04 October,2026 07:46 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Pic/Atul Kamble
A furry participant has made his way to the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati (Marathi) in Filmcity, Goregaon East
A normal ECG may look reassuring, but it does not always mean the heart is safe. According to senior consultant cardiologist Dr Siddharth V Dagli, "up to 10 per cent of patients experiencing an active heart attack will have a completely normal ECG." He explains, "The heart is divided into regions - front, sides, and back. The ECG is excellent at detecting damage to the front and sides of the heart, but it's remarkably blind to damage at the back and right side.
Dr Siddharth V Dagli
"In the very earliest phase of a heart attack, sometimes the first few minutes to hours, the ECG looks completely normal. A patient arriving at the emergency room during this window has a normal ECG despite active, ongoing heart muscle death."
Dr Dagli says this is why a single ECG should not be treated as enough to rule out a heart attack. Troponin I, a blood test that detects damage to heart muscle, is another crucial part of the diagnosis. However, even that test can be normal during the first few hours.
"The proper way to diagnose a heart attack is through serial testing," he says, "An immediate troponin test, a repeat ECG after 15 minutes and another troponin measurement after three hours."
He also flags women, younger patients, diabetics, and people with previous heart attacks as groups in whom diagnosis can be more easily missed. "A normal ECG that sends a patient home is not reassuring; it's dangerous," he says.
His advice for patients with persistent chest pain is simple: "Don't leave." If symptoms continue or return after being sent home, he recommends going back to the emergency room immediately.
Pune-based designer Karishma Shahani Khan is in town at 47A. She's brought along her explorations in reconstruction, craft, and material reuse to Khotachiwadi. The showcase is titled TARA by Ka-Sha and will be on display at the gallery starting today.
Karishma Shahani Khan
TARA, for Shahani Khan, is an opportunity to bring together the different explorations that have shaped her designer label, Ka-Sha, over the years. "It goes beyond discarded materials and looks at how we approach reconstruction, craft, experimentation, and what already exists," she says.
At the heart of this approach is Heart to Haat, Ka-Sha's initiative born out of a desire to rethink production waste. Leftover textiles, pre-loved garments, and seemingly incidental materials such as beads, buttons, and wires are reworked into new garments and accessories.
"Since we work with what already exists, every piece becomes unique. It has reinforced our belief in looking at materials for their possibilities rather than their original purpose," Khan adds. Through this showcase, you can take a look at Ka-Sha's memories, experiments, techniques and new directions.
Australian cricket great Dennis Lillee's role in the MRF Pace Foundation is well documented. He spearheaded the Chennai-based Foundation that produced many a fast bowling talent.
Syed Kirmani and Dennis Lillee
But how did Lillee get involved in a coaching programme which MRF's then boss Ravi Mammen drove? This diarist found out through a book, written by Richie Benaud's brother John, also a Test player and a national selector.
In Matters of Choice, Benaud wrote: "In 1985, a New Zealand motor car company had sponsored Dennis [Lillee] to coach young Kiwi fast bowlers; word spread as fast as a Lillee outswinger and the flow-on was a letter to Dennis from, not Australia as you might expect, but India. From Syed Kirmani, the Indian wicketkeeper.
"Soon, Dennis met with a young Indian businessman, Ravi Mammen, of the Madras Rubber Factory. Ravi had a vision for Indian cricket - that when their teams went to faraway places they would no longer struggle because they had no fast bowlers. The MRF Pace Foundation was born." Time to say thanks to Bengaluru-based Kiri for that late 1980s letter.
Priyanka Pradhan, award-winning author, journalist, and travel writer, is launching her second book Wrong Turns Only, a contemporary young adult novel published by Rupa Publications India.
Priyanka Pradhan
Pradhan brings over two decades of experience across television journalism, features, travel writing, and publishing, having worked with various media houses. Wrong Turns Only follows fifteen-year-old Tashi, who reluctantly joins her estranged mother on a three-week road trip along India's coastline after years of believing she was abandoned.
"In my YA novel Wrong Turns Only, I wanted to capture the surprises that come when life refuses to follow the plan. Tashi's road trip with her mother takes her through unexpected places and changes the way she sees herself and the people she loves.
"I hope young readers finish the book feeling that you don't need to have everything figured out. Sometimes the people you meet and the choices you make along the way help you find your own way forward."
