<h2>Miss lovely gets some self care</h2>
<p>A cat suns itself on the cricket field during the MSSA inter-school Harris Shield semi-final at MIG Cricket Club, Bandra East</p>
<h2>Josh, that&rsquo;s an incredible story!</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Josh-Inglis_e.jpg" alt="Josh Inglis has  every reason  to smile. PIC/GETTY IMAGES" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Josh Inglis has &nbsp;every reason &nbsp;to smile. PIC/GETTY IMAGES</em></strong></p>
<p>Talented India batsman Sarfaraz Khan was not the only player to get lucky at the recent Indian Premier League mini auction. <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/photo/in-photos-mumbai-s-football-fans-give-the-legendary-lionel-messi-a-grand-welcome-at-wankhede-108713/4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mumbai</a>-based Sarfaraz got picked by Chennai Super Kings for his base prize of Rs 75 lakh after being initially unsold. Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis enjoyed even better fortune when he was bought by the Lucknow Super Giants for '8.6. crore after languishing in the unsold category. Inglis, who is part of Australia&rsquo;s playing XI in the Adelaide Test against England, was reportedly released by Punjab Kings because his April 2026 marriage would clash with the March 26 to May 31 IPL. However, the franchise clarified that Inglis informed them about not being entirely available for the tournament 15 minutes before deadline. Lucknow bagged him after winning a fierce bidding war with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Inglis went to bed in Adelaide as an unsold player and woke up as a big winner. And he gets to fulfil his marriage obligations too. Next time a cynical Aussie decides to talk down the IPL, she or he should remember the case of Inglis.</p>
<h2>From files to fiction</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Suraj-Mauryavanshi_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Stories have a strange way of sneaking up on you. For Suraj Mauryavanshi, they arrived during the lockdown, whispering possibilities into a life that felt like it was stuck on loop. &ldquo;I had become a file-handling machine,&rdquo; he laughs, remembering his days as an account executive. The monotony bothered him more than he admitted. Listening to Pocket FM became his escape until it became something else entirely. Those long hours with audio dramas sparked a thought he had buried since childhood. &ldquo;I only write about a world I am willing to believe in myself,&rdquo; he says. Mahagatha &mdash; a sweeping, mythology-infused saga &mdash; became the turning point. As it crossed tens of millions of plays, the hobby shed its disguise. &ldquo;For the first time, something creative gave me both emotional satisfaction and financial confidence,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<h2>The Aussies are coming</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/University-australia_e.jpg" alt="The current campus of University of Western Australia is in Perth" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The current campus of University of Western Australia is in Perth</em></strong></p>
<p>As the University of Western Australia (UWA) brings its campus to Mumbai, Vice-Chancellor of UWA, Professor Amit Chakma flew down to the city last week and sat down with us to discuss what the future of the university looks like. &ldquo;We see India as an emerging economic superpower,&rdquo; he says, when asked about why they chose India for their new campus, &ldquo;India and <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/world-news/article/australia-mass-shooting-updates-indian-nationals-among-40-hurt-in-sydney-terror-attack-23607995" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Australia </a>are complimentary in nature. We have the infrastructure for advanced research and India has some very qualified talent. A lot of research scientists in Australia are Indian. This campus will give them even more access right here.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Prof-Amit-chakma_e.jpg" alt="Professor Amit Chakma" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Professor Amit Chakma</em></strong></p>
<p>The university plans to introduce an exchange programme in the future for &ldquo;a more enriching education,&rdquo; adds Chakma. The 50,000 square feet Andheri campus, which is set to open its gates in 2026, can accommodate around 2500 students for now but, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll easily reach 6000 students capacity in 10 years,&rdquo; he adds. The Mumbai campus will offer courses focused on business.</p>
<h2>Divergent and proud</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Glimpse_e.jpg" alt="(From left) A glimpse of the workshop; Rit Prasanna" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>(From left) A glimpse of the workshop; Rit Prasanna</em></strong></p>
<p>On Friday, December 19, Hamsafar Trust held a workshop talking about neurodivergence for queer folks at their Vakola headquarters. The workshop is part of an ongoing series that introduces queer folk to other folks who might be grappling with other identities like being a <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/the-man-who-made-dalit-voices-rise-23603411" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dalit</a>, being from a minority community and this week &mdash; how nuerodivergent queer individuals navigate life. The facilitator and speaker at this workshop is Rit Prasanna, &ldquo;The intersection between neurodivergence and LGBTQAI+ spaces is neuronormativity and cis-heteronormativity. Both of them go against the system. Cis-heteronormativity expects conformity &mdash; in who you should love, who you should marry, who you should have sex with while neuronormativity is born out of the desire to keep production going &mdash; the means of production, the means of industry. &nbsp;So both of these systems go against the idea that we have innate value and that we are free humans who should be able to choose our own lives,&rdquo; Prasanna told us.</p>
<h2>Let the good times bloom</h2>
<p><img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Flower-bloom_e.jpg" alt="It is nature and nurture for Sakina; The eye-catching orchids" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>It is nature and nurture for Sakina; The eye-catching orchids</em></strong></p>
<p>In a time of doom and gloom with violence and terror ripping our world apart, let&rsquo;s talk happy, let&rsquo;s talk blooms. Sakina Gadiwala from Friends of Trees (FOT) in Mumbai is saying it with orchids specifically. She has grown these flowers in her balcony at her Panvel home. She laughed as she said, &ldquo;Orchids are considered exotic but they are carefree plants, they do not need too much looking after. Water, partial sunlight that&rsquo;s all. They are part of many plants in my balcony like lemon grass, chillies, and tomatoes. Coming back to these flowers &mdash; they are Phalaenopsis orchids, commonly called moth orchids or moon orchids and are known for their long-lasting (10-15 days) blooms. The flowers typically measure about 25 mm in diameter.&rdquo;</p>

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