A list of intriguing things
One: This is Queen Victoria’s personal Urdu notebook—and it contains very useful things to know. Example: “The egg is not boiled enough.” BBC News has more on the Queen and her tutor Abdul Karim (immortalised in the movie ‘Victoria & Abdul’).
Two: Jago Randles was quarantined in his hotel room in Vancouver for two weeks—and decided to make creative use of the available appliances. He is now a TikTok star. Sadly, we can’t show his TikTok videos, but here’s one with a running commentary from Gordon Ramsay, no less. Also: Jago Randles? Really?
Three: Caro Verbeek is a unique art historian who is obsessed with reconstructing the smell of history. And in Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, visitors are given little strips of paper so we can literally smell the past. For example, Napoleon’s Retreat at the Battle of Waterloo, 1815 War which smells of: “gunpowder, horses, wet earth, anxiety, sweat, leather. Overlaid with a reconstruction of Napoleon’s perfume, called acqua mirabilis, which contained rosemary, bergamot and bitter orange.” You can see stunning photos of this unique exhibit over at New York Times but sadly you can’t smell them. You can also check out Verbeek’s 11-minute TEDx talk.
Four: This is a ‘sati stone’, ancient memorials that commemorate women who died on funeral pyres of their warrior husbands. They are found strewn across the country, often in a state of neglect—as they’ve now become a political and religious lightning rod. Atlas Obscura offers a fascinating deep dive into their history and those who seek to preserve them.
Five: Pandemic khana goes upmarket: Dome dining is the hottest global trend. Mint has more variations on this theme. Sadly, the Indian one—Delhi's Dragonfly Experience’s ‘party pods’—are the most underwhelming.
