Aurora Headlines on One News Page [United States]

Daily Beast Writer Goes After Ben Swann for Raising Questions About #Pizzagate

Plainly, the incessant pushback by shills like Ben Collins from the Daily Beast is precisely why I'm more inclined to believe something is very wrong with Comet Ping Pong Pizza. It isn't the message boards, or the conspiracy theorists, but the strongly worded and smug opinions of people who are always proven wrong that lead me to believe, once again, they're wrong.

Here is the very straight forward and hardly conspiratorial reporting by Ben Swann regarding Comet Ping Pong and the incessant fervor by the media to quickly and thoroughly dismiss it as bunk.

In response to that, Ben Collins from the Daily Beast affixed a tin foil hat onto a picture of Swann, penned a useless article that tried to tie him to the MUH Russians, and then bitched about some of Swann's previous work and the fact that no one at CBS Atlanta took his calls.

Right.

Here's Collins in his 'gotcha moment', Pulitzer worthy, piece today.

In his last job at Russian state-TV outfit Russia Today in 2015, he reported that “any credible evidence does not seem to exist” that Russia shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, simply that it “fit the narrative the U.S. administration was hoping for.” On his own YouTube channel he said he had “major problems with the theory” that the Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting and Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings were each conducted by “lone gunmen.”

“There’s a good reason to question this whole narrative: There’s been no evidence so far provided by police, other than what they’ve told us,” he said in his Sandy Hook truther video.
Swann took the same approach to Tuesday’s Pizzagate exposé, saying he spent the “last month investigating” it. In the report, Swann never reached out to any of the mentioned pizza shops, the FBI, the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, John Podesta, the Clinton campaign, or any of the people named or featured in pictures that aired throughout the report.

“To be clear, not one single email in the Podesta emails discusses child sex trafficking or pedophilia. That is a fact, but there are dozens of what seem to be strangely worded emails dealing with pizza and handkerchiefs,” he said. “What the media is ignoring is that the Comet Ping-Pong Pizza place is actually referenced in the Podesta emails at least a dozen or so times.”

Let me get this straight. Ben Swann is wrong for even mentioning Comet Ping Pong and Besta Pizza and satanic rock performers who play regularly at Comet, who by the way literally have a logo synonymous with pedophilia representing them, because he used to work for the fucking Russians at RT and some of his previous work questioned main stream media reporting of events that looked and sounded like complete bullshit to others not bluepilled?

That's Swann's niche you fucking idiot.

The problem with the main stream media shills, aside from being ineffective and not serious in their thinking, is that they believe they own the truth. Often times the truth is a phantom, a ghost in the wilderness, being shrouded and protected by people who have an incentive to conceal it.

Personally, I welcome people like Swann, and others like him, with the courage to discuss topics that many are thinking about, but never get a chance to actually hear about it in the media -- which is why the internet is crushing them into a thousand tiny pieces to be flushed away into the vast sea of oblivion.

Ben Swann did nothing wrong.

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*Content originally generated at iBankCoin.com* Reported by Zero Hedge 6 hours ago.

mid-day editorial: Man-animal conflicts won't wait for streetlights

The public toilets constructed at Aarey Milk Colony by MP Sachin Tendulkar are helping the tribals staying there, but the lack of streetlights in the Mataipada area (which has one of the toilets), has increased the chances of a man-animal conflict.

In the past two or three weeks, there have been increased leopard sightings. This is the same location where a leopard was trapped recently. The locals want lights installed there at the earliest. The narrow path to the toilet at Mataipada also leads to Adarsh Nagar, where there is a BEST bus stop. But the path is through a forest patch, which does not have any street lights. A recent report in this paper threw light (pun intended) on the worrying situation and sought facilities for locals.

While public toilets, a much-needed civic facility, are always welcome, it is of little use having a facility if access to it proves difficult or in this case, plain dangerous. Several padas in the area have solar streetlights but they are dysfunctional. It is also strange that those solar lights which were installed as recently as two years ago, were either non-functional or missing.

It is specious spending money on infrastructure, only to see it missing or misused. This is akin to those metal dustbin lids which used to be regularly filched all through the city, a couple of years ago. The bins were then wisely replaced but not before considerable money and manpower had been spent on dustbin covers and installing new dustbins. There has to be a 360 degree approach so that the infra is useful for everyone.

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“I waited to meet my family for so long. I always thought that once I am out of this place, my family would be complete. It is so unfortunate that I have to return home without my son,” said Makwana, with tears in his eyes.

*Celebrations were planned*
Makwana recalled, “Between 1996 to 2015, I was in Yerwada Jail and was later transferred to Kalamba Jail in Kolhapur. This year, my release was set for January 17 and I wanted to surprise my family, but the jail superintendent informed them and they came to receive me.”

On hearing of his father’s impending release, a happy Sajeed had called up all his friends, business associates and relatives to share the news. He had even invited around 1,500 guests for a get-together to celebrate the occasion. “He bought new clothes for me, he ordered my favourite sweets. His excitement was beyond any words,” said Makwana.

*Fateful day*
On the fateful day, after finishing all jail formalities, Makwana stepped out of the jail at around 12.30 pm to be greeted by 15 family members come to pick him up. “As soon as I came out,” says Makwana, “my wife started crying and I asked her where Sajeed is. She told me he was waiting in the car since he was a little tired. But when he saw me, he hugged me. Then he suddenly felt sick and closed his eyes. I tried to wake him up, but he did not respond. We immediately rushed to the nearest hospital which was around 20 minutes away where the doctors declared him dead.”

Sajeed, who was handling the family construction business, also owned four hotels - one of which is in London.

