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Sameera Reddy with son Hans Varde
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Sameera Reddy flaunts her baby bump as she steps out for lunch with son Hans Varde in Bandra on Saturday. Pic/Shadab Khan
Sanjay in line for top honour
Some sportspersons spend a lifetime without significant rewards for their labour on and off the field of play. And we don't want ex-India badminton Sanjay Sharma player to go unrewarded, especially now that he's been nominated by the Badminton Association of India for the Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games. Sanjay, 62, captained India between 1989 and 1990, apart from winning 17 state championship titles.
When he stopped donning India colours on the court, Sanjay ventured into badminton writing and coaching. Through his reports and analysis (many published in this newspaper), he promoted the sport and its practitioners. And he never took a backward step if he found something amiss in the sport's administration.
The crowning moment of his journalistic career was when he completed a book on 2001 All England champion Pullela Gopichand. Sanjay can also take pride in sharing commentary box space with some of badminton's biggest names. Interestingly, he even commentated on cricket—during the 1996 World Cup. Hopefully, this 'all-rounder' will soon be recognised.
Rai captures Tirupati's glory
It's not for nothing that Raghu Rai is regarded as one of the most prized visual annalists of the country. Rai seems to have a treasure trove of photographs in his archives. This time around, he is collaborating with Lekshmy Rajeev for a new coffee table, Shri Venkateshwara of Tirupati (Westland). While Rajeev will recount the history of the world's most famous and richest temple, Rai will take us through Tirupati of the past, when access to the temple's inner sanctum sanctorum was allowed, and mostly tribals and villagers came to pray.
"Forty years ago, this temple was frequented by the tribals, who would come here in hordes, especially for the mass marriage ceremony [that Tirupati is known for]. Unlike today, it was very informal and unorganised. It was something very rare," recalls Rai.
"I was in Chennai for another assignment at the time, and didn't know about this. One of my friends asked me, if I would like to go there and I, immediately agreed. I still remember how people were managing the temple on their own. It was simple and beautiful. Today, there are so many procedures that you need to go through...long queues and passes, and whatnot. That culture, that religiosity and magic of Tirupati has been lost," says the photographer. The first half of the book will have black and white images, alongside recent images.
Missing Mehta
While it did receive lots of criticism for being biased towards the Delhi Police, few could deny that Delhi Crime—the web series on the 2012 gang rape case—was well made. Directed by Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta, who spent six years researching the case, the series starred actors such as Shefali Shah, Rajesh Tailang and Rasika Dugal. The show was a runway hit.
Yet, though the show is going to have a second season, Mehta is no longer at the helm, we hear. And one of the actors is disappointed. They told this diarist that they fear that without Mehta, it will not be a patch on the first season. The second season is set to look at a different crime. But, well, all good things come to an end. Perhaps this time, the series will have a more objective perspective?
Being musical on Instagram
We are loving what Mumbai's musical ladies are up to on Instagram. It's all about collaborations and sweet melodies. We were first struck by the lilting rendition of Alec Benjamin's Must Have Been the Wind, by singers Aarifah Rebello, Ilina Hats and Saachi.
Aarifah Rebello, Ilina Hats and Saachi
We found ourselves listening to it, again and again. We also discovered more—we particularly like Let Me Down Slowly/Without Me mash-up by Saachi and Ilina. We are sure the girls will give us more content soon. Keep it up, ladies.
Out of the page, into the galleries
Art India magazine, founded by Sangita Jindal in 1994, has just launched its first set of walkthroughs to be led by its editor, Abhay Sardesai. On July 27, Sardesai will lead a group of art enthusiasts to galleries such as Tarq and Chemould Prescott Road and talk about contemporary art. "The walkthrough is a way of expanding the constituency of people who are curious about [art] and desire to find exciting ways of responding to art in the city," says Sardesai.
Abhay Sardesai
"We hope to visit galleries and public spaces, meet artists and curators, to get into a conversation and deepen our engagement with art. How do works of art reveal their mysteries? How do we appreciate the experience? As we move from show to show, we shall try to look at art in diverse contexts, and discover how it ultimately enriches us in absolutely amazing ways."
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