23 May,2021 07:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pic/Bipin Kokate
A young boy tries to catch a duck at Banganga Tank in Walkeshwar on Saturday.
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Dr Ravikant Singh started Doctors For You (doctorsforyou.org) in 2007, when he was still a medical student at KEM Hospital. Today, he is regarded as the country's foremost medical relief specialists. The NGO's journey has been inspiring for budding medical professionals. This week, the NGO started its 33rd COVID-19 hospital in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Dr Singh took to social media to share the good news, saying, "Currently, more than 1,100 doctors, nurses and paramedical staff [attached to the NGO] are fighting this battle on ground. We have started working on preparedness for the third wave of COVID-19 and setting up oxygen plants on war footing. Our plan is to set up atleast one dedicated centre to handle paediatric COVID-19 cases in all major cities across India."
Singh says, "We have vaccinated about 1,10,000 people, and there is so much more that still needs to be done for the people of India. We have only begun."
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Greg Chappell was a fine batsman who rose to be an all-time great. However, he didn't enjoy the same kind of success in his coaching career; a prime example being the India coaching role, which he performed from 2005 to 2007. The other day, Chappell spoke his mind during a podcast chat on how difficult it was to coach India. According to him, the senior players resisted change and skipper Sourav Ganguly didn't want to work hard. There are two sides to a story, but if there was an indication that things would be difficult under Chappell, he provided it in an interview he gave this newspaper in April 2005 before he was appointed coach. Chappell was then in India for the launch of his Cricket Down Under coaching programme. On the topic of selection, he remarked: "Selection is more than picking players. Australia has done that very well. We tapped Allan Border, David Boon, Steve Waugh, Ian Healy on the shoulder. It's all about dropping players and telling them that their time is up. That's going to be a big factor for Indian cricket." Yes, Chappell didn't have a vote at selection meetings, but he did have a good relationship with Kiran More, who was chief selector for most of his tenure. And yes, More was mentioned in the podcast.
The pandemic has seen many lose their jobs. Two stand-up comedians, Rohan Joshi and Rahul Subramanian, took to Instagram and LinkedIn, to help. They put up posts asking job seekers and recruiters to comment about the kind of role they were seeking. "These are trying times for everyone. As influencers, I felt this was the least we could do. Instagram has evolved into a platform that comes the closest to a person-to-person connection," Subramanian told this diarist.
Soon, the posts got a lot of attention and the comment section was flooded with recruiters who were looking for everything from piano lessons to filling digital marketing positions. "We really don't know how many people actually got the job. But some did. They sent us messages thanking us. So, even if only a few applicants benefited from it, that still gives us a sense of satisfaction that we were able to help," says Subramanian.
At a time when bad news related to COVID-19 has become the norm, a feel-good book might just help spread some cheer. But, with partial lockdowns across the country, and most bookstores shut, it's going to be a while before we can go back to stocking our home libraries again. To ensure that readers continue their reading journey irrespective, Westland Books recently launched the campaign, 31 Days 31 Free eBooks!. As part of the initiative, The Kindle team, along with the publishing house, has decided to offer a book a day for free download during the month of May. The campaign, which launched on May 7, has seen an interesting mix of fiction and non-fiction, published by Westland, (on sale) with countless number of downloads every day. "Books have been such a source of comfort and hope for all of us in difficult times, we thought we'd help make it easier for readers to access them. Help lighten the load a little. And it's been wonderful to watch the response," said Karthika VK, publisher, Westland.
Arushi Nishank, kathak dancer and daughter of education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, recently appeared in a music video that has received over 80 million views on the YouTube channel of T-Series. Shot in Kashmir, Wafa Na Raas Aaye has been sung by Jubin Nautiyal and directed by Ashish Panda. "I wanted to upgrade my skills in acting, so I enrolled at Whistling Woods. And that's when this offer came by." She says shooting in Kashmir in January was a challenge. "It is extremely cold with temperatures going down to -17 C degrees. The Dal Lake was frozen and it wasn't easy shooting. But we did it and now we can see the beauty of the song." Nishank says she is prepping for an upcoming web series for Hotstar, Kaphal.
