Saturday Feeling: The unexpected joy and chaos of travelling the old-fashioned way

I have to say I find the image we used on the cover of the print issue of Mint Lounge this week (cover below), rather amusing. Not so long ago, those “analogue” items were the essentials I carried when I travelled—a map or two, notebook filled with information about what to see and do, sleek Canon digital camera, a guidebook or if you couldn’t afford Lonely Planet, xeroxed pages from it. You couldn’t Google on the go because international roaming rates were prohibitive and it’s probably hard to imagine now, but there were no videos to tell you beforehand whether a place was worth visiting, which made the thrills or the disappointments your own to discover.

Being able to look everything up while on the road is incredible, but the excess of information has also taken away some of the wonder of travel—and we continue to doomscroll even on holiday, never really relaxing. It’s not just “a Gen Z thing” as everything seems to get labelled these days. Three distinctly non-Gen Z writers told me about their experiences of leaving phones behind while on holiday. But analogue travel isn’t just a digital detox, explains Anita Rao Kashi. They’re not going off the grid or disconnecting entirely. They just do things the old way—asking for directions, taking detours, looking at maps and buying physical tickets at booths, recording travel impressions in writing or sketches. While Shoba Narayan found herself connecting more meaningfully with her family, Shephali Bhatt’s trip was filled with disasters large and small, making her regret her decision to unplug. Good or bad, there’s something to be said about relying less on our phones. It brings a bit of unpredictability to travel, which is what makes a trip memorable and leads to unexpected connections and friendships.

There’s matcha in the modak

It’s the time of year when modaks line sweet shop shelves or are made in a number of homes. The evergreen jaggery-coconut combination is ensconced in a rice flower shell, and its making requires a dexterous hand that can flatten, roll and pleat dough. Home cooks are usually the masters, but a number of mithai makers are reimagining this beloved sweet. They’re adding chocolate, ravioli, tiramisu, carrot halwa and other flavours. Do we really need matcha and chocolate in our modak, asks Rituparna Roy. Read more.

How to spend your weekend

If you’re in Delhi, we suggest seeing the DAG show on the influence of MS University, Baroda on the world of Indian art. The 76-year-old university is the alma mater of some of India’s biggest artists, from Gulammohammed Sheikh to Jyoti Bhatt. If Bengaluru is home, there’s the NGMA show, One Mother, Many Mother Tongues, featuring Botticelli alongside beautiful works from the Indian canon, including a stunning Chamunda from the 11-12th century. If binge-watching is your thing, Raja Sen writes about The Grand Tour getting a reboot and moving on without Jeremy Clarkson. The focus on all things engines makes it immensely watchable. And then, we have other recommendations for your watchlist.

Social media says you have ADHD. Do you?

It's difficult to spend even a few minutes on social media without coming across a post that explains why forgetting an appointment, procrastinating or switching between hobbies is a sign of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It has led to more conversations about under-diagnosed conditions, but there's also the risk of too many people self-diagnosing, and hence misdiagnosing, themselves. ADHD is a complex condition, writes Tanvi Singh, and can’t be diagnosed without careful assessment. Read more.

Ten works of fiction to mark 9/11

On 11 September 2001, two passenger planes hijacked by terrorists flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, killing 2,977 people. This week marks 25 years since the 9/11 attacks. Aditya Mani Jha lists 10 poignant works of fiction that have been written in the two-and-a-half decades since. These include novels and stories by famous American authors, such as Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon, Oblivion by David Foster Wallace, and Falling Man by Don DeLillo. There are also perspectives on the seismic event from other parts of the world, like Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows, Frédéric Beigbeder’s Windows on the World and Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Read more.

Is the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL worth it?

The phone of the moment is Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo. But if you don’t have nearly Rs.3 lakh to drop, you could consider the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL. It retains Pixel’s elegant design language, but gets a larger screen, excellent camera systems and a larger battery that offers a creditable 30 hours of constant use, writes Abhishek Baxi. However, the Pixel line’s hardware is getting a little long in the tooth, even though its “pro” software suite has some useful AI features that power functions like the Rambler teleprompter, and the Creator Suite with its media editor and organiser. But again, it’s a big price tag: at ₹1,34,999, should you choose this over the regular Pro version, or even the base model? Read more.