June 2020

BandraBuzz creating community connect since 2010

June 2020 | Volume 11 Issue 6 | Published Monthly | www.bandrabuzz.com | To Advertise: Call 9820783686 or 9920299787 | 16 pages | Price: Rs. 5/-

On the Road to Recovery

Amit Butani and Neetu Butani share some truth and encouragement about facing Covid-19 at home and in the hospital Still, in isolation, our anxiety levels are surging, even as we try our best to stay home & stay safe. Amit Butani (43 years old) & his wife Neetu Butani (41 years old) hadn’t travelled outside the country for a year. They were taking all the necessary precautions since the lockdown & stepped out of home only for essentials.

Amit tells us that he felt the sudden onset of fever on the 27th of April, shortly after Neetu showed symptoms of fever, nausea & stomach infection on 25th April.

Writing it off as a normal stomach infection, they began treatment with antibiotics, but her fever refused to break. That’s when they decided to test Neetu for Covid-19.

Against what they were expecting, the results turned out to be positive and she was admitted to a hospital. Amit knew that there was a possibility he was positive as well. As per protocol, the BMC officials came home and thoroughly tested him as well as the senior members of the family.

However, they didn’t test his son and the house help beyond checking their temperature and their levels on the oxymeter, because they didn’t show any symptoms.

Thankfully his parents tested negative, which was a huge relief for them.

The only symptoms that Amit exhibited were fever & a headache on a couple of days. The maximum temperature his body went up to was 102 degrees. Since he exhibited manageable symptoms, BMC officials asked him to maintain home quarantine given that he’s in a separate room with an attached bathroom. And shortly after, he felt fine & normal. The viral infection spanned about 11 to 12 days for him post which he felt completely recovered.

Don’t dread the disease Talking about what helped him get

with an onset of cough or headache & body ache, similar to a regular viral infection.

What you can do is keep your immunity up, sleep well, eat a good amount of fruits and vegetables, let nutrients keep flowing into your body. The elderly definitely need extra care & protection during this time.

But with kids, their immunity is much better off & they’ll be able to bounce back more easily. Don’t fear the disease. Trust your body to heal on its own. Our bodies are vessels that have been serving us so well and that’s what we need to remember.

Simply put in the right ingredients to help it function well.

Amit Butani alongside his wife Neetu through this time, Amit says that he’s into an energy medicine routine which helped him a lot. He practises breathing exercises, kapalabhati, anulom vilom & there’s an excellent breathing technique provided by Wim Hof, which helped him a lot. Besides this, he’s been doing the usual steam inhalation, hot water gargles, sipping on green tea, taking his multivitamins, especially vitamin C & zinc. He has also been meditating a lot & his wife mentions that this period is like a self-imposed vipassana.

Amit was fortunate enough to be home quarantined, but he talks about the several emotions that one goes through – there’s

frustration due to the fever. In the mornings, the body temperature is low and towards the evening or late at night, the fever spikes; that’s when the virus comes alive.

There is also a feeling of defeat that comes in at times and you’re prone to a lot of selftalk. The idea is to try and stay positive through this time as this changes the body chemistry and helps with the healing. This self-upliftment is in your hands and it’s up to you to steer your mind through it.

Keep calm and let it pass For the majority of people, the virus will only exhibit flu-like symptoms, maybe

Embrace the enemy Neetu, who has been recovering in hospital talks about her journey through Covid-19.

Although Covid is similar to having a flu, Neetu was worried because she has undergone a splenectomy, which in turn reduces her immunity. But she says that if she can fight this disease, then anyone else can fight it much more easily.

After surgery, her stomach has always been weak, & the virus probably attacked the weakest part of the body. She suffered from a serious stomach infection & her fever went up to 104° the next day. Although she was on antibiotics, there was a lot of weakness & she couldn’t eat much besides liquid foods. However, in a few days, the antibiotics began working & she got her appetite back. She was recovering & feeling better, which convinced her that it was only a stomach infection, something she was used to experiencing over the last few years. Just to rule it off, they took a Covid test at a drive-through testing centre.

Pearl Mathias Continued on Page 2 >>

Every business is waiting with bated breath until the pandemic situation normalises but what happens to your business now is very important!

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02

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BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

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Amit Butani & Neetu Butani share some truth & encouragement about facing Covid-19 at home & in the hospital Continued from Page 1 Her initial shock at receiving the positive report was coupled with her worry of not having a spleen that would help tackle the disease. She was also worried about her husband, son & her elderly in-laws who were at home with her. The first step she took was to get out of the house. She didn’t want to go to a government hospital, given her spleen condition; she wanted some private supervision. She was to be taken to S.L. Raheja hospital at Mahim & she packed the items from a list that the hospital had sent which would help during this isolated time.

Right from carrying her own suitcase to the ambulance, Neetu was all alone and she recalls it being very different from any other hospital admission. At the entry, there’s a sign saying to hold on while someone calls for a lift, goes inside, presses the button, comes out and directs you to go up alone. You admit yourself alone; they show you the basic functions of the private hospital room and they leave. This is how the whole experience begins.

In a matter of days, things started getting better for Neetu, apart from developing a severe cough while the fever was on and off. All the other major criteria such as EKG levels were fine except for the fever and cough. They started her on antibiotics through IV for the cough, which she couldn’t take too well and that resulted in nausea and acidity as well as weakness.

The doctors conducted Covid tests every alternate day while she was there and it showed negative after several tests, only once her fever was settled.

Allow your thoughts to strengthen you On her 9th day at the S.L. Raheja hospital, Neetu recorded an audio message about her experience and shared some encouraging thoughts, which has now reached different corners of the world. She suggests the best thing you can do in this situation is to get rid of the fear and you’ve won half the battle. Embrace the virus, embrace the enemy and he’s lost half the battle already. Accept it because you can’t do much about it when it strikes and have patience through it all.

Get rid of myths & too much information apart from what’s absolutely essential. There is a need to care for the elderly & especially those suffering from other lung issues or respiratory issues, but there’s no escaping the fact that majority of the pop-

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ulation will face this disease some way or the other and all you can do is try to keep your immunity high and be accepting of the illness and you will sail through it.

Physically distant, but not emotionally This battle is an individual battle and you can’t expect friends and relatives to be by your side no matter how willing they are.

Don’t let this depress you. Allow them to help by connecting over the phone. The hospital she was admitted in had excellent staff and she received positive support from them even though her family couldn’t be physically present with her.

She suggests talking to your family, to the elders and children in the home and preparing them in case someone contracts the virus and plan the next few practical steps such as keeping a relative in the loop in case some family members might have to move in with them for a while. And while we maintain social distancing physically, avoid distancing yourself from people emotionally.

Of course, it’s not an entirely smooth-sailing journey. Neetu recalls days in hospital when she has cried and lost hope, she felt like giving up as she was tired of fighting health battles because of several illnesses in the past few years. Through her quarantine time, she realised there’s no point of self-pity and making her body weak with her thoughts.

