A list of curious facts

One: Most loanwords—taken from other languages—enter the English dictionary because native speakers use them so often that they become part of the vocabulary. But did you know that dictionaries also add words that are just plain handy—simply because there is no English equivalent for their meaning? For example, the Japanese term komorebi—which describes sunlight dappling through leaves.

This year, the Oxford English Dictionary added 42 such words. The best of the lot is gigil (pronounced ghee-gill)—which is Tagalog for "a feeling so intense that it gives us the irresistible urge to tightly clench our hands, grit our teeth, and pinch or squeeze whomever or whatever it is we find so adorable.” Hence, our lead image—which offers an excellent demonstration of such “cute aggression.” Though given our cranky times, alamak is far more useful. It expresses surprise, shock or outrage—perfect for virtue signalling on X :) (NBC News)

Two: Bangalore is home to India’s very first homegrown sake—brewed by chef Maia Laifungbam. She is also India's first certified sake brewer aka touji. She plans to roll out her eponymous brand (Maia) with two kinds in Bangalore and Mumbai in June—“junmai, a clear and refreshing sake, and nigori, a cloudy version with a stronger flavour.” The coolest bit: Although the fungus or koji is imported from Japan, she uses Indian rice varieties from the northeast. Goya has a lovely profile of Maia and her distillery.

Three: Whizzing from the very new to very old, the Indian navy recently unveiled this ‘stitched ship’. It is a faithful recreation of an ancient wooden vessel—built using a single visual reference: this mural from the Ajanta Caves that depicts a ship from the 4th century CE:

And below is its 2025 cousin—also made of wooden planks stitched together with coconut fibre. We didn’t use nails until the Europeans came along. FYI This essay has loads more on India’s proud tradition of ship-building which extends back to the Harappan times. (Hindustan Times) 

PS: Oman aka Magan was one of our biggest trading partners—with ships sailing back and forth between the Persian Gulf and the subcontinent. Below is a replica of the ninth century Omani ship called ‘Jewel of Muscat’:

Bonus fact: Bangalore is also making news for a more disreputable ‘first’—the purchase of the world’s most expensive dog for a staggering €5.3 million (that’s Rs 50 crore). The Cadabomb Okami is also the first of its kind: “A hybrid canine — part wolf and part Caucasian Shepherd.” It was bought by a Bengaluru bro who collects rare breeds—and owns 150 of all kinds. You can see him preen with this paavam, unethically bred dog below. (Indian Express)