Saturday Feeling: Are Indian men ready to drop the tech-bro dress code?

Among all the finery at Indian weddings, there are a few things you can always spot among the guests—grubby jeans, hiking boots and polo shirts. And it is usually men who have decided to make little to no effort to dress for the occasion. While I’m all for comfort clothing, there’s no denying that dressing well is ultimately about self-expression. It doesn’t have to be statement-making, but turning out well is a way to say something about how we perceive ourselves—or just to make ourselves feel extraordinary. There’s an anecdote in Prabal Gurung’s candid and defiant memoir Walk Like a Girl that captures how clothes change our view of the world and the way the world views us. Gurung, who’d been bullied and abused because of his sexuality, describes redesigning his school uniform in the ninth grade. Instead of sky-blue cotton, he had his school shirt made in light-blue silk a few sizes larger to hang on his frame, deciding to stand out instead of blending in to brave the bullying, his “first act of public defiance”.

Clothing projects personality and identity, and Indian men are slowly beginning to realise it and shed those jeans-and-shirt combos. It could be about having more money to spend, it could be the influence of social media and stars like Ranveer Singh who dress with care, or maybe it’s just a desire to up their style game, but designers, both couture and mass, have spotted this tiny flame and are fanning it, as we report this week. There’s still a long way to go before we can definitively say Indian men are dressing better but this is a change we are cheering for, and with the range of textile, craft, colour and design in India, there’s no reason why men shouldn’t drop the corporate or the tech bro uniform and dress up simply to enjoy themselves.

What to do this weekend

Need ideas to fill the weekend hours? We have a food guide to Sunday brunches, summer ice creams and a tapas nights in different cities. If staying home if more your scene, take a look at our list of suggestions of new shows to watch this weekend. Or catch an old classic—Uday Bhatia’s world cinema recommendation is Frederick Wiseman’s 1981 documentary, Model, which shows fashion’s human face and the toil that underlies the glamourous world of modelling.

Meet the baristas putting Aizawl on the coffee map

For a long time, India's coffee imagination has been dominated by the south. While Meghalaya and Nagaland have grown coffee for decades, Mizoram has also entered the scene now and entrepreneurs have launched homegrown brands, writes Simanta Barman. Can Norakkan and Tribeland Coffee Roasters brew new stories for the state? Read more.

Do we really need wireless chargers?

For a technology that promises freedom, wireless charging has had a strangely slow journey into the mainstream. It’s been around more than a decade, yet for many users, it still sits in the category of “nice to have”. With Apple’s MagSafe magnetic capability now being adopted by Google Pixelsnap, the experience is evolving. More brands are offering this quiet convenience, but is wireless charging something we really need, asks Abhishek Baxi. Read more.

Rooftops to community centres, films find alternative spaces

For decades, battles over films played out at the CBFC or censor board office, and if they lost, they could find audiences through the festival circuit or go direct to streaming. However, some films still struggle to find viewers when censor exemption certificates are denied. It happened at the International Film Festival of Kerala late last year, where six films did not get exemptions. At P.K. Rosy Film Festival this month, organisers were careful with the curation after last year’s experience of having to change the line-up following outside pressures. So films that cannot find a theatre or streaming release are being screened for smaller, niche audiences on rooftops and in clubs, writes Viren Naidu. Read more.

Beyond spirit: The healing power of mahua

In urban India, mahua is popular in trendy cocktails and gourmet restaurant fare, but this aspect rarely captures mahua’s nutritional and health benefits. For centuries, mahua (Madhuca longifolia) has been a source of nourishment and medicine for indigenous communities in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chattisgarh. A natural sweetener, cooking oil, relief for aches, skin ailments and respiratory issues, and a nutritional powerhouse, mahua’s benefits are far more potent than the alcohol derived from it. Reem Khokhar traces the many forgotten benefits of the deciduous mahua tree. Read more.

Vienna: A city that brings art to life

Europe’s cultural capitals often compete for attention, each with their own massive collections, blockbuster exhibitions and global art events. But not Vienna. The year 2026 marks 270 years since Mozart’s birth and 129 years of the Secession art movement and exhibition hall, but the celebration will be without showmanship. The instinct to treat culture not as performance but as presence makes Vienna one of Europe’s most quietly powerful art capitals. With its imperial collections and modernism, Austria’s capital is a city where art is supported and continuously reimagined, writes Teja Lele. Read more.