Saptaparni

Mrinal Chatterjee

Window Seat 

Saptaparni is an interesting tree, which has several myths and stories woven into its flowers, leaves and trunk. It is viewed as 'devil's tree' by some and a 'very auspicious tree' by others.

The Saptaparni tree (Alstonia scholaris) is an evergreen species known for its medicinal uses, distinctive seven-leaf whorls, and fragrant flowers. Native to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, it is also known as the blackboard tree or scholar tree.

October-November (Hemanta season in Indian schema) is the time when it blooms. The fragrance of the Saptaparni tree is a strong, intoxicating, and heady perfume with notes similar to cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves; and hints of citrus. It is often described as a powerful scent that fills the air in the evenings during autumn and winter, marking the arrival of the cooler season and it has a peculiar brooding quality.

67: Word of the Year

Dictionary.com announced “67” (also written as "6-7" or "six-seven" and pronounced six-seven) as its word of the year for 2025. The organization describes the term as “classic brain rot slang” that is "purposefully nonsensical and all about being in on the absurdity."

"67" is a slang term that recently became Dictionary.com's 2025 Word of the Year, used by younger generations to express a vague feeling of being "so-so," "maybe," or "it's complicated". It originated from a song and was amplified by viral videos, where it functions more as an inside joke or a "shout-out" that connects people than a word with a precise definition.

SEEN ZONE

In a digital-dense communication ecosphere, several new words and expressions are emerging or being coined. One such word I recently came across is 'seenzoning'.

Seenzoning (or being "seenzoned") is an internet slang term that describes the situation where a person sends a message to someone in an online chat or text exchange, and the recipient sees or reads the message (indicated by features like "seen" receipts or blue ticks), but does not reply.

The term is a modern digital take on being ignored, essentially leaving the sender in a "silent I-saw-you-zone". This can be a source of frustration or hurt feelings for the sender, who knows their message was received but is left without a response or emotional closure.

 Trust

The major highway of Seling in Mizoram is dotted with shops where you are trusted to put the money in a box after you have purchased something. It’s hard to convince yourself that something like this exists, but trust the Mizos to trust themselves!

The culture is called ‘Nghah Lou Dawr’ (shops without shopkeepers) culture of Mizoram’ and stems from an ethos of trust and fellow feeling that the locals share with each other. Another reason why this is practised is to make it easier for the farmers to sell their produce even when they are working in their lands very far away from the roads.

This culture is there in Nagaland too. Shops without shopkeepers in Nagaland's Pfutsero run simply on trust. Managed by women farmers, these shops, bang on the highway, place trust in absolute strangers to pay for whatever they buy. A similar experiment in 15 Kerala schools has provided encouraging results. In a west Bengal village school the same experiment started with good results.

At a time when trust deficit is increasing in India, ‘Nghah Lou Dawr’ is a beacon of hope.

Lucknow

That Lucknow is a city for foodies – is known to every Indian food lover. It just received international recognition.

Lucknow has just been included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) list of ‘Creative City of Gastronomy’. Announcing the designation, UNESCO paid tribute to Lucknow’s historic Awadhi cuisine as well as its flair for culinary creativity.

The city is renowned for many distinct dishes, including its succulent kebabs and distinctive take on biryani. Lucknow is known for its Galauti Kebab, Awadhi Biryani, Basket Chaat, Puri-Kachauri, Khasta, Black Carrot Pudding, Malai Gillauri, Butter Malai and Motichur Laddu.

With this recognition, Lucknow becomes one of 408 cities across more than 100 countries that have been acknowledged for their contributions to creative industries such as crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts, and music. This year, architecture has been introduced as a new creative field within the network. Hyderabad was India's only city designated as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy before Lucknow.