Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier

It happens only in IndiaIs new bride Priyanka Chopra explaining the sindoorchooda meets disco gown logic to Amreecan husband Nick Jonas The couple were seen at the launch of a dating app on Friday night that Chopra has also invested in PicSatej ShindeDod the allround geniusOur inhouse book scavenger had no luck with cricket books on a recent trip to roadside booksellers But he was coaxed into buying The Guinness Book of Tennis Facts amp Feats Through this 1983 publication he learnt about a genuine allrounder in the world of womens tennis mdash Lottie Dod mdash born in Cheshire in 1871 and lived till 88 During Dods active sporting years she became the youngest player to win the Wimbledon singles crown at 15 in 1887Lottie Dod who won the Wimbledon ladies singles championships five times and also excelled in hockey golf and archery PicGetty ImagesShe also won it the following year before her hattrick of triumphs in 1891 1892 and 1893 While she never lost at Wimbledon the book states that Dod played hockey for England in 1899 and 1900 Four years later she won the British womens golf championship and claimed an archery silver medal in the 1908 Olympic Games LondonAccording to Wikipedia Dod was unmarried and enjoyed nursing as a profession She received a Service Medal from the Red Cross for attending to several patients in World War I She passed away in a nursing home while listening to commentary during Wimbledon 1960One last controversy before the curtain raisesLast week a newspaper carried a report on how board members of the KochiMuziris Biennale KMB which include forensic experts and former RAW agents are trying to uncover the identities of those behind the Instagram handle herdsceneand who had posted survivor stories against KMB cofounder Riyas Komu The handle called KMB out on it and even received support from Rose McGowan who commented I stand with you all The comments section soon filled with artists calling for a boycottRiyas Komu stepped down from his position at KMBHowever except visual artist Chinar Shah from Bengaluru who started a petition condemning the biennale no one did anything about it When I asked for the boycott it was the day I heard this and I was really angry says Shah But when I was trying to draft the letter I realised that what we need is for them to reflect on their actions This should come from the participating artists The letter is not meant to attack but for them to understand the gravity of what theyre doing The biennale is behaving like the victim as if the survivors are masterminding a plot against them People have better things to doThe treasured local Indian darji finally goes internationalIn 2019 the 38th World Federation of Master Tailors held in Verona Italy would have an Indian contingent participating For the very first time in 76 years our trusted darjis would be touted as skilled professionals on a global platform An initiative undertaken by Raymond the participants would be chosen through a competition held on a national level called Kaun Banega Master StylistRaymond spokesperson Ajit Patnaik told this diarist One of our most important objectives was to get back the lost glamour glory and prosperity of the tailoring community in India For the past three years we have been celebrating World Tailors Day despite it not being that popular The agenda is to make sure they get due recognition And for the youngsters we will have another edition in FebruaryIndias answer to the Planet of the ApesAuthor Anand Neelakantan is not just riding high on the success of his novels but also the screen adaptations of the same While his 2017 title Rise of Sivagami Amazon Westland is being made into a mega Neflix series the authors latest book Vanara The Legend of Baali Sugreeva and Tara Penguin Random House is now being adapted into a multilingual film by Dar Motion PicturesThe book rights were sold within two days of the release of the book Neelakantan said The book is a love triangle between Baali Tara and Sugreeva from the monkey kingdom It is like Indias answer to the Planet of the Apes but based on our own epics The movie will be released in Hindi Tamil and Telugu he saysWhen midday starred at the CirqueTo quote a clicheacute a picture speaks a thousand words On Friday artistes from Cirque du Soleil Bazzar recreated an image that was carried on the cover of Sunday middays features section last week and put it up on their social feed The photograph clicked by Nick Steward has us performing a cartwheel too in our minds that isCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates