As the nation celebrates the indomitable spirit of motherhood on Sunday, Bollywood celebrities also dedicated heart-warming messages to their mom's on the occasion of Mother's Day."

Sara Ali Khan shared a heart-melting throwback picture where she is seen as an infant in the arms of her grandmother while her mother is looking at baby Sara in a moment of affection. The actor captioned the post as, "Meri Maa ki Maa. Thank you for creating Mommy. #HappyMothersDay."

 

 

 

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Meri Maa ki Maa 💁🏻‍♀ï¸ÂðŸ¤°ðŸ¤±ðŸ»ðŸ™‡ðŸ»‍♀ï¸Â Thank you for creating Mommy 💝🙏🏻👩‍👧‍👧🐣🐥🐤 #HappyMothersDay

A post shared by Sara Ali Khan (@saraalikhan95) onMay 9, 2020 at 11:45am PDT

Vicky Kaushal put out a childhood throwback picture on Instagram where the actor is seen caught in a moment of mischief as he jogs at the shore of a beach, while his mother is seen scolding him. Along with the picture Vicky wrote," Dodging them till date. Keep them coming Maa. Love you! 

 

 

 

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Dodging them till date. Keep them coming Maa. Love you! ❤ï¸Â

A post shared by Vicky Kaushal (@vickykaushal09) onMay 9, 2020 at 5:40pm PDT

Ananya Panday shared an adorable video from her childhood days where she is seen sporting a while kurta-churidar with a red dotted dupatta. The video initiates with a question by a person behind the camera who asks, "Whom do you love the most in the world?"

 

 

 

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it’s clear where I get my crazy from 😜 happy Mama’s day to my Mama and all the beautiful mama’s out there ❤ï¸Â

A post shared by Ananya 💛💫 (@ananyapanday) onMay 9, 2020 at 12:15pm PDT

To which baby Ananya innocently replies, "Mama."

And he asks, "And the second?"

She smilingly replies, "Nobody."

 

 

 

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The answer is still the same 😜 love u @bhavanapandey ❤ï¸Â

A post shared by Ananya 💛💫 (@ananyapanday) onMay 9, 2020 at 12:16pm PDT

Along with the caption she wrote, "The answer is still the same. love u @bhavanapandey."

Recalling his childhood moments spent with her mom, Ishaan Khatter shared a couple of throwback pictures with his mom in an Instagram post.

 

 

 

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Mom for president ✌🏼

A post shared by Ishaan (@ishaankhatter) onMay 9, 2020 at 1:16pm PDT

The special post featured 3 pictures of which the first one shows baby Ishaan lying in bed while his mother is seen pecking a kiss on his little arms. The second one shows his mom in a glamorous monochromatic picture, and the third one shows baby Ishaan in his childhood days, where he is seen sitting in his mother's lap and passing a smile at the camera.Along with the post he wrote, "Mom for president."

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On the occasion of Mother's Day, veteran actor Hema Malini shared a priceless throwback pictures of herself with her mom and daughters, saying its a "day for us to recall with love and gratitude all that our mothers have done for us."

The 71-year-old actor took a walk down the memory lane when she shared a monochromatic picture featuring herself and her mom on Twitter. In the picture, the evergreen star is seen sporting traditional Bharatanatyam attire and is seen affectionately hugging her mother.

It is Mother’s Day! A day for us to recall with love & gratitude all that our mothers have done for us🙏Also a day for us to celebrate our status as mothers & grandmothers & look back proudly at the years passed in bringing our kids.This is a treasured file photo of me & my mom😘 pic.twitter.com/6kzw31pABk

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) May 10, 2020

Along with the picture she wrote," It is Mother's Day! A day for us to recall with love & gratitude all that our mothers have done for us. Also, a day for us to celebrate our status as mothers & grandmothers & look back proudly at the years passed in bringing our kids. This is a treasured file photo of me & my mom."

The 'Sholay' star also shared some 'glimpses from the past' where she showcased the three generations including herself, her mom and daughters Esha and Ayana Deol in a Twitter post.

Glimpses of the past pic.twitter.com/iKYOXwjnIT

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) May 10, 2020

The post included three pictures, the first one features Esha and Ahana in their childhood days with their mom Hema. While the second features the 'Baghban' star with her mom and the third one captures Hema's mom and the actor herself who is seen holding baby Esha by her arms.

Daughter Esha was quick to note the special post and commented, "Love u my mamma" (along with a heart and hugging emoticon).

Meanwhile, scores of Bollywood celebrities including Sara Ali Khan, Vicky Kaushal, Ishaan Khatter and others extended Mother's Day wishes to their moms by posting throwback pictures and videos on social media.

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Gauri Pradhan is proud of sister Geetanjali Pradhan who is a doctor and one of the frontline Coronavirus warriors. She also doffs her hat to all the medical professionals fighting the pandemic. Gauri's actor husband Hiten Tejwani has also lauded Geetanjali's accomplishments.

Taking to her Instagram account, Gauri even shared a post and hailed her baby sister's efforts in fighting the pandemic. Have a look right here:

 

 

 

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So proud of my baby sister!And so proud of everyone else who’s doing the same!! #drgeetanjalipradhan #fightagainstcorona #lockdown

A post shared by Gauri (@gpradhan) onMay 7, 2020 at 12:03pm PDT

Miss you, ma

Vikas Sethi is missing his mother Suraksha who is stuck in Ludhiana. She was visiting relatives when the lockdown was announced. As she is a heart patient, it is a cause of worry for him. It's his birthday on May 12, so her absence will be felt even more on his big day. Sethi is waiting for her to return. He will welcome her back home with a tub of her favourite ice cream. It's very unfortunate that there are so many TV and Bollywood actors that are not able to meet their mothers due to the nationwide lockdown.

