Jacqueline Fernandez’s latest cover for a leading magazine was flawless as ever but these inside images tell us, how we must reconnect with nature. What better inspiration than the actress, herself!

In the first one, we see Jacqueline playing a guitar and playing with a little goat. Jacqueline is seen wearing a beautiful dark ocean blue blazer with a bralette and a skirt. The magazine on their social media says, "Amidst news of the lockdown extension, we asked Jacqueline Fernandez to create images that would celebrate just some of the things that are bringing us joy right now—beautiful imagery, nature, and the hope of a better future. The actor is quarantined out on a Panvel farmhouse and is also currently promoting her new Netflix movie Mrs Serial Killer. She styled and did her own hair and makeup for this dreamy digital cover story. Watch this space to see more images created exclusively for Bazaar."

The second one is the one where we're searching for sunnier times. Jacqueline looks stunning in the beige skirt and a white single shouldered top with soft summery glowy dewy makeup. The magazine shares on their social media and says, "Dreaming of sunnier times and the great outdoors with cover star Jacqueline Fernandez".

 

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A post shared by Harper's Bazaar, India (@bazaarindia) on May 4, 2020 at 6:59am PDT

 

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The last look of Jacqueline with wavy hair and the blazer with sunshine on her hair enhancing the looks. The last one is a perfect picture for how we are all feeling during the quarantine, the magazine writes, "Our April/May 2020 digital issue cover star Jacqueline Fernandez shared a glimpse of what life looks like for her right now in quarantine. The actor is grateful to be quarantined out on a Panvel farmhouse where she is, “reconnecting with nature”. She says she is, "doing everything that I can to help those in need from here and praying for strength and health to each one in this world during these tough times."

It’s amazing to see how we can totally relate to these images and mood as we are feeling it totally. Everyone is searching for hope, sunnier and happier times. Everyone is reconnecting with nature in their own way. Jacqueline is also one of those actress who wins hearts not just on magazine covers but also on-screen each time. Her recently released Mrs. Serial Killer has won hearts and the perfect portrayal of a dark character has just proved her versatility as an actress one more time.

Also Read: VIDEO: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Iulia Vantur send out bags of ration to the needy

Kriti Kharbanda, needless to say, is one of the fittest actresses of Bollywood. She has always been a fitness enthusiast and tries different forms of workout to keep it interesting. Her recent Instagram post has left us all wondering if there’s anything that she cannot do with perfection. The video has really motivated us to think of new ways to start working out.

She posted the video with the caption, “Throwback to my favourite form of workout! Definitely regret not installing a pole at home. Adding this to my to-do list post the lockdown! What’s on your list !? What do u really miss doing!?”

Watch the video, right here.

 

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On the work front, Kriti Kharbanda will next be seen in Bulbul Marriage Hall with beau Pulkit Samrat, produced by Salman Khan.

Also Read: Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda to star in Salman Khan’s next production venture

Anil Kapoor and Sunita Kapoor seem to be enjoying the lockdown with indoor games and he makes sure to get as much exercise in as possible. Being a fitness enthusiast, he makes sure to get his daily dose of workout in even during leisure hours. With nothing much to do during the lockdown, he engaged in a fun round of carrom with his wife, Sunita Kapoor.

Anil Kapoor took to his Instagram to share a couple of pictures where Sunita and Rhea Kapoor candidly capture the moments. Anil, Sunita, Rhea, and Harshwardhan Kapoor are at their house in Mumbai while Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Anand Ahuja are in Delhi. Take a look at the pictures that Anil Kapoor posted.

 

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And the winner is.... Me (Obviously)! ⁣ 1 ???? : @kapoor.sunita ⁣ 2 ???? : @rheakapoor ⁣ ⁣ #quarantinegames #chasingthequeen #candids #stayhomestaysafe

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On the work front, Anil Kapoor will next be seen in Karan Johar’s multi-starrer magnum opus, Takht.

Also Read: Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Kunal Kemmu are all smiles during their virtual reunion!

Khalnayak is one of the most respected films made by Subhash Ghai, despite the controversies that revolved around it. From Sanjay Dutt’s arrest post shooting for the final scene to Madhuri Dixit’s famous song, ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai’, there were a number of controversies that came to light. However, after the film released, it became a blockbuster and was even recognized internationally. Subhash Ghai, in an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, spoke about how he ideated the sequel of this film after Sanjay Dutt wrote to him from jail.

He said, “We’re working on Khalnayak 2 from the past 2-3 years now. Sanjay Dutt has always been a dear friend of mine and even when he was in jail, he used to write to me. So, in those letters, he would always write to me saying that whenever he entertains here, they hand him the mic and ask him to sing as well. The most famous song there was ‘Nayak Nahi Khalnayak Hu Main’, and Khalnayak was a very popular film there and they loved him for the character Ballu Balram, so why don’t we make a sequel for it?”

He further continued and said, “So, he wrote it to me in a letter and that’s when I thought that it’s possible to make a sequel. It would revolve around Ballu Balram returning from jail after completing his sentence and then he would come across Madhuri Dixit and Jackie Shroff’s characters that have gotten married and have kids. Then I narrated it to Sanjay and he said that we will definitely make this film, that’s when we started working on the script and it has been close to two years now and the script is ready. God willing, we will soon take the film on floors. The story will revolve around Ballu Balram’s older and younger version. Sanjay will portray the older version and the younger one will be portrayed by a new-age star.

Also Read: Sadak 2: Sanjay Dutt says Mahesh Bhatt still seeks perfection in every shot

On May 8, Amitabh Bachchan remembered two late actors - Irrfan Khan and Sridevi. He took to social media to share stills from Khuda Gawah and Piku as the films complete 28 years and 5 years respectively. Both Sridevi and Irrfan Khan have been two of the finest actors of the film industry and left the world a little too soon.

The Shahenshah actor took to Instagram and shared a collage of a still from both films. Sharing the picture, he wrote, “28 years of KHUDA GAWAH .. 5 years of PIKU .. today 8th May .. and in remembrance of the two that have left us.”

 

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28 years of KHUDA GAWAH .. 5 years of PIKU .. today 8th May .. and in remembrance of the two that have left us ????

A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on May 8, 2020 at 10:27am PDT

Amitabh Bachchan even took to his blog to share some memories of the films. “28 years of Khuda Gawah .. 5 years of Piku .. vivid as ever .. alive in memory .. lost in the remembrance of the two from there .. exceptional in presence and talent .. and leaving at such short presence .. But a third too from Khuda Gawah .. the director Mukul S Anand .. left too early .. the magic of his vision .. his eyes were magical camera lenses .. even after this large interval the frames he did were extraordinary .. Khuda Gawah .. the shooting in Afghanistan .. a book shall be required to describe that detail .. hopefully some day ..” he wrote talking about Khuda Gawah.

Remembering Piku in which he shared screen with Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone, he wrote, “.. and Piku .. each day spent in the delight of inventing, ad libbing .. making that which has not been written or described , but felt .. doing that which even during the early working days at Calcutta were never done .. cycling the streets ..”

ALSO READ:  Abhishek Bachchan shares fond memories of traveling with Amitabh Bachchan for live stage shows

Bollywood actors Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda have been dating each other for quite some time now. However, they made their relationship public only during the promotions of their film Pagalpanti last year. During the lockdown period, the two have been living together and getting to know each other better. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Kriti talks about Pulkit and his qualities that make her feel proud to be his girlfriend. 

Talking about living together during the lockdown, Kriti said, “It is so lovely. I have seen both of us grow through this quarantine. We have caught up on a lot of television, a lot of series we missed out on. We have been cooking, we have been working on ourselves. I think we have been working on how to make ourselves better humans. Suddenly the reality of life has stricken us and we are both extremely emotional people. I think that is the only flaw that both of us have that we are extremely emotional.”

“I have learnt a lot about him this quarantine and I can tell that and not just saying because he is my boyfriend but I have immense respect for him and it comes from my heart and my mind and I have never met a more caring and giving person. This is an opinion that can never change because you cannot pretend these things. I have seen him over the years even when I have worked with him, even when we were just friends even after we started dating. He is a lovely human being and is really caring about the people around him,” she added. 

Talking about the change in Pulkit’s personality over the years, “I think acceptance is the key. I think it is only easy to change if you accept that there are certain places you need to work on yourselves and you're willing to make that difference to yourself. So I think self-love is very very important where you give yourself the benefit of doubt and you say, ‘You know what, I can do better than that’. So, I think that is something he has realised and I am very very proud that I am his girlfriend.” 

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda are living together amid lockdown, the actor reveals whether marriage is on the cards

With the ongoing pandemic, our lives have almost come to a stand-still, and the lock-down is taking a toll on the mental health of many of us. At such a time of crisis, one can only try to keep the optimism alive and not let the situation get the best of them. Actor, Ranveer Singh, in a recent Instagram live session, appealed fans to do the same.

“It’s been a very difficult couple of weeks, emotionally difficult. Turbulent times with everything that is going on in the world. To all my friends & fans stay safe, hang in there, stay healthy. Sending you love, positive vibes & good energy. I’m always an optimist, I like to look at the bright side of things. I always like to stay positive in any situation that life throws up. To be honest, this is unprecedented. We all are in this together and I believe that on the other side of this we’ll come out with more compassion,” he said.

”Its been a very difficult couple of weeks, emotionally difficult. Turbulent times with everything that is going on in the world. To all my friends & fans stay safe, hang in there, stay healthy. Sending you love, positive vibes & good energy.” -Ranveer Singh live on insta today pic.twitter.com/qtYCbiUxyU

— RanveerSingh TBT | #83????♥️ (@RanveerSinghtbt) May 8, 2020

Ranveer and wife Deepika Padukone, at home, are keeping themselves occupied with workouts and household chores as they also keep sharing glimpses of their locked-down life. Post lockdown, they both await the release of Kabir Khan's sports drama '83.

An EU-funded project has developed prefabricated energy-efficient building concepts made from materials, components and structures derived from construction and demolition waste. The concept enables the easy assembly and disassembly of buildings for future reuse.

EU-funded researchers hope a greater understanding of interactions between pertussis bacteria and the immune system, together with a toolkit for testing new vaccines, will help prevent whooping cough disease and deaths in babies worldwide.

An EU-funded project has linked scientists with experts in industry to forge partnerships aimed at creating new products to improve the lives of people with dementia. The research is creating tools to help remind people with dementia to undertake the tasks critical to their daily lives.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates have donated half of their bonus for qualifying for the Euro 2020 finals to help amateur football in the country that has been hit by the coronavirus shutdown. The Portuguese football federation said on Monday the money would go towards a fund that it hopes will reach 4.7 million euros ($5.1 million) to help amateur clubs survive the crisis.

