The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Suresh Karkera
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A police personnel, who was a part of BJP politician Ram Kadam's security detail wipes Kadam's face guard as he leads a protest in front of Siddhivinayak Temple in Prabhadevi to demand that temples be reopened. Pic/Suresh Karkera
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Play it again, Brijesh!
India's Brijesh Patel is caught by England wicketkeeper Alan Knott off Bob Willis in the Manchester Test of 1974. Pic/Getty Images
The man in the spotlight for this year's Indian Premier League to be held in the Gulf is undoubtedly Brijesh Patel, the head of the T20 league's governing council.
In India, where young cricketers often fall short on the history of the game, it must be stressed that Patel played for India in the 1970s and was a heavy scorer in domestic cricket.
The Bengaluru man also played a good amount of cricket in this city for Mafatlal and his contemporaries here will remember that double century in the Times Shield final against Nirlon at the Wankhede Stadium in April 1978. Nirlon batted first and plundered 452, aided by Suru Nayak's unbeaten 118, a plucky 94 from Rahul Mankad and 88 by Rajendra Jadeja.
Mafatlal, led by Rahul's brother Ashok, ended Day Two on 99-2 with Nirlon hoping to claim first innings honours and with it, the title on debut. But there was Patel and he had luck going his way. He was dropped on 18 and later on 88. He could have departed for 177 as well. But Patel went on to score 231 in nine-and-a-half hours to help Mafatlal claim their eight title in 10 years; sixth in succession.
The standard of inter-office cricket was at times higher than the Ranji Trophy and Patel was happy to thrive on those challenging times. Those same qualities could well come to the fore in this IPL, undoubtedly the toughest one to manage in the last 13 years.
Dalvi's tribute to migrant workers
Ghar Kab Aaoge? It's not just the question, but also the desperation in the verse penned by Mustansir Dalvi, that moves us. The poem is part of Dalvi's new collection, Walk, which released as an ebook earlier this week. Dalvi, who is professor at the Sir JJ College of Architecture, says the collection, which consists of 18 poems, is a product of the lockdown. A few months after the pandemic broke out, Yavanika Press in Bengaluru had put out a call for a slim book of poetry, where each poem was no longer than 10 lines.
"It was interesting, and I thought I could work on it as a project. By that time, all around the country we were seeing vast number of people, walking back home, sometimes covering over 1,000km from state to state, without support, money or transportation. The poems emerged out of this sense of helplessness, frustration and anger. I thought that the situation could have been handled better. Together they are called Walk, which is essentially the whole experience about walking back home," Dalvi told this diarist. You can order the book by sending an email to yavanikapress@gmail.com.
An ode to Pune's royal Dagdusheth Ganpati
A Theatre director, designer and actor trainer, Omkar Kibe is also a Rubik's Cube artist. This Ganesh Chaturthi, Kibe, 41, took his love for the Rubik's Cube to a whole new level. He has created a beautiful replica of Pune's famous Dagdusheth Ganpati idol by using 1,280 cubes.
Speaking to this diarist, Kibe said, "When I was in school, I attended a performance of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi in Pune and had visited the Dagdusheth Ganpati temple. I was left mermerised then, and the image stayed with me. This year, I thought of recreating the idol by using cubes in my Borivli home. The mosaic art is 6X8 feet, and it took me about a week to make this."
Kashmiri rapper wants you to hear him loud and clear
A still from the video of Kahar
Ye Srinagar meri jaan, main yahan ka masih (Srinagar is precious to me and I am its saviour)," says Ahmer, a fiery rapper and producer, in his latest track called Kahar. His lyrics reflect a self-aware artiste who uses his music to try to make sense of the complexity of the valley's struggles. "Aur yahan hoti na trial, yahan hoti PSA," he raps, referring to the notorious Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act. "Hip hop for me involves rapping about where you come from and the problems that you see. With Kahar, I tried to do just that. For instance, I talk about the never-ending greed for material wealth in the opening verses," he explains.
His lyrical genius shines in the freestyle track and the video is just as distinctive. It features a Don Corleone-esque Ahmer, animated in comic book fashion. He admits to being a huge fan of the film. "If you notice, the quotes in the video are all from The Godfather. It's an ode to a film that has deeply impacted me."
Save our doctors
The rising incidence of doctors falling prey to COVID-19 has prompted radiologist and healthcare entrepreneur Dr Sunita Dube, along with her team of Doctor Welfare Committee members, to set up hospitals for the frontliners in various states. This hospital will look into the wellbeing of the community. She has spoken to the health ministry of Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and UP, and will be starting the project soon.
"When we launched the We Doctors campaign, we started helping healthcare workers by providing them safety gear. But a lot of doctors have lost their lives in this battle. If doctors die, the lives of thousands of others will hang in balance. Thus, in the larger interest of the nation, these hospitals will provide life-saving treatments to doctors, their family, and other critical patients as required as per priority."
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