Saturday Feeling: The videos we can’t stop watching, safari menus go gourmet and other stories to read

Before it was banned in India, TikTok ate up unhealthy amounts of my day. I got a lot of eye-rolls when I said it but I loved the humour, the carefree attitude and the reality of the shorts that filled my feed—people hamming up the idea of looking out for one’s friends (#sachadost), a man singing cheerily in a barrel in his backyard every morning, and takedowns of urban pretentiousness (#ameeronkiadatmeriadat). A lot of my friends called it “cringe”, and they still do, but it’s a word I can’t bring myself to use for these videos. I loved the relative freedom the platform seemed to offer people to show a particular side of themselves to anyone out there in the world. Then, of course, Instagram came along with its boring, perfect frames, which I still haven’t taken to in quite the same way. But as we report this week, and as I’ve been thrilled to discover over the past few months, these fuss-free creators are elbowing their way onto Instagram, forcing themselves back onto screens past an algorithm that tried keeping them out. It’s still a struggle, but they have managed to find acceptance, affection and admiration among audiences in Indian and world cities without conforming to Instagram’s visual ideals. The return of the small-town creator is something we celebrate this week. On the flip side, there has been a rise in AI slop, or short-format, quickly produced AI-generated videos, in India. So read our stories, watch some reels, and enjoy your weekend.

Menus get an upgrade at safari retreats

For long, food in a safari lodge was measured by the breadth of a buffet, often with rich gravies and generic dishes. This is changing. Rather than relying on long-haul supply trucks, lodges now cultivate organic kitchen gardens that ensure a daily harvest of herbs and greens. For everything else, they form partnerships with local farmers, acting as guaranteed buyers for indigenous grains and seasonal produce, writes Nivedita Jayaram Pawar.

What to see at Colomboscope IX

At the ninth edition of Colomboscope, a contemporary arts festival held in Sri Lanka since 2013, more than 100 artists, musicians and filmmakers have been exploring sound, movement and collective memory against the backdrop of geopolitical tension. This edition, titled Rhythm Alliances, includes 35 newly-commissioned projects that seek to deepen the “cultural bridge across Sri Lanka and the wider Indian Ocean region”. The festival covers five venues in Colombo, including the Barefoot Café, the listening space at Soul Studio, and Colpetty Town House, and dwells on the meaning of rhythm in the present political moment. Natasha Ginwala, artistic director, Colomboscope, discusses the evolution of the festival and the idea of artistic freedom with Anindo Sen.

A smart display for the heart of the home

The new Amazon Echo Show 11 ( ₹26,999) is trying to fill a gap—a screen you don’t have to pick up, unlock or keep awake while you’re busy getting things done. It just sits there—always on, always listening, occasionally judging—ready to show you the weather, a recipe, your calendar, or the lyrics to the song you definitely know but can’t quite remember. The design is mature and refined, the screen and audio are vastly improved, writes Tushar Kanwar, while letting you know whether its worth the price.

Padel replaces all-night partying

For Gen Z and millennials, partying all night is slowly losing its sheen as they turn to pickleball, padel and other racquet sports to hang out with friends on weekend nights. It’s a great way to catch up without the pressure of eating out or drinking. Low-impact, highly social and easy to pick up, a growing tribe of fitness enthusiasts are bonding with friends at pickleball and padel courts on weekend nights, signalling a cultural shift.

A quiet romance shaped by music and circumstance

The History of Sound is a quiet, deliberately paced film about missed chances and unresolved lives. Directed by Oliver Hermanus and adapted by Ben Shattuck from his short stories The History of Sound and Origin Stories, the film traces one man’s journey through music, memory and emotional restraint. It moves at an unhurried pace, lingering on silences, routines, and folk songs that carry specific cultural histories rather than broad appeal, writes Udita Jhunjhunwala. The film is confident in its choices, content to let the music and its lead actors do the heavy lifting.