Velma, Emma and Dean believe mobile phone signals, wi-fi and other modern technology makes them ill.

A car factory worker turned cafe owner explains how coronavirus is affecting his business dream.

React Native continues on a development spree in late 2016. With an ambitious two-week release cycle, the framework makes rapid progress towards feature and performance parity with its native Android and iOS equivalents. At the same time, these quick release periods frequently introduce breaking changes, difficulty with setup, and challenges with basic configuration.

Enter Exponent, a tool that promises easier setup, development, and deployment of React Native applications. Rather than being a replacement for React Native, as it is sometimes confused, Exponent augments React Native by dramatically simplifying the development and deployment processes. Whereas basic setup with an Android environment to develop with React Native can take over an hour by hand, even for experienced engineers, Exponent shortens the time to start to “Hello World” to a handful of minutes.

React Native continues on a development spree in late 2016. With an ambitious two-week release cycle, the framework makes rapid progress towards feature and performance parity with its native Android and iOS equivalents. At the same time, these quick release periods frequently introduce breaking changes, difficulty with setup, and challenges with basic configuration.

Enter Exponent, a tool that promises easier setup, development, and deployment of React Native applications. Rather than being a replacement for React Native, as it is sometimes confused, Exponent augments React Native by dramatically simplifying the development and deployment processes. Whereas basic setup with an Android environment to develop with React Native can take over an hour by hand, even for experienced engineers, Exponent shortens the time to start to “Hello World” to a handful of minutes.

Exponent’s prime feature is revealed as it’s namesake IDE. The Exponent IDE is development platform for not only developing apps to test in their respective environment simulators, but also simplifies testing them on real devices.

One of the cofounders of Exponent, Charlie Cheever, agreed to answer a few questions about Exponent and its purpose in the community.

Hi, Charlie. Congrats on the release of Exponent! One of the toughest aspects of Exponent is understanding what its purpose is. What is the primary goal of Exponent?

Thanks :)

Before I worked on mobile software, I spent about 15 years making websites. When I started working on the Quora iPhone app and Android app, it felt like time traveling back to 1993. So many things to worry about that have nothing to do with the product you want to build.

One thing we’re trying to do with Exponent is making it as easy to develop native mobile apps as it is to make websites, or even easier! I think about how I learned to build software as a kid–making games on my TI-85 and making Hypercard stacks–and I want to make it so that the middle school kids of today can make cool stuff for themselves and their friends.

Basic environment setup of the iOS and Android simulators for developing React Native apps is commonly cited as a headache by new developers. What does Exponent do to alleviate this pain?

The biggest thing that Exponent does is take care of everything related to native code for you. So you don’t need to know Swift/Obj-C/Java or even have Xcode or Android Studio to be able to write React Native apps. You write just JavaScript and Exponent has everything else already setup for you.

Since you don’t write any native code with Exponent, just JavaScript, Exponent has a lot of the most popular native modules built in. Native maps, push notifications, Facebook and Google login, camera and camera roll access, contacts, TouchID, and a native video player are all included among other things. We’re always adding more of these as well. We just added full OpenGL support last week and did a game jam and made some mini games with it and are adding sound soon.

We sometimes talk about Exponent as being like Rails for React Native. You could write a website in Ruby on your own. but Rails sets up a bunch of sensible things right off that bat that work together in a coherent way and we kind of do the same thing for React Native. Exponent includes instant app updating as a default, so you can deploy new code and assets with one command in seconds, even faster than most websites can be deployed.

Even after getting set up with the Android and iOS simulators, testing a React Native app on a real phone can still be a challenge. How does Exponent make it easier to share apps in progress with would-be users?

You can actually open any Exponent project that you’re working on in our development app right away. When you develop with Exponent, you get a URL for your project, and you can open that URL on any phone with the Exponent developer app which you can download from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. You don’t need to jack your phone into your computer–just open the URL.

Another really cool thing about this is that, if you’re working with someone else, you can just send them the URL and they can open it on their phone as well, even if they are halfway around the world.

We’ve done a bunch of work to make this pretty nice, like having console.log work even if the phone running your code isn’t plugged into your computer. And you can, of course, open your project on the iOS Simulator or an Android Emulator as well if you prefer.

I know you mentioned a lot of people have trouble getting React Native setup on Android especially. With Exponent, every project works on both iOS and Android from the start and you never have to deal with Android Studio, so the process of getting going is much easier.

What type, or genre, of application would be a good fit with React Native and Exponent?

I would actually use React Native for almost any mobile app at this point. Doing development the traditional way (writing Swift/Java/Obj-C code) is just too hard to iterate on when you consider the slowness of the code-compile-copy-run loop and the fact that you have to write your app twice (and then keep it in sync!). The other thing that is an absolutely huge deal here but is sometimes overlooked is the layout engine. It’s much easier to build and change a layout in React Native’s Flexbox than any of the UI libraries that I’ve seen for Java/Swift/Obj-C.

And if you need to do something really intense, like Snapchat live video filters, you can just write your own code as a native module and write the rest of your app in JS.

I would use Exponent for anything I could because it just saves a lot of time and headaches since you don’t need to deal with Android Studio or Xcode. Some people don’t know that you can turn an Exponent project into an app store app for iOS or for Android with just one command.

In general, Exponent will work for you in pretty much every case where just having a mobile website is one of the things that you’re considering. The features are pretty equivalent except that Exponent apps feel like native apps and mobile apps still feel like mobile web apps.

The main reason not to use Exponent is if you have some custom native code that you need that isn’t included with Exponent. The most common reasons that people can’t use Exponent are if they need use Bluetooth or HealthKit or something else low level that isn’t built in to Exponent; or if they need to integrate into an existing project (though we are working right now on a solution that will let you do this).

The exception to all this is games. If you are making a mobile game, Unity is probably the best choice for you. But we did add OpenGL support to Exponent recently and had a game jam and I was surprised at how good some of the entries were, so I think that might change.

TL;DR: For apps that aren’t games, always use React Native (if you need to do something super custom, just do it as a native module). If you can, use Exponent (you can most of the time but check our docs to make sure we’re not missing anything you need).

One aspect of React Native that seems to be undergoing constant flux is its solution for navigation. Between the built in Navigators and open source solutions, do you have any thoughts on an ideal solution for navigation?

Short version: I think you should use Ex-Navigation that Adam Miskiewicz (skevy) and Brent Vatne on our team wrote. Skevy in particular has been thinking about navigation in mobile apps and React Native for a long time. Using Ex-Navigation is definitely a better idea than Navigator or NavigatorIOS.

To make things confusing, there is also NavigatorExperimental (yes, that’s different from Ex-Navigation) and ExNavigator (which was made by James Ide and Ex-Navigation is based on). The good news is that everyone working on these problems got together and decided to merge them all together. I don’t know how long that is going to take but it will probably be released sometime in the next few months under the name React Navigation, and that should unify everyone’s efforts!

There is also this other school of thought where some people like to use the platform-specific native code for navigation which is the approach that the Wix Navigator uses. I have a strong personal view that its preferable to write UI components like this in JS because I actually think you want your app to be the same across iOS and Android (they are both just black rectangles with touch screens!) and JS tends to make your code more composable and customizable.

Use Ex-Navigation and keep an eye out for React Navigation! Use JS instead of native for this UI code!

Given the increasingly fast development and deployment times, handling API setup for dealing with data is becoming a large obstacle to React Native apps. Do you have any thoughts about the use of Backend-As-A-Service solutions like Firebase compared to rolling your own API with Node/Express, Rails, or similar?

I don’t have a strongly held view on this right now. There are so many solutions that fit the use cases of people with different needs. We’re seeing things getting easier and easier in every direction that you look.

If you want to write your own code and you’re using JS, you can use something like Zeit’s new now stuff to deploy essentially instantly. If you want a more general purpose solution, Heroku is also really easy. And then of course there is AWS and Google Cloud, etc.

It’s trivially easy for React Native apps to communicate with essentially any backend that uses HTTP/JSON since fetch and JSON.parse are built-in.

If you don’t want to write any code, it seems like Firebase has become the most popular solution since Parse announced its shutdown. One nice thing about Firebase is that you can use their hosted database stuff with React Native using just JS, which means it works just fine with Exponent. Someone wrote up a guide to how to do this here: https://gist.github.com/sushiisumii/d2fd4ae45498592810390b3e05313e5c

Longer term, it seems like something like GraphQL/Relay should become really popular, but that stuff is too hard to setup and use still to be mainstream just yet. I’m not sure whether it will be GraphQL/Relay maturing and getting revised that wins or something else that is slightly different and easy to think about as a developer that comes and beats it, but directionally, it’s definitely right. We built something like this at Quora and it saved a ton of development time.

I would just use whatever you are most comfortable with – almost anything will work! React Native is really similar to the the web in terms of its client capabilities and so I would just think about a React Native or Exponent app as being mostly like a website.

React is a good tool when it comes to building flexible and reusable UI components. However, it’s “one of those libraries” that cannot handle all the tasks involved in building a full fleshed UI project. Other supporting tools - such as a recently announced React SDK from Cloudinary - are available to provide solutions that the React core cannot.

In such cases where media (images and videos) becomes a heavy task to handle, Cloudinary simplifies the process with the new React SDK. Let’s build and image library with Cloudinary and React using the Cloudinary’s React SDK.