Try not to panic, have faith that you will get through this if it happens to you and stay positive through it. Face it with full confidence and embrace it. Accept it as a transition phase that helps you come out mentally and emotionally stronger, with more gratitude for life and all its blessings & with hope for the days to come.

Pearl Mathias

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COVID CHAMPION

A Day in the Life of BMC H-West Ward, Junior Engineer Vishwajeet Naik “If this was just another day at work, I would be at my desk sifting through files or probably on a site inspection,” says Naik with a shrug. As a Junior Engineer (JE) in the Buildings & Factories Department of H-West ward, his job would involve identifying unauthorised structures in buildings around H-West & taking necessary action. It would also involve issuing factory licences. And finally, he would identify & inspect old, dilapidated structures, carry out structural audits & recommend the necessary action which included declaring structures unsafe & evacuating them.

These days, his job involves identifying & sealing buildings & areas that have confirmed Covid-19 cases. “We coordinate with the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) of H-West & get a daily update of Covid cases in our ward.

The areas of Gazdhar Bandh, Khar Danda and Khotwadi come under my purview,” he shares.

Covid-19 quarantines are classified into slums & apartment complexes or buildings & accordingly, there are different standard operating procedure (SOP) to be followed. As anyone who has had their building quarantined, the Junior Engineer (JE) will visit the building, speak with the secretary of the building and inform them that the building will be sealed for 14 days. The JE will also provide the secretary with a list of grocery stores, medical stores, and even an Amazon representative’s number and in turn, let all these different vendors know that deliveries to this particular building will have to be only unto the gate. Arrangements for garbage pickups, sanitisation etc. will also be made.

“However, since last week there has been a change in this protocol.

We now no longer seal an entire apartment complex or building.

We only seal that particular flat or floor on which the patient resides as per the new guidelines,” informs Naik.

However, its a completely different SOP for slum pockets. In the slums where increasing cases have been found we classify them as containment zones & close all entry & exit routes except for one main point. In the case of Khar Danda slum, where cases were rising in early May, it was decided to seal it as a containment zone & this is still the case on the ground there. Similarly with the Gazdhar Bandh area. Naik expects that he will be required to seal off the Khotwadi slum too soon. “Sealing a slum is difficult & requires at least 5-6 good officers both from the civic administration & also from the police & more importantly it requires a lot of cooperation from the social workers/local level councillors & party workers in that area. If there is a particular gully within that slum where positive cases have been identified then we further enforce a stricter quarantine within that gully. But in general, the entire area gets extremely restricted entry & access.

This, however, in no way compromises access to vegetables, fruits, groceries, grains, medicines, LPG cylinders or other such essential services,” he says. But even he concedes that there is general disgruntlement & restlessness from residents in slums because of the size of their homes & loss of daily earnings. “It is a difficult situation. We empathise with them.

We try & help as much as we can.

Vishwajeet Naik - Junior Engineer in the Buildings & Factories department of H-West ward But at the same time, the police have to be firm. The alternative to not sealing these areas as containment zones would be a loss of life in numbers that are unimaginable. We have to do everything in our power to ensure that people come out of this alive,” he states.

But for someone who was trained in building safety and audit procedures and who studied engineering, this seems like a very different world suddenly. “Yes, it’s not something we ever expected to encounter in our career. So obviously, we weren’t trained for anything like this. But we have been handheld and supported and guided by the AMC (Assistant Municipal Commissioner) in our ward, there were Zoom meetings on a daily basis to help us come to terms and come up with ways in which we could carry out our duty

to the best of our abilities. Even today, we have a fantastic support base from colleagues and our bosses. We have been given immunity medicines. We have been constantly helped and provided with as much safety equipment as required,” Naik says.

A resident of Kandivali, initially he would make the journey to work and back home every day.

He would maintain minimum contact with his family. “I would reach home and walk straight to the bedroom and have a bath. I would not step out of my bedroom, even for meals. After a few weeks, as the workload increased and the cases began to rise, we now stay in a hotel here in H-West provided by the BMC. It’s easier & safer in a way, but its also tough to be so near & yet so far away from home & loved ones,” he admits.

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However, not all is doom and gloom. “Because of this type of Covid-19 duty, our management skills have improved. We are more agile, more innovative. Our work hours have improved. We make fewer excuses. Now we know what we are truly capable of,” Naik smiles behind his mask. It’s the silver lining in all of this.

Aliefya Vahanvaty

We are living in extraordinary times, and we bring you a monthly series on ordinary people doing extraordinary things within the scope of their daily job/routine or even going beyond their comfort zones to make a difference. If you know of individuals who could be our COVID CHAMPIONS, please write to us at news@bandrabuzz.com

BandraBuzz creating communit

y connect since

April 2020 | Volume 11 Issue 4 | Published Monthly

2010

Manna-on-Wheels : An Church to feed the initiative of St. Peter’s hungry in COVID times

Over 15,000 meals

have been served by

St. Peter’s Youth &

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| To Advertise: Call

9820783686 or 992029978 7

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other volunteers

In these COVID who have been fearless times where due yet taking all precautions to the a huge amount lockdown, when of social distancing, the migrants and of enthusiasm and masking & sanitization home- the project. joy into also the less find it difficult families that have On Easter Sunday, to find a decent supported their the youth members meal personally for the day, St. Peter’s And to conclude baked cakes as being part of this in the words of one Church an add on to initiative. of the na on Wheels programme runs a Man- the meals for all Youth, Liam who Till date over 15000 persons. Other volunteers said ‘repayment to feed these from meals have been is only affected persons; served & if the lockdown with happiness seen different Parish Manna being the Churches and other on the faces of those extends, the projbiblical faiths too name for ‘food’. ect intends to continue. receiving that Manna’. joined in and their The projected initiated The Youth & other passion and volunteers by zeal was infectious Dr. Richard Pereira have been fearless and his wife Canice and helped take the yet taking all Josh D’silva and tiative to a ini- the precautions started on the 30th newer level. of social distancing, of March with 25 food maskpackets in their ing & sanitization.

More than 200 donors own car accompanied have come by forFr. Gerard Rodricks; ward to chip in Dr. Richard is happy generously despite today feeds 1500 that this project per- harsh economic the a contribution sons daily through is slowdown. The funds 10 cars and over of the Church in 20 vol- this project reaching help out to Society unteers. The cars serve piping hot & is super proud venture out in different fresh quality behind of the team marked up zones standard meals it: Arabelle, Shawn, in the Bandra-Khar prepared hygienically Liam, Dr. Sim-San- Vaibhav by one, Golda, tacruz area. Partnering Foods & Al-Ron Mallaika, Terrence, with the St. Joseph Caterers. Many Anil, Poothe Worker Church others came forward ja, Griselle, Jocelin, helped reach out Candice, Jason, offering their cars, to the drivers, facemasks Daisy, needy in Bandra Sam, Jerry, Milton, East area as well. & other ways to support Allwyn, Rebecca, Manna the project.

