Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier

Graphic racism
This one had us stumped but not surprised entirely. A leading UK daily carried a graphic to show how their neighbours across the Atlantic Ocean, the US, were lagging in promoting women leaders. The title of the graph read, Years with a Female Head of State. The graphic used a woman's arm as the rating scale to represent each country. While Bangladesh topped the list, India and Ireland followed in joint second place, Iceland was next, with The Philippines, Sri Lanka and other nations. The skin colour of the arms depicting the Asian nations was in varying shades of dark brown. Clearly, some folk continue to live in the Dark Ages.

Bend it like SRK
It's not John Abraham, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar or any of the new-age fitness freaks of tinsel town who are sharing tips on hot bods and six-packs. It's SRK. While the actor's chiselled abs in Om Shanti Om, were forgettable, he has made working out a part of his daily routine, we are told.

In a candid interaction on a digital video platform, Khan shared do's and don'ts to follow in the gym. Khan revealed that he feels music can be distracting and avoids playing it during his 30-minute daily workout. The actor switches off his phone and the air-condition and avoids looking at himself in the mirror while he sweats it out.

Khan points out that it is totally ‘uncool' to lift dumbbells and heave while at it. "Lift dumbbells and place them back gently as grunting is for hunting." he sums up with his characteristic wit.

Viral sensation
The unpredictable weather in Mumbai seems to have got the better of superstar Amitabh Bachchan too.

Pic/Bipin Kokate

He was sniffling when sharing the dais with Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel at a World Hepatitis Day event in a suburban five-star last evening.

Woman on top
As Hillary Clinton broke another glass ceiling with her nomination as the Democrat's official candidate for US Presidency, closer home, women seem to be doing it across professions.

With a few ladies already in plum posts across Indian publishing, it was heartening to hear that another had joined the ranks. Early this week, Westland Books Ltd made an announcement that got the publishing industry to take note. CEO Gautam Padmanabhan made it a point to shoot an email to all his friends and colleagues.

No, Padmanabhan isn't going anywhere, but Westland's editorial team has a new boss. The ‘woman' of the moment is Deepthi Talwar, who has been promoted as chief editor. Talwar's association with Westland goes back a long way. "Nine years," she tells this diarist. The 30-something, whose first break was with Rupa, began as senior editor, before entering the commissioning space for Westland.

"It's an exciting time for me. Now, the role has just got bigger. I will be dealing with different teams across branches. There is a lot more in terms of responsibility. But, Westland is growing, and to be part of this process is what I am most looking forward to," says the sprightly Bengaluru-based editor. Incidentally, Talwar started off as a journalist with a newspaper in 1996. She never warmed up to it. We hear.

Colour me India
This bit of news made us wish we were kids all over again. Next week, parents will be able to find a new colouring book on shelves. Titled, The Ultimate Indian Colouring Book For Kids, it features illustrations in 10 categories including animals and birds, vehicles of India, iconic structures of India, the country's natural beauty and even Indian painting styles.

Dhanashri Ubhayakar

So, imagine filling up colour in a Konark temple, a Tanjore painting, the Hogenakkal Falls, Leh's Lamayuru Monastery or a truck. "The book contains 100 original hand-drawn illustrations by award-winning designer Dhanashri Ubhayakar," shared Preeti Vyas of FunOKPlease, which has published the colouring tome, available on Amazon.

A Phad painting from the book

Plus, it includes cool trivia for each picture (sample this: the most popular Ladakhi greeting is ‘Juley' which means hello, hi and goodbye) along with a coloured thumbnail to showcase how a filled out picture should look like.

Tiger, tiger burning bright
Once again, we are recalling our deep association with the Royal Bengal Tiger today, July 29, which is celebrated as International Tiger Day.

A tiger near a watering hole in Tadoba Andhari National Park. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

And why shouldn't we? According to the last count (released in April 2016), India has the highest number of tigers in the world (2,226). But, unlike what most of us think, India is not the only country listing he big cat as its national animal. In fact, there are three others - South Korea (Siberian Tiger), Bangladesh (Royal Bengal Tiger) and Malaysia (Malayan Tiger). Bummer!