgaon, Done Thing is a cross-segment on-demand concierge solution.

Chetan Agarwal (third from the right) with the The Done Thing Team

Woo your valentine
On Valentine's Day, the apppromises to offer a personal assistant who will coordinate everything for you — from planning a surprise to executing it. "The ideas could include planning offbeat dinner dates or sending gifts to your partner in another city. Last year, someone wanted us to organise a red limousine, and after speaking to nearly 50 vendors, we managed to source one. We have also managed to find painted blue roses that are usually not available in India but were requested for by a client. We sourced them from a guy in Chandigarh," shares Agarwal. The Valentine's Day services range from arranging a helicopter to sending gifts with a personalised message for each day of the week, arranging a horse-pulled wagon to a dinner in a romantic setting.

You can even choose to send a photo-cake. If you decide to DIY, you could surprise your partner with breakfast in bed or a homemade dinner, and the team will help you get the ingredients and execute every element of surprise, without you having to step out.

A screenshot of the app

Get personal
When not planning for occasions, the company acts like a personal shopping partner that undertakes day-to-day tasks such as shopping, cheque deposits, bill payments, courier, booking film tickets, car repairs as well as aids you in hunting for services such as electricians and doctors, in the neighbourhood. It picks and delivers parcels to different locations.

"Earlier, you would need to log on to multiple portals for different services. We wanted to bring all of it under one roof. At the moment, in Mumbai, you can opt for our help service to get information on technicians and restaurants in your area. In Delhi, we offer a pick up and drop service even if you've left an important document or phone at home," says Agarwal, adding that post the announcement for demonetisation, the company also offered an assistant, who would stand in the ATM queue for you, in the capital.

If you choose to hire a wedding assistant through the app or portal, he/she will take care of delivery of invites or gifts, getting clothes ironed, shoes polished, picking up of bridal outfits from the tailor, trousseau packing and gift wrapping. You will end up shelling up anything between Rs 100 for an hour, Rs 350 for 4 hours, Rs 650 for 8 hours and Rs 1000 for 12 hours for the services.

Currently, the portal has a tie-up with over 5,000 vendors. By the year-end, the company has plans to offer its services across Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh.

LOG ON TO: www.donething.com

All images for Representational purposes

The thought of regular sex varies from person to person. While for some regular sex is a fun and 'must-have' act, for others it is like a deal beyond imagination. Finally, there is another set of people, who do not consider regular sex as a mandate to a happy relationship. The cosy moments, the mild touches, the gentle bites, the smooch, the eye contact, the silence, the cuddles, and finally the sexual climax make a relationship healthy and strong. Some may be content with their sex life, while others may experience dissatisfaction. Those who are still looking for the ideal ways to reach sexual nirvana and have a successful climax, these six steps may be of great help to them. Take a look:

1. Take a shower together: Sex can happen anywhere in the house and a bed need not be the supporting agent every time. If possible, lock yourselves up in the bathroom and stand below the shower. Come out of the comfort zone and the cliched dark bedroom scenario. For a change, let the shower cubicle do the wonders. Try to grab each other tightly while you get drenched. Go ahead with those touches and kisses that you would have otherwise done in the bedroom. In case you get a chance to bath together in a bathtub, grab it right away.

 

2. Engage in dirty talks: Initially you might hesitate to open up to your partners, but with time opening up to the opposite sex can bring a u-turn to your sexual life. It’s not only those silent acts and foreplay that can help attain sexual nirvana, but also dirty talks and naughty touches can lead to sexual proximity. Be it the man or woman; none should hesitate to utter some flirty speeches to attain sexual satisfaction.

3. Keep the sensual touches alive: No one can deny the fact that sensual touches can gradually lead to a heavenly climax. Arouse your partner with a body massage. Women respond well to sensual touches and therefore attain greater orgasm. They can even touch their man from top to bottom to arouse him and gradually move towards a successful end together.

4. Try different sex positions: If you get bored of one particular position, try different positions like crisscross, 69 and BDSM. Trying a new position for the first time may be a bit difficult, but gradually the experiments can definitely work out. Pay heed to your intuitions and crave for something new every day.

5. Wear appealing nightwear: Men love to see their women in revealing and appealing clothes. Thin-strapped night wears, lacy lingerie, satin gowns or short hot pants can raise the room temperature and arouse the man at the same time. Women can even go for the man’s favourite colour lingerie.

6. Smell good and let the room smell good too: Use floral. fruity or chocolate scented body mists to raise the mood of the man and vice-versa. Try to apply body lotions and face creams that have pleasant fruity aromas. Along with that, the room should also smell good and fresh. Use lavender or rose scented room fresheners to create a romantic environment and set the mood for sex. Women can also opt for a good vaginal wash to maintain hygiene and freshness.



Fasten your seat belts and be ready to turn lust into reality. Sexual nirvana not only brings happiness or fulfils one's physical lust, but also is the core ingredient to a happy and successful relationship. After all, a small act can bring a big blow!

Bored with dating apps? Try something different. You can speed date singles offline at an event organised this Saturday. All you need to do is be polite, not ask awkward questions and be at your best for eight minutes.

Organisers won't share details of a couple unless they like each other. At the event, the tables will be numbered. There will be a host conducting the session and everyone will have a scorecard to note down the table number and the candidate's first name. After eight minutes, a bell will ring when the person will move to the next table. One can note down a yes or a no in the scorecard, like a left or right swipe on Tinder.

Eight minutes isn't a lot of time but is good enough to assess if you want to meet the person again. Participants will receive an email a day later about mutual matches. The age limit is 22 to 36 years and girls have a one plus one offer on drinks.

With few more days to go, lovebirds are already sinking in the thought of what to gift their valentines. Online shopping, running across gift shops, and scratching heads for ideas, Valentine’s Day is all about expressing love to the man and woman of your life. Teddies and red roses have turned out to be cliché Valentine’s Day gifts. The emergence of online shopping sites and personalized gift shops have taken Valentine’s Day gifting idea to a different level. This time gift something unusual, something unique and something your better half would have never imagined: Here are some ideas!

1. Bottle of beer to him and gin to her: Take a break from the romantic champagne or red wine and opt for an out-of-the world idea of purchasing a bottle of beer for your Mister and a bottle of gin for your Miss.

  

2. Satin lingerie to her and personalised boxers to him: Girls go ‘wowww’ over a pair of bright colour satin lingerie. Underpants or boxers are a boy’s favourite section in his wardrobe. Instead of gifting each other a regular pair of lingerie or boxer, try out a gifting a lacy hot looking satin one. Ladies, personalize the boxer with our cutest photo and a love message to turn your man wild.



3. Pack of maggi to each other: Both a foodie and a non-foodie is a fan of Maggie noodles. Plan your budget and gift each other some packs of maggi noodles along with extra tastemaker masala. Share the noodles from one plate to make the simple gift a romantic and precious one.

4. Imported lighter to him and bottle opener to her: Boys who smoke would love to get a classy imported lighter as a Valentine’s Day gift. A bottle opener on the other hand is an essential in the kitchen. So, this time rather than gifting a passé coffee mug or ashtray, gift a lighter and a bottle opener. 

5. Spa coupon to each other: Gift a couple spa voucher to your better half and enjoy a romantic rejuvenating evening together. Low lit light, herbal products and gentle massage will de-stress and reward you with the most romantic Valentine evening.

6. Wine glass holder to him and cup holder to her: While boys have a craze for setting up a super-duper fully equipped bar counter in their homes, girls look for the perfect trendy and durable cup holder for their kitchens. To fulfil each other’s wish, boys can buy their ladylove a cup holder and girls can surprise their prince charming with a durable wine glass holder.

7. Cocktail guide to him and recipe book to her: While your prince charming can surprise you with a homemade cocktail, you can bake a cake for him or cook his favourite dish. Buy each other a cocktail handbook and recipe booklet, and make a perfect drink and dine ambience at home.

8. Mouse pad to him and cosmetic organizer to her: Girls want to keep their cosmetic section updated at home. Boys, look out for a stylish mouse pad to make their gaming session more interesting and engaging. A mouse pad and cosmetic organizer may seem to be the most unusual Valentine’s gift, remember that it will fulfil both your purposes.

9. Woody scented perfume to him and fruity one to her: Boys are more inclined towards woody rugged or chocolate scented perfumes while girls favour soft fruity body mists. Know the choice and brand preference of your better half and surprise them with a nice perfume bottle.

10. Shaving kit to him and electric epilator to her: Shaving is a regular task for men so is waxing for women. Why to run to the salon every week and waste time when you gift your Valentine a shaking kit and an electric epilator?

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Having more than two sex partners before entering the bond of marriage is actually better! Experts have reached this conculsion after a recent study, which surprisingly revealed that women with exactly two premarital sex partners have consistently higher divorce rates than women with three to nine partners.

The research team from a US-based institute of family studies, found that overall, young women who tied the knot in recent years have far more sexual experience prior to marriage than their counterparts from prior decades. Women were four times as likely to marry as virgins in the 1970s (21 per cent) compared to the 2010s (five per cent), according to the researchers.

Also noteworthy is the decline in the proportion of women who get married having had only one sex partner. As late as the 1980s, over half of new brides were virgins or had had only one sex partner. This was true of just 28 percent of women by the 2010s.

Did you know? Middle-aged married women seek affairs for sex instead of divorce
In a recent study conducted on 100 married females in England between the ages of 35 and 45, it was revealed that 67 per cent sought affairs because they want more sex. The findings revealed that when middle-aged women, who are not happy with sex lives, seek extra-marital affairs, they are looking for more romantic passion, which includes sex — but they not want to divorce their husbands.

New Delhi: Treat yourself with good make-up session before heading out for Valentine's Day celebration, says an expert.

Make-up artist Vikkie Anand says there are a few components that one should keep in mind before planning a Valentine look:

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>> Eye make-up: Go for charcoal eye make-up instead of the usual smokey eye. You can go for bold look by shimmering your eyes too.

>> Lip make-up: Crimson lip shade is another way to look bold at a V-Day party. It never goes out of style and helps to transform the regular look into a glamorous one.

>> Hair trend: Curls are great addition to any hairstyle. You don’t have to make your curls big, keep things natural looking with soft loose curls.