Savio, on Wheels received Sherize, Nikhil, Reagan & Dylan. utmost support He feels and was hugely appreciated every volunteer, Dr. Richard personally donor & prayer

by Fr. Frazer Masbelieves in the partner carenhas, Parish biblical adage that who pray for the Priest at St. Peter’s. project daily for when God guides the safeHe ty of all, have provides; it’s just The fillip to the played an important programme was finding the end when means will & the contributing role in St. Peter’s Youth follow. He appreciates were brought on of themselves in this once-inboard by port of the sup- a-lifetime their coordinator Fr. Frazer right crisis.

Arabelle. They brought in constant encouragem from the start & the The project has been a testimony ent of Fr. Gerard; and teamwork to and service with Christlike love.

Every business is waiting with bated breath until normalises but what happens to your business the pandemic situation now is very importa If your business is not nt! seen you will soon be forgotten, hence act now before your competitor does by reminding Bandrai tes about your business .

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04

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BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

Manna-on-Wheels: The wheels just came to a halt

More than 40,000 meals were distributed by 30+ volunteers The St. Peter’s ‘Manna on Wheels’ outreach programme meant to meet the needs of hungry people on the streets of Bandra West started after the lockdown began, came to an end on the 16th of May. From 25 food packets to 1850 packets per day, it ultimately reached people in Bandra East & West, Khar, Santa Cruz, through 14 cars, 30+ volunteers cumulatively more than 40,000 meals were distributed, helping to meet the nutrition needs of migrant labourers, daily wage earners, the homeless & others in need.

More than 200 donors came forward to

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chip in generously despite the harsh economic slowdown providing around Rs 25 lakhs in finance.

I am confident that this activity was inspired by God’s Spirit & that “where God guides, He provides” (Isaiah 58:11). “I feel every volunteer, donor & prayer partner who prayed for the project daily for the safety of all, have all played an important role in contributing of themselves in this once-in-a-lifetime crisis. The project has been a testimony to teamwork & service with Christlike love.” said Dr. Richard.

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Lingua Lockdownica

They say every dark could has a silver lining. In the context of the now mostly unbearable lockdown, there have been a few positives. The most apparent & significant of these is the drastic improvement in air quality, and decreased levels of pollution.

One of the interesting and perhaps unintended consequences of the lockdown has also been the usage of new terminology and words by the general populace.

New words & terms, originating mostly from the field of medical science have been added to our collective vocabulary, & in the days of the lockdown, we all have begun to use them generously. A few months ago, a vast majority of us had perhaps never heard of most of these, let alone have them as an integral part of our household parlance as we do now. And of the ones we knew, most of us never had the opportunity to use them on a daily basis.

There is almost a new term or word for every letter of the English alphabet.

Let us take a look at some of the Lingua Lockdownica, which of course, is ever-increasing: Asymptomatic Breaking the Chain Containment Area Comorbidity Essentials Flattening the Curve

Global Pandemic Herd Immunity Isolation Lockdown Version Migrant Workers New Normal PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Quarantine Social Distancing Tranche Ventilator Zoom Meeting Social media has played a major role in bringing these words to the general public. The inundating, and sometimes overwhelming messages being shared on social media are almost sure to contain new & unfamiliar words, which we seem to have absorbed rather well.

So while we struggle to keep ourselves going during this lockdown, one of the silver linings is perhaps the increase in our vocabulary. At the end of the lockdown, we are certain to know more words and be familiar with more terms than we were when the lockdown started in late March.

And while these have been added to our repertoire, we hopefully won’t have to use them in the context we, unfortunately, have been, in the recent past.

Debasish Chakraverty

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BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

NEWS

05

Meals on Wheels: The Superhero Mobile Car during Covid-19 When the present is unprecedented, the reaction too has to be at par. However, it is also important to mention, that during such times the reaction in most cases is limited to self-preservation and looking out for one’s family. Yet there are a few who take a leap of faith and strive beyond the realm of this intrinsic intuition, and the service provided by St. Theresa’s team that organizes the “Meals on Wheels” initiative has done just that.

The program is actually an extension of St. Theresa’s existing reach-out program called ‘The Food Kitchen’ through which food is distributed from the church lawn twice a week. However, as the lockdown got imposed, a large gathering of people was not permissible. None the less with the need of the hour, having never been more real, Thelma D’Silva was driven to act. She realised that although the needy couldn’t come to get their meal; there was still a way to get the meal to them. Through the “Meals on Wheels” program the team has successfully catered to the needs of more than 11,000 persons in need by distributing food from a large tempo carrier.

Pope Francis’s words resonated and inspired her “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. This is how prayer works.”

Adopting this as the war cry, she and 5 other Covid-Warriors began distributing food to the homeless and to those who had gotten completely embroiled in the pandemic.

When the first drive took place on the 3rd of April, the team got aware of the ground reality. They immediately altered their plans and instead of distributing thrice a week at 4 spots, they expanded their reach to 6 spots throughout the week, except on Sundays. The areas that they cover include, Pali Naka, outside SVD House, SV Road; Khar Village, Khar junction, near Rajasthan restaurant; Khar Railway Station & main Bandra signal. The number of people they serve has also witnessed a steep rise, from the 80 persons they catered to initially; at the given point in time, they serve 380 –

400 people every day.

“The experience has been holistic in nature.” states founder and organizer, Thelma D’Silva, “But most importantly we feel safe in the protective hands of God. Along this journey, we’ve experienced many moments of joy, especially when we see the smiles on all faces we serve. We have felt the power of miracles, at those times when we felt the food would run short but fed more than we imagined; sadness to see the sheer impact and the difficulties faced by the poor and homeless; fear while serving alcoholics and drug addicts who have no control over themselves; appreciation when people come back and tell us how they enjoyed the meal. But above all, we have felt the arms of Jesus around us, protecting us every single day when we are on the field.”

The team continues to serve even during lockdown 5 and thank the parish and the donors who have supported and encouraged them along the way. Special thanks also to Khar police station for their support. People who want to donate to this noble cause can contribute to the be-

St. Theresa’s Meals on Wheels serves 380 – 400 people every day low-mentioned bank details.

A/c name: St. Theresa’s Church Food Kitchen Bank Name: Bassein Catholic Co-operative Bank Ltd SB A/C no: 052100100000087

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NEWS

BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

Choice of Croissants & Coffee It’s Lockdown 5.0 or Unlock 1.0, whichever way you want to look at it. Food is one casualty of this situation. But now you need not worry. Bandra has a newly-launched delivery restaurant, called Coffee & Croissants, with the aim to spread smiles among the people of Bandra & a little beyond (Khar & Santa Cruz) by serving some delicious & mouth-smacking croissants to choose from.

Besides almost 20 croissant options, they have a large variety of coffees to choose from, including the option of vegan coffee.

