This Indian chain store owes its origin to a Hollywood movie | #137
Also, how Pele inspired a Bangalore community ⚽ 👉
Hello friends
2023 is upon us and it’s not all doom and gloom. Sure, the ice caps might be melting at an alarming rate, and a worldwide recession looms large but we hear there is a new Fast & Furious movie on the horizon. So atleast there’s something to look forward to.
In this year’s first edition of our New & Improved™️ newsletter, we share some some things we can look forward to this year.
Things we learnt this week 🤓
Here’s some news from the cultural front - Three more sites in India have made it to the Tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. A Tentative List is an inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination. The town of Vadnagar and Modhera’s Sun Temple in Gujarat, and rock-cut sculptures and reliefs of Unakoti ranges in the Unakoti district in Tripura are the three sites added to the list. This is a NASA and UNESCO approved post!!!111
Sun Temple, Modhera On the business front, some Indian companies are preparing to go IPO in 2023 including GO Airlines, Indegene, and Fabindia. Speaking of which, here’s an interesting tidbit about the history of Fabindia - The company actually owes its origins to the 1956 film The King and I. When John Bissell, a buyer at Macy’s, came to Benaras to source fabrics for the film, weavers told him that since each handloom produced three saris, they could guarantee consistent colors only in those three, not across number of pieces Bissell needed. He realized the untapped potential of standardized Indian textiles in the global market, an idea which would eventually lead him to open the first Fabindia store in 1975.
A fab photo of John Bissell (source: The Juggernaut) There’s a glut of Content to watch out for in 2023 of course. Apart from the numerous superhero and animated flicks that will grace our screens, we have Nolan’s long awaited ‘Oppenheimer’ to look forward to. Closer home, the SRK-starrer Pathaan has had its fair share of controversy even before its January release date. The news on the grapevine is that the movie will feature a cameo by Salman Khan. There’s also the Hindi remakes of The Good Wife and The Night Manager coming to a streaming service near you. Kahan milega itna content?
And finally, there’s so much sport to look forward to in 2023. The Men’s Cricket and Men’s Hockey World Cups will be held in India this year. Expect the hosts to be considered favorites in both. Speaking of high expectations for Indian sportspersons, this year’s Chess Olympiad will be held in Budapest, Hungary. The organizers will be hard pressed to top the mascot from last year’s edition which took place in Chennai. Can you spot any similarities with an animated equine character from a Netflix show?
The mascot was named Thambi. Really.
From IWTK, with love 💌
The story of how Pele inspired a Bangalore community.
Happy birthday to the ‘Mozart of Madras’ AR Rahman. Here’s a thread about his storied life and career.
Tell us what you are looking forward to in 2023 by replying to this email. The most interesting answer will get featured in next week’s newsletter and will also win a prize.
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Happy new year!
❤️ IWTK