>> Skin tone: The important elements of instant skin treatment are cleansing-scrubbing-toning-moisturising. Face masks are very important for instant glow. Facial massage can further make yopur skin look radiant. Don't apply too much foundation and skip the face powder to avoid cakey look unless your skin is oily.
- With inputs from agencies 

New York: Believe it! Striking up a friendship with another couple in which you discuss personal details of your life may bring you closer to your own partner.

Researchers suggest picking a double-date activity that facilitates personal disclosure this Valentine's Day would be a good idea.

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Going on a double date may be more effective at re-igniting passion in your own relationship than the classic candle-lit dinner for two.

“Passionate love is one of the first dimensions of love to decrease in couples over time as the newness of a relationship begins to wane,” said Keith Welker, a doctoral student at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

“Any setting where couples can talk, exchange information about each other and respond to each other in a validating, thoughtful manner could apply,” explained Welker.

Welker, with his adviser Rich Slatcher wanted to extend the research to investigate how self-disclosure between couples affects closeness and feelings of passionate love.

“We were expecting that the formation of a friendship between two couples in the lab would increase closeness and relationship satisfaction," said Welker.

However, they found the robustness of the effects on passionate love surprising in two studies with about 150 couples.

“The more that the other couple responds to your self-disclosures in a validating and caring way when on a double date, the more passionate you feel about your own relationship,” explained Welker.

One very practical application could be going out to dinner with another couple.

But opt for dinner at home as that would ensure more disclosure than a date at a restaurant!
- With inputs from agencies 

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Attention single women! Your singledom has an amazing benefit: better, mindblowing orgasms! According to a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Turku in Finland, who studied 2,000 premenopausal Finnish women for seven years, found that those who had stayed in the same monogamous relationship during the study period experienced the highest decrease in sexual drive.

However, the decrease in sexual desire was lower for women, who had found a new partner over the study duration. The ability to have an orgasm improved across all groups, with single women experiencing the greatest improvement, during the 7 year follow-up.

Women with a new partner experienced higher improvement in orgasmic ability when compared to women who had been in the same relationship over the entire period of observation. The team discovered that women's ability to orgasm remained the most stable over the seven-year period, while sexual satisfaction varied widely.

The research team utilised a the Female Sexual Function Index -- a short questionnaire that measures specific areas of sexual functioning in women, such as sexual arousal, orgasm, sexual satisfaction, and the presence of pain during intercourse -- to look at the evolution of female sexual desire over a period of seven years, Medicalnewstoday.com reported. Analyses were conducted separately for women in different relationship constellations.

The team then concluded that, while long-term relationships may offer many psychological benefits but staying in a monogamous relationship for long may reduce a woman's sexual desire.
- With inputs from agencies

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Weekly sexual activity - Key to healthy relationship: A recent study conducted in Canada has found that couples are at their happiest when they hop into bed just once a week.

It is based on surveys of more than 30,000 people collected over four decades, is the first to find that association is not there after couples report having sex more than once a week on average.

These findings were specific to people in romantic relationships and in fact, there was no association between sexual frequency and wellbeing for single people and do not necessarily mean that couples should engage in more or less sex to reach the weekly average, but partners should discuss whether their sexual needs are being met.

Frequent action between the sheets leads to positivity: The more often couples have sex, the more strongly they associate their partners with positive attributes, a study conducted by an American university has found.

In the study, 216 newlyweds completed survey-style measures of relationship satisfaction. Estimates of sexual frequency were correlated with participants' automatic attitudes about their partners. That is, the more often couples had sex, the more strongly they associated their partners with positive attributes.

Sex gets passionate after childbirth: Resuming sex with your partner after childbirth may be a matter of two months on an average but when passion does return to the bedroom again, it comes with a new vigour, enabling couples to enjoy the act of lovemaking more, new research suggests.

A study of 1,118 couples with children showed that 94 percent said they were satisfied with their sex lives and nearly 60 percent said that it actually got better after childbirth. The research, however, showed that men are more keen to have sex after the wait than women. While fathers want sex twice a week on average, mothers remain content with sex just once a week.

Sex twice an hour can skyrocket male fertility! Having sex twice in an hour can make men three times more fertile, a new study done at a London hospital suggests.

The researchers found that when a man provided a second sperm sample within an hour, the success rate for an infertility treatment called intrauterine insemination (IUI) shot up to an incredible 20 percent. The typical success rate for IUI is six percent. Scientists believe the finding could also help couples trying to conceive naturally.

In the study, when doctors used the second sperm sample provided by men within an hour, 15 of the women involved in the IUI study became pregnant immediately. Ten of the other women became pregnant the second time they tried insemination using the second sperm sample provided by the male within an hour.

Sex really can make you happy: According to fascinating research by Canadian researchers, the action between the sheets once a week is enough to reignite and keep the passion and love alive between the two souls.

Although more frequent sex is associated with greater happiness, this link was no longer significant at a frequency of more than once a week, the team revealed. Sex may be more strongly associated with happiness than is money. The team came to this conclusion after an online survey with 335 people (138 men, 197 women) who were in long-term relationships.

