We're Sourabh and Meghna — good friends, both software engineers, and both a little obsessed with board games, new cafés, and any excuse to step out and just hang out. We already talk all day on calls and WhatsApp, so whenever we meet we hunt for something to do together — not another recap of the week, but something our hands and brains can share.
Growing up, both of us tore through Sudoku, crosswords, and whatever puzzle the daily paper tucked inside. That habit never really left — it was always five more minutes, one more clue. So as adults with full inboxes and calendar Tetris, we still gravitated toward paper when we wanted a break that didn't feel like another screen.
01The night at the petrol pump
One night around 1 a.m., we found ourselves at a Shell petrol pump — Maggi, chai, fluorescent lights, the whole slightly-surreal Indian midnight scene. On the table: someone's forgotten newspaper. We grabbed it the way you grab the aux cord — same page, same pen, same competitive grin.
We'd usually kill fifteen minutes before the food arrived. That night we looked up forty-five minutes laterand realised we hadn't touched our phones except to ignore them. The puzzles had done what a thousand group chats couldn't: they gave us a third thing in the room besides us and the steam from the cups.
02The idea we couldn't unsee
Walking back to the car, the question landed almost as a joke — then it stuck. Not politics, not anxiety headlines, not the infinite scroll disguised as “staying informed” — just games, riddles, silly facts, and room in the margins for worse guesses.
Cafés already sell great coffee and playlists. We wanted something you could pass across the table — cheap for the venue, priceless for the conversation — and something that felt just as good on a Sunday sofa or a hostel common room.
03What we built
That's The No-News Paper: a monthly print ritual built like a newspaper, wired like a game night. Meghna brings the colour, type, and cover energy; we both chase the puzzles and “one more page” pacing. If you've ever finished a meal and wished the evening had one more chapter before everyone reached for their phones — we made this for you, and honestly for us too.