BS Yeddyurappa submits his resignation as Karnataka chief minister to Governor Vajubhai Vala in Bengaluru on Saturday. Pic/PTI

At a press conference moments after BS Yeddyurappa quit as Karnataka chief minister for the third occasion in his life, this time after just two impotent days, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was asked if he would demand Governor Vajubhai Vala's resignation. Just the day before, Rahul had tweeted that Vala's decision to invite Yeddyurappa to form a government, despite being short of a majority and not having any other party's support, was "unconstitutional". Yet, with the press he was philosophical: "What's the point?" Rahul said. "Even if Governor Vala is made to go, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi would put another puppet in his place, who will take exactly the same decisions."

Rahul repeatedly stressed the point that the RSS, through Modi, is out to destroy all institutions in India because it respects no institution other than the RSS. Modi did not behave like a democrat, he said, but like a "dictator". (Also, the Congress president referred to his BJP counterpart as "murder accused Amit Shah".)

Some Indians don't mind Modi being a dictator. They think democracy in India is too slow and needs to be speeded up. Not only is this sentiment justified by pseudo-Darwinism — so what if the poor get left behind? — it doesn't seem to bother them that subverting Constitutional niceties may backfire on them one day, when the Great Leader is replaced by someone else, perhaps another regional leader in a hurry. For now it's okay if their Governors try one thing in Manipur and Goa, and then try the opposite in Karnataka.

Rahul did not mention, however, the elephant in the room: the occupant of the highest constitutional office in the land. For much of the republic's life we have had some pretty ordinary occupants in Rashtrapati Bhawan, and one need not go far back in history to find some awful examples. Pratibha Patil was nominated by the UPA to be India's first woman president, but she was far from a leading advocate of gender-equality or even equal-pay issues during her career; her elevation was simply an exercise in tokenism —much in the way that Ram Nath Kovind's is. (Another pedestrian candidate, to my mind, was fixer and murky backroom boy Pranab Mukherjee, who in 2012 end-gamed then Congress President Sonia Gandhi into nominating him.)

President Kovind isn't even the first dalit in Rashtrapati Bhawan. The first was KR Narayanan, who unlike President Kovind, had a distinguished career as a diplomat and an academician before he became vice-president (and in 1997, president). President Kovind's achievements have been modest in the field of education; and though he was personal assistant to Prime Minister Morarji Desai, he has been a Hindutva ideologue for over a quarter of a century. The RSS considers him its man.

President Kovind isn't anywhere near the stratosphere of popularity achieved by the other NDA nominee for president, the late APJ Abdul Kalam, who succeeded Narayanan in 2002. On the contrary, President Kovind was earlier this month left looking diminished thanks to former information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani (repeatedly the proverbial bull in Modi's china shop) who mismanaged his presentation of the National Film Awards, provoking many artistes to boycott the function. (The photos were catastrophic, showing rows of empty seats at the function.)

President KR Narayanan distinguished himself in office with a couple of correct Constitutional decisions that shocked the political establishment, because he acted impartially rather than be the government's rubber stamp. In October 1997, he returned the recommendation by then Prime Minister IK Gujral's to put UP under President's Rule. He is the only president to have refused to impose central rule (he did it again the next year), setting an important precedent for federalism.

Given the recent partisanship of members of the Election Commission and of the Supreme Court, and with Governor Vala's naked and shameless partiality — he disregarded recommendations by various Centre-State Commissions set up since Independence on the Governor's role in inviting a party for government formation — you need not be a rocket scientist to predict President Kovind's behaviour if the 2019 election produces a hung parliament.

Imagine a scenario where the BJP wins about 180 seats and the Congress wins about 185, or the other way around. Forget for a moment how the pre-poll and post-poll alliances shape up. Then ask yourself the question: who will President Kovind invite first to form the government? This must be weighing on the minds of Rahul Gandhi and his team. It is obvious to most of us why Modi appoints whoever he appoints to high Constitutional office — it is to do his bidding. President Kovind's critical moment in history will come when he will have to make a choice — to be another KR Narayanan, or to be another Vajubhai Vala.

Aditya Sinha's latest book, The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI, and the Illusion of Peace (HarperCollins India), written with former spychiefs AS Dulat and Asad Durrani, is out this week. He tweets @autumnshade Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Richa Kaul Padte

When I set out to write this book, I expected to find that Indian women were watching, making and enjoying porn. And indeed, I found that! What I didn't expect, though, was how comfortable and open they would be while talking about it," says Richa Kaul Padte of her debut non-fiction, Cyber Sexy (Penguin Random House). Through an intimate tour of online sex cultures — from camgirls to fanfiction writers, homemade videos to consent violations — the book investigates what it means to seek out pleasure online. Padte grew up in Kodaikanal and has lived most of her life in Brighton, England. Apart from being the co-founder of the award-winning publication Deep Dives, her writings have appeared in several publications. The well-researched book is full of interesting anecdotes, which had us questioning what we think we knew of porn. We spoke to her about women who romantacise porn, what inspires her, and if women would rather read erotica than watch the act on screen.

Excerpts from an interview:

In retrospect, what would you say the true vision of the book is?
Looking back on the project, what has come to the surface is that Cyber Sexy allows readers to feel less alone. Many people I interviewed said that the experience of sharing their stories removed a sense of isolation, and I know for sure that I as the listener felt a lot of relief, just hearing them. It's a comfort to know how varied desire is; that no matter how strange what's inside us can feel, we're never truly alone.

You have had intense, deep conversations with varied women for this book. Share some anecdotes that really stayed with you.
Not just with women, but with men too. For example, I spoke to one man who said he had always been embarrassed and bullied about the size and shape of his penis, but through participating in nude photoshoots, he came to terms with and started loving his body. This stayed with me, because men are often under pressure to be a certain type of masculine — and they rarely express these vulnerabilities. So, whenever men were able to talk about these gentler, less confident parts of their sexualities, it stood out for me.

What revelations did you have about the Indian woman and her sexuality?
As girls and women we're not encouraged to talk about sex, so I thought there would be some degree of reservation in interviews. I was so heartened to find this was not the case – women were happy to openly share their experiences, and I was more than happy to hear about them.

In your experience, how do men and women consume porn? For example, one may watch porn to please themselves, but quite often, we also think of people we desire. Do you think woman romanticise porn?
I think this might be more of an individual preference than a gendered thing. Desire is constantly shifting, just like fantasies, just like porn preferences. And I don't think romaticising porn is a gender-specific experience. Having said that, I think where women and men's porn preferences do differ is on the question of consent. Almost every woman said that as soon as porn seemed non-consensual, they were instantly turned off. I think as women we are constantly worried about having our consent violated, so our porn consumption reflects this fear.

Do you think women prefer reading porn rather than watching it?
I don't think I've surveyed enough women to make this claim definitively, but what I can say for sure is that erotica, fanfiction, and other sexy writings on the Internet are predominantly women-led spaces. Personally speaking, sex scenes in novels was how I first started exploring my own desires as a teenager, and I think for many women the written word is a safe, intimate space in which to express sexuality — both as readers and as writers.

Women usually find it easier to go without sex for long periods of time. Could this affect their desires?
My point is, everyone can survive without sex, but sex is also a deep human need. I think what does affect women's desires is fear — fear of unwanted pregnancies, abuse, violence, etc. We think twice — or 50 times —before we go home with unknown men. Not because we want sex any less than them, but because gender violence is a reality we have to perpetually contend with. So we often forgo desire because we want to, you know, stay alive.

Also Read: Married? This Dating Site Is Meant For You

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Two years ago, Jaidwaj Malhotra was running a Google search for a motor for his model airplane when he instead started reading about drones and how to build them. He was immediately taken in by the little object that could fly at 120 km per hour. Today, the 18-year-old is working for an organisation, helping them design surveillance drones for the Indian Army.

Malhotra is part of a tight-knit community of young drone racers in the city that came into being around the time the Indian Drone Racing League (IDRL) was founded by Karan Kamdar in 2016. Over the past two years, the field has gained a sizeable traction with IDRL having 875 pilots registered with them from all over India. The pursuit is expensive.

Building a drone can cost as much as '40,000, and the not-so-cheap batteries must be replaced every three months. The police continues to remain suspicious of fliers. However, for these pumped up youngsters, no obstacle is too big. Even with the odds stacked against them, they are finding ways to let their dreams fly.

'Burnt the circuit board while building my first drone'
Jaidwaj Malhotra, 18

His father being into aero-modelling, Juhu resident Jaidwaj Malhotra has always had a fascination for flying objects. Two years ago he participated in an aeromodelling competition held by Boeing, at the IIT TechFest. Around the same time, he came across the drone, or the "quadcopter". "If you want to fly a drone, it is important that you build it as well. You need to understand the mechanics, to ensure best control. And, in case of trouble, you must know how to fix it in a second," Malhotra says. Like Nayak, he too is a self-taught drone-maker, who got all his knowledge from the Internet.

Jaidwaj Malhotra. Pic/Satej Shinde

"My first attempt was not successful. I burnt the circuit board. But, you live and learn," says the first-year mechanical engineering student. He spread the word on his drone-making abilities on social media and soon people began to approach him. "That's how I got roped in by a startup to design UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) for the Army." When he doesn't have exams, he practises six hours a day on a track that he builds himself, on the Jamnabai School Grounds. "A racing track comprises elements like gates, flags and cones that act as obstacles. I practise on one track, then change it completely and practise again."

One Race I want to participate in: World Drone Prix

'I am the first pilot to register from the country'
Siddharth Nayak, 26

Employed in the construction sector, Nayak is currently neck-deep into the Mumbai Metro project. It's only in the weekends that he manages to fly. "Sometimes, it's not even that, as there are working Sundays too," he tells us. Nayak, who grew up in Nala Sopara and got a degree in instrumentation engineering from a Vasai's Vartak college, has always been keen on robotics. "But, that was mostly stuff on land; I had a craze for flying."

Siddharth Nayak. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

Randomly stumbling upon a drone-racing video on YouTube in 2016 was a deciding moment for him. Nayak, of course, had no experience in drones up until that point. He went through several tutorials online and managed to build his first drone. "I tried it out in the dried salt pans in Vasai, where there were no people. It went up till about 30 feet," he says, speaking of his test run.

The height is not the point of importance in drone racing, where they race not more than seven feet above the ground. "It's precision and control that counts, because you're flying at 120 kmph. It's a lot tougher to control drones at a lower height." Nayak had his first race in IIT Gandhinagar in 2016 and his latest victory was last month at Smaaash, besides three races in Kochi and Pilani. "I had once quit my job to do this professionally, but that didn't work," he says with a smile. Nayak's next aim is to represent an organisation as a drone racer. "My dream is to represent India as a drone racer in an international league, someday."

One Race I want to participate in: Drone Champion League

'I sold my first drone to build my second one'
Himadri Roy, 21

When he was in Std X, Himadri Roy asked his father for money to build his first drone. "I had done my research. I showed him the outline of my plan, which I had developed after going through hundreds of tutorials and blogs. When he saw that I was not talking out of thin air, he agreed," says Roy. The first drone that he built had a larger frame and was heavy. It took him over a month to finish, with help from his father. "Now, I can build it in a week." In the years that followed, he upgraded his machine. "I learnt about more sophisticated methods online and then I sold my first drone to a friend who is an engineer, and used that money to build my second one. This one is a racing drone. It's smaller, faster and more agile." Roy, who was a member of an online forum called Remote Controlled India, came across IDRL on it. He got invited to his first race in Gandhinagar in 2016. "I did a few laps and crashed. It's crucial to keep your mind steady in this race. If you worry you'll crash, you will. I have become calmer now."

Himadri Roy. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

He uses the same calm to deal with authorities when they come in the way. "The laws regarding droning are not clear in India. So, the police continues to stop us. Last week, a police vehicle followed me while I was flying. When something like that happens, I try to explain that it is a sport. I also let them watch the video feed that has recorded what the drone has seen, so they know that we are anything but troublemakers." Currently, he is employing his drone knowledge in his fourth year project. "We are trying to develop drones that can be used for industry surveillance, to identify defects in mobile towers, in particular," he says.

One Race I want to participate in: Smaaash Drone Race at Gateway of India

Tight jackets and tunics in diaphanous materials replaced the more pragmatic, flowing qabas, Jahangir did not marry anyone after Noor Jahan, Women wore jamas of fine muslin, so sought-after that they were named running water and night dew. Pics/Courtesy Aleph

While we all remember the story of 16th century Timurid warrior and scholar Babur's arduous journey from Kabul to Punjab, from where he waged war on Delhi to become the first Emperor of the Mughal dynasty, little is known of the wives, sisters, daughters and aunts, who travelled with him, and helped him establish his empire in the Indian sub-continent.

A new book by Gurgaon-based author Ira Mukhoty, Daughters of the Sun (Aleph Book Company), is a first-of-its-kind attempt to chronicle the role of the women in building the empire, and whose stories have suffered the neglect of both, history and memory. "Women, in general, are a misremembered group in history," says Mukhoty, in an email interview. "Their achievements are constantly ignored or diminished in favour of the histories of men. For the Mughals, it is further complicated by the fact that a lot of the works are in Persian, a language that is seriously out of favour in India. There is a Persian document called the Pilgrims' Confidant, about the Haj pilgrim to Mecca, sponsored by Aurangzeb's daughter Zeb-un Nisa. I tried very hard to have the document translated into English, but was unable to. This is a beautifully illustrated manuscript, which may have interesting references to its imperial patron. The original document is, moreover, in a collection abroad, as are many Mughal documents following the great plunder by the British. So there are many layers obscuring the legacy of the Mughal women; language, despoliation and disinterest," she adds.

Ira Mukhoty

For Mukhoty, the idea of researching this book came to her when she stumbled on the story of Jahanara Begum, daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan, who reigned from 1628 to 1658. "The over-arching scope of her ambition, so clearly spelt out in all her works, took my breath away. At a time when even globally women were expected to live lives of quiet submission, Jahanara blazed such a fiery trail. And yet we really don't remember the extent of her achievements at all," she says.

The book is split into three parts. The first discusses the peripatetic queens, who travelled from Persia to Hindustan, and includes Khanzada Begum, Babur's elder sister, and his wife Dildar Begum, among others. The next talks of the wives during the imperial splendour. Here, Jahangir's wife Mehr-un-Nisa Begum alias Noor Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal — Shah Jahan's wife — find mention. The last section of the book takes us into the waning years of the Mughal empire, fraught with greed and overreaching ambition. The story of Jahanara Begum, the beloved eldest, unmarried daughter of Shah Jahan stands out here.

An interesting source for Mukhoty's book was Gulbadan Begum's Humayun-nama. Gulbadan was sister to Humayun and daughter to Babur, who arrived in Hindustan at the age of five. "She was asked many decades later by her grandnephew, Akbar, to write a biography of Babur and Humayun," Mukhoty writes in the book. "Gulbadan's account is a fascinating insight into the households of Babur and Humayun as seen by an insider. Her writing is forthright, frank and rambunctious," says Mukhoty. "It is her lack of a self-conscious eye on posterity, which made her account so invaluable. She gives us details which help us imagine a living, breathing space instead of a splendid, but unknowable place which the male biographers wrote about. Male historians of that time wrote in grave and obscure prose, about battles and ancestors. Gulbadan wrote about Humayun's opium habit and his relationship with one of his feisty wives," says the writer.

Among the Mughal women, whom Mukhoty has most affection for is Khanzada Begum, who at 65, rode on horseback through 750 km of icy passes to parley on behalf of her nephew, Humayun. "This fearless and indomitable lady made sacrifices all her life for the legacy of her younger brother Babur, and for the future of her family. She was constantly sent as peace ambassador to warring brothers and travelled endless miles through icy terrain on horseback. She wept upon seeing the infant Akbar, because he reminded her of her long dead 'baby' brother Babur. This gives us such a different insight into Babur too, no longer the marauding foreigner of legend but a dearly beloved and mourned brother," she says.

Mukhoty, however, finds Mumtaz Mahal to be the most voiceless of the lot she researched about — the irony being that she was also the most famous. "I think the Taj Mahal, and the 20th century construct of an 'exclusive love' that it generated is definitely the reason Mumtaz Mahal is viewed with affection by so many. But she left no writings, no substantial buildings, no clear evocation of an ambition. She was busy raising 14 children in 19 years, travelling the length and breadth of the country with her restless husband. She will forever be hidden by the splendour of the Taj Mahal."

Also Read: Mughal-Era Artefacts Seized From Antique Smuggler's Secret SoBo Godown

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Yakuza 6 is the final chapter in the Kazuma Kiryu saga and the debut of a new engine for the game. For those who have never played Yakuza before, there is a handy back story that you can read through complete with choice visuals from the previous game. Even without the story mode, the game is self-sufficient and you won't feel like you are missing something. It plays out like a melodramatic Japanese movie — there are lots of cut-scenes and it will be a while before you go around breaking bones and destroying property. Fortunately, the story is decent enough to keep you engaged, considering it is around 30 hours long.

For the uninitiated, you play Kazuma Kiryu, a yakuza, who is part of the Japanese mafiosi. The idea of the game is to go around completing the tasks assigned in the story mode. However, you are also in Japan, which means there are many fun distractions to while away time. In the past, these distractions have been many and made Yakuza a game that you could play forever. In Yakuza 6, however, the side activities are few, but they are well made. Some choices are playing mahjong, working out, playing baseball, visiting a hostess bar or a cat café.

The biggest addition to the side activities is the Clan Creator mini-game, where you direct gang members in a top down view of a brawl. You can add special characters to your clan, by defeating them in combat. This mini-game is a lot of fun, even though defeating your foes is often too easy. The overall combat in Yakuza is also super easy. Kiryu is capable of handling multiple thugs with just a few basic moves. You can pick up anything off the street and use it as a weapon. Building rage can trigger special moves, which is essentially just beating people senseless with whatever you have in your hand. The simplicity of combat makes it easy to learn, but it can get repetitive after a while.

Visually, the new engine shows off the cut-scenes and characters really shine through. The motion is seamless and once you are in an area, the game never stutters. Japan is recreated beautifully, it is like you are roaming the streets of the country. You can enter stores, narrow lanes and explore anything that is on the map. The game is a fitting end to the story of Kazuma Kiryu. The top-notch storytelling and the graphics more than do justice to the Yakuza series. More side activities and layered combat could have kept the game interesting beyond the main storyline, but despite all of this, Yakuza manages to entertain.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Rating: 4/5
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Platform: PS4
Price: Rs 2,999

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Gallery Art & Soul

How often have we heard friends say, "Let's grab a drink?" and the next thing you know, you are headed to Lower Parel? That same enthusiasm, purposefulness, and the promise of an evening well-spent are what art spaces in and around that part of the city are gearing up for this year.

Priyasri Art Gallery

Starting June 29, art lovers can say hello to the Mumbai Midtown Arts Collective (MMAC). An initiative by Anupa Mehta and Rashmi Dhanwani, the MMAC will bring together seven spaces in Worli, Dadar, Byculla and Lower Parel to build upon a format that their counterparts in South Mumbai have cracked over the past few years.

Tao Art Gallery

In this city, artists and visitors mark their calendars for Art Night Thursdays, the second Thursday of every month, when galleries have extended hours instead of their usual closing time of around 6 pm. Similarly, the MMAC will host Art Night Fridays, to be held on the third Friday of the month once every quarter. There will also be Art Sundays, when galleries will remain open, and workshops and sessions will be held in public spaces.

Volte Art Projects

Art Night Thursdays was conceptualised in 2011, along with Mumbai Gallery Weekend, by a group of about eight galleries in South Mumbai. It continues to visibly draw more visitors than what they would have on most other days. To boil it down to basics, it is a mix of two factors — geography and programming.

Piramal Museum of Art + their Byculla gallery

For most Mumbaikars, a weekday visit to South Mumbai, particularly Colaba and Kala Ghoda, where a number of galleries are located, usually means wrapping up early from work, and making at least a 45-minute trip from the suburbs. Art Night Thursdays mean that visitors from Jogeshwari or Mulund can spend more time with exhibitions, walkthroughs and talks.

Anupa Mehta Arts & Advisory

"There is a reason why we are planning for Fridays and not Thursdays. That's the day most professionals working in this part of town will step out and unwind," says Dhanwani, founder of The Art X Company, an arts management consultancy, which will drive MMAC.

Saffronart

There's enough for everyone
Mehta and Dhanwani tell us that the idea to form a central Mumbai collective is not new, and has been on their minds for some time now. And, then, last year, some of the midtown art spaces got a massive push for the first time during Mumbai Gallery Weekend, an outreach programme with a series of art events. Mehta, an arts consultant, who runs Anupa Mehta Arts & Advisory from the studio that earlier used to be a gallery, The Loft, at Lower Parel, could see the difference.

Anupa Mehta and Rashmi Dhanwani

"We had a tea party here, and I expected the regular audience to turn up. Instead, a different crowd dropped by — people who had heard that there was something going on," she says. Lower Parel and Mahalaxmi now have a number of creative clusters, such as indie design studios, today. These areas also house and employ well-travelled aesthetes with disposable incomes.

Dhanwani cites a report by KPMG in India and FICCI (February 2018), titled Visual arts industry in India: Painting the future, which stated that 'a new segment of art buyers in India consists of entrepreneurs, company executives and professionals... An increasing number of young art enthusiasts in their late 20s to early 40s are attending shows at art galleries and festivals, to both participate in workshops as well as buy original artwork.

Pics/Ashish Raje; Map/Deshna Mehta; Imaging/Ravi Jadhav

"Lower Parel has a sizeable presence of such professionals, who are open to different experiences such as catching a comedy or music gig or a new exhibition. Although there is the perceived notion that art is an elite preoccupation, these barriers can be lowered to open arts spaces even further," she says.

Focus on accessibility
In recent years, Lower Parel and its surrounding pincodes have turned into the great corporate heart of the city, drawing thousands through railway networks and SUVs for work and leisure. Mehta says that history always speaks through, as the place that was once devoted to mills, and mill workers. It is reason why accessibility is a key focus of the MMAC — how do you draw the waiting staff from the nearby pub as much as corporate consultants? "We forget that art is the great equaliser, and Lower Parel is a constant reminder that different classes co-exist here," says Dhanwani.

The MMAC, interestingly, is not a homogenous clutch of galleries, but has, under its umbrella, a museum, an arts advisory, an auction house, and galleries that have been around for more than a decade, and those that are fairly new. More are likely to join hands in the near future (check MMAC's Facebook page for more info).

The MMAC, thus, strategically, means more visibility to these spaces, and the recognition of the presence and growth of another art district, co-existing with the one in Colaba. "We are complementing our friends in South Mumbai. We hope that many more area-specific art circles may occur, and cater to local communities," says Mehta. She adds that with galleries showcasing a range of artistic practices, there is a growing audience for all.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Cousins Ayush, Aryan and Arjun Asher enjoy some quiet book reading time with their friend Rudra Shukla at their Worli residence. Pic/Ashish Raje

Of gods and humans

Author Arshia Sattar is no stranger to mythological retellings. Best known for her English translation of Valmiki's Ramayana, Sattar recently released a new children's collection titled Garuda and the Serpents (Juggernaut Books), which draws from the Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana to deliver stories that will evoke both wonder and delight. From tales of why the gods and the asuras churned the ocean, to how Vishwamitra and Vasishtha became enemies for life, these marvellous adventures of gods and humans is not to be given a miss. And, with Sattar, who has a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago, helming the narrative, these stories, we know, rest in safe hands.

Garuda and the Serpents by Arshia Sattar
Age Group: 10+
Price: Rs 350

A rare friendship

The recently-released graphic novel, Indira (Context, Westland), definitely has a special place in history. The young adult novel, which has been brilliantly executed by writer Devapriya Roy and animation filmmaker and illustrator Priya Kuriyan, begins with the story of Indira Thapa, a Std VI student at a government school, who is given an assignment to write an essay around her namesake. Over the course of a long, hot summer and a curious friendship with an artist who is working on a biography of Gandhi, Thapa gets tangled up in the life and times of the country's only female prime minister Indira Gandhi. Through graphic panels and beautiful prose, Roy and Kuriyan lead us through Gandhi's rich legacy, including her rise during the Bangladesh War (1971) and fall, post the Emergency (1975-77). This one is for teenagers who'd like to revisit history differently.

Indira by Devapriya Roy and Priya Kuriyan
Age Group: 13+
Price: Rs 599

Magic on wheels

Lavanya Karthik's Neel on Wheels (Duckbill) is what we think, should be on every kid's must-read list. The book, illustrated by Habib Al, tells the story of Neel, who is wheelchair bound. But, that's hardly holding him back. Neel's wheelchair transforms itself to fight dragons and monsters and chase away scary creatures of the night. One of the prize winners in the Children First contest — started to create more books featuring children with disabilities as protagonists — this book deals sensitively with his challenges and the lovely relationship between Neel and his younger brother, who regards him with awe and respect.

Neel on Wheels by Lavanya Karthik and Habib Al
Age Group: 5+
Price: Rs 299

Family matters

Sharanya Manivannan's poetry is a sheer delight to read. With The Ammuchi Puchi (Puffin Books), the poet and writer has collaborated with illustrator Nerina Canzi to tell the story of Aditya and Anjali, who love listening to their grandmother's stories. Unfortunately, their lives fall apart on the night their grandmother passes away. Suddenly, her stories seem to lose their meaning. It's only when something magical happens that they feel their grandma is with them, after all. The dreamy illustrations complement the poetic prose, for a poignant story.

The Ammuchi Puchi by Sharanya Manivannan and Nerina Canzi
Age Group: 4-7
Price: Rs 199

Grandma knows best

No summer reading is complete without escaping into the stories by author Ruskin Bond. In his new book, Memories of Hills and Dales (Rupa), Bond's protagonist is an affectionate, brimming-with-stories grandmother, who shares tales of the past with her granddaughter Koki. From a mysterious kiss by a stranger in the dark to schoolboys taking off for a trek to a glacier, an old kite-maker reminiscing about his heydays and a beautiful village girl whose charms a city boy can't resist, this slice-of-life collection — many of which are autobiographical — takes us through the life in the hills and the joys, sorrows and excitement it holds.

Memories of Hills and Dales by Ruskin Bond
Age Group: 8+
Price: Rs 195

Suitcase memories

Nidhi Chanani's heart-warming debut graphic novel, Pashmina (HarperCollins India) weaves a tale about the hardship and self-discovery that is born from juggling two cultures. The story revolves around Priyanka Das, who has many unanswered questions — why did her mother abandon her home in India? What was it like there? And, most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? Pri's mom avoids all these questions. For Pri, her homeland only exists in her imagination, until she finds a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a fantasy world more vivid and colourful than anything she could have ever imagined. But to know whether this world is for real, she needs to travel further. For young readers, Chanani creates a world that magical through her prose and illustrations.

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Age Group: 8+
Price: Rs 399

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Things have not been going well for The Simpsons. Aside from the fact that it became America's longest running scripted TV series last month, having clocked 636 episodes. Last November, Hari Kondabulu, in his documentary The Problem With Apu, drew the world's attention to what Apu really was — a problem. The characterisation of this immigrant convenience store owner who had a PhD and eight children was sharply criticised. Describing Hank Azaria's voice of Apu, Kondabulu said it resembled "a white guy doing an impression of a white guy, making fun of my father".

The world took note, but, the creators of the series decided there was no problem with Apu. In a veiled attack on Kondabolu's film, the "Apu problem" is dismissed as a hazard of being "politically incorrect" in the words of Lisa, in an episode titled No Good Read Goes Unpunished. That, followed by The Simpsons' creator Matt Groening saying that people "love to pretend they are offended", it was a slippery slope for Apu and his makers. And while keyboard crusaders continue to express their ire, Indian-American producer Adi Shankar and John Rhodes, co-founder of a Hollywood screenwriting talent-discovery platform, launched a contest inviting writers to rewrite Apu. The winning script shall be pitched to the The Simpsons' makers. Here are three writers who have been on the job.

'I changed his voice'
Shreyas Manohar, 23, screenwriter

Nagpur born Shreyas Manohar moved to the US three years ago. He just graduated from Columbia university in English and Creative writing. He had also been working on spec scripts for diversity TV programs conducted by CBS and NBC, especially The Simpsons and Veep, when he came across this contest. "I couldn't comprehend how a show of this calibre could address the controversy in such a tone-deaf manner," he says. Priyanka Chopra was not the only one asked in high school in the US why wouldn't she speak like Apu. "One of my closest friends once remarked, 'If you could talk normally, would you?' It was hurtful, but, not surprising." Manohar's Apu in Much Apu About Nothing enrolls in an accent workshop being taught by Peter Sellers, the actor who inspired the character of Apu. The trials that the episode takes Apu through lends him a manner of speaking that's not a lazy caricature. "I changed Apu's voice, so that his actual voice, and not just his accent, is heard," he says.

'He could be more useful'
Forest Kirst, 61, flight instructor

A flight instructor by profession, 61-year-old Forest Kirst started watching the show in the early 90s. His students would carve Apu, Bart, Lisa in aluminum and brass. When Kirst learnt about the contest, he wanted to try his hand in creating a new Apu, because he too had certain reservations. Having travelled extensively in India and Pakistan, Apu's accent did not sit well with him. "It's annoying, but comical. It's a product of how the writers of the show remember accents of convenience store employees in LA." Kirst's Apu in Apu Saves Springfield is a hero. "I feel Apu could be a more useful character. In my story, world leaders and spies are on the hunt for Apu, the hacker. My Apu could use his knowledge in computers to reprogram a nuclear reactor. He could block Trump from tweeting thus saving the US from much embarrassment. But, Apu must remain a comedy character, who calmly runs his store while keeping his brilliance a secret." He points out that everyone on the show is a stereotype. "They are bumbling idiots. I hope people don't think Americans are as dumb and fat as depicted on this show."

'He reminded me of my dad'
Herman Dhaliwal, 25, aspiring filmmaker

Born to immigrant parents, Herman Dhaliwal grew up in Charlottesville. His dad, who passed away in 2015, used to own a convenience store. "Seeing any Indian guy on TV who owned a convenience store, was of course going to remind me of my father. I would say, both Apu and my dad were comically overqualified for the job. My father was also bit of a workaholic, and, like Apu, he was friendly but also stubborn," says Dhaliwal who was only four when he started watching the show. "Stereotypes are rooted in truth. When taken at face value, and out of context, they become caricatures. As writers, we need to educate ourselves to be able to create something sensitive and human," he says. His script, titled "The World of Apu", is taken from the third installment of Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy. In this story, Apu is mute. "He has an accident at the store and turns mute. The rest of the story has him figuring how to deal with life after that," Dhaliwal says. Apu is not the only character he has changed. "I also wanted to give his wife Manjula something to do. If representation of South Asian men in American media is bad, South Asian women have it worse." In Dhaliwal's story, Manjula, takes on the reins of the store after Apu's accident. The man instead gets to use his skills as a computer science doctorate.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Photographer and graphic designer Anusha Yadav started the Indian Memory Project, an online, visual, narrative-based archive in 2010, to trace the history of the subcontinent via photographs and letters. Pic/Ashish Raje

EarLier this week, artist and oral historian Aanchal Malhotra, 28, travelled nearly 240 km to Chandigarh from Delhi, to meet a nonagenarian, who had lived through the Partition of 1947. As she speaks about it now, there's a lump in her throat. "I couldn't sleep that entire night," Malhotra confesses. "Even 70 years on, the woman is so afraid to talk about it. It had everything, from gun fire, to fleeing from her home in Pakistan, to her brother and mother being taken as prisoners, and to giving birth in a forest on her way to India. When she first delivered the baby, her immediate response was to throw it away. You can imagine what trauma she was experiencing." What surprised Malhotra most was when the 90-year-old asked her what she would do with her story. "I said that I wanted to publish it. The woman's immediate response was, 'who will read this?'. They really think that nobody cares. But, this is the story that has shaped the future of contemporary India."

The jewellery Aanchal Malhotra is wearing, was made in the North-West Frontier Province and was given to her great-grandmother, Lajvanti Gulyani, by her in-laws on her wedding to Hari Chand Gulyani in the year 1919. But it could have been in the Gulyani family before that as well. Since she became a widow quite young and was a single mother at the time of Partition, it was carried by her to India in 1947 because she thought she would be able to sell it and earn money to put her children through school. She then gave it to Malhotra’s grandmother, who has now given it to her. Pic/Nishad Alam

Malhotra is the author of Remnants of Separation (HarperCollins India), a book that revisited the Partition through objects carried across the border, and the co-founder — along with Navdha Malhotra — of The Museum of Material Memory, a digital repository of material culture of the Indian subcontinent, tracing family histories and ethnography through heirlooms and objects of antiquity. Since the launch of the archive last year, the founders have put together over 35 heartwarming object stories. Closer home, photographer and graphic designer Anusha Yadav's Indian Memory Project — an online, visual, narrative-based archive, founded in 2010, which traces the history of the subcontinent via photographs and letters — has helped us see history in another light. There is also Paris-based perfumer Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan, whose recently-published book, Pukka Indian: 100 objects that Define India (Roli Books), documents the most coveted symbols and designs representing our culture, by tracing its origin and significance in our lives. All three projects while different in essence and form, have one common intent — to record untold stories from our history and preserve them for posterity. But, as Malhotra's subject asked her, why should anyone be curious?

The chakla and belan originated in 7,500 – 6,000 BCE in Punjab. At the time, this region was cultivating wheat and barley extensively. Rather than using the flatness of the chakla and the pressure of the belan to what we might expect to be used around the country to make flatbread, whatever the ingredient might be, it is only in this region of north India that the chakla and belan were used simply because wheat and barley lend themselves to kneading. What must have been perceived as a high-technology kitchen tool then, the chakla and belan soon spread to other parts of the country. Text courtesy/Pukka India by Jahnvi Lakhota Nanda, Roli books; Pic/Shivani Gupta

Celebrating the mundane
Nandan, an alumnus of the School of Art and Design at Tsukuba University, Japan, admits that her project stemmed out of her curiosity to find out about the designs that define us an Indian. "Design is a mirror of our attitudes and habits. Through the course of writing this book on Indian design, I found that uniquely Indian gestures like churning, combing and calculating were reflected in it," she writes in the book. From the dabba, agarbatti, and kulhad, to Babuline gripe water, most of the objects Nandan chose for the book, have "either been made or originated in India, or have an element that is very Indian, or are being used in a very Indian context".

This picture is of Purvi Sanghvi’s grandfather Dwarkadas Jivanlal Sanghvi (extreme right in a black coat) and his brother Vallabhdas Jivanlal Sanghvi with their business partners at a Pen Exhibition in Bombay around 1951. The family ran Wilson Pens that quickly rose to huge fame and became a preferred choice of pens across the country. All government offices, law court, used the Wilson pens. The Wilson Pen Family made the orange, thick-nibbed pen that wrote the most fundamental document that defines the state of India: The Constitution of India written by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Pic, Text Courtesy/Indian Memory Project/Contributed by Purvi Sanghvi, Mumbai

It's while working on the book that Nandan realised how "our own homes are a repository of history". Here, she relays an incident when Shivani Gupta, the photographer for Pukka Indian, had been anxious about finding a mandira — a butter churner — that Nandan had mentioned in the book. "She went home, and realised that she had five of them in her kitchen. She didn't even know she was sitting on so much wealth." Nandan adds, "We don't tend to celebrate the mundane. What we celebrate are things that have obvious value, like jewellery, the beautification of the body or the exotic."

Paris-based perfumer Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan's recent book, Pukka Indian, documents the most coveted symbols and designs representing Indian culture, by tracing its origin and significance in the lives of its users. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Object as a catalyst
Malhotra's interest in people's histories began while working on Remnants of Separation, which was an extension of her Master of Fine Arts thesis project for Concordia University, Canada. Malhotra's research began after she came across a gaz (a measuring device) and ghara (a pot), which belonged to her nana's family, and had crossed the border. "Sometimes the Partition is too traumatic to speak about. When I started my research, I didn't know where to begin or what I could ask, without sounding frivolous. The object became a catalyst to enter into that conversation. So, rather than me saying 'Oh! You lived through the Partition, that must be awful,' I was now asking relevant questions, like 'why did you choose to take this gold bangle with you?'. The object then, didn't become something that recessed into the background, but something around which the entire background was arranged."