We guess once the lockdown ends and life comes back to normal, the first thing on the cards for all these actors would be an emotional and a long-overdue reunion with their mothers and their entire family. We only wait for that day and hope it comes soon!

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Kriti Sanon has given a shoutout on social media to all the 'wonder women' who are balancing their roles as mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, and employees. The actor has reminded them that 'me-time' is also necessary. "Let's indulge in the things that bring us joy," she stated on Insta. "Womanhood must be celebrated without compromise," she added. Later, sister Nupur took to social media and wrote that the Sanon women, including mother Geeta and pet dog Phoebe, 'are kind of dominating'. They certainly know how to get what they want. Some life lessons during the lockdown.

For all those who think women are not less than Superheroes, this video is a must-watch and much-needed. Have a look right here:

 

 

 

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In the current scenario, with all of us cooped up at home - here is my shout out to all the wonder women out there. 🙋‍♀️ As we get through our responsibilities as mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, employees - let's not compromise with some 'me time'. Let's indulge in the things that bring us joy! 🌸 @vivelbyitc and I take a stand for the philosophy of #AbSamjhautaNahin and believe that womanhood must be celebrated without compromise. Hope you do too!

A post shared by Kriti (@kritisanon) onMay 8, 2020 at 3:16am PDT

All the fans of Sanon will surely be happy and elated to see this video that finally puts the women in the spotlight and allows them to have their moment of glory. They truly are the unsung heroes that ought to be celebrated a lot more. Coming to Sanon again, she had a wonderful 2019 with the success of Luka Chuppi and Housefull 4.

And now, she's gearing up for another biggie, Bachchan Pandey with Akshay Kumar that's being helmed by Farhad Samji. It's slated to release on January 22, 2021!

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Russian tennis beauty Maria Sharapova shared her choice of a perfect playlist meant for a road trip, with her four million Instagram followers recently. To beat boredom caused by the lockdown, Maria zipped passed the beautiful locales of California with some of American Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits playing on her car stereo.

She shared a few pictures and a video of her trip on Instagram and wrote: "Road trip with Bruce Springsteen for the mood."

 

 

 

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Road trip 🧳 with Bruce Springsteen for the mood 🎼👌🏼

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) onMay 5, 2020 at 4:54pm PDT

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In the fight against COVID-19, Uber has extended support by offering free rides to frontline BMC healthcare workers and non-COVID patients in Mumbai through its recently launched UberMedic service.

All UberMedic cars are fitted with a roof-to-floor plastic sheeting enclosing the driver. Additionally, all drivers are being trained in safety procedures and provided with personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, sanitisers and disinfectants to sanitise the cars between rides.

The agreement is part of Uber’s recent offer to provide free rides worth Rs 1 crore to the Maharashtra government. Prabhjeet Singh, Director, Operations and Head of Cities, Uber India & South Asia, said, “The BMC has been working tirelessly to contain the spread of COVID-19. We feel privileged to be supporting them in these challenging times and will help move what matters by leveraging our global experience, technology and network of drivers.”

Uber’s recently launched UberMedic service has been transporting frontline medical workers in 35+ hospitals across 23 Indian cities.

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A two-week course of antiviral therapy that combines the power of three drugs has shown promise in treating hospitalised patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in a carefully undertaken phase 2 clinical trial.

The results of the trial, published in the journal The Lancet, involved 127 adults from six public hospitals in Hong Kong.

The drug combination tested in the trial included interferon beta-1b, which was developed to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), and lopinavir-ritonavir, which is normally used to treat HIV and ribavirin, an oral hepatitis C virus drug.

The findings of the phase two trial provided evidence that early treatment with triple antiviral therapy alongside standard care is safe and shortens duration of viral shedding (when the virus is detectable and potentially transmissible) compared to lopinavir-ritonavir alone—average seven days vs 12 days—in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

"Our trial demonstrates that early treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 with a triple combination of antiviral drugs may rapidly suppress the amount of virus in a patient's body, relieve symptoms, and reduce the risk to healthcare workers by reducing the duration and quantity of viral shedding," said professor Kwok-Yung Yuen from the University of Hong Kong who led the research.

No new cases in Hong Kong as restrictions ease

Hong Kong recorded no new COVID-19 case on Saturday, a day after the city eased restrictions. Saturday was also the 20th day in a row with no local infections. Health experts earlier suggested that Hong Kong could be considered to be free of local transmission if there were no such cases after 28 days.

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Ex-Matka king Ratan Khatri died on Saturday morning in Mumbai. According to sources, Khatri, 88, was ailing for a long time. In 1960s Khatri had joined Kalyan Bhagat to set up Matka in Mumbai.

Matka, a lottery or gambling with number is popularly called as Ankada Jugar. Matka was popular in Mumbai from pre-independence time that involved betting on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange. Matka was popular in all classes of Mumbai in 1960s. In 1962 Kalyanji Bhagat, started Worli Matka.

Ratan Khatri had joined Bhagat as a manager. In 1964 Khatri parted his way from Bhagat and formed his own 'Ratan Matka'. The Matka or drawing lots from chits in a pot became so famous that the turnover of the gambling touched Rs 1 crore daily.

According to sources, Khatri had not been keeping well for some time. He was living with his family in Navjeevan Society at Mumbai Central. Khatri passed away on Saturday morning.