This Bandra delivery outlet believes in providing quality food at an affordable price. They slow-roast their coffee beans which is organically harvested in Chikmagalur & serve organic milk from Pride of Cows. They also provide sweet and savoury meal croissants (yes, one portion is as good as a complete meal).

Coffee & Croissants takes your daily breakfast item eggs and serve them in various different styles including street-style Burji Pav. They also have gluten-free desserts, making it a perfect match with a cup of coffee.

Coffee & Croissants will open doors for delivery from June 2 onwards through Swiggy & their personal contact-less delivery channel. To order, you may kindly contact Coffee & Croissants at 8169224602.

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BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

NEWS

07

She’s Bringing (The) Bindi Back Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Mayurie always had an inkling that she would too, start her own business someday. While avoiding assignments at university, little did she know that she would stumble onto the name Bindi Babe and that would be the beginning of her creative escapade. What started out as a small idea to explore her heritage led to recreating the otherwise classic bindi into an innovative and contemporary twist.

Being a British-Asian from England, she feels sincerely connected to her Indian roots. For her, a bindi reminds her of her mother and grandmother. “I never had my own bindi but my mom had a bag of it.

Right from felt red and black dots to ones made of colourful gems, she had it all and I would wear them when I was little.”

Mayurie has always been passionate about sketching and illustrating and so, designing bindis came to her naturally. “A bindi to me is beauty but also (about) features beyond beauty, like being wise. It’s about the Indian woman - about who she is, where she is from, her third eye, and of course, my roots.” Her biggest inspiration for this passion project are the women who raised her, while pop-culture and Bollywood’s influence have always been in the background.

At 27, Mayurie hopes to innovate and push the conversation forward about finding one’s own style while being able to share her heritage. It is ‘bringing awareness to something that is very beau-

tiful ande sharing it.’

In her own words, “a Bindi Babe is someone who expresses their own individual and unique self. It’s like you are your own art project and Bindi Babe creates a safe space for you to explore that.”

She is currently working on a oneof-a-kind diamond bindi that she wants to exhibit at the Masterpiece London Art Fair, next to Bvlgari’s and Tiffany’s.

Through this effort, she hopes that people will recognise the bindi as a jewel.

You can order a Bindi Babe online at www.bindibabe.online starting at £8-25 GBP (which by the current exchange rate is INR 745 - 2330).

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L to R: Mayurie alongside her mother and grandmother

Braving this storm at just 17 When she was just 17 … these words in the hit song ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ by the Beatles come to mind when you hear this refrain. When she is just 17 … this is what you grasp when you focus your attention on 17-year-old Kimberly Lisa Van’Drine, the pop singer-songwriter whose latest composition ‘Brave this Storm’ has been making waves for its feeling of hope and positivity in the current coronavirus lockdown days. You can catch it on YouTube as she emotionally sings and plays the piano, spreading a smile and singing about happiness waiting on the other side.

In a telephonic chat, this Bandra girl and a third-year student at The True School of Music speaks to us about her music and more.

How did this soulful song ‘Brave this Storm’ come about? Well, she has been writing music since the last two years and loves penning down a line or two, every day. The current situation with people caught in a jam, feeling alone, not knowing how to deal with it, prompted her to pen this song, to express something for herself and others, to bring hope and happiness to people through the music.

Now, she is 17 but she started her musical journey much earlier, naturally, since she hails from a musical family. At the tender age of three, she found herself on stage for a competition and from the age of seven, she has been professionally performing in various musicals as well as at private and public gigs. She took part

in the zonals and charity concerts, performed at the Celebrate Bandra event, and lent her voice to many advertisements for brands like Amul, Skoda and Servo and also done work for Disney.

She has always been exposed and inspired by music by Elvis Presley and Abba and later was enamoured by the music of Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift among many others.

This young talent draws inspiration from a variety of musical genres like soul, country, funk, jazz, blues and pop. She describes her music as very honest and simple and emotionally-driven. It’s more like story-telling, she elaborates.

In the public arena, you witness her sometimes performing with the popular family band 2 Girlz & A Guitar comprising her granddad Nelson Vaz (vocals and guitar) and his daughters Revlon Vaz Campos (vocals) and Sharon Van’Drine (vocals).

Yes, Sharon is Kimberly’s mother.

Right now, besides singing, Kimberly would like to spend more time on the piano and guitar and focus on live concerts coming up. And when she is not immersed in music, she likes to delve into psychology and literature. Well, the story has to be told.

Her social handles are: Instagram: @kimberlylisavandrine Facebook: @kimberlylisavandrine YouTube: @kimberlylisavandrine Marcellus Baptista

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JUNE 2020 | BANDRA BUZZ

NEWS

BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

09

“Lockdown is imposed on Humans, not Humanity”, says, a Bandra Corporator

Zeeshan donated 1000 certified PPE kits & face shields to the COVID-19 hospital at BKC to the Dean - Dr Rajesh Dere

Zeeshan & Baba have distributed grocery kits to 58,000 families across Bandra East & 50,000 across Bandra West

Zeeshan donated 1000 certified PPE kits & face shields to the COVID-19 hospital at BKC to the Dean - Dr Rajesh Dere

It was 2 in the noon on 10th April Good Friday which turned out to be really good when my sight landed on a group of young blokes sweating like a pig. Are you wondering why it’s good?

We would ideally lock ourselves up in an air-conditioned room with a glass of lemonade when the scorching April sun is staring upon us like an angry bird, isn’t it? Whilst I was not supposed to step out of my house as it was 17th day of lockdown, I ran out of milk so had to set off to the nearby grocery. I believe that sometimes things happen for a reason & now I know why my milk ditched me :) It seemed that these guys, dressed shabbily, were working from long. I glued my feet on the ground to see what they’re up to. Each of them was rushing to a parked tempo to unload stuffed plastic bags & knocking the door of shanties to graciously hand them over this package. Obviously, I realised that they’re relief workers trying to make sure that no one goes hungry to bed even if they’ve to put their nose to the grindstone.

The news channels & articles are stuffed up with coverage of government, NGO’s, individuals trying to help the poor survive this turmoil while they’ve lost their bread & butter.

But are we aware of what’s happening locally? Who is doing what to shield Bandraiites from this outbreak? What are the local politicians doing, what they’ve done till now? While you’re at your home waiting for the life to get back to normal, let us take you through how the government administrators in Bandra are working to make sure we get back to the normal soon.

For a moment, I forgot that I was living a life under lockdown when I visited Baba Siddique, Ex-MLA of Bandra West. The office atmosphere was so charged up to make sure that no resident of Bandra should be in their dire straits no matter whatever it takes for them. Baba Siddique, a philanthropist by religion, has kept no stone unturned for the welfare of his community & moreover the society at large. “What pains me is when humans fail humanity”, says Siddique while I learned that

he & his team of approximately 280 members work 20 hours a day to not let the community sink in distress.

From the door-to-door distribution of about 75,000 ration kits to running community kitchens feeding about 8000 mouths a day, from distributing protective gears to frontline workers to donating PPE kits to medical staff in Bhabha hospital, from sanitizing the buildings & public areas to setting up of helpline number for distribution of about 25,000 face shields to building security personnel, there is yet no end in sight. Siddique is more than grateful to about 2.9 lacs residents of Bandra who have cooperated in the collective fight to slow the spread of the virus, the result of which is visible with less number of cases in H/West ward compared to other wards.

Like father, like son. Not every father gets a chance to start his son off in his footsteps but Baba Siddique luckily did. Zeeshan Siddique, youngest MLA of Maharashtra, is fighting tooth & nail to assure that though Bandra East’s resident’s work has come to a halt but their living shouldn’t. This lion-hearted guy who has till date have donated approximately 105,000 ration kits & feeding approximately 12,000 people every day is still roaring. It takes the heart of a daredevil to personally supervise the migrant labourers departing in peace after getting their free medical checkup done. Would you even risk it a bit to bid bye to a crowd of about 50,000 migrant labours till the train departs? Zeeshan has donated 1000 PPE kits to the makeshift hospital built up in MMRDA, sanitized entire Bandra East putting fire brigade system on work along with making sure that the pre-monsoon work is not affected too.

Asif Zakaria, Municipal Councillor of H/West ward 101, has yet not taken his foot off the pedal. His day sets in way before sunrises. If you would have happened to pass by the Hill Road during the lockdown, you could have seen camps erected in St. Stanislaus School, all credit goes to Mr Zakaria.

Not only he managed to set up the labour camps in the school with the help of Fr. Fraser Mascarenhas but roped in Nargis Dutt Foundation to help with the installation of essentials like mattresses, sanitizers, etc. He deserves to be acknowledged for not only donating over 10,000 masks to Bhabha hospital but also protecting BMC labours by providing them masks, sanitizers & face shields. The list is endless as he initiated setting up of Covid Care Centre at BMC Nursing Home in Khar West. He can resonate with our feeling of staying indoors from over 60 days while thanking Bandra residents for staying firm & determined which helped in slowing down the spread of the virus.

Heckling to find beds for suspected patients, Raja Rahebar Khan, Ex-Municipal Councillor, along with his wife Mumtaz Rahebar Khan, Municipal Councillor of H/West ward 102, are working alongside to make sure that sick & poor residents are not left untreated at the mercy of a collapsing healthcare system. Managing not so cash-rice & most populated ward in Bandra West, getting people to stay away from each other is a big challenge. Struggling to let things fall in place, Raja & Mumtaz have helped in running community kitchen in Bohri Masjid to not let approx. those 3000 souls go to bed without food. Undaunted by the fear of contracting the virus, Raja himself has stepped in containment zones distributing food packets, grocery kits, facilitating setting up of medical camps for health checkup of all the residents. Sounds like a daredevil, isn’t it?

Municipal Councillor Asif Zakaria initiated setting up of Covid Care Centre at BMC Nursing Home in Khar West

Asif managed to set up the Migrant Workers’ Relief Camp at St Stanislaus with the help of Fr. Fraser Mascarenhas

As they say, the grass always looks greener on the other side. Most of us feel that the corporators are asleep on the job but let’s not turn our back to all things good performed by them. For us, it is easy to tuck in the house protecting ourselves but they work with only one underlying motto: “And the show must go on...”

Jasmine Keshwani

Rahebar arranged a Covid-19 camp along with H/West ward Health Dept. at Shastri Nagar to check swab samples

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NEWS

BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

Children & Quarantine The sudden, almost overnight, disruption of schedules, routines, family life, & general familiarity, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, has brought something just as devastating as the virus itself, into our lives. Adults have experienced loneliness, depression, & a sense of uncertainty during lockdowns enforced in many countries to contain the spread of the virus. If the virus has had (& is still having) this effect on adults, what might it unleash, emotionally, on children, you may well ask.

The period we are all going through right now may be especially stressful for children, leading to anxiety in many young kids. Circumstances are only exacerbated if parents are fearful & anxious (also perfectly justified), as children ‘model’ their parents. If they see that their parents are coping well, they tend to deal with a frightening situation in a positive way.

Our vibrant Bandra community has a lot to offer in the way of activities, especially ones that are child-friendly. It is, & I say this proudly, a very optimistic place to live & breathe (even if it may be through a mask!). We are blessed with two never-ending promenades, with kids’ parks at both ends, restaurants, coffee shops, clubs, theatres, & a myriad of innovating training classes that offer kids creative outlets, & breathers for parents. Besides this, there’s the glorious sea, that not many crowded locales in Mumbai are privy to. Only now, all this has come to a grinding halt due to quarantine & lockdown. Parents, formerly at work, are now in their homes, having to ‘work on’ their children & coping with other issues, such as not having a full-time help at home, getting hold of basic essentials & dealing with other daily catastrophic events. Many a time, a time ago, the nanny was the mainstay of the Indian home & parents were ‘free’ to pursue their respective careers & social lives. Children would be enrolled in classes of some sort or other or coaching in sports at clubs. To sum it up, kids were busy & so were their parents.

That was the ‘normal’. At least, the ‘normal’

of the decently wealthy lot, the upwardly mobile & the aspirational middle class.

Even if you think of the less privileged kids, they had outlets too. They would play cricket in Bandra’s narrow lanes. Many boys & girls would just play outside their shanties. Everyone had their own way to pass the time & enjoy their childhood. Now think of this: kids, all of them, are stuck in rooms, no fresh air insight, no cycling, no friends to meet & no nanny (as she may have run off to be with her own family, again, quite understandable).

Mothers (& fathers) have told me that they “don’t know what to do with their kids”. This sounds as though they are now realising that they actually need to keep their children engaged constructively. It’s a wake-up call of sorts. We should all see the positive aspect of this & make up for ‘lost time’. You get exposed to all kinds of folks, & since everyone isn’t the same, it’s no surprise when I hear what parents have to say about their kids & how they’re coping in this lockdown. A young mum in my building lamented, “Online classes are a bore.

Zain is engaged in them for only an hour, he can’t pay attention for longer.” That’s commendable for a child of 6. An hour is an achievement. Nonetheless, the more serious complaint from this very mother was the fact that she had to sit with him! She said she got fed up in ten minutes! That’s the reason she misses the nanny! I wonder at the priorities of some folks. Another parent is proud of her 7-year old daughter, who helps her dust the house. The child enjoys the activity so much, she’s tired out by the end of the day & just looks at her picture books. Another mum told me that she has two daughters who enjoy climbing on the furniture (ages 4 & 7, respectively) & running about in the house. I can bear testament to the fact that they are thoroughly enjoying themselves as I live just below them! I’ve just advised the family to be cautious while they’re landing somewhere – we don’t need any untoward accidents & hospital visits at this time! It helps to have

a sibling or a pet during the lockdown there’s company & lots to do.