Frequent sex can flush out kidney stones: Suffering from kidney stones? Well, stop gulping down beer after beer or other drinks to pass it out and prepare yourself for better action between the sheets tonight. According to a significant research from a reputed hospital and medical centre in Ankara, Turkey, having sex at least three to four times a week can help ease the spontaneous passage of kidney stones.

To reach this conclusion, the team split 75 participants into three groups. The first group was asked to have sex at least three to four times per week. The second group was administered tamsulosin (a drug commonly used to improve urination in men with enlarged prostate) and a third group received the standard medical treatment for kidney stones. Two weeks later, the researchers found that 26 of the 31 participants from the sex group were able to pass their kidney stones. Meanwhile, only 10 of the 21 participants from the tamsulosin group and eight of the 23 participants from the standard medical treatment group successfully passed their stones.

Indian urologists have however expressed their doubts at the findings. While they agree that probably the release of a key compound that is an integral part of sex and heart health can help pass small stones, they cannot yet tell their patients to go have sex to get rid of kidney stones.

Sleep in the buff: Sex experts say the sleeping nude can be tremendously beneficial for the female libido. So ladies, strip-off before you sleep next time.

Use sex toys: The key to healthy sexual appetite is foreplay. So, women can prolong sexual pleasure by using sex toys such as dildos or vibrators or furry handcuffs. The kinkiness factor is a must.

Sexting: Sending your partner sexually-explicit and outrageously dirty texts can steam-up things in the bedroom. So girls take note! Sext your guy to rock his world.

Watch erotic films: Movie night at home with your hubby or boyfriend? Then watch erotic-themed or sexually suggestive films like The Last Seduction, Betty Blue, Secretary, Sex and Lucia and others. Guaranteed to get things cracking under the sheets.

Tuck in early; no gadgets in bed: Turning off your laptops, television or simply avoiding smartphone-use in bed is a great way to boost intimacy between the sheets.

Courting lovers by sending flowers is a thing of the past, for teens and adults nowadays. They have found a rather 'sexy' way to lure the object of their affection -- 'sexting' i.e. sending nude or semi-nude selfies of oneself to a boyfriend, girlfriend, crush or casual acquaintance from smartphones. This is also termed by some researchers as a 'sexual selfie'.

We look at factors that have led to this fast-emerging trend...

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'Sext messages' and 'sexual selfies' popular with most adults
A recent survey revealed that, almost half of all adults - or 47 per cent - send sexy text messages or selfies to their partners. And one in nine people ‘sexts’ their partner every day, a new survey has found.

But the poll of 2,000 adults conducted by mobile phone experts found that one in 10 have mistakenly texted an inappropriate message to a friend or family member.

The poll also found almost one in five phone users are risking their relationship by secretly sexting people other than their partner.

Girls as young as 14 send sexy texts and selfies!
A new study has shed light on how an increasing number of girls in their early teens are resorting to sexting and sending explicit selfies to their boyfriends.

The study of 14 to 15-year-old girls revealed that four out of 10 did not find anything wrong in taking a topless selfie.

And one in six underage girls did not see anything inappropriate about posing fully nude for others.

Celeb nude photo scandals a major reason
Embarrassing and cautionary tales of celebrities caught in sexting and nude photo scandals are not dissuading the general public from such irrational behaviour, a new report has revealed.

According to the report, 43 percent of respondents to an Internet survey of 1,500 women between the ages of 18-40 admitted to sexting, which is the sending of sexually explicit text or email messages.

Given that so many stars like Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, Blake Lively, Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus, Lily Allen, Khloe Kardashian and many others have been involved in sexting scandals in recent times, have those stars made it seem okay to be sending nude photos and sexually explicit messages?

'Sexting' termed worst technology jargon!
The term ‘sexting’ has been chosen as the most irritating phrase to enter lexicons in recent years. However, selfie as a term has been appreciated and even included in day-to-day conversation.

A UK tech magazine, which conducted the poll, a few years ago, awarded ‘sexting’ its ‘Unspeakable Award’ for the worst new piece of technology jargon.

Sexting teens are not offenders
According to experts, to consider labeling a teen a sex offender because of a sexting incident -- a label that will stick for life -- defies common sense.

A Canadian researcher presented a paper on children's sexuality, defending the practice as a modern variation on "playing doctor or spin-the-bottle."

The expert argued that such online activities are safer than traditional sexual games because there is no immediate physical contact and thus are less likely to lead to pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.

It's not the same as face-to-face sexual relationships
The way people get involved in and develop sexual relationships with others has changed dramatically over the last 20 years due to the increased availability of devices such as computers, video cams and cell phones.

But at the end of the day there is no substitute for physical, face-to-face contact in our sexual relationships, according to a new study.

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The popular slang term, 'Mile High Club', which is the act of indulging in sexual intercourse while on board a flying aircraft has been the subject of numerous studies and researches over the years.

Some experts opine that the vibration of the plane may speed or improve sexual arousal of some commuters, who would then be motivated to engage in on-flight sexual activity. Other researchers have deduced that it may be occur due to a simple need of acting out a sexual fantasy or fetish about planes themselves. Most 'mile-high club' members reveal that the thrill of doing something taboo and the risk of being discovered excites them.

A recently conducted survey by a UK travel website found that the most common saucy act involved couples entering the lavatory together followed by “lots of banging and squealing,” although sneakier activities underneath a blanket were also quite popular.

