Saturday Feeling: What are you not drinking this weekend?

For a culture that religiously admires renunciation, we don’t really encourage giving up things. Dropping sugar? “Just one spoon” won’t do any harm. On a protein-rich diet? Everyone and their neighbour will say you’ll die without carbs. Allergic to dairy? You’ll be told you’re lying. And if you say you don’t want to drink, you’ll be called ‘boring’. Drinking cuts both ways—social drinking carries a stigma as does not drinking under any circumstances. There are countless studies to prove the physical, mental and financial health benefits of abstinence yet many still believe you need a drink or three to get the party started. But alcohol’s reputation as the best guest is changing—Gen Z and some millennials are actively choosing to abstain or be careful about their consumption. The sober curious movement, as alcohol moderation or abstinence experiments are described, is catching on and one no longer needs excuses like ‘Dry January’, ‘I’m on medication’ or ‘I’m giving it up for Lent’ to avoid alcohol. Across cities, event managers, bars and coffee shops are organizing “clean raves”, where DJs spin, guests dance, and the coffee and juice flow. New non-alcoholic beverages are launched regularly, and formulating zero-proof cocktails is a craft in itself. The best part of this movement away from alcohol is that it destigmatizes the desire not to drink. Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran and Shrabonti Bagchi find out more about the communities coming together around sobriety this week. And then from bars and cafes, we move to the farms where chefs source speciality ingredients—such as foraged mushrooms, special cheeses and wild greens of Ladakh that flavour their gourmet dishes. And now for the other great reads to keep you entertained this weekend.

The last generation of rafugars

The history of rafugiri is probably as old as the creation of the first piece of cloth; all garments need repair at some point. Every neighbourhood has a tailor skilled in the art of repairing little rents, tears and holes, the darning so fine that you can barely make out the damage after they’re done with it. Yet, this craft isn’t recognised as a craft, and darners or rafugars are slowly blunting their needles as their services are rarely required and poorly paid. A preference for fast fashion, too, is putting darners out of business, killing a centuries-old form of fabric recycling, writes Pooja Singh.

Kolkata’s trams roll out to combat climate change

Kolkata’s annual Tramjatra festival began in 1996 to protect the iconic streetcars and ensure that they stay on the roads. Every year, the theme is dfferent—Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, cricket, music and more. The aim was always the same: Make Trams Great Again, writes Sandip Roy. This year, the theme was the Sundarbans and the damage being wreaked on it by climate change. Trams are a relatively clean form of mass transportation, which aids climate action, but the struggle to save trams in the teeth of government opposition remains an uphill one.

Cookbook writers pick their favourite books

We all have that kitchen that we reach for when we want to plan a meal—well-thumbed and often scarred and stained by ingredients and heat, these books are our guides to cooking. But what are the favourite books of food writers and cookbook authors? Jahnabee Borah spoke to a selection of cookbook and culinary authors to find out about their old favourites and new reads that reflect their diverse interests and spice up their days.

Hydration tips for the summer

Summer is here and with several parts of India already suffering heat waves, hydration has become a topic of interest. Getting adequate hydration is critical as prolonged exposure to high temperatures can lead to dehydration. Even mild dehydration can impair the body’s cognitive performance and mood, and cause heat-related illnesses like headaches, fatigue and heatstroke. But there’s more to understand about hydration than assuming that drinking two to three litres of water is enough. Shrenik Avlani talks to experts to understand how hydration needs vary from individual to individual and the fluids you need to add to your diet this season.

Runway-approved make-up for summer

Clear, glowing skin with a hint of natural-looking pinkish red colour on the cheeks and neon on the eyelids—that was the make-up look most designers opted for at the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week, in association with the Fashion Design Council of India. Most of these looks are easy to try at home and can be fun to flaunt during a summer vacation, writes Dhara Vora Sabhnani. If you need a quick, fuss-free look, just add a hint of highlighter to your inner eye corners and instantly elevate your the entire look. Want a pop of colour? Replace the highlighter with an electric-blue colour. There are some more ideas as well—from cut-crease eye look to lit-from-within skin.

A phone that’s all about the camera

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s rear panel design leaves no room for misunderstanding—this phone is all about its camera. It has a massive camera module with very visible Leica branding. Photographs and videos taken in most lighting conditions offer a good balance of contrast, colour shades and details, and the fidelity produced by the optical zoom lens is possibly the best that any smartphone zoom lens in the industry produces right now. The question here, says Shouvik Das, is whether it delivers the experience worthy of a smartphone that costs over ₹1 lakh. Even with flagship specifications, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is hard to recommend over its Samsung and Google counterparts, which offer superior software.