Archive · 12 Sep 2026
Mint Lounge explores analogue travel, modaks, art, health, fiction
This Mint Lounge issue looks at several ideas for enjoying culture and travel.
One story says travelling without depending on a phone can make trips more surprising.
People may use maps, ask strangers for directions, buy paper tickets and write down what they see.
Some travellers enjoyed connecting more with family, while another faced problems and regretted unplugging.
The issue also asks whether traditional modaks need new flavours such as matcha and chocolate.
It recommends art shows in Delhi and Bengaluru and discusses a new version of The Grand Tour.
Another article warns that social-media posts cannot diagnose ADHD.
Finally, it marks 25 years since the 9/11 attacks by recommending works of fiction about them.
An essay examines the joys and frustrations of travelling with maps, notebooks, guidebooks and cameras instead of relying constantly on smartphones.
Writers describe analogue travel as a way to reduce doomscrolling while still using directions, maps, physical tickets and handwritten notes.
Mint Lounge discusses modern modak flavours, including chocolate, matcha, ravioli, tiramisu and carrot halwa, while questioning whether such changes are necessary.
Weekend recommendations include art exhibitions in Delhi and Bengaluru, a rebooted The Grand Tour, and other watchlist options.
Other features address the risks of self-diagnosing ADHD through social media and fiction written about the 11 September 2001 attacks.
- Who
- Mint Lounge writers, travellers, artists, cultural audiences and readers interested in health and fiction.
- What
- The 12 September 2026 issue covers analogue travel, inventive modaks, art and television recommendations, ADHD self-diagnosis, and fiction about 9/11.
- When
- The print issue is dated 12 September 2026; the fiction feature marks 25 years since 11 September 2001.
- Where
- The recommendations include exhibitions in Delhi and Bengaluru; the 9/11 feature concerns the World Trade Center in New York.
- Why
- The issue explores how reducing phone dependence can create memorable travel, while examining cultural trends, health misconceptions and creative responses to major events.
In favour of analogue travel
In favour of staying connected
Travel experience
In favour of analogue travel
Using maps, asking for directions and taking detours can create unpredictability, discovery and unexpected connections.
In favour of staying connected
Phones provide immediate access to information and make it easier to decide whether a place is worth visiting.
Effect of disconnecting
In favour of analogue travel
Shoba Narayan found that leaving her phone behind helped her connect more meaningfully with family.
In favour of staying connected
Shephali Bhatt experienced large and small disasters during an unplugged trip and regretted disconnecting.
New modak flavours
In favour of analogue travel
Mithai makers are reimagining modaks with flavours such as matcha, chocolate, ravioli, tiramisu and carrot halwa.
In favour of staying connected
The traditional jaggery-and-coconut modak remains an established favourite, prompting the question of whether these innovations are needed.
- Publication
- Mint Lounge
- Print issue date
- 12 September 2026
- Travel approach
- Maps, notebooks, guidebooks, cameras, directions and physical tickets are used instead of constant smartphone reliance.
- Modak flavours mentioned
- Chocolate, matcha, ravioli, tiramisu and carrot halwa.
- Delhi recommendation
- A DAG exhibition on the influence of MS University, Baroda, on Indian art.
- Bengaluru recommendation
- The National Gallery of Modern Art exhibition One Mother, Many Mother Tongues.
- 9/11 death toll
- 2,977 people, according to the feature.