*Jail authorities say*
Kalamba Jail superintendent, Sharad Shelke, told mid-day, “Hasham was a good-natured man and we were also happy about his release. Unfortunately, when the sad part of his life ended and he was going to be happy again, tragedy struck. As per the CCTV footage from the main gate, when Hasham was released, he headed to meet his family members who were in a car on the other side of the road. His son Sajeed was so happy to meet his father that when he met him, he complained of chest pain and fell.”*40 years ago*
In April 1977, Makwana was arrested for killing a man named Harbhajan Singh over an argument. A hotheaded Makwana hit Singh multiple times with a hockey stick, leading to his death. Makwana was then arrested for murder, but while his case was being heard in the lower courts, was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 1981. In 1996, the Supreme Court sentenced Makwana to life imprisonment.

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Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, a bariatric surgeon from Mumbai, has launched a crowdfunding campaign for Egyptian national Eman Ahmed, the world’s heaviest woman using #HelpSaveEman to raise money for her transport and medicines.

*Also read: Do-or-die! World's heaviest woman down to just one meal a day*

“Eman would need to be flown to India for her treatment. While Dr. Lakdawala has taken up this case pro bono, Eman’s family is unable to afford the cost for her transportation, medication and accommodation while in India. A cargo jet would need to be arranged to accommodate her. The cost of air and on-ground transportation and hospital drugs is R50 lakh,” read the campaign in BitGiving.com.

The money will be put in a separate account created for her treatment while she will be in India.

*Do-or-die situation*
Dr Lakdawala visited Eman and her family last week with the assurance that she would soon be brought to Mumbai for the life-saving surgery.

*Also read - Mumbai: Surgery on 'heaviest woman' in the world may have to wait*

“Dr Lakdawala visited us this week; it was our first meeting. We are really happy that he came to meet us. He also assured that he is making all necessary arrangements to take her to Mumbai for the surgery,” said Eman’s sister Shaimaa from Alexandria, Egypt.

It has been more than a month that Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj cleared the hurdles to procure medical visa for Eman to come to Mumbai. But with no airline ready to carry her, she is stuck in Egypt.

*Also read: Special OT for world's heaviest person built without BMC's weight of approval*

“Her condition is deteriorating with every passing day. Earlier, she used to at least crawl, but now, her movement has stopped completely as she has been gaining weight. Just two years back, she could move, sit in a chair; now, she is completely bedridden. She is suffering from so many diseases that we can’t wait anymore. It is 100% necessary for her to undergo the surgery,” Shaimaa said.

*Going all out*
For the past one year, she has been eating only breakfast and lunch - tea and bread with cheese for breakfast, and rice soup with chicken for lunch. Dr Lakdawala, after checking her medical reports, has prepared a new diet for her.

*Also read: World's heaviest person's Mumbai visit for surgery in doubt*

When mid-day tried to contact Dr Lakdawala, he messaged saying he was travelling and hence couldn’t comment at the moment.

However, Saifee hospital has started an official Tumblr account with the name ‘SaveEmanCause’. There, he posted: “I met Eman in Alexandria and assured her we are making every effort to get her back on her feet again.”*Heavy ailments*
Eman suffers from severe lymphoedema and water retention as a result of her obesity and hypothyroidism. She has already suffered a stroke, resulting in paralysis of her right arm and leg. She can’t speak, has Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, severe obstructive and restrictive lung diseases, gout and is at a very high risk of pulmonary embolism.

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*Also read: Leopard makes happy meal out of a canine in Mulund*

At around 2 am on Saturday, the CCTV cameras of Rosewood housing society near Vasant Garden in Mulund, captured a leopard moving about in the car parking area next to it. The building, which is located in close proximity of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in addition to being flanked by two other gardens, has caused wildlife researchers to believe that this is not the first time that the big cat has strayed into human premises.

*Walking comfortably*
The CCTV has captured a car coming into the path of the leopard crossing the parking lot. “The leopard can be seen walking around comfortably, probably in search of livestock such as dogs, macaques, or rodents,” said Krishna Tiwari (43), a wildlife researcher who has been conducting camera trappings in and around the city since 2012. “Leopard sightings are not a threat—they are the perfect 21st century cats,” said Tiwari, adding that the big cats are well adapted to their surroundings and are co-existing with humans. Most leopards are spotted close to the boundaries of SGNP, especially in areas of Thane, Aarey Colony, Mulund and Borivli.

*Forest dept says*
The forest department officers have said that their teams are regularly patrolling the area at night. Range forest officer Santosh Kank from the Thane Forest Department (Territorial) said, “A leopard was seen roaming in the premises of a building in Mulund adjacent to SGNP and the footage was captured in the building’s CCTV. As the building is next to the forest, the sightings would take place. We would like to appeal to the residents not to panic as we have already increased patrolling in the area.”

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A 41-year-old engineer from Dombivli has registered a case with Tilak Nagar police station stating that some unknown fraudsters have cheated him for around Rs 9.54 lakh.

The Tilak Nagar police have informed the Cyber cell department of the Thane police and are investigating the matter.

According to the police, the complainant Krishnakant Govindankutty Kunnat, 41, a resident of Om Laxmi Narayan Park, Anand Nagar, Manpada road, Dombivli east. In his statement to police, he allegedly said that he was working as an engineer with a private firm in Iran. Before going to Iran he had made an NRI account with ICICI bank, Churchgate branch.

Bajirao Dhekale, Assistant Police Inspector, Tilak Nagar police station in Dombivli who is investigating the matter said, "The complainant claims that after he registered the account, he left Iran and never took his cheque book or debit card from the officials. From, July8, 2016 till January 16, 2017, he claimed that he was in Iran and had recently come back home to attend his late mothers' one years rituals. Recently he visited the bank to complete his KYC (Know Your Customer) form, he was shocked to to see Rs 32 only in his account," added Dhekale.

