14 August,2022 07:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Shadab Khan
The heavy showers didn't discourage hawkers from selling flowers on a traffic divider outside Borivli station.
A Cuffe Parade building entrance decorated for I-Day
An off-the-cuff remark is one made without advanced thought or preparedness. This is certainly not an off-the-Cuffe effort. A group of Cuffe Paradians came together recently to discuss how to decorate and illumine their area for Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The SoBo tip has gone all out as residents stated, "It was a well-oiled and organised effort, with all buildings free to choose a contractor or how they want to decorate. âFree' is the operative word here as we celebrate freedom," they laughed. They added, "We want to point out though that every individual or neighbourhood celebrating in their own way, even if not overtly, deserves applause. The spirit of aazadi is in every heart that beats for India."
WI's Andre Russell reacts to a boundary from a Lankan batsman during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup cricket match at Abu Dhabi on November 4, 2021. Pic/AFP
Indian fans have enjoyed watching the big-hitting skills of Andre Russell for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. But when did he last play for the West Indies? Answer: The T20 World Cup in November 2021. Russell didn't show up for the recent series against India and will not be around to tackle the New Zealanders as well, while he played the Hundred in England and is expected to figure in the South African T20 league. From all indications, the muscular batsman will not be part of West Indies' team for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November. The need for players to look at the financial aspect of their cricket careers and the seemingly never-ending turmoil in Caribbean cricket notwithstanding, this is a classic case of being available for franchise cricket, but not for the country.
What chance does the West Indies have to add to their two T20 World Cup triumphs (2012 and 2016) if the cream of their explosive players doesn't make themselves available in Australia? Not much, really. So, if you brood over another low for Caribbean cricket during the tournament, don't say you were not ready for it.
Juhu-based indie filmmaker Nemil Shah's Gujarati-Hindi short film Dal Bhat has made it to ShortsTV's top three films, which means it will get a theatrical screening in Los Angeles and will be eligible for Oscar Qualification. Based in a small village in Kutch, Gujarat, the film that also stars Sanjay Mishra, revolves around a 10-year-old child named Mukti whose village is finally seeing a lake coming to life after a long drought. All he desires is to swim in it. But this simple wish turns into an unexpected discovery about himself after he realises his sexual preferences don't match his male friends, making him question himself and the stigma around it. Excited about this news, Shah whose film has also made it to official selection of Ontario's Reelout Queer Film Festival and won the Ritwik Ghatak Golden Award at South Asian Short Film Festival last year, says, "I just want to take this film to as many audiences as I can, and want them to experience my visualisation." The film's inspiration came from his father. "He grew up in Saurashtra where water was scarce. All happy stories from his childhood revolved around he and his friends travelling several kilometres just to swim."
In a big to encourage changemakers looking to fight climate change, non-profit Climate Collective Foundation will be hosting the Climate Startup Week from September 10-23. "The event caters to all the stakeholders... whether you are a climate tech startup interested in learning how to fundraise, an investor looking to learn more about investing in the nascent sector, or government stakeholders convening to meet your peers to learn more about how to collaborate better to achieve stronger outcomes," shared Pratap Raju, founding partner.
The Victory Chorus Line, a Parish choir of Our Lady of Victories of Church, Mahim, is all set to release their original song on August 15, to celebrate the 75th Independence Day. The song titled, Stand Together, features 38 singers from their choir and it has been entirely produced in house on a zero budget. The choir is headed by Karen Vaswani who has composed this song and has been in the choir for 35 years. "The song talks about how we as citizens of India must stand together. It is also about what we expect from our politicians of India and how we can change the environment in our country," says Devkiran Carvalho, a member of the choir who sings bass. The song also talks about the country's natural beauty as well as its global achievements. As a positive song, it urges every Indian to stand united, especially against injustice. The song has a groovy ballad with a rap section. The choir has released a few other original songs as well, all written and composed by Vaswani.
