🩷 Currently listening: Dil Hi Toh Hai
Quote of the day
Credits: Pinterest
Good morning.
Hope your weekend is off to a good start.
There's a lovely story from a Diwali mela in Delhi, a big decision that could shape life in India's villages, and a little Bollywood nostalgia to round things off.
Happy reading.
😊 Feels Good
This Diwali, the children are the teachers
Credits: The Better India
At a Diwali mela in Delhi this weekend, three young artists will be taking charge of the painting workshops.
Aarush Gupta, Aiswarya Rath and Pranav Aggarwal are part of an event that celebrates the creativity of neurodivergent artists and gives them a chance to teach, exhibit and sell their work.
The mela is being organised in collaboration with Art N Dreams, an initiative helping young artists find an audience for their creations.
And some of that work has already travelled much further than Delhi.
A big milestone for Arts and Dreams came when a customer in Japan placed a corporate order for 10,000 calendars. | Credits: The Better India
The Diwali Art Mela takes place at Gulmohar Park, New Delhi, on October 31 and November 1, with art exhibitions, workshops and plenty of handmade creations. Read more
What's Stirring
💰 A ₹7,395-crore plan for India's villages
Credits: Google Images
India has approved a new ₹7,395-crore programme to help more than 2.55 lakh panchayats and traditional local bodies plan development and manage public money better.
Called the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana, it will run from 2026–27 to 2030–31.
What's changing?
Planning from the village up: Panchayats will get support to prepare development plans based on local needs, rather than relying only on centrally designed programmes.
Better training: Around 32 lakh elected representatives, officials and other stakeholders are expected to receive training and digital support each year.
More transparency: Online planning, accounting and audits are intended to make it easier to track development work and public funds. Read more
Why it matters
Village councils shape everyday life, from roads to water supply.
The programme could give them more control and better tools to manage funds, but its success depends on how well it's implemented.
🧠 Saturday Trivia
Credits: The Event Chronicle
Which Bollywood song marked Farah Khan's debut as a choreographer?
Scroll to the end for the answer
🎥 Weekend Watch
Why not a beautiful Diwali ad this time?
🗞️ Also Read
📊 Economy: The World Bank estimates 496 million Indians moved above the $4.20-a-day poverty line between 2011 and 2023. Yet the highest-paid workers still earn around 13 times more than the lowest-paid.
🗳️ Elections: The Election Commission has extended voter-list revision deadlines in five states and Delhi. Final rolls are now due November 30 in the states and December 22 in Delhi.
🌧️ Weather: An October 30 forecast warns of heavy rain in Bihar, thunderstorms across northern India and a Bay of Bengal system that could strengthen into a depression around October 31.
🏸 Sports: Nineteen-year-old Anmol Kharb saved three match points to defeat world No. 12 Line Christophersen at the Hylo Open, recording the biggest win of her badminton career.
🛵 Workers: India has formed a national board to recommend and monitor welfare schemes for gig workers, including delivery riders and app-based drivers. Actual benefits will depend on future schemes.
🦎 Northeast: Researchers have discovered a new species of bent-toed gecko in Assam's Dima Hasao district.
🌳 Environment: Bengaluru residents counted 1,001 trees along a stretch of a proposed flyover route, raising questions about official tree estimates and the city's shrinking green cover.
🤳 Meanwhile Online
And that's a wrap for October.
Before you go, tell me: what's one Bollywood song you could listen to a hundred times and never get bored of? Hit reply. I'd love to hear your picks.
Have a lovely weekend. See you Tuesday.
🧠 Trivia answer: C. Pehla Nasha