That's when she and Navdha decided to start The Museum of Material Memory. The duo encourages everyone to contribute, provided the object is from or before the 1970s. The archive comprises everything from a 5-inch-long, mottled sewing needle to a chaddar with traditional baagh and phulkari embroidery and a former Class II Income-Tax officer's diary filled up with the repeated words 'Sri Rama Jayam', meaning Jai Sri Ram. Each post is accompanied with the story behind the object. "Material ethnography is so vastly explored in the West, especially when it comes to events of trauma and crisis. What we are recording here, will never be found in any textbook. We need active memoralisation, not just of traumatic events, but of our tradition and culture, which is primarily oral."

Not just for nostalgia's sake
The indianmemoryproject.com, says Yadav, started off as a book idea, where she wanted to collect old, wedding photographs. "I wanted to document the idea of weddings in different cultures, and explore the entire phenomena behind the crew that makes it possible," she says. "While the book didn't happen, the pictures stayed with me." That's how, her archive, a first-of-its-kind in India, took off. "If you are fascinated with history, you will know that India really is a melting pot. Every civilisation has passed through it. And so we have all kinds of DNA in us. And considering photography was discovered two centuries ago, we did have a lot of content to discuss," says Yadav.

She admits that it wasn't as easy to get people to share their photographs or talk about their stories. "But, there needs to be integrity, transparency and you need to earn the trust of your subject. When you have these value systems in place, people are more open. I always thought of the archive as an institution." Funding for the project has been tough, says the archivist. "When I began, I was very clear that I didn't want to become a trust. Unfortunately, that's the channel through which most of the money comes from. But, there's a server and maintenance cost and the site constantly needs to be upgraded. Now, I have started putting in requests for honorariums. The only way I will get money is through a private funder, who is fascinated with the idea, and wants to back it as well. Sometimes, when a good sum comes from my own work as a photographer, part of the profits go to it. At the end of the day, it is an unofficial record of history, and I'm doing my best to sustain it."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Over a phone call from Kolkata, Vikram Rajan*, an audio engineer and guitarist formerly based out of Mumbai, wants us to listen to a track that he has composed. It's available on Soundcloud and, as we stream it, we more or less agree that its flavour of electronica-jazz could accompany a languorous Sunday evening. "For a long time, I had been unable to come up with something good. And, then, I composed this around March while I was microdosing and sometimes, megadosing on acid," says Rajan.

The 33-year-old is referring to a way-of-life that's effectively snapping the ties between drug abuse and the creative arts. This is a lifestyle experiment that some of the brightest techies in Silicon Valley are engaging in, and has got psychiatrists and anti-drug crusaders distraught. "From a 100 mics paper, I take about 20 mics, twice a week, giving the doses a 2-3 days gap. The effects of acid last for about six hours for me," says Rajan, who started experimenting with drugs as a teenager.

After a litany of prescriptions failed to control her mood swings and depression, Ayelet Waldman found relief in LSD. The former federal public defender authored A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life, in 2016. She wrote: "(It) made room in my mind not necessarily for joy, but for insight. It allowed me a little space to consider how to act in accordance with my values, not just react to external stimuli. This, not the razzle-dazzle of pleasure, was its gift." Pic/Getty Images

In need of a quick glossary before we proceed? Acid is officially called Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), a psychedelic drug banned in India, the possession of which can lead to imprisonment from one to 20 years under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. LSD is often illegally sold in the form of stamps, with the hallucinogen embedded on blotter paper. Mics is micrograms, that's one-millionth of a gram. A microdose is when you have about one-tenth of a recreational 'party' dose, which starts at about 200 mics.

"With microdosing, you are not tripping — this is not a trip. The euphoria isn't there. It's not about feeling good, it's about calmness," continues Rajan. Microdosing first hit headlines after Steve Jobs' passed away in 2011, when a number of inspiring tales on how LSD became the new go-to substance for enhanced performance by tech employees hit the net. Espresso became passé. 'Flow states' were the new yoga. While Jobs did more than just microdose (he was known to have gone all the way), Silicon Valley techies are reportedly doing acid in quantities such that their effects are 'sub-perceptual', where you won't "see stuff" but you harness its "positive" effects.

A dropper with CBD cannabis oil, used for medicinal purposes. Initial research in the area has shown that patients can reap the benefits without its full-blown 'high' effects

Paul Austin, founder of The Third Wave, where you will find a manifesto on microdosing, defines it as, "the act of integrating sub-perceptual doses of psychedelics, such as LSD or Psilocybin Mushrooms, into your weekly routine for higher levels of creativity, more energy, increased focus, and improved relational skills." The Third Wave, according to Austin, follows the first two waves, in which psychedelics were used indigenously for thousands of years, and then, in the 60s and 70s, when they were a part of American counterculture. Austin writes that The Third Wave is upon us, "brought about by recent developments in cannabis legalisation and psychedelic research — and it will change the way mainstream culture perceives psychedelic use."

Classically acid, now weed
For Rajan, however, it wasn't sub-perceptual Silicon Valley that got him to ration his 100 mics stamps, each of which costs about R2,000. It was simply a matter of demand and supply. Mumbai had better stuff than Kolkata, and more availability. Microdosing has classically been associated with LSD, but now has been extended to cannabis as well. Austin's website has guided instructions for microdosing on nine drugs, including cannabis and ayahuasca. Mumbai-based communications officer Varna Kumar*, 25, smokes a mandatory post-work joint every night in order to cope with anxiety and panic attacks. "I feel I have worked enough through the day, without much time to understand what I am going through. At night, when I am by myself, I smoke a small joint to achieve REM sleep," she says. The joint, a mix of two strains, sativa and indica, help her body relax. It makes her anxiety seem defeatable, is how she describes it. Her counsellor, who also smokes up, has not advocated this as a coping mechanism. "It's different from when I am smoking up recreationally during the weekend or when I am away on a vacation. I will do three to four joints when I have nothing to take care of," she says.

Rajan doesn't buy it. He offers an example that may be best contemplated upon or contested by those who have done both LSD and cannabis. "With weed, you are either stoned, or you are not. You will need to smoke up as soon as the high wears off. When you get stoned, your mind becomes passive. But, microdosing on LSD allows you to be calm enough to multitask, allowing a lot of information to be funnelled into your brain easily. You are alert, you are awake," he says, adding, "What is LSD all about? When you start tripping, you see a shift in perspective." You need not agree with Rajan, as he himself says, "We are all chemical reactions", with each of us reacting differently to drugs.

Covert, not convenient
Microdosing will often be compared to that hard-earned and well-deserved one drink after work hours. It's nothing like that, microdosers will tell you, and so will psychiatrists and rehab therapists. For one, microdosing has none of the ease of getting a drink at your favourite pub. You will be persecuted in your search for your creative spell or a calmer mind. Next, it's not even like getting a drug prescription that your GP advises you to have for the course of a fortnight. Kumar and Rajan know it all too well. Microdosing means self-experimentation, knowing when you are crossing the threshold into recreational high dosages. Cannabis, for instance, is best microdosed through edibles, like space brownies, which are available legally in some parts of the world. It's probably the reason why microdosing is yet to take on Silicon Valley proportions in India. "Here, we don't often get to know what strain of cannabis we are using, or where it is sourced from," says Kumar. Saying "this stuff is craazzyy" is, therefore, not enough if you want to microdose. "If you are living with family, it's hard to make edibles. All this means that the convenience factor associated with a drink is not the same with this covert process," she adds.

The idea of the junkie, with matted hair and piercings, is a stereotype that microdosing is replacing. It's no longer cool to be a junkie, especially in the vegan-conscious, gluten-free, aerial yoga health lifestyle that we are seeing around us. Microdosing may be the most metrosexual among the various kinds of drug use, and it carries the allure of high-performance and alleviation of mental health issues, with published studies to back these up. But doctors and psychiatrists are warning us about the glamourisation of microdosing, even as research to mainstream it for mental health is going on. Psychiatrist Dr Samir Parikh says, "Microdosing encourages the thought process that you need a drug for enhanced performance or better creativity or to calm your nerves. This will mean that students microdose before exams, athletes before a run, couples before a wedding, and the next thing you know, because someone has to attend a birthday bash. There is no end to important situations in life. We are making people believe that a student could have scored an additional five marks in an exam had she just microdosed. Can you imagine the perils of this philosophy?" he says. He backs this up with the number of risks associated with prolonged drug abuse, such as a permanent change in brain circuitry, cerebrovascular diseases, and panic attacks.

Then there are those who will argue that moderation as 'one-drink-a-day' is more addictive than the weekend drunken revelry. Is addiction, even in microdoses, still addiction, where the brain searches for rewards compulsively? Kumar disagrees. "Microdosing is the difference between dependence and addiction. For example, I am dependent on a cab to take me to the station. Can I get through my day without it? Can I walk to the station? Yes, I can. That's what microdosing is. I can get through my day without a joint, but a joint just makes it a little easier," she says.Psychiatrist Dr Yusuf Merchant, who runs a rehabilitation centre at Kalyan, says microdoses pose the risk of turning into overdoses. "With any drug, the body learns to metabolise it faster. Which means, that the quantity for a microdose will keep increasing and your hold on reality will keep getting more tangential."

Rajan himself admits to a 'bad trip'. LSD users will tell you that recreational doses are best done in settings that you feel comfortable in, to enjoy, or cope, with the hallucinations. With microdosing, you are headed into your office or your studio to function better. Rajan had once taken more than a microdose, leading him to have a panic attack, the kind where he couldn't even see his hands. The golden rule, he says, is that if you don't go on a full trip, you will never know what a microdose is.

That ailing pain
The push for microdosing is coming from a quarter where its future seems to be most secured — pain management. Mumbai-based homemaker Susheela Kamath*, 48, was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer a couple of years ago, and having undergone nearly a year's worth of chemotherapy and radiation, the accompanying pain and nausea, were all too real. Her daughter provided her with high-grade hash oil. The dealer provided her with a tiny spoon, the kind that you are handed inflight to stir your coffee with. "I had to initially understand, through a lot of trial and error, by gauging my mother's mood, on what a microdose for her would be. Hash oil is very potent," says the daughter.

A little drop of it on her toast every day, helped Kamath cope with pain. "From the third day to the tenth day after chemotherapy, my mother would have about three to four spoons a day, and, on other days, just half a spoon," says the daughter. Coping with the pain meant she could do more during her day, and also have an appetite. Now, months after she has wound up chemotherapy and radiation, she has bid adieu to the prescription drugs that came along with it, and the hash oil as well, without yearning for that high. Unfortunately, unlike medical grade marijuana that is available in some countries, and still not permitted in India, the daughter did not know if the oil had cannabidiol (CBD), which gives marijuana its medical properties, or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which gives you the "high".

Dr Kailash Kothari, interventional spine and pain management specialist at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, says that there is not enough evidence to either prove or disprove that microdosing on cannabis can help with pain management, the way opioids, such as morphine, act on the nervous system. "Do cannabinoids work like tranquilisers or do they have long-term effect? There is not enough research as of now," he says, adding, "Getting dependent on these takes a lot of time and not something that can happen in about 15 days of use." In the meanwhile, you can enjoy a night of quiet or a better track on Soundcloud by rationing your stash. But, is it short-term solace or long-term abuse?

*All names have been changed on request to protect identity

Redoing your office interiors? Try out some of the must-have elements in office spaces like the right furniture, adding nature to the surroundings and activity based settings. Ishan Thacker, Associate Director, Vector Projects (I) Pvt. Ltd. and Amit Ramani, Founder and CEO of Awfis Space Solutions list some recommendations.

1. The right furniture: This plays a pivotal role in any kind of work space setting. Offices need to invest in the right kind of furniture to increase their employees' efficiency. Opt for something that has high functionality over ordinary designs. Adjustable desks and chairs can be a good choice; multipurpose furniture can also be added to save space. Another new entrant in the space is reconfigurable furniture that can be customized as per need. It provides both the required flexibility as well as privacy.

2. Go back to nature: Add in a little nature to your premises with biophilic designs. The latest trend in the office space, the presence of plants and other natural elements can add positivity within the environment and improve the air quality.

3. Activity-based settings: It is exciting to be at a workplace that engages you with diverse group of people and gives you the opportunity to network and collaborate. Flexible workstations, new age cabins, activity-based settings including comfortable couches and beanbags, breakout zones, meeting lounges and pods are some of the attractions in an office that provide a natural crossroad for employees to meet and share ideas, thereby enhancing their motivation levels and productivity.

4. Ergonomic lighting: Our cortisol level drops significantly under artificial and poor lighting conditions and dimly lit workplaces strain the eyes, causing headache and drowsiness. This can lead to poor productivity. Natural light is the best. Daylight that filters through the space not only affects employee well-being but also boosts the energy and mood level. Consider making the best use of natural light and swap the florescent bulbs with personal lamps, string lighting, and soft coloured bulbs to keep your employees alert and attentive.

5. Aesthetic appeal: Everything from layout, to furniture and even artwork is subject to appeal in a workplace. The idea is to create a transcendental experience for the user and to design a warm casual space that works as an incubator for ideas. Materials like wood and metal bring warmth and rustic feel to the space. Keeping in mind the fact that the office workspaces today are dynamic in nature and are witnessing rapid changes, the workplace style should be bold, industrial and vibrant with new age materials, technology and decluttered design vocabulary.

6. Technology: A modern office space is incomplete without the right technology. Integrated systems, fast-speed internet connections and latest hardware and software are things your office must have to appeal to the incoming tech-savvy generations. Not only that, office can also invest in mobile devices or rather agile settings to help one switch easily from one place as to another. The new workforce prefers more flexibility which will in turn result in enhanced productivity.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Accepting the futility of genres, of boxing songs into different compartments like stacked products in supermarket shelves, seems to be at the forefront of Rafiq Bhatia's musical endeavour. The 30-year-old American of Indian descent is the guitarist for a New York-based indie outfit called Son Lux. But it's his recent solo album, Breaking English, which makes the listener really question the need for musical boundaries, of sticking labels to a composition as if it's packaged meat.

The title track of the album, for instance, is not jazz, is not electronica, is not lounge, but all of these generic classifications rolled into one lush sound with a coherent narrative, where Bhatia's melancholic guitar plays the role of the protagonist. Each sonic detail in the track is well-defined, to the point where even though fellow Son Lux member Ian Chang's drum beats seem dissonant, they fit like a glove into the overall musical fabric. Bhatia describes this sensibility when he tells us over the phone from Berlin, where he's on tour, "Ryan (Lott, the vocalist for Son Lux) would say that instead of building a house, designing a room and then placing a chair in it, why don't we start with the chair first, and then design the room around it before building the house. There is a theory in poetry called organicism, where the poet lets each individual verse define the form that the poem will take. That is kind of similar to what I'm trying to do with my music."

He further explains his musical process when he narrates a story about one of his influences, Sam Rivers, the late American jazz great. "I've read that he would attend the concerts of all his peers, and purposely study their music to understand what they were trying to do. But this wasn't to replicate what they were playing. Instead, it was to consciously avoid it. Similarly, John Coltrane took the music of his predecessors and retooled the entire musical vocabulary keeping a similar underlying foundation, but with new pathways built on top of it," he says, giving us an indication of how he doesn't hesitate to flush rule books down the toilet.

Hybridity, in fact, lies at the core of Bhatia's creative evolution. The basis for this, he says, might well be his mixed identity. Born in North Carolina, he has never really fit in to any particular community. For, even though his parents are of Gujarati origin, they grew up in Tanzania, before moving to London and then finally to the US. So, while his brown skin stood out among the white kids in his school, he didn't feel completely at home among the Indian community either. "Everybody thinks that I am something else. So, my music is a result of a need to express my identity. It's a form of therapy at some level, because it's also a way of accepting who I am," he says.

He adds that this therapy started early. When he was about eight or nine, the older desi kids in Bhatia's neighbourhood would pick him up in a car and stop at a parking lot, listening to the hip-hop albums that became one of his earliest influences. Was he drawn to them because of the political overtones that such songs often embody? "Not really," he answers, adding, "I was only in the third grade at the time, and I couldn't even understand the words. So it was the musicality that I fell for. But the deeper question is, why were a bunch of brown kids sitting in a car in a parking lot and empathising with hip-hop music? What is it that was drawing them to the words? So you see, it's difficult to disentangle the politics from the music."

It follows thus that an intertwining of politics and music sometimes features in his own compositions. For example, Hoods Up, a complex instrumental piece, drew its inspiration from Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was cruelly shot down because of a case of mistaken identity. The guitarist says, "I feel some amount of compulsion to express my [political] ideas. But sometimes, it's easy to get carried away with being overtly political because there is so much to be angry about, and often the responsibility falls on artistes to emphasise it. So I would say that politics is a general part of what inspires my music, because there are so many other facets of my personality that also make their way in."

Essentially, then, what Bhatia wants to keep doing is create genre-defying tracks where attention to detail is of paramount importance. "When you take the details and all the generalities of music for granted, that's when your songs start sounding more like other people's music. That doesn't mean you can't make great tracks. It's just that the less you consider those things, the less is the chance that you will make music that departs from convention. The flip side is that when you think actively about each decision, and each one comes from a place of individuality, it becomes hard to find a coherent logic that ties all those things together. And that ends up being the riddle that I am constantly trying to solve with my music."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

There are many single parents in India. Not too long ago, a single parent was equal to a woman raising her kid/s. But this is changing. We already have three friends who are single dads - not just divorced - and they wholly look after their kids.

And the best way to know that single dadhood is no longer an aberration is the fact that we now have souldads.com in India. The brainchild of Chetan Shah, it intends to be an online support channel for single parents, especially fathers. Shah shares his experiences and challenges, and invites readers to participate in the conversation. The blog posts dwell on education and parenting, and the emotional challenges of relationships and parenting. While the blog claims to post solutions to overcome them, we didn't see any. A revisit to a site would only happen if it provides solutions. And Souldad.com does not.

