Latest news with #MintLounge
Mint
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
How data analytics has transformed cricket
I've never been much of a sports viewer, but headlines have always been my hook. So, while the records Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan set in the 1990s and 2000s meant little to me, I was absorbed by the news reports of the three rounds of biomechanical testing he underwent to prove that his 'doosra' wasn't bending the rules. I still have no idea how many wickets he took, but I do remember that the machine took 250 photos per second and provided a 3D rendering of his bowling action. It seemed so cutting-edge, so unprecedented, so automated a way to measure what I'd always thought was a matter of personal skill and achievement. It was among the early demonstrations of data analysis in sports, and I, for one, had never seen anything like it. Now of course, we all have all sorts of trackers strapped to our wrists to tell us how much energy we've expended walking to the fridge for a snack. Naturally, then, for professional athletes, data gathering is at a whole other level with tracking software and machine learning transforming the game. Data analysts are now integral to sports teams, generating statistical breakdowns to explain ball speeds, angles of delivery and each player's strengths and weaknesses. Coaches don't just impart wisdom and technique, they optimise play based on these analyses. We take a deep dive into the world of cricket analytics, which has not only changed the way athletes perform but also how teams are picked, and the ways fans watch the sport. We don't just support a home team or fall in love with a player's form and grace anymore; we pick and choose depending on projections that give the likelihood of success. Even in fantasy leagues, it's data that's the MVP. The print issue of Mint Lounge dated 31 May 2025, which takes a deep dive into the world of cricket analytics. Look around you—a small doll with a mischievous smile might be strapped to a bag. They're called labubus and are trending world over. Even mobile phones are getting more personality thanks to anime-inspired charm bracelets and covers. Fashion is tapping into 'toycore"—the marriage of fashion and cuddlies. Pooja Singh unpacks the somewhat bizarre toycore trend that is a throwback to a lost childhood. The Assassin's Creed franchise is among the world's most popular games, giving players the experience of an open world, close links to actual historical events, and a narration that connects the protagonists of each game. Now, Assassin's Creed Shadows takes all these elements to give fans a setting that many had demanded—medieval Japan. Shouvik Das dives into the immersive world of Assassin's Creed Shadows, where players navigate a beautifully crafted medieval Japan and lose themselves in the intricate storyline. The drying of mahua flowers and the liquor-making process that follows is an age-old practice in Madhya Pradesh, but there's more to this indigenous flower than spirits. The juice can be turned into flavourful syrups and pulps that make great replacements for maple syrup, white sugar and other imported or processed sweeteners. Pastry chef Bani Nanda travelled in Madhya Pradesh to learn all about 'mahua', and she writes about the process of creating liquor and syrup and the ideas it sparked for new pastries and cakes. Back in Delhi, she experimented with the dried mahua flowers, mahua liquor and mahua syrup she brought back to create a beautiful entremet with mahua syrup sponge, chironji praline, salted caramel and mahua ganache. Microsoft laid off about 6,000 employees earlier this month; the US government has fired more than 600,000 staff this year. Most forecasts indicate lay-offs will continue, with greater incursion of AI into spheres that were dependent on human skills. This has an outsized impact on the morale of professionals, who left high and dry, or teetering on the edge, vulnerable to being fired any day. Being laid off is, needless to say, tragic, but it's also hard for those who have to do the dirty job of firing people. The middle managers and human resources executives who have to be the bearers of bad news become collateral damage in the process, writes Somak Ghoshal, while offering some suggestions about delivering bad news with grace and empathy. Fans of Lego, the popular building sets, travel the world in search of new sets and unusual pieces—but the Danish toy company has finally opened a store in India, in Gurugram. Spanning 4,500 square feet, it is the brand's largest store in South Asia and has everything from the Friends and Icons to the Technic and the Botanicals collections as well as fully built sets on display and play tables, and other popular features for adult fans of Lego. The store seems all set to become a place for fans of the popular building sets to congregate, build, and create a community, writes Tushar Kanwar, a lifelong Lego fan who has got his young daughter hooked to the toys.