There are ways to help kids remain occupied, especially if they are only children: · Stay connected with others – you can Skype or FaceTime with extended family & friends. Have the kids ‘perform’ for their grandparents over video calls. · Select a dance or workout video & do it with your child. · Read & draw with your child – just play with him/her too. Look at craft videos, & you’ll be surprised at how happy your kids are just being with you. You can also rediscover carrom & card games. Or just plain board games – a novelty that parents & kids of today are amazed at! · Keep to the kids’ routines, so they feel a sense of normalcy…stick to the same time for waking up, dressing, schoolwork, etc. · Remain calm & normal yourself – get them to help you with your own household chores, such as dishwashing, or simple cooking. · Acknowledge that there is, for the present, a new normal way of living…talk about being flexible & meeting new challenges together as a team.

Building resilience will help you & your child, in the long run. Outcomes can only yield positive results.

Scherezade Mansukhani

There are ways to help kids remain occupied, especially if they are only children: • Stay connected with others – you can Skype or FaceTime with extended family and friends. Have the kids ‘perform’ for their grandparents over video calls.

• Select a dance or workout video and do it with your child.

• Read and draw with your child – just play with him/her too. Look at craft videos, and you’ll be surprised at how happy your kids are just being with you. You can also rediscover carrom and card games.

Or just plain board games – a novelty that parents and kids of today are amazed at!

• Keep to the kids’ routines, so they feel a sense of normalcy…stick to the same time for waking up, dressing, doing schoolwork, etc.

• Remain calm and normal yourself – get them to help you with your own household chores, such as dishwashing, or simple cooking.

• Acknowledge that there is, for the present, a new normal way of living…talk about being flexible and meeting new challenges together as a team.

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BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

NEWS

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6 Months Pregnant Amidst A Pandemic Does inspiration always strike in the most scenic of locations or amidst a crowded street? I believe wanting to narrate a story to a few more people than the ones in your immediate social circles, is reason enough to start writing. I’m a content writer and co-founder of my baby Digital Batter. And, I’m currently 6 months pregnant amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Relatable to some of you already? I’m glad!

2020 has proved that expecting mothers don’t necessarily incessantly speak about their baby, their pregnancy and this life-altering experience they’ve embarked upon. Coronavirus offered plenty of conversations. Pretty much every piece of WhatsApp news, to Cardi B’s significant rant, made dinner table conversation for a while.

From being a child in a close-knit joint family, I moved into a home and marriage where my husband’s responsibilities made a lot of the things I previously prioritized seem trivial. A reality-check of sorts. Once the coast was rather clear, and we were done with our fair share of globetrotting as well, we decided to grow this little family. Little did we know!

How does one create an image in mind? Surely, it’s a collection of what we see around us, and what we pick from it. I had an image in mind for these 9 months too. It had a lot to do with the pregnancies I’ve witnessed in the last 4 odd years. A healthy pregnancy was always priority number one, quickly followed by everything else I had pictured. We had travel plans, the cancellation of which didn’t strangely feel quite as disappointing as all of the other things that were suddenly forbidden. This pandemic took a couple of months to grow, to hit our cities, yet it feels as though plans were cancelled overnight.

The pregnancy I had in mind involved spending a substantial amount of time with my parents, family and cousins. It involved an active lifestyle, being at work every day, weekends with friends, a fun maternity wardrobe, a mandatory Lonavala trip, movies and dinners with my husband, conversations and tips on pregnancy and parenting from every relative possible, and most certainly a baby

shower and an intimate and warm godh bharai at home.

As soon as you snap out of it, you realize how fortunate you are to be safe at home, with your partner and/or family.

Priorities shifted. It isn’t about all the cute, fun and sometimes unnecessary things you can buy now, it’s about sourcing essentials for that hospital bag and the baby that’s making its way into this world right now. But, would I be human if I didn’t ponder over what could have been? Well, for starters, my parents and siblings haven’t seen my baby bump in person yet!

This pandemic has left nations gripped in chaos, and battling the uncertainty it brings with it, isn’t exactly easy while preparing to bring another life into this world. Being immunocompromised while the world scuffles such a situation comes with its challenges. I recently watched a video where journalist Faye D’Souza interviewed Dr. Kiran Coelho, Head of Gynecology at Lilavati Hospital, who recommended pregnant women to isolate themselves from family members in the same house as well. My gynecologist, Dr. Gayatri Rao at Women’s Hospital, also in a recent Instagram live talk mentioned that regardless of the lockdown opening, pregnant women should continue to work from home should their delivery be in July/August.

I spoke to a few other expecting mothers, whilst writing this piece. Urvashi Damani was 39 weeks pregnant when we connected and just delivered a beautiful and healthy baby 2 days after our conversation. Urvashi strongly believes that a reliable and reassuring doctor during such unprecedented times is everything! She looked at this lockdown as an opportunity for working mothers to spend time with their husbands and families, bond with their babies and felt grateful for being in a city like Mumbai where stores like Green Bell and Design Touch are delivering essentials for newborns.

Kavya Agarwal, 26 weeks into her first pregnancy, is making the most of her time home with family.

An empathetic thought, she worries that if she purchases essentials for her baby too early, she might cause a lack of products for someone who needs them right away.

“I think we need to be positive, largely because I believe that your thoughts affect the baby. There are more than enough things we can do at home to stay happy and healthy!”, I quote Kavya.

Vijeyta Khanolkar represents the Provincial Government of Canada and assists in trade and investment services. She and her husband had planned to travel through Italy, but soon enough strolling by canals, through quaint cafes, seemed a far-

fetched dream. Vijeyta had registered with a hoespital owing to their NICU facilities but has now shifted her preference to a maternity hospital to avoid coming in contact with a Covid ward. She’s kept herself considerably busy during the lockdown, relearning old skills and trying her hand at Photoshop and video editing software. I speak for all expecting moms that are procrastinating to some extent, it’s amazing that you get yourself to do all the things you do, Vijeyta!

Between this global crisis, and the pressure to stay happy and positive for the health of the baby, to read good books, listen to light music, I realize the importance of mental health more than ever. It’s so easy to start spiralling and lose hope, and that’s when I intentionally practice gratitude. I may not have additional help post-delivery, but I see an extremely supportive partner and family to turn to. I may be immunocompromised, but that’s when I feel a little kick inside the belly, reminding me that we’re stronger together!

Shilpa GunmeetMago

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BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

How to Keep Mind & Body Fit at Home?

Exercises, both physical as well as mental are often the most neglected pillars of lifestyle the moment life gets busy. It’s quite common to hear “I missed my workouts because we were travelling or we had meetings all day or we had social commitments or I missed my meditation because I did not get time or my mind wasn’t stable” & so on. On the other hand, we have some people doing their workout for an hour but are sedentary the whole day, these are called “sedentary active” people & thus their workout won’t reap targeted benefits & hence we should always prefer activity with exercise or activity over exercises. Likewise, if you engage in a good meditation/chanting for an hour but rest of the day you keep shouting or cribbing or complaining about things, that meditation isn’t going to help you to achieve that perfect mental peace.