Prerequisites

The only requirements for using Cloudinary in your existing React project are to install the React SDK and the upload widget. If you do not have an existing React project and want to try these examples, take the following steps:

1. Install Dependencies

We need a minimal amount of dependencies so we can focus on building a media library and not structuring a React app:

{
  "name": "img-library",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "watch": "webpack -d --watch",
    "build": "webpack",
    "serve": "serve ./public"
  },
  "author": "",
  "license": "MIT",
  "devDependencies": {
    "babel-core": "^6.18.2",
    "babel-loader": "^6.2.9",
    "babel-preset-es2015": "^6.18.0",
    "babel-preset-react": "^6.16.0",
    "serve": "^1.4.0",
    "webpack": "^1.14.0"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "axios": "^0.15.3",
    "cloudinary-react": "^1.0.1",
    "react": "^15.4.1",
    "react-dom": "^15.4.1"
  }
}

React (and React DOM) must be used since we are making a React app. The cloudinary-react dependency is Cloudinary’s React SDK, which we will soon see how it works. axios is a tool for making HTTP requests and, in our case, we will use it request images from the Cloudinary server.

# Install dependencies
npm install

2. Setup Webpack

Webpack is our build tool. Only minimal settings are required to have a build running and our React app compiling:

// ./webpack.config.js
var webpack = require('webpack');
var path = require('path');

var BUILD_DIR = path.resolve(__dirname, 'public');
var APP_DIR = path.resolve(__dirname, 'src');

var config = {
    entry: APP_DIR + '/index.jsx',
    output: {
        path: BUILD_DIR,
        filename: 'bundle.js'
    },
    module : {
        loaders : [
            {
                test : /.jsx?/,
                include : APP_DIR,
                loader : 'babel'
            }
        ]
    }
};

module.exports = config;

Basic configuration - an entry, output and loaders to handle the React .jsx files.

3. Entry Points

We need to create an entry point, as we specified in the Webpack configuration, and another entry point for the browser, which is an index.html file:

// ./src/index.jsx
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { render } from 'react-dom';

class Main extends Component {
    render() {
        return (
           <div className="main">
               <h1>Scotchage</h1>
           </div>
        );
    }
}

render(<Main />, document.getElementById('container'));

<!-- ./public/index.html -->
<html>
<head>
    <!--Stylesheet-->
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
</head>
<body>
    <!--Container for React rendering-->
    <div id="container"></div>
    <!--Bundled file-->
    <script src="bundle.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

4. Create Cloudinary Account

You need a Cloudinary account to continue with these examples. Sign up for free and store your credentials safely as shown on the dashboard:

Uploading Images

Before using the React SDK to deliver images from the Cloudinary servers, let’s use the awesome Cloudinary upload widget to upload images. First, we need to add this widget to our index.html:

<!-- ./public/index.html -->
<html>
<head>
   . . .
</head>
<body>
    . . .
    <!-- UPLOAD WIDGET -->
    <script src="//widget.cloudinary.com/global/all.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
    <script src="bundle.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Next, we create a button, attach an event to it and upload an image once the button is clicked:

import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { render } from 'react-dom';

class Main extends Component {

    uploadWidget() {
        cloudinary.openUploadWidget({ cloud_name: 'CLOUD_NAME', upload_preset: 'PRESET', tags:['xmas']},
            function(error, result) {
                console.log(result);
            });
    }
    render(){
        return (
            <div className="main">
                <h1>Galleria</h1>
                <div className="upload">
                    <button onClick={this.uploadWidget.bind(this)} className="upload-button">
                        Add Image
                    </button>
                </div>
            </div>

        );
    }
}

render(<Main />, document.getElementById('container'));

The uploadWidget member method is the handler invoked by the click event to handle our image upload by calling cloudinary.openUploadWidget. openUploadWidget takes a config object and the upload callback handler. The config object must have at least cloud_name and upload_preset properties with valid values. You can read more about Cloud Names and Upload Presets.

Delivering Images with SDK

The Cloudinary React SDK has three major components, Image, CloudinaryContext and Transformation:

• Image: This component is responsible for the actual delivery of images. It takes the image ID and asks the server for this image. When the image is provided, it is also responsible for painting the image on the browser.
• Transformation: This component is used to apply transformations to images delivered with Image.
• CloudinaryContext: You can specify Cloudinary configuration for each image on the Image component. This can be tedious when you are dealing with multiple images. CloudinaryContext allows you to apply configuration to a group of Images.

Most times you would end up with a structure like this:

<CloudinaryContext>
    <Image>
        <Transformation />
        <Transformation />
    </Image>
    <Image>
        <Transformation />
    </Image>
</CloudinaryContext>

Back to our demo app, we can request an image from the Cloudinary server and display it with the following components:

import React, { Component } from 'react';
import axios from 'axios';
import { CloudinaryContext, Transformation, Image } from 'cloudinary-react';
import { render } from 'react-dom';

class Main extends Component {
    constructor(props) {
        super(props);
        this.state = {
            gallery: []
        }
    }
    componentDidMount() {
    // Request for images tagged xmas       
axios.get('http://res.cloudinary.com/christekh/image/list/xmas.json')
            .then(res => {
                console.log(res.data.resources);
                this.setState({gallery: res.data.resources});
            });
    }
    uploadWidget() {
       // . . .
    }
    render(){
        return (
            <div className="main">
                <h1>Galleria</h1>
                <div className="gallery">
                    <CloudinaryContext cloudName="CLOUDNAME">
                        {
                            this.state.gallery.map(data => {
                                return (
                                    <div className="responsive" key={data.public_id}>
                                        <div className="img">
                                            <a target="_blank" href={`http://res.cloudinary.com/christekh/image/upload/${data.public_id}.jpg`}>
                                                <Image publicId={data.public_id}>
                                                    <Transformation
                                                        crop="scale"
                                                        width="300"
                                                        height="200"
                                                        dpr="auto"
                                                        responsive_placeholder="blank"
                                                    />
                                                </Image>
                                            </a>
                                            <div className="desc">Created at {data.created_at}</div>
                                        </div>
                                    </div>
                                )
                            })
                        }
                    </CloudinaryContext>
                    <div className="clearfix"></div>
                </div>
            </div>

        );
    }
}

render(<Main />, document.getElementById('container'));

Take one more look at the upload code:

 cloudinary.openUploadWidget({ cloud_name: 'christekh', upload_preset: 'idcidr0h', tags:['xmas']},
            function(error, result) {
            . . .

Each image is tagged with xmas, which serves as a way to request images with this tag as a collection. This is exactly what we are using the axios library to do when the component mounts:

axios.get('http://res.cloudinary.com/CLOUDNAME/image/list/xmas.json')
            .then(res => {
                console.log(res.data.resources);
                this.setState({gallery: res.data.resources});
            });

axios uses promises, so whenever the promise resolves in our case, we have a payload of images. We take advantage of React state to update our UI with the fetched resources.

Down to rendering, we configure the CloudinaryContext with our cloud_name, iterate over the gallery state that stores the images and displays them using the Image component. We also apply few transformations using the Transformation component.

For security reasons, Cloudinary will not allow you to make such request from the client unless you tell it to. The best way to go is to use the admin API via a backend SDK and then send the resource list to the client.

Updating State with New Uploads

We are able to upload images and request for images to be displayed on the user’s browsers. Here is how we update the displayed images instantly when the user uploads a new image:

uploadWidget() {
        let _this = this;
        cloudinary.openUploadWidget({ cloud_name: 'CLOUDNAME', upload_preset: 'PRESET', tags:['xmas']},
            function(error, result) {
            // Update gallery state with newly uploaded image
                _this.setState({gallery: _this.state.gallery.concat(result)})
            });
    }

Rather than logging the uploaded image information to the console, we update the gallery state, which bears the list of requested images, by concatenating the uploaded result to the gallery.

Image Management Simplified

Image uploads, transformation and delivery has never been easier. These tasks have been a serious challenge for developers. Cloudinary has created a way to abstract all this hard work, enabling you to simply plug and play.

To lift the FIFA Futsal World Cup, teams must successfully negotiate seven matches, as Russia and Argentina – the Colombia 2016 finalists who will lock horns on Saturday – know all too well. Prior to that decisive duel, FIFA.com posed seven questions to the coaches of the two surviving teams. 

Ace Indian pacer Mohammad Shami has revealed that he played the 2015 World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand, with a fractured knee. "I had knee injury during the 2015 World Cup. I couldn't walk after the matches I played throughout the tournament with the injury. I played the 2015 World Cup because of Nitin Patel's confidence.

"The knee broke in the first match itself. My thighs and knees were the same size, doctors used to take out fluid from them everyday. I used to take three painkillers," Shami told former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan during a candid chat on Instagram live on Wednesday. Shami was the second highest wicket-taker for India with 17 wickets out from seven matches and was only behind Umesh Yadav, who played a game more than him and picked 18 wickets. The 29-year-old credited also former skipper M.S. Dhoni for motivating him to carry on playing despite the pain throughout the tournament, especially in the semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground where they lost to eventual champions Australia. Chasing 329, India were bundled out at 223 and bowed out of the World Cup. "Before the semi-final match against Australia, I told the team that I cannot take any more pain," said Shami. "Mahi bhai and the management showed faith in me and they really kept confidence in my abilities.