Mint
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Adapting Art Deco to Indian climate, culture and design
One of the more interesting stories we have this week is on the village of Dharmaj in Anand, Gujarat, which has more than 120 Art Deco buildings that date back to the 1930s and '40s—that's a lot for a village where, even today, just about 11,000 people live. Many of these homes are in various states of disrepair and—with 2025 being the 100th year of the Art Deco style of architecture—there are efforts to restore them, as Avantika Bhuyan reports. But editing Avantika's story reminded me of Tamil Nadu's Chettinad region, which is said to have more than 10,000 decaying Art Deco homes, built in the last century, and abandoned because the following generations have moved away or cannot afford to pay for their maintenance. Keeping old properties up to date can be an expensive and time-consuming affair, which is why many owners ultimately sell up or redevelop these sprawling old houses or movie theatres into more modern blocks. Over thelast 20 years, many of the beautiful, quirky, elaborate and comforting old Art Deco buildings have disappeared from our cityscapes. Urban enthusiasts may not be able to save the buildings themselves but they're doing the next best thing—taking photos, tracking down their histories and putting information about Art Deco buildings onlinein an effort to document it. For India, Art Deco isn't just about buildings; it represents a moment of aspiration and cosmopolitanism in a country that was on the verge of freedom. We also adapted the style, which originated in France, to our own climate, culture and uses, adding our own features, motifs and more. Do read the story as well as check the online projects we've mentioned—you might just find a building or a memory from your childhood. In this centenary year of Art Deco, architects are also conducting walks and talks, taking people through neighbourhoods where some of these homes still stand. The cover of Mint Lounge, dated 24 May 2025. There's a lot more happening this weekend, including the ongoing French Open, where young players are slugging it out in a world without the big three, set narratives or overwhelming favourites. Apart from the tennis, we have other suggestions for what you can watch, read, do and eat this weekend. Try a zero-proof cocktail With the introduction of zero-proof drinks and spirits as well as the rise of the 'sober curious", especially amongst Gen Z, restaurants and bars are making changes to their menus. Many have made the shift to organic ingredients and innovative flavour profiles in order to make non-alcoholic drinks more than just 'mocktails', writes Arzoo Dina. Read more. Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge? The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge offers a stunningly thin and light design. With its 6.7-inch screen, 200-megapixel camera and the Snapdragon8 Elite processor, it's impressive, but does it go beyond the obvious talking points to deliver a great smartphone experience overall? Tushar Kanwar puts it through its paces. Read more. Creators with autism use art to tell their stories Narratives about autism in mainstream media often swing between extremes—either the 'tragic burden' or the 'gifted savant.' But the real stories are far more nuanced, and across India, autistic artists, filmmakers, musicians and writers are pushing back against outdated stereotypes. From blogs about navigating sensory overload to YouTube channels where young adults script and share skits about daily routines, autistic creators are shaping how autism is perceived—by others and by themselves. Divya Naik meets creators using art to reclaim their personal narratives. Read more. Meet YouTube's global head of music Lyor Cohen, global head of music at YouTube, has spent over three decades in music, repping acts like Run-DMC and labels like Def Jam that helped define the '80s hip-hop era. He led the Warner Music Group for nearly a decade, and for the past eight years, he's been the global head of music at YouTube and Google. Despite being part of a platform that's transformed the way music is made and listened to, Cohen, 65, says he doesn't represent the company but the music industry. Cohen, who was recently in Mumbai for the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES), speaks to Shephali Bhatt about the endless scroll, why artists struggle to make money, and the role of AI in making music. Read more. How to buy a laptop that's perfect for you Deciding which laptop to buy is a confusing task in 2025—there are too many choices, personal considerations reign supreme, and unlike smartphones, we tend to focus more on the features and specs rather than the brand when it comes to buying a new laptop. There are always two camps, Macbooklovers and Windows afficionados, but leaving that aside, the choice depends onwhether you're a gamer, a university student, working in a company, or someonewho edits movies on the fly. Laptops tend to last at least 4-5 years, and thenthe decision to upgrade can take another 6-12 months. Sahil Bhalla cuts throughthe clutter to find you the best laptops across categories, from thebest budget laptops to the top gaming ones. Read more. The best wine and cocktail bars in Paris Paris in the summer can be crowded and busy but after taking in the touristy experiences—a walk along the Champs Elysees, visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral and spending time at the beautiful Jardin des Tuileries—be sure to make time for the city's high-quality eating and drinking destinations, writes Nikhil Agarwal and provides a handy list. Wine is everywhere in Paris—boutiques, wine bars, serious places that take wine and food pairing to the highest level, and multiple tasting events and wine dinners. The events, easy to find online, are at all levels from easy-going to expensive. Or you could just take a bottle with some cheese, sit on the banks of the Seine, and enjoy your drink while cruise boats sail by. Read more.