Exercise is the simplest & most inexpensive way to shed off any kind of anxiety & boost the endorphins aka happy hormones. Exercises can improve blood circulation & thus facilitate the reach of oxygen & nutrients in every cell of the body. Also, exercise induces sweating which further has multiple benefits like removing toxins from your body, balancing electrolytes, balancing body temperature, boosting skin glow, boosting immunity as it has antimicrobial peptides in it etc. One must not use any kind of antiperspirants to block the sweat glands, else the toxins aren’t released & that can create a toxic overload in the body. Exercises, when done the right way, keeps you moving, burning calories, helps you maintain body weight, maintain joint health & flexibility, preserving/building muscle tissue & releases stress.

Life can get busy with travelling, work, social life or at times we are unable to get to our preferred health & fitness facility for a workout despite having a desire to do so.

However, workouts do not have to be complex. In fact, we notice that some of the most effective exercises are also the simplest. Here are some simple ways to stay physically & mentally active at home. These do not require anything, except self-discipline. We can use our own body weight for the number of these exercises too.

Physical Fitness: Stairs: You can take a quick trip to stairs – up and down to get your heart racing and get working on your core, glutes and calf muscles too. It’s the simplest and the easiest way to burn more fat. However, care needs to be taken if you have a knee pain as it can worsen it if not done in the right manner.

Wall sits: These can be done anywhere anytime. For eg: till the time you wait for your tea to get ready or coffee to brew, you can do a couple of repetitions of wall sits

MENTAL FITNESS: Chanting: Chanting a prayer or a mantra can quickly calm you down as you awaken your spiritual side. Eg: Omkar Chants, Gayatri Mantra, Bhramari pranayama.

Deep Breathing: Most sedentary people have shallow breathing. We have to be conscious and start breathing deeply as the presence of oxygen in the body can reduce the chances of illness by boosting immunity. Deep breathing can shift your body from sympathetic nervous system to parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for rest and relaxation. It can instantly help you reduce BP by certain points and brings down anxiety in stressful situations. which keeps your core and lower body (thigh and glutes) engaged.

Chair: Move to the front of the seat and don’t use backrest and this engages core muscles. You can sit on a medicine ball too if you have one. Since you will be sitting on the edge automatically your posture will be upright allowing you to breathe more freely and thus enough oxygen reaches the cells of the body to help the brain function better, improve alertness, better idea and focus. See to it that feet are kept flat on the ground while doing this activity.

Stretches: We all know sitting is the new smoking & thus it’s very important to stand up after every hour & stretch the whole body from head to toe. If you’re at work & can’t stretch freely, you can check a quick desk stretch on online. Also, sitting for a longer time can make you slouch and this improper posture can hurt the lower back or upper back, in the long run, hence conscious breaks every few hours is a must.

Post Meal walk: This is the simplest practice you can adopt to make sure your gut health is in place, as well as blood sugar levels, are balanced. You can do 10-15 mins of mild walking, 30 mins after you finish your meal. Doing it after breakfast, lunch & dinner will make sure your activity through the day is well divided.

Active loo breaks: You can make some workout targets for the day to finish a list of exercises & sets. If you’ve a busy day, you can choose to do one exercise with the number of sets pre-decided after every visit to the washroom. By the end of the day, you’ll have all your workout targets well achieved despite being a “busy” day.

NEAT activities: These are Non Exercise Activity induced Thermogenesis. We can take up some fun activities like gardening, cleaning, domestic chores (getting your own water, food, keeping plates post a meal, getting remote control by yourself,

opening doors etc.), playing with kids, organizing shelves etc. which will allow a lot of movements targeting different sets of muscles in the body.

Online workouts: With the digitalised era, everything is accessible on tips of your fingers. You can download apps like Cult, Workout woman, Hasfit, NTC, Sworkit etc; or you can browse websites like popsugar fitness, fitness blender etc can be used to bring about the variations & creativity in your workouts.

Eye Workout: With screen exposure increasing across all age groups, it’s very very essential we spend few hours of the day off the screen & also take short breaks while at work to do a quick eye exercise routine which involves eyeball rotations, contractions – relating & focusing on an object at a distance as well as the tip of the nose. A regular practice of these will make sure circulation around the eyes is optimal. Care to be taken to switch phones & gadgets to dark mode in the evenings & preferably use a blue cut reading glasses to protect the eyes further.

Bodyweight exercise: You can target the whole body or part of the body & can do a whole workout session. Best would be to choose 5-7 exercises & do a couple of repetitions with some breaks in between for rest. Some of the bodyweight exercises you can do are: Jumping Jacks, Wall Sit, Pushups, Crunches, squats, tricep dips using a chair, planks, high knees, lunges, push-ups etc. Also, many yoga asanas can be done at home without any equipment. Consider seeking a professional if it contraindicates your health.

Passive Exercises: This is for bedridden patients who cannot walk or move. Simply pressing their soles of the feet & assisting them in some stretches like raising a hand up & down, raising each leg up & down, neck rotations etc shall help in getting the circulatory & lymphatic system activated.

Meditation: You can do any form of meditation which suits you – via Heartfulness, Insight timer app, Vedic Mantra app, calm app. These are some of the platforms you can explore if you’re a beginner and need some guidance. You can also check for global meditations that are held by professionals and join them live.

Pranayama: A daily routine of pranayama can help you stay in peace of mind for a long time. You can include cleansing techniques like kapalabhati followed by alternate nostril breathing, bhramari pranayama, ujjayi pranayama, bhastrika etc.

Doing it with the right technique will help you reap maximum benefits and help you to slow down your heart rate as well. Pranayama can facilitate more oxygen circulating in the cells of the body. Care should be taken that every pranayama may not suit your health condition and seeking professional guidance is recommended.

Visualisations, Affirmations, Journaling: All of these have a deep relation with a healthy mind and body. You can start gradually to list down things you’re grateful for, things you want to accept and let go and finally some affirmations related to self-health. Also, closing eyes and sitting in silence while visualising yourself in better mind and body shape shall work like a therapy. You must avoid using negative words like Not, never, don’t etc while writing affirmations. Affirmations work best when you write assertively in the present tense.

For optimal health, over and above these physical and mental fitness, it is also important to remember to sleep well, eat enough proteins, good fats, vitamins and minerals through a balanced meal and stay hydrated. Also, it’s important to seek professional advice for you to be aware of the contraindications for a specific exercise.

Luke Coutinho

BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

NEWS

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BANDRA BUZZ | JUNE 2020

Book Review: Strangers in the Night

Ruhee Advani, by her own admission, seems to have been around in the writing firmament, for over two decades, as a writer of short stories, plays & children´s books. This seems to be her first fulllength novel. Let´s now cut to the chase.