"I played the match and gave just 13 runs in my opening spell. Then I went off the park and told Mahi bhai that I cannot bowl any longer. But he told me he cannot go to part-time bowlers and asked me to not give away more than 60 runs. I have never been in such a condition like this, some had said my career is over, but I am still here," he added. During the chat session, Shami also said Test cricket as his favourite format of the game due to the intensity of the cricket involved in it. "For entertainment purpose, I would like to choose T20 format but I would like to play Test cricket for the intensity of the game," he told Pathan. He also said that young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has amazing talent. "Rishabh's talent is amazing and it is not like he is my friend that is why I am saying. It is just about confidence, the day he got that confidence, he will be very dangerous," Shami said. The right-arm pacer last featured in the Test series in New Zealand wherein he bagged five wickets as India were whitewashed in the two-match rubber.

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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

Fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat said that he feels fortunate to have played with former Australian captain Steve Smith and even played under the star batsman early on in his career. Smith was captain of Rising Pune Supergiant when Unadkat had his breakthrough season in the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Ever since I have played under him, or for that matter since he has known me, he has backed me to the fullest," said Unadkat in a video interview with his Rajasthan Royals teammate Ish Sodhi on the IPL side's Facebook page.

"I am grateful that this happened to me at that time of my career when I was still trying to make a name for myself. I had confidence in myself but you know how important it is to have the captain's confidence. That happened in the 2017 season. I have been a big fan of his captaincy and obviously of him as a player."

The 28-year-old rejoined Smith at the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 season where he also shares the dressing room with England trio Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer. Unadkat said that he tries to learn from all of them and spoke about how Stokes tried to motivate him when he was feeling low on confidence.

"These guys are not just good on the field, they are pretty lively even in the dressing room," said Unadkat.

"I have been speaking to Jos and Smithy when he was captain. I've had Ben coming to me and giving a nice piece of advice when I have not been confident about my own game and that has boosted me. Jofra was also of equal help, talking about what his mindset is when I asked him in the nets."

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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

Go crazy with paints
Give yourself a unique weekend and enjoy a party with lots of colours! Paint away all the week's troubles and discover the hidden artist in you. Gorge on food, sip on a drink while you’re at it. Who knows? Maybe it’ll pave the way for the next masterpiece on your wall.
ON May 26, 12 pm onwards
At Tea Villa Cafe, Vashi, Navi Mumbai.
CALL 8080850000
LOG ON TO insider.in cost Rs 1,500

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The Vashi plot where NMMC hacked trees and dumped a different soil to prepare for plantation of new trees

Ever heard of trees being hacked to develop a "tree belt"? Perhaps, it happens only in India, in this case, Mumbai. The forest department is livid, and has raised an objection to stop work, after the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation hacked down over a 100 trees of rare species without the department's mandatory permission (as the trees fell in the buffer zone of holding ponds).

The ironic justification given for the hacking is the development of a tree belt under the Centre's AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation). Vashi residents are mighty upset, having watched NMMC officials hack more than 100 trees. A social activist and resident of Navi Mumbai, Rohit Malhotra, said, "We have been keeping an eye on NMMC officials working on this project; so far, nearly a 100 trees, maybe more, have been cut, all done using people's hard-earned money.

The Vashi plot from where NMMC hacked trees

"When I asked NMMC officials why they were cutting trees for a tree belt, they said they wanted to plant 'good and useful' trees, like of fruits and flowers... The hacked trees are local; this soil is suitable for them, not others. Now, they have added debris of a different soil over the natural one... How will they grow and sustain trees of other regions?"

Under AMRUT, NMMC has planned development of a green space in plot no. 45, sector 10 A, Vashi. The R2-crore project will have a plantation of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, a lawn and walkways. Chief Conservator of Forests N Vasudevan, who heads the department's Mangrove Cell, said, "NMMC has already cut down nearly a hundred trees that were in a buffer zone. They should have taken permission from us. But they didn't acquire an NOC or even sent a request, just suddenly started the work. Hence, we asked their officials to stop."

NMMC Additional Commissioner Mohan Dagaonkar said, "The cut trees are Subabul; these are not indigenous, just wild trees that serve no purpose. We will plant nearly 8,400 fruit- and flower-bearing trees in their place. The forest department has asked us to submit a letter; once we do that, we'll restart the work."

Rs 2crore
Cost of the project

8,400
Number of new trees NMMC plans to plant

Also Read: NMMC Offers Reward To People Who Report Illegal Debris Dumping Within City Limits

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Despite cultural upheavals, highlands residents persisted

New study finds a growing number of places with intolerable conditions

Fact that Aparshakti Khurana has emerged as one of the ultimate social media buzz makers amidst the lockdown. After initiating digital antakshari, he started interactive Instagram Lives, brand collaborations, musical series called #InstaMusic and even featured in a special Lockdown Anthem video alongside various YouTubers.

With so much on, it won't be wrong to call Khurana the most entertaining and engaging celeb on social media currently. Taking his creativity to another level this time around, Aparshakti has shared his first-ever audio short film - Hisaab Barabar on Instagram which he wanted to present back from his Radio days.

The plot revolves around a girl called Suhani and her schoolmate Rinku, revealing how after disliking each other all these years during school, they end up falling in love with each other. Hisaab Barabar is already winning hearts, thanks to its beautiful storyline and Aparshakti's brilliance at storytelling. He does not just leave you smiling but makes you believe and see these two characters when you're just hearing about them. Well, that truly is the real art of narrating stories on audio.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Aparshakti Khurana (@aparshakti_khurana) onApr 18, 2020 at 3:30am PDT

The multi-talented star shared Hisaab Barabar on his handle saying, "For those who don’t know, I was working at a radio station 5 years ago and was working on a pilot of my new audio show but destiny had other plans and Dangal happened (which I am grateful of till date), because of which I had to leave the pilot midway. The idea of this audio show was so close to my heart that it continued to linger in my mind for the last 5 years. One of the segments was to be called YEH DILLI HAI MERE YAAR, where in I would have released one audio short film every Friday. Coming up is a story called Hisaab Barabar which is written and voiced by me. Just FYI, I might not have patience and energy to write and voice more stories but I shall try only if you like this one [sic]."

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Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says he has never given Chak De! India type of lessons to his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team. KKR co-owner SRK was referring to his role in the film of Kabir Khan, coach of an underdog Indian wimen's hockey team that goes on to win the World Cup under his guidance.

Kabir Khan's "70-minute" pep talk to his team in the film before the final match has gone onto become a contemporary pop classic moment in Bollywood. However, as owner of his IPL team, Shah Rukh essays a very different role.

"I was just hanging there, waving my arms from my balcony. So, when we won it, it was a vindication of belief because a lot of people started telling me to sell the team which I never would. And I don't say that out of evil, I said it out of belief and confidence," Shah Rukh said while recalling the moments when his team won the IPL.

"Actually, the first match we won, I was going to jump from my balcony, but I think my kids, I think it was my daughter who caught me. I could have flown that night, but I settled at home. I have been a sportsman all my life at a very small level, so I have never really given them some ‘Chak De! India' kind of lectures I have never done that," he added.

Shah Rukh opened up on Star Sports show Cricket Connected. Gautam Gambhir, former captain of KKR, was also part of the episode.

Looking back at his memories about the team, Gambhir said: "He told me when I was at the auction that this is your make or break moment and he will not interfere. I just promised him one thing. I don't know when it's going to be, but by the time I leave, whether it's going to be after 3 years or 6, but by the time I leave this franchise, this franchise will be in a much better position. That's the promise I made to him."

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Actor Bhumi Pednekar has been trying to propagate positive social messages through her movies as well as her nature protection initiative 'Climate Warrior.' The actor believes that every individual has the power to make a difference amid these testing times.

The 30-year-old actor shared that she always tries to make a positive difference via her movies. "I believe all of us have the power to make the world a better place in our own unique ways. I try and do that through my cinema and the way I lead my life," Bhumi said.

 

 

 

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It has been an absolute honour to have spoken to Ms. Amla Ruia - who has done leaps and bounds of work in water harvesting in India. In our brief conversation, we spoke about her work across India with water harvesting and how it is the time to reinforce the absolute need and necessity to conserve this natural resource. She is a #ClimateWarrior and a true inspiration !

A post shared by Bhumi✨ (@bhumipednekar) onApr 20, 2020 at 10:34pm PDT

"I have mostly gravitated towards cinema that is meaningful and leaves a message. From 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' (against body shaming) to 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' (women's hygiene) to 'Saand Ki Aankh' (women empowerment), etc. I have deeply connected with these films. I would like my films to leave a positive message on society and thankfully my films have done so effectively in their own way," she explained.

The 'Bala' star said that she wants to walk the talk when it comes to leading a conscious way of life. She said, "I also want my actions to echo that I deeply care for society and my fellow citizens of the world. That's the reason why I started 'Climate Warrior'. It is a platform through which I want to tell people that we have to care for nature, we have to take care of it because our future, our existence depends on it."

The 'Saand Ki Aankh' actor who is also an active environment activist also pledges to work hard towards climate conservation as it is the need of the hour. She said, "Climate change and climate justice is something that I deeply care for and I intend to work really, really hard to spread the awareness of nature conservation in every way possible."

Talking about the alarming issue of climate change, Bhumi shared that she wants people to spread the word and work actively towards the cause. She said, "I want to collaborate with as many people as possible to spread the word that the time for us to act is now. We have already lost a lot of time and if we don't act now, all will be lost. We owe it to the world and our future generations and we have to take care of our gorgeous planet and preserve it."