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Another 626 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain, bringing the total Coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 31,241, environment secretary George Eustice said. The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Earlier in the day, the National Health Service (NHS), England, said a six-week-old baby has become one of the latest to die after testing positive for the novel Coronavirus. Chairing the Downing Street daily press briefing, Eustice unveiled a £16-million fund to help support charities which feed some of the country's most vulnerable people hit by the pandemic.

"It is absolutely vital they have the resources they need and this funding will help the most vulnerable in our society get the food they need at this enormously challenging time," he said. The funding is part of the 750-million-pound pot announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak for charities across Britain during the Coronavirus outbreak. As to the exit strategy of lockdown measures, the secretary told reporters that there is not going to be "dramatic overnight change" in the country's lockdown measures.

16m pounds
Fund unveiled to help support charities

Russia reports 10,817 cases in 24 hours

The overall number of Coronavirus cases in Russia increased to 1,98,676 on Saturday after the emergence of 10,817 new infections in the last 24 hour, health authorities said. According to the country's anti-Coronavirus crisis centre, the death toll currently stood at 1,827, while 31,916 people have recovered from the illness so far.

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Dogs are miracles with paws. A dog named Deuce is perhaps the best example of this. He is a three-year-old who had his legs amputated because they were infected. However, he has managed to beat the odds and is able to walk on his two right legs.

"Although, he only has legs on the right side, he is very strong and stable and can walk and run just as steadily as any other dog with four legs," said Domenick Scudera, his pet parent and a theatre professor at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, to SWNS. Scudera found him in a ditch and rescued him. Not only is Deuce's walking ability a wonder, the sweet pup is a miracle worker who travels to hospitals to visit children as a therapy dog.

Deuce with Lucky

The professor also cares for a couple of other two-legged dogs named Cyrus and Lucky. All three are therapy dogs who inspire others, leading by example. "They have completely changed my life for the better. They mean the world to me," added Scudera. Their story seems to have resonated with others as the three dogs have their own Instagram page with nearly 50,000 followers.

The desi voice America loves

A 14-year-old singing brainiac, who started college at the age of seven, has been accepted into eight Californian varsities

An Indian-American teen prodigy, Tiara Abraham, who graduated from high school at the age of 13, has now been accepted into the music programmes at eight different Californian universities. Abraham became a member of MENSA, the high-IQ society, at the tender age of four and took her first college class at the age of seven. Her ambition is to become an opera performer. "I don't know, it's just something that's in me. I'm just really passionate about it. Singing makes me feel happy, it's my passion," she said to KXTV. Her mother Taji Abraham said, "We are super proud. It's super competitive with these vocal majors."

The 14-year-old is currently a full-time student at American River College. She is trying to choose between the University of Southern California, the University of the Pacific and six others.

Bhangra in Britain

Pic/@100stringsingh, Instagram

Singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh shared a heartwarming video on Twitter, which showed people in London dancing to his song Veervaar. It was originally posted by Twitter user @shergillj99. It features him doing the bhangra and his white neighbours at the other end of the street following his lead.

Grim reaper says stay safe

Pic/@DWUhlfelderLaw, Twitter

Beaches in Florida were recently reopened to the public. People who visited them hoping to catch some sun were shocked, as they spotted a scythe-wielding Grim Reaper at these beaches. Daniel Uhlfelder has been dressing up as the symbol of death and haunting these beaches to protest their opening during the Coronavirus pandemic. He wants people to stay indoors."

Lady drinks smoothies with sperm to stay fit

Pic/Tracy Kiss, Facebook

Tracy Kiss, a UK-based personal trainer, told Metro that she hasn't fallen sick for the past three years because of her smoothies, which contain sperm. She takes three shots a week and makes the smoothies using donations from her boyfriend. The 32-year-old mother of two said, "I found a free and vegan-friendly alternative method to boost the body's immune system.

Elon Musk names his baby X Æ A-12

What's in a name? If you think nothing, you might change your mind as you hear about Tesla CEO Elon Musk naming his baby boy X Æ A-12 Musk. His partner, Grimes, came up with the outlandish name. "...the AE is, like, pronounced Ash," said Musk on comedian Joe Rogan's podcast.

Care to wear a shirt made of waste linen?

Pic/Archivist Studio, Facebook

Archivist Studio, a German clothing brand, has been repurposing linen discarded by luxury hotels into designer shirts. The idea is the brainchild of designer duo Eugenie Haitsma and Johannes Offerhaus, who learned that bed linen get thrown out for the smallest of defects.

A table for one, please

A Swedish restaurant is letting customers enjoy the fine dining experience. The creators of Bord för en (table for one), Linda Karlsson and Rasmus Persson, have placed a wooden table and a chair in the middle of a barren field. Customers have to serve themselves from a picnic basket placed near the table. The guest can pay what they want for the meal. Pics/@bordforen, Facebook

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IT was a camel, a mule and a Karachi-Bombay train that he jumped on. Nothing could stop the 13-year-old peasant boy from Yazd travelling 2,500 kilometres to the city of his dreams in 1929. Khodamurad Meherwan realised his prospects were dim in sleepy Mazrekalantary, where men slaved on dry fruit farms and women stoked kitchen fires in long-sleeved, handwoven dresses worn with white jute slippers called maliki.

"He was running away from no real future in Iran," says Khodamurad's daughter Banoo Kalantary, retracing her feisty father's flight. Stopped at the Afghanistan border on a donkey, Khodamurad was asked his surname. "I don't have one," he replied. That's why he became Khodamurad Meherwan Afkham.

He started sweeping the floor of 1860-established New Majestic Restaurant & Stores below Capitol Cinema at VT for five rupees a day. "My father had no home, only hope, but an attitude of gratitude in his heart," Banoo says. He slept on the footpath outside, with a thin gunny sack lining the cold ground. Slogging for years, he got a modest partner share in Majestic at the age of 20. With his wife Vahbiz, from Alliabadi village, he raised five children in a flat on Gunbow Street, Fort, accommodating an aunt with her five kids too.

Khodamurad's first son Jehanbux was born in a goat stable in Iran, the rest here. In a city of military marchpasts on streets that were washed daily, the Afkhams' front door was always wide open. On Fridays, sigri-simmered fish curry was ladled to anyone dropping in. Between chores, the lady of the house somehow caught shows of her adored Raj Kapoor-Nargis starrers at Capitol.

Kapurchand Mehta with Prithviraj Kapoor in 1960. With his brothers Zaverchand and Kevalchand, Kapurchand helmed wide-ranging businesses interests in textiles, real estate and films

Not far from the Afkhams, an iconic cinema and trio of Marine Drive buildings stand centrestage in the story of Nemchand K Mehta's sons. Their grocery-to-glory saga is threaded together by generations after, in Zaver Mahal, Kapur Mahal and Keval Mahal. Nemchand sweated, struggling with meagre earnings from his vegetable shop in Vadal, Saurashtra, to provide for 11 children. Kapurchand, Zaverchand and Kevalchand were born two years apart from 1900 and 1904.

At under 12, Kapurchand boldly left home, walking impossible distances, hopping on to a buffalo buggy and finally steam train. His granddaughter Uma shares an account narrated by her father. "Exhausted and famished, Kapurchand met a woman who gave him one of her two rotlas." He saved a scrap—which, incredibly, Uma has preserved in a casket. "Anything from the hands of a kumarika, an unmarried virgin, was an auspicious shagun offering."

At Bombay Central he was spotted by a Marwari seth and employed in his cloth shop. Buying a lottery ticket, Kapurchand was stunned to find a jingling cascade of coins suddenly his. "Back to work," Nemchand urged his son who returned to Vadal with the surprise treasure. He headed to 1920s Bangalore, opening Kapurchand & Co. in Chickpet. Stocking blankets of the Lal Imli Mills, Kanpur, he invited Zaverchand and Kevalchand to join him.

Filmmaker Vikas Desai at his Rajkamal Studio office stands below the hanging cap of his great-grandfather, Anant Shivaji Desai Topiwala (portrait, right), pre-Independence Bombay’s leading hat maker and pioneer industrialist-philanthropist. Pic/ Bipin Kokate

Bombay beckoning soon, they settled in Prarthna Samaj. Kapurchand shouldered the overall responsibility of their ventures, focusing on finance. With the Lal Imli agency for South India under their belt, Zaverchand managed the Chira Bazaar shop and midtown estates. Kevalchand assumed charge of a film exhibition operation, centred at Roxy on Charni Road, where screen history was rewritten in 1943 with Kismet totting up 192 weeks. Aspiring to a beautiful property each, the brothers commissioned PC Dastoor to create the three buildings.

Another boy bolting from Saurashtra was Shyamdas Govindji Jhaveri, of Kundal in Barwala taluka. A few years after he was orphaned at the age of five, with barely a couple of rupees clinking in his torn pocket, he clocked in unimaginably stretched hours at a Crawford Market stall set up around 1914. Shifting to Metro House, the cinema building, Jhaveri Bros continues to display trophies, silver items and commemorative coins crafted at that counter.

Gradually flourishing, the Jhaveris introduced India to a luxury legend—their door handles are still in the shape of Mont Blanc pens. Adopting the motto, "Customer is master", Shyamdas trained staffers to adhere to ethical standards, meticulously maintaining a file labelled "Thoughts on progressive business". Jhaveri Bros. has witnessed World Wars, civic crises, economic depressions and today's pandemic. Shyamdas' granddaughter Seyjhal says, "We enjoy tremendous trust from local and international clients forever loyal to us."

A humble chana-kurmuri shack he helped his father serve Walawal villagers from, in Sawantwadi, lies at the core of compelling circumstances that brought 10-year-old Anant Shivaji Desai to Bombay. On his father's death, the boy was forced to leave the village with nothing more than a rupee pressed into his hand by a relative. Of which eight annas, or 50 paise, paid for the 13-day boat trip ticket. Two months later, finishing the chinchuk tamarind seeds and kilo of rice his worried mother had packed, he fainted at Grant Road station.

New Majestic Restaurant partner Khodamurad Afkham and his wife Vahbiz with their eldest boy Jehanbux, now a cardiologist in Germany. Jehanbux’s sons are music virtuosos —David Afkham is chief conductor and artistic director of the Spanish National Orchestra and Chorus, while Micha Afkham plays the viola with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Pic courtesy/ Kalantary Family

Employed as a railway labourer there, he learnt tailoring at a mill during his lunch break. This skill won a series of orders and, by 1872, catapulted him to the status of Bombay's best hat maker with a growing appreciative clientele of Parsis, Muslims and Gujarati seths. They paid well for quality caps fashioned with flair by Anant Shivaji Desai. Titled Rao Bahadur Topiwala by the British, he rose to rank among the richest landlords, whose descendants gifted Bombay the Topiwala Medical College at Bombay Central and Topiwala Theatre in Goregaon.

Anant Shivaji Desai also positioned himself as sole agent for Raja Ravi Varma lithographs, acquiring rights to the Baroda and Mysore collections after the painter's death in 1906. Prise open the frame of a Ravi Varma print and you will most probably read: "Anant Shivaji Desai Topiwala, Ravi Varma Press".