Mint
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Aloo tuk bravas and butter chicken romesco at Vicky Ratnani's new restaurant
Chef Vicky Ratnani's new Gurugram restaurant Omny Kitchen and Bar is an amalgamation of his love for food and travel. With a career boasting of popular TV shows such as Vicky Goes Veg , Cook, Eat, and Party, and Vicky Goes Desi , apart from stints at cruise liners and running a gourmet burger brand, he is upbeat about showcasing the flavours he picked from his travels across the world through quirky Indian twists. The multi-cuisine restaurant, which will initially be open only for dinner, has over 70-plus dishes on the menu. These range from avocado chaat puri to ceviche, carpaccio, and Roman-style pizzas, burgers to even a full-fledged coffee, dessert, and cocktail programme. Ratnani especially takes pride in the Sindhi delicacies including a butternut squash sai bhaji , tidali daal served with pakwan , chutneys, and papads, which have been inspired by his mother's recipes. Sample aloo tuk bravas , a take on the Sindhi staple that is sprinkled with chaat masala , and served with a garlic aioli and bravas sauce. Or, an inspiration drawn from Jammu where Ratnani tried kalari kulcha . The chef interprets it as Jammu Tawi, a burger with a rajma patty and fresh kalari cheese. The dishes are also an introduction to some of his favourite cooking techniques such as charcoal grilling, fermentation, brining, pickling, braising among others. These are evident in some of the delicious dishes such as Caesar Salad on Fire with charred leaves, Butter Chicken Romesco, Filipino Chicken Adobo, and Gambas Al Ajillo. Chef Vicky Ratnani chats with Mint Lounge, and tells us what diners can expect at Omny Kitchen. Also read: Home chefs bring global cuisines inspired by their international travels It's a global brasserie, and is a tribute to my travels all over the world, which include Bora Bora, Fiji Islands, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, UAE, besides Europe and the US. The name's born from the word 'omnipresent', and I thought of it in the context of how while I was travelling, food remained a constant, and it was distinctive to various cultures. The kitchen evokes a sense of modernity, versatility, and global flair, where different culinary flavours come together. We have a rotating menu with seasonal specials from different countries. We have taken a conscious approach to source our ingredients locally, and that can be seen in many of our sauces, dips, and dishes. Well, the investors were keen to open here. The Delhi diner has deep pockets for sure. The purchasing power here (in Delhi NCR) is great. Mumbai diners are more experimental when it comes to food. I had been busy, so when I got the opportunity to open a restaurant, I wanted to look beyond Mumbai. The awareness of various kinds of cuisines has grown. Everybody is conscious of what they are eating. There's also a shift in how we cook in the kitchen. Look at how Goa has exploded in terms of food. What's also reassuring is how regional cuisines are seeing a growth as is overall Indian cuisine restaurants finding mention in international lists. As much as I was enjoying my travels, interacting with people, and visiting kitchens of families, I missed cooking. I also wanted to share my culinary experiences with people at large, which meant I needed to be in the kitchen. Every family I visited on my travels has inspired me. I was keen to show the confluence of various places and the food from my experiences. We were supposed to launch in January, but since it's summer now, we decided to keep some of the heavier dishes for a later date. After Gurugram, we will take Omny Kitchen to other cities. So, a simple aloo tamatar dish is translated to gnocchi in a pasta sauce, which you eat with podi. Or, for that matter, I combine black wheat noodles with vegetable Rangoon curry to create a dish that does not belong to any specific place. There's another dish where the curry is inspired from my trips to Bora Bora where I met Indians. That said, our food menu will change every quarter. The food is an eclectic mix of everything, but it's not a hodgepodge. I also feel this restaurant will allow diners to get to know a side of me that hasn't been seen before. I also feel that Omny Kitchen has the capacity to go into different verticals. For instance, given the premium burgers and Roman-style pizzas that we serve, we are sure to get a good response on food delivery platforms. Well, simple Korean noodles with freshly-chopped veggies and eggs is comforting. So is a good burger, or old-school lasagna. Being a Sindhi, of course, sindhi kadhi and chawal is very comforting. Also read: Abhilasha Ojha is a Delhi-based writer.