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Sonam Kapoor is currently spending her quarantine time in New Delhi with her husband Anand Ahuja and his family. To kill the time, the actress keeps sharing adorable throwback pictures of herself and her family on her Instagram handle. Apart from that, Sonam also shares some mushy and romantic pictures of herself with Anand.

She continued the trend by sharing a monochrome throwback picture of herself which she clicked during the photoshoot post the release of her 2016-film Neerja. It was this picture that introduced her to her future husband Anand Ahuja. She wrote how she took a break after the film’s release to soak in the success and ended up falling in love.

Putting a long letter along with the picture, she wrote, "One of my favourite portraits, I was at my most pensive, it was a day or two after #neerja released, despite the success and adulation I wasn’t feeling ecstatic. @rammadhvani said it was a feeling of equanimity which is good. I took a year off to feel something better than what I was feeling , in that journey in falling in love with who I was I meet my life partner @anandahuja . This picture is a symbol of a crossroads to the journey of fulfilment, that doesn’t come with work or a relationship, it comes with being someone who doesn’t need any of the above to complete them but someone who is inspired by themselves to feel complete (sic)."

Take a look at the picture below:

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamkapoor) onApr 22, 2020 at 7:48am PDT

Sonam has been making full use of her free time by sharing adorable pictures of her quarantine time. Recently, Sonam shared a monochrome picture of herself with husband Anand Ahuja and penned a poetic note saying "every little thing gonna be alright". The 34-year-old actor took to Instagram and shared how she started her morning as she witnessed the rising sun and singing birds with her husband Anand. In the picture accompanying the post, The Zoya Factor star is seen planting a kiss on her hubby's forehead as she expressed her love.

 

 

 

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Rise up this mornin' Smiled with the risin' sun Three little birds Pitch by my doorstep Singin' sweet songs Of melodies pure and true Saying', (this is my message to you) Singing' don't worry 'bout a thing 'Cause every little thing gonna be alright Singing' don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing 'Cause every little thing gonna be alright ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂŽ¶ #everydayphenomenal #sleepyhungrybaby

A post shared by Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamkapoor) onMar 31, 2020 at 3:51am PDT

Anand also reciprocated the love and asked Sonam to sing this to him by commenting on the post, "You were supposed to sing this to me in person after I sang 'sunshine'! This post is super cute but doesn't free you from the in-person singing promise please! @sonamkapoor."

A few days ago, she had shared a throwback picture with her mother Sunita Kapoor.

 

 

 

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You've guided me with love and patience all through life. Your passion, intelligence and creativity is simply inspiring and I'm lucky to call myself your daughter! Whoever I am today is because of you and I thank you for that! Happy birthday mom! Miss you sooo much! @kapoor.sunita ❤ï¸Ââ¤ï¸Â

A post shared by Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamkapoor) onMar 24, 2020 at 10:33pm PDT

She has been making full use of her free time by sharing adorable pictures of her quarantine time. The actress has been cooking and baking delicious cakes for her family. Recently, the actress shared a glimpse of the chocolate walnut cake she made on Instagram. Reacting to Sonam's post, her mother-in-law replied, "Amazing cakes beta. How to manage weight gain. Everybody is Loving them so much (sic)."

 

 

 

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Made chocolate walnut cake today. I had run out of chocolate and @fortunegourmetindia sent me some amazing quality chocolate. Thanks so much @missdevi for organising. Love you

A post shared by Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamkapoor) onApr 10, 2020 at 5:43am PDT

The couple tied the knot on May 8, 2018, in a lavish traditional Punjabi ceremony in Mumbai. On the work front, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja's last release, The Zoya Factor, failed at the box-office. This Abhishek Sharma directorial, also starring Dulquer Salmaan, could only manage lifetime collections of around Rs. 4.90 crores. Before this, she was seen in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. On the work front, the actress is gearing up for Sujoy Ghosh's next production, which is the remake of the Korean film, Blind.

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Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Bollywood celebrities have taken up the responsibility to appeal to everyone to stay safe, take precautions, stop panicking and refrain from spreading rumours. Ajay Devgn too joined the bandwagon and made an emotional appeal to his fans to stay at home by launching a special song titled Thahar Ja.

Watch the song here:

The video has been sung and composed by Mehul Vyas and penned by Anil Verma. In the video, an emotional Devgn appeals to people to stay inside their homes and take a break from their regular activities for the sake of their families. His son Yug also makes an appearance at the end of the music video.

Sharing the video on his Instagram handle, the Singham actor wrote, "Pause. Reflect. Pray. We will weather this storm together. Stay safe, Stay Happy. Apno ke liye #ThaharJa #IndiaFightsCorona (sic)."

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) onApr 25, 2020 at 12:31am PDT

Before this, Akshay Kumar came up with a special version of the song Teri Mitti, from his film Kesari, to show his gratitude to the doctors and policemen working selflessly during these testing times.

 

 

 

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सà¥Âà¤¨à¤¾ था डà¥Â‰à¤Â•à¥Âà¤ÂŸà¤°à¥Âà¤¸ भà¤Â—वन à¤Â•à¤¾ रà¥Â‚प हà¥Â‹à¤¤à¥Â‡ हà¥Âˆ लà¥Â‡à¤Â•à¤¿à¤¨ à¤Â•à¥Â‹à¤°à¥Â‹à¤¨à¤¾ वायरस à¤Â•à¥Â€ à¤Â‡à¤¸ लà¥Âœà¤¾à¤Âˆ मà¥Â‡à¤Â‚ दà¥Â‡à¤Â– भà¥Â€ लिया l #TeriMitti Tribute - an ode to our heroes in white, out now @ParineetiChopra @anurag_singh_films @karanjohar @apoorva1972 @SunirKheterpal @bpraak @arko.pravo.mukherjee @manojmuntashir @azeemdayani @adityadevmusic @ericpillai @dharmamovies #CapeOfGoodFilms #AzureEntertainment @zeestudiosofficial @ZeeMusicCompany @dainikjagrannews

A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) onApr 24, 2020 at 12:04am PDT

Salman Khan too gave us a spirited 'Pyar Karona' song that encourages us to fight the Coronavirus pandemic together. This was the superstar's first solo music album.

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The pandemic has truly bought the world to a standstill and staying at home is the need of the hour. However, some people are still working outside the comfort of their homes in order to fight against Covid-19. Sanya Malhotra expresses her gratitude towards them.

Sanya shares, "All those frontline workers, doctors, nurses and essential service professionals who are putting their lives at stake for us, I salute your efforts and determination towards the citizen and the nation."

Adding a social message for one and all Sanya further adds, "This only goes on to bring us a message that we must cooperate with all these workers and stay at home, until this pandemic is eradicated".

During these tough times, we need to work as one and fight together to eradicate the problem from its roots. This is the time where the the quote "United we stand, divided we fall" fits the situation and we must be one. Sanya Malhotra is putting out a strong message and using her influence in a positive manner.

On the work front, Sanya has a stellar line ups of projects being 'Shakuntala Devi' where the actress will be playing Anupama Banerjee while sharing the screen with Vidya Balan, Guneet Monga's Pagglait and Anurag Basu's Ludo.

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Kanika Kapoor has gone through a lot in the last few weeks. The singer traveled to the UK and was tested Coronavirus positive shortly after her return to India. Not once or twice, but she was tested Coronavirus positive as many as four times. Her family members were constantly with her and they even spoke about it.

However, nothing was heard from the singer. And little did she expect that her tests would also make her the talk of the town and people would even start making memes and opinions on social media. But now, it seems it was time for her to come out of the closet and reveal what kept her silent for so long. And she has! In a long Instagram post, she has finally spoken about her trip to London, her Coronavirus tests, and the long silence.

She wrote- "I know there are several versions of stories out there about me. Some of these seem to be fuelled even more because I have chosen to be silent till now. I stayed quiet not because I am wrong but in-fact being fully aware that there have been misunderstandings and wrong exchanges of information." (sic)

The post contains the minutest of details that will clear all the confusion people have had about her so far. Read it right here:

 

 

 

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Stay Home Stay Safe 🙏🏼

A post shared by Kanika Kapoor (@kanik4kapoor) onApr 26, 2020 at 1:50am PDT

In the end, she also asked us to stay home and stay safe. Well, given she has clarified everything; hopefully she should not be the target of memes and trolls now!

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It has been seven years since Mohit Suri's Aashiqui 2, starring Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor came out. It made the actress an overnight star and sensation, and her character, Aarohi, still continues to be remembered for her piquancy and innocence, and of course, singing.

Every year, the actress does something special on this day to mark this musical blockbuster's anniversary and this year was no exception. She not only changed her Instagram name to her screen name from the film and upload a new photo from one its stills, but also uploaded a collage of some of the film's scenes to create one beautiful picture.

This is truly an innovative and imaginative way to celebrate your film, don't miss this post:

 

 

 

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7 years of Aashiqui 2 today!🥰💝 Thank you forever @mohitsuri for this gift of a lifetime @visheshfilms for believing, #ShaguftaRafique for your exquisitely beautiful writing, @adityaroykapur for being an unbelievably amazing costar and the entire team who gave their everything to this precious film. Thank you everyone who gave this film so so sooo much love. Its priceless✨ Thank you to all those who have made such beautiful edits and to the fan clubs for uniting and sharing a common dp today; this collage 🙃🥰 I’m the luckiest girl in the universe ✨💜

A post shared by Aarohi (@shraddhakapoor) onApr 25, 2020 at 11:43pm PDT

Shraddha Kapoor is well known for always delivering hits along with a new character and fresh content with every project. Shraddha being a lover of always wanting to try something new has been unstoppable ever since Aashiqui 2.

