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Hello,

Winter is almost here, but it’s getting warmer for Europe’s sought-after ski resorts.

Unpredictable winters have now forced many low- and medium-altitude ski resorts across Europe to turn to Finland for its unique snow recycling methods. 

These ski resorts now rely on mats made of extruded polystyrene, the same material used in home insulation across the Nordic countries. These mats can last for over 20 years and collect snow at the end of the season to store and use at the start of the next.

A modern twist on the traditional jään säilöminen (ice preservation) technique.

Did you know?: Last year, the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 8%. According to the European Environment Agency, it fell to the levels last seen at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when travel restrictions grounded planes and shuttered factories.

Climate change, nonetheless, played a major role in causing one of the deadliest floods in Spain’s modern history recently, where the Valencia region saw a year’s worth of rain in less than 8 hours!

Back home, Delhi saw the second cleanest post-Diwali since 2015, maintaining a “very poor” Air Quality Index instead of deteriorating to “severe”. 

Lastly, Collins Dictionary’s word of the year is a messy, confident way of life! Here’s a hint: It’s part of a song, a tagline for the US Presidential candidate, and a colour!

Have a brat Sunday, ya’ll!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• How Indian horror storytelling matured
• From BPO to recruitment leader

Here’s your trivia for today: Which city is the second capital of Maharashtra?

Entertainment

How Indian horror storytelling matured

Stories of Vikram Betal and Aahat on television that spooked with ghostly entities like chudails (witches) and prets (souls) hold an enduring space in the Indian entertainment landscape. 

Storyteller, actor and filmmaker Sudhanshu Rai is renowned for his extensive repertoire of over 500 stories across radio and digital platforms. He has directed the horror-comedy Chaipatti (2021), Detective Boomrah, and Chintaa Mani, among others. 

Creep it real:

• Regional cinema has also significantly contributed to the genre. Films like the Aranamanai sequel, Pizza (2012), and Lapachhapi (2016) have redefined the genre by infusing humour with traditional ghost stories. 
• The prime reason behind the recent growth of Indian horror is the rapidly evolving preference and exposure of the audience, especially in the wake of the OTT boom, international cinema, and the zeal to experiment with newer concepts.
• “Folklores and supernatural legends have also been a source of influence in filmmaking, not just in India but worldwide, though it is a fact that India is a land of many such legends and folklores that are as captivating as they’re scary,” says Rai.

Woman Entrepreneur

From BPO to recruitment leader

Working in a BPO opened Janoo Motiani’s eyes to new opportunities. Her experiences in the BPO industry piqued her interest in people management and talent acquisition.

“Back then, an entrant in recruitment would earn about Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000. I demanded a minimum of Rs 25,000,” she recalls. This early assertiveness set the tone for her career, establishing her as a dynamic force in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Women in business:

• After gaining significant experience in major recruitment firms like Tek Systems and Kelly OCG, Motiani decided to start her own venture. In 2018, she took a personal loan and registered Reed and Willow.
• With a focus on quality, Reed and Willow set out to address key issues Motiani had observed in the industry, such as inadequate recruiter development programmes and poor candidate experience.
• Over the past four years, Reed and Willow has achieved a growth rate of 78% annually. Motiani credits it to the firm prioritising transparency and relationship-building, which has led to the company amassing a client base that includes top-tier corporations.

News & updates

• Setback: A US judge ruled that former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and other high-ranking officers can proceed with claims that Elon Musk terminated them right as he was closing the deal to cheat them out of severance pay before they could submit resignation letters.
• DJI: Nvidia is replacing rival chipmaker Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a shakeup to the blue-chip index that reflects the boom in AI and a major shift in the semiconductor industry. With the addition of Nvidia, four of the six trillion-dollar tech companies are now in the index. 
• Try: SpaceX will attempt to transfer propellant from one orbiting Starship to another as early as next March, a technical milestone that will pave the way for an uncrewed landing demonstration of a Starship on the moon, a NASA official said.

Which city is the second capital of Maharashtra?

Answer: Nagpur. It is also known as the state’s winter capital.

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