Much debate still surrounds the legality of the practice of joining the mile-high club, although research indicates there’s a dependence on individual country laws and also just how visible the act is to other passengers which can fall under “public sex” laws.

Two respondents said they watched couples being escorted by police from flights in Australia as a results of their raunchy mile-high antics.

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Researchers reveal that boys or men show empathy or kindness have a better chance at having more female friends. A research team from a leading Australian university discovered in a study that, girls or women are more likely to nominate empathic boys or men as their friends.

So guys take note, being caring and sensitive actually helps. The study, which was basically conducted on adolescent males and females especially students, found that boys high in cognitive empathy attracted an average of 1.8 more girl friendships than low empathy counterparts. It was also revealed that in contrast, girls with empathetic qualities "did not attract a greater number of opposite sex friends,"

The team asked students to nominate up to five of their closest male and five closest female friends in the same year.

The more friendship nominations a boy received from either boys or girls, the more they felt supported by their friends; the number of friendship nominations received by girls, in contrast, had no effect on their felt support by friends.

That's not all, here are some other ways to attract women
>> Remove excess body hair to seem more attractive
>> Avoid putting on too much cologne
>> Stand up straight! Good posture is the key
>> Exercise to get a muscular physique
>> Create a masculine jaw, using facial hair to promote symmetry
>> Use clothes to create a v-shape
>> Smile for long-term relationships
>> Wear a white T-shirt with a T printed on! (Read more)
>> Take guitar lessons (Read more)
>> Don't have to bee cheery all the time. Brood at bit. (Read more)

Sharing a bed key to a healthy, happy relationship
Researchers from a reputed American university believe sleeping next to someone helps lower the stress hormone cortisol, perhaps because it encourages feelings of safety and security. They say this is why people in close relationships tend to be in better health and live longer.

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Prolonged periods of elevated cortisol have been linked with an increase in cytokines — proteins involved in inflammation that can trigger heart disease, depression and autoimmune disorders. Sleeping together has a protective effect by lowering the levels of these proteins.

Sharing a bed is also thought to boost levels of the 'love hormone' oxytocin, known to induce bonding feelings. This is traditionally thought to be released during sex, but scientists, who have examined the role of oxytocin in health have found it’s also associated with cuddling in bed and 'pillow talk'.

Oxytocin plays a vital role in aiding digestion, reveal studies by scientists from Sweden. Those with lower levels had poorer gastric motility — the process by which food is moved from the stomach to the intestines, therefore slowing down digestion.

A recent research conducted in the US recently supports this theory. 59 women, who were married or had partners to keep a diary of the number of hugs they received over a set time. The scientists then analysed levels of oxytocin in the blood. The women who’d received the most hugs had the highest levels of oxytocin — and the lowest blood pressure and heart rates. They findings showed that sharing a bed may definately improve sleep.

In another study, women in long-term stable relationships fell asleep more quickly and woke up less frequently during the night than single women or women who lost or gained a partner during the six to eight years of the study.

But, sleeping apart can be healthy too!
It has emerged that 39 percent of couples believe their relationship is healthier because they have independence in their home life, while five per cent think having separate beds or even bedrooms is one of the main reasons they are so happy together, revealed a survey conducted by a leading home insurance firm. According to the findings, one in 25 couples have even taking a lengthy “sabbatical” from each other. On an average, couples spend 22 hours together during the working week, with nearly half of all couples blaming hectic work schedules for a lack of “quality time” together.

The survey, which questioned more than 1,000 people aged 18 or over, also discovered that 10 percent of men have a “games room,” four percent of women have their own “powder room,” and five percent of people would rather spend a night in with their cat or dog than their partner. Furthermore, one in five couples (19 per cent) regularly eat their evening meal at different times, with one in 10 cooking completely different dishes from each other.

And proving that opposites attract, 15 percent of people describe themselves as the “polar opposite” of their partner, while 44 percent believe having different interests or hobbies makes for a stronger relationship. Those under 25 are the most likely age group to spend time apart, with 21 percent admitting they regularly sleep in a separate bed - followed by the over 55s, at 16 percent.

A quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds regularly go on holiday without their other halves, followed by 15 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds. But only six per cent of over 55s admit to going away without their partner.

Did you know? Sleep can enhance sexual arousal
A good night's sleep not only refreshes you for the day but also gives you an extra edge between the sheets. Each additional hour of sleep increased the likelihood of sexual activity with a partner by 14 percent.

In a study of 171 women conducted by a US medical school, those who obtained more sleep on a given night, experienced greater sexual desire the next day. Sleep was also important for genital arousal, such that women who slept longer on average experienced fewer problems with vaginal arousal than women who obtained less sleep.

On any given night, however, women who were tired ended up being more aroused the next day. But eventually, it catches up to them and their desire drops.

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Women rule the dating game in India: A nationwide research undertaken by a dating app recently has revealed that a whopping 46 percent of women respondents said they are happy to take the lead in planning a date, while the corresponding number for men stood at 62 percent.

