Mood: How Lounge team is feeling this week

When time is money

“The Only One"—these words, etched on one of the dials of the Patek Philippe watch, are indicative of why it went on to break the record for the most expensive watch in the world on 9 November. The winning bid of $31 million (around ₹223 crore) was for the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 at the Only Watch auction in Geneva. The watch’s 20 complications are a marvel of modern engineering, executed exclusively for the auction. The proceeds will go to research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Hold the onion tears

Unless they were making chicken do pyaaza, a lot of people have been sparingly using onions in their cooking the past month. In the first week of November, onion prices touched ₹100 a kg in some states. The acceptable or non-inflationary price for one kilo of onions is ₹20 in summer—this can go up to ₹60 in winter. The apparent reason is short supply. This year, the rates have been unusually high due to the unpredictable rain that affected onion cultivation and floods that damaged existing stock. Last week, Union food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted that the government had decided to import 100,000 tonnes of onions to control the price rise. These will retail in local markets till 15 December and are expected to deter hoarding.

Asterix’s first female hero

It has taken 60 years, but better late than never. The latest Asterix comic, written by Jean-Yves Ferri and illustrated by Didier Conrad—after the manner of the original creators, René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo—features “the first female hero" in the history of the series. In Asterix And The Chieftain’s Daughter (Hachette India, ₹499), the feisty teenage daughter of the Gaulish king Vercingetorix, appropriately called Adrenaline, gives Asterix and Obelix a run for their money. Some have seen traces of climate activist Greta Thunberg in her long braid, but the creators say the resemblance is entirely coincidental.—SG

When faith unites

Pakistan and India took a landmark step last week by opening the first-ever visa-free access for Indians to the famous gurdwara in Kartarpur. Over 500 Indian pilgrims have visited the Sikh holy site since. On returning, most have spoken about the warmth and hospitality of the neighbours. In Amritsar, billboards crediting MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan have come up. The bonhomie seems to have affected Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh too. He had earlier claimed Pakistan had a “hidden agenda" in opening the corridor. After returning from the first delegation to Kartarpur, he tweeted that he felt “humbled", and what he felt at Kartarpur “can’t be described in words".