After Aashiqui 2, taking no breaks, Shraddha was seen in Ek Villain, where the character of being full of life was super fresh. Not forgetting ABCD 2 where Shraddha's dance totally stole hearts. Shraddha showed her versatility factor and the audiences were stunned on how the actress can mould herself in every way possible.

Moulding herself into another new character, Shraddha was seen doing some kicks and punches in Baaghi. The actress has given a carousel of hits and is a roll as the actress chooses quality projects over quantity and this totally sets her apart. Shraddha knows how to treat her fans with the best of characters, where fresh content always hunts Shraddha.

On the work front, Shraddha will be seen in a Luv Ranjan directorial alongside Ranbir Kapoor. The actress is basking in the success of Baaghi 3. Truly we can't wait to see what this fresh pair has brewed for us!

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Eating yogurt may help reduce chronic inflammation, a factor in bowel disease, arthritis and asthma, according to a study. The research, published in the Journal of Nutrition, explored the hypothesis that yogurt may help reduce inflammation by improving the integrity of the intestinal lining. This could help prevent endotoxins - pro-inflammatory molecules produced by gut microbes - from crossing into the blood stream.

"I wanted to look at the mechanism more closely and look specifically at yogurt," said Brad Bolling, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US. While anti-inflammatory medications like aspirin, naproxen, hydrocortisone and prednisone can help mitigate the effects of chronic inflammation, each comes with its own risks and side effects.

The study enrolled 120 premenopausal women, half obese and half non-obese. Half of the participants were assigned to eat 12 ounces of low-fat yogurt every day for nine weeks; a control group ate non-dairy pudding for nine weeks. Bolling and his team took fasting blood samples from participants and evaluated an assortment of biomarkers that scientists have used over the years to measure endotoxin exposure and inflammation.

The results showed that while some of the biomarkers remained steady over time, the yogurt-eaters experienced significant improvements in certain key markers, such as TNF, an important inflammation-activating protein. "The results indicate that ongoing consumption of yogurt may be having a general anti-inflammatory effect," said Bolling.

The research focuses on a different aspect of the study. Participants were also involved in a high-calorie meal challenge at the beginning and end of their nine-week dietary intervention. The challenge, meant to stress an individual's metabolism, started with either a serving of yogurt or non-dairy pudding followed by a large high-fat, high-carb breakfast meal. "It was two sausage muffins and two hash browns, for a total of 900 calories. But everybody managed it. They'd been fasting, and they were pretty hungry," Bolling said.

For both challenges, blood work showed that the yogurt "appetizer" helped improve some key biomarkers of endotoxin exposure and inflammation as participants digested the meal over the ensuing hours. It also helped improve glucose metabolism in obese participants, by speeding the reduction of post-meal blood glucose levels.

"Eating eight ounces of low-fat yogurt before a meal is a feasible strategy to improve post-meal metabolism and thus may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases," said Ruisong Pei, a postdoctoral researcher at UW-Madison.

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Melatonin is a hormone known to promote sleep. But, have you ever wondered how melatonin helps to promote sleep? Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have discovered how melatonin suppresses the neurons in the brain that keeps you awake and alert. The findings of the study, which is published in the Journal of Pineal Research, could lead to new therapies for those who suffer from insomnia.

"We as a society are losing sleep because we are working too hard, and it's causing a variety of health concerns," said Mahesh Thakkar, lead author of the study. "We often don't even think about sleep or consider it important. However, there is nothing more important than sleep. We need to focus on therapies that can help you have quality sleep, not just sleep."

Using a mouse model, Thakkar's research found that melatonin infused in the brain at dark -- when the mice are awake and active -- increased sleep and reduced wakefulness by suppressing specific neurons that stimulate the brain to wake up.

Thakkar also discovered that blocking melatonin receptors in the brain at bedtime significantly increased wakefulness. The experiments singled out one receptor, MT1, as the mechanism via which melatonin acts to inhibit the specific orexin neurons that wake you up. This discovery could help lead to medications that target only the MT1 receptor instead of multiple receptors, which could lead to fewer side effects for those who take sleep-promoting drugs.

"Melatonin has been used as a sleep drug for many years, but people didn't know how it worked," Thakkar said. "Our research suggests that if you target the melatonin MT1 receptor, you will get the most sleep with minimal side effects."

(Edited by mid-day online desk, with inputs from PTI)

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Regulating salt consumption is key to prevent hypertension, which is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke and heart failure, say experts. According to World Health Organization (WHO), adults should reduce consumption of sodium to less than 2 grams a day, or the equivalent of about one teaspoon of table salt to reduce the risk of heart disease. 

Hypertension is a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure. Hypertension is also referred to as high or raised blood pressure. Hypertension can also affect fertility in both males and females, says Rajalaxmi Walavalkar of Cocoon Fertility. Hypertension not only affects fertility but also is also known to cause trouble sleeping. Trouble sleeping leads to signs of premature ageing, like fine lines, uneven pigmentation and reduced elasticity.

"Hypertension can lead to cardiovascular diseases. The rise in blood pressure caused by eating too much salt may damage the arteries leading to the heart," Vijay D'Silva, Director at the Asian Heart Institute, said in statement.

According to a recent study, published in the journal Hypertension, about half of adults living in Asia are suffering from the high blood pressure.

While lifestyle factors, including diet and stress, are behind the high hypertension rates in Asia, one common problem is high salt intake, the study showed.

Asians not only tend to have diets high in sodium, but they are genetically more sensitive to sodium, the researchers said.

"Raised blood pressure due to high salt consumption is the biggest single contributing risk factor for non-communicable diseases and damage to your kidney," explained Bhupendra Gandhi of the NGO Amar Gandhi Foundation.

Previously, it was believed that eating high amounts of fruit and vegetables might help counteract the effect of high salt on blood pressure.

However, another study led by researchers from the Imperial College London and Northwestern University, showed that people eating higher amounts of salt had higher blood pressure -- no matter how healthy a person's overall diet.

"Anyone with hypertension is at an increased risk of infertility. A high salt diet leading to high blood pressure can result in delayed puberty and even impact reproductive health," Walavalkar noted.

Besides affecting the heart and fertility, hypertension can affect the skin too, the health experts said.

"High blood pressure can harden your arteries, which decreases the flow of blood and oxygen. An impairment of the flow of oxygen, to an organ such as your face, can cause your skin to dry and wrinkles faster which can make one look less youthful," said Amit Karkhanis - Medical Cosmetologist and founder of Dr Tvacha clinic.

Reducing salt consumption in everyday life, cutting down on fried foods and processed foods, can not only curb the problem of hypertension but also save multiple organs from damage and pave way for a healthy life.

Also read: Mumbai Health: These 7 Lifestyle Changes May Help Lower Heart Disease Risk

(Edited by mid-day online desk, with inputs from IANS)

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Researchers have found that a common antibacterial substance found in toothpaste may combat life-threatening diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) when combined with a drug.

The study, published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, found that when triclosan -- a substance that reduces or prevents bacteria from growing -- is combined with an antibiotic called tobramycin, it kills the cells that protect the CF bacteria, known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, by up to 99.9 per cent.

CF is a common genetic disease with one in every 2,500 to 3,500 people diagnosed with it at an early age. It results in a thick mucus in the lungs, which becomes a magnet for bacteria.

These bacteria are notoriously difficult to kill because they are protected by a slimy barrier known as a biofilm, which allows the disease to thrive even when treated with antibiotics, the researcher said.

"The problem that we're really tackling is finding ways to kill these biofilms," said lead author Chris Waters, Professor at the Michigan State University.

According to the researcher, there are many common biofilm-related infections that people get such as ear infections and swollen, painful gums caused by gingivitis.

But more serious, potentially fatal diseases join the ranks of CF including endocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, as well as infections from artificial hip and pacemaker implants, the researcher added.

For the study, the researchers grew 6,000 biofilms in petri dishes, added in tobramycin along with many different compounds, to see what worked better at killing the bacteria.

Twenty-five potential compounds were effective, but one stood out, the researcher said.

"It's well known that triclosan, when used by itself, isn't effective at killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. But when I saw it listed as a possible compound to use with tobramycin, I was intrigued. We found triclosan was the one that worked every time," said Alessandra Hunt from the Michigan State University.

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Representational picture

Washington D.C.: Intermittent fasting diets could increase diabetes risk, suggests a study. These findings suggest that fasting-based diets may be associated with long-term health risks and careful consideration should be made before starting such weight loss programmes.

In order to investigate whether an intermittent fasting diet could also generate damaging free radicals, Ana Bonassa and colleagues, from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, examined the effects of fasting every other day on the body weight, free radical levels and insulin function of normal, adult rats, over a 3-month period.

Although the rats' body weight and food intake decreased as expected over the study period, the amount of fat tissue in their abdomen actually increased. Furthermore, the cells of the pancreas that release insulin showed damage, with the presence of increased levels of free radicals and markers of insulin resistance were also detected.

Ana Bonassa commented, "This is the first study to show that, despite weight loss, intermittent fasting diets may actually damage the pancreas and affect insulin function in normal healthy individuals, which could lead to diabetes and serious health issues."