Single dads, like moms, need to work full-time to support the family, and it would be great if (like babychakra.com) an online community answers practical and logistic concerns, such as:

• As a father, where can I find nanny/daycare, governess/companion for my children?
• Does anyone offer babysitting services for a day/week/short period?
• Do you have lists or agencies that provide cooks or dabba facilities; as a package, or otherwise?
• What do I do on festivals? I want my kid to be in touch with their roots, and I have no clue.
• I need to travel out of the country for work; what do I do?
• Where do I find tutor lists?
• Kids have a tough time after their parents separate. What do I do if I think my kid/s may need hand-holding or a counsellor?
• What are the safe and clean places I can send my kid/s to play under a nanny's supervision?
• In cities where nuclear families are a norm, daily firefighting is part of any working parent's life. For single parents, even more. Perhaps, it is because they have just started off, but souldads.com needs to address any or more of the above issues if they intend to be a must-see, must-visit online space for single dads.

Log on to: www.singledad.com

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Representational picture

New York: Let your child be curious for learning new things as it may help him or her to grasp basic math and improve reading skills from an early age, a new study led by an Indian-origin researcher suggests. Curiosity in young children was defined as a trait for the joy of discovery, and the motivation to seek answers to the unknown.

But, the current early learning interventions just focus on improving a child's effortful control which includes their ability to concentrate or control impulses, the researchers rued.

The findings, published in the journal Pediatric Research, suggest that even if a child manifests low effort control, high curiosity can lead to higher academic achievement.

This is why children who have developed a wide range of socio-emotional skills such as invention, imagination, persistence, attentiveness to tasks, as well as the ability to form relationships and manage feelings, are generally more successful when they start school, the researchers said.

"Our results suggest that while higher curiosity is associated with higher academic achievement in all children, the association of curiosity with academic achievement is greater in children with low-socioeconomic status," said lead author Prachi Shah, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

For children from poorer communities, curiosity is even more important for higher academic achievement, because it can help them close the achievement gap associated with poverty, the researchers added.

For the study, the reading and math skills and behaviour of 6,200 children in kindergarten were measured.

Their parents were interviewed during home visits and the children were assessed when they were nine-months and two-years-old, and again when they entered pre-school and kindergarten.

"Our results suggest that after controlling for other factors associated with higher achievement, curiosity continues to make a small but meaningful contribution to academic achievement," Shah explained.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Give your mother a break from routine, pamper her with a breakfast in bed or a spa hamper for Mother's Day, which falls on May 13 this year. Mikita Laad Gupta, Senior Designer at Bonito Designs and Abraham Santhosh, Head Designer of Elegancia, have shared ways which can help you bring a smile on your mother's face:

1. A day free from the 'Mom routine': Mothers never get a day off from their daily routine and they never complain too. Every mother always has a list of things she needs to do, so why not do it for her? Let her relax at home while you do the grocery shopping, run to the post office, pick up dry-cleaning or whatever else Mom needs you to do. She will definitely appreciate the gesture!

2. Breakfast in bed: The first part of Mother's Day should be her breakfast. A meal ordered from her favourite restaurant. Let her relax and not think about breakfast for everyone at home, because you have already taken care of it.

3. Sparkle up the home for her: Cleaning the house is a huge task for every mother. On this day, help her out by cleaning it before she starts her day. Fix those things that she always wanted to be repaired and make her day.

4. Home decor makeover: Mothers always want to make a change in their house, but they never really get the time for it due to their daily chores and work. This Mother's Day, make her dream come true by doing what she has always wanted to - could be a vegetable garden, or a mini library or a music library or even revamp the sitting room.

5. Pamper her with a spa hamper: Everyone loves a massage, some of them crave for a fresh manicure and pedicure. Some of them have not had a good haircut and colour since a long time. So here's a chance to pamper your mother with a spa hamper and let her have a relaxing day and look pretty as she always should.

6. A photo family tree: Everyone loves to see their old photos. It brings back memories and family tree of photos is the best way to see everyone you love right there. Create a family tree of photos on a wall at home as a surprise for her as she has always wanted to do it but never had the time.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Bringing out the BEST

BEST Stories Collective is an Instagram account co-founded by photographers Aslam Saiyad and Gopal MS. It documents nuggets of everyday life and history around the BEST buses in the city. In light of the general elections, Saiyad along with photographer Fahim Sayed have started a campaign on the page where they lay out placards encouraging people to vote to save BEST, the Aarey forest or even the Mumbai coastline.

Talking about how the idea was conceptualised, Saiyad told this diarist, "All the politicians are talking about national or global issues but nobody is talking about the issues of Mumbai, like the future of the Aarey colony, BEST or the Kolis. I wanted to grab the attention of the people, especially in the last days of the elections. Even after voting is over, we will continue to highlight these problems maybe in a different visual format."

From a son to his father

As you read these words with your morning cup of chai, a 100 musicians from the classical, folk and jazz traditions would already be performing at the NCPA as part of a day-long tribute to Ustad Allarakha on his birth centenary, beginning at 6.30 am until 10 at night. But before the live performance came a tribute from the legendary tabla player's son and noted percussionist Taufiq Qureshi, which was released recently.

An archival picture of Ustad Allarakha

The seven-minute long video, Alla ne Rakha, has been composed by Qureshi with lyrics by Rachna Dixit. And in the spirit of today's performance, the video features several well-known names including Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Shankar Mahadevan, Ajay Gogavale, Salim Merchant and Neeti Mohan.

When Sabya endorsed Sabya

Things came full circle when renowned fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee recently embraced a page named after him. An export of an international account called Diet Prada, Diet Sabya was started in 2018 and weeds out copies and plagiarists from the industry, and may we add, rather humorously.

So when Mukherjee said, "Well done, whoever you are," giving a thumbs up to the faceless folks behind DS, when he spoke to an entertainment website, it reiterated the caption that accompanied the video shared by DS, "That's all."

Austrian moves

After creating a full-length contemporary ballet piece with the Ballet Chemnitz in Germany in 2017, and a collaboration with Polish dance company Zawirowania Dance Theatre last year, Ashley Lobo has now become the first Indian to be invited to choreograph a piece for The Landestheater Linz, the state theatre for Linz in Austria.

Titled Yama, the performance is a full-length 55-minute contemporary ballet piece. "This is a huge opportunity and reassurance for me. Dance for me is about emotion and personal expression, and I look forward to extending that to the Austrians," the choreographer told this diarist.

Danes to the rescue

Even as news comes in of pilots of the grounded Jet Airways being humiliated by a senior official of Spicejet during a recruitment drive, when he called the act a "charity", another heartwarming development assured us that all's not lost in this cut-throat competitive world. The Indian operations of a Denmark-based apparel giant recently posted on social media a campaign titled Join the Family.

Pic/PTI

"Customer centricity is at the core of both retail and aviation industries. With several employees of Jet Airways having been affected due to the recent shut down of the airlines, we... are willing to extend opportunities to them, if you know anyone who would consider an industry change." If you, too, would like to spread the word, career.india@bestseller.com is where CVs can be emailed.

A look called love

Madhuri Dixit Nene looks fondly at husband Sriram during a day out at the movies. Pic/Satej Shinde

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Tipsy tables
Put an end to your dry day blues at a five-star hotel that is offering buy-one-get-one deals on select alcoholic beverages till midnight. Also enjoy a flat 50 per cent off for items on buffet and set menus.
On April 29 (Open 24 hours)
At Hotel Sahara Star, opposite Domestic Airport, Vile Parle East.
Call 39895000

Chicken feast
Get 17 per cent off on the entire menu including chicken bhangra cocktail, pok pok chicken wings, and a new fruit cocktail at this Italian and fast food joint. Don’t forget to try your hand at the toys and games while you wait for your food.
On April 29, 11 am to 1 am
At D:OH all Day Dining, Viviana Mall, Thane West.
Call 61701415

A shortcut to Asia
This restaurant serving Chinese and Thai cuisine in Goregaon isn’t new to offering discounts during elections. After a good response for this idea in 2014, the eatery is now offering a 20 per cent discount on food for one person per table.
On April 29, 12 pm to 12.45 am
At The Tatu’s Nook, near Prabodhan Stadium, Goregaon West.
Call 28750930

Some vitamin sea
Seafood lovers enjoy three times the usual perks of being responsible citizens at this restaurant that offers 15 per cent off for voters until May 1. The offer is valid at both their outlets.
On April 29 to May 1, 11 am to 3.30 pm; 7 pm to 12 am
At Ferry Wharf, ONGC Colony, Bandra West; Evershine Nagar, Malad West.
Call 9920027272

Dine in numbers
The more, the merrier is the name of the game at this Asian restaurant known for its Chinese, Thai and Burmese fare. Get a discount of 20 to 25 per cent based on how many members on the table display their inked fingers.
On April 29 to May 1, 12 pm to 12 am
At Tao 9 - Asian Kitchen, shop number 4, Matru Chhaya, Link Road, Anand Nagar, Andheri West.
Call 49723921

A range of flavours
In the mood for some Continental, Italian or Mediterranean delights? Have a hearty, full meal for half the price at this restaurant in Borivali that is offering a flat 50 per cent off on all dishes and desserts.
On April 29 and 30, 12 pm to 1 am
At Bombay Eatery, 4th Floor, Thakkar Shopping Center, Borivali West.
Call 8928229314

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

The Juhu police have arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly flashing and making vulgar gestures at women and college students while riding his bike between Juhu and Khar. According to the police, he has been identified as Nitin Bharadwaj, a resident of Malad.

Requesting anonymity, a police officer said, "Bharadwaj used to target women and students near malls, gyms and other public areas along the Santacruz-Juhu-Khar stretch. To avoid being seen in CCTV footages, he would wear helmets all the time."

Speaking to mid-day, Pandharinath Wavhal, senior PI of Juhu police station said, "We have been receiving several complaints about the same type of offence. A team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Paramjit Singh Dahiya, and after working on the case for 90 days, we finally caught hold of the accused."
Police sources said that Bharadwaj was an estate agent and he runs a family jewellery business. Till now, a total of seven cases have been registered against him, of which the Juhu police have five.

A police officer said, "A team of 15 police personnel headed by two senior officers was formed. In the course of the investigation, police checked more than 300 vehicles and 100 CCTV cameras. It was getting all the more difficult for them as the accused used to change his number plates whenever he travelled between Malad and Juhu."

Meanwhile, the cops were working on the details of the accused provided by the victims, and this, apart from human intelligence, helped them nab the culprit. Speaking to mid-day, Dahiya said, "The accused has been arrested under relevant sections of the IPC and POCSO Act. We are checking whether he has any criminal records in other police stations. After being produced in court, he was sent to police custody till April 30."

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

While many polling stations were bereft of facilities for the physically challenged and senior citizens, the situation was refreshingly different in Palghar district, where arrangements were made to bring in physically challenged voters and drop them back to their homes.

The voters had a car to take them to the polling stations, where they didn't have to wait in queue to cast their votes, and drop them back home once they were done. This process had begun as a part of the run-up to the polls.

Explaining the same, the district's social development officer Vibha Jadhav said, "We had conducted a survey and made a list of physically challenged voters before the election. Now, we have been calling them to know when they would be able to come to the polling stations to vote."

Election 2019: Prominent personalities, other Mumbaikars come out to caste vote!

The voters had a car to take them to the polling stations, where they didn’t have to wait in queue to cast their votes, and drop them back home once they were done

Virar resident Suresh Pawar, 43, thanked the government for the initiative, "I am visually challenged person, as is my wife. Until last year, we had to take an auto rickshaw to reach the polling booth. But this time, the government has given us relief by arranging vehicles for us.

The polling booths also had representatives stationed to help physically challenged voters. Jidnyasa Polekar, from the National Service Scheme, who was one of the assistants, said, "We kept wheelchairs for physically challenged and senior citizens. We also assisted visually challenged voters to understand the process of voting so that they can cast their ballot sans any hassle."

Bolstering voter turnout

Palghar collector Dr. Prashant Narnaware told mid-day that they had taken a number of initiatives to bolster voters' turnout in the district. "We had carried out campaigns to spread awareness among voters. We reached out to 13 lakh voters during our 25-day campaign titled 'I Shall Vote.' We also involved school students in the initiative by asking them to write letters to their parents, urging them to cast their vote," said Narnavare. On voting day, however, the district was hit with a slight EVM glitch. "There are 2,170 polling booths in Palghar, out of which the EVMs of 50 booths faced glitches. But they were changed within 10 minutes, as all the zonal officials were given additional EVMs to tackle the crisis," said Narnavare.

Salman Khan, SRK, Ranveer Singh, Kangana, Bachchans step out for voting

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

In times when Mumbaikars are criticised for not turning up to vote, many people in the North constituency could not vote because their names were missing from the electoral list. All of them have been voting in many elections, even from the same polling booths.

Gyanchand Somani, a 61-year-old Gorai resident, was frustrated after running around from one polling station to another, to find his and his wife's name in the voters' list. "This is not the first time I am voting. And my address has also not changed. How is it possible that my name is not in the list?" questioned Somani.

Bharat Desai's name was also missing

Bharat Desai, a 71-year-old resident of Eksar was also shocked to find that his name was not in the list. "I have been living on D N Mhatre Road for so many years and have always voted from St Rocks' school poll station," said Desai.

Nityanand Nair, who was born and brought up in LIC Colony in Borivali west had the same story to tell. "My entire family is missing from the list whereas we have been voting regularly," said Nair.

Disha Shah, a first time voter, also could not vote as her name was missing

A 22-year-old Babhai resident, Disha Shah, who was excited to vote for the first time was also disappointed. "My family members names were there, but mine was missing," she said.

Initially Mitali Sarvankar, a 21-year-old Kandivali resident was disappointed that her name was not in the list, but she managed to find it. "I found my name in Oxford Public School's list, thanks to the helpdesks set-up by different political parties," said Mitali who excitedly showed her inked finger.

Mitali Sarvankar found her name thanks to a helpdesk

Ganesh Mandals help

In areas such as Borivali and Kandivali, Ganesh Mandals, Senior Citizen's groups etc helped voters find their names in the lists and where they had to go to vote. "Though we are registered as Ganesh Mandals, we are all friends from this locality and hold several other activities. Setting up a helpdesk is part of our work," said Deepak Thorat, president of the Shree Siddhivinayak Navatarun Mitra Mandal.

Vijay Kate and his friends, all senior citizens also set up helpdesks. "So many people are frustrated with their names missing from voters' list. There have been instances when two family members' names are there and others are missing," said Kate.

Local restaurants pitch in

Several local restaurants had put up stalls to give out coupons of 10 per cent discount to voters. Many voters made it a point to stop by to pick them up.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Voters, poll officials confused over ban on mobile phones

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Voter's names missing from lists is not unusual any more. But, in Bhendi Bazaar, an entire building full of voters has vanished from the list, leaving around 100 residents without their right to vote in this election.

Salam Khan, a 32-year-old businessman, has been casting his vote for years. On Monday, however, he got the shock of his life when he was informed that his name was missing from the voters' list. When he returned home, miffed, he discovered that all the residents of his building, Zainabiya, were not on the list for some reason.

"When I reached the polling booth, I was told that my name was not on it. I was very upset. Then when I reached home, my neighbours, too, start complaining about the same thing. Later, we got to know that the name of the building had gone missing from the list. This is such a big mistake, they have lost so many voters," said Khan.

Also Read: Election 2019: Mumbai scrapes through in voting report card

The residents alleged that they heard that because the building was old, the election officer was told that the structure had been demolished for redevelopment. "We cast our last vote during the BMC election in 2017. There was no problem then. But now, the whole building has gone missing. How is it possible?" asked Rasheed Sheikh.

Election 2019: Prominent personalities, other Mumbaikars come out to caste vote!

Crèches at polling booths

The Election Commission roped in Aanganwadi Sevikas on voting day to take care of children coming with their parents to voting centres. While several such Sevikas were seen standing near the polling stations to take care of children so that they don't enter polling booths, other arrangements were made in rooms inside various schools where parents could leave their kids for a short while to vote.

Also Read: Elections 2019: Regular voters find their name missing at polling booths

In Prabhadevi, 147 Aanganwadi workers were roped in for this. A municipal school at Prabhadevi saw about 40 children taken care by these workers throughout the day. Even at Malad, the crèche was a big hit. Vandana Kothekar, who was on election duty and taking care of these kids from Prabhadevi, said, "We saw a good turnout and parents were willing to keep their children as it was just a matter of a few minutes."

Salman Khan, SRK, Ranveer Singh, Kangana, Bachchans step out for voting

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Despite the Election Commission (EC) announcing several initiatives to help the physically challenged and senior citizens during the voting process, no such arrangements were visible at many of the polling centres on Monday. Contrary to claims made by EC, no volunteers were present to guide the physically challenged or senior citizens to their polling booths, leaving them to either find a way on their own or rely on their family members.

No one came to help

Bagubai Shirwale, 70, who has a hunched back, had to inch forward using her walking stick as she tried to find her polling booth. She only had the help of her brother, Trimbak Shirwale, 72, who, like her relies on a walking stick. "We come to vote every time without fail. But I have diabetes, due to which I am not able to walk properly. My sister has chronic backache and can't walk much either. No one came to help us; we had to find the way around ourselves," he said.

They had to walk nearly 1 km to reach the polling station. Even after they successfully reached their venue, SK Pantwalkar Madhyamik Vidyalaya in Kurla west, finding the booth took some time. After asking around, they were pointed in the right direction.

In the absence of a wheelchair at the St Judes High School in Malad West, local Antony Roasario, who is physically challenged, is forced to crawl over a gutter under the burning sun. Pics/Suresh Karkera

Despite the sweltering heat, Sayaji Mokashi, 50, a visually challenged man, walked to his polling station, the Mahatma Gandhi Vidya Mandir in Bandra east, along with his wife Prajakta who also has problems with her eyesight, and their seven-year-old son. Mokashis, residents of the government colony in Bandra east, recall walking to their booth back in 2014 as well.

"It is our responsibility to vote and we take it seriously. We don't mind the walk but it would help if EC could arrange for some transportation," said Sayaji. Sudha Shantaram Nadkar, 75, who requires a walking aid, is thankful that her polling station is just across the road from her building in Kurla. However, she too has to rely on her neighbours to help her reach her booth.

"I have been voting since I turned eligible and I don't miss any election. But I fell three years ago, which made it difficult for me to walk. There is no one to help us find the booth and no one came forward to help me walk in either," she said.

Where are the ramps?

EC had also promised to provide ramps at all polling stations, as well as dolis (chairs with poles). Many of the polling stations across the city neither had any ramps for wheelchairs nor dolis. The police personnel stationed at the Central Railway Social Welfare Centre in Kurla east said no volunteers had showed up at the venue and no dolis were sent either.