The research also suggests that even as gender roles are interchanging; more than 53 percent of the female respondents were willing to choose a fulfilling relationship over a career. Also, 48 percent women said they prefer brains over brawn, while 52 percent men prefer success over good looks. About 47 percent men and 48 percent women respondents said they are open to sharing their Facebook password with their partners.

India's youths seeking love online: Thanks to an increasing range of dating apps, majority of Indian youths are looking for love online, revealed a recent study conducted in Delhi. Experts say that the mammoth surge in the user base of these apps is being fuelled by youth's "changing narrative, thinking and preferences".

Did you watch the match yesterday? When it comes to first dates, individuals who meet each other through a match-making process in India discuss a lot of sports after the conversations on family, a survey has revealed.

The survey found that 21 percent Indian men talk about sports during their first date with a prospective match after family, which still dominates the conversation. As per the study, 14 percent of women love to talk about sports during their first meeting. The surveyors also found that for women, family still comes the first with 70 percent of them talking about it on their first meeting, only 44 percent men discuss the topic.

Indian men want women to pop the question: Traditionally, it's the guys who pop the question to take a relationship forward but an increasing number of Indian men now prefer if women make the first move, according to a recent survey conducted by a popular matrimonial website. 6,500 single Indian men in the age group of 25 to 36 across the country were studied as part of the survey.

As many as 71.7 percent respondents shared that they would like it if a woman proposed to them instead. As many as 63.8 percent of the men surveyed were of the opinion that the country's modern day women are confident enough to make the first move towards a relationship, while 36.2 percent of them said that it's hard for them to believe that a woman can make the first move because tradition has always seen men do so.

Life has turned mechanical for many of us. Long working hours, frequent official tours, bringing work home from office, and less scope for togetherness- are some factors that let our personal lives take a back seat. Also, falling prey to such a busy and tiring lifestyle, we tend to ignore our health and other priorities of life. Sex or sexual desire is something that takes a back seat when we get too much engrossed in other acts and tend to ignore personal relationships. The urge for physical satisfaction, the deep feeling of sex, the nude looks, and the naughty moments on bed drain down the mental system. Before you blame your counterpart or freak out at each other for lack of sex, click the pause button and think of reasons that can be the biggest enemies to your sex drive. Some of those are mentioned below:

1. Binge drinking: One pint of beer or a glass of red wine is fine to with a dinner platter. But, consuming several glasses of wine, whisky, or beer affect the libido and gradually kills sex drive. Couple of drinks dehydrates the body, slows down orgasm, and offers less scope for lubrication. Alcohol is also considered to be a depressant that slows down responses and brain functioning during sex.

2. Inadequate exercise: Regular exercise is the mantra to good health, which also includes great sex. Sitting steadily at work throughout the day often makes you lazy on bed too. Sitting hinders blood flow to the private parts like it does to other parts of the body. So, exercise regularly and go for a walk to boost your libido and enhance your sex drive.

3. Lack of sleep: Hectic routines often make it difficult to fall asleep. Inadequate sleep or insomnia increases the production of stress hormone called cortisol, which in turn lowers testosterone level in the male body. Women with inadequate sleep often find it difficult to engage in sexual acts and attaining orgasm. So, if you and your partner are not indulging in sex like the earlier times, then consider inappropriate sleep to be one of the reasons.

4. Watching news before going off to bed: News programs are definitely not a light show to watch before going off to bed. Debates of politicians, crime news, news on natural calamities, fluatuating economies flood the channels most of the time. Watching such shows do not relieve your day-long stress, but rather increase it. And, stress and sex simply do not mix up. So, put aside those disturbing programs, relieve your mind from stress, and head to bed with a cheerful mood. If required take a shower for refreshment. Your sex drive will automatically hit up and your bed-scene can end in a great climax.

5. Smartphone addiction: Browsing smartphones in bed is one of the biggest reasons to kill sex drive. Browsing news sites, social media pages, or online shows before sleep create a distance between you and your partner, something that you realize when the relation already turns bitter. It does not ease off your tension, but rather make you more tired and less interested in sex. Keep the smartphone away and head to bed hands-free. Only then can you use your hands for tickling and cuddling each other. Slowly and gently, your bodies will generate heat up for a superb sex.

6. Late night dinner: What you eat and when you eat affects your libido. Late might dinner delays digestion and makes you feel heavy for a longer time. Try to have dinner by 8pm or 9pm if you want to have some great bedroom moments with your partner.

7. Overeating: Keep a check on portion sizes if you do not wish to kill your sex drive and worsen relationship. While heavy snacks in the afternoon can drain energy and make you feel lethargic for rest of the day, heavy dinner can also make you go lazy and drowsy. Some food items are definitely good for sex, but ensure that it does not make you super saturated and take a toll on your physical bonding.

Maintain a healthy life and keep things like TV programs, office works and smartphones at bay to concentrate on the sensual acts to spice up your life. Get wet and keep the fun on bed going as long as you can. 

Rushabh Shah and Srishti Doshy

Meet Srishti Doshy and Rushabh Shah. The Mumbai-based couple, in their early 20s, has been dating for six years. She is bold, and more expressive, while Rushabh believes in creating the right first impression. Srishti may not be able to face reality sometimes, whereas Rushabh is practical. What makes them click: similar traits, especially the way both want to preserve memories and find solace in being together.