I have been a long-time fan of Frank Sinatra. So, I guess it was the title which drew me to the book. The book is very aptly named. Like in the song, two strangers meet at night (outside a London night club in this case) and while they do not exchange glances or serenade each other, the first stirrings of love get ignited in the damp London magical night. So, that´s the way love begins, after sparring, thrusting and thwarting ripostes like skilled sword fighters.

It´s a typical angry boy - meets coy girl-angry boy hates coy girl-coy girl hates angry boy-angry boy falls for coy girl – coy girl falls for angry boy - kind of romance reminds me of those old Hindi movies where a girl with a group of her friends is out on a bicycle ride. From the opposite side comes the hero who while driving an open left-hand drive car, deliberately knocks the girl down. She gets up very angry and slaps the hero. Next scene – they meet “accidentally” in a common friend´s house and the next thing you know - love (inexplicably) is in the air…. You are forgiven if you thought that only Bollywood unfailingly churns out such romantic potboilers. Ruhee Advani does replicate a mirror image of sorts, in this novel of hers.

I will not handhold you through this mushy tale from start to finish. No way, I´ll leave something for you to discover for yourself. Suffice to say, Ruhee´s style is quite unique. The entire story has just 3 main characters. The other characters like in a play, make fleeting appearances, say

their lines and then depart. That these 3 characters hold your attention, is I guess a tribute to the skill and dexterity of the Author.

As mentioned earlier, the story is set in London. Alisha, a disgruntled TV news Reporter from Mumbai, is on holiday in London & staying with her super-rich classmate & bestie. This friend of hers Anandita, is outwardly quite a Bohemian, loves to let her hair down on weekends, partying away in night clubs, till the wee hours of the morning. Anandita is a lonely, frustrated soul desperately looking for her Prince Charming. As Prince Charming seems nowhere on the horizon, Anandita recklessly indulges in one night stands & uses and discards men at will. In this bizarre world of hers, steps in bestie, Alisha.

Alisha, is the antithesis of Anandita.

Even at 26 years, she has all her “virtues intact” something that the uninhibited promiscuous Anandita finds extremely perplexing. The story underlines the fact that people are a mix of complex emotions and difficult to fathom. The so-far caring Anandita, inexplicably metamorphoses into a jealous manipulating virago, when she encounters Arjun, Alisha´s beau, for the first time. Anandita is smitten by Arjun and immediately plots to seduce him and entice him away from her bestie. Her Jekyll and Hyde character comes to the fore in just one night of reckoning. However, things eventually pan out and Anandita ruefully accepts that Arjun is not only not interested in her, he is actually contemptuous of her.

In this whole melodrama, Alisha comes out as the sugary sweet girl, with not an ounce of malice in her body. In fact, Alisha is made out to be the epitome of goodness, a Goddess too good to be true. That the scheming Anandita, too miraculously has a change of heart and turns over a new leaf in just one night, is also too good to be true! On the upside, the millennials and the romantically inclined will find familiar chords in this book, to strike music. On the downside, the conversations, innuendoes and reflections keep dragging interminably at times, to the point of boredom. Perhaps a faster pace and less of verbosity would enhance the appeal of the book, even to the oldies. Still, for the sheer audacity of writing a book with just 3 main characters, I must hand it to Ruhee. She got my undivided attention in all the 16 chapters, the characters traversed. I am not one to suffer fools gladly nor one who exchanges glances with Strangers in the night….

Ruhee, more power to your elbow.

Edwin Fernandes

Focus on Economy

In April PM made appeal to focus on the economy, after 40-day lockdown that crippled the nation, bashed up the economy, broke the back of migrant workers & left millions jobless.

In May migrant labourers are still on highways walking on foot, cycling and driving auto-rickshaws, paying for a ride on trucks with wives and children to reach remote villages of UP & Bihar. Some died from heat, exhaustion and hunger, others killed by automobile accidents and still, others run over by trains. Their dead bodies are a reminder of the curse that will befall on Politicians & Babus responsible for the demise of our migrant workers.

Pressing the lockdown panic button without thinking, without planning and without consulting experts, is now having its worst aftereffects on the economy, neglected for 6 years & worse since Corona pandemic began in last 2 months.

The Grand Old Party now almost defunct said every time there is an opportunity to come on TV, whether it is banging thalis with spoons or lighting candles, the idea is to grab eyeballs or to put it in another way ‘headline hunting’.

The latest self-promotion exercises of disbursing 20 lakh crores bailout is PM’s idea of uplifting economy. Actually, it is not a bailout, but a sellout. The plan is to give loans to MSME’s to boost the industry. Remember it is a loan, not a charity. The amount sounds big, but is all hocus-focus, in a typical manner how governments work, worldwide.

After 50 days government is now finally waking up to find their coffers are empty. Kerala & Karnataka have gone bust & no money to pay government salaries.

There are more such states, but they are not coming out with the truth because they don’t want the people to know, how much has gone in the loot. The PM’s visit to different countries in six years has been a well-crafted publicity stunt with no investments to buck up our sagging economy or promote trade. This is the reason why GDP has slumped from 10 to 1%.

Lockdown came to rid menace of Corona. In spite of it, we are not doing any

better or free from it. On 4th March there were 4 deaths in India. In two months the figure stands at 2300 & rising. China the originator of the pandemic virus is not free from it even after lifting lockdown two weeks ago. They have bigger idiots than us.

America, UK, Italy & Spain suffered most from Corona. Their economies have slipped into negative growth. UK has for the first time in 300 years gone into a deep recession. As of now USA has 15% unemployment & 85,000 deaths & rising, a casualty rate more than the Vietnam War. Governments may order strict social distancing, sanitize entire communities, enforce harsh lockdown measures, yet the virus will still remain until there is a vaccine to eliminate it completely.

Opening liquor shops in Mumbai was another case of disaster management gone awry. After 40 days without booze, long queues were seen of people standing in the hot sun, some even paid to stand in line. As seen all norms of social distancing gone to the winds. Another rumour was buying a bottle for 500 & selling for 2000.

If we are not good at management or governance, at least we are a genius in black marketing.

AIIMS, New Delhi stated Corona will peak mid-June ’20 & dissipate August. The situation in Mumbai wasn’t good from the start. Putting cops on high alert with lathis to enforce social distancing is not going to chase away Corona. The Govt. has forgotten its mantra on our culture – Saab Chalta Hai attitude. Delhi experts visited Mumbai 15th April & 5th May & reported no progress. Video went viral showing Covid dead bodies wrapped in plastic in Sion & KEM hospital wards. Instead of holding the Health Minister accountable for such blatant negligence, BMC Commissioner got the boot. So far 900 MAHA Cops have tested Covid positive & 16 dead. No country can eradicate Corona by walking around with long danda.

What Mumbai needs is to replace slums with flats. For that, you need political guts because slums are vote-banks.

Amar Singh

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