"We are allowing senior citizens to go in directly; they don't have to wait in line. But their family members are helping them," said a policeman. Similarly, at L S Raheja College, an elderly man with an amputated leg walked to his booth with the help of crutches and his relative. Another aged man at the same venue had been brought inside by his family on a wheelchair, but had to walk the rest of the way with the help of his walking stick, while leaning on his son for support.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

The 'glamourless' north east Parliamentary constituency saw a lot of drama on voting day since morning. Comprising six assembly constituencies, it saw 55.35 per cent voter turnout. In 2014 the constituency had registered a 51.70 per cent turnout. Of this Ghatkopar east topped the list with 60.30 per cent followed by Mulund at 60.10 per cent, Vikhroli at 59.03 per cent, Bhandup west at 57 per cent, Ghatkopar west at 53.81 per cent and Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar at 44.02 per cent.

'Polling centre goes missing'

The day started with voters at Bhandup east complaining of an entire polling centre gone missing and alleged that it had been shifted two km away without prior notice. Citizens said they realised it only after reaching the spot and did not know what to do.

Bhandup resident Chandra Sreenivasan alleged that it was a ploy to discourage voters. "I wanted to vote. I fought with the election officer on duty and said that such tricks would not put off voters if they intended to do that. We have been voting at the same BMC garden every time and this time when we got the election slip, it had the same address but when we reached the spot, there was nothing there. A few locals then told us that it had been shifted near the old Bhandup phatak which is about 2 km away from the location," she told mid-day.

"The old and ill will not travel 2 km to an unknown spot, but I did not give up. I took an auto and went all the way there and fired the election staff on duty. When I questioned them, they said that they had just received a message in the morning to report here," she added. Election officials, however, said that it was decided to shift the polling centre from the garden to a building and a notice had been put up in the garden, though Sreenivasan said there were no notices.

Candidate posters put up

The BJP's secretary Vivekanand Gupta said they had reported a complaint against the NCP candidate after they found a banner with his photograph within 100 metres of the polling booth in Bhandup. He requested the EC to direct police officials to remove it immediately.

Faulty EVMs

Several complaints of faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) came to the fore during voting throughout the day, delaying the processes from 45 minutes to one hour. At some centres, there were issues with the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slip as it was not visible after voting and in some cases there was an error displayed. At booth 93 at Sharon English School in Mulund the voting had to stopped after the EVM developed a snag and an engineer had to be summoned to fix it. Voting restarted after 45 minutes.

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Voters, poll officials confused over ban on mobile phones

Candidate's switch disabled

An independent candidate, Anil Hebbar said his name was disabled on EVMs, and after his complaint the machines were replaced. "At booth 155/272 in Mulund, button no 14 next to my name was disabled. The officer in-charge discovered it before polling started and changed the ballot unit leading to a delay of 1 hr and 15 min," he said.

Voted, but not inked

A voter, Reena Verghese, alleged that she cast her vote in booth 243 at St Pius School in Mulund west, but her finger was not inked. She went again inside the booth to get the mark on her finger when she realised this.

Sr citizen's name missing

Kalawati Tambe, 86, missed out on voting as her name was missing from the electoral list. A resident of Kannamwar Nagar building 14, all her neighbours' names were on the list but her's did not figure. She said she came to vote though she was in her hometown for past few days. She complained that she had to climb onto the first floor, her legs were paining and she was very unhappy that she could not vote.

Jugaad chairs

At many places the election commission had put up jugaad chairs tied to sticks like a palkhi to carry senior citizens to upper floors in buildings where there were no lifts. "They showed videos of all those fancy automatic chairs, but they assembled such jugaad plastic chairs," Harkishan Rai, a senior citizen said. The rule of not allowing mobile phones was also leniently followed with cops telling voters that they could carry phones, but requested them to switch them off.

55.35pc

The voter turnout in North East

Also Read: Elections 2019 in Mumbai: Physically challenged, elderly, get little help at polling stations

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Finger-inking good

Anushka Sharma offers voters at a polling station in Versova a frame worthy of the album when she poses with them on Monday after casting her vote. Pic/Satej Shinde

Not a happy ending

Ask any music-loving person who grew up in the 1990s, and they will tell you that AR Rahman's tracks were like anthems to the generation. As much as we love every chord the man has composed, there have been some visible cracks of late. But when we heard that the music director has composed the Marvel Anthem in Hindi for Avengers Endgame, we couldn't believe it.

For, Roke Na Rukenge Ab To Yaara faced a lot of flak after its release, and now that even more people are listening to it, many are calling it "cringe-worthy". A city-based musician even wrote, "My favourite part of Avengers: Endgame was not listening to Rahman's track at the end credits." Seems like Rahman will have to work on his game to please fans, many of who are tagging the song as the "only disappointment" in the movie.

A sweet goodbye

"I've known Pablo for 11 years; he's my best friend who was supposed to come help me out for two months but I was able to convince him to stay for three years," pastry chef Pooja Dhingra revealed to this diarist, albeit with a heavy heart while sharing with us that her close aide and business partner, chef Pablo Naranjo Agular, is all set to bid adieu to the city, and their labour of love, Le 15.

Le15 Cafe won the Best New Cafe at The Guide Restaurant Awards 2019 by Mid-day

"I'm going to miss having him around terribly, more as a friend and my moral support than anything else," Dhingra shared. Their camaraderie is apparent in Agular's thoughts, too, when he confesses that Dhingra was like a little sister and an incredible support system. "India has taught me so much not only as a person but also as a chef! For the first time in many years I can say I'm happy. However, I've been living away for 13 years and it's time to go home. Before I do that, I'm going to travel around Asia to learn and discover as much as I can," the Colombian chef told this diarist.

A whiff of Kashmir in Oz

The previous edition of MasterChef Australia saw history being made when an Indian-origin chef was crowned the king of the kitchen. Now, Kashmir-born Sandeep Pandit hopes to win the 11th edition. The IT project manager took one step closer to making this a reality when his name was announced as one of the 10 participants.

The Bangalore University graduate will be plating up a traditional feast from Kashmir, and hopes to charm Georgie Calombaris with his hot and spicy signature dish. The 37-year-old's social media profile mentions him as a complete foodie.

He has a food blog where he tells stories associated with the dishes like his mother's rogan josh, besides sharing their recipes. He picked up cooking after they moved to Australia and his parents worked hard to make ends meet. Well, here's hoping he introduces the world to the lesser-known delights of Kashmiri cuisine.

Live in concert

The voting day holiday for Mumbaikars packed in a treat yesterday with a day-long concert at the NCPA, celebrating Ustad Allarakha's birth centenary. While the free entry ensured it was open to all, the Nariman Point venue isn't logistically accessible to everyone. But that didn't bar music lovers from across the city, and for that matter anywhere in the world, from soaking in the tunes played in memory of the legendary tabla player. For, the venue ensured that the concert was streamed live on its Facebook page.

And as word spread, listeners kept joining in through the course of the day, as a stellar line-up of artistes — which had been kept under wraps — including Asha Bhosle, Prabha Atre, Rakesh Chaurasia and Niladri Kumar as well as folk drummers and a brass band from Jaipur performed. Now that's what we call an inclusive event.

Tete-a-tete with Gulzar

Poet, lyricist, and dire­c­tor Gulzar, known for classic movies like Aandhi, Angoor and Ijaazat, wi­ll be in conversation with three authors who have written bo­o­ks based on these films, at a ta­lk by Harper Collins India in Worli later this week. Author Sa­ba M Bashir who has done a cl­ose textual analysis of the film Aa­ndhi, will examine the details of its cast, dialogues and songs, while author Sathya Saran, who has traced Gulzar's adaptation of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, will talk about the filming and plot.

Author Mira Hashmi, who will be joining on camera from Pakistan, has written about how Gulzar's skill as a storyteller is exemplified by his complex characters. "The movie is a perfect showcase of Gulzar's impish wit, his way with words and how he can look at the world from a unique angle. I loved the humour in the dialogues and the way the songs are set; they are so tongue-in-cheek," Saran told this diarist.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Key, Chair

As the morning sunlight casts a warm glow on a terrace in Andheri, Yash Soni hands us a small glass bottle with a cork stopper. It fits between our thumb and index finger. Glinting at us from within is a tiny guitar carved out of the nib of a pencil.

Mic and fist, Eiffel Tower

A ‘wow’ escapes our lips as we squint to check out the intricate details — there are strings, tuning pegs, a saddle and Soni’s name carved on the instrument’s body. “It took me four hours to make it,” says the 26-year-old artist, one of the few in the city creating microscopic art out of pencil lead. This weekend, he will present a live carving session at Maker Mela, an event that celebrates art, engineering and science with a DIY mindset, at KJ Somaiya’s Vidyavihar campus.

Watch, Guitar

Russian inspiration
With a professional background in event management, Mumbai-born Soni’s tryst with pencil art began two years back, when he came across the works of experimental Russian artist Salavat Fidai on Instagram. “He carved a heart within a heart on a pencil. I was fascinated. Since art had been a hobby (he has created graffiti and speed painting works), I decided to try this too. I bought a pencil, a five-rupee cutter, and tried to carve a heart in a car, while travelling to Thane, and I was able to do it,” recounts the self-taught artist, who watched Fidai’s art-making videos repeatedly to learn the finger movements. “Now, we correspond too. His advice to me: be gentle and use minimal movements with fingertips,” he says.

Yash Soni with spool-and-needle carved on a pencil tip. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Be patient
Till date, Soni has created over 50 pencil carvings, including a key, a stiletto, a champagne glass, a watch, a chair, the Eiffel Tower, a fist with a detachable mic, a windmill with rotating blades and even a needle and spool, carved entirely out of the wood and lead of the pencil. On his wishlist are a scooter, a neckpiece and Mukesh Ambani’s tower of blocks, Antilla.

Soni’s tool set comprises two scalpels and a needle

“Carving on pencil requires a lot of patience. Since I prefer to focus on the details, it takes about four to five hours to make a piece, though I can make a heart in 20 minutes,” reveals Soni. The artist uses three basic tools — two scalpels with surgical blades and a needle fitted into a pen-like holder. “I start by shaving the wood with the scalpel and then, use a needle to carve the finer shape and details,” he adds. When we ask if he works in a particular kind of light, he confesses, “Initially, I would use a USB LED lamp attached to my laptop as a source of light when I needed to carve at night. My parents were anxious about it affecting my eyesight. Now, I’ve become more careful but I can work from any spot,” he adds.

Pencil matters
Soni uses a range of pencils, from 2B to 8B leads with a shiny finish, graphite pencils featuring matte-finish leads and carpenter pencils with a flatter surface. “Indian pencils aren’t great in quality and often, the lead within the pencil is already broken. The biggest challenge is breakage. 8B leads are thicker which helps me carve more intricately,” says Soni, who preserves the pencils in glass bottles or in customised frames.

Last week, he conducted a workshop-cum-exhibition at IIT-Chennai. Now, he also customises his works and sells them, starting from `4,000. “Most people are dismissive of the art since it’s on a pencil. My aim is to give micro sculpting the credibility it deserves,” he signs off.

Haitham with Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of Dil Hai Hindustani where the two sang SRK’s chartbuster Jabra Fan

When we meet Haitham Mohammed Rafi inside the dimly-lit sets of a popular music reality show, he stands out from those sitting beside him. The white of his traditional dishdasha and the colourful turban — called the massar — make him look like an anomaly. The 23-year-old appears to be closely observing his fellow singer — a girl half his age — who is on stage and singing the famous DDLJ-towel song, 'Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye,' when we raise our hand and call for his attention. There is instant recognition.

"Wallah!" he yells out in Arabic. "How come, you here?" he goes on, in his Middle-Eastern accent.

It has been three years since we first met Haitham. The last time it was in his hometown Muscat, the capital city of the Sultanate of Oman. "I will sing in Bollywood, someday, Inshallah!" he had then rapped, much to the amusement of this correspondent. At the time, we had wished him luck, without mocking his expectations or pointing out the risks.

Last week, when a video of filmmaker Karan Johar sitting in stunned silence after Haitham’s performance of Naina Thag Lenge, went viral on Arab social media, this writer was glad she had kept mum then.

Haitham, an Omani national, has just made it in the final 11 of the first season of music reality show Dil Hai Hindustani. Being an Arab, has only worked in his favour. For the judges, Johar, Badshah, Shalmali Kholgade and Shekhar Ravjiani (of Vishal-Shekhar fame), the first question on their mind was, “Can an Arab sing in Hindi?”

"Okay, maybe!" "But, that good!"

"I have Mohammed Rafi’s blessings," Haitham jokes. Not like, we hadn’t been meaning to ask him the story behind his namesake. Haitham al Balushi takes his middle name, Mohammed Rafi, from his father, who was surprisingly christened by the veteran Hindi singer himself. "Though Omani, my grandfather was a huge fan of Mohammed Rafi," he recounts. “When my father was born, Rafi saab was performing in Bahrain. My grandfather, who was working there, went for the show and managed to have a quick chat with him backstage," he says, adding, “He told Rafi saab, I want you to name my newborn.” The rest, as the Balushi family recalls, is history.

Until seven months ago, Haitham worked as a personal banker with a leading national bank in Muscat. “It was so boring. I hated going to work...it was suffocating," he says. Unable to take it anymore, Haitham put in his papers, and ferociously started looking for opportunities to sing. "I wanted to pursue my passion," he says. We ask him what that is? And, pat comes the reply, "I want to become the first Arab playback singer and composer in Bollywood." Haitham has been harbouring that dream since he was 11.

In Oman, Haitham says, there is no concept of vocal training. "If you're a good singer, you're a good singer." His only source of Bollywood music was audiocassettes and CDs as a child, and later YouTube. "So, when I told my Omani friends that I wanted to become a singer, they laughed. They said, 'You can’t make it big in India…it is so tough'."

On an Indian friend’s advise, he started listening to a lot of ghazals. "I was told that it would help me get my nuances and accent right," he says. His favourite ghazal singers are Jagjit Singh and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. But, that's how Haitham’s Bollywood dreams first took flight.

In 2012, he became the first Omani to win Muscat Idol, which sees participants mostly from the Indian Diaspora. From there on, due to dearth of a great body of work, Haitham started composing music for Omani TV shows. “But, I realised that I wasn’t enjoying Arabic music. Each time, I sang in Hindi, I was happier,” he says. Of the 500 songs he has composed, 450 were in Hindi. “My mum knew I wasn’t meant for Oman. So, she kept pushing me to try my luck at Indian reality shows,” he says. He tried thrice and failed. The fourth time, he decided to think practically and opted for 'The Voice Ahla Sawt', the Arabic version of the international music show. “Even there, I could not fit in,” he says. This December, after five years of working towards his dream, he got the call. And, that too, from India.

Here, he is still just another contender at the show. But, back home, things have changed for Haitham. After a video of his performance went viral, Omanis in Muscat, who he claims love Hindi cinema, have gone into an overdrive. “I’ve already signed 13 shows in Muscat and Dubai,” he says. “My friends are buying the Indian digital channels, just to watch my show.”

"I think it's a proud moment for my country," Haitham says. Just as we end, he gets his cellphone out, and shows us a photograph of his, clicked with Shah Rukh Khan, where the two are facing each other, striking the latter's signature pose. “India has already opened its arms to me," he gushes.

South Dandies Swaraj rappers, Tamizh (left) and Sean YKV (centre) who are working on their debut album, recently performed with Kadhal Jack (extreme right) of Kacheri Movement in the city. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

“I say what I want to say and do what I want to do. There’s no in between. People will either love you for it or hate you for it.” Eminem, the global Rap icon, had elucidated the fundamentals of the genre cogently, whose origins are in Africa and Jamaica. Owing to the free flow, it entered India on a blissful note.

Legendary actor Ashok Kumar offered its first glimpse with the song, Rail Gaadi (Aashirwad), in 1968. Within two decades, the genre found allies in AR Rahman and Ilaiyaraaja. South Dandies Swaraj — a Rap duo comprising Suresh Agailan Bose (Sean YKV) and Rahul Prasad (Tamizh) - are taking forward the legacy, albeit in the independent space. The Mumbai-based group raps in four languages, but their highlight is Tamil.

Message in music
Sean, the lead rapper, wants to bring about a change through an album, that’s in the making. “My motto is Rap for change and Hip-Hop for life. I try to convey a message through every song. I am looking for a producer,” says Sean. The name of the band is suggestive of their South Indian roots. Earlier, the group had more members. “We were a Hip-Hop Collective with nine people, including a miniature artiste and a graffiti artiste. We had to bid goodbye to some members,” he shares.

The 28-year-old from Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) resides in Mahim and believes that rapping in different languages will help him reach out to more people. “It helps me connect to more listeners who understand these languages. We want to take our regional languages abroad,” he adds. Sean also performed alongside Apache Indian and Shankar Mahadevan in his initial days. “I didn’t get any break after those shows. But kids would take my autograph while senior citizens would kiss my hand. They thought my Tamil was retro,” he says.

Society matters
“Our music talks about recycling, rape, terrorism, social media and other social issues,” says Sean, who can also rap in Marathi. His colleague, Tamizh, sticks to Tamil.

One of the singles from the Dandies’ kitty is Idli Vada, the traditional breakfast in South Indian households. “I observed Idli and Vada vendors and wrote a song around their daily struggle, and how they see the society through customers,” explains Sean. The track, Social Kadhal/Pyaar, dwells on the overuse of social networking sites. “The world has become dynamic with Facebook and Twitter. This song is about the youngsters who spend hours on it.” The group also has a track dedicated to the feminists, called Nari Meri Nari.

The Dandies also developed a brother culture, being close to Kacheri Movement, a Rap outfit from Dharavi. They are often seen playing gigs together.

Sean is hopeful about his music’s reach. “I am not a party person. I am interested in the social issues. We know how African Americans changed the face of Hip-Hop when they used music as a vehicle for their struggle. I will try to do the same,” he signs off.

Search engine giant Google unveiled a special doodle on Holi. The doodle shows a group of children splashing the Google logo with many colours.

According to Google, "Today, the Google letters are taking on a fresh set of colors in honor of the Holi festival. Coinciding with the arrival of spring, the vibrant celebration looks a lot like the Doodle: people run around happily covering each other in a rainbow of powdery hues.