Rushabh Shah and Srishti Doshy; their handwriting samples

It didn't take a heart-to-heart chat with the duo for Chetna Teckchandani to learn that they are, indeed, compatible. All she did was analyse scans of their handwriting scribbled on an unruled sheet of paper. "Your handwriting is like your DNA sample. It reveals your personality, behaviour and approach to the future. Graphology is an in-depth science, which can be used to discover yourself, as a hiring tool for corporates, and, gauge a couple's compatibility. Unfortunately, it isn't given its due in India," shares the 29-year-old handwriting analyst and graphotherapist. She learnt the science from expert graphologists Milind Rajore and Naviin Thantrii, and has been practising it professionally for the past one year.

If you're eager to discover your compatibility quotient with your partner, or learn ways to improve your marriage and relationship, get your handwriting analysed at a coffee meet that she will host tomorrow. The session, titled, One Write Stand With Your Date, presented by dating app ASAP (Astro Science Align People) and Soul Flower, is open to married and unmarried couples, and even singles who might be looking for a partner.

Teckchandani uses a combination of Gestalt and Trait methods to conduct the analysis. This includes the size of letters, pressure put into writing and each letter's knots and curves. "In graphology, each letter is assigned a meaning. Y is the letter for sex. A 'y' written without looping the end or squeezing the loop may indicate intimacy issues. On the other hand, a 'y' with a bigger-than-usual loop may mean a voracious sexual appetite," she states matter-of-factly.

Chetna Teckchandani

How your handwriting tilts also helps Teckchandani peep into your soul. For instance, she realised a client had undergone abuse when she saw that her words had a backward slant (tilted towards left). "Backward slant isn't natural, and usually, develops when you have seen something terrible, specifically from a male figure, and you take a step back. However, you cannot jump to conclusions only by assessing one element of handwriting. You need to use various permutations and combinations," shares the expert, who prepares meticulous compatibility reports jointly with Dr Anandd Manocha. She also offers grapho-therapy sessions, suggesting certain handwriting exercises or patterns to heal a person, which can be combined with counselling and positive reaffirmations.

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We have been married for 10 years, and while most people say time depletes sexual chemistry in a couple, ours has been an active and healthy sex life. Perhaps, because early on we decided that we'd try out new things. This includes making sex a part of our daily lives and trying different positions.

Both, my husband and I are 34 years old. He runs a business; I am into design. We belong to conservative Marwari families, but what happens in the confines of our home is our business.

It was last year that my husband discussed a website: Adult Friend Finder. I think he discovered it while watching porn. He told me: "This is what people are doing these days". 'This' was couples performing live sex acts in front of an online audience. My husband wanted us to give it a shot. I was obviously apprehensive. It felt weird that someone would be watching our intimate moments. But, he insisted. He said since we were husband and wife, it would be fine. If anything, it would add excitement to our lovemaking. Within a month I agreed to give it a shot.

Going online was simple enough. On the site, my husband created a profile. All he was asked was his age. No other details needed. Not even an email ID or my age. Once this is done, you can add friends to your list. Friends here doesn't mean real-life friends, but other handles from the site that you allow to watch you as audience. It's quite like Facebook with one difference - this is a sex site.

We logged in and created our own handle. We had two options - either we could go live publicly [anyone who logs in to the site can watch] or invite our friends on the site to watch. Once you are done [performing the act], the live video disappears from the site. Since ours was a private handle, people would have to request us to allow them to watch us. It was our prerogative who got the permission.

I was clear that I didn't want any Indians watching. Neither did I want to watch any Indians. And even though I hid my face by only shooting at certain angles, I was more comfortable with people who showed their faces in the videos - I only allowed those people who went live themselves to see our videos. So, most of those who watched us were white men and women - single or couples. There are obviously more men online but women are aplenty too.

When we went live, I made sure that there was nothing visible of my home or of our personalities in the frame. So, the corners we picked to shoot from were always blank corners in the house. The webcam was also angled such that our faces could not be seen, and the lighting was slightly low. We watched a few videos and we made ours follow the same pattern.

Not everybody has sex during these videos, some just indulge in foreplay. So, we would start by sitting on the couch, talking and having wine. Sometimes, we would just indulge in foreplay with our clothes on. That's it. Sometimes, the clothes came off and we had intercourse. But, never did our faces show. That was my major concern.

During our first video, we just made out while watching a movie. It wasn't an awkward experience. If anything, I was really happy after the first time, because I got positive reactions from everyone who watched the video.

My initial apprehension melted soon, and I found myself having fun. People comment as you go about having sex and most comments were about how hot, sexy and beautiful I was. The exotic, Indian thing really attracts the white. I couldn't believe some of the comments - one of them said I was the sexiest woman he had seen. It served as validation.

My husband also enjoyed the attention I got. Unlike other Indian men, who tell you to button up and don't like it if another man looks at you, my husband was happy with all the attention I was getting. And, along with me, him. He would tell me, "They all want you, but I have you." At any time that we'd go alive, around 1,000 people would be watching. We used to go online once a week.

Soon, however, the charm started to wear off, especially when comments like "Do you want to share your wife?" started coming in. I would spend all day remembering what had been said. Disgust crept in; that I had allowed so many eyes on me. I told my husband that I didn't want to do this anymore. He was irritated.