The complainant claims that he used to transfer his salary in the account every month and has never debited or used the account for any purpose. "He then took out the statement of his account and found that a total of Rs 9,54, 335 were debited from his account," added Dhekale.

A case was registered on Friday at Tilak Nagar police station in Dombivli under section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian penal code and section 66 (C) (Punishment for identity theft) (D) (Punishment for cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.

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*Mumbai:* Amid a stand-off with BJP over a pact for the BMC polls, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said unless he gets a concrete proposal from the saffron ally, he will not make any comment on the alliance. Uddhav, however, made a sarcastic remark when reporters persisted on the query of possibility of forging a front with BJP as the 'deadline' set by the two parties to clinch a deal has ended.

"One must know that there have been many deadlines after the decision of demonetisationm," he said on wrapping up the alliance talks for the February 21 polls. "Unless I get a proposal from BJP, I am not going to make any comment over it," he further said.

While he parried alliance queries, the Sena chief unveiled sops his party would implement if it secures a mandate for the country's largest and richest civic body. This is the second time in four days that Uddhav held a press conference to unveil the Sena's agenda for the BMC, which has been controlled by his party for nearly two decades. He said if Sena gets re-elected in the BMC, they would allow free travel in BEST buses to students in uniforms to their schools and back home.

"We will implement it once we get re-elected. We will also provide healthcare facility to BEST employees," he said. The Sena chief was accompanied by senior leader from Thane Eknath Shinde, who also made several promises, like developing a central park, a sports complex and construction of a dam only to cater to the water requirements of Thane Municipal Corporation, if the party wins the civic polls in the district adjoining Mumbai.

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A 43-year-old man was arrested by the Mumbra police this week for extorting money from a Mumbra builder. The Mumbra police have booked three people in the case and have seized a country-made gun from the accused.

The complainant claimed that the accused had been threatening him since 2011 and had extorted R89.50 lakh from him. The accused used to threaten the builder, saying they were from Dawood Ibrahim’s gang. They even threatened to kill his son.

The complainant, Faizan Malik (54), a resident of Powai, owns Malik Residency in Tanwar Nagar, Mumbra. “The arrested accused has been identified as Kalim Hussain Shaikh (43), a resident of Mohammed Ali Road, who was arrested on January 17, 2017. We are looking for the other two accused, Anis Aligadi alias Mohammed Anis Shaikh alias Anis Lambu who is wanted and in Dubai, and Sadiq, who is from Mumbra,” said MN Patil, inspector, Mumbra police.

In November 2011, Mohammed Arif Shaikh called Malik and booked a flat in Malik Residency. Within 15 days, he booked two flats and gave Malik R24 lakh. “After a few days, Anis called Malik from Dubai stating that he was a D Company member and told him to return the cash. Scared, Malik returned it all. Later, Anis started demanding more cash and threatened to kills Malik’s son. This went on until December 8. Fed up, Malik went to the police and registered a case.

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The Mumbai Police have caught three accused who have been conning people by taking money in lieu of fake gold coins. According to the police, the team of three, including one woman, would target wealthy people or shops. They had a grand story in place as their introduction: they said they were from Uttar Pradesh, and that they had found gold coins on the farms that they owned, and then would pretend to be looking for a museum to sell those to. They would then ask for help and agree to take even `25 to 30 lakh in exchange of the coins, which they alleged cost crores.

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Mr Kejriwal's dish from the 1960s has caught the fancy of Mumbai restaurants, but you aren't likely to find the authentic Kejriwal anywhere, Russell Dias, the manager at Jamjar, tells us.

Over the past few years, he has been going “all over town for a taste of the original Eggs Kejriwal. But, even the club has tweaked it a bit,” he tells us, passing us an Eggs Benedict avatar of the Kejriwal, originally served as a classic toast, slice cheese, fried egg and sauteed chillies.

“The Benedict is ham and poached egg on muffin bread, while the Kejriwal has fried egg, cheese and chillies. Don't confuse the two,” he tells us. We push our fork and knives into a few versions of Eggs Kejriwal on city menus:

*Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi*

*Aam Admi Toast*
The Kejriwal at 145 in Kala Ghoda has two twists — sriracha sauce and chutney mayo. On a big white-bread toast with green chutney sit two side-up eggs. In spite of the green chillies and fiery red Thai sauce, the Kejriwal is comfortably spicy.
At: 145, Kala Ghoda
*Call:* 4039 6632
*Cost:* Rs 200

*Pic/Satesh Shinde*

*Benedict Kejriwal*
The Kejriwal at Jamjar stands out for its fluffy fried egg and warm muffin bread. The dish has a generous layer of cheddar and processed cheese holding the fried egg splattered with fried chillies.
*At:* Jamjar Diner, Aram Nagar 2, Versova, Andheri
*Call:* 26368880
*Cost:* Rs 250

*Pic/poonam bathija*

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Ever since early October, the Christian community residing in India, have been left without a designated ambassador of the Vatican to the country — until now.

The three-month drought came to and end at around 4.30pm on Saturday, when the Archdiocese of Bombay’s office received an email from Rome, confirming the appointment of a new Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal.

“The news is confirmed,” said Father Nigel Barrett, spokesperson, Archdiocese of Bombay’s office. “We have received information from the Vatican that Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro (Italian origin) will take over as the new Nuncio to both countries.” Explaining the role of an Apostolic Nuncio, Father Barrett pointed out that the role of a Nuncio was two-fold in nature.

“He functions as an ambassador of the Vatican to India, as well as serves as a sort of representative of the Pope to India. He officiates at religious functions where the Pope can’t be present, and is a representation of the Pope on both, a religious as well as diplomatic perspective.”