A stitch in time similarly saved Camilo Xavier Pereira from life consigned to the islet of Sao Mathias in Divar. Hugging a "passport" granted by Portuguese authorities then ruling Goa, he bunched meagre savings for steamer fare. In this case, the earnings were from his stint as an eight-year-old muncar (tenant) working for a well-inclined lady badcar (landowning employer). Docking in Bombay harbour, he joined hundreds of other young men from his community, living crammed yet in camaraderie, out of a trunkful of belongings in dormitory quarters called coors—waiting to seize the chance to become seamen, chefs, musicians or Konkani tiatr artistes.

Camilo had figured his forte was sewing. In Dhobi Talao's Sonapur Lane, Tony Pereira points to St Mathias Tailors, where his father's scissors snipped classic 1970s three-pieces for Johnny Walker and Mehmood. And bespoke safari suits for tycoon Pranlal Bhogilal who smiled when Savile Row-accoutred tycoons in London asked with admiring looks, "Who cuts your clothes?"

Shyamdas Jhaveri  was the first to import this luxury brand in the country and the shop still has its door handles shaped like Mont Blanc nibbed pens. Pic courtesy/Seyjhal Jhaveri

Equally motivated exits drove starry-eyed boys from small towns to the city they dreamed would never let them down. The success of a pioneer educationist is rooted in kindness—that of institutional legend GD Agrawal of Harganga Mahal at Khodadad Circle, Dadar. He left from Ajmer in his teens, carefully clutching R29 from selling his bicycle. Touched by hungry-to-learn Mazagaon mazdoors' children he saw all over at the height of the city's vibrant textile mills era, he tutored them for free in math and science. Going professional on marrying, Agrawal rented a Matunga room his growing family had to step out from during coaching hours. Agrawal Classes shifted to Harganga Mahal from 1955, their students including Nadir Godrej, Mukesh Ambani and Mahendra Choksi of Asian Paints.

A stowaway from Karachi proving Parsi theatre's extraordinary gain was Jehangir (Jangoo) Irani. The comedian brought the house down as the eccentric domestic help Aspandyar. The third actor essaying this role (predecessor greats were half-French Jean Bhownagary and Pheroze Antia), Jangoo added sparkling touches under Adi Marzban's direction. With a dirty, gingham-check duster slopped across the shoulder and striped shorts ballooning clumsily, he begged a stingy employer for wages.
Hearing excuses like "I pay on the 30th of each month and last month was February", Irani muttered a sulky threat, "Chaal Iran jaaych—I'm off to Iran!"

Fascinated by dramatic showmanship, Jangoo had earlier given Pipsy, his pet squirrel, to visiting Russian circus artistes who taught him stunt cycling and air-gun tricks. His craze to perform made his principal gift him an English bicycle. Scraping through middle school years, he preferred to sit on this cycle perched atop two tables to target-shoot, with candle flames casting flickering shadows around.

An early view of the Jhaveri Bros & Co. corner store at Metro House, with the Mont Blanc van parked in the foreground

Deciding that entertainment-friendly Bombay would be best receptive to his talents, with no money whatsoever, he hushed a chattering black mynah smuggled under his shirt and traded the talking bird for the ship trip. Mechanical-minded, he interviewed with a Godrej firm. At a subsequent job in Central Bank, his acting at annual day skits hooked playwright Pheroze Antia's attention.

The star was the biggest hero to his sons. Shapur Irani recalls he and his brother crept into halls on Sunday evenings to watch their father fire away in the Dari dialect. As he stomped off, mock-huffing, amid loud audience applause, two little lads whispered from the seats, "Chaal Iran jaaych."

Author-publisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay. Reach her at meher.marfatia@mid-day.com/www.mehermarfatia.com

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The Coronavirus lockdown has exposed our state and nation's deep, economic divide, as it has turned out to be a nightmare for lakhs of migrants and urban poor in Maharashtra. Not only have they lost their livelihood, they are also struggling to eat two square meals a day. "Apart from food, people also need money to pay rent and electricity bills, recharge their phones, meet medical expenses," explained Lalita T of the Stree Mukti Sanghatana, an NGO working for the rights of waste picker women. It has provided dry ration kits to 5,000 waste picker women in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Thane. They plan to carry out another distribution drive within the next couple of weeks.

The central government seems to have taken cognisance of the hunger problem as it has allowed NGOs conducting relief activities to approach the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for procuring food grains (rice and wheat) at subsidised rates from its warehouses. "We have to pick up a minimum of 1,000 kg at once. With trucks refusing to ply during the lockdown, this puts us in a tight spot. An additional challenge is that the wheat that's been allocated is whole grain wheat. It hasn't been milled into flour," said Trina Talukdar, co-founder of Kranti. Kranti first mailed the FCI on April 16 and its request to buy food grains from them was finally approved on May 8. They have provided food essentials to 700 families in Kamathipura and Malad so far, with money raised via private fundraising efforts. Each packet typically lasts a family of five for a month.

Lalita T, consultant with the Stree Mukti Sangathana

Agreeing with Talukdar, Nishant Bangera of the Muse Foundation remarked, "Providing only rice and wheat is inadequate. Why haven't pulses been included? We expected more hand-holding from the government because we lack resources. I'm not just referring to finances, there is also a shortage of volunteers on the ground given that we are dealing with a public health crisis." The founder of the Thane-based NGO revealed that carrying relief supplies for 100 people amounts to carrying more than three tonnes of material. It has been able to help about 500 families as of now. Muse emailed its registration certificate (bearing the charity commissioner's signature) to the authority concerned. Its request to buy rice was approved and it has distributed the same. It decided not to purchase wheat, because with no disposable income at hand and mills shut, recipients can't convert it into flour.