There were arguments because he was keen we continue. After seven months, I decided there was no way I was going back to doing this. He kept resisting it, but then accepted my decision.

Now we don't fight over this anymore, and still have an active sex life.

I'd say that if people are inspired to do this, they should do it sensibly. We were married so we weren't afraid blackmail or lewd comments. But if you aren't, you should watch out; you could fall into a trap. There are many people who message obscene comments and it's not easy to ignore them.

Also, do not see it as a long-term hobby. Do it for a bit if you like, and get out, or you can get addicted. Use it to get the spark back into your sex life, but don't overdo it.

(As told to Aastha Atray Banan)

Woman and man in bed

Having sex is probably one of the most enjoyable things to do out there, but sometimes your partner may not be having as much fun as you thought she was. If you are someone who is a little skittish about asking her for ‘feedback’, here are some subtle cues she’s probably giving you.

>> She shuts down after sex: Most women like to cuddle after sex. Some may like to simply lie down next to you and take a nap. But if your lady love is turning away and absolutely shutting down after sex, there’s definitely a problem.
When women have sex they release a certain hormone that causes them to bond with the man they are with. This is why you’ll find your partner wanting to be close to you after the act. If this basic need is missing in your woman, there is a possibility that she isn’t quite enjoying her time in the sac.

>> Avoids having sex with you: This one is just the brightest red flag out there. If she’s avoiding the act all together, know that there is potentially something very wrong. While other reasons like hormonal imbalance or even fatigue can play a role in her disinterest, if she was sexually active and starts avoiding sex with you, it’s time to change things up.

>> Looks bored: While having sex, the last thing that comes to your mind is to register what expression she has on her face. But if you actually take the time to notice and she looks bored, you know you aren’t doing anything to make her happy between the sheets.

>> She talks about certain things during the act: She probably doesn’t want to hurt your feelings by telling you that you aren’t satisfying her, but one way of giving you a hint would be to talk to you about specific things you do in bed. For instance, if she asks about why you like a particular position or why you climaxed early, know that she’s pointing towards a problem.

>>She wants to stay in only one position during sex: This could go either way. Either you’re turning her on and helping her have a lot of fun in this position, or she hates it and just wants you to be done. If the latter is the case, she’s probably not going to want to change positions, ask you if you are done and lay there looking bored. Combine all the above hints with this one and voila you have a lady who is not too happy with your skills between the sheets.

Former cricketer Andrew Flintoff gives a thumbs up to monitoring calories in bed, but his wife, Rachael, isn’t pleased with this. Pic/AFP

If you thought mobile phones are a rude intrusion in your bedroom, the fitness band might be the latest addition to the list. Former English cricketer Andrew Flintoff recently revealed (or 'overshared', according to British tabloids) that he wears a digital fitness tracker band in the sack. He added that it helped him meet his calorie burn target for the day and also egged him to go harder in bed to satisfy his wife. His revelations raked in much ridicule and shock from female social media users. Adding to the buzz on social media, his wife Rachael admitted that she wasn't a fan of the idea.

Also read - Revealed: The 'Sexy Secrets' of modern Indians

Ameeta Sanghavi Shah

How much is good?
Mind, life and relationship therapist Ameeta Sanghavi Shah feels that balance is the key to a relationship's success. When the goal (here, fitness) becomes bigger than everything else, it signifies that something larger is at play. Shah credits this obsession to the individualistic lives couples live today, away from their relatives and family. "We seek growth and better results. While that is good, we lose the security of the known while coping with a world of crazy change. We become anxious even as we strive to be positive. When we can't control the demands of ensuring certainty and meeting our own need for being perfect, we begin to control the things we think we can. This is where compulsive behaviour steps in. It gives us the illusion of control over the bigger picture," explains Shah.

Deanne Panday, celebrity fitness expert

Celebrity fitness expert, Deanne Panday seconds Shah's opinion. "Fitness is a journey, not a destination. If anything is used temporarily for motivation, or to help you get on track and not as an obsession, it can be positive. In this technology-driven world, the chances of dependency on gadgets are strong. But self-motivation is what works in the long run. Your body is a bio computer and if you listen, it will give you signs on what to do. You don't need a gadget for it," says Panday.

Also read: How does Mumbai play between the sheets?

A healthy inside
Panday adds that athletes need motivation as their career depends on fitness, but for a layman with a sound medical history, a holistic fitness pattern designed for their body will work. "I have seen a lot of people in Mumbai obsess about aesthetics and being skinny. But internal health is the key to a healthy life. Learn where to draw the line and keep your partner happy and healthy too," she adds.

The larger picture is what matters in the long run. Shah suggests that one should not convert everything in life into a training ground to measure, prove and build your strength. A relationship is not a game of numbers but a continuous experience that contributes to wellness. It comes from connecting to the self; machines and gadgets need to be put aside. "The language of compulsion of 'I have to' and 'should' must change to one of choice: of being aware and present - 'I wish to' or 'prefer to'. So, while you opt for monitoring gadgets, also spend time being mindful, meditating and connecting with your loved ones," Shah reminds.

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