A list of good reads
- The Print looks at an Old Delhi-based Urdu library—borne out of curfew in 1987—which is running out of space and funds for its 30,000-plus books.
- Sunalini Mathew in The Hindu cuts through the bad jokes and loud voices to decode the ‘Indian Uncles’ who ‘protect’ everything from tradition to their apartment’s paint colour.
- BBC News has an intriguing read about ‘digital overload’ and why women are doing a hidden form of work—online domestic duties for the family, everyday.
- Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) reports on how Grindr—the dating app for gay and bi men—is building the first AI ‘wingman’.
- Also in Wall Street Journal: how people without kids are leaving money to charities, pets, and distant relatives—also known as the ‘laughing heir’.
- Vox has an explainer on what inflammation really is, and how you can reduce its harms, without falling for social media-led BS.
- Slate has a fascinating read on how horror is having a camp renaissance at the movies this year—as seen in ‘The Substance’, ‘Longlegs’, and more.
- New York Times (splainer gift link) explores the dilemma of finding a suitable player as music cassettes make a comeback.
- CNN dives into the legacy of the only living mansion in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, which houses several hundred years of Indian history.
- Prasad Ramamurthy in The Nod writes about the war on overtourism heating up in India, from Goa to Leh and Wayanad.
- Aeon has a deep dive into the cultural history of cocaine—from medical wonder to illicit drug.
- Open Magazine focuses on a fake drugs bust in Nagpur to show how easy it is for counterfeit manufacturers to get around the system.
- The Guardian has a compelling excerpt from William Dalrymple’s ‘The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World’ on whether the Silk Route was a western invention.
