26 February,2023 07:33 AM IST | Mumbai | Team SMD
Pic/Shadab Khan
A father props his daughter up as she plays on the bars at an open gym in Bandstand, Bandra West
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Not just showmen, hosts must also sometimes prove that the show must go on. At last week's wine pairing evening at Colaba fine dine restaurant Neuma, famed for its celebrity investor Karan Johar and its iconic address where Indigo once stood, things took a sudden turn when sommelier Nikhil Agarwal of All Things Nice, who was helming the wine selection while chef Viraf Patel was in charge of the eats, took a tumble. We were ruing the lacklustre food when Agarwal, who had stepped out on the balcony of the bungalow to woo back the smokers, slipped down the stairs. As he landed, he nicked his head on a broken wine glass. But 20 minutes and some first aid later, Agarwal was back to hosting the dinner. When we checked up on him the next afternoon, he told us that "all was okay, nothing broken. We absolutely can't stop a wine dinner, can we," he laughed.
It's been nearly seven years since we last heard from Mumbai author Madhuri Banerjee. The writer behind Losing My Virginity And Other Dumb Ideas (2011) and Mistakes Like Love And Sex (2012), who was once labelled the Carrie Bradshaw of India, has been on a self-imposed hiatus. "After nine books, I took a sabbatical from writing to join the corporate world: working in content at Hotstar and later Viacom Motion Pictures. While on vacation, I accidentally picked up another woman's phone and wondered how it would be to switch lives," she tells this diarist. Banerjee's new and tenth book, Life Switch, dwells not only on the fantasy of leading an entirely different life, but what if you had to live two lives at once? "It's a romantic thriller laced with dark humour and life lessons," she adds.
A little birdie tells us that rural women in Maharashtra might soon have another career path open up for them. In an upcoming initiative, the Australian Consulate-General Mumbai and ANZ Banking Group Limited will, alongside two Maharashtra-based NGOs, train about 50 rural women football coaches in rural Pune district with certification from the All India Football Federation. More details are awaited on this, but these football coaches will train hundreds of girls in low-income groups between six and 14 years of age. What a sporty way to give back to society.
The relatively rare Rudraksh tree is rich with rewards. The trees are heavy with fruit and can be seen at the Aadya Shankaracharya Udyan in Worli. This garden is located on the upscale Sir Pochkhanawala Road near Worli Police Camp. These trees were planted on July 5 2017 by by then CM Devendra Fadnavis and Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. The Rudraksh besides its religious significance for Hindus, is said to have benefits for both mind and body. The "teen mukhi" rudraksha has a soothing effect and releases stress. The tree planted six years ago, fruiting now also reminds us of the truth of the oft-quoted words of wisdom: "the fruits of patience are sweet". This is the real value of nature's bounty: It teaches us lessons we tend to forget in a world of instant gratification.
Australia's Damien Fleming celebrates the run out of India stalwart Sourav Ganguly in a triangular series game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 12, 2000. PIC/GETTY IMAGES
England captain-turned-television guru Nasser Hussain could well regret calling India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's run out at the ICC Women's World Cup semi-finals, "a schoolgirl error". On Thursday, Kaur was well on her way to a match-winning knock against the Australians, but was run out for a well-crafted 52 at Cape Town. Kaur's bat got stuck on the turf as she tried to get back to her crease before being stumped by Alyssa Healy. This incident reminds us about another great - an Indian one - being livid when Sourav Ganguly (batting on 100), failed to ground his bat in a triangular series match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2000.
India's Harmanpreet Kaur makes her way to the pavilion after being run out in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup semi-finals against Australia at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday. PIC/GETTY IMAGES (right) Nasser Hussain
"That's schoolboy cricket," the ex-star exclaimed as he followed the action from the MCG press box. The run-out verdict upset quite a few in the stands and bottle-throwing interrupted the game for 17 minutes. Like on Thursday, India ended up on the losing side. But the next time Ganguly scored a hundred in that competition - against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval - he ensured it was a match-winning effort. Kaur's opponents had better watch out the next time she bats under an India cap.