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*When Bollywood went to Kashmir
*Writer Selina Sen, whose last work A Mirror Greens in Spring was published nearly 10 years ago, has found inspiration in Bollywood for her new novel. Her latest offering, Zoon (Westland, India), revisits the heartbreaking story of 16th Century Kashmiri queen and poet Habba Khatoon, better known as Zoon.

Sen, whose Army dad was posted in Kashmir, tells us that back in the 1990s, Umrao Jaan-filmmaker Muzaffar Ali had pursued Zoon’s story and travelled with his unit to shoot the film. “I was in Kashmir then, and we were excited about Muzaffar visiting,” she recalls.

Although he did begin shooting, he could never complete his dream project because of unexpected insurgency. Sen’s fictional account hopes to finish this project, interrupted by decades of violence in the land of her childhood. This one, she says, is for Kashmir’s songstress.

*Between you and me**Pic/Nimish Dave*

We are wondering what Salman Khan had to say to Shah Rukh Khan in this private moment when the latter came visiting on the sets of a reality show that Salman hosts.

*Lamb chops at the Sydney Cricket Ground*
Eighteen runs needed off the last over for victory in a cricket match is not an impossible target to achieve in today's Twenty20 age. But way back in 1987, exactly 30 years ago, it was.*Alan Lamb*

England and Australia were at each other's throats in a World Series Cup game at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Chasing 234 for victory, the visitors needed 18 off the last over to be bowled by lanky Western Australian pacer Bruce Reid, with all-rounder Philip DeFreitas at the other end. Amazingly, Alan Lamb took five balls to get England home by clubbing 2, 4, 6, 2 and 4.

Lamb did not elaborate on his Sydney heroics in his autobiography, but wrote about a party held the previous night. Many of his England teammates were in very high spirits despite not drinking too much, but he stayed sober as a judge.

It later dawned on him that they fell victim to a prank by the host, who decided to spike some of the snacks on offer which Lamb didn’t touch. It reminded Lamb of how AC Smith, England’s team manager on the 1983-84 tour of New Zealand, was “gone” after having a couple of cake slices at a party. Staying away from the snacks probably helped Lamb to smack away to glory!

*Swag means Kala Chashma*
Even as they were welcoming their 45th President Donald Trump as he was sworn in on Friday evening, the US Consul General Thomas Vajda and wife Amy Sebes (saree and black suit) decided to show the audience their Bollywood side.

But it could not have happened without the persuasive powers of the performer of the evening, Shiamak Davar, who made the diplomats dance to his tunes. Soon after his performance, Davar summoned his guests on stage and in a minute’s time, the very sporting diplomats and their better halves were on stage, with a pair of “kala chashma” each.

Leading the pack was of course, the Consul couple. What followed was an impromptu dance training class, where the “performers” danced with Davar. Later, in his speech, a candid Vajda, taking a jibe at himself said, “I think I made a wise choice to go for diplomacy as opposed to entertainment.”

*TBSE looks West*
After wooing Mumbaikars with its pocket-friendly prices and fun vibe, The Bar Stock Exchange (TBSE), is set to open in London this June. “We have chosen Piccadilly to kickstart the venture as it’s one of London’s busiest areas and has a buzzing nightlife,” says owner Mihir Desai about the rooftop bar that will sit across 5,000 sq ft.

The vibe, he adds, will be on the lines of the ones here with the grungy neighbourhood feel, but not as dimly lit. While the food menu will include local snacks, Desai has incorporated some desi treats like the Misal Pav Fondue to cater to British NRI. Nice!

*I’m every woman*
Nepalese transgender model Anjali Lama (centre) showed some serious swag at a fashion show onboard the cruiseliner at Ballard Pier on Friday evening.*Pic/Satej Shinde*

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When we meet Haitham Mohammed Rafi inside the dimly-lit sets of a popular music reality show, he stands out from those sitting beside him. The white of his traditional dishdasha and the colourful turban — called the massar — make him look like an anomaly. The 23-year-old appears to be closely observing his fellow singer — a girl half his age — who is on stage and singing the famous DDLJ-towel song, 'Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye,' when we raise our hand and call for his attention. There is instant recognition.

"Wallah!" he yells out in Arabic. "How come, you here?" he goes on, in his Middle-Eastern accent.

It has been three years since we first met Haitham. The last time it was in his hometown Muscat, the capital city of the Sultanate of Oman. "I will sing in Bollywood, someday, Inshallah!" he had then rapped, much to the amusement of this correspondent. At the time, we had wished him luck, without mocking his expectations or pointing out the risks.

Last week, when a video of filmmaker Karan Johar sitting in stunned silence after Haitham’s performance of Naina Thag Lenge, went viral on Arab social media, this writer was glad she had kept mum then.

Haitham, an Omani national, has just made it in the final 11 of the first season of music reality show Dil Hai Hindustani. Being an Arab, has only worked in his favour. For the judges, Johar, Badshah, Shalmali Kholgade and Shekhar Ravjiani (of Vishal-Shekhar fame), the first question on their mind was, “Can an Arab sing in Hindi?”

"Okay, maybe!""But, that good!"

"I have Mohammed Rafi’s blessings," Haitham jokes. Not like, we hadn’t been meaning to ask him the story behind his namesake. Haitham al Balushi takes his middle name, Mohammed Rafi, from his father, who was surprisingly christened by the veteran Hindi singer himself. "Though Omani, my grandfather was a huge fan of Mohammed Rafi," he recounts. “When my father was born, Rafi saab was performing in Bahrain. My grandfather, who was working there, went for the show and managed to have a quick chat with him backstage," he says, adding, “He told Rafi saab, I want you to name my newborn.” The rest, as the Balushi family recalls, is history.

Until seven months ago, Haitham worked as a personal banker with a leading national bank in Muscat. “It was so boring. I hated going to work...it was suffocating," he says. Unable to take it anymore, Haitham put in his papers, and ferociously started looking for opportunities to sing. "I wanted to pursue my passion," he says. We ask him what that is? And, pat comes the reply, "I want to become the first Arab playback singer and composer in Bollywood." Haitham has been harbouring that dream since he was 11.

In Oman, Haitham says, there is no concept of vocal training. "If you're a good singer, you're a good singer." His only source of Bollywood music was audiocassettes and CDs as a child, and later YouTube. "So, when I told my Omani friends that I wanted to become a singer, they laughed. They said, 'You can’t make it big in India…it is so tough'."

On an Indian friend’s advise, he started listening to a lot of ghazals. "I was told that it would help me get my nuances and accent right," he says. His favourite ghazal singers are Jagjit Singh and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. But, that's how Haitham’s Bollywood dreams first took flight.

In 2012, he became the first Omani to win Muscat Idol, which sees participants mostly from the Indian Diaspora. From there on, due to dearth of a great body of work, Haitham started composing music for Omani TV shows. “But, I realised that I wasn’t enjoying Arabic music. Each time, I sang in Hindi, I was happier,” he says. Of the 500 songs he has composed, 450 were in Hindi. “My mum knew I wasn’t meant for Oman. So, she kept pushing me to try my luck at Indian reality shows,” he says. He tried thrice and failed. The fourth time, he decided to think practically and opted for 'The Voice Ahla Sawt', the Arabic version of the international music show. “Even there, I could not fit in,” he says. This December, after five years of working towards his dream, he got the call. And, that too, from India.

Here, he is still just another contender at the show. But, back home, things have changed for Haitham. After a video of his performance went viral, Omanis in Muscat, who he claims love Hindi cinema, have gone into an overdrive. “I’ve already signed 13 shows in Muscat and Dubai,” he says. “My friends are buying the Indian digital channels, just to watch my show.”

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*Make R-Day a colourful one*
4.30 PM- 7.30 PM: Celebrate India’s 68th Republic Day with your kids as they play and learn more about their country. The session will include storytelling with art, tattoo and face painting (get the tri-colour painted on your face or hands!), craft workshops, unlimited snacks, three hours of play and surprise gifts and prizes.
*Where:* Kidz Town, Pace House, 7, Swastik Society, Gulmohar road No. 1, Juhu Scheme
*Entry:* Rs 500 for 1 child & adult
*Call:* 60605995

*Put your knowledge to test in this treasure hunt*
*6.45 AM:* Picture this. India is still suppressed under the British rule and it is up to you and your friends to deliver freedom to the nation. Do you have what it takes? Put your knowledge, clue solving abilities, Googling skills and quick feet to the test as you trace some of the important locations of our Freedom struggle. Unravel clues and learn lesser known facts about our freedom struggle that probably didn’t make it to our textbooks, in this scavenger hunt.

*Where:* Churchgate Station - Near the booking counter
*Entry:* Team: Rs 750
*individual:* Rs 400
*Call:* 9820478942

*Catch the flock in action*
*7 AM:* Naturalist, a team of nature lovers, are organising a Birdwatching and Photography Expedition at Bhandup Pumping Station to celebrate Republic Day. Since winter is considered to be the birding season, you will be able to spot many varieties of birds who migrate here from as far as Europe. Your instructor will be Onkar Vengurlekar, a skilled nature photographer, avid birder and nature interpreter, who has carried various excursions to various national parks and sanctuaries to study bird behaviour and practice on-field photography.

*Where:* Bhandup Pumping station Bus stop
*Entry:* Rs 149
*Call:* 8286220933

*Survive in the wild*

*Back to basics*
*Jan 28, 10:00 AM:* A two-day workshop with Grassroutes in the safe village of Purushwadi will teach you how to live off the grid, skills from tribes handed down to them over generations. There will be things that you haven't done before — making fire, foraging for food, and even learning to make your own shelter.

*Where:* Purushwadi, 220 km from both Mumbai & Pune en route to Nasik
*Entry:* R4500
*Log on to:* http://www.grassroutes.co.in

*Let’s talk music*
*Jan 24, 6 – 7.30 PM:* Piramal Museum of Art is back with the Music edition of ‘That's Mumbai Cool!’ Here, music aficionados will talk about the melodies they make, the subcultures they foster, and the venues they support create a new beat for the city of Mumbai to move to. Speakers include SlumGods’ Sunil Rayana and Sagar Vatapu, Bonobo — Bar.Love.Food.’s
Nevil Timbadia, Only Much Louder’s Tej Brar and The True School of Music's Nush Lewis. The session will be moderated by Amit Gurbaxani. RSVP to artfoundation@piramal.com

*Where:* Piramal Museum of Art, Piramal Tower, B Wing, Ground Floor, Lower Parel
*Call:* 30466981

*Tripping on textiles*
*Jan 24- 28, 11 AM – 7 PM:* Mita Parekh brought to Mumbai the very first show of 500 block-printed designer salwar kameez sets and sarees in 1979. She is back with a new collection at the prime age of 80. Her latest collection includes sarees, stoles and yardage in a riot of colours. The designs have been created with mulberry silk, satin silk, chiffon, georgette, crepe and habotai silk.

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On January 24, those who love the drama of the high seas or the animated paintings of Joseph Mallord William Turner will be in for a rare treat.

David Blayney Brown, the Manton curator of British Art (1790–1850), who looks into the Turner collection at Tate Britain, London, will deliver a lecture Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, in a lecture titled JMW Turner: A Marine Master in a Modernising World. The lecture series is part of an annual tradition – now in its 19th year – hosted by the Vasant J Sheth Memorial Foundation, a maritime institution, in honour of the eponymous late founder of a private shipping company.*David Blayney Brown. Pic/Poonam Bathija*

Brown has curated and co-curated many exhibitions, most recently Late Turner: Painting Set Free (shown in London, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto). He convened Tate's research centre for British Romantic Art and is currently preparing for an exhibition of Turner and the Modern World. Ahead of the lecture, we meet him in Colaba on Saturday. Edited excerpts from the interview:

According to you, what is the story of English maritime history that is portrayed collectively by Turner's works?

Turner shows English maritime history at a particular period, at a time when things were changing enormously. This was the time for Napoleonic Wars; Britain had to defend its coast against France and Spain, so its shipping affairs around the world were at risk. And, Turner's generation knew that you couldn't travel anywhere unless it was by sea, and the sea was a dangerous place.

After The Battle of Trafalgar [in 1805, between the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish navies and the subject of a reputed work by Turner], he shows a different kind of life at sea. There is trade, travel and tourism, the return of the sailing warships that fought during the Napoleonic Wars, and steam ships. That shows how closely tuned in he was with his time. He had the unique gift of portraying his own times.

Turner was practising around the same time as the artists who belonged to the tradition of British Maritime Art. What do you think set Turner apart?

For marine artists, a few of whom were former sailors, the subject was more important than the work of art. Marine portraits were often ship portraits and a simple representation of a particular event. In Turner’s time, marine art was seen as a type of landscape art; you couldn’t paint ships without painting the sea, the sky, the waves and the wind. However, unlike many marine artists, Turner was able to bring together stories, ships and the elements – he brings the Romantic spirit into marine painting. Turner made the sea into the narrative and pared down marine painting to its essentials. He could make the sea look real.

If you take the painting, Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth, the first word he uses in the title is about the weather, the elements. There is this clash between the ship and the sea. The thing about a steamship was that it harnesses the power of the elements — how you get steam, from fire and water. That painting is about energies — natural and manmade. The two are fighting it out — who is going to win? For Turner, it was as much about the storm as the ship, as well as about inventions and progress, whereas marine painting was just about the latter.

As you mention inventions, Turner's time was when Britain was entering the Industrial Revolution. Was he opposed to the many changes that he saw around him?

That kind of notion has been put upon him by his 19th century admirers, who were against industrial progress and wanted to co-opt him into this hostility. But, I don’t think Turner was hostile at all. In fact, he wanted to document and celebrate new inventions. He did not see them as 'horrid ugly smoky ships that should be banned' but, saw them as the future.

It is a coincidence that you will be speaking about Turner at a prominent port city that was once an important centre of the British Empire. Turner's works have captured elements of empire building, deportation of slaves and British trade. Was Turner critical of the Empire?

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Some neighbours are more special than others. Like ours in Matunga, skirting the Dadar Parsi Colony where we used to visit grandparents. Overdosing on Bawa boom, my cousins and I would slip away next door for quieter fun. We’d trail friends through leafy lanes as one reported for dance class, another rehearsed for a Shanmukhananda concert (without knowing Tamilians in 1960s-70s Bombay, you're forgiven for thinking that hall only hosted Filmfare Awards). Practices done, we dashed off for games of Chain Cook to Five Gardens, whose soft grass lawns weren’t yet heaped with hard plastic play mazes.*Carnatic virtuoso Kalyani Sharma waits her turn while her sister Vallibai Mahadevan plays the veena in 1962*

I was mesmerised again at Shanmukhananda last month by a virtuoso performance of my friend Hema Ankolkar's musician mother. In the programme composed and conducted by her, Kalyani Sharma’s pure energy shook the stage. She and her students dedicated an incredible inaugural edition of Mahaswamy Pancharathna Aradhanai to the Kanchi Paramacharya. The show will continue yearly in the tradition of the Thyagaraja festival.*Aeronautics engineer Narayana Sarma from Trivandrum in a Matunga garden in 1957*

"I was fortunate in this dream locality,” says Subramani N Sharma, the Carnatic singer’s husband. His ancestors migrated over two centuries to Trivandrum from Kadayam village in Thirunelveli. “I did not choose Matunga, it chose me,” says the textile chemist who arrived to work in the printing department of city mills from 1952 to 1992. “As new entrants do, I stayed with accommodative relatives. Life in Matunga is convenient and calm. My wife too could pursue her profession of teaching the veena in this culture."

Churned by a colourful cauldron of immigrants from Thirunelveli and Tanjore, Matunga is indisputably 'mini Madras' despite Kutchis packing large pockets of it today. It claims a dual etymology. The word Matang is Marathi for 'elephant' — this was where Raja Bhimdev's 14th-century elephant stables were. The other legend has it that sage Matang of the Ramayana rested here after wandering the subcontinent.

What was this swampy bog of a village-cum-European military outpost like before the English revamped it as 'garden suburb' and the South swept in? Once barracks shifted to Ahmednagar, Matunga was deserted by 1835. The 1896 Plague forced the Brits to implement the Dadar-Matunga-Wadala-Sion schemes, decongesting the island city. By 1900 the Bombay City Improvement Trust converted 440 paddy field acres for Dadar and Matunga. Two-to-three storey Art Deco apartment blocks sprang up in the 1920s, sprouting ample balconies and ventilation. The master plan pencilled in parks and public buildings like Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute and South Indian Education Society campuses. The Tramway Company extended services to the area approached by just constructed Mohammedali Road which linked to broad, electric lamp-lit Kingsway Avenue.

