26-07-2025
Nuns take charge of Buddhism, creators make mics must-have accessories and other stories to read
A few years ago, a couple of colleagues and I interviewed the 14th Dalai Lama for a special issue of Mint to mark Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. It's easily one of the highlights of my career—the Dalai Lama (who turned 90 earlier this month) spending nearly two hours chatting and laughing with us about everything from science, philosophy and freedom to mobile phone use and dreams he'd had. But a part of the interview we didn't have the chance to use related to his views on education, especially women's education and equality. For the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India since 1959 when he was 23, painstakingly recreating institutions to keep Tibetan Buddhist culture and education alive and relevant to Gen Z and Alpha Tibetans who will only hear of Lhasa and the Potala Palace has been a mission. 'At first, when we came here, I had many questions, concerns, but then Nehru advised me—work on education, then your culture will always be alive,' the Dalai Lama had said then. 'That was good advice.'
A few weeks later, when I was in McLeod Ganj to do a follow-up story, Tenzin Thinley, a 29-year-old Tibetan refugee who'd been studying Buddhist philosophy since 2014 at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, explained how his studies helped him find 'synonyms to happiness'. Rebuilding institutions to create this kind of connection for a generation cut off from its land is quite a feat. And one of the Dalai Lama's quieter but more enduring legacies is the transformation of women's education over the last 60-odd years—now, for the first time, Buddhist nuns are heading their own educational institutions in India. This week, Swati Chawla writes about the nuns leading Tibetan Buddhism into a new era. Also read Bibek Bhattacharya's companion piece on the remarkable women gurus of tantric Buddhism, a tale about taking the path of truth to overturn patriarchy, break barriers and claim equality. And if you missed last week's interview with Manuel Bauer, who has spent the last 35 years shadowing and photographing the Dalai Lama, you can find it here. Cover of the print issue of Mint Lounge dated 26 July 2025.
Creators make a statement with mics
Microphones have picked up as a strong segment among content creators, with ecommerce platforms like Flipkart seeing 1.3X growth in sales for creator-focused mics compared to last year. The growing use of professional mic equipment—especially on platforms like Instagram, where polished audio was rare not too long ago—marks the creator economy's shift from quick content to quality (production) content, writes Shephali Bhatt. What was once a scrappy, phone-shot hustle is now evolving into a serious, production-first business and microphones have become key to this business and are more than just tools for capturing clean audio. Read more.
The secrets of award-winning bars
This year, India shone at the Asia's 50 Best Bars ceremony, with nine bars—a record number for India—on the list. These include New Delhi's Lair, Bengaluru's Soka, ZLB and Bar Spirit Forward, and Goa's Boilermaker, and India's representation outweighed traditional heavyweights like South Korea. Smitha Menon finds out what makes for an award-winning bar—beyond just the cocktails. Read more.
'Sarzameen' review: A strained family drama
If you're wondering what to watch this weekend, we have quite a few suggestions, from the return of Marvel's first family in 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' to Adam Sandler teeing off again in 'Happy Gilmore 2'. Also in theatres is Sarzameen, Kayoze Irani's film about a fractured army family in Kashmir. Despite having Kajol and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead, the film struggles to land its storytelling leaps or say anything meaningful about the conflict, writes Uday Bhatia. Sarzameen joins a growing list of films that see Kashmir only as a picturesque setting and a hook to hang their patriotism on. Read more.
Sauna therapy for the monsoon
This humid, rainy weather calls for more than just a hot cup of tea. It is also a good time to seek relief in sauna therapies where the heat purges toxins, relaxes muscles and calms the nerves. But in a country defined largely by tropical and subtropical climate, how much heat is healthy? Tanisha Saxena spoke to experts from retreats across the country—from the foothills of the Himalaya to the shores of the Arabian Sea—to find out how to sauna right in India. Read more.
Why everyone is talking about Hyrox
Described as the World Series of Fitness Racing, Hyrox race involves eight 1km runs and eight different workouts, including a 50m sled push, burpee broad jumps and wall ball shots. It's gruelling but that hasn't stopped it from exploding globally. Over half-a-million people participated in about 80 Hyrox races globally in the 2024-25 season, and Delhi just hosted India's second Hyrox race last week that saw 2,600 participants from all over the world. Shrenik Avlani finds out why the world is going crazy about Hyrox. Read more.
