Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier

Pic/Ashish Raje

The price of a selfie
Marathoner and fitness freak Milind Soman insisted that each enthusiast who wanted a selfie with him had to do 20 push-ups at a cycling event in SoBo on Sunday. Our photographer survived it to capture this frame. Pic/Ashish Raje

'Poor' call taken by Trump Jr
Donald Trump Jr spelt out that he wasn't meaning to be "glib about it" when he talked about the "unique spirit of Indian people", demonstrated by the fact that even the "poorest of the poor always have a smile on their face". But that doesn't seem to matter to Stephen Colbert, who parodied the comment in an episode of the talk show he hosts.

It features the song Nimbooda Nimbooda from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, with Trump Jr's face superimposed on that of Salman Khan. And while the lyrics have been retained, the video is subtitled with hilarious translations, such as "Why do poor people smile even when they don't have a cent? It's because they are happy to know that their President isn't your dad." Ouch.

Raise a toast to a pub's reopening
This diarist was pleasantly surprised when a friend asked him on Friday to meet up at Bonobo. The rooftop bar in Bandra had temporarily shut shop after the Kamala Mills fire tragedy.

But now, the owners have sorted out required permissions, and the pub is back in action. We reached around 10 pm to find that the place was half-empty. But in a couple of hours, it was buzzing just like it used to. In the meantime, though, there is still no news about another favourite nightspot, antiSOCIAL, opening up. But if it does, you'll hear it here first.

End of an era
The weekend brought with it the news of the demise of ace editor Neelabh Mishra, sending a wave of sorrow through Indian media. Before re-launching the National Herald as editor-in-chief, Mishra had been editor of Outlook Hindi for several years.

Pic courtesy/National Herald

Known for his commitment to uncovering truth and expansion of civil rights, Mishra's passing was mourned by fellow journalists and noted social activists. Mishra, 57, was critically ill and had been admitted to a Chennai hospital earlier this month. RIP.

Not a garbage idea at all
Taking up a fitness routine is one of the biggest favours that a person can do their bodies. And despite Mumbai's congested cityscape, thousands of people still hit the streets with their jogging shoes on. But what if, while endeavouring to stay in shape, you also do your bit for the environment?

We recently came across a trend that originated in Sweden, called plogging, wherein people pick up trash during their run and dispose of it, burning extra calories in the process. Half an hour of plogging burns 288 calories, while simple running burns only 235 calories.

The term is a combination of "jogging" and "plocka upp", which means "pick up" in Swedish. The trend might have originated in the European country, but we feel that it's definitely more essential on our shores, where there is the nasty propensity for not putting trash in the right places.

Thane welcomes The Avengers
It's always refreshing when the police force uses its imagination to spread awareness among the citizens about various issues. So, kudos to the Thane cops for a campaign they recently launched to make people realise the importance of obeying traffic signals.

It involved people dressing up as characters from The Avengers and following schoolchildren and youth icons in the streets to spread the message. There was also an event on Sunday where, among other entertainment activities, The Avengers characters shared the stage with professional dancers. All in all, we hope that the men in uniform think up more out-of-the-box campaigns in the future.

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