"The state has failed in its responsibility to cater to the needy. It has shifted the onus onto NGOs, but we don't have the kind of infrastructure that the state does, to reach every nook and corner," says Bilal Khan, an activist with the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao (GBGB) movement. The GBGB kits includes supplies to prepare a basic meal— rice, wheat, pulses, masala, tea, oil, sugar, poha, rava, etc. It's logistically unfeasible for GBGB to procure rice from the FCI and all other materials from elsewhere, they say. GBGB has written to the FCI, but it hasn't heard back from them yet. Khan was one of the petitioners who had approached the Bombay High Court on March 23, seeking to address the gaps in the state government's relief response during the lockdown.

Ulka Mahajan, social worker

"It's the government's constitutional responsibility to provide food for everybody. We also want all the interstate and intrastate migrant workers to be safely transported back to their hometowns after their wages are settled," said Ulka Mahajan, a prominent social worker, who was a co-petitioner along with Khan. Mahajan feels that instead of solely depending on non-profits for distribution of food, they should also have been made stakeholders in the discussion around the lockdown and its exit plan. She stated the example of Kerala as a state which has benefitted from doing the same.

The divisional manager of the FCI in Mumbai, Avinash Dhabade, dismissed allegations of red tape claiming that, "More than 50 NGOs in Mumbai, such as the Rehbar Foundation and Citizens for Justice and Peace, have picked up food grains from us so far. NGOs engaging in relief work have to mail us their registration certificate, bearing the signature of the charity commissioner, online. If everything is in place, we will approve their request on the very same day."

Mukta Srivastava, right to food activist

As far as the stipulation to pick up one metric tonne of grains at once is concerned, Dhabade said that his hands are tied because the FCI is simply following a central government directive.

In what seems like a cruel joke, the Centre has decided to use the surplus stock of rice in its warehouses to make hand sanitiser by converting it into ethanol. The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) based on the national policy on biofuels, which allows for the conversion of excess grains into ethanol. This move comes across as high-handed and insensitive, given the food insecurity of innumerable people in major cities across the country.

Trina Talukdar, co-founder, Kranti

"What about those who haven't registered themselves with the Maharashtra Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board for instance? Or those who don't possess ration cards and so, they are excluded from the government's Public Distribution System," asks Mukta Srivastava, a Right to Food activist, questioning the government's apathy towards its most vulnerable.

Nishant Bangera, founder, Muse Foundation

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A 24-year-old man has been arrested for attacking two police officers and a constable, who were on nakabandi duty at Marine Drive in the early hours of Saturday.

According to the police, the Marine Drive police had set up nakabandi at the Mafatlal Bath junction, near Chowpatty on Friday night. At around 1.30 am, cops noticed a person walking with a chopper in his hand. When the police tried to stop him, he fled. The police finally apprehended him near SK Patil Udyan, near Charni Road. A scuffle ensued, and the man attacked the cops with his chopper.

The weapon used to attack the cops

Three policemen, Police Inspector Jitendra Kadam, Police Sub-inspector Sachin Shelke and Constable Sagar Shelke, were injured in the attack, and were admitted to JJ Hospital. The cops have suffered injuries to their shoulders and hands.

The accused has been identified as Karan Pradeep Nair, a resident of Silver Oak Estate in Cumballa Hill.

Sources said that Nair is a graduate in architecture, but is unemployed. He lives with his mother, a retired clerk with Air India, and a younger sister. "Initial investigations have revealed that Nair was a drug addict. He had a heated argument with his mother before leaving the house on Friday night. He was so angry that while walking out, he grabbed a chopper and told her that he would not spare anyone who came in front of him."

When contacted, Sangram Singh Nishandar, DCP (Zone 1), said, "He has been arrested, and investigations are on." Nair has been booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and various sections of the IPC.

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Akash Kamble fell in love when he was a little boy. And once he set eyes on her languid, unending, lithe body, he was hooked.

His mother would take him along on the Mumbai local, from Bhayandar to Charni Road every day, so that her in-laws could babysit while she finished a day's work at her Fort office. Travelling in the train, watching it fly past through the window grill, had Kamble realise he loved trains deeply enough to work around them.

To acquire the weather beaten look of a diesel locomotive, Kamble uses candle light against the aluminium sheets

"I would observe them carefully during the commute and went on to make my first cardboard train model of a two-coach local when I was in Class VIII," says Kamble, 23, who is a mechanical engineer and holds the job of a Station Master with the Mumbai Monorail.

The rail model enthusiast thought the lockdown was the perfect opportunity to wrap up a few more models. He has, in the last five weeks, made 11 models of hi-class trains, from locomotives to local coaches.

"I first started with cardboard and foam-based train and engine models, but later moved to working with aluminium. My research involves reading about trains, their specifications and poring over their drawings. I make models of 1:35 scale, realistic and a perfect match [to the original]. The continuous involvement slowly leads to perfection," says Kamble, a resident of Ambernath, adding, "I have made a model of the most powerful green coloured WAG-9 electric locomotive and two coaches of the Garib Rath train. Besides this, one of my favourites is the diesel locomotive, a few coaches of the Mumbai local and a mail express."

He has also found the time to give finishing touches to earlier models, giving them a realistic feel. To acquire a weather beaten look of a diesel locomotive, he uses candle light against the aluminium sheets.

In 2019, Kamble joined what he calls his dream job. And, next on his agenda is to make a "replica of my employer". He has acquired drawings and technical specifications of the Mumbai Monorail and hopes to complete the project before the city chugs back to normal.