Ana cautioned, "We should consider that overweight or obese people who opt for intermittent fasting diets may already have insulin resistance, so although this diet may lead to early, rapid weight loss, in the long-term there could be potentially serious damaging effects to their health, such as the development of type-2 diabetes."

The findings were presented at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2018.

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It's been a grim one week for residents of Vasai-Virar. Situated in Palghar district, 30 km north of Mumbai, the city — Maharashtra's fifth largest — has been fighting a tough battle against torrential downpour, which left several areas under water for nearly five days.

The situation was so deplorable that, for the first time in its history, the Western Railway was forced to collectively summon the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Navy, Army, the Coast Guard along with the Railway Protection Force to rescue over 2,000 passengers stranded in trains mid-way due to waterlogging on July 10 — the day the region received 240 mm rainfall.

On Thursday, two days after rain stopped, several areas continued to be severely waterlogged and had no electricity supply. Meanwhile, three people lost their lives after drowning, and hundreds of residents were forced to remain home bound.

Residents wade through knee-high water near H Colony, Vasai West, on Friday. Pics/Hanif Patel

Far from the hubbub of Mumbai, this fast-developing region, which comes under the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC), was drowning and any attempt to save it, appeared foolhardy. For old-time residents, who've witnessed the transformation of this green land into concrete, the flooding situation is new and alarming.

Local experts and environmentalists, however, blame unchecked dumping of sand in wetlands, and haphazard construction activities for residential and commercial spaces in Vasai-Virar — the new address for the up and coming middle-class — as the reason behind the slow crumble the city witnessed this monsoon.

Satish Lokhande, commissioner, VVMC vs Sameer Vartak, activist

How residents suffered
Before Vasai-Virar got its own municipal corporation in July 2009, it was already a chosen destination for real estate sharks due to its proximity to the Maximum City. Located along the banks of Vasai creek, which separates the region from Mumbai and Mira-Bhayandar, the agrarian belt, comprising Vasai, Nalasopara, Naigaon and Virar, soon transformed into a residential hub. This change is evident in the four-fold increase of the population in the short span of 20 years — from three lakh in 1991 to over 12 lakh as per the 2011 Census.

On July 9, Vasai-Virar witnessed the first heavy downpour of the season. Several parts of Vasai and Nalasopara unexpectedly began flooding with low-lying areas along the creek facing the biggest risk. In Vasai, Suncity, Gass, 100 Feet Road, Samta Nagar, Evershine City were waterlogged, while Achole Road, Chheda Nagar and Samta Nagar in Nalasopara were also inundated with flood water. For Sameer Dudhwani, who resides on the second floor of DG Nagar Housing Society in Vasai West, where water levels had reached four feet, the heavy showers brought with it unexpected tragedy.

Sameer Dudhwani (right) shows a photograph of his ailing 65-year-old mother, Dilshad, who died on her way to the hospital on July 10, as he was unable to get her out of their waterlogged residential colony, DG Nagar Housing Society in Vasai West, in time for her dialysis appointment. Pics/Hanif Patel

Dudhwani, who resides with his wife and parents, lost his ailing 65-year-old mother, Dilshad, because he could not take her to the hospital on time. "My mother was on dialysis, and would get it done thrice a week.

She had an appointment for July 10, and we were supposed to take her to the hospital, but couldn't step out. As her condition became worse, my neighbours and I decided to lift her on our shoulders and wade out of the colony," Dudhwani recalled. Outside, they struggled to find transport. "Finally, a tempo driver helped us take her to the hospital. But, she died before reaching the hospital," he said.

Sameer Dudhwani

What made it worse was the fact that they could not bury her immediately due to lack of transport on the waterlogged roads. "We managed to bury the body only the following day," recounted a grief-stricken Dudhwani. Rosario D'Souza, a resident of 100 Feet Road, said the fire brigade officials from VVMC were a godsend, as they helped him drop his nine month-pregnant wife, who was in labour, to the hospital in an inflatable boat.

Rosario D'Souza, a resident of 100 Feet Road, said fire brigade officials from VVMC helped him drop his wife, who was in labour, to the hospital in an inflatable boat

The Vasai-Nalasopara-Virar rail stretch on WR was also severely affected with 400 mm water on the tracks by Tuesday morning. Passenger trains had to be stopped as water levels increased. Several outstation trains, including the Vadodara, Bhuj Bandra, Lokshakti and Jamnagar express trains, were halted. Passengers remained stuck for hours together without food, water or any help.

As the situation continued to get worse, AK Gupta, general manager, WR, rallied for help from all possible quarters. By late afternoon, teams from the NDRF started rescuing stranded local train passengers in inflatable boats. "Meanwhile, RPF teams reached out to passengers on the express trains. They had formed a human chain and taken out many passengers, but we also sought the help of the Navy for transport vehicles that could run in water," said Ravinder Bhakar, WR's chief public relations officer.

WR on Tuesday called the NDRF to help rescue passengers stranded in local trains, after the tracks were submerged in 400 mm water 

Poor town planning
According to bird enthusiast and Vasai resident Amol Lopes, the Vasai-Virar belt has always received heavy rainfall. "It rains a lot in this region every year, but it's the first time that we have witnessed flooding to such an extent," said Lopes, who has been living in Vasai for the last 37 years.

"The main reason is that a lot of construction bodies have recently started dumping sand and debris in the wetland areas. We have a lot of lakes and small ponds in Vasai and Virar, which serve as important channels to carry rain water to the nullahs and the sea. Due to the unchecked dumping, there is no natural reservoir for the rain water, causing townships to choke. In fact, several residents have reclaimed these wetlands and built houses over them," Lopes said, citing areas such as Gogte and Umela salt pans, and Vasai Suncity Road that are at risk due to this activity.

Fasle Hoque Qureshi, 33, (fourth from right) is a resident of Ambali Nagar. On July 10, he arranged biscuit packets for the stranded passengers of the Rajkot Trivandrum Express. The next day, Hoque, who also owns a restaurant, had food cooked and delivered to residents of Sant Jalaram Bapu Nagar. Among those who helped him were Farukh Pathan, a retired government official, advocate Ashok Mishra and local residents Usman Khan, Sandip Shukla and Jaiprakash

Environmentalist Stalin D from NGO Vanashakti raised similar concerns. "Check the maps of Vasai and Virar and you will realise why it is going underwater. Vasai and Virar are natural floodplains and not at all fit for townships, built on raised, reclaimed land. Yet, authorities continue to plan newer projects; due to this, illegal reclamation of land, and destruction of ecologically important wetlands and mangrove forests are rampant. No wetland has been spared and those un-built are also earmarked. Citizens don't have a choice as they cannot afford housing elsewhere," he said.

According to local activist Dominica Dabrey, at present, there are two major colonies under construction in Vasai West, which are blocking the path of the rain water that flows through a nullah. "The local corporation built a boundary wall near the nullah, narrowing its width, and causing excess rain water to overflow," said Dabrey.

Another local activist Sameer Vertak also showed mid-day several spots in Nalasopara where construction next to nullahs was rampant. He also pointed out a spot where debris had been dumped in a narrow gutter. Part of the Ulhas river, locally known as Sopara river, which starts from the hills in the eastern part of Vasai and ends in the Vasai creek, has also been encroached, and diverted, Vertak said.

"Also, while the population in these areas has increased manifold, the drainage system is as it was 15 years ago. The corporation has to increase the width of the drainage culvert, and clean them regularly," he said.

'Blame the rain gods'
Father Francis D'Britto, who first rang the alarm bells in 1989, when he approached the local tehsildar office of Vasai, demanding that they chart out a plan for the township, said, "At the time, I had warned them that if they did not tackle the situation soon, this place would drown. Look what's happening now."

 
Stalin D

Local MLA Hitendra Thakur said that Vasai recorded the highest rainfall till July 10, this season. "Last year, we recorded a total of 1,000 mm rainfall from the beginning of the monsoon season till July 10. But, this year we received around 1,700 mm rainfall," he said.

When contacted, Satish Lokhande, commissioner of VVMC also claimed that Vasai-Virar had received "abnormal rainfall" this year. "Also, due to the high tide, the water levels increased in Vasai creek, causing flooding in low-lying areas like Tulinj, Central Park and Deen Dayal Nagar," he said. Lokhande admitted that the drainage capacity in these areas was poor.

He, however, denied that unauthorised construction and encroachment in the Vasai area was responsible for the flood-like situation. "The drainage culvert carrying water from the city is very narrow. It needs to be enlarged and two new culverts need to be built. But, the culvert is on railway land. Our corporation is working on getting requisite permissions."

Chulna villagers rescue orphans

Over the last one week, residents of Chulna village in Vasai West, have come to the rescue of girls from a nearby hostel, Fatima Mata Convent. The hostel is home to 75 girls, most of whom are orphans. During the heavy showers that crippled Vasai, the area around the ashram was severely waterlogged, and the girls were forced to stay indoors. The residents, however, decided to make room for them in their own houses. Each villager adopted three to four girls. "We have kept them at our homes, where we are taking care of them. We have even arranged bus services for them so that they can go to school as usual. They will be with us till the situation gets better," said Asmita D'Costa.

With inputs by Rajendra B Aklekar

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Vasai-Virar limp back to normalcy after deluge

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Rajendra Jadhav, a traffic constable who remained in a comatose state for the last eleven months died on Sunday night at his residence in Worli. Jadhav, who was posted at Tardeo Traffic Division, had collapsed while on duty in April 2018 after suffering a stroke.

