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Hello,

Elon Musk’s X turns one. 

A lot has changed at the microblogging site Twitter, now called X, since the Tesla CEO took over the company a year ago. Now, Musk wants X to be the centre of the financial world by the end of 2024. “It would blow my mind if we don’t have that rolled out by the end of next year,” Musk said.

Moving on. Mumbai-based 100X.VC utilised iSAFE (India Simple Agreement for Future Equity) notes to invest $2.3 million in 15 startups that are part of its 10th cohort. In fact, 100X.VC is the first VC to invest in early-stage startups using iSAFE notes.

Also, courier service provider Blue Dart Express’ net profit declined 23% in Q2 FY24 to Rs 71 crore, while revenue from operations was at Rs 1,324 crore. It carried 918 lakh shipments weighing 307,480 tonnes during the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Meanwhile, here’s how much funding Indian startups raised in the last week of October. 

ICYMI: Check out the world’s best cities for street food and cocktails!

Lastly, this Halloween, read how ‘tombstone tourists’ are finding beauty and joy in cemeteries.

An interesting choice, some would say! 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Meet female brewer Lynette Pires
• India-inspired art for the world
• Hollywood’s take on Native America

Here’s your trivia for today: Which condiment was used as medicine during the 1830s?

Interview

Meet female brewer Lynette Pires

Decades ago, the brewing industry was primarily male-dominated, but not anymore, says Lynette Pires, one of India’s first female brewers, in a conversation with YS Life. While the number of female brewers in India today is still less, Pires has made a name for herself in the nine years she has spent in the beer industry. 

The former Head Brewer at Byg Brewski Brewing Company in Bengaluru is now brewing beer inspired by local flavours at Seven Rivers Brewing Co.—a chain of microbreweries by AB InBev, in collaboration with the Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL).

Brew stories:

• In 2021, Pires took the initiative to bring an all-women brew crew together for International Women’s Day (IWD). 
• The brew, named ‘West Coast Lady’, became India’s first official Pink Boots Society (an international non-profit organisation supporting women professionals in the brewing and beer industries) collaboration brew. 
• To encourage more women who aspire to become brewers themselves, Pires and her team formed the Women Brewers Collective early this year. 

Splurge

India-inspired art for the world

Krsnaa Mehta, Designer of The Bombay Store and GoodEarth, is among those who defined the ‘quirky’ movement in India in the 2010s. Now, he is the founder and executive director of India Circus—a Mumbai-based lifestyle brand launched in 2012 that incorporates Indian pop art into decor and gifting.  

One glimpse at the India Circus website is enough for the onlooker to realise that the brand does not play safe. In a world obsessed with minimalism and subtlety, Mehta’s designs stand vibrant and bold. 

Luxe:

• At present, the brand is concentrating on home decor and dining—textiles, crockery, and copperware. “These are the success category products,” Mehta adds. 
• The India Circus cushion covers focus more on softer fabrics and cost between Rs 370 and Rs 1,599. Its dinner sets are priced at Rs 14,599, while the carpets cost Rs 5,999.
• In less than a year after launching India Circus, Mehta received investment from Navroze Godrej, Head (Strategy and Innovation), Godrej and Boyce. By December 2015, the Godrej Group had acquired a controlling stake in the brand. 

Entertainment

Hollywood’s take on Native America

Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is his personal tribute to the unconcealed and casual violence that went into building wealth and resources by White American men in the 1920s. Based on the 2017 David Grann non-fiction book with the same title, this film starts with a preface calling his project ‘proper and authentic’. 

The plot:

• With memorable performances by Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and Leonardo Di Caprio, the movie captures the greed on blatant display, as Native Osage Americans were systematically killed when their reservation was discovered to have oil reserves in the 1920s US. 
• While the film is set to become an awards season contender in Hollywood, the movie re-opens the conversation around the portrayal of Native American and Indigenous people in American cinema and popular culture. 
• Unlike this film, most films that have been made by renowned filmmakers on Native American history or culture have faced criticism for selective retelling or partial whitewashing. 

News & updates

• Not now: India is unlikely to sign a global pledge to reduce cooling-related emissions at the COP28 climate meeting, citing the need for the world’s most populous country to have affordable cooling, two government officials told Reuters.
• Trial: FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, testifying in his own defence at his fraud trial, said a “lot of people got hurt” when the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed last year, but insisted he did not defraud anyone or steal billions of dollars from customers.
• Orders: Saudi Arabia is holding on to its ultimatum that foreign companies will need to base their regional headquarters in the kingdom or be barred from lucrative government contracts by January 1, 2024. The government said it would, by 2024, cease doing business with any international company whose regional headquarters is not based within the country. 

Which condiment was used as medicine during the 1830s?

Answer: Tomato ketchup. In 1834, American physician Dr John Cook Bennett first proposed tomato ketchup to be sold as a medicine, claiming to cure ailments like diarrhoea, indigestion, and jaundice. 

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