Saturday Feeling: How MTV lost its way in India and other stories to read this weekend

For all the years it was central to entertainment and information, the television was called ‘the idiot box’, and a good vs bad debate continues to swirl around it long after many have cut cable TV and switched to streaming. Television has shaped cultural history, just like the internet is doing now, and in India, it’s the years of cable television that transformed the way we wanted to be entertained. The nostalgia for Doordarshan remains strong, but what urban Indians actually grew up and learnt aspiration from was shows like Friends and the VJs and music of MTV and Channel V. With the news of MTV closing some of its UK channels, there’s been a revival of interest in the fate of its Indian counterpart. MTV India remains safe for the moment, licensed by JioStar, but everything about the channel seems a bit dated, a bit sad for a channel that once defined popular culture in India.

Throughout the 2000s, music channels ‘got’ urban India, even as angry Uncles moaned about “MTV spoiling Indian culture”, and indie artists decided it was ruining all that was beautiful about music and performance. Its influence has been lasting. Much of the madcap improv we saw on television back then has evolved into the stand-up comedy culture we enjoy today; traces of it are still in the memes and reels that we spend hours on. These channels made us take ourselves less seriously and react to the many contradictions of daily life with humour instead of frustration. They also championed young, indie musicians before record labels took them seriously, changing the way Bollywood too makes music. MTV India and Channel V may not have aged well but, to borrow some Gen Z slang, at its peak, it slayed.

As always, we have our old favourites: What to watch this weekend with Family Man returning to screens, a listing of 10 new restaurants across the country, and other stories to keep you busy.

Seeking Bhutan’s buckwheat noodles

The food of the “world’s happiest country” is often described as “too spicy, too cheesy, too limited”. Julian Manning spends ten days riding across Bhutan to look for the perfect buckwheat noodles made and served the old-fashioned way. The noodles are served cold and mixed with tingey, a variety of Sichuan pepper, red chilli powder and salt, along with scrambled eggs and buttermilk-like yogurt.

How to wear the colour of 2026

‘Transformative Teal’ is the name of the freshly crowned ‘colour of the year for 2026’ by global trend forecasting company, WGSN, and its partner in color excellence, Coloro. A fusion of blue and aquatic green, it’s supposed to reflect the diversity of nature and “tap into an Earth-first mindset”. In case you were wondering if it really makes a difference to consumer behaviour, WGSN says it found that “98% of respondents say their purchasing decisions are influenced by colour". Either way, it’s a beautiful shade and we tell you how to style ‘transformative teal’ whenever you choose to wear it.

Why COP30 won’t get the job done

The COP30 international climate summit had 145 ‘Agenda Items’ to discuss—like increasing climate finance to poor and developing countries, finding ways to reduce planet-heating greenhouse gases, and protecting the rights of indigenous people. But the most important item was not on the menu—reaching a consensus on a timeline to phase out fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas. The reasons include a complete lack of financial assistance from rich countries and the vested interests of petro-states and fossil fuel lobbyists, writes Bibek Bhattacharya.

A festival for the mind

Given how deeply the idea of wellness has permeated our daily lives, influencing how we sleep, eat and socialise, it’s not surprising that numerous festivals around the country celebrate it. In Bengaluru, Manotsava is an annual national mental health festival co-hosted by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, NIMHANS and NCBS. Rohini Nilekani, chairperson of RNP, says the idea isn’t just to consider the disease-side of mental health but also celebrate wellness and wellbeing, and give a positive spin to a subject that is gaining attention but still carries considerable stigma. She speaks to Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran about her “festival of the mind,” which concluded its second edition recently.

A blingy compact electric SUV

The new electric Mercedes GLC certainly believes “bling is in" with a massive chrome grille, featuring 942 backlit dots that can be animated. The latest compact EV from the German luxury brand has been built on the company’s modern EQ architecture and is aimed squarely at buyers who want traditional Mercedes refinement combined with long electric range, fast charging, and cutting-edge in-car tech. Renuka Kirpalani drives the GLC, which made its debut at the Munich Motor Show, and finds that it is both luxurious and efficient.

‘Shrink it, pink it’ won’t work anymore

Most sports and running footwear is designed for male anatomy and bio-mechanics. The same design is then shrunk and dipped in so-called girly colours in a process commonly called “shrink it and pink it" to create shoes for women. Brands pay little attention to sex- or gender-based differences in foot morphology, biomechanics, social preferences or changing footwear needs across the lifespan, writes Shrenik Avlani. New research points to an urgent need for design innovations that reflect women’s biomechanics and life-stage changes and some brands are investing in research to develop female-specific footwear.