The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Pic/Satej Shinde
The entrepreneurial little flea
The event will also feature performances and interactive zones
Special Hangout is an unique marketplace that celebrates the talents of neurodivergent individuals and persons with disabilities, with all stalls run by them. From handmade art and crafts to delicious home-baked treats, every purchase directly supports their journey towards independence and inclusion. The event will also feature live performances, interactive zones, and a vibrant, inclusive community spirit. Come shop, engage, and be inspired —because every small step of support creates a big impact in building a more inclusive world.
“This flea market is a step towards creating a world where every individual is seen, valued, and given the opportunity to shine. At Special Hangout, we believe inclusion begins with understanding — and events like these bring our community closer to that vision,” says founder Ritu Vig. The market will be held on April 25 at the World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade, from 12 pm to 6 pm.
Fun with Kapil and Borde in Pune
Chandu Borde and Kapil Dev
Social media was abuzz when a video of Kapil Dev bowling to golden great and former India captain, Chandu Borde surfaced recently. India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain met Borde, 91, in Pune recently during a function at the Pune Club. By the way, Borde was one of the five selectors who picked the 1983 World Cup team.
Borde played Kapil with panache of old, which underlined the adage, once a great, always a great.
Borde was delighted when we informed him about how popular the video had become. In response he told us that he even received calls from his friends in Australia about the video. Talking about Australia, there’s a story about pace terror Jeff Thomson bowling to Sir Donald Bradman in the backyard of a common friend during the 1977-78 season.
Thomson was then one of, if not the fastest bowler in the world and he was stunned by how the 69-year-old Bradman tackled him even though the exchange was just for fun.
The burn(out) book
Harnidh Kaur’s new book, The Girls Are Not Fine; (right) Harnidh Kaur
It's not going to surprise anyone to learn of a Deloitte study that found that 46 per cent Indian women suffer from burnout. We’ve all lived that double shift life — work at the office, and then work on your second job as a homemaker. And then there’s the mental and emotional cost of smiling through constant interruptions at work, of managing everyone else’s emotions, and all other invisible labour.
It’s a problem that Harnidh Kaur tackles head on in her new book, The Girls are Not Fine: The Cost of Ambition, Careers and Becoming (Penguin Random House India, releases on April 30). If you’re a woman who has ever struggled to set boundaries at work, and then paid the mental cost for it, this book is for you. Each chapter offers practical exercises that help readers identify their burnout and its origin, and then set boundaries. “I wrote this book because I kept having the same conversation with the women around me about how exhausted we all were, and how none of us had language for why. The Girls Are Not Fine was my attempt to understand why we were trained to perform fineness long after we stopped being fine,” says the author.
A Bollywood-esque shaadi takes the stage
Actors Mohan Kapur and Apoorva Arora on stage
A shaadi-baarat has come to town, and it’s bigger than what you may have in mind. Marry Go Round — Let’s Blame it on Bollywood, brings a big fat Indian wedding to the stage in the form of a play.
Helmed by Ashvin Gidwani of AGP World, the musical arrives in Mumbai after a successful Singapore run. It opened at NCPA on Saturday night, and unfolded like a Bollywood blooper reel gone delightfully wrong.
The play begins as a dream wedding and quickly spirals. There is a headstrong bride, an ex who refuses to exit, a business heir, frantic planners, and a perpetually tipsy Colonel, all navigating emotional meltdowns, collapsing dance routines, and hashtag-worthy moments. “Bollywood is influencing not just weddings but almost every facet of culture. So how can weddings be left out?” says director Bhavna Pani. “Its infectious energy is undeniable.” The production embraces this influence unapologetically, and Pani adds, “I was very conscious of making sure this play doesn’t mock Bollywood. In fact, it’s an ode to its beauty, grandeur and irrefutable effect on Indian society. I want the audiences to get so absorbed in this dramatic world of laughter, dance and spectacle, that they can’t help but return home with absolute happiness in their hearts, feeling proud of their culture and country.”
But beneath the spectacle are questions around marriage. “This script doesn’t only entertain… but also questions the conditioning we have about marriage, family, love and companionship. This wedding has a lot of unexpected twists in the plot and starts a conversation about fake vs real,” she adds.
With a cast featuring Vidya Malvade, Mohan Kapur, and Apoorva Arora, the show continues on April 18 at Nehru Centre, Worli.
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