Amid the cloud of red, blue, yellow, green, and everything in between, festival-goers can often be found laughing, singing, and dancing in the streets. The joyous event, which takes place in India, Nepal, and other countries around the world, traditionally marks the triumph of good over evil. It also gives family and friends a chance to simply come together, enjoying a spirited “Festival of Colors” that undoubtedly lives up to its name."

About Holi
Holi is a Hindu spring festival in India and Nepal, also known as the "festival of colours" or the "festival of love", It signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships, and is also celebrated as a thanksgiving for a good harvest.

The first day is known as Holika Dahan (हà¥ÂŠà¤²à¤¿à¤Â•à¤¾ दहन) or Chhoti Holi and the second as Rangwali Holi, Dhuleti, Dhulandi or Dhulivandan.

Josh Feinberg will also perform in Pune, Goa, Gangtok and Dubai this month

Few royal residences in India could be imagined without the rich sound of ragas flowing through them. Connoisseurs of Indian Classical music, nobles and royals often hosted artistes in their homes, where intimate concerts formed an important cultural tradition. But as the era of royalty ended, and with the advent of theatres and proscenium stages, these baithaks as they were called, faded away.

A baithak session in progress

As part of an initiative to revive this tradition, music lovers of Mumbai can attend one such baithak tonight, where acclaimed US-based sitarist Josh Feinberg will share his insight into the Maihar Gharana through an interactive performance. To be held at a private bungalow in Malabar Hill, the baithak will see Feinberg present a traditional Hindustani sitar recital with Ariff Khan on the tabla.

Feinberg, who started learning Western Classical music and Jazz when he was four, was introduced to the sitar as a 12-year-old. The music of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Nikhil Banerjee made a lasting impression on him. Feinberg became a student of Khan in 2004 and continued learning from him at his music school in California until the virtuoso passed away in 2009. “The sitar’s elegance and grace drew me to it. Hindustani Classical music is beautiful, deep, complex, and offers scope for improvisation. It is one of the great music traditions of the world,” shares the artiste, who tours the US, Canada, India and Europe.

“I grew without much exposure to Indian Classical music and got introduced to it only when I started learning Kathak from Pandit Chitresh Das. When I moved to India and began teaching the dance form here, I realised the students weren’t exposed to Classical music either. I wanted to change that,” says Seema Mehta, Kathak artiste and director of Chhandam Nritya Bharati, organisers of the baithak. The baithak series - with the aim to host one gathering every quarter - began in 2014, and was initially for the dance school’s students and their parents. It’s popularity grew as more music lovers heard of it.

Feinberg summarises the idea, “I like both situations. At a concert, the audience is far away that it allows the musician to get immersed in his music. In a baithak, there is a direct connection with the audience. The musician derives energy from the appreciation he receives.”

RD Burman composed for more than 300 films in a career spanning 30 years

This weekend, a group of music enthusiasts is going to deconstruct the thin line between imitation and inspiration at a talk on Hindi film music. The works of RD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan and OP Nayyar will be discussed at the event.

Shankar-Jaikishan ruled from 1949 to 1986

“Many tried to imitate a sound that worked well with listeners in that period. In fact, film producers would encourage music directors to do so. The music of Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji was close to the sound created by Shankar-Jaikishan and Burman,” says Ramesh KV, one of the speakers. “If you listen to the orchestration of a song, you will think it belongs to Burman, but it actually is by someone else,” he adds.

The full panel includes R Balaji, Shankar Iyer, Archisman Mozumder and Subramanian Iyer.

On: April 15, 7.30 pm
At: Pitaara – The Art Box, Yashwant Nagar, Goregaon (W).
Call: 9820393001
Entry: Rs 250

Sanjay Sharma with his daughters Aayushi (left) and Shriya, both of whom enjoy skating. Pic/Satej Shinde

"When you get divorced, the people you used to hang out with disappear. Suddenly, you have no friends, and neither does your child," begins Hemant Amrute, 43, who has been raising his 12-year-old son as a single parent since 2010. Similarly, Goregaon resident Sanjay Sharma has had full custody of his daughters since 2013, when his older child was not yet five, and the younger two-and-a-half years old.

Hemant Amrute with his son Aryan before a parasailing trip in Goa last December

Taking on the role of both parents hasn't been easy for either of these single dads, but that hasn't stopped them from providing their little ones with an upbringing that isn't lacking.

Striking a work-life balance
Recently, actor Tusshar Kapoor and director Karan Johar made news when they became single fathers to children born via surrogacy. But while these men, who come from privileged backgrounds, presumably have help, this is not the case with most single dads who have to juggle work and kids.

A normal day in the life of the Sharma family is hectic. "Luckily for me, I run my own business, so I do all my work when the kids are at school. My job is to pick them up and later in the evening, drop them off for skating or swimming lessons. My older daughter has also been learning Kathak for two years, while my younger one takes singing lessons," shares 35-year-old Sharma, adding that his mother helps him out on the home front.

Amrute, meanwhile, is also a busy entrepreneur, but now feels confident enough to leave his son home by himself whenever required, as he's a little older. His challenge, however, lies in the kitchen. "I never learned to cook," laughs the Thane resident, adding, "We've had a string of cooks come and go, because both of us invariably end up not liking the food."

Not to mention that being a single parent still has stigma attached to it, which is multiplied when the single parent in question is the father. "In the beginning, people would say, 'Yeh nahin kar paayega (he won't be able to do it)'. Now, they've seen it for themselves," says Sharma. Echoing the sentiment, Amrute adds that once a couple gets divorced, people tend to look down on them, and your social circle shrinks to prevent the awkwardness.

Creating a lasting bond
Sharma's daughters and Amrute's son love being outdoors. Sharma takes his kids to the beach, park, as well as for kiddie events across the city. "We love going on holidays, too, even if they're to nearby places like Mahabaleshwar or Daman."

Amrute and his son Aryan spend weekends at their farmhouse in Yeoor Hills, and head to the cinema or the mall on other days. "We also spent Christmas in Goa last year, which was a lot of fun. A few years ago, I took him with me on a work trip to the US, and we visited a lot of places when I had some downtime," he shares.

Both men recently discovered and joined iSingleParent, a Facebook community that organises meet-ups and holidays for single mums and dads and their kids.

Amrute says that when not at school, his son would end up spending time playing with a smartphone. "We live in a standalone house, so there aren't any kids around for him to play with. But he loves technology, and scored full marks in Robotics. He also enjoys beatboxing and recently started trying out parkour. And now, thanks to the group, he looks forward to bonding with the other kids who come for the meet-ups," he says.

(From left) Kamal Sidhu, Purab Kohli, Dino Morea, Maria Goretti, Cyrus Sahukar, Mini Mathur, Cyrus Broacha, Luke Kenny. Location Courtesy/The Bombay Canteen; Pics/Rane Ashish

When video killed the radio star in the 1990s, we were not complaining. Our eyes were glued to the TV as cable television made its debut. We had heard our rock and pop idols on FM, and now, we had them, in our living rooms. MTV had landed, followed by Channel V. Along with them came a glam and chatty species called VJs. On them we pinned our hope for a favourite song, crushed on them, and sought fashion wisdom during our fumbling teenage years. Suddenly, we had new pin-up stars.

At a reunion of India's first set of VJs at Lower Parel's The Bombay Canteen, we saw model-VJ from MTV and Channel V Kamal Sidhu; the brain behind Channel V Luke Kenny; mad-hatter MTV VJ Cyrus Broacha; crush-worthy Channel V VJ Purab Kohli; model-actor with dear dimples Dino Morea; MTV's effervescent Mini Mathur; MTV's Mr Comical Cyrus Sahukar and MTV VJ-turned-food TV host Maria Goretti.

Madness ensued, with a whole lot of laughter and wisecracks. There were blows below the belt but not a brow was raised. For us, the '90s kids, they were the epitome of cool. It's true that we saw them in a different light — some of them are now parents — but they are just as charming.

Launching with the '90S
Kamal: I think I speak for everyone when I say, without the '90s, we wouldn't have had a career.

Mini: I was doing TV much before music television arrived. At that time, all of it was based out of Delhi, and only fiction came out of Bombay. But the music channels made it all cool.

Cyrus S: There were a handful of these networks in operation. It was a great time to be in and we got away with murder.

Luke: One of the things that happened was that the 18 to 24 demographic was created. That's the demographic for youth programming even today. Once 2000 rolled in, the concept of the TV anchor was born, but the VJ had died.

Kamal Sidhu makes a point as Purab Kohli listens in

Kamal: While the role of the VJ was fairly new to India, around the world there were VJs we were exposed to. In Canada, we had a local music channel, which didn't allow MTV to enter the country. There was Downtown Julie Brown (who hosted Club MTV from 1987 to 1992). On the show, the light switch went on, with the camera going up her legs and under her skirt, while she went, 'Waba Waba Waba Downtown Julie Brown'. She was among the real pioneers. When MTV launched in Asia, we beamed shows from Hong Kong. And, then, we launched in India with a party at the Taj Mahal Hotel [in 1992] in Mumbai. It was called The Bombay Blast Weekend. It received a lot of backlash, I remember, because the riots (Babri Masjid) had just happened.

Where i want to be: Vjing
Maria: I used to watch Kamal and Danny [McGill] VJ, and, suddenly, I was one of them. I didn't know what I was getting into until I did. The thing about VJing in the '90s was that it let you be who you wanted to be. I was lucky to be part of something I loved. Today, everyone wants to be something more, so, a lot of people get nudged out of television. MTV put Indian VJs on air and that changed something. It was now damn cool to be Indian; there was no need to have an accent. I didn't realise I was cool but apparently, I was.

Purab: I joined Channel V as a host for a travel show, and, gradually, when other slots opened, I started VJing too. There was a serious naiveté back then and VJing wasn't thought of as a stepping-stone to other things.

Cyrus Sahukar tells a story to Luke Kenny

Cyrus S: We were all there with the knowledge that this where we want to be.

Behind the scenes
Purab: There were times when we shot close to five episodes a day. It was intense. Sophiya [Haque], Laila [Rouass] and Meghna [Reddy] would do their own make up, write their own shows and select their own music. There was a transition, when I came in 1999 to Channel V. There was one show where we were asked to write and select songs. We would run it by Luke.

Cyrus B: Luke? Was everything right?

Purab: Yes!

Cyrus B: Luke himself didn't know what his designation was.

Purab: He would approve songs and that was our process.

Maria: Producers hated it when VJs would get together because that meant no one would be working. Once a year, we did a show together for Christmas or New Year and that would be a blast. I miss all of us working together — miss the travelling, the early morning flights, sleeping at airports because we had missed our plane. When I look back I realise that what I did was part of history.

Music then, music now
Luke: What do I think of the indie music scene? It's very niche, and some of the musicians have a chip on their shoulder. But, that aside, what business are they doing? Few manage to get paying gigs, and whoever turns up to support, comes, has a drink, pays R300 and then doesn't buy the album. How does it help the artist? I have been consulting with Channel V recently, and we are trying to go back to the model where the music channel only plays music, and supports indie acts by giving their originals air time.

Cyrus Broacha monkeys around as Dino Morea greets Kamal Sidhu

Kamal: I remember they would send us pop music videos at the Hong Kong office. And most of them were bad. We had to consciously decide to help some artists with their videos. And then Rahman and acts like Indus Creed came in, and the videos changed.

Luke: Kids today love their pop as they did back in the '90s.

Kamal: It was more authentic back then.

Luke: That's because the labels saw a market and invested in it. No one sees a market in today's indie scene.

Cyrus S: They were competing with an international kind of space and knew that spending money on videos was requisite. Everybody was trying to match international standards.
Kamal: And then everything got homogenised into one game plan — the Bollywood game plan.

The '90S role model
Dino: I landed in Bombay in December 1997, looking for opportunities and I remember sharing a room, not even a flat, with a girl who wanted to be a model too. Back in Bangalore, I remember seeing Kamal. I was in college and had to go meet a photographer. There she was, shooting for some perfume or cosmetics ad, and I was like, "Whoa!" Models were these superstars then. I did stare at her.

Kamal: Did I stare back at you?

Dino: (Laughing) I don't think you noticed me.

Sinking into reality
Kamal: A big change from the '90s, well, is that reality television came about, for better or worse.

Luke: One of the earliest reality shows to come was Channel V's Popstars, from which [girl band] Viva emerged. History rewrote itself in that decade with reality television.

Cyrus B: There was also MTV Bakra, which started towards the end of 1999.

Kids with an edge
Kamal: I think it was the time of the Asian liberation. Everything was booming. Also, it was a time for adjustment. Parents of '90s kids looked at people like us and questioned our place as role models. They said, we need to control the remote control.

Luke: No, there was no parental control at all.

Purab: I think it was because those kids were the first movers into the globalisation space.

Cyrus S: Even I used to come home and watch TV. It was a time when I had a VCP, not even a VCR.

Luke: Do you know why those kids had an edge over today's? Because they didn't have these. (Points to a mobile phone).

Maria: I think it was because there was a more organic interaction between people. The communication was real, which I don't see today. These days, it's about the phone. My kids just asked me why they don't have the blue tick on Instagram. Everyone is looking into their phones. We have become tech-savvy but have lost a bit of the soul. (Snapping her fingers). It's now all about reaching a place and changing the game.

Your fav music video of the '90S was?
Luke: Pretty Child by Indus Creed
Cyrus Sahukar: Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice
Dino: Can't Touch This by MC Hammer
Kamal: Anything by AR Rahman
Maria: Freedom by George Michael
Mini: All Sukhbir and Lucky Ali videos

Illustrations/Ravi Jadhav

Girgaum, Kamat Chawl Thakurdwar
Celebrating the festival for the last 122 years, simplicity is key for Kamat Chawl residents. And they are happy to share tales from the forgotten pages of history and freedom struggle. Here, they do not follow the concept of themed decor and celebrate the festival in an absolute traditional manner. The idol is made of eco-friendly material called shadu. Following the spirit of why the festival was started in the first place, the pandal is built by the residents and each one volunteers to manage the space and the stage area.

Khetwadi, Tulsi Building Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal
This is the 75th year of the pandal and, like each year, the Ganesh idol is made up of different things, mostly edible. For instance, dry fruits, cereal and pluses, chikki, and stationery and diamond have been used. This year's focus is on kids and the theme is Disneyworld. The idol is made of Cadbury chocolate and the children cannot wait to see their favourite sweet take the shape of their favourite deity.

Malad, Shree Sai Darshan Mitra Mandal
For the last 11 years, this eco-friendly Ganesha has been a hit with devotees. Made from paper and cardboard, the organisers use various concepts including football erasers, pencils and cars. This year, Bappa is giving a shout out to nostalgia as the idol is made of old coins of 1 paise, 10 paise and 20 paise. The mandal's focus is to create awareness and education, especially about global warming.

Ghatkopar, S G Barve Nagar Sarvajanik Ganeshostav Mandal
Since 1966, the pandal's idols, one large and one small, have been luring devotees to this suburb. This year's theme is a dreamy fusion of a golden pillared palace, the religious oeuvre of Om Ganapataya namah and the galaxy. A daily bhandara of rice, dal, chole, bhaji, papad, pickles and gulab jamun feeds a thousand people. A blood donation drive along with free blood test and blood group check is done during the 10 day period.

Fort, Fort Vibhag Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal
Celebrated since 1956, this is one of the biggest fully centralised pandals in the city. This year, they have invited special artists from Rajasthan to create a palace setting. Their finesse and specially crafted artwork adds to the grandeur of the pandal. While you are here, you can easily spot a celeb or two. The maha aarti, especially for the police department, is scheduled for tomorrow.

Thane, Narvir Tanaji Mitra Mandal
For the last 38 years, this pandal has been not only known for its large murti and grand themes but also for reaching out to those in need, especially in rural areas. Bappa will happily rest in the grand Rajasthani Palace and overlook the tasks the members of the mandal will take up. Medical camps and a beautifully curated cultural programme that will see participants sing, dance and create beautiful flower arrangements and rangolis are in store for the Utsav.

Tilak Nagar, Sahyadri Krida Mandal
For the last 41 years, this pandal has been dedicatedly putting up themes on social awareness. This year, their theme is 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan' and will include artworks illustrating places from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, highlighting important destinations like the Himalayas and Madurai's Meenakshi Temple. These will be interspersed with reproductions of the metro, rail space research, army personnel and agricultural families to show how they co-exist to form an integral part of society.

BMC Spares No One

Atul Kasbekar helps Vidya Balan navigate her way on a dug up street near Kala Ghoda, as she arrives to launch a saree collection inspired by her latest film. pic/suresh karkera

On stage for the first time
It was their on-screen chemistry that led to a happily-ever-after life off screen. But actors Varun Badola and Rajeshwari Sachdev, who have worked together on several projects, hadn't shared space on stage until Ila Arun roped them for Shabd Leela, a dramatised reading of iconic Hindi writer, poet and playwright Dr Dharamvir Bharati's works. Directed by KK Raina, and adapted by Arun, the play will premiere at a festival to be held next week. "We are reading from Bharati ji's Kanupriya, Andha Yug as well as letters he had written to his wife. Such is the language of the letters that he has set major couple's goals for us!" Sachdev told this diarist. What is it like to be on the stage with Varun? "Such creative pursuits add a new, exciting dimension to the relationship," she says.

What's your Hindi word of the year?
After more than a decade of their much-anticipated English Word of the Year, the Oxford Dictionaries are launching their first ever Hindi Word of the Year. The initiative is calling on Hindi speakers from across the country to help choose a word or expression that has attracted interest over the last 12 months and reflects the mood, or preoccupations of the year, The word needn't be a new one. A panel of language experts including Namita Gokhale, Kritika Agrawal, Saurabh Dwivedi, Malika Ghosh, and Poonam Nigam Sahay will choose the winner from public suggestions, and announce it in January. Given that 'fake news' (Collins Word of the Year 2017) and 'post truth' have been the favourites recently, we wonder if 'jumla' has a chance.

An artist's homecoming
In the early 1960s, Gujarat-born artist Natvar Bhavsar moved to the US for further studies and ended up making New York his home, developing a distinct abstract style of painting, influenced by the colour-field artists of that time. In the last five decades, the feted artist's works have been widely collected by international art connoisseurs and museums, including Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Next week, the octogenarian will host his first retrospective in India, aptly titled Homecoming, presented by DAG Modern. It features smoky, layered compositions created by Bhavsar by sifting powdered pigments on canvas and allowing air currents, his breath and body movements to determine where they fall.

Natvar Bhavsar with his works. Pic courtesy/Janet Brosious Bhavsar

Eat this colour
An Italian research scholar in India has, quite literally, given us food for thought. Chiara Colombi (in pic) is in Thane at present, carrying out a project on chromotherapy called Eat Your Colour. It involves her organising seven lunches, each based on a different colour, over one week. Once the lunch is done, all the participants will use the leftovers from their plates as well as the kitchen to create a shape that embodies what they felt about the colour of the day. "I will then put the collective creation in a lunchbox and then display it in a public space," Colombi says, adding, "The idea is to explore how colours can be used in a therapeutic way through the process of creation."

Clinton junior, the author
Now, here's one family that's keeping publishers happy all year through. Close on the heels of mum and former Democratic presidential candidate Hilary's tell-all about her loss to eventual winner, Donald Trump in What Happened, daughter Chelsea Clinton's title, She Persisted Around The World is already creating a buzz in literary circles. The book, packed with delightful illustrations by Alexandra Bolger, and expected in March 2018, is the companion to her earlier New York Times bestseller, She Persisted. Publishers Penguin took to social media to make the announcement.

The follow-up, like the first title, will salute little activists, feminists and kid influencers who dared to dream big. Armed with Bolger's art, and featuring icons like JK Rowling and Malala Yousafzai, we can expect this one to top the bestselling list too.

Ben is Back

U/A: Drama
Director: Peter Hedges
Cast: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton
Rating: 

A family drama that makes substance abuse look like the enemy of humanity it is, this Peter Hedges directed film dramatically shifts its moods from celebration to welcoming to fearful – all in the span of a few minutes.

When Ben(Lucas Hedges) shows up skulking around at his home driveway in a hooded wind-breaker the audience is unsure as to his antecedents. Then his mother Holly(Julia Roberts), his teenage sister Ivy(Kathryn Newton) and two half-siblings (Mia Fowler and Jakari Fraser) arrive home and we see the trepidation tinted welcome he receives. When his step-father Neal(Courtney B Vance) rushes home after receiving Ivy's urgent message, we understand there's further gravity to the situation.

Director Peter Hedges opens up his pages slowly allowing us to experience in some measure as to what the family is going through. Eventually it becomes imminently clear that Ben's return for Christmas from a rehab program he was recently inducted into, is unexpected and ill-advised.

Check out the trailer here:

While 'Ben is Back' is not exactly a dense suspense drama it draws up intensity from a construct that questions the integrity of it's lead character. Since it's a story about an addict and his struggle with addiction the question that haunts his family and himself is 'Will he use again?' He has sworn and swears again that he won't but he has lied before and given his track record should his family believe him? It's a tough ask. But then what about love, compassion and forgiveness? Can a mother really abandon her child to the vagaries of a habit that could eventually destroy him? The film deals with all these questions and more and the answers that it comes up with are neither easy nor universally applicable.

As Holly takes on the onus of keeping Ben in her sights, she uncovers secrets that test her mothering skills –throughout an increasingly harrowing day and night exposing her to an underbelly that she never opened her eyes to in the past.

There are times when the plotting seems contrived and questionable but by and large Peter Hedges does a good job plying a pathway that has hurdles at every turn. The dramatic tension though is not sharp enough and that's one of the reasons why you feel rather ambivalent about this tale. Performances are universally good though!

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Simmba
Director: Rohit Shetty
Actors: Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 

With this film, a super-star is born. Why would one risk this over-statement? Because super-stars in Bollywood, or in the Indian movie context, have remained, for decades, the most apt equivalent to Hollywood super-heroes.

They come with little or no back-story. As in the case of Simmba - being an orphan is good enough. The front-story, as it were, is neatly split between the hero, and the villain, along with a prologue, epilogue, heroine, comedian, extras, and the all-important 'takiya-kalaam' (stock refrain): "Tell me something I don't know!" The motivation, like with super-hero flicks, is rather rudimentary. Saving a girl is as good as repeatedly saving the world!

What matters is how the super-star, by sheer dint of his vigorous personality - where you can't distinguish between the actor and character - carries along an entire movie, and indeed the audience, on his strong shoulders alone.

Once the image is set, the penny drops, and while the going is good, the super-star on screen is good enough to ensure audiences in theatres. And there's got to be a reason why no star ever since the '90s, in a real sense, has been able to convincingly play this part that, I suspect, is the hardest to hit home with, anyway.

Ranveer Singh does just that. And how! Part Govinda, from Raja Babu type pictures in the '90s, part Anil Kapoor from Ram Lakhan in the '80s, but wholly holding his own in a typically Rohit Shetty action-entertainer, Singh adds tremendous credibility to a character that had begun to tire us over time.

For one, given his robust résumé (if you only compare this performance to the anti-hero Alauddin Khilji's in Padmaavat earlier this year), you know he isn't casually reprising a role, given a captive audience (that '90s super-stars had begun to). He puts in as much effort into Simmba as he might into a Bajirao Mastani, say, mastering the Marathi twang (without quite coming across as a parody of Nana Patekar); killing it softly with well-written one-liners; setting the dance floor on
fire; romancing like a dude; doing action, like a proper, desi hero!

You fall for Inspector Sangram Bhalerao (Simmba)-a cartoonish, corrupt cop, who wants to eventually right the society's wrongs-essentially, because, you fall for the stupendous Singh on steroids. Every scene works, because he does; and vice versa. The net result is a movie that, within the same space, seems better than Ajay Devgn's Singham (2011). But for the middling soundtrack, it would've been better than Salman Khan's Dabangg (2010).

Either way, what you won't go looking for is the picture's plot, based on the Telugu potboiler Temper (2015). Because you already know what to expect: Singh as a hero. Sonu Sood as a villain. Villain ke haraami brothers. Hero ki abla nari sister. And the rape, and the revenge drama, that follow.

I'm unsure if one adequately appreciates how hard, bordering on the near impossible, it is to engagingly pull off a masala-melodrama such as this. Shetty knows more than a thing or two about this timeless genre. Yet, this may well be one of his rare movies where the connoisseur and the crackling masses are most likely to seamlessly converge.

As an audience, the only way to know if a film of this sort is working (for you), is when you find yourself (sometimes guiltily, but mostly in a carefree sort of way) smiling, responding, and along with a packed theatre, reacting to shenanigans on screen-whether they entirely make sense or not ain't the point.

The script can be full of holes. You hope your brain isn't. This is how I caught this picture, with folk in the front-benches-whistling, clapping, making loud noises, and then going quiet, during dramatic sequences.

This only brings back strong memories of large single-screen cinemas - on the verge of extinction - with people on both cheap and super-expensive seats, sharing entertainment as a common, tribal experience. That's where you should go for this. As if on cue, to Ajay Devgn walks in as Singham. As does Akshay Kumar, announcing his next film cop-flick with Shetty, Sooryavanshi (2019). You might think this is meant to be a Ranveer starrer piggy-backing on '90s super-stars - inhabiting the same Marvel-like super-hero, cinematic universe. Look at him. I think it was the other way round!

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Mary Poppins Returns

U/A: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Angela Lansbury, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer
Rating: 

Disney drums up age-old magic by picking up the threads of an unforgettable original which had the unassailable diva Julie Andrews mesmerize way back in 1964. This time around Emily Blunt essays the all-important role of the magical nanny whose job is to put things right in the Banks’ siblings Michael(Ben Whishaw) and Jane’s (Emily Mortimer)now adult world just as she did when they were kids – with Lin-Manuel Miranda doing a Dick Van Dyke in this Rob Marshall sequel.

The setting is 1930’s London, Michael is a widower with three lovely kids and his sister Jane is an activist who appears to have lost out on love. Burdened by debt and threatened by the bank, Michael can barely keep his head up when Mary Poppins flies into their lives and makes all the difference!

Check out the trailer here:

Director Rob Marshall manages to tie-in to the original with enchanting ease - spelling forth a magical 130 minutes of music and fantasy that keeps you reminiscing while laying out an entirely fresh scenario that’s just as trippy as the original. Marshall reteams with cinematographer Dion Beebe, to give the narrative an inveigling widescreen luster, with production designer John Myhre and costume designer Sandy Powell chipping in with their nostalgia imbuing contributions. The pre-war 1930s setting is superbly presented just as the bath-time routine, excursion in the park and journey into an all-too brittle adventure, rekindle the vivacity and colorfulness of yore. It’s a wondrous amalgamation of ideas from the past and present, merging together in synchronicity of technique and wonder that is entirely enthralling.

Also Read: Emily Blunt Got Scared With Mary Poppins Returns Offer

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Glass

U/A: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Sarah Paulson, Bruce Willis, James McAvoy
Rating: 

Shyamalan’s earliest films (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs) were brilliant, they intrigued, shocked and entertained all at the same time. The same cannot be said about the films that came later. The big budget ones especially were all jumbled up and schlocky. It felt as though the director never really achieved his vision. ‘Glass’ is a far better effort in terms of visual context but it fails on cohesion and lucidity – especially in the third act dominated by Shyamalan’s signature twists.

Glass, a sort of sequel to both Unbreakable and Split, spends its two hours plus without a strong story to tell. It is every bit as inconceivable and snaky a film as his worst but it still has a psychological depth that could have amounted to much more - if only the director had been a little more focussed. There’s so much he is wanting to say that it all gets lost in the confusion and incoherence brought on by a lack of emphasis.

Glass opens with Dunn(Willis) tracking down Split's villain, Kevin Wendell Crumb aka 'The Horde' (James McAvoy), a serial killer suffering from multiple personality disorder who has been preying on girls in the Philadelphia area. After some visceral action Dunn and Crumb are captured and taken to a secret wing of a psychiatric hospital also housing Mister Glass(Jackson) – to be studied by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), a psychiatrist obsessed with decoding the phenomenon of men who believe themselves to possess the powers of comic book characters.

Check out the trailer here:

This is an indie film (in partnership with Blumhouse)with no big studio backing it so there are budget constraints which Shyamalan could have overcome by running a tighter ship. Shyamalan manages to get close to poignant and memorable but the third act(rather threadbare) pulls you off that track all the way through. The twists don’t make much sense and in fact renders the entire work rather directionless.

The build-up is pretty good even though the action is all visual, internalised and verbose but the third and final act fails to make something out of that. The director and DP Michael Gioulakis manage to compose some fascinating and striking visual mayhem but it doesn’t amount to anything powerful. If you followed ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split’ then there is a chance that you might cotton on to Shyamalan’s wavelength but for a large part of the audience this is going to be a film without a strong sense of purpose.

James McAvoy is simply the best thing about this movie. His enthusiasm and effort in playing out multiple personalities is extraordinary. Jackson wakes up from his stupor a little late and loses out on creating an impact while Willis looks on strategically- the thing he does best I guess. This is at best a baffling and inconsistent exercise in cinema!

Also Read: James McAvoy on Glass co-star Bruce Willis: He is most chilled dude

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Thackeray
U/A: Biopic
Dir: Abhijit Panse
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Amrita Rao
Rating:

Rather than a biopic, Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Thackeray tends to become a hagiography that doesn't offer an insight into the larger-than-life personality that was Balasaheb Thackeray. If you've wondered what lay beneath this powerful leader, or how he rose when the odds were against him, be warned this film doesn't answer those questions. Which is not to say it doesn't work.

Director Abhijit Panse's offering is an interesting drama for those who don't know much about Thackeray. The protagonist's journey from being a cartoonist at a newspaper to becoming a ruthless leader, insistent on the progress of the Marathi manoos, is captured well. But is this movie an image makeover exercise for the party, which is at loggerheads with its long-time ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this year? It definitely feels so. Interestingly, while the film starts with a disclaimer which reads that the makers don't support violence in any manner, they haven't shied away from showing Thackeray as someone who was in favour of using violence as a means to instill peace.

The film opens with the leader's trial in a Lucknow court as he is being questioned about his role in the demolition of Babri Masjid. When he is asked about his supporters tearing down the mosque, he replies, "Nahi, nahi. Toda nahi, saaf kiya." The film then travels between Thackeray's past — stylishly shot in black and white — and the courtroom where he has to justify his deeds and decisions.

From the rise of the angry Marathi consciousness against the dominant South Indians in Mumbai to the killing of Krishna Desai, a member of the Communist Party, to Thackeray supporting the Emergency because he believes that the country would finally be disciplined — various chapters present the protagonist as a tyrant.

The problem, however, lies in the most important chapter — the '93 Bombay riots. The film skims over the matter, and shows it as a conspiracy to kill Thackeray rather than people avenging the post-Babri riots, as is popular knowledge. The storyline then leaps to the bomb blasts that shook the city, and unsurprisingly, Thackeray and the Shiv Sena, rather than being depicted as the instigators of the communal riots, are shown as the city's saviours.

Siddiqui is riveting as Thackeray. It is his terrific performance that makes you invested in the film even when it trudges down a predictable path. But he falters with his voice; he can't match the deep baritone of his subject. Amrita Rao is convincing as Meena Thackeray. The movie ends with the victory of the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the 1995 state elections; the makers also use the opportunity here to announce the sequel. Produced by Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut, the film barely goes beyond being the audio-visual version of Sena's official newspaper.

Watch Thackeray Trailer

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Alita: Battle Angel
U/A: Action, Adventure
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali
Rating: 

This film, which has Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron working together with Peter Jackson's visual effects, has wonders never experienced before in cinema. The film may have taken a long while (twenty years) coming to screen, but the end result is fantastic enough to keep you asking for more. A manga-based action thriller, James Cameron's $200 million-worth, long cherished dream is aimed at young adults seeking fresher pastures from that of The Hunger Games variety and hopes to make it to bigger box-office returns than that sub-genre hit-starter.

Cameron started on the cinematic adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's original manga comics way back in the late 1990s, (much before Avatar), but the phenomenal success of Avatar had him relinquishing directorial control to Rodriguez while holding firm as screenwriter (with Jon Landau and Laeta Kalogridis) and producer.

The resultant kick-ass cyberpunk adventure may not be as original as he imagined it, but it has certainly got all the chops to make it to a long-term fan-following on its own.

The filmed adventure is set 500 years from now, in Iron city - a junkyard that is a wasteland for the flying citadel of Zalem. The city is peopled with AI controlled cyborgs mingling with real humans in a community so tech-spangled that it's hard to decipher one from the other. Kindly Doctor Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) reconfigures a former robot superweapon and rechristens her Alita (Rosa Salazar), after his own daughter. I do, who moonlights as a hunter-warrior, tries to protect the young Alita, but her mind has memories of a past that keeps haunting her present. She even develops a crush on handsome robo-junk dealer Hugo (Keean Johnson) and eventually ends up becoming the super weapon she once was.

The plotting here is a little too jumbled up, ensnared as it is in creating set-piece thrills and out-of-this-world experiences. Stereotype characters and genre tropes make the engagement less than wondrous. The tech-specs are certainly the best we've seen in a long time, the IMAX imagery is splendid and beguiling and the vivid expressions of the actors make it feel all the more real and intimately experiential.

Watch the trailer of Alita: Battle Angel

Even though Salazar is the most riveting and fascinating of characters, she does feel a little artificial at times. The CGI blends in effortlessly with digitally morphed motion-capture performance, but the artifice can be felt - too strongly at times. The array of side characters also feels like old hat killing the originality of the experience and allowing déjà-vu to creep in. Even so, there's no belittling this explosive cutting-edge adventure that takes cinema thrills to never-seen-before heights!

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

The Wife
Director: Bjorn Runge
Cast: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater
Rating: 

The two lead performances are what make The Wife so special. In this unsettling drama - an adaptation of the 2003 Meg Wolitzer novel by Jane Anderson - Glenn Close plays Joan, the wife of a Nobel Prize-winning writer Joseph Castleman (Jonathan Pryce).

Directed by Bjorn Runge, The Wife opens in 1992 when Joe and Joan Castleman, in their Connecticut home, are trying to fall asleep when they get a call from the Nobel academy, informing them of the prize. It's their moment of triumph after 40 years of struggle with the written word, in which Joan, supposedly, has played a largely complementary role. Of course, there are flashbacks that hint at her own phenomenal ability to write prose, stifled by a marriage that demands she subjugate her talents to a life of reflected glory in a period (late '50s and early '60s), where women writers were not given the importance they command today.

There's no great suspense or mystery powering this tale of a breakdown that spirals into tragedy at the crowning moment of an author's accomplishments. In fact, Runge doesn't appear to be as interested in developing the suspense as he is in showcasing the unravelling of a suppressed human mind.

Close literally steals the thunder with her role as the devoted wife of a celebrated novelist. She is the keeper of his deepest, darkest secret; a stunningly nuanced expressionism that is more than likely to take your breath away. The restraint and modulation she brings to the role are simply phenomenal. It's a performance that is deservedly walking away with a slew of awards.

Pryce is no mean performer either. His role may not garner much sympathy, but his act complements that of Close so well that you begin to believe in their togetherness.

The Wife is a little compact and contrived, given its novel origins. The attempt to complicate matters for the Castlemans by showcasing their troubled relationship with their budding novelist son, David, seems passé. Also, Joan's seething frustrations don't seem completely justified, even whilst considering the period they take wings in. While the movie is not a great piece of work, the lead artistes definitely are worthy contenders for the awards.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Badla
U/A: Thriller
Dir: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh
Ratings: 

Sujoy Ghosh takes us back to the basics with his latest offering. Badla, as the title suggests, is a revenge-drama loosely based on the Spanish thriller, The Invisible Guest. Like with the original, it's not too difficult to decipher the end a good while before we get there.

Yet, Badla isn't predictable. What it certainly does lack, though, is the smarts that could be expected. Ghosh designs this film as more than just a whodunit. He lays out his cards neatly, unfolding one incident after another. So, it's all about cracking codes in the wobbly story, narrated by Naina (Taapsee Pannu), a top-notch businesswoman embroiled in a murder case.

She was found injured in a hotel room, with her lover lying dead on the floor. There is no sign of anyone else entering or leaving the room. Naina maintains, she didn't kill her lover. The film revolves around a single meeting with her potential lawyer, Badal Gupta.

