🎬 A Marathi film is going to the Oscars

Good morning.

India picked its Oscar entry yesterday. A Marathi thriller called Gondhal, chosen from 33 films. Just the warm-up. Keep going.

🎵 While you read, let's go back to Charlie Puth's old-time favourites: play this

In June 2024, two college friends in Ahmedabad, Heet Doshi and Om Thakkar, installed a small wooden cabinet of 30 books at Parimal Garden. 

The rules are simple: take a book, leave a book. Nothing else. Two years later, there are 13 free park libraries across Ahmedabad and Vadodara, all built on the same idea. They registered an NGO in March 2026 to take it further.

Two college kids trusted a city with free books. The city proved them right.

A master's degree final film that belongs in a festival. Two strangers meet on their apartment terrace for the first time. What follows is a friendship built on secrets and unchosen dreams.

Albania has 3 million people and gets more foreign tourists than India.

India has 45 UNESCO World Heritage sites, one of the world's most diverse travel landscapes, and a rapidly growing middle class. And yet, only about 10 million international tourists visit each year. Read More →

Nikhil Kamath asked MakeMyTrip's Deep Kalra and IHCL's Puneet Chhatwal why on his podcast this week.

Their answer was not about airports or highways. Those have improved. The gap is what happens after you arrive: queues, parking, washrooms, and the missing link between a railway station and your hotel.

India built the infrastructure. The last mile is still broken.

Are you ready to test your cinema knowledge? Play the quiz →

Permit & Co. in Mumbai is running a month-long Northeast menu. 

Naga smoked pork, bamboo shoot, thukpa, black rice phirni, cocktails named Ziro and Kaziranga. Food most of Mumbai has never tasted, from a part of India it rarely thinks about.

Watch this reel at your own risk 🤤

💻 Tech: Nexperia has announced a partnership with Tata for chip production and packaging in India.

🛕 Culture: Vishwakarma Puja, the day India's tools got a holiday. If you missed it, this read explains the tradition.

📸 World: AP's top photos of the week capture the world in one frame. Worth a slow scroll.

🏓 Sports: India's Quimcy D'Souza stormed into the Asian Games teqball semifinals. A sport most Indians have not heard of, with an Indian name now in it.

🌸 Northeast: Mizoram's Anthurium Festival is back, promoting the state's tourism and cultural heritage over three days.