Lost in the woods

Fit for office: Politicians rarely are role models for fitness. But Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu is defying this notion. The 41-year-old trekked 24km in 11 hours to reach an inaccessible village—which has only 10 houses and is at a height of 14,500 feet. Three days later, he ran 11km on a misty village road with two security men. He participates in volleyball matches regularly and had ridden his Royal Enfield motorcycle for 122km last year to promote tourism. Looks like there is no better champion of tourism and healthy living in the state than the chief minister himself | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Parallel wars: Kangana Ranaut has been taking on the Maharashtra government, and unlikely allies have emerged for her in Ayodhya. A few of the city’s saints have supported the ‘daughter of the country’ while warning Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to stay away from the temple town. In turn, the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust hit back, saying it was not within anyone’s power to stop the Shiv Sena chief from visiting. This is the latest example of a salvo fired by the VHP and the old order which is finding itself side-lined by the new trust. From crying over the Palghar lynching to supporting Ranaut, it seems the saints will have to take their fights to the gods.

Royal gesture: The Naik Nimbalkars, the erstwhile royal family from Phaltan, Maharashtra, were known to be benevolent rulers. The tradition seems to continue to this day, as evident by the actions of Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, chairman of the Maharashtra legislative council. The senior NCP leader, who was the principal of a law school before entering politics, recently temporarily gave two palaces to the district administration of Satara. The famous Mudhoji Palace and the Vikram Vilas palace will now be turned into Covid-19 care centres.

A new nightingale: South Indian actor Nithya Menen is the latest to join the brigade of actors who have turned singers during the pandemic. She has collaborated with UK-based sarod player, Soumik Datta, to come out with a single. “The song is about something relevant and I can’t wait for people to hear it,” she said. Although it is in English, it will have elements of classical Indian music. It is set to release either by the year-end or early 2021.

Vote of confidence: At a time when Bollywood is plagued by accusations of nepotism and drug use, Aditi Rao Hydari has come out in support of it. “No industry is devoid of flaws,” she said. “We are also human beings, we make mistakes, we have our flaws… but there is a beautiful side to our industry, too.” She said that even though she is considered an “outsider”, there are people in the industry who will be there for her in times of trouble. Nice to hear something positive in these difficult times! | PTI

Repeat performance: Six years after his debut feature, Court, was adjudged the Best Film (Horizons) at the Venice Film Festival, Chaitanya Tamhane has again created a buzz at the 77th edition of the festival. On September 12, he won two awards—the International Critics’ Prize and Best Screenplay—for his Marathi film, The Discipline, which is about an Indian classical musician’s efforts to achieve perfection. The Discipline is the second Indian film to compete at the festival; the first was Monsoon Wedding (2001).

Rise and shine: Devendra V. Darda, managing director of Lokmat Media Group, was elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2020-2021. Darda has served on several media industry bodies like INS and INFRA. He also presides over many educational institutions in Yavatmal, Maharashtra, and is on the managing committee of the Western India Football Association.