1:35
The ratio scale to which the mechanical engineer makes his models

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A day after the new BMC chief Iqbal Chahal took over, he spent the day visiting Nair Hospital, which is a designated facility for COVID-19 patients, and Dharavi which has the highest concentration of positive cases in the city. Apart from taking stock of the situation at both places, Chahal also had discussions with the hospital staff, patients as well as residents of Dharavi.

Chahal visited the Nair premises on Saturday morning, accompanied by Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani and hospital dean Dr Mohan Joshi. Chahal also interacted with the doctors and nurses about the issues they are facing, and told them that they could raise their concerns with him. "He wore a PPE and also visited the wards and met with patients to inquire about their health. The purpose of the visit was to understand the ground realities and also take feedback from the staff.

Chahal took stock of the community toilets in Dharavi. Pic/Suresh Karkera

He has asked the hospital staff to approach him with any requirements," said Dr Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician with Bombay Hospital who accompanied Chahal. After Nair Hospital, Chahal visited Mukund Nagar in Dharavi. He also took a round of the community toilets. He asked the ward officials to ensure that the toilets have a steady supply of handwash and that they are cleaned regularly.

He directed the ward officials to take up contact tracing more comprehensively. "The commissioner has asked for the total number of people, who tested positive from dense slum pockets and those who lived in residential buildings. He wanted to understand the ratio of patients who have tested positive from both areas. He has also asked us to identify more high-risk patients and place them under quarantine," said an official.

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Lobo Lobo came over last Monday, carrying many cartons of alcohol.

"Lobo Lobo, you know there's a lockdown, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Dikuna men, de BMC has agreed to the opening of liquor stores, so I decided to buy lots and lots of booze before dey close once again. I left my house early, and bought one bottle per store from Virar to VT men. I have totally purchased 20 whiskies, 10 vodkas, tirty Old Monks and many beers from 414 shops!" he proclaimed proudly.

"How did you escape all the nakabandis?

"It was easy, Boss! On top of each carton, I packed some set-top boxes, and told de cops dat all de ministers in Mantralaya needed new cable connections to watch reruns of Ramayana and Mahabaratha. Clever no?"

"And risky! Anyway. How are things generally? You've lost weight, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Wot to say? I'm toh jacked men. See fust tings fust. We were observing Lent, so I was fasting, like I normally do. No bleddy beef or booze, chhe! But, just wen I tought, now 'majha begins', just before Easter, de blasted virus struck! Now we are not getting any poke, or beef or mutton or fish. No sorpotel or vindaloo. Only bleddy chicken, which no self-respecting catlick eats men. Chhe! Dis Lent followed by lockdown is solid 'pakaoing' men! Even Christ our Lord, if he had predicted dat Lent was going to be followed by a lockdown, he would have said, 'My children forget fasting for me. For now eat, drink and be happy'."

"How about veggies, greens, sprouts, salads? Time to eat healthy, Lobo Lobo..."

"Arre Mr Rahul. I love bhindi and bhaingan. But, my better half, can't cook veggies for nuts. She actually argues dat tings like 'rajma' is bad for you, bloats your tummy! Wot to argue wid her men?"

"So, Lobo Lobo, you came all the way to my house for a reason right? Are you planning to sell me some whiskey, or are you lonely, feeling isolated, stuck in a cage-like existence?"

Lobo Lobo answered, gobsmacked, "Wot wot high funda tings you are aksing me men? Are you ok? I'm talking about technology men. I'm toh lost handling all dis stuff, wot is a Zoom call, can you tell me?"

"Uhm… who do you wish to communicate with?", I attempted to answer.

"My bleddy building society wants to have a Zoom party… Dese blighters all want to sit in frent of dere phones or laptops and drink and do blinking 'gupshup'. My tird floe padosi, de President Danesh Jhujunwalla, tells me dat he is a teetoteller but I know he is a 'boozard', chhe! And de treasurer, Champak Dudani is a foren returned smuggler. All want to drink men, chhe wastrels!"

"But, Lobo Lobo can you explain why you have bought so much alcohol?"

"Arrey men, de way tings are going, dis lockdown will end in 2021. Better be ready na Dikuna men? Who knows wen shops will reopen?"

Rahul daCunha is an adman, theatre director/playwright, photographer and traveller. Reach him at rahul.dacunha@mid-day.com

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An elderly lady walked into my consultation room with two girlfriends, chewing gum. Her Gucci shades were stationed over her salt-and-pepper hair and she wore a black dress. Her wrists and ankles were crowded with beaded trinkets.

"Hi!" she said, greeting me with a firm handshake and a brief introduction as I jotted her name. "And your age?"

"Twenty-six!" she blurted, followed by a big smile because it made me look up and stare at her intently.

"Okay, just reverse that," she reconciled before I could say anything. "Any diabetes, blood pressure?" I proceeded, smiling through the usual questions, still wondering in my head her fancy for playing the fool with me about her age.

"Any heart issues?"

"I keep falling in love, doctor!" she said bluntly, as two ladies accompanying her rolled their eyes, gesticulating for her to behave. I shook my head at them, hinting that they let her comfortably continue.

Some patients like to bring on a keen familiarity early on in their meetings with physicians or surgeons. Some may be suffering from a grim diagnosis and might want to appear like they are perfectly fine with it. Others might come with the idea that "since this is someone whose knife I'm going to go under, we might as well be friends first'" For some, it might simply be their personality or disposition. As surgeons, we refrain from judging atypical behaviour unless it helps with the diagnosis.
"What brings you to me?"

"I have this shooting pain in my right jaw. It's like an electric shock that sometimes goes into my cheek as well. I can't brush, eat, swallow or chew," she continued, wincing as she opened her mouth to remove the gum she was chewing with difficulty, wrapping it tidily in a tissue paper. Thinking it was tooth pain, she had visited the dentist but had eventually been told to see a neurosurgeon. The medication she had been prescribed was no longer helping and she had been living with the pain for close to two years. "Sometimes, I feel like jumping off the Bandra-Worli Sea Link."

