Your weekly guide to an intelligent lifestyle.
| | | Good Morning We’ve been trying to get Sunil Chhetri to speak to Mint Lounge for some months now, but his playing schedule made it nearly impossible for him to make the time for an in-depth interview. He retired from international football two weeks ago, on 6 June, and got in touch with us to do the interview the week after. His is a remarkable, record-breaking career—19 years in a sport that isn’t kind to most players performing at the highest level. I’d known that Chhetri was a legend and a star off the field as well, but it came as a surprise to read that he’s scored 94 goals in 151 caps at the international level—that’s more than Diego Maradona and Pele; among currently active players, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have more. The records aside, Chhetri’s story is one of learning the hard way—he speaks with incredible frankness to Lounge about the mess he made of a stint in the US in 2010, the difficulties he faced in Portugal, his approach to captaining the Indian side, and where Indian football can go. As our writer observes, “Chhetri’s contribution to Indian football goes beyond mere statistics and awards. He has made a nation believe.” He’s done this not just with his consistency on the pitch but also his tireless efforts to raise the profile of the game in India, and leading by example. He also uses his social media following to draw fans to stadiums as well as speak about other issues, including the wrestlers’ protests and the handling of the covid-19 pandemic. It’s a story about a person who represents his sport to the wider world—while showing that wider world a few home truths. | | A gourmet sandwich trail across Delhi Delhi’s burger and sandwich scene has evolved from mayo-laden contraptions being slapped together to trained chefs adopting an ingredient-focused, gourmet approach with sauces, relishes and breads made from scratch. Pete’s Deli in Hauz Khas Market, Chard in Priya Market and the OG burger place, Aku’s-The Burger Co. are among the places to get carefully crafted, beautifully constructed sandwiches and burgers that are delicious as well as satisfying. Jahnabee Borah takes us on a burger and sandwich trail through Delhi. Read more. | | Meet Shiprocket’s Saahil Goel Even as a student, Saahil Goel knew he wanted to work in the technology world, but it was an email answering a customer query from Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal that got him interested in ecommerce. A little over a decade ago, he and co-founder Gautam Kapoor began a business to help other small businesses streamline their services. The company has gone through a number of iterations—and many name changes—until it became Shiprocket in 2017 to aggregate courier partners and offer cost-effective shipping solutions. Since then, it has carved a space for itself in the direct-to-consumer e-commerce space, delivering more than 300,000 shipments daily. The MD and CEO of Shiprocket speaks to Nitin Sreedhar about creating tech solutions for small merchants, getting back to reading, and how AI could change the business of e-commerce. Read more. | | | | The best savoury cocktails in Mumbai and Bengaluru The resurrection of craft cocktails has revived the interest in old-school cocktails with strong floral tinctures and herbaceous syrups. Bartenders worldwide, however, have moved beyond sugar and syrup to experiment with savoury cocktails and Indian mixologists have not been left behind. Unusual ingredients such as palate-cleansing brine and vinegar-fronted pickles such as dill, gherkin and jalapeño have now made their way to the bar. Bars across the country, from Mumbai to Bengaluru, are serving these delicious drinks with a twist. Spices and herbs such as peppercorns, coriander seeds and dill as well as spicy-meets-tangy combinations of ginger and raw mango brine bring loads of flavour. Raul Dias puts together a list of the best bars to sample these not-at-all-sweet cocktails. Read more. | | | | 5 trends to follow from the Milan Fashion Week Several designers presented a casual take on menswear at the recent Milan Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2025 in Italy. Lightweight tailoring, soft colours and classic tailoring with a modern touch could be seen across all designers’ collections, from Tod’s and Gucci to Fendi and Moschino. Gucci, for instance, explored a surfwear theme, but the shirts with patch pockets evoked the silhouette of a chore jacket—fringed, beaded and printed. Fendi, meanwhile, marked its 100th anniversary with a new menswear collection that drew from the house’s rich archives, and reimagined the distinctive Selleria stitching as a check on a brown leather overcoat. Manish Mishra picks five trends that emerged from the shows, ranging from camp collar shirts to man bags. Read more. | | A gadget that’s a time-saving travel companion Xiaomi has a diverse range of products in its portfolio from phones and air purifiers to EVs and sports shoes. The new The Xiaomi Handheld Garment Steamer is a compact and foldable product that is shaped like a pistol and looks a lot like a hair dryer. It’s only available in white and weighs 775g, making it one of the lightest handheld garment steamers in the market. While it is easy to set up and use, it doesn’t work well enough to get wrinkles out of all types of fabric. Sahil Bhalla concludes that this steamer cannot replace regular irons completely, but its ease of use, portability and affordable price tag will appeal to many people. Read more. | | 7 must-have gadgets for every gamer The average Indian spends up to 46 minutes daily gaming. These are not just mobile gamers—India now has a rich pool of serious gamers and esports players that enjoy console gaming as much. The only other online activity on which Indians spend more time is social media, according to a recent report on India’s gaming landscape by the non-profit Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council and gaming platform Winzo. With the rise in the popularity of gaming, the gear too has moved up a notch, beyond just gaming chairs and juiced¬-up personal computers. The Lounge teams picks seven new must-have gaming gadgets that are perfect to bring more power, light, sound and action to your gaming setup. Read more. | | Shalini Umachandran is the Editor, Mint Lounge. | | Were you forwarded this email? Did you stumble upon it online? Sign up here. | | Written and edited by Shalini Umachandran. Produced by Soumi Pyne. | | | | | | | | | 
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