Badla soars because of its unpredictability before we arrive at the end. The key lies in the names of its lead characters - Naina (eyes), a play on how truth depends on whose point of view is being considered. There is an inherent Rashomon philosophy in the narrative. Badal's name is a play on the film's title itself. Ghosh uses these props to confuse his viewers, create mirages that they are frequently misguided by in their tryst to keep the guessing game going.

At one point in the midst of this rigmarole, we look towards the screen and wonder why Bollywood doesn't exploit the terrific Amrita Singh enough. As Bachchan and Pannu battle it out in a verbal duel, it's Singh who does the emotional heavy lifting. Of course, both Bachchan and Pannu are terrific actors, but Pannu's Naina is played in a rather single note. Naina wins awards, is intoxicated by power, and is guilty about her affair. But the required nuances demanded by the narrative are missing from Pannu's act. There are a few genuine shockers, but it is largely a simplistic tale put together in a complicated fashion.

As admirers of thrillers, we are not failed by Ghosh. The tapestry of tension that he weaves is unparalleled. The camerawork by Avik Mukherjee deserves a mention. Set in Glasgow, the setting plays a part that's as essential as the characters. I was sold to the ride that Badla took me on; but, does it live it up to the thrill of Ghosh's Kahaani? Nah, that will need cleverer writing. Yet, this is worth a watch.

Also Read: Exclusive - Taapsee Pannu on Badla: I am a very vindictive person by nature

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Kesari
U/A: Drama History
Director: Anurag Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Rating:

First off, this might well be actor Akshay Kumar's finest performance ever. And this has much to do with an earthy, true-blue, proud Punjabiness that he exudes in his natural persona that translates so seamlessly on to the big screen; him fitting into the get-up like a glove, as Havildar Ishar Singh, a die-hard, hatta-katta soldier with a sharp disc on his huge turban, belonging to what the British deemed the 'martial race'—born to fight and protect, for community, and honour.

And that's tall compliment for a superstar, currently at the brightest phase of his career, who for years since he made his debut was condescendingly dismissed as woodwork—chiefly for the kind of work he starred in, of course.

Kumar, lesser known as Rajiv Bhatia, over the past few years, has upped his game to a point that you can't tell one character of his from the next (his last outing was as the iPhone sensation, Pakshi Rajan, in 2.0), naturally generating curiosity in ways that Aamir Khan has been capable of. Surely there are other contenders too, but hardly as prolific.

That said, you know where this film is coming from: 1897, Battle of Saragarhi, fought between Sikh soldiers under the British, and Afghan/Pashtun tribesmen from North West Frontier Province, or what's now the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

What's more important for the viewer to figure/gauge/understand is where this film is going—mainly towards mainstream, mass-belt audiences in Punjab/North, naturally inclined towards manic action films, exhibiting bravado of a community that has enough history to prove for it.

The director is most loved for massive Punjabi hits like Jatt And Juliet, and its sequel. Frankly, Sunny Deol is the only other actor I can think of who could so easily have pulled off this rustic 'gadarness' with gusto. The younger lot doesn't quite cut it in that sense. And Kumar has a cred that precedes his presence. Here he does to Sikh pride through dialogue-heavy, relatively over-the-top, period action-drama, what he attempted in Singh Is Kinng (2008) through comedy, with considerable success.

The key is the story of course. But the downer, the script/screenplay, probably naturally flows from there as well. For how do you spin off an entire feature from what's essentially a merciless, brutal battle between two groups, where the side you're on (the Sikhs) has no stake in the system?

They're minor soldiers. Their bravado is deliriously captivating, yes. You can see it. You can feel it. But the battle can't be the whole film. Well it is already half of it, with scenes leading up to the big moment essentially checking off boxes for issues that the film wants to perfunctorily highlight: caste, religion, colonialism, slavery. What you seek is simply what you get; no more, no less.

At the heart of this pic is the fact that 21 soldiers of a Sikh regiment held fort, carried on what was self-admittedly a suicide mission, against an army of over 10,000 tribesmen attacking them one fine day. Could this be a case-study on tactical warfare? How else did the Sikhs survive even more than a second? Or were the Afghans/Pashtun soldiers completely daft to suffer huge casualties still? Was there unlimited ammo at Saragarhi, or was the opposing side marching in with seriously primitive weapons?

Watch Kesari Trailer

The statistics are staggering. This explains why this film has been made and can be loved for that moment in military records alone. And which is why there is already a movie on the same episode on Netflix (with Mukul Dev; haven't seen yet), and another one that director Rajkumar Santoshi is currently shooting still.

Maybe there's more to the battle. Or maybe this in-your-face, goose-bumpy ride—heartwarming, because its history; and hysterical, because it's that kinda movie—is just the best one can do. Well, either way, this works alright.

Also read: Sikhs dress up in saffron hues to watch Akshay Kumar-starrer Kesari

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

The Least Of These
U/A: Drama
Dir: Aneesh Daniel
Cast: Sharman Joshi, Stephen Baldwin, Shari Rigby
Ratings: 

Aneesh Daniel's attempt to relook at real-life events that triggered the grisly murder of Graham Stuart Staines - Australian born evangelist/poor leprosy patients' caregiver, living and working in the remote regions of Orissa - is a rather tame experience.

It's obvious the filmmakers were eager to avoid any confrontations with right-wing fanatics, who had a major role to play in triggering the gruesome killing of Staines (Stephen Baldwin) and his two sons. Don't know how much of a spoiler the censor board played in this regard, but needless to say, this is a largely sanitised version of the truth and does a great disservice to the lives lost in the throes of a communal crossfire. Defanged of the court ordained facts, including the name of the convicted killer (Dara Singh) and his right-wing Hindu fundamentalist political affiliations, this film merely plays around with the 'conversion' issue.

The narrative device employed here is in itself flawed. It's the late 1990's. Journalist Manav Banerjee (Sharman Joshi) moves with his pregnant wife to a small town in Orissa. The editor (Prakash Belawadi) of the New Orissa Daily treats him like a stringer and expects him to coerce stories about forced conversions from the villagers. Manav, who shuns lepers and is clearly biased against Christian groups, would rather do the exposé without being personally involved. But his editor deems it necessary that Manav himself play victim to the conversion hoax to expose the Australian missionary's so-deemed unlawful activity. With his wife delivering prematurely and costs of hospitalisation mounting by the day, Manav is forced to toe the line.

While forgiveness plays an important part in this misrepresented drama, it doesn't have the effect of a great act here. It is depicted so ineffectually that there is little impact on the viewer. The actors are either over-the-top or inconsistent. Joshi overstates his eagerness by repeating phrases like 'I am a journalist' and 'He is a leper'. Scripting by Andrew E Mathews is so slack that his turnaround defies logic. Even Baldwin and Shari Rigby fail to arouse empathy. Technically too, this film is not upto the mark. The direction, editing and cinematography lack distinctive focus. This unaccomplished production doesn't amount to anything!

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

After the death of three police personnel due to COVID-19, the Mumbai police are telling constables aged above 55 years and those having existing ailments to immediately proceed on leave. The option for the paid leave was made available on Monday and will last till the lockdown.

Accordingly, the police top brass has directed police stations and traffic divisions to give leave to such constables. If a constable still wishes to come to work, he will be allowed to.

Traffic cops are most vulnerable as their work involves highest people-to-people contact

The three deaths in the Mumbai police workforce occurred within 48 hours. Wanting to save the rest of their colleagues who might be especially vulnerable, senior officers have given clear instructions.

"We have given orders to police stations and traffic divisions to give leave to constables aged beyond 55 years. Those having serious health issues have also been advised to take rest," said Param Bir Singh, commissioner of Mumbai police.

A policeman checks a car at Bhendi Bazar. Pic/Ashish Raje

"On Sunday, we asked for information from the headquarters about constables aged between 50 to 52, 52 to 55 and 55 to 58 years and any ailments they might have," said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

Health experts have observed that people aged above 50 and having health issues such as diabetes, asthma and heart conditions are more susceptible to the Coronavirus. "Since the beginning of the lockdown, we had asked our senior inspectors and traffic division in-charges to assign desk duties to constables aged above 50 years, with minimal contact with outsiders," said another officer. "Yet we lost three personnel. Hence, we are enforcing the policy further to avoid more fatalities," added the officer.

Deputy Commissioner of Police and spokesperson for Mumbai police, Pranaya Ashok said, "The message is loud and clear — cops aged above 50 should not be posted in hotspots or in containment zones. In fact, they should serve for tasks that involve minimum social contact. Now we are going a step forward by giving constables aged above 55 years the option to go on leave."

"Enforcing law and order is our priority but saving the lives of our men is also our duty. Therefore, we have given such constables the option to stay home April 27 onwards till the end of the lockdown. Traffic cops have the most contact with people, making them the most vulnerable," said a senior officer from the traffic police.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday claimed that around 75 per cent of the nursing homes in the city have restarted services, after its warning of cancelling their licences if they did not do so, on Saturday. The municipal commissioner has ordered the cancellation of licences of the remaining 25 per cent nursing homes. Action will also be taken against private clinics who continue to remain shut, under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

Warning issues
The associations of doctors, nursing homes have expressed fear to work during the COVID-19 pandemic without proper safety kits and strict guidelines. The BMC has several times offered to provide safety kits but most private clinics and nursing homes remain closed due to fear of transmission of COVID-19. On Saturday, the BMC warned nursing homes and clinics to restart immediately and refer patients who have symptoms of COVID-19 to its centres. On Monday, the BMC claimed that out of 1,416 nursing homes, 1,068 have restarted their service. "Out of 99 dialysis centres, 89 are working," said an officer with the health department of the BMC.

According to the press note issued by the civic corporation, the municipal commissioner has ordered the health department to start the process of cancelling licences of the 348 nursing homes which haven't started services yet.

Mayor in nurse's uniform

Mayor Kishori Pednekar visited Nair hospital to meet the nurses

Kishori Pednekar, mayor of Mumbai and a former nurse, donned on a nurse's uniform and visited the COVID-19-only Nair hospital on Monday morning. She was there to encourage nurses. The mayor will visit Sion hospital on Tuesday to communicate with nurses. Pednekar followed social distancing norms during her visit. "I was a nurse by profession and am aware of their challenges. I am getting many calls from nurses and their parents who expressed fear. This is a challenging time and we all should fight the pandemic," said Pednekar.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

COVID-19 has now reached the doorstep of the state government, with four Mantralaya staff members testing positive for it. The state health department officials confirmed 27 deaths in Maharashtra, which was the highest number reported in a single day and the state's count of cases climbed to 8,590.

Civic officials said that of the four Mantralaya staffers, three tested positive on Sunday while one was confirmed on Monday. "They were on duty and include a sweeper and a driver. Contact tracing is underway and we will test the high-risk contacts," said a civic official. The official added that a portion of Mantralaya may be cordoned off if necessary. Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh said that the staffers were taken to Kasturba Hospital for testing.

Four more ward boys of the TB Hospital in Sewri tested positive on Sunday taking the total count of infected staff members to 14. "One of the ward boys had directly gone to Kasturba Hospital and was admitted with symptoms. He has been shifted to the ENT Hospital. Two others are Thane residents and had sore throats," said Dr Lalitkumar Anande, medical superintendent of the TB Hospital, adding that two of the ward boys have been kept in isolation at the staff quarters.

No new cases in Mahim, Dadar
The number of cases in Dharavi continued to rise with 13 new cases reported on Monday. Majority of the new patients were senior citizens taking the total count in the area to 288. Civic officials said that no new cases were reported from Dadar and Mahim for three consecutive days and while 17 patients were discharged from Dadar, nine were discharged from Mahim on Monday.

The cumulative cases in Mumbai city are 5,776 while the total cumulative deaths here are 219. State health officials said that there were 522 new cases in Maharashtra, of which 369 were from Mumbai. Of the 27 deaths, 15 were from Mumbai, six in Amravati, four in Pune and one each in Jalgaon and Aurangabad. Among the deceased patients, 22 suffered from other ailments including diabetes and hypertension.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Ruling out lifting of lockdown after May 3 from across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked states to decide on their lockdown guidelines depending on the prevailing situation on the ground. He said the pandemic was far from over and hence the country needed a balance between the lockdown and the efforts of keeping normalcy in daily life.

Modi told chief ministers on Monday that the lockdown had yielded positive results and the country had managed to save thousands of lives in the past 45 days.

"Our aim must be rapid response, and 'do gaz doori' (physical distancing)," he said, adding that the states where positive cases were higher should not be treated as criminals.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray is reported to have supported the lockdown where it is needed most. He also said on Sunday that the lockdown could be lifted after May 3 only if the situation allowed. Union Home Minister Amit Shah reaffirmed the need to enforce lockdown so that maximum lives were saved.

Amid rising concerns about a weakening economy, Modi said that efforts of states should be directed towards converting red zones into orange and thereafter to green zones.

"We have to be brave and bring in reforms that touch the lives of common citizens. We have to give importance to the economy as well as continue the fight against COVID-19. The impact of Coronavirus will remain visible in the coming months, masks and face covers will be part of our life," he said.

"India's population is comparable to that of the combined population of several countries. The situation in many countries, including India, was almost similar at the beginning of March. However, due to timely measures, India has been able to protect many people," the PM said, emphasising that the danger of the virus was far from over and constant vigilance was of paramount importance.

Cabinet meet tomorrow
He said, "This is the time we used technology as much as possible and utilised time to embrace reform measures," the PM said.

Sources said the Union cabinet would discuss the matter on Wednesday. In all likelihood, the decision on lifting or easing lockdown is expected to be announced at least four days before the deadline of May 3.

State home minister Anil Deshmukh who also participated in the CM's interaction with PM said in Nagpur that the red zones where higher cases of COVID existed would in probability continue to have lockdown."Orange and green zone may get lockdown relaxed and CM himself would announce about it," he said.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

No net gains

The poor are left to protect themselves in tents on a skywalk in Powai on Monday. Pic/Sameer Markande

Paisa vasool with Pant

At a time when uncertainty hits most industries around the world, writer Meghna Pant's first-ever podcast on Audible hopes to bring some clarity on money matters. Titled Show Me The Money, the podcast is a personal finance audio show that addresses the basics of saving, investing and spending with experts and top investment houses such as SBI, HDFC, and DSP. The recording began last December and about the importance of the show now, Pant told this diarist, "The deepest learning from this pandemic is that life is unpredictable and we need to be prepared for anything. And the only things that can help us tide over tough times, downturns and job losses, are our savings and investments. What are smart financial decisions? How can women, millennials, artists, freelancers and influencers become richer? What's worth spending on and what's not? The idea is to give people money advice that actually works, while they're sitting at home in their PJs. All for free!"

Party all night

This diarist watched DJ Ivan offer his friends a treat when they were starved of their fix of weekend dancing recently. A bunch of them were on a video call when one person directed them to a mammoth set that the city-based musician was playing live on Instagram, where he started spinning old-school electronic tunes around midnight and went on for seven hours straight. The friends logged in to the music from home, showing how the definition of partying in Mumbai has changed during the lockdown. "This is for those who are missing the club right now," the gracious DJ said.

Some signs of the times

Although we're all finding ways to comprehend the current scenario we're living in, an emoji that accurately represents what we're going through can always help. So, the New York-based creative agency &Walsh has launched hundreds of emojis that can be downloaded for free — because they were "frustrated by the limitations of the current emoji set." Too scared to text your crush? Just send them the "Be My Quarantine?" emoji. Tired of people reminding you to wash your hands? Show them the graphic depiction of bubbles emerging from your hands instead. And if you can't deal with anything or anyone at the moment, simply send the banner that says, "Hello I Am Going Insane". We understand.

Why you should swing into this auction

After the pandemic struck artist Raju Sutar took up the brush up in a bid to help with relief work. It started off with 30 paintings that he posted on social media, appealing to followers to pay R500 or more for each. "I asked them to pay the money to either the Maharashtra Chief Minister's (CM) Relief Fund or any other COVID-19 fund. The paintings were sold out in 20 hours and some people paid more than R3,000 for them," he told us. This is what led him to kick-start an auction on Instagram. The circular paintings, each 3.5-inch in diameter, are inspired by the popular card game Ganjifa. "I've posted four paintings so far. Each day, one painting goes under the hammer and I take bids till 10 pm in the comments section. The winner is declared after that and they need to send the money to the CM's Fund. I'll send the artworks to the winners by post once the lockdown ends," he said, adding that R23,000 has been raised so far.

A mindful debut

Singer, actor and speaker on mindfulness, Raageshwari Loomba Swaroop is set to make her literary debut next month as her book Building a Happy Family (Penguin India) will be launched digitally by Oxford Bookstore. The title comes with a foreword from Dr Shashi Tharoor and the author focusses on the impact books, music, art and positive reinforcement has on the lives of children. "I always believed that parenting is about bringing up the parent and not the child. I wrote the book so we adults can re-visit our childhood through our children's unique eyes," Loomba Swaroop told this diarist. In doing this, she also stated that we will magically realise that these "little masters" are our greatest teachers in mindfulness. About the motivation to delve into mindfulness per se, the London-based author added, "I starting collecting notes on it soon after my recovery from facial paralysis. It's been 20 years since then. But when I started the journey of being a mother, in my mind first, I knew I wanted to be a non-judgemental and easygoing mother. Mindfulness made me realise that for it to happen I would first have to start by being non-judgemental and easy going with myself and everyone around me."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

The 73-year-old mother and wife of a police constable have tested positive for COVID-19 in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, an official said on Tuesday. The constable, who is attached to the Mumbai police, had tested positive for the infection earlier, while swab reports of his elderly mother and wife came out positive on Monday, public relations officer of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Mahendra Konde said.

In another development, a 42-year-old heart patient, who died while being shifted to a hospital in Navi Mumbai, tested positive for coronavirus post death, the official said. A 57-year-old medical personnel of a civic hospital in Mumbai has contracted the infection, and at least 12 civic workers, who came in contact with her, were quarantined, a release from the Palghar district administration stated.

As per reports, the number of positive cases in Palghar stood at 146, of which 10 patients have succumbed to the infection. Meanwhile, as many as 41 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Maharashtra''s Thane district, taking the tally to 728 in the region and toll to 21, after two more died on Monday, an official from the district administration said.

With 41 patients, Mumbra town has recorded the highest number of cases in the district.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever