🍳कॉफी की धूम, पृथ्वी के ध्रुव का पता बदलना और भी बहुत कुछ...

A Sunny Side Up edition where we talk about Earth's shifting magnetic pole, the decimalisation of India's coinage and more.    ​    ​A Sunny Side Up edition where we talk about Earth's shifting magnetic pole, the decimalisation of India's coinage and more.   ​

Hey folks,

What if your next wild party didn’t end in a hangover… but with a hot latte?

Yeah, you might be thinking - what are we even talking about? But that’s the world of coffee raves. From Amsterdam and New York to Indian cities, this sober-friendly trend is bubbling up fast. And here’s how it works — DJs spinning sunrise sets in cafés, baristas pulling espresso shots instead of cocktails, and crowds dancing to good vibes, all before breakfast or during sunset.

Now, the idea isn’t entirely new to India. The model popped up briefly back in 2018, probably thanks to expensive nightlife real estate and a rising curiosity around alternative party scenes. But it didn’t quite stick. Maybe the coffee culture hadn’t fully percolated yet, or partygoers weren’t quite ready to trade their tequila shots for caffeine highs. 

Fast forward to now, and Gen Z’s craving for unique, Instagrammable, community-driven experiences has given it a second shot. Artists like DJ Tanishq are touring with More Coffee More Rave. And it’s doing a few good things. Cafés get more footfall. Artists get new gigs and a sober-friendly audience and even teenagers. And for the rest of us, it could be a dopamine hit without the hangover. Especially in dry states like Gujarat, it’s a workaround that comes with no red tape.

Sure, some say it’s just a fad. Not all cafés are built for acoustics, the novelty might wear off, and frequent parties might shoo away regulars who just want a quiet cup of joe.

But even if the format evolves, the appetite for fresh ways to “go out” is real. And India’s coffee market is booming. Event culture is thriving. And for many, going out is no longer about getting drunk, it’s about feeling good.

So whether you're sober-curious, done with clubs, or just want to dance in the daylight — coffee raves might just be your new jam.

Here’s a soundtrack to put you in the mood 🎵

Long time no see by Taimour Baig

You can thank our reader Isha Sharma for this lyrical recommendation!

What caught our eye this week 👀

Earth’s pole is changing addresses

What if we told you your Google Maps works thanks to a giant swirling ocean of molten iron beneath your feet? No, seriously. Because your phone’s compass (and pretty much every GPS system out there) depends on Earth’s magnetic field. And that magnetic field is powered by our planet’s spinning metal core.

But the thing is that this magnetic field isn’t fixed. In fact, the magnetic north pole is drifting, and right now, it's sliding closer to Siberia.

You see, unlike the geographic North Pole, which stays put, magnetic north is a bit of a wanderer. Since it was first discovered in 1831 by British explorer James Clark Ross, it’s travelled thousands of kilometres. From Canada to Russia, and it’s been shifting faster in recent decades, drifting at around 35 kilometres a year!

And if that feels too technical, you can think of Earth’s core like a massive pot of molten soup. As it churns, it creates invisible magnetic lines around the planet. And these lines help everything from birds and whales to ships, planes and yes, your Uber driver, figure out which way the North is.

So if our maps don’t keep up with this magnetic drift, things can go haywire. A few degrees off, and suddenly a plane’s autopilot might think it's flying toward Delhi when it’s supposed to land in Dubai.  A ship might misnavigate a port. Even your food delivery guy might take a few wrong turns.

That’s why scientists constantly update something called the World Magnetic Model (WMM). It’s like the GPS version of refreshing your Google Maps app but for the entire planet. That’s probably why it’s complicated and takes time, money, and a whole lot of data. Last year in December, they rolled out an update which will remain valid until late 2029. And the recent update comes with a super high-res version that’s more detailed, used in aviation, defence, and maritime industries. And over the next few years, companies will need to integrate this into their systems to stay on track.

But here's the wild part. Earth’s magnetic field has actually flipped in the past. Like a full-on reversal, where north becomes south and vice versa. The last one occurred around 780,000 years ago (known as the Brunhes–Matuyama reversal). The planet survived, of course. But humans weren’t around to see what happened to satellites, telecom networks, or marinelife.

Now, we’re not saying a flip is coming tomorrow. But shifts are happening. And while AI-assisted recalibration and self-adjusting magnetometers are being tested, the best fix available right now is regular WMM model updates. Which GPS and tech teams across the world are working on as we speak. Because the longer we wait, the bigger the error in direction.

So next time your cab driver gets you somewhere or your pilot lands smoothly through dense clouds — remember, it’s not just tech. It’s also molten iron magic happening deep below, keeping our modern world on track.

Crazy, yeah?

Infographic 📊

This Day in Financial History 📜

1st of April, 1957 ― India’s coins transitioned to the decimal system

On this day, India decided to give its coinage system a makeover.

Because you see, before 1957, money in India was a bit of a maths puzzle. ₹1 wasn’t just 100 paise. It was split into 16 annas, and each anna into 4 pice. Not exactly easy to split a bill. This system was a colonial hangover and had been around for decades.

So in 1955, India decided to make things simpler. The Coinage Act was amended. And two years later, the decimal system kicked in. The rupee stayed the same, just split into 100 paise. These new coins were called “naye paise” (new paise), just to help people tell them apart from the older ones.

Simple. Or so they thought.

But for a while, both old and new coins were in circulation, and people had to do conversions on the fly. A plate of idlis that earlier cost 4 annas (a quarter rupee) was now 25 naye paise. But many shopkeepers charged 26 paise instead.

If that made you go “why?”, well, it was partly because people were still wrapping their heads around the new system. Others rounded up out of habit or convenience. If something came to 25.25 paise, it was easier to round up to 26 paise. Some even used the confusion to their advantage, knowing most wouldn’t argue over a paisa.

But they were wrong. Arguments still broke out, especially in smaller towns where every paisa mattered. And that was understandable as one paisa could still get you peanuts or a front-row cinema seat back then!

So yeah, it took some time until people got used to the change. And it wasn’t until 1964 that the word “naya” was dropped. People had made peace with paise.

Over the next couple of decades, smaller coins like 1, 2 and 3 paise quietly disappeared as rising prices made them practically worthless.

Fun fact: The quarter anna, a copper coin about the size of today’s ₹1, had a hole in the middle. That design was practically meant for stringing 64 coins together into a ₹1 garland! But when the coin eventually fell out of use, plumbers and mechanics got creative and repurposed them as washers to fix nuts and bolts. Now that’s some real jugaad!

And that’s how India fully embraced its decimal journey.

P.S. If this intrigued you, we recommend reading this beautifully written article, “The Forgotten Anniversary of Decimalisation” by Vikram Doctor in The Economic Times.

Readers Recommend 🗒️

This week, our reader Aashish Nuhani has a book recommendation for us. Coffee Can Investing by Saurabh Mukherjea, Rakshit Ranjan, Pranab Uniyal.

Aashish tells us that this book simplifies personal finance and goal-based investing. Jargons like ETFs and bonds suddenly start making sense. But what really stood out to him was the framework of categorising expenses into necessities, nice-to-haves, and luxuries — and then planning a portfolio of investments accordingly. It pushed him and his wife to rethink their portfolio and realign their financial goals. A must-read, he says, for every professional and couple.

Thanks for the rec, Aashish!

That’s it from us this week. We’ll see you next Sunday!

Until then, send us your book, music, business movies, documentaries or podcast recommendations. We’ll feature them in the newsletter! Also, don’t forget to tell us what you thought of today's edition. Just hit reply to this email (or if you’re reading this on the web, drop us a message: morning@finshots.in).

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