I told her friends to ensure that she didn't take that route on her commute for now.

She was pretty well-informed and knew enough about her condition, trigeminal neuralgia. It occurs when a blood vessel in the brain presses on the trigeminal nerve that supplies sensation to the face. The pain can sometimes be so severe that it pushes patients towards contemplating suicide. Some women patients have told me that it's infinitely worse than the pain of labour without an epidural. Owing to the location of the pain, most patients visit a dentist first, and when a root canal doesn't help, they are referred to a neurologist.

"Having a drink at night makes the pain a little better," she confessed.

"In the good, old days, they used to inject alcohol directly into the nerve to numb it," I said. She thought I was joking but it's a fact.

The current options were to inject glycerol or ablate the root of the nerve with some radiofrequency current. The drawback —the pain would be replaced by semi-numbness since it's a destructive procedure. Or, we could use the Gamma Knife, where a single dose of focused radiation could do the trick. And finally, there was surgery—a little more invasive, but offering the best chance of cure and the least chance of recurrence. I explained that we'd make a small hole in the skull behind the ear and place a pad of Teflon between the vessel and the nerve so that direct contact between the two was eliminated.

After understanding her options, she opted for surgery. "You just want to go back to drinking without pain," I said in jest.

At surgery, under the magnificence of the microscope, we could see the offending vessel deeply grooving her nerve. When it was lifted gently after meticulously dissecting tiny strands connecting the two, I could see how pale and beat up the nerve looked. I teased the strands of the padding material Teflon and interposed them in the right place, transposing the vessel away to avoid any contact. As we were closing, I told my surgical assistant that this was one of the most gratifying neurosurgical procedures he would ever do. The charming lady woke up completely pain free, and over the next few days, we managed to get her off all painkillers.

Two days after discharge, she sent me this text message: "For the first time in several years, I could brush my teeth and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner without any pain. What's still better is that I could have the single malt, pain-free!"

"You are now permitted to use the Sea Link," I replied.

The writer is practicing neurosurgeon at Wockhardt Hospitals and Honorary Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals. You can reach him at mazdaturel@gmail.com

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The Union Health Ministry said on Saturday the COVID-19 patients who were severely ill will have to test negative through RT-PCR test before being discharged from a hospital. This decision is part of the revised discharge policy issued by the government. The ministry said, "The revised discharge policy is aligned with the guidelines on the 3-tier COVID facilities and the categorisation of the patients based on clinical severity." Patients having mild, very mild and pre-symptomatic and also moderate cases of COVID-19 do not require the RT-PCR test before discharge.

'Punjab paying price'
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh lashed out at the Maharashtra government, alleging that it had lied when stating that migrants working in Nanded had undergone a COVID-19 test. On reaching Punjab, 969 of them tested positive, which Singh blames on the Maha Agadhi-led Maharashtra government in which the Congress is an ally of the Shiv Sena.

When mentioned that initially Punjab contained the virus well but of late, there has been a spurt in the COVID-19 tally, he said, "Yes, there has been a spurt in the cases because of the large number of migrants who came back from Nanded and Rajasthan. Suddenly, we saw around 7,000 people entering Punjab from these states on a single day."

The CM continued, "Even though we were assured by the Maharashtra government that all the pilgrims being sent back from Nanded had been tested thrice, it turned out that they had only been screened and no testing was done. We are paying the price for their negligence."

13 CISF men test positive
In a big scare for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), at least 13 more personnel of the force have tested positive, out of which 10 were deployed with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Till date, 543 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) troops have tested positive across the country.

JNU to return to classes
With restrictions easing out and shops opening, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) too is all set to restart. The students are expected to return to their classrooms between June 25 and June 30.

The new academic calendar was announced keeping in view of the pandemic and the UGC guidelines. "This academic calendar has been unanimously approved by all the Deans of Schools and Chairpersons of Special Centres," read a statement issued by JNU vice Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar.

Chat portal to help migrants
To help the migrant workers stranded in several states, the Congress, on Saturday, launched a web portal in UP, even as the political slugfest continued over rail fares of migrants being ferried by Shramik Express trains. The Congress launched the portal to help UP workers stranded in other states as well as those stuck in the state. The portal has been developed by Valuefirst free of cost.

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Air India's first evacuation flight with 326 Indians from London landed at Mumbai Airport on Sunday. According to Indian high commission in the UK, the flight took off from London on Saturday on board 326 people. It landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. On Monday, India announced had that it will begin phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7.

The government said that Air India will operate 64 flights in the first week from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals.

On day three of the 'Vande Bharat Mission', flights carrying Indians from the Gulf countries, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and Malaysia arrived in India.

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The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Sunday informed that few people were feared to be trapped under the debris after a wall of a house collapsed in Kandivali (West) area of Mumbai. According to NDRF, so far three people have been rescued.

"Four to five people possibly trapped after wall of a house collapsed in Kandivali (West) area of Mumbai. 3 people rescued till now," the NDRF said.

A rescue operation is underway at the mishap site.

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Five Air India pilots, who had undertaken cargo flights to China, have tested positive for coronavirus during the pre-flight COVID-19 test. Sources in the national carrier told ANI that all five pilots are currently asymptomatic and are based in Mumbai.

The pre-flight COVID-19 test is carried out 72 hours before the pilots are rostered for flight duties.

"All of them are asymptomatic and based in Mumbai. They had undertaken cargo flights to Guangzhou, China," sources said.

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