After treatment in Bhatia Hospital, he was shifted back to his home as per doctor's instructions as there was no improvement in his health. He passed away in his residence, his last rites were performed at the Worli Crematorium on Monday afternoon.

A batchmate on condition of anonymity said, "Jadhav's family was receiving his salary up until now. But the worry is what happens to his 7-year-old son, who suffers from rare congenital heart disease and needs an injection every alternate day for the same? We are currently trying to collect funds in order to aid his family," he added.

The fateful day
On 2nd April 2018, Rajendra Jadhav was walking towards a traffic chowky at Nana Chowk, Tardeo, when he suffered a stroke and collapsed on the ground. He was rushed to Bhatia Hospital, where it was revealed that he suffered a cardiac arrest due to which his brain was deprived of oxygen supply. After a month’s treatment, he slipped into a coma.

After being treated at Bhatia Hospital, which is not on the panel of the Mumbai Police Health scheme, he was shifted to Bombay Hospital followed by JJ Hospital. "Due to cardiac arrest, Jadhav went into a vegetative state," informed a colleague of Jadhav on condition of anonymity.

Babasaheb Dhangar, the constable in-charge at Tardeo Traffic said, "I worked with Jadhav for almost 4 years. He was very loyal and always ready to lend a helping hand. From the day he fell ill, we tried our best to help him and his family. We collected around Rs 4 lakh through contribution and his batch mates, too, contributed as much as they could," he added.

After initial treatment at Bhatia Hospital, Jadhav was shifted to Bombay Hospital. After a brief stay for a month, Jadhav was taken home as per instructions by the doctors. Another surgery was performed on him at JJ Hospital but it was not successful. 

Also Read: Mumbai: 25-year-old constable risks life to save family from blaze in Girgaum

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had asked BMC chief Ajoy Mehta to fix "primary responsibility" for Thursday's foot overbridge collapse by Friday evening. The deck of a foot overbridge on DN Road connected to CSMT station collapsed Thursday evening, killing six persons and injuring 31.

Fadnavis was speaking to reporters after meeting the injured in St George's Hospital nearby. "It is shocking that such an accident can take place even after a structural audit. Primary responsibility will be fixed by this evening. I have asked civic chief (Ajoy Mehta) to find out names of those responsible," Fadnavis said.

"A high-level probe into this incident has already been ordered. Those responsible (for the collapse) will be punished," he said. Earlier in the day, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official had said the FOB was found to be structurally safe when it was audited in August 2016, soon after a British-era bridge over Savitri River got washed away in monsoon downpour in Mahad in Raigad district.

During that audit, 354 bridges were checked for their structural soundness. The FOB that collapsed on Thursday was marked C2B. This means it needed minor repairs only. Tenders were floated for the repair but it got held up," the official had said on Friday morning.

Fadnavis also said he had ordered a re-visit of all earlier structural audits carried out on such structures. The Maharashtra CM visited the mishap site post the visit to the hospital.

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In Mumbai and all over India, today 6th April marks the traditional New Year for Maharashtrians which signifies the welcoming of the spring. As people welcome the New Year with much fervour and enthusiasm, thousands of men and women in Mumbai take to the streets and participate in Shobha Yatras. One such yatra is that of Girgaon Padwa Shobha Yatra, one of the biggest and oldest Shobha Yatras in Mumbai. Every year, the highlight of this Shobha yatra is Dr. Aparna Bandodkar, and her bike 'Bijli; together they have become the face of the Girgaon Padwa Shobha Yatra. Since 2013, Bandodkar has been actively participating in the Girgaon Padwa Shobha yatra and riding her motorcycle with varied themes, thereby promoting the Maharashtrian culture and ringing in the New Year in style.

Also Read: Gudi Padwa 2019: All you need to know about the festival

Just as the people welcome the New Year across Mumbai, Maharashtra, we had the opportunity to interact with Dr. Aparna Bandodkar who in a candid conversation talks about the Girgaon Padwa Shobha yatra and more.

Aparna Bandodkar and other women ride motorcycles during the Girgaon Padwa Shobha yatra

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Since how long have you been taking part in the Girgaon Padwa Shobha yatra. How has the journey been so far?

I have been taking part in the Girgaon Padwa Shobha Yatra since 2013. After I had my own bike, the very first thing that I wanted to do was ride inter-state and complete a part of my bucket list i.e. wearing a nine-yard sari and going to Girgaon. The Girgaon padava celebration started in 2002 and back then I used to see pictures of ladies who used to take part in the yatra. That's how I went to girgaon and they wholeheartedly welcomed me with my bullet. Post that, it became a ritual and this will be my eight year at Girgaon padwa celebration.

I started riding bullet at the Girgaon Shobha yatra in 2013 but before me, there were other women with different types of scooters and bikes who took part in the rally. It was the media who hyped it as I was the first woman to ride a bullet at the Girgaon Shobha yatra. Back then, a woman on a bullet was something new and at the time there were very few women riders. Now, the number of women riders is ever increasing. Today women ride heavier and meaner machines.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Chudiya pehenne ka samay, aa chuka hai ! We wear bangles & ride the mean machines , our motorcycles too! #new look #shobhayatra #happiness #bijli #ridingisthereason #happinessisachoice #happinessishere #royalenfield #bulletjournal #bullet #ladyrider #riderchick #sherides #bulletmania #shobhayatra #womenpower #powerfulwomen #bindi #tattoo #bangles #throttle #getenchanted #soon #keepcalm #bijli #iscomingsoon #ridemode🔛 #bharatmatakijai #svypgirgaon #jaibhavani #jaishivaji #girgoanchapadwa

A post shared by Aparna Bandodkar (@enfieldmaniac) onApr 4, 2019 at 9:13pm PDT

How has the Girgaum Padwa Shobha yatra changed since the time you took part back in 2013?

At that time, the Girgaon padwa was not so glamorous as it is now. It was a very low key affair but today it is celebrated on a grander scale.

When I joined in 2013 there were about 15 women bikers and slowly and steadily the number has increased over the years. Today the majority of the women are on geared motorcycles and then there are scooters, vintage bikes and much more. Last year there were about 80-to 85 women taking part in the Shobha yatra on the bike. Women come far off from Vasai, Mulund, New Bombay to take part in the Gudi padwa celebrations. People are willing to travel and come and take part in the rally. There are a couple of women who even ride Harley Davidson bikes for the rally", says Bandodkar when asked how the Girgaon Shobha yatra has evolved over the years.

Aparna Bandodkar dons biking shoes on her traditional attire during the Girgaon Shobha yatra

Can you share a funny incident that took place with you during one of the Shobha yatras?

The very first day I took part my slippers broke when I tried to kickstart the bike. I was left with no choice but to take out my biking shoes and wear them with the nine-yard sari.

What kind of impact do you feel the Girgaum Padava Shobha Yatra has created?

Once you take part in the Girgaon Padwa Shobha yatra, you get confidence and you are not the same person anymore. Many more women come to the rally and then they realise their potential. Taking part in the yatra also boosts your confidence as you see more women taking part and breaking stereotypes.

Also Read: Urmila Matondkar spotted at Gudi Padwa bike rally in Mumbai

Such is the impact that, Aparna had seen a video where Indians who are staying abroad are seen celebrating Gudi padwa and had trained themselves in dhol Tasha Pathak and even replicated the whole parade in the western country.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

#girgaonchapadwa itself gave me & my beloved bijli a golden opportunity on television in 2014,after @zeemarathiofficial noticed me in the #shobhayatra & wanted me in the lead to replicate the exact festive charm of #girgaon #gudipadwa #hindunavvarsh #yatra Organised by @svyp_girgaon since 2003. That was my ticket to fame that led to back to back ads that year like zee Marathi Geet & YouTube ad for margarita with a straw ! I owe my gratitude to my dear Girgaon which is also my birthplace ( purandare hospital @ #girgaumchowpatty ) #8daystogo #cantkeepcalm #2019 #girgaonchapadwa #yetoy #sanmaan Marathi #abhimaan #marathi #mimarathi #zeemarathi P.S. and that’s my wedding #nauvari of 2010 that I am wearing in the ad . Makes it truly special, isn’t it 😊 #bijli #throwback #bindi #tattoo #bangles #gajra #throttle #positivevibes #positivityisthekey #ridemode🔛 #royalenfield #bulletjournal #awesome

A post shared by Aparna Bandodkar (@enfieldmaniac) onMar 29, 2019 at 5:11am PDT

What has been your fondest memory till of Girgaon Padwa Shobha yatra?

Recalling it quite vividly, Dr, Bandodkar says, "My fondest memory is that of a girl coming to me during the 2015 padwa rally and was all in tears. She started thanking me and said that 'You don't know what have you done'. She revealed that her parents never wanted her to ride a motorcycle but after the saw Dr. Aparna Bandodkar's Shobha yatra video on National television, they allowed her to ride her motorcycle to her workplace and that she was really happy about it. While speaking to me she was in tears and this brought tears into my eyes as well."

View Photos: Gudi Padwa: 10 authentic Maharashtrian dishes to try out

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Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya (CSMVS) will host the first-ever guided tour of its space and precincts led by eminent conservation architect Vikas Dilawari, who is also involved in the conservation of the museum, a Grade 1 building in the UNESCO World Heritage Precinct. Later in the evening, a panel discussion will be held on The Craft of Architecture.

