Sonali's Society

A taste for styleNatasa Stankovic serves up a lsquosquarersquo meal of sartorial excellence outside a gourmet essentials store on Tuesday Whether shersquos picking up organic greens or just showing off her own Hardik Pandyarsquos exquisite ex proves that with the right crochetanddenim combo every grocery run is a runwaySpicy snack spicier comebackIn the middle of a highoctane campaign trail in West Bengal last week Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a brief detour that proved some of his best lines arenrsquot found in a teleprompter Stopping at a roadside stall in Jhargram he ordered a serving of jhalmuri mdash the iconic Bengali street snack of spicy puffed rice As the vendor began mixing the ingredients he paused to ask a standard culinary question ldquoAap pyaaz khaate hainrdquo Without missing a beat Modi delivered a classic deadpan zinger ldquoHaan pyaaz khaate hain Dimag nahi khaate bassrdquoNarendra ModiThe quickwitted comeback instantly turned a routine snack break into a viral sensation mdash highlighting Modirsquos ability to pivot from formal statesman to relatable humorous traveller in seconds Even amidst the heat of the 2026 elections this lsquojhalmuri breakrsquo serves as a reminder that sometimes the sharpest political tools are a sense of humour and a side of mustard oilThe show must go onGiven the slapstick exchanges that often define Indian award show presentations a little disorder is practically part of the programming But at a glitzy ceremony last week the real drama unfolded far from the spotlight mdash and it had nothing to do with the scriptWord from an insider suggests a fullblown backstage standoff between the organisers and the eventrsquos audiovisual team with the oldest trigger in the business at the heart of it unpaid bills While delayed payments arenrsquot exactly rare in this line of work this time the standoff escalated The crew reportedly refused to switch on mdash or even set up mdash until their dues were clearedAs tempers flared behind the scenes guests had already begun to trickle in and the eveningrsquos Alist host was left waiting awkwardly in the wings for the screens and sound to come alive After frantic negotiations and some lastminute numbercrunching we hear a compromise was finally reached The show did go on but not before more than an hour had slipped away Clearly even in showbiz the real performances often happen offstageProofing paradoxIrsquom still giggling over a poster from last week wishing the extremely erudite BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary Beneath a large image of the largerthanlife statesman was a strapline that read ldquoSymble of knowledgerdquoKajol in Tanhaji The Unsung WarriorAppreciating the irony one also appreciates that the intent was sincere mdash but the execution gave us an unplanned lesson in how a single misplaced letter can upend even the most reverent message And just when you think such things are rare the universe doubles downOnly yesterday yours truly spotted another howler from the world of historical epics Designer Nachiket Barve revisiting his work on the 2020 film Tanhaji ended up crediting himself mdash a little too creatively mdash for working on Kajolrsquos look in ldquoThe Undung WarriorrdquoNachiket BarveFor a man who rarely has a stitch out of place this slip is hardly evidence of anything systemic mdash one loose spelling counts for nought when the craftsmanship is always tight Instead it proves that while history demands reverence autocorrect demands vigilance Honestly whether yoursquore honouring icons or dressing them for the silver screen even the grandest narratives can be quietly hijacked by a single mischievous typo We know it all too wellFrom powerplays to playlistsWith the onfield drama of the Indian Premier League hitting a fever pitch itrsquos easy to miss where some of the real magic is happening mdash well away from the cameras Behind the scenes the tournament reportedly feels less like a grind and more like an exclusive rock residencyLasith MalingalsquoYorker Kingrsquo Lasith Malinga has swapped his slinging arm for a sixstring and is often spotted strumming everything from brooding Bollywood ballads to the smooth stylings of Sting Those devastating toecrushers it turns out are delivered by surprisingly melodic fingersThe Mumbai Indians bowling coach isnrsquot a solo act either In the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp Pat Cummins offers a more refined counterpoint mdash the captain is an accomplished pianist who slips away to the keys in search of rhythm beyond the T20 chaosPat Cummins and Dwayne BravoMeanwhile the backrooms of Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have quietly turned into impromptu conservatories with support staff picking up acoustic guitars during team bonding sessions And of course lsquoDJrsquo Dwayne Bravo remains the leaguersquos resident frontman making sure the energy never dipsIn a tournament that doubles as a whirlwind tour across India maybe this is how players stay composed Forget the strategic timeout mdash wersquore waiting for the first IPL Unplugged album drop