Within its neat grid of right-angled, tree-lined roads, Matunga boasted institutions like South Indian Bhajana Samaj and Thyagaraja Sabha from 1931, much before Shanmukhananda or Tamil Sangam in Sion. The Matunga temple had the most popular priest for an all-important rite: the annual thread changing ceremony for boys. Interestingly, S Panchapakesan, associated with the Shankara Mattham, describes how devotees march across Matunga at dawn sonorously chanting the Taittiriya Upanishad in a ritual that concludes the December-January month of Margazhi.

Few localities stoke one’s sense of smell quite as dramatically. Guru K Harikrishna of Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir evokes a swirl of delectable scents: “Step into Matunga and your nose will be hit by the aroma of filter coffee before it inhales the fresh ghee coating dosas. Finally, the fragrance of malligapu (mogra) offerings to the Lord... and then the sound section takes over, with Vedic chants, classical beats.” On cue, the rhythmic Tha-tai-tai-tha of ghungrooed feet reaches us as he ushers me into Bombay’s oldest school of Bharat Natyam. Founded in 1945 by his grandfather, Guru TP Kuppiah Pillai, as a dynamic centre of Indian resurgence, it propagated polyglot lyrics to fan nationalist fervour.

“Learning dance added a definite different dimension to the girl child’s education,” Harikrishna remarks. Every room of this little school on Shradhanand Road heaves with history. In the corner beside us would sit its patron, the patriot writer E Krishna Iyer. At 85, Harikrishna’s father, Guru K Kalyanasundaram, is Maharashtra’s oldest living Sangeet Naatak Akademi award winner for Bharat Natyam. Harikrishan declares, “Art in Matunga still attracts young minds.”

At 26, Narayana P Sarma also came to Matunga from Trivandrum. Grandson of a magistrate honoured as Diwan Peshkar by the Maharaja of Travancore, the aeronautical engineer landed a job in 1952 with Air India. Sarma’s daughter Chandrika Vora traces his journey in her Napoo Gardens flat on Telang Road. An especially elegant building across her home is Jadavji Kanji House, from 1934, belonging to the Kanji Shivji family, cotton traders from Baroi village of Kutch. “Government quarters in Vile Parle meant a trek for South Indian food,” she says. But Matunga, crowded with caterers — Concerns, Society, Trichur Mess — beckoned bachelors with cheap home-style meals. A month’s token book for breakfast and dinner in a six-day week cost R18. Sunday lunch was crowned with a sweet and pearl onion sambhar was served on Thursdays. Orthodox Tam Brahms shunned onion and garlic. This taboo sambhar thrilled young accountants clicking open tiffin boxes in trading firms at Masjid Bunder or multinational companies.

As with most southern brides, Chandrika’s mother brought to Bombay strictly prescribed beliefs and bans ruling domesticity. The gods were worshipped in the kitchen, so women were expected to exit this sanctorum during their period — called Theetu or Dooram — 'out of doors'. They shopped for spiritual bric-a-brac at Giri Stores. They taught in dance and music schools. They were proudly fluent in English, unlike other housewife contemporaries. They had Aurora in their backyard and Rupam a hop ahead in Sion screening Tamil and Malayalam movies as entertainment.

A shy 16-year-old coming to Bombay who couldn’t communicate in local languages was business journalist T Surendar’s grandmother, married to SY Raman, a stenographer from Tirunelveli. He dropped her daily for the first few months to Shivaji Park where, in a unique arrangement, a lady ran a creche for ingenues till they grew comfortable. Surendar and his three brothers are third generation immigrants settled with their grandfather.

Skilled stenographers were in great demand with the best lawyers who argued in the Bombay High Court. English-proficient Tamils wrote easily ahead of their speakers, above 180 words per minute. Even Maharashtrian landlords were keen on dependable South Indian tenants whom they charged reasonably — Raman’s pre-wartime monthly rent was Rs 26. Rates spiralled from the 1970s with Gujaratis, Jains and Marwaris moving in, tempted no doubt by the pervasive vegetarianism. That decade coincided with the heady heyday of Matunga’s very own gangster, Varadarajan Mudaliar.

Aspiring to clerical or officer level, bright-eyed hopefuls from southern towns alighted mornings at Dadar station. They were often greeted by Shankar Rao of Sharda Bhavan lodge in Matunga. It was simple, savvy marketing: he plied tired passengers with kettles of hot tea and coffee carried from the lodge kitchen — to nudge newbies straight into sheltering Sharda Bhavan, which he and his brother-in-law Raghavendra Rao from Udupi had introduced in 1936. Shankar Rao manned the counter till a week before he died aged 93. Treating Chandrika and me to coffee, his affable son Ganesh says Don Bosco schoolboy turned star Shashi Kapoor was their regular. Matunga’s other 1940s-60s actor residents were KL Saigal, Prithviraj and Raj Kapoor, Nalini Jaywant and Geeta Dutt.

We stroll on, to flower stalls stringing the thickest garlands fronting the pretty Bhandarkar Road post office. Past Hotel Ram Ashraya looms 80-year-old Madras Paan started by Nataraja Pillai. It stocks sandalwood powder, taalis, lamp oil, Oma (ajwain) water, Mahani root pickle and Panakalkanndu (cane sugar). The vegetable market east of the station stacks mounds of such typical tubers as Kurakanga and Karnakazangu, and Vazaithandu (banana stem). I chat with PK Gangadharan selling specialties at this spot for fifty years. A customer, Shankar Narayan, shows up with a written list headed by Elavan, a kind of gourd. His wife has sent him way-off from Borivli to shop for Pongal preparations.

Matunga takes seriously its role as anchor in a fast changing city. “Its communities having been a docile lot, this area has a certain ahimsa about it,” Surendar says. “Temples have gates and timings — you cannot visit God in a hurry before boarding the afternoon train to Chennai.”