Vikas Dilawari

Pop quiz

1) Originally called the Church of St John the Evangelist, its steeple was used as a landmark for ships entering Bombay harbour. Name this church.
2) Inside which building in Fort can you spot a splendid stained glass design of the 12 zodiac signs?
3) From which famous landmark did the last British troops leave India after Independence, in 1948?

Answers:

1) Afghan Church;
2) Convocation Hall inside University Library;
3) Gateway of India

ON Today, 11 am (guided tour); 6.15 pm (panel discussion)
AT Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kala Ghoda.
CALL 22844484
FREE

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Captain Maria Zuberi was at the controls along with Captain P S Rajput, the pilot, with an engineer, identified as Surbhi, and a technician, identified as Manish, onboard when the chartered plane crashed.

One of the deceased brought into Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar

When mid-day reached Zuberi's home in Mira Road, there was no one at home and the area wore a sombre look. Ivy Sarkar, a neighbour, said, "I can't believe she is no more. She was a wonderful woman, always ready with a helping hand. She had thrown a party at her home recently after her 17-year-old daughter cleared her HSC exams with excellent marks. "I am incredibly proud of her for using her presence of mind and manoeuvering the plane away from residential buildings, saving so many lives. I salute her."

The bungalow in Mira Road where Maria Zuberi staye

Zuberi stayed with her husband Prabhat Kasturia and daughter Charvi. Kasturia had messaged her around 1 pm for her whereabouts, but got no reply. Then he saw the crash on TV. He told the media, "My wife, along with Rajput, had earlier informed the company that the weather was not right for flying. The company insisted on the test flight." 

Her domestic help, Aarti Waghmare. Pics/Atul Kamble, Hanif Patel

The domestic help who worked at Zuberi's home, Aarti Waghmare, said, "I have been working there for three months now. Her husband is an advocate, who is in Delhi most of the time. She always addressed and spoke to me like a friend, never made me feel like a servant. I am unable to come to terms with the fact that she is no more. I keep thinking she will be back home in some time."

Also Read: Ghatkopar plane crash: Pilot's presence of mind saves hundreds

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The iconic R.K. Studios set in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai, Chembur is up for sale. The Studios was built by the late filmmaker-actor Raj Kapoor, the scion of the Kapoor family. Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, her father Randhir Kapoor and uncle Rishi Kapoor have spoken about this huge "emotional loss". R.K. Studios was gutted in fire on September 16, 2017, which burnt the living memories of the late Raj Kapoor and films made under that banner.

Talking about the Studios's sale, Rishi Kapoor spoke to Mumbai Mirror about the strength they had to gather before taking this descision of letting go of their memories. "For a while, we did juggle with the idea of renovating the place with state-of-the-art technology. However, in reality it isn't always possible for a phoenix to rise from the ashes. We Kapoors are very emotional lot but then..."

"The investment in rebuilding the Studios would just not have yielded sufficient revenue to keep it going. Believe me, we had to take the larger picture into account and take a level-headed decision. Even before the fire, for years R. K. Studios had become a huge white elephant, toting up losses. The few bookings we would get from films, TV serials and ad shoots would expect free paR.K.ing space, air-conditioning and discounts," told Rishi Kapoor to the publication.

The report also states that the main reason behind selling the Studios is that it is located in Chembur and no longer favoured by the filmmakers, who mostly build their sets at Studios in Andheri and Goregaon's Film City.

"We brothers are strongly bonded. But who knows about our children and grand-children? What if differences crop up in the next generation? The Studios would only end up in litigation as so many industrial and textile estates have. There would be family differences and only lawyers would end up charging heavy sums of fee. Do you think my father would have liked to see his labour of love becoming the subject of courtroom proceedings?" elaborated Rishi Kapoor.

Reminiscing the memories of the famous R.K. omelette sandwich and ginger tea from the Studios, he said, "True, there are so many wonderful memories there. So much film history, but that would be like clutching on to straws in the wind."

When asked by the tabloid if there were any mixed feelings, he said "Not really. We had to place a stone on our hearts (Chhati pe patthar rakkhar, soch samajh kar decision liya hai)."

Films like Awara, Mera Naam Joker, Aa Ab Laut Chalein, Henna, Bobby, Boot Polish and many other films have been shot at the iconic R.K. Studios.

Also Read: Bollywood Celebs 'Heartbroken' Over Sale Of RK Studios

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I guess it happens to everyone at some point," remarks Ranjeet Adkar about mid-life crisis. The 45-year-old mechanical engineer quit his corporate job to pursue his passion for photography in April this year, after working in the profession for two decades. And in May, he started PhotoWorks, an organisation that conducts photography workshops and walks, and provides basic and advanced training to enthusiasts.

a photograph of schoolchildren from the village

This Saturday, Adkare will be conducting a walk around the colourful Asalpha village, a locality situated in Ghatkopar, which has often been compared to Positano, a popular holiday destination and quaint cliff-side village on southern Italy's Amalfi Coast. But Asalpha wasn't always Positano. Some time ago, it was much like any other slum in Mumbai, morbid with its crumbling walls, and homes as weathered as a book left out in the rain for too long. In 2017, an NGO started a campaign inviting volunteers to re-imagine the village and together, they painted close to 175 walls in the area, as well as murals, transforming the erstwhile slum into a vibrant village, and thereby making it an automatic option for photography.

Ranjeet Adkar

Resounding this, Adkare tells us, "I think there are two reasons why Asalpha attracts people. Firstly, the community is extremely open-minded and welcoming unlike some other places where people tend to say,'Please don't take our photograph.' They are chatty and forthcoming, so it's a fun place to be in.

And secondly, from a photography point of view, it's a place that allows you to truly explore street photography."
Elaborating on why Asalpha is a fertile ground for camera addicts, he shares, "There are narrow lanes, so it is apt for wide-angle photographs. The colours are simply brilliant despite being worn out a little. Then there are children on their way back from schools who are eager to pose, as is the rest of the community. So it's great for candid portraits as well."

On: September 22, 8 am
At: Asalpha village, Ghatkopar West.
Log on to: thephoto.works
Cost: Rs 750

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A woman's spirit is one of ability, perseverance, and courage no matter the situation or circumstance. This women's Day Viviana Mall in association with Nina Foundation is celebrating these abilities and perseverance of differently-abled women. The abilities of Women on wheelchairs.

A stand - up comedy act, a wheelchair acrobatic performance and a fashion show all by women on wheelchairs to celebrate the many abilities these women have that makes them just like us. In addition, there will be a special talk by Virali Modi and Dr. Ketna Mehta on the special occasion of Women's Day.

The event will kickstart a campaign to provide job opportunities and the required skills training to equip them with opportunities for the future by inviting organisations and institutes to make provision for these women!

When: March 7, 2019 at 5.30 pm onwards

Where: Viviana Mall, Thane

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Gauri Khan was spotted at Mumbai airport by the paparazzi, and once again, the interior designer has proved that she's got all the right fashion moves.

Gauri opted for a casual look - a black blazer, paired with a white top, basic blue denims, and thigh-high black boots for the outing. Doesn't she look gorgeous? If you're planning to upgrade your wardrobe with something similar, take a cue from Gauri to wear it in the best way possible and ace the airport look, or even a casual one, like a fashionista. 

Gauri Khan/picture courtesy: Yogen Shah

Black blazer: You can buy Ambrosial women single breasted formal blazer at the discounted price of Rs 649 only. Get Gauri Khan's airport look without burning a hole in your pocket. Shop here.

White top: Buy Acanthus Women's V Notch Front Scallop Trim Top at the discounted price of Rs 399 only. Shop here.

Blue denim: Raiter Super Skinny Jeans for Women and Girls Size will help you flaunt your legs! Get your pair at the discounted price of Rs 499 only. Shop here.

Black boots: Buy Kotak Sales Stylish Knee Length Boots at the discounted price of Rs 795 only. Shop here.

Tote bag: Get Kanvas Katha Women's Handbag at the discounted price of Rs 531 only. Shop here.

Also Read: Here's how you can get Malaika Arora's monochrome gym look right

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Representational picture

San Francisco: Global wearable brand Fitbit has announced to use Google's new Cloud Healthcare API to help the company integrate further into the healthcare system, such as by connecting user data with electronic medical records (EMR). Combining Fitbit data with EMRs can provide patients and clinicians a more comprehensive view of the patient profile, leading to more personalised care, the company said in a statement late Monday.

"Working with Google gives us an opportunity to transform how we scale our business, allowing us to reach more people around the world faster, while also enhancing the experience we offer to our users and the healthcare system," said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit.

"This collaboration will accelerate the pace of innovation to define the next generation of healthcare and wearables," he added.

The companies will also look to help better manage chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension by using services such as Fitbit's recently acquired "Twine Health".

Using Google's Cloud Healthcare API, "Twine" can make it easier for clinicians and patients to collaborate on care, helping lead to better health outcomes and positive returns for employers, health plans and hospitals.

"At Google, our vision is to transform the way health information is organised and made useful. By enabling Fitbit to connect and manage key health and fitness data using our Google Cloud Healthcare API, we are getting one step closer to this goal," said Gregory Moore Vice President, Healthcare, Google Cloud.

"Together, we have the opportunity to deliver up-to-date information to providers, enhancing their ability to follow and manage the health of their patients and guide their treatment," he added.

Google Cloud will provide Fitbit with next-generation cloud services and engineering support, allowing Fitbit to scale faster.

Fitbit products are carried in over 45,000 retail stores and in 86 countries.

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