The fire has seven tongues, and one of these is Kali, writes Bibek Debroy

Waxing lyrical: The audience was in raptures when Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke into Assamese, recalling songs and poetry that hailed the legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan. Modi was speaking at an event marking the 400th birth anniversary of Barphukan, who defeated Mughals in the 1671 battle of Saraighat. Many Assamese who flew to Delhi to attend the event were happily surprised at Modi痴 love for the language and allusions to popular songs, including one of Bhupen Hazarika. They felt the accent might have been different, but it was the intent that mattered | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Blah-blah Baba: He is the Baba of recklessness. After questioning allopathic doctors during the pandemic, Baba Ramdev has now said that women look good in saris, salwar suits and even with nothing on. He would know a thing or two about salwar suits, given that he wore one to escape a police crackdown during an anti-corruption rally at the Ramlila Maidan in 2011. Ramdev made his latest remark at an event in Thane, Maharashtra, but it is Uttar Pradesh that is most upset. Angry locals in Varanasi burnt Ramdev in effigy on the banks of the Ganga. Hindu Mahasabha chairperson Chakrapani Maharaj demanded a quick apology. The saints of Ayodhya, meanwhile, have denounced him as a “fraud, businessman”who wears saffron.

Menu with a twist: Expect murukku on the menu for the G20 summit. India distributed the deep-fried, crisp murukku, made of millets, to 193 delegates at the United Nations before voting on the resolution to make 2023 the year of the millets. This week, to flag off the celebrations for the International Year of Millets next year, a grand programme was organised by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Foreign diplomats were invited to partake in a millet-dominated meal. Millets were important for food security as well as international relations, said Jaishakar. There is even talk of millets on the menu for the weekly media briefing instead of the hard-to-resist samosa and chai.

Wolverine’s 007 moment: Hugh Jackman, or the Wolverine, as most of his fans would know him, revealed that he once rejected the offer to be James Bond. Apparently, it was when he had started off as Wolverine. “I was like, ‘If I am doing that and Wolverine, I’ll have no time to do anything else’,” he said. “I clearly find it more interesting to play people who colour outside the lines.” He added that the regular “hero action star” held no appeal for him. Daniel Craig, the actor who finally bagged the role, clearly did not mind it. But the question now is, since Craig retired last year, will the offer be renewed? Our vote is for the Wolverine | Shutterstock

Love, mom: Artist Tanisha Bakshi, in her solo show Essence of Life, exhibited 25 paintings dedicated to the notion of motherhood. The powerful bond between mother and child is universal. But Bakshi ties it into the specificity of the Indian context. Her paintings, rendered in a hyper-realistic style across mediums like oil, charcoal and readymade material, was exhibited in the swish environs of Bikaner House in Delhi till November 23 | J. Suresh

It’s raining babies: After Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, another celebrity couple has just become parents. South Korean stars Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin announced the birth of their baby boy on November 27. For the uninitiated, Ye-jin and Bin acted together in the romance show, Crash Landing on You, which ran from 2019 to 2020 and became the third-highest rated K-drama ever on cable television. The couple tied the knot in March, and three months later, Ye-jin announced her pregnancy on Instagram. All that remains is for their whirlwind romance to be turned into a K-drama which would go on to beat the ratings of Crash Landing.... Now, wouldn’t that be poetic? | Courtesy instagram/hyunbin_actor

Defying stereotypes: Shraddha Kapoor will be next seen in a de-glam role as Rukhsana Kausar, the Kashmiri girl who killed an LeT terrorist, Abu Osama, who had barged into her home in September 2009. She and her brother wrestled an AK-47 from him and shot him dead with it. Kapoor—who was applauded for her performance as Haseena Parkar, Dawood Ibrahim’s sister and the godmother of Nagpada in Mumbai—is sure refusing to be stereotyped. She will next be seen in Dinesh Vijan’s Stree 2 and Luv Ranjan’s untitled next with Ranbir Kapoor | Getty Images

10 & counting: This is Ayushmann Khurrana’s 10th year in the film industry, and he got to celebrate it in style—by being felicitated at the recently-concluded International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for being the biggest disruptor and game-changer in Hindi cinema. “Thank you for this award, the validation, for the gratification,” he said. “We always look out for acknowledgments and this award means a lot to me.” He then sang two lines of ‘Pani Da Rang’ from his debut film, Vicky Donor. Here’s wishing him another decade of disrupting Hindi cinema | PTI