The federation last week decided to end the already-suspended amateur season with immediate effect, declaring the season null and void without champions, promotion or relegation. No decision has been taken on resuming professional football but the president of the Portuguese league said in late March he was determined the season should be completed.

"It is fundamental that the championships end because it would allow some sort of normality to be restored and we could prepare for next season knowing who has qualified for international competitions, who the champions are and who is relegated," Pedro Proenca said. Portugal shocked host nation France to win Euro 2016 but Ronaldo and his teammates will have to wait another year to defend their title as Euro 2020 has been postponed by 12 months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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England footballer Dele Alli turned 24 recently and celebrated despite being in isolation due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Tottenham star posted pictures of his April 11 birthday celebration on social media where he played games like Twister and Pin the tail of the donkey. "Turning 24 in isolation wasn't so bad," Dele captioned his Instagrammed pictures. Dele loves his Playstation and so it was no surprise to see his cake in the shape of a PS controller.

Dele was even seeing enjoying a barbecue lunch in his garden, wearing a cute, silver conical cap and shades. His 7.1 million Instagram followers enjoyed his posts, giving him over five lakh 'likes'.

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Former Arsenal star Serge Gnabry is not just succeeding professionally at his new club Bayern Munich, but also on the personal front. Serge, 24, has been in top form, having scored a brace against Chelsea recently, making it six Champions League goals this season.

Now, off the field, it is learnt that he is dating top Swiss model Sandra Jerze, 23. According to German newspaper Bild, the couple has been dating for three weeks now and spent the Easter weekend together in Munich. Model Sandra has also done a few acting stints besides featuring in German artist Pietro Lombardi’s music video, Phenomenal.

Initially, it was rumoured that Sandra was dating Pietro before latest reports confirmed she’s in a relationship with Serge.

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Former England footballer Rio Ferdinand's wife Kate has said that while she was initially 'anxious and stressed' with the Coronavirus-caused lockdown, she is now spending most of her time homeschooling her three children Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and Tia, nine. Kate, 28, in association with an online education company, has launched a free toolkit of edutainment activities for primary school children to help those homeschooling during the current lockdown.

"At the beginning of lockdown, I felt a bit anxious and stressed. I didn't have any routine but this is something to do every day. You feel like you're in a little community doing it together," Kate, 28, told Britain's MailOnline.

Speaking of the homeschooling experience, Kate said that she and hubby Rio, 41, are trying their best to make things fun: "For the first three weeks of homeschooling, I was overwhelmed. It's quite hard for us having three children and all having sessions at different times. It's about trying to get the balance of making it fun as well as doing school work and trying to manage a good family life."

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A chance to play with him, have lunch and watch a game of football from the owners box. David Beckham, part owner of the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, is auctioning off all that stuff. Former England captain and Manchester United legend Beckham is doing this as part of the league's participation in the All In Challenge, which raises money for organisations that are helping feed the hungry during the coronavirus pandemic, including Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry, America's Food Fund, World Central Kitchen and Feeding America.

The MLS season is suspended from March 12 with the deadly virus causing havoc in the United States. Earlier this month, Beckham had expressed gratitude towards all the frontline workers who are risking their lives in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was "another week of hard work". Beckham had taken to Instagram to post a video story in which he was seen clapping along with his family.

"Managed to set the phone up this week to get the whole family showing our appreciation for all the frontline workers and our brilliant NHS. Thank you for another week of hard work. #ClapForOurCarers," Beckham had written in his Instagram story.

The entire world has come to a standstill amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Sports activities have also taken a big hit and almost all the events have been postponed or cancelled, including the Olympics.

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The Argentine forward is a true superstar of the game and one of the most famous players on the planet, but here are some things you might not already know about him.

1. He has scored at least seven goals against every other La Liga Santander team
All LaLiga teams naturally fear Messi when he comes up against them, with the No.10 having netted at least seven times against all 19 of the other sides currently in the top division. His favourite victim is Sevilla, against whom he has a whopping 37 goals in 38 appearances. Over his career, he has faced 40 different clubs in the Spanish top flight, with only three yet to concede against him: Cadiz, Murcia and Xerez.

2. He first played with fellow Barcelona captain Gerard Pique in 2000
Messi and his current Barcelona teammate Gerard Pique have spent most of their footballing lives together. They were both in the same team in Barcelona’s La Masia academy, along with Cesc Fàbregas – part of the so-called “generation of ‘87” and conquered almost every challenge in their path. It was clear from that early age that these players would go on to achieve great things and, although Pique spent time at Manchester United and Real Zaragoza before returning to Barcelona, they have both been in the Blaugrana first-team squad together since 2008, playing 471 matches together. Messi has only played more often alongside Sergio Busquets and Andrés Iniesta.

3. He pays tributes to his grandmother after every goal
The sight of Messi pointing towards the sky with both hands after scoring a goal has become an almost weekly occurrence in LaLiga but not many people know its meaning. It is in fact a tribute to Grandmother Celia, who Messi credits with sparking his interest in football and supporting him as he took his first steps in the game. Sadly, she passed away in 1998 and never saw him play at the top level, but his iconic celebration ensures that her spirit lives on.  

4. He could have played for Spain at international level
Messi has represented Argentina throughout his international career, but he could have been wearing the red of Spain had he accepted an offer to join the national team of the country where he has spent his entire professional career. After spending his childhood in Barcelona, he was eligible to play for the 2010 world champions, but Messi says the idea never crossed his mind. The rest, as they say, is history as he has gone on to become Argentina’s all-time top scorer with 70 goals.   

5. His footballing idol was Pablo Aimar
Many up-and-coming players consider Messi as a role model, but it’s easy to forget that he had an idol growing up too, just like any other aspiring footballer. His was fellow Argentina and former Valencia and Real Zaragoza playmaker Pablo Aimar. They faced each other in LaLiga on several occasions, including on one special night in 2004 when Aimar came up to the 17-year-old Messi, an unused sub on the night, after the game to offer him his shirt. He still treasures that jersey to this day. 

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The Coronavirus-caused lockdown has brought sporting activities to a standstill across the globe with major events being cancelled or postponed. And EPL football manager David Moyes is making the most of the forced break by helping people near his family home on the Lancashire, UK, seaside.

According to a report in British tabloid, The Sun, West Ham's manager David has turned a fruits and vegetables delivery man. "When the virus first broke out, the fruits and vegetables shop in my village were asking for drivers to deliver fruits and vegetables. So I became a driver for the shop. I delivered it to all the people in the neighbourhood. I did it for about four days.

There was a sign in the window saying 'volunteers needed'. My wife was away at the time, I was on my own. I would knock, leave it and just check if they came to get it. I was thinking 'this is great'. I was actually enjoying it," said David.

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Brit singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock's dream of a summer wedding to Wolverhampton-born footballer Andre Gray, 28, has been shattered and to say she is merely disappointed is an understatement.

Leigh-Anne, 28, and Andre were to tie the knot in a private ceremony before the Coronavirus-caused lockdown emerged as
a hurdle.

Talking about her secret wedding plans, the Little Mix music group star, Leigh-Anne, told British tabloid, The Daily Star: “The wedding is probably not going to happen now because we can't go anywhere. He's probably not going to do it in the house. So it looks like my dream is officially over. I've not really been planning it, but every girl has got the idea of what they want; it is a dream of mine.”

Leigh-Anne and the Watford player have been together since 2016 and were looking forward to be husband and wife. “We both want it so bad. If I wasn't in Little Mix, we probably would have started planning already.”

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Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi has often spoken about the liking he has had for former teammate Neymar and the Brazilian has now revealed how one of the greatest footballers to have played the beautiful game always had his back at the La Liga club.

"Honestly, it's difficult, very difficult for me to talk about Messi, because it was very special for me at Barcelona, I say this to everybody," he told Rede Globo's Esporte Espetacular.

"At the moment when I needed the most support, the best player in the world arrived and gave me a hand. He said: 'Come here, I'm here to help you.'" Messi had earlier spoken about how he is still in touch with Neymar and it will be slightly difficult for him to make a return to the club from Paris Saint-Germain.

"We talk to Neymar often. We still have a WhatsApp group with Luis (Suarez)", Messi told Argentina's Radio Metro, as quoted by ESPNFC.

"It's difficult for him to come back, as he left here, many club members and people do not want him to come back. From a sporting point of view he would be wonderful, but the other view is also understandable. It is a bit difficult," Messi had said.

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Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has asked the "Hand of God" to deliver the world from COVID-19 pandemic and allow normal life to resume. The World Cup winner referred to his hand-assisted goal in the 1986 World Cup after Argentine football chiefs voted to end the current season as well as suspend relegation, saving Diego-managed bottom club Gimnasia from the drop.

"Today this happened to us and many people say it is a new Hand of God," said Diego, alluding to his infamous goal against England. "But today I'm asking for that hand to end this pandemic so people can go back to living their lives, healthy and happy." Then-Argentine captain Diego responded to the controversy over his goal at the World Cup in Mexico by saying "it was the Hand of God!"

Argentina went on to beat England 2-1 in the quarter-final. On being thrown a lifeline by the suspension of the season, he told Argentine daily Clarin: "It's not the ending we had wanted, we were convinced we could save ourselves on the pitch."

Argentina has been in lockdown since March 20 against the Coronavirus, which by early Wednesday had infected 4,114 people with 207 deaths.

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The global lockdown caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't affected Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's workout regime.

 

 

 

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Discovering my island with the best company👨‍👦❤ï¸Â #madeiraisland #staysafe

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) onMay 2, 2020 at 3:55am PDT

Before he returns to Italy next week, the Juventus player took partner Georgina Rodriguez and son Cristiano Jr to the scenic mountain top of the Madeira island for a hike on Saturday. He shared this picture of his son and him, with his 216 million Instagram followers and captioned it: "Discovering my island with the best company #madeiraisland #staysafe."

 

 

 

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🍃🌴🌵🌾ðŸ¦ÂŽ Punta de San Lorenzo ⛰🌏❤ @aloyoga #family #love

A post shared by Georgina Rodríguez (@georginagio) onMay 2, 2020 at 9:10am PDT

Meanwhile, Georgina posted this family picture (right) of them visiting the Ponta de Soo Lourenco (it means the Point of Saint Lawrence in Portuguese), the eastern point of the island, and wrote: "Punta de San Lorenzo #family #love."

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Former footballer Xavi Hernandez, hoping that Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will return to Barcelona, said that the latter is among the 'top three or five players in the world'.

"Footballing wise, he's in the top three or five players in the world, no doubt," Goal.com quoted Xavi as saying during an Instagram chat with ex-Barca forward, Samuel Eto'o.

 

 

 

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Avui em connectaré a @roadto2022es per fer una sessió de preguntes i respostes en viu amb @setoo9. Si tens qualsevol pregunta per nosaltres, escriu-la a sota en els comentaris. Les preguntes i respostes es realitzaran a Instagram Live a les 18h horari de Doha, dilluns 4 de maig. ___ Hoy me conectaré a @roadto2022es para celebrar una sesión de preguntas y respuestas en vivo con @setoo9. Si tienes una pregunta para cualquiera de nosotros, escríbela en los comentarios a continuación. Las preguntas y respuestas se realizarán en Instagram Live a las 18:00 hora de Doha, el lunes 4 de mayo. ____ Today, I’ll be in @roadto2022es to participate in a Q&A live session with @setoo9. Send us your questions in comments below, and we’ll answer them on Instagram Live today, Monday 4th, at 18:00h (Doha time)

A post shared by Xavi (@xavi) onMay 4, 2020 at 4:37am PDT

"He can make the difference. Let's hope he returns to Barcelona. I'm a Barcelona fan and I want the best players there," he added.

After a four-year stay in the club, the former Barcelona player, Neymar, left in 2017 to join Paris Saint-Germain.

During the interaction, Xavi also expressed a desire to manage Barcelona saying that it is his dream to coach the club.

"In January, it wasn't the right moment. I had conversations with Eric Abidal [Barcelona's sporting director] and Oscar Grau [Barcelona chief executive] and a big offer, but it wasn't the right moment. I need a bit more experience. Coaching Barcelona is my dream. I'd like to do it one day. I've said that many times," he said.

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The head of the English Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has raised the possibility of playing shorter matches to lighten the load on players if the season can restart. English clubs remain committed to completing the campaign despite severe concerns over player welfare. Players could be tested up to three times a week and be forced to stay quarantined in hotels away from their families for a number of weeks to help limit the risk of them becoming infected with coronavirus. With 92 matches in the Premier League season still to be played, players could have little preparatory time to work on their fitness in group training before being rushed back into playing twice a week.

FIFA have proposed increasing the number of substitutes allowed per side from three to five to also lessen the risk of fatigue and injuries for players on their return. "Safety has to be paramount," PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor told the BBC. "We don't know the future. What we do know is what propositions have been put, what ideas have been put, the possibility of having more substitutes, games possibly not being the full 45 minutes each way.

"There's talks of neutral stadiums. There's been lots of things being put forward. "Try and wait and see what the proposals are, and then have the courtesy to let the managers and coaches and players also assimilate all those and come to a considered view." The Premier League's "Project Restart" has been met with some resistance over plans for all remaining games to take place at up to 10 neutral venues.

The remaining matches would need to be played behind closed doors, but there are fears fans could congregate around stadiums. Some top-flight clubs have argued that under those circumstances there should be no relegation as the sporting integrity of the competition is compromised. However, chairman of the English Football League (EFL) Rick Parry said denying promotion to three Championship clubs would end up in legal battles.

"The lawyers are going to get wealthy if that happens," Parry told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee on Tuesday. "There would be a degree of outrage from a number of clubs in our Championship, and it would be a breach of the tripartite agreement. "The safe answer is that it would get very messy. Our expectation is there would be three clubs promoted from the Championship."

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Former Barcelona player Xavi Hernandez is certain of ex-teammate Lionel Messi featuring in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as he said that the Argentine has still got "five or seven very good years left in him".

"He's still got five or seven very good years left in him," Goal.com quoted Xavi as saying during an Instagram chat with another ex-Barca forward, Samuel Eto'o.

"He takes good care of himself and he can keep playing until he's 37, 38 or 39. He'll play at the Qatar World Cup, I'm sure," he added.

The 32-year-old Messi scored 24 goals this season in all competitions before coronavirus pandemic brought the football season to a standstill.

Xavi also expressed his desire to manage Barcelona saying that it is his dream to coach the club.

"In January, it wasn't the right moment. I had conversations with Eric Abidal [Barcelona's sporting director] and Oscar Grau [Barcelona chief executive] and a big offer, but it wasn't the right moment. I need a bit more experience. Coaching Barcelona is my dream. I'd like to do it one day. I've said that many times," he said.

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A video of Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou shaking hands with his team-mates "shocked" key German politicians, who are set to decide Wednesday whether the Bundesliga can resume next month. "The video has done the German league (DFL) and professional football a disservice," Anja Stahmann, chairwoman of Germany's regional sports ministers, told radio station RBB on Wednesday. "I have heard from colleagues that they are shocked and shaken.

"We were struck by great doubts when we watched the video," admitted the sports senator for the state of Bremen. "I got the impression that good rules were being written down on paper, but that they were not actually being lived out." The Bundesliga is set to be given the green light by the government on Wednesday to resume later this month behind closed doors and with strict hygiene measures in place.

Germany's regional sports ministers have already approved the Bundesliga's plans to resume, but Stahmann said Ivory Coast international Kalou's video left a bad impression. "Some people think the Bundesliga has lost its grip in times of a pandemic," Stahmann added. On Monday, the former Chelsea forward was suspended by Hertha after posting a video to Facebook showing him greeting team-mates and club employees with handshakes, flaunting hygiene guidelines laid out by the league. Kalou apologised for disregarding the social distancing rules, saying: "it was a big mistake".

The 34-year-old also said he could understand how his video, shot in the dressng room, caused shockwaves as the league was seeking permission to return to action. Kalou has scored 48 goals in 151 Bundesliga games for Hertha, but is out of contract at the end of the season and could have played his last game for the club. "It was respectless and I want to apologise for that sincerely," he added.

"But I am about more than those five bad minutes that people see of me in the dressing room." However, Kalou's video drew criticism from the top of the German government. Health minister Jens Spahn said it was "right" that Hertha suspended Kalou and there were "consequences after the video".

Bavaria's premier minister Markus Soeder said the league has developed an "excellent" hygiene concept but "there are individual players, as we have read, who are behaving very, very poorly".

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The Fast And Furious franchise started way back in 2001. Since then we have seen the franchise evolve from racing to something that includes, heists, spying and of course fast cars. Now two years after the last release in the series THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS hit screens in 2017, we see a spin off feature film in the form of FAST &amp; FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS &amp; SHAW. But will this new action flick woo the Fast and Furious audience or will it like so many other actioners be all glitz and no content is what we analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1004788 size-full" title="Movie Review Fast &amp; Furious Presents Hobbs &amp; Shaw" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Movie-Review-Fast-Furious-Presents-Hobbs-Shaw.jpg" alt="Movie Review Fast &amp; Furious Presents Hobbs &amp; Shaw" width="720" height="450" /> Starting off, FAST &amp; FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS &amp; SHAW is centred around the titular Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), characters introduced in the main series. The film begins with a crew of MI6 agents attempting to retrieve a virus, Snowflake, which can be programmed to decimate millions of people, from terrorist organization Eteon. Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), an Eteon operative with advanced cybernetic implants, arrives and kills all agents except for their leader, Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby), who injects Snowflake into herself as a dormant carrier and escapes. Brixton frames Hattie as a traitor who killed her team and stole Snowflake, forcing her to go on the run. Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw are both informed of the missing virus and are assigned to work together reluctantly to track it down. From here on begins a cat and mouse game to save Hattie and the world while keeping the deadly ‘Snowflake’ out of the wrong hands. Much like the previous FAST &amp; FURIOUS films, this spin off too is an action entertainer that promises edge of the seat stunts, fast cars, and big explosions. While there were initial questions raised whether a spin off on a series like F&amp;F would work and hold the audience’s interest, FAST &amp; FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS &amp; SHAW proves that such films if made well, not only keep the audience in their seats but also provides for a fun filled thrilling watch. Director David Leitch, who has in the past proved his mettle with JOHN WICK (2014), ATOMIC BLONDE (2017) and the more recent release DEADPOOL 2 (2018), has done it again. Thanks to a background as a stuntman with professional martial arts training, Leitch is able to execute and shoot some rather difficult action sequences with precision. Keeping in mind the background of the franchise, Leitch has capitalized on characteristic traits of Hobbs and Shaw to develop seamless fight sequences that are well co-ordinated. As for the story of the film, like most action flicks, this one too features a wafer thin plot. However, it isn’t the plot that is the film’s mainstay; instead it is the eye popping relentless action that is interjected with well-placed humour to break the monotony. Coming to the performances, Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs does what he does best, which is smashing things. Assisting him on this endeavour is Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw who takes the more refined approach as compared to Hobbs’ brute force technique to eliminate targets with finesse. Vanessa Kirby as Hattie Shaw does a commendable job and manages to hold her own despite the fact that the film is centred on the characters of Hobbs and Shaw. However it is Idris Elba as Brixton Lore who steals the limelight. A cybernetic enhanced superhuman hybrid, Brixton is capable of feats that push the boundary. Despite having such power, Elba’s restrain is clearly evident, thus preventing the film from becoming too over the top. The dialogues, though not much are good in places with well time punch lines that deliver. As for the action, well it is a spin off from the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise, so expect tons of it. Though unlike the previous films in the series, this one features fewer high end cars, skimpily clad women and debauchery, but rest assured David Leitch has done well with the action. Adrenaline pumping, edge of the cliff (quite literally) gasoline fuelled explosions that are sure to satiate your hunger for destruction. On the whole, FAST &amp; FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS &amp; SHAW lives up to the FAST &amp; FURIOUS tag, with insane stunts, high octane action, well timed humour and an entertaining rollercoaster ride that keeps you in your seat. At the box office, the film that releases in four languages, English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu is expected to open well and will see an increase in footfalls over evening and night shows. With little competition at the box office, FAST &amp; FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS &amp; SHAW looks set to dominate the weekend.

Aamir Khan’s landmark TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ introduced viewers to several real-life heroes that were then unknown. Two of the most memorable guests on this series were the ‘Revolver Daadis’, that is, Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. Tushar Hiranandani, for his directorial debut SAAND KI AANKH, decides to adapt their story onto celluloid. So does SAAND KI AANKH manage to enlighten and also entertain viewers? Or do the makers fail to do justice? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1032669 size-full" title="Movie Review: Saand Ki Aankh" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Saand-Ki-Aankh-5-1.jpg" alt="Movie Review: Saand Ki Aankh" width="720" height="450" /> SAAND KI AANKH is the story of two women who find their calling in their 60s. The year is 1999. Chandro Tomar (Bhumi Pednekar) and Prakashi Tomar (Taapsee Pannu) are sister-in-laws living under one roof with their respective spouses, strict and orthodox brother-in-law Rattan Singh (Prakash Jha) and their children in Johri village in Uttar Pradesh. Both have crossed 60 years of age and though they had the desire to do something worthwhile in their lives, they were not allowed to because of the pressures of the patriarchal society. One day, Dr Yashpal (Viineet Kumar) returns back to Johri. He leaves his medical profession and starts his shooting range. Chandro’s daughter Shefali (Sara Arjun) expresses interest to practise shooting but Rattan obviously refuses to give permission. Yet, Chandro takes Shefali to the range. Without giving much thought, Chandro also tries her hand and surprisingly, she hits a bullseye! Yashpal tells her to try few more times and he realizes that Chandro is a pro. Later, even Prakashi joins and even she turns out to be an expert shooter! Yashpal encourages them to hone their skills at his shooting range and later, tells them to take part in a shooting competition held in Chandigarh. The <em>daadis</em> have never stepped outside their village in their lives. Hence, they get apprehensive at first but nevertheless, they agree. They fool their husbands and Rattan smartly and head to the competition where Prakashi emerges first and Chandro second. In no time, they win many tournaments with ease, while also cooking up various stories to tell their spouses. However soon there comes a time when the Tomar sisters are compelled to tell the truth to Rattan. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Balwinder Januja's story is very promising and inspiring. It not just enlightens viewers about the lives of Chandro and Prakashi Tomar but also gives an important comment subtly about the ills of patriarchal society and lack of awareness of population control. Balwinder Januja's screenplay is captivating for most parts but could have been better in the beginning of the flashback portion and in the pre-climax. Jagdeep Sinhu's dialogues are acidic and sharp. Tushar Hiranandani's direction is quite good for a first-timer and he’s in control of the writing material in hand. He also tries his best to make it as entertaining and mainstream as possible. Also he scores on the emotional front as the struggles of <em>daadis </em>and the way they get slammed by the male members of the family can leave viewers moist-eyed. On the flipside, he should have kept the duration in check. The last 15-20 minutes could have been better emotionally as the scene preceding the finale is too good. SAAND KI AANKH begins on an interesting note and Chandro and Prakashi’s entry puts a smile on one’s face. The flashback portion works in parts. In fact, the entire first half though engaging doesn’t really go on a high. There’s not enough drama or tension in this hour as the <em>daadis</em> are able to easily practise and even go to Chandigarh without the men getting suspicious. The best part of the first half is the Chandigarh competition and how both the women silence their detractors. Post-interval too, the tension doesn’t arise till a certain point. Yet, the second half is better as there are some very sweet moments. One of the most touching scenes here is when Chandro and Prakashi mistake the finger bowl for hot lime water and gulp it down the throats. The Maharani (Nikhat Khan) doesn’t want the <em>daadis</em> to be humiliated for their gesture and hence, even she does the same! Even the <em>jugaadu</em> disco light installed by the <em>daadis</em> in their house in <em>‘Baby Gold’</em> song is sweet. The confrontation sequence between the <em>daadis</em> and Rattan Singh is exhilarating. One expects the film to end here but it goes on for another 20 minutes as the film also focuses on the track of Shefali and Seema trying to be shooters. This track also has its moments but after the high-voltage confrontation scene, the film falls flatly in this said scene. The film ends on an emotional note. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>BLOCKBUSTER : Taapsee &amp; Bhumi’s HILARIOUS Rapid Fire on Akshay, clash with Housefull 4, women crush</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/videos/celeb-interviews/blockbuster-taapsee-bhumis-hilarious-rapid-fire-on-akshay-clash-with-housefull-4-women-crush/?jwembed=1" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> SAAND KI AANKH belongs to Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar undoubtedly. It’s important to note that they don’t really look that old but both compensate for it through their performances. Taapsee is at ease and the way she breaks into a sheepish smile when her plan of fooling the men succeeds is damn good. She gives her best however in the last portion of the film. Bhumi too gives in her best and her body language is spot-on. Also her attempts to pick up English will elicit laughs in theatres. In a few scenes though, she gets overpowered by Taapsee. Viineet Kumar is endearing and would be loved in the role of the person who serves as catalyst in the journey of the ‘Revolver Daadis’. From his dialogue delivery to his expressions, he gets his act just right. Prakash Jha is very convincing in what can be called a negative role and one can’t help but hate him from start to finish! Shaad Randhawa makes his presence felt in the second half of the film. Nikhat Khan is lovely as the Maharani and she is a part of some of the most important scenes of the film. Sara Arjun has a great screen presence and does well. Yogendra Singh (young Rattan Singh) is apt. S K Batra (I G Jaidev), Pawan Chopra (Jai Singh Tomar), Kuldeep Sareen (Bhanwar Singh Tomar), Pritha Bakshi (Seema) and Himanshu Sharma (Sachin) also put their best foot forward. Vishal Mishra's music is situational and works well, but only as a part of this film. <em>'Udta Teetar'</em> is exhilarating. <em>'Womaniya'</em> appears in the end and is memorable as the real Chandro and Prakashi Tomar also feature in the track. <em>'Aasmaa'</em> is touching and sung well by Asha Bhosle. <em>'Baby Gold'</em> and <em>'Jhunna Jhunna'</em> have catchy tunes and shot appropriately. Advait Nemlekar's background score has the commercial feel. Suddhakar Reddy Yakanti's cinematography is spectacular, especially in the shooting scenes. The camera moves in such a way that it adds to the drama. Also watch out for a scene where all the important movements of characters are captured in that rear-view mirror of a motorbike. Ravi Srivastava's production design is authentic. The fact that it was shot in the village of the Tomar sisters also adds to the authenticity. Rohit Chaturvedi's costumes are straight out of life. Sunil Rodrigues's action gels well with the film. Rajeev K Rastogi's VFX is rich. Devendra Murdeshwar's editing is neat but could have been tighter in the second half. On the whole, SAAND KI AANKH rests on an inspiring story and bravura performances by Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar. At the box office, however, it will need a strong word of mouth to survive competition in the form of HOUSEFULL 4 and MADE IN CHINA.

Vidyut Jammwal has carved a niche for himself thanks to his death-defying stunts and his films which are mostly of the action genre. He’s popularly known as the ‘Commando’ actor as he been a part of both the COMMANDO films. And now he’s back with COMMANDO 3, which like its predecessor promises lot of action, entertainment and patriotism. So does COMMANDO 3 manage to give the audiences a <em>paisa-vasool</em> time? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1045975 size-full" title="Movie Review: Commando 3" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Movie-Review-Commando-3.jpg" alt="Movie Review: Commando 3" width="720" height="450" /> COMMANDO 3 is the story of a secret agent in a race against time to save his country. In Mumbai, two young kids – Usman and Omar – are arrested along with their mentor, Subhan after a tip-off. It is revealed that Umar and Omar’s real names were Rakesh and Amit respectively and they converted to Islam after watching provocative propaganda videos of Buraq Ansari (Gulshan Devaiah). Buraq is someone with no record and even his face is covered in his videos. Hence, the Indian intelligence is unaware about his identity and name. Realizing that he’s planning a major terrorist attack in India and that the festival period is coming up, the senior intelligence official Roy (Rajesh Tailang) asks his most trusted and brave officer, Karanveer Singh Dogra (Vidyut Jammwal), to handle the case. Karanveer finds out that the video and currency notes found in the houses of Usman, Omar and Subhan were sourced from London. Roy meanwhile realizes that Subhan talked about 9/11 attack repeatedly and it means that the attack in India will take place on November 9 or 9/11 in other words and incidentally, it’s the day of Diwali. With only 33 days to go for Diwali, Karanveer is urgently sent to London to track down Buraq. He’s helped in this mission by Bhavana Reddy (Adah Sharma) who is now no longer corrupt but still in love with Karanveer. In London, they are provided local help by two British Intelligence agents, Mallika Sood (Angira Dhar) and Armaan Akhtar (Sumeet Thakur). After carefully going through a lot of suspects, the foursome finally manage to find out Buraq’s identity and also that he runs a restaurant. Not just that, they also discover that he is divorced from his wife, Zahira (Feryna Wazheir) and that he loves his son Abeer (Atharva Vishwakarma) immensely. Karanveer hence goes after his son and takes him in his custody, along with Zahira, who is aware of Buraq’s activities and hence agrees to be a witness. Buraq is so enraged by these turn of events that he decides to advance the date of attack to catch the Indians unawares. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Darius Yarmil and Junaid Wasi's story is clichéd and ordinary. But Darius Yarmil and Junaid Wasi's screenplay is where they bring some novelty in terms of character sketch, twists and turns etc. that keeps the interest going. However, it should have been consistently entertaining from start to finish for a better impact. Darius Yarmil and Junaid Wasi's dialogues are poor. A film like this ought to have one-liners that should have ideally packed a punch. Sadly, the dialogues here are strictly okay and even quite poor at places. Aditya Datt's direction is neat and he handles it in such a way that the masses will be able to enjoy and more importantly, comprehend what’s going on. A few of the scenes are deftly handled. The sequence where Karanveer and his colleagues are tracking down Buraq while in a parallel sequence, Buraq is hunting down Karanveer is very nicely done. The romantic track is hardly there and that’s good as no time is wasted with the focus being firmly on the story. On the flipside, the beginning portions are not at all interesting and even in the second half, it takes time for the film to pick up. Many developments are too unconvincing and difficult to digest. Some questions remained unanswered till the very end. No back story of Buraq is given and audiences never come to know how he became such a dreaded terrorist, that too by escaping the radar of the intelligence. It also remained unclear what exactly did Buraq tell in his videos that the youth got brainwashed to the extent that some Hindus turned towards Islam. A few snippets of this is shown but it hardly makes for a convincing watch. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Commando 3 | Public Review | Vidyut Jammwal | Adah Sharma | Angira Dhar | First Day First Show</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/videos/first-day-first-show/commando-3-public-review-vidyut-jammwal-adah-sharma-angira-dhar-first-day-first-show/?jwembed=1" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> COMMANDO 3 doesn’t start on a great note. The beginning portions seem a bit slow and not that engaging. Vidyut Jammwal’s entry brings the much-needed action in the film. The interrogation scene, though nice, again slows down the film. It’s only when the drama shifts to London that the film gets really interesting. The manner in which Karanveer and his colleagues manage to track down Buraq is interesting. A scene to watch out for is when Buraq is watching Karanveer’s video on a news channel and gets a sudden jolt! The intermission point, though filmy and beaten to death, arrests attention. Post-interval portions are when the film again slides down. The interest level drops and an important sequence is inspired from the classic Hollywood film THE DARK KNIGHT [2008]. Thankfully, the last 30 minutes is quite entertaining and massy. It is also very convenient but the target audience – the single screen viewers – will surely lap it up since the makers give a great message here on Hindu-Muslim unity. COMMANDO 3 belongs to Vidyut Jammwal – no two doubts on that! His acting is nothing great as such but he manages to handle the film on his shoulders. And he does action in adequate doses and that’s what audiences will be expecting the most from him. His act in the finale will be greeted with whistles and claps! Adah Sharma repeats her act from COMMANDO 2 and is quite likeable. Her humour quotient is less this time as compared to the second part but fans of Bhavana Reddy won’t be disappointed. Angira Dhar is great as the no-nonsense cop and underplays her part. Both the heroines get to do their share of action and it looks authentic. Gulshan Devaiah is menacing and scary as the villain. Watch out for how his eyes convey so much! Special mention should also go to his British accent – it’s quite nicely done! Anil George (Momin) is wasted and it’s amusing to see him doing similar roles repeatedly. His character disappears suddenly which is quite weird. Rajesh Tailang is dependable. Sumeet Thakur has a fine screen presence. Feryna Wazheir gets to play a lovely character and does justice. Atharva Vishwakarma makes his presence felt with his expressions and he makes sure he doesn’t go overboard. Virendra Saxena (Subhan’s father) and the actors playing Subhan, Omar/Amit, Usman/Rakesh, Inspector Tambe and Zaytun are fine. Music has no scope. <em>'Tera Baap Aaya'</em> is relegated in the background and works well in the film. <em>'Main Woh Raat Hoon'</em> too plays in the background but doesn’t register. <em>'Akhiyaan Milavanga'</em> and<em> 'Iraade Kar Buland'</em> are missing from the film. Saurabh Bhalerao's background score is racy and exhilarating. Mark Hamilton's cinematography is captivating, especially in the action scenes. Andy Long Stunt Team Ltd, Allan Amin and K Ravi Verma's action is quite hardcore and violent. But the stunts by the actors make for a fine watch. Juhi Talmaki's production design is neat. Sandeep Kurup's editing could have been tighter in some scenes. On the whole, COMMANDO 3 is a decent action entertainer that works because of the action sequences, social message and some paisa-vasool scenes. It arrives sans any competition and hence, has chances to work in the mass centres.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, individuals are losing patience -- moving freely and not following the necessary social distancing. This lack of civic sense and maturity on their part is weakening our fight against the deadly contagion pathogen.

The capital markets, as a result, also has witnessed intense volatility and bears are running lose. Certain sections of investors, however, have shown tremendous maturity during these challenging times.

At a time when Foreign Portfolio Investors (FIIs) have net sold or dumped Indian equities (owing to markets worldwide falling sharply and margin calls being hit), domestic fund managers are looking for value-buying opportunities in the carnage of the markets.

It is also heartening to see retail and High Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) buying into various equity-oriented mutual funds in a lump sum as well as the SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) mode. Monthly SIP inflows have touched a record high in March 2020 and the SIP folios, too, surged to 3.12 crore.

However, in debt-oriented schemes, investors seem to be pressing the panic button. The mutual fund industry recorded a net outflow of Rs 1.95 trillion in March 2020. Barring Overnight Funds and Gilt Funds, all other sub-categories of debt mutual funds have reported an outflow in March 2020.

Advance tax payment obligations, deterioration in asset quality, potential risk of defaults in the COVID-19 lockdown, and heightened volatility in the Indian debt market are some of the key reasons for outflows from debt-oriented mutual schemes.

[Read: Why Investors Pulled Out Money from Debt Mutual Fund Schemes in March]

The massive outflows were also seen from the Liquid Funds and Arbitrage Funds.

Table 1: Action in March 2020

Unprecedented redemptions in the Arbitrage Funds and Liquid Funds, as well as the net inflows recorded by the overnight funds, suggest that investors preferred safety over returns. As you know, liquidity is a key concern as the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some arbitrage schemes such as Tata Arbitrage Fund and ICICI Prudential Equity-Arbitrage Fund had stopped taking in fresh subscriptions in the third week of March 2020 for the lack of arbitrage opportunities as markets faced broad-based selling.

But now markets are finding some sort of stability and bouncing back -- rallied over 20% from March lows - although the bears continue to run loose.

So, is it a time to consider arbitrage funds again?

Yes, I think so.

Arbitrage Funds aims to exploit the price differential in two different segments (spot and futures or cash and derivatives) of the equity market. They buy stocks in the spot market and sell in the future market simultaneously thereby making gains with the price differential (called the spread).

The differential usually is in sync with the prevailing interest rates in the economy; but depending on the market volatility, it could sometimes be higher as well. That being said, these are short-term opportunities that spring up due to lack of information to a set of market participants in one of the markets.

The capital market regulator's mutual fund categorisation and rationalisation mandates that an Arbitrage Fund must strictly follow the arbitrage strategy and invest at least 65% of its total assets in equity & equity related instruments.

Since the transactions are in either direction, the positions are completely hedged. And the remaining 35% of the total asset is deployed in debt and money market instruments.

In March 2020, when the stock futures started quoting at a discount to the spot prices in the cash market, it was a concern. But now that we have seen some sharp up-moves in the Indian equity markets as the government has done relatively well in containing the spread of the deadly virus (compared to other nations) and thanks to the prompt fiscal measures also have been taken -- both by the Ministry of Finance (the Rs 1.75 trillion package) and the Reserve Bank of India (by reducing policy rates sharply, keeping monetary policy stance 'accommodative as long as it is necessary', and ensuring enough liquidity in the system) -- in my view, it would be perceived positively by the markets in times to come and enough arbitrage opportunities would be available. It is possible that Arbitrage Funds may even perform a tad better vis-a-vis Liquid Funds.

Table 2: Report Card of Arbitrage Fund, Liquid Funds and Short Duration Funds

Over the last one year, the returns generated by Arbitrage Funds have been quite satisfactory. In fact, these funds have outperformed those clocked by Liquid Funds. The 3-month returns clocked by Arbitrage Funds have been almost at par with Liquid Funds.

Do note that an Arbitrage Fund carries low risk and the returns depend on the market conditions and fund manager's ability to reap rewards from arbitrage opportunities.

Short-Term Capital Gains (i.e. realised profits within a year) on arbitrage funds are taxed at 15%, while the Long-Term Capital Gains (i.e. gains made after staying invested for more than a year) are taxed at 10% for gains above Rs 1 lakh in a financial year.

To park money for the short-term for an investment time horizon up to 1-year, you may consider investing in an Arbitrage Fund.

And if you have an extreme short-term time horizon (of 3 to 6 months), consider a Liquid Fund with high-quality debt papers, which does not have high exposure to Commercial Papers (issued by private entities).

Alternatively, if you wish to park in a much safer category, you would be better off investing in an Overnight Funds.

Happy Investing!

PS: If you wish to select worthy mutual fund schemes, I recommend you to subscribe to PersonalFN's unbiased premium research service, FundSelect.

Additionally, as a bonus, you get access to PersonalFN's popular debt mutual fund service, DebtSelect.

Each fund recommended under FundSelect goes through our stringent process, where they are tested on both quantitative as well as qualitative parameters.

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If you are serious about investing in a rewarding mutual fund scheme, Subscribe now!

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Author: Rounaq Neroy

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

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The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

India tennis ace Sania Mirza celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary along with husband and veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik on April 12, 2020. It was an auspicious day as it was also Easter

Sania Mirza took to social media site Instagram to share a few pictures with her husband Shoaib Malik from their big day back in 2010. She also wished him a "Happy Anniversary".

Sania Mirza also showed her fans a glimpse of her humorous side as she made a tongue-in-cheek statement in her post comparing the two contrasting photos by saying "Expectations vs reality". Sania Mirza wrote: Happy Anniversary @realshoaibmalik. A decade of being married looks like this!! Expectation vs reality. Swipe right for reality." Take a look at the post below. 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Happy Anniversary @realshoaibmalik 😌ðŸ¤Â— A decade of being married looks like this!! Expectation vs reality 😅😂 Swipe right for reality âž¡ï¸Â

A post shared by Sania Mirza (@mirzasaniar) onApr 12, 2020 at 3:55am PDT

Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik tied the knot in April 2010 in Hyderabad in a grand manner. Sania Mirza gave birth to a baby boy named Izhaan in October 2018. After giving birth to her child in October 2018, Sania Mirza returned to the court in January 2020.

She clinched the women's doubles title at Hobart International, pairing up with Nadiia Kichenok, in her comeback competition.

Sania recently shared a photo of her son with a tennis racquet in hand, looking confused. "I am pretty sure he's thinking what the fuss is all about? #IzhaanMirzaMalik," Sania said in her Twitter post.

Sania last played at the Qatar Open in February. She has helped raise Rs 1.25 crore in one week which will help close to 1 lakh people in need during the 21-day lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Inputs from IANS

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Canadian tennis ace Eugenie Bouchard, 26, has agreed to go on a date with a random online fan for a charitable cause. The fan will pay her an amount which she will donate to feed hospital staff battling the Coronavirus pandemic.

After Genie put out a message on Twitter that she felt like "quarantine would be a lot more fun with a boyfriend," she received many messages from fans.

So, in an Instagram Live chat with sportscaster Allie LaForce, she decided to pick a viewer named Bob, who initially offered to pay GBP 400 (approx Rs 36,000) for the date.

LaForce however, upped the stakes further, demanding GBP 2,410 (approx R2 lakh), the expenditure to feed hospital staff on the tennis player's behalf. Bob agreed and Genie said yes. Interestingly, Genie asked Bob to get some toilet rolls along, to which, Bob agreed but offered an extra GBP 800 (approx Rs 72,000) if she spoke in a British accent.

An embarrassed Genie replied: "Why are you doing this to me, Bob? I'm going to say yes but I have no skill whatsoever in imitating accents."

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Canadian tennis ace Eugenie Bouchard's tendency to pick dates online is set to become the theme of an upcoming Hollywood romantic comedy.

According to report in The Canadian Press, a script based on Eugenie's date with one of her Twitter followers, John Goehrke, who won a bet on the 2017 Super Bowl, is already being worked upon.

The couple continued to meet thereafter for more dates. However, this story has an update with Eugenie, 26, recently deciding to go on another random date with an online fan.

During an Instagram chat last week, Eugenie, agreed to go on a date with a fan named Bob, who donated GBP 3,210 (Rs 2.7 lakh) to help feed hospital staff battling the Coronavirus pandemic.

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Russian tennis ace Maria Sharapova has allegedly flouted the strict Coronavirus-caused lockdown rules in the US, where over 55,000 have died due to the pandemic.

According to British tabloid, The Sun, Maria, 32, recently visited some friends around Los Angeles with boyfriend Alexander Gilkes, 41, whom she has been dating since 2018.

Maria was photographed on Friday, relaxing on a balcony alongside another couple at a Manhattan beach pad.

The quartet were in clear breach of the two-metre social distancing norm that has been laid down by the authorities in LA where there have been 850 COVID-19 deaths
till date.

A few days ago, Maria had announced on Instagram that she was heading to a friend's beach house. "Last night, we took a sunset road trip along PCH, picked up lobster brioche rolls from @broadstreetoysterco drive thru and made our way to a friend's beach house," the 2004 Wimbledon champion wrote.

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British tennis ace Andy Murray won the Virtual Madrid Open title on Thursday after a semi-final walkover, when opponent Diego Schwartzmann, logging in from Argentina, suffered a connection glitch.

Andy beat Belgium's David Goffin in the final, but the drama of the online tournament was in the semis. Diego kept winning points even though Andy was hitting winners.

Andy exclaimed: "This is madness," following which Diego withdrew. "I don't deserve to be in the final you play the final," Diego told Andy. "Due to technical problems with @dieschwartzman's connection that prevented him from competing normally in his semi-final match, the players have agreed that @andy_murray should progress to the #MMOPEN Virtual Pro final," the organisers tweeted. Later, Andy said he would donate a part of his prize money to UK's National Health Services (NHS): "I'll be donating half of the USD 45,000 prize money to the NHS and the other half to the tennis players relief fund."

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Tennis legend Leander Paes, who made a guest appearance on the Education Webinar for Coaches, jointly organised by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), on Monday said it is key to focus on learning new skills during the lockdown period.

The country has been under lockdown for more than a month now to curb the menace of COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is important to focus on learning new skills during the lockdown", Paes said on how to best utilise this time away from tennis action and keep yourself active and mentally fit, as quoted by AITA's official website.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion also spoke on what keeps him going even at the age of 46. "For me, the relationships that I have had through tennis are the things that I cherish the most. "Those relationships over generations are what's special.

Paes recalled old relationships and had very special words for R.K.Khanna and Anil Khanna. "When I started playing tennis, R.K Khanna was the President of the AITA. I would not be who I am today without Khanna because he actually helped me in the Juniors, as a 14 or 15 year-old.

"He helped me get into the ITF Junior team. At that point, my family could not afford all the international coaching. And then after that Anil Khanna who was the President, took over the mantle of support."

Paes also thanked others including Bishwadeep, AITA CEO for having been there over the last two decades in Davis Cup ties that Paes had played, always being there to give support.

Paes signed off from the Webinar with a message to coaches saying, "Greatest joy you can have is to see your students do well at tennis. Use the sport as a vehicle to make them good human beings."

The Webinar, now in its second week, will have a session of "Coaching Young Children and Young People" by Kawaljeet Singh and Miguel Crespo from the International Tennis Federation will join as the guest speaker.

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"Game of Thrones" may return in 2019 but the winter is already here for the fans of the HBO epic fantasy drama who can now have a freezing experience in a new hotel that has opened in Finland, inspired by the show. The Leland Hotel SnowVillage transformed its annual ice hotel into a "Game of Thrones"-themed frozen resort in collaboration with HBO Nordic, according to Conde Nast Traveler.

The resort is complete with corridors and guest rooms lorded over by enormous hand-sculpted homages to the iconic White Walkers of mega-hit series. The hotel took barely one month to build with professional ice sculptors from Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Latvia working on it. The GOT admirers also have an option of sleeping under the stare of a White Walker or under the direwolf sigil, which belongs to House Stark.

The temperature inside the hotel hovers around 23 degrees Fahrenheit, which warrants full winter wear, but in comparison to outdoor temperature, around 10 degrees, it is pleasantly warm. A night stay at the digs cost around USD 200 and one can additionally pay 18 dollars to get a day pass for exploring the SnowVillage.

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The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is working on a tie-up between hospitality provider Airbnb and locals for offering home-stay to tourists visiting the Elephanta Caves island located in Mumbai Harbour. The policy aims to overcome the security concerns due to high security installations facing the island that does not allow construction of hotels and night stay.

Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal said the 29th two-day Elephanta Festival, beginning January 27, will be held on the island itself again. After the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the festival venue was shifted to the Gateway of India in south Mumbai. "Seventy years after Independence, the island is soon to get proper electricity connection depending upon the testing of the electricity meters," the minister said. Rawal said there are about 1,200 to 1,500 homes on the Elephanta island, also known as Gharapuri Island, located east of Mumbai.

The minister said no new constructions are allowed on the island due to high-security installations of ONGC and the Navy. The Caves are declared a heritage site by the UNESCO and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Rawal said the government in a tie-up with the Mumbai Port Trust and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is planning a cable car over the sea for travelling to the island. The island is expected to get proper electricity connection within a week's time.

"The Elephanta festival will coincide with the culminating phase of the Mumbai Shopping Festival that will end on January 31," he said, adding that the Elephanta fest will comprise activities like treasure hunt at Elephanta, a sculpture and a painting contests with prize money. Besides this, the festival will have art, dance and music performances by Zia Nath, Sangeeta Trivedi, Sumeet Nagdev, Hans Raj Hans and others, Rawal said.

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Representational Pic

Kerala is aiming to re-brand itself as a 'Land of Adventure' to increase tourist arrivals--both foreign and domestic in the next five years. The state was targetting the increase of foreign and domestic tourist arrivals by 100 per cent and 50 per cent respectively in the next five years, a tourism department press release said.

Kerala showcased its unexplored destinations and adventure tourism hot spots at the silver jubilee edition of SATTE-South Asia's leading travel and tourism exhibition at New Delhi today. On the rebranding of Kerala,Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said that over the years, the industry had changed rapidly with vistors preferring to go beyond the historic temples, monuments and modern sights.

Tourists prefer to explore hills, waterfalls and forests by indulging in adventorous activities, he said, adding that hencefourth the state aims to be re-branded as the 'land of adventure' to woo the younger generation by offering activity and water based tourism. Tourism Director P Balakiran said that the interest of travellers was increasingly gravitating towards adventure tourism offerings, including expanded world view, nature and discovery and fun and thrills. The activity related tourism would help the state achieve the target of domestic and international tourist arrivals, he said. The rivers, high altitude mountains, dense forests and vast stretches of sea offers an array of adventure packed destinations, he added.

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What is life if full of care, you have no time to stand and stare. To ensure that you stand and stare at the beauty that is the Western Ghats, Mapping Journeys is organising trekking, rappelling and cliff traversing at the Duke Nose peak of Khandala for four consecutive days, on the fourth edition of The Duke Nose Festival.

"There will be an 8 am pick up at Lonavala station, from where we'll proceed to the Duke Nose base camp for breakfast, followed by an hour-long trek to the peak. There, our technical team will be ready with rappelling gear. The wall stretches to above 1,000ft and the first 350ft of rappelling will be downwards," says Veeral Raj, co-founder of the travel firm. "Next up is cliff traversing, which is a walk along a cliff overlooking a valley. The participants will be harnessed to a rope for safety," Raj explains.

He adds that the final sport is often an element of surprise for participants as people usually look forward to rappelling alone. With a technical team that boasts 12 years of experience in the field, Raj assures the trip is safe for first timers and for people across all ages. So put on those trekking shoes and head out for an adventurous weekend.

On February 10 to 13, 8 am onwards meeting point Lonavala Railway Station.
Log on to insider.in
Call 9867697306
Entry Rs 1,650

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If lazing around pristine white shorelines and engaging in fishing off the coast is your idea of the perfect weekend, sign up for a fishing trip organised by Grassroutes, that will be set in the scenic Adgaon beach along the Konkan coast.

Participants will learn traditional hand fishing and also the line-and-hook type of fishing

Shreya Thaker, from the rural tourism-centric tour group, says, "We aim to organise events that connect people with different communities and help them financially. So with the trip, Fishing for Fun, we are working with the Koli community to host fishing and hiking activities to keep you engaged while you also enjoy the traditional hospitality of homestays in this region, which includes Konkan cuisine prepared by locals." She states that participants will learn the technique of traditional hand fishing practised by locals while the line-and-hook type of fishing will be taught by Donna Sequeira, a facilitator from the organising company.

Participants will be taken on an early morning tour of the local fish market to spot varieties caught off the coast. "We are also planning to visit mango and cashew farms along with a hike to a hidden waterfall near the village," shares Thaker.

ON: February 17 and 18, 12 pm onwards
AT: Adgaon Beach, near Divegar. call 9820464838 for bookings
LOG ON TO: bit.ly/2nZetPx
COST: Rs 3,000 (adult) and Rs 1,800 (child) [inclusive of food, accommodation and fishing equipment; not inclusive of travel cost to reach location]

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Lakshadweep

Lakshadweep is a group of islands, 200–440 km off the southwest coast of India. These islands form the smallest union territory of the country. The Lakshadweep region has about 600 species of fish, 78 species of coral and over 100 species of other marine invertebrates. This is the perfect opportunity to explore the fascinating marine life underwater.

This year BNHS will be visiting the Tinnakara Island; The charming isolated Thinnakara Island is situated just opposite side of Bangaram island and share the same lagoon and are part of the Bangaram atoll. You need not worry if you do not know swimming; you can still enjoy the deep blue sea and move among the amazing corals, fishes, shells, shrimps and crabs. Most of the snorkeling will be in waist-deep coral lagoons.

Batch I: 3rd – 7th March, 2018
Batch II: 10th – 14th March, 2018
Batch Size: 15 participants only
Accommodation: Twin sharing in furnished Non Ac beach tents house on the Tinakara Island.
Camp fees: Rs. 47,500/- for members and Rs. 49,000/- for others (ex Aggati).
Cost Includes: Stay and food, Pick-up and drop from/to Aggati one snorkeling session per day on the island.
Cost excludes: Flight/rail tickets, all expenses of personal nature like laundry, tips beverages, camera fees, extra water activities, SCUBA, any cost not specified above.
Reporting: Participants to meet on Day One morning at Aggati Airport Lakshadweep 10.10 a.m. (as per the flight schedule) drop on last day at Aggati Airport at 10 a.m. (as per the flight schedule).

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Living in a city like Mumbai where views from a person's home consist mainly of bricks and mortar, and where people go about their daily business with such a frenetic pace that it mirrors a fast local train travelling at top speed, can leave its citizens feeling as jaded as someone who's been tied to a computer screen indefinitely for months on end. But a travel company is now offering people feeling the same the chance to join an expedition to Rishikesh, so that they can recharge their batteries before getting back to the daily grind.

"It will be a three-night stay," says Rohit Dube, co-founder of Moonstone Hammock, which is organising the tour. "The first day starts with a trek to a hidden gem, a waterfall about 5 km from the main city where people can actually sit in the water and have their food. And over the course of the rest of the trip, we will take the participants for two different evening aartis, rafting, to the Beatles ashram, cafés with live music, and local bazaars so that they can soak in the vibe of the place. We will also take them around the mountains on bikes, for instance to the beautiful road that heads towards Badrinath," he adds, meaning that it's time for you to pack your bags if you want to escape this concrete jungle, even if it's for a brief period.

On: March 29 to April 1
Call: 9769274340 to book
Cost: Rs.7,980

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"I feel second-borns don't get enough time with their parents, and are always jostling for space, so I had always planned a trip with Sairah," says former VJ and host Mini Mathur, of her show Mini Me, which has her traipsing around six European countries with her seven-year-old daughter. "In everyday life, kids get to know only a routinised version of you. But, when you travel, they see the real you. Now, she sees me as someone who can do anything - I am cool!"

Mathur and her daughter vowed to stay away from a touristy itinerary, and planned on getting the local flavour right - "so we travelled by train, air, cruise, cycle, and stayed everywhere from a vineyard and a luxury hotel to a youth hostel." Here, she recalls four experiences that she recommends every parent should try with their child. "The main thing to note is that one doesn't need to only go to kid-friendly places to have fun. Try new things and put your children in charge." For example, in Athens, Mathur gave her daughter the map and told her to navigate their way through. "We got lost, but then finding our way was also such an adventure. I now don't look at her as a child, but a best friend."

Eat, Eat, Eat
A lot of this trip centered around food. In Dubrovnik, Croatia, Sairah ate mussels for the first time. Initially, she exclaimed, "I don't eat creatures!" She is a very dal-chawal, vanilla ice cream girl, so I wanted her to try everything. In Rome, I told her to taste all flavours, and then if she still liked vanilla, it would not be because she didn't have options. In Venice, we sat at a farmer's market one day and just sampled cheese and meats all day. And in Barcelona, we ate paella!

Cycle through a city
Lucca, in Tuscany, is a walled city, surrounded by double walls on all sides. We got one of those adult-and-child bikes and rode all around the city. I had never got a chance in India to teach her to cycle, and so Lucca became that place. The weather was great and the whole experience was an exhilarating one.

Living on a Vineyard
In Rome, instead of doing the same old things like going to Trevi Fountain, we decided to live on a vineyard in Tarquinia, a tiny old city in Italy. We stayed with a family whose business is to make wines. And then his wife would cook all these different types of pastas for us. Sairah got to taste her first wine as well, as the winemaker said it's a tradition in Italy that the youngest child has to taste the first wine of the harvest. Well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Whenever Sairah remembers this, she wouldn't have a memory from a textbook, but will recall this from experience.

Pizza chase in Naples
We made a list of the top pizzerias in Naples (the birthplace of the Pizza Margherita) and went to taste each pizza, all in one day. The places were spread out, so we travelled by train. I discovered that my daughter is a Pizza Margherita connoisseur. At one place, I said that I thought the pizza tastes off, and she said yes, the sauce is undercooked! It was a learning experience.

>> There are direct flights from Mumbai and Delhi to every major city in Europe
>> Mini Me airs on TLC every Friday at 9 pm

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Some of the band members saw snow for the first time in Gulmarg

It's rare for a young band, new on the scene, to get the traction that the Mumbai-based Aankh Micholi has got in the last year. Formed in 2015 at the True School of Music, the alternative folk fusion has been performing all over the city and country in 2018, gathering praise for their soulful music, which they describe as "a marriage between powerful lyrics and compelling storytelling". Recently, the five members - Osho Jain, 23, Bharat Chandore, 20, Pankaj Pathe, 26, Akshay Dabhadkar, 21, and Hansel Dias, 23 - performed at Winterfell Café in Srinagar, which is known for musical performances.

The band also used a sled as a percussion instrument

"We had heard about the café and we just took a chance and called them, and said, 'would you like to host us?', and they couldn't have been happier. They also told us that we were the first non-Kashmiri band to have played in the Valley. The band, Parvaz, had performed before us, but all its members are Kashmiri," Jain tells us. We asked the band why they think the Valley should be our next travel destination and this is what they had to say.

And sang a few songs, which they shared on Facebook

'The people are amazing'
We literally haven't met better people ever before. Firstly, at the café, which takes its inspiration from the Game of Thrones, a crowd of over 50 turned up, which is great for that area. This café has a lot of things happening all the time - open mics, storytelling, all performance-based art. The music that we were playing was very different from the kind of music they are exposed to, which is basically Kashmiri folk music. This was very new to them, but they just loved it, and responded with such gusto. People are just nice everywhere you go, and help is at hand whenever you need it.

A select few airlines offer direct flights from Mumbai to Srinagar, or you can fly to Delhi and take a connecting flight

As soon as we landed, we just dumped our bags at our hotel, and headed to the Dal Lake. We then sat in the shikaras, and started playing our guitars and singing our original songs. We were entertaining people, and they were loving it. After a while, people joined us in the singing. It was one of our most overwhelming moments.

The snow is magical
On the second day we were there, we headed to Gulmarg. It wasn't supposed to snow that day, and hasn't snowed for the last 20 days. But, as soon as we got there, it started snowing, and even the locals were surprised. Some of us had never seen snow before. We were on the slopes and we were sledding. We also used the sled as a percussion instrument, and sang a few songs as we did a Facebook live from the slopes.

Binge on Kashmiri Noon chai
Since most of were vegetarian, food was a bit of an issue. But, we all fell in love with the kahwa. That sweet, sweet tea, really hit the spot in the cold. We also sampled the Kashmiri noon chai, also called sheer chai, gulabi chai, which is a traditional tea made with salt, milk and baking soda. It's very different to taste, and it would be right to say that it's an acquired taste. But we loved it.

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While tourists from across the world come to Goa to enjoy on its picturesque beaches, the locals have of late been holidaying in the state's hinterland to get respite from the summer heat and humidity. Several Goans have been rushing these days to the riverfronts in the rural talukas of Sanguem in South Goa district and Sattari in North Goa district, thus encouraging a new trend of 'agro-tourism' in the state.

There are at least 100 farms in Goa, which operate seasonally, mostly in summer, away from the beaches, a senior state tourism official said. "While foreign and domestic tourists enjoy on the beaches, the locals in the beach belt try to search for something else. The agro-tourism has, thus, come as a good alternative," Goa's tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said. The state government plans to provide all possible help to boost this hinterland tourism, he said.

"We aim to provide a diverse experience to the visitors. They should know all facets of Goa, right from beaches to our green hinterland," Ajgaonkar said. Prashant Desai, the son of former panchayat minister Venkatesh Desai, has turned a bushy patch at Advai village in Sattari into an agro-tourism destination. "The initial concept was to have modern farming with the cross plantation of banana, areca nut, coconut, papaya, lemon and other trees. But, a few of my well-wishers suggested that I should develop this place into a farm to attract tourists," he said. Now, the locals in large numbers throng the place, famous as the 'peacock farm'.

"My weekends since last four months have been full and now with the vacations on, we have advanced bookings even on weekdays," Desai said.
He claimed that about 90 per cent of the people coming to his farm were locals, while 10 per cent were visitors from other places, including Mumbai, who got to know about it through the social media. In the hinterland, one can also find inspirational stories of aspiring tourism entrepreneurs. Ramchandra Salgaoncar, who manages a papaya farm at Bhironda village in Sattari, left his cushy corporate job to venture into 'agro-tourism'. "I left my job in October last year and since then have been associated with this project of agro-tourism. It is a satisfying experience," Salgaoncar said. While Goa has the image of being a beach destination, several hotel owners from the coastal belt drive to Salgaoncar's farm to enjoy a quiet vacation during weekdays.

"The hoteliers are busy during weekends at their own resorts, so they can spare time to visit the farm only on weekdays," he said. The agro-tourism concept has been welcomed by professionals from various fields in the state and also young students, who prefer to skip weekends and get some discounts during weekdays to enjoy at these farms, Salgaoncar said. "The concept of tourism has changed. Now, people don't want to go to public places with their families. They want a private space where their families can safely enjoy. That is where small farms like ours flourish," he said. The Tanshikar farm in Sanguem taluka has been among the first few 'agro-tourism' ventures. Chinmay Tanshikar, who turned his ancestral farm into a tourist attraction, claimed that the number of visitors to his place has been increasing every year. "The word of mouth publicity works better than any other media campaign," he said.

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Despite the scorching heat, Goa remains the most popular Indian holiday destination, followed by Jaipur, according to a study conducted by a leading travel portal.

Thanks to budget-friendly stay options and heavy discounts on flights, Indians also prefer short-haul international destinations such as Dubai and Singapore, according to a study by ixigo, based on bookings on its website.

The difference in domestic airfares for peak and off-season is about 45 per cent and for international airfares is about 18 per cent, said a statement.

As for stay options, while Indians prefer to keep a low hotel stay budget, they wouldn't mind paying extra for a great view at a beach or hill station.

Around 47 per cent tourists prefer to stay at 4/5 star hotels during summer holiday in Goa vs 62 per cent who prefer more pocket friendly accommodation options in Jaipur.

ixigo CEO and Co-founder Aloke Bajpai said: "It was interesting to find that travellers no longer worry about seasonality while picking a summer holiday destination. Places such as Goa and Dubai have become round the year tourist hubs! Off-season travel can be quite beneficial.

"Not only do you avoid all the rush, but you also save considerably on hotels and flights. If we compare flight fares from last year, average domestic fares for the summer season have dropped by around 9 per cent and average international fares have dropped by around 19 per cent. This, plus additional discounts offered by travel portals such as ixigo, enable travellers to plan trips, even on smaller budgets."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

A Writers Retreat session in progress

While most of us aren't as lucky as Ruskin Bond to call the hills of Uttarakhand home, a brief escape to nature can help get the creative juices flowing. If you love writing and feel you could do with some inspiration as well as insights into honing your prose, the upcoming edition of Writers Retreat might be your ideal getaway.

The sprawling open-air venue

Designed by the live storytelling event series, Tall Tales, and Grassroutes, an organisation that seeks to connect the urban dweller with the rural community, the two-day retreat will take place in Dehna. The village, located at a two-hour drive from Mumbai, is nestled in the Sahyadris. And thanks the many streams and rivulets that spring up during monsoon, it is also called the land of a thousand waterfalls.

Michael Burns

The retreat features seven workshops rolled into one along with some free time to explore and soak in the rural life. "The first day is all about the universal story structure - how to start stories, what to do in the middle, and how to end them. Irrespective of the language or genre, there is a basic structure that many writers with great ideas find difficult to adhere to," says Michael Burns, director of Tall Tales. The day will end with a film screening, where participants will watch a structured story unfold on screen.

The next day will get into the nuances of good writing, like designing unforgettable characters. "Some writing exercises will encourage participants to explore their relationship with nature; something that's difficult to achieve amidst the distractions of a busy city like Mumbai," signs off Burns.

On: October 1, 9 am onwards
Meeting point: To be decided three days prior to the trip
Log on to: instamojo.com
Email: akshay@talltales.in (seats limited)
Cost: '8,000 ('7,000 for students)

She's sizzled on lists featuring the world's hottest women. So, when South African model-designer Gabriella Demetriades walks into The Daily, it's easy to figure why. There's no discernable make-up on her face; her slip dress is perfect to take her from day to evening. It's impossible to ignore Nikhil Thampi too, with his tall build and sunglasses in place. "You always wear amazing boots," he tells Demetriades. The two designers, known for their sexy western creations, slip into comfortable chatter.

Fashion designers Gabriella Demetriades (left) and Nikhil Thampi at The Daily Bar & Kitchen in Bandra. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

Sabhnani: What made you enter menswear?
Demetriades: Because no one's doing it! I am doing more of a casual daywear line that is unisex — jeans, tees and jackets.
Thampi: Menswear has evolved from what it was five years ago. Men are more experimental. I remember I had done cowl kurtas in my GenNext show; it wasn't big back then. Every top designer today is doing drapes for menswear. I thought, let's revisit it. Although, it is mostly Indian, nobody is doing predominantly western clothes. We thought of doing a small collection of eight looks to check the market. We have been flooded with offers. I never believed in celebrity showstoppers till today [Hrithik Roshan walked for his show].
Demetriades: It's amazing when they wear them as it goes viral. But then it depends on the celebrity too. As a foreigner, it was interesting to see that.
Thampi: We both owe a lot to celebrities; my career graph accelerated because of it. But it's important only if it translates into sales. A Deepika Padukone wearing an outfit is not as aspirational as Sonakshi Sinha or Kareena Kapoor wearing it, as they are full-bodied. Fashion weeks should focus only on design, not showstoppers.

Sabhnani: Speaking of model sizing, how did you shift from modeling to designing?
Demetriades: My family business involves textiles and haberdashery. My grandmother started it 50 years ago. My mother owns a small knitwear label in South Africa. The production capability there isn't amazing and we always thought of moving to India. We first came to India to look at production possibilities.
Thampi: Production is a nightmare in Mumbai. It costs half in Delhi or Kolkata. I cry every day due to bills and production issues.

Sabhnani: We have a long way to go, right?
Demetriades: It's very young. The Indian sensibility is conservative, so you have to tone it down. But it's a growing economy and there are risk-takers too.
Thampi: To survive, you have to be an all-rounder, especially a PR maestro.
Demetriades: Exactly. What's in the public eye becomes the identity of the brand. There's a big gap between lounge and high-end Indian wear — I can't buy a four-lakh gown for every occasion. There are no sexy/fun labels. The price point between $100 to $700 is massive in the West, and you can buy something beautiful.

The food arrives; Quinoa Salad and Champagne Mushroom Fricassee for Demetriades; Pollo Funghi e Jalapeno, Drunken Prawns and Banana Peanut Butter smoothie for Thampi.
Demetriades: This looks good! Avocuddle sounds cute [we ordered a blueberry avocado shake called Avocuddle].
Thampi: Food is my happy space. I eat everything; I can eat a human being!
Demetriades: That's mean! I gave up meat three months ago. But my family is Greek, so everything has lamb. They asked me, 'What are you going to eat!' When I watched the film Okja, I was in tears. And I was hosting people for dinner that day. When a pork dish was served, I thought, 'Oh god, I can't do it.' Since then I haven't had red meat or chicken.

Sabhnani: So, do you eat before shows?
Thampi: I can't eat anything, but I compensate after the show.
Demetriades: French fries. When I am stressed, I eat. When I am super happy, I don't. When I was in South Africa, I was 10 kilos lighter. It's very hardcore there. When I came to India, it was the opposite. People liked that I was curvy.
Thampi: She's so thin! It's a profession; you need to maintain yourself. But none of us would want to project our clothes on an extremely thin model.

Sabhnani: What do you like and hate about the industry?
Thampi: Nepotism. You pick up any magazine, and you'll spot the same five people, all over again. The same people are given awards every time. Move on!
Demetriades: Fashion and celebrities are a single entity in India. I don't think that just because you are a celebrity (Bollywood or cricket), you are fashionable. Also, there is hierarchy and power play in the industry, which is scary for newcomers and outsiders or foreigners like me.

Steve Vai at 2015 Rock in Rio concert. Pic/Getty images

You visited India 23 years ago. What are your memories?
I came to India as a spiritual soldier. Most people know me as a musician, but perhaps my most focused attention throughout my life has been on spirituality. There was a period I went through when I was researching various eastern philosophies and this brought me to India on several occasions. It was a tremendously rewarding experience.

How did you manage to keep your personal style of music intact?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a composer and so, I started studying music. But when I was an early teenager in the '70s, I discovered rock music by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jethro Tull and Deep Purple. I've always loved the energy of rock music. When the opportunity came to join those bands in the '80s, I felt that a part of my musical sensibilities would work well with them. So, a particular style of my music was used during that time. But when I started doing my solo music more, my innate musical style emerged more powerfully. All the artistes I've worked with in the past have shaped what I do.

How would you describe the journey of your music?
I was very emerged in Zappa and his music while I was working with him from the age of 18 to 23. During that time, I was also writing my own music and, to some degree, it was highly influenced by Frank (Zappa). When I started working on the music of Modern Primitive, it was directly after my Zappa years and there was still much residual leftover Zappa influence in it.

Tell us about your life as a 20-something rock star in the '80s...
Well, it was certainly a good time to be a rock star. We could wear the oddest clothes, had a gigantic stage to run around on and were playing our a***s off! To be honest, I enjoyed it very much. I took great advantage of all the situations, but never lost myself in them. I knew they were all fleeting moments. Dave Roth threw the best parties, though. They were notorious. I saw and discovered things that could fill volumes of books and which you would not believe even if they were written and truthful. Imagine having at your disposal an abundance of fame, drugs, sex, money, etc. But as mentioned, I never got lost in any of it… except perhaps the fame, ha!

Will the heydays of rock ever return?
I don't know what young artistes do backstage anymore, but any time I've been there, they were nothing like what I remember in the '80s. For some, the heyday is now. There is still enough fame, drugs, sex and money to go around that could spin the head of any young artiste. But then again, there seem to be 'rock stars' in every field.

Any Indian musicians you admire…
I was fortunate to do some work with violinist L Shankar in the '80s. He's a phenomenon. I also enjoy the work of Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, U Srinivas, Ali Akbar Khan, Anoushka Shankar and others.

Who are your all-time favourite guitarists and why?
Jimmy Page was my first real guitar discovery and is, in my books, the best arranger, writer and producer of rock music. Allan Holdsworth has an inner ear unlike that of anyone.
Jimi Hendrix. Well, because he's Hendrix. When I heard Al Di Meola play as a teenager, I became aware of the extremes that a human being can achieve in terms of tone and chops.
Brian May has the most identifiable tone and touch. Joe Satriani, he speaks through his guitar in a way that is deeply moving and creative. He is the master of inspired instrumental guitar melody. I could go on and on.

What have you planned for your performance here?
I was happy to discover Mohini Dey, an extraordinarily talented Indian bass player. She played on a track on Modern Primitive called Bop. She's truly a marvel and if everything works out, she will be joining us at the show for a jam. Also, I have a backing video screen that has some of my friends appearing on it, who I will jam with from the stage. They include Joe Satriani, Brian May, John Petrucci, Tommy Emmanuel and Frank Zappa. I want to be connected to the evolutionary impulse of the universe when I play, thus, bringing an experience to the people that is captivating and even shocking.

Steve Vai performs at the Meghalaya (October 28) and Pune (December, date to be announced) edition of Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2017
LOG ON TO: insider.in

Nick Seluk, the American artist behind the popular The Awkward Yeti comics, on his ingenious organ characters and more

What made you pick a blue yeti as the central character?
I imagine the blue yeti [Lars] as a misfit among the attractive, extroverted white yetis. He looks, acts and thinks differently than the average yeti, and for that reason, feels disconnected. To me, it was a funny way of exaggerating my own awkwardness and introversion.

Nick Seluk

What is the key to creating intelligent comics for kids?
The key is that I don't make them for kids. I make them for adults, but I simplify the information to the extent that people of all ages can enjoy them.

Why did you decide to study psychology?
I have been very introspective, and psychology was an interesting way to learn about myself and others, like how we differ and relate. Much of what I learned reinforced what I already knew through observation, and gave me the confidence to use those concepts (albeit abstractly) later on in comics.

Pic courtesy/theawkwardyeti.com

If turned into a film, who do you think should voice Lars?
There are so many great options. I imagine a sort of deep, awkward voice for Lars, perhaps a John C Reilly or Brian Posehn.

What's your favourite organ character?
I love Heart because it represents my desire to be myself, be weird and try new things (not always successfully). My favourite character to write for is Tongue, because the character takes impulse to a new level.

A new organ character that you would want to introduce?
Most organs have made an appearance at some point, but the one I still want to make into a character is the mesentery, because it's sort of a bizarre grotesque shape that would be fun. I don't know if it would make regular appearances, but I hope it will show up some day.

Do you run your comics by your family for critique?
I used to do that a lot, but now I usually post the comic on Twitter first. It's my smallest social media audience, so I kind of use it to test it out. If it does well enough, I share it with my larger audiences on Instagram and Facebook.

Which artists inspire you?
I grew up reading and gaining great inspiration from Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, and The Simpsons. In the past few years, I have found a lot of inspiration from artists whom I meet while travelling.

Are you familiar with the works of Indian artists?
I am not, but I'm excited to be at Mumbai Comic Con because what better way could there be to start learning about them?

On: November 11 and 12 (11 am to 8 pm), Seluk's special session on 12, 4.30 pm
At: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon East
Log on to : comicconmumbai.com
Entry: Rs 499 (day pass)