Who goes there, friend or foe?

In the most recent of her popular Butterfly books, Between You, Me & the Four Walls, Moni Mohsin’s Butterfly Khan observes, “Some Indians I’ve seen on Facebook are saying kay haw, if we don’t watch out, we will also become like Pakistan. I think so they mean they will also start carrying leather kay Birkings and listening to Ghulam Ali’s ghazals and producing fast bowlers.” A line that could describe the doings of a certain class of India at any time.

Yet, “why don’t you go to Pakistan” has become the troll’s favourite tool, often thrown out without realising, as Butterfly observes sentimentally elsewhere, “whatever we might do to each other, we are still humsayas. Their saya is also our saya, na?”

For many Indians, Partition remains as real as if it happened yesterday, and the 90-year-olds of today are likely the last generation to cogently remember those difficult times that have led to so much polarisation. It’s the act of listening to and telling stories that could possibly bridge the gap, and in the last few years—probably as young creatives notice the older generation’s fading memories—films and books have addressed this idea of a shared past, and reconciling to what was lost.

Films like Ikkis and Main Vaapas Aaunga follow emotional journeys to Pakistan, where the protagonists visit a country that’s usually the foe in order to make peace with their past or understand the way forward. Then there are books like graphic artist Sarnath Banerjee’s Absolute Jafar which chronicle the very real difficulties of living and marrying across the border.

At a time of misinformation and disinformation, these storytellers remind us that the more one knows about another, the less likely one is to hate. Apart from the books, films and plays that Aditya Mani Jha writes about in his story, you could also check the rest of our recommendations for what to read, watch and do this weekend.

A few months ago, more than 500 women applied for eight beds in a Bengaluru house—they were competing for a place at a fully sponsored, seven-day female-founder residency where participants live, build and ship products under one roof.

Bother hacker houses—shared work spaces where technologists and entrepreneurs build alongside one another—and start-up residencies (limited-time cohorts that combine accommodation with mentorship, resources, investor access and funding) are in demand among Gen Z entrepreneurs looking for the required resources to ship fast and land pre-seed funding. Shalaka Kulkarni reports on how new entrepreneurs are using startup builder residencies and hacker houses to get their businesses up and running. Read more.

Food delivery apps have brought everything to our doorsteps—authentic banana chips from Kerala, bakarwadi from the iconic Chitale Bandhu in Pune, shondesh from West Bengal, everything arrives in hours via quick and e-commerce.

But what does this easy availability do to the joy of culinary tourism, of travelling just to eat regional specialties. What does travel bring to the flavours of food? Teja Lele finds out. Read more.

Nepalese mountaineer and icon Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja was killed with nine others in an avalanche while attempting to summit Broad Peak, the world’s twelfth highest mountain that lies in Pakistan.

Who was this late bloomer with the relentless drive to be the man with the most mountaineering records? Not everyone agreed with his approach to mountaineering but he was also incredibly accessible and human, and he drew detractors and admirers in equal measure, writes Shail Desai. Read more.

It’s well known that algorithms inherit our moral compass, and that AI has adopted and internalised all our existing biases and prejudices. Companies are integrating AI into every aspect of their functioning, often blindly insisting that employees use AI, without considering ethical issues. Often, employees haven’t been briefed on how much data to feed into it, what’s legal and what’s not.

In his new book, Humans First, Machines Second, veteran business leader Vineet Nayar explains that an AI code of ethics isn’t a third-tier priority but an urgent task because every model a company adopts weakens the trust built up by the company with its customers and employees. Read more.

Consistency is the most important when one is a beginner to fitness because for the muscles, it is the first stage or the cognitive phase of learning new moves and patterns. Just like you learnt to catch a ball for the first time, or tie your shoelaces, the more you repeat an activity, the more the body starts understanding how to move to accommodate the new requirement.

Muscle memory is a fascinating subject which when understood, can make your fitness journey more rewarding, writes Pulasta Dhar. It’s muscle memory that eventually helps you understand how much weight is too much, what is the preferred width for your bench press, or what driver you should use for a particular hole on a golf course. Read more.

Heat and humidity are on the rise around the country, and carrying a handheld fan is no longer a luxury. A lot of people can be seen carrying them around in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai.

The little gadgets have come a long way in the last few years with better designs, better cooling and ease of use and charging. These handheld fans not only keep you cool but can also be a fashion accessory—as attendees at the recent Paris Couture Week proved.

Sahil Bhalla tested five fans, a mix of Indian and international brands, to help you make the best choice. Read more.

Shalini Umachandran is Editor, Mint Lounge.