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We enter the makeshift hall where the Nehru Science Centre is hosting a travel exhibition on the Iron Man of India, with two questions — why is the science center hosting a historical exhibition and how dull is it going to be. To the first, one of the officials has a quick answer. The exhibition, titled Uniting India: Role of Sardar Patel, is a travelling one that has come to Mumbai from Junagadh and while the permanent one, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 last year is hosted by the Nehru Science Centre, which falls under the Ministry of Culture. The answer to the second question is simply not at all.

*A Nehru Science Centre official using the EEG headset and the power of concentration to bring the fragmented states of India together on the screen in front of him*

The curatorial team — there are involved, right from high-ranking officials in the government, to design experts from Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Design and a team from Nehru Science Centre, a scripting team and a research team that pulled out documents from the National Archives — has put in much effort to make this not just a digital (it completely is), but also an interactive exhibition. We are led first to a digital map of India on a large screen. Tap the screen on a state of your choice and you will be given a brief history on the history of the state, its last ruler and when its accession date. Hyderabad for instance, joined united India on September 18, 1948. But, it gets cooler.

It wasn’t just state boundaries that changed when the smaller kingdoms came together. What was lost in the homogeneity was a whole host of currency and there’s an exhibit that pays tribute to that. Slip in a coin that a volunteer will hand you and a scanner will tell you which state it’s from, the year of minting and under while ruler it was issued. At the Jungadadh exhibition, says an official, an erstwhile royal from Anantpur on not finding their coin on the list said he would give one to the exhibition.

At another exhibit, a wave of the hand will give you details of which states were friendly to the idea of joining India, and which were not so sure. Crowd control will however be needed to ensure that the visitor has a good experience. The officials at the Centre say volunteers have been called in to ensure that the screens are not attacked by multiple users at the same time.

There are three must-try experiences. One is the EEG headset, which when you put it on and concentrate hard, will bring the fragmented states of India together in a graphic on a screen in front of you. It’s hard, so practice before you head. There’s also a VR experience and a quiz (for three teams). So, if you are competitive, head out with friends or family.

What doesn’t work is the loud blaring noise from one of the videos, but may be they will take heed or our suggestion. Pro Tip: Head to the center during weekdays, when we hear, it’s less crowded.

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While narrating the script of her upcoming film Kabadiwala to the cast in June last year, Seema Kapoor recalls a comment actor Om Puri made at the end of the session. "The protagonist in the film is a kabadiwala's (junk dealer's) son, who manages the community toilets in the village. But, he goes around telling everyone that he owns a restaurant chain. When Puri ji heard the narration, all he said was, "Seema, film hai toh badbu pe, par ismein se khushboo aa rahi hai (although the film is about stench, I can smell fragrance in it)'," says Seema, actor Annu Kapoor's sister, who married Om Puri in 1991.

Their marriage lasted less than a year — Puri then married journalist Nandita Puri. But, 38 years on Seema and Om still maintained a more than cordial relationship. Seema, in fact, was one of the last people the veteran star called before his death. On the evening of January 5, when she was in the editing studio, he called up to know where she picked up grain for the birds she fed every day. That was her last conversation with him. And, the film, which the duo was working on, was Puri’s last.

On January 6, the star was found dead at his Lokhandwala Oakland Park residence. Puri, who was believed to be in good health and had returned from work, a day prior, was reported to have died of a fatal heart attack while alone at home.

Kapoor is still grieving. She pauses frequently to fight back tears. For the last seven years, she was Puri’s constant companion. "While we were shooting in Lucknow, Puri ji personally went around making all the hotel arrangements for the crew. He even coordinated with the caterers and ordered food for all of us. He would jokingly add, 'Put my name in the line producer credits.' Imagine, somebody of his stature doing chores for the crew. Sometimes I wonder why he was doing so much. But that's who he was," she adds.

It's this sense of humility, she feels, that endeared Puri to all.

Although the duo had worked together on two documentaries earlier, this was their first feature together. Puri was supposed to play the 'sutradhar' or the narrator in the film.

Incidentally, the Uri debacle had taken place when the actor was in Lucknow shooting for Kapoor's film. Puri, at that point of time, was part of a televised debate about the IMPPA’s (Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association) indefinite ban on Pakistani artistes from working in Indian projects. The ban was in response to the killing of 19 Indian soldiers in a terror attack at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir on September 18. During the debate, Puri lost his cool and said, "Who had asked the soldiers to join the army? Who told them to pick the weapons?” This statement led to Puri being vilified for being callous. A police complaint was filed against him at the Andheri police station for being insensitive towards the soldiers who lost their lives for the country.

"When he returned, I said to him, 'Ek sentence galat nikal gaya’, and that one line proved costly. He, of course, did not mean it. He just did not how to phrase things correctly," she says. Puri plunged into depression after that. Kapoor recalls how that night Puri did not turn up for the shoot, but stayed back in his room. “He kept saying, that he’s done so much in his life, but that one line is all people choose to remember. He was devastated. All the channels and people on social media were vilifying him. His apologies went unheard in that," she says.

In their 38-year-long association, Kapoor had seen several upheavals in their relationship. Towards the end of 1991, Puri confessed that another woman (Nandita Puri) had come into his life and he wanted a divorce. She silently gave her consent, but chose not to go public even after she got divorced. “Both of us maintained our dignity and respect. Neither he nor I ever badmouthed each another. We have seen the worse times, had the most bitter fights with each other, but never washed dirty linen in public," she reveals.

She feels it’s the sense of implicit trust that made them surmount all obstacles and be other's confidantes through the years. "When you love somebody, you love them in totality. And for me, he was my companion in good and bad times. It’s a void that will never be filled." Reported by Mid-Day 13 hours ago.

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