Mint
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Saturday Feeling: Stories and art for the child in you
There are ogres stapled to the floor—and they're the first thing that catch your eye when you enter the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad in Bengaluru, where a huge exhibition, One Hundred Years and Counting, to mark the birth centenary of artist K.G. Subramanyanhas arrived, after a showing in Kolkata. Subramanyan was prolific and versatile—the 200 works, including murals, oils, sketches, watercolours, wooden toys and even swatches of fabric he designed, are a fraction of his oeuvre. But, it's in his books for children that one can read his belief that no one was too young for him or his work. The characters on the floor are similar to the ones in his 1974 book, Our Friends, The Ogres, a playful yet pointed critique of corporate greed and environmental damage at a time when few thought about concepts like solastalgia, and especially not for children. The book surprised me when I happened upon in a museum gift shop a decade ago, and then learned that Subramanyan did a set of 10 screen-printed children's books, all of them attacking big issues with whimsy. It's the kind of work that scores of children's book illustrators are doing today, recognizing that children can't, and don't need to be shielded, from complex ideas and bitter truths. This week, Avantika Bhuyan takes a look at how artists and illustrators are leading the storytelling at many children's publishing imprints, ensuring that there is greater representation of voices, communities, regions and experiences. It's a story about artists using their voice but also emphasizes that children's books aren't just for little people; they open up new perspectives for adults, speak to the child within the grown-up, and remind us of a time when the world held novelty. The cover of the print issue of 'Mint Lounge' dated 3 May 2025, with art from Ogin Nayam's 'When the Sun Sets', published by Pratham Books. There are quite a few stories about storytelling this week. A travel writer tells a tale of nearly getting stuck in Utah's slot canyons, and we have a great read on microdramas, a new digital storytelling sensation that has spawned a multibillion-dollar industry. These vertically-shot microseries run to 50-100 episodes, each just a minute at best. They're terrible, but they're so very addictive—and they're probably not something to watchso pick from our recommendations instead. We're all tired of ads—targeted, random, pop-up, autoplay, or whatever other form they take while we're online. As advertising creeps deeper into digital life, technology geeks, privacy enthusiasts and digital rebels are quietly fighting back. With sophisticated but free-to-use ad blockers and VPN settings, they are shaping a parallel version of the internet—one where users' attention isn't for sale at every blink. Shephali Bhatt meets the people checking out of the ad-verse by installing browser extensions, privacy guards, VPN services. As more people turn to these tech-savvy users for guidance, ad-blocking could move from the margins to the mainstream—and the future of the attention economy may no longer belong to platforms, but to individuals reclaiming control over what gets their time. Read more. Ritu Beri was one of the earliest fashion designers from India to work in Paris—opening and shutting a store, joining a luxury house, having a ramp show—but she doesn't have a string of stores to her name in India. Instead, she's opened an experiential space in Palolem in Goa, where she sells a limited line of her clothing alongside other artists' and designers' works. She also curates meals, shows, talks and performances at her property, Escape. She talks to Pooja Singh about this new stage in her career, and about why she doesn't plan to sell her brand. Read more. There's one smartphone brand that has flown under the radar over the past year, quietly releasing new models with low-key marketing. Going by market data, Motorola, now under the tutelage of Lenovo, is a winner with its mid-range smartphones propelling the company's market share. The Motorola Edge 60 Fusion is one of the new releases, which Sahil Bhalla used the breezy, no-frills smartphone for a few months. Priced from ₹ 22,999 onwards, it has a significantly improved OLED display (with Gorilla Glass 7 protection), a larger battery capacity, increased storage, a refreshed chipset, and faux vegan leather finishes in three colours, making it a solid choice as a good budget smartphone. Performance is good, and only gamers should look elsewhere. Read more. Supper clubs are no longer just about serving regional specialities or homemade sourdough. Home chefs who made a name for their tables during the pandemic are now travelling the globe, mastering cuisines from all corners of the world and serving them in their homes with the touch of intimacy and care that restaurants can't match. Read more. The Champions League final is a while away but all the semi-finalists this year were a surprising mix of teams that worked through their adversities and found their identities over the course of the season. It's been a season that Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit describes as thrilling, since he admires teams that play attacking football. Gullit, who once formed a part of the fearsome attacking trio with Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, is a staunch advocate of 'Total Football', the flowing, attack-minded, space-exploiting, mode of play. In an exclusive interview with Rudraneil Sengupta, Gullit breaks down the Champions League semifinals, celebrates club identity, attacking football, and discusses the return of football DNA. Read more.
