The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Booked for a year
Time was when children would wait with bated breath for the latest edition of their favourite comic book to hit the stands. But we now live in an age when kids are getting increasingly hooked to their smart devices, and ebooks have taken over the reading habits of a number of young adults, or at least those who can afford them.
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Publishing house Pearson, however, is now turning back the clock with an initiative that promises to sponsor books for 100 children for one year. All that a person has to do is log on to the publisher's website, suggest the name of a child and give three reasons why s/he deserves to be on the final list.
In the true spirit of Yuletide
In the days leading up to Christmas, it's not uncommon to see people engage in charitable work. But this diarist came across a unique blend of theatre and philanthropy when a new play, Christmas in the Woods, was staged last weekend in Bandra.
An audience member drops a gift at the ticket counter
The play, under the aegis of The Yellow Santa Project of St Andrew's Institution, came with an interesting concept, where instead of tickets, it was the audience members' gifts for underprivileged children that got them an entry into the venue.
Actors on stage during a performance of Christmas in the Woods. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
"We saw 500 people in the audience and they all got thoughtful gifts for the kids. We are now in the process of sorting them out to put together what we call sun boxes - complete with toiletries, art supplies, etc - which will be then be distributed," shares director Omkar Bhatkar. A merry Christmas indeed!
There's a secret Santa in everyone
Some people need Christmas gifts more than others. And those people now have cause for cheer because an entertainment television channel, has launched "India's largest Secret Santa initiative".
The campaign involves donation boxes kept at Café Coffee Day and Mad Over Donuts outlets across the country, where people can simply drop whatever gift they want to, which will then be delivered to underprivileged children. So, you know what to do if you're feeling charitable this festive season.
Buying gifts made simpler
If you have been part of Secret Santa initiatives at your workplace, the dilemma of what gift to buy your colleague might have been a real one. And Mumbai-based funny group East India Comedy has now come up with a graphic that summarises this conundrum. Sounds familiar?
Hear it from the AAP insider
Now, here's a book that promises to reveal all - from the clashes and intrigues that beset the movement to the goings-on during the closed-door meetings.
Mayank Gandhi
Mayank Gandhi's much-awaited book, AAP & Down: An Insider's Story, analyses the dispositions of the leaders of India's most controversial party, who had once promised a better India - from a volatile Anna Hazare to an autocratic Arvind Kejriwal - and highlights how the party's undoing was linked to the fatal flaws of its leading men.
Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Just one more thing
Priyanka Chopra has something to say to Rohit Shetty as Karan Johar looks on, at a studio in Goregaon over the weekend.
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