Gaadi Var Gaadi
A mountain of discarded vehicles piled up at the Kurla depot.
Blasts and smoke linger
Moments and memories of that day when the mood was that of stunned disbelief. File pic/Sameer Markande
The Ahmedabad plane crash took this diarist right back to June 2018, when a small plane had crashed in Mumbai’s densely populated Ghatkopar area, falling on an under-construction building. A day later, when one visited Ghatkopar, the lane where the plane fell, known as MTNL galli, had been rechristened as “plane crash galli”.
One recalled a duo who were eating snacks sitting near the site speaking about hearing blasts so loud that it nearly blew them off their chair. Even as one spoke, overhead, planes seemed to skim the tops of buildings and residents stated that after that they trembled when they saw aircraft. Many said that the acrid smell of smoke still lingered in their nostrils, and that was most enduring memory, in fact. Our prayers go out to everyone affected.
How to be heard
Gauri Devidayal, podcaster since 2018, will host one of the sessions
Whether you’re a podcasting novice or simply curious about the medium, Podcasting 101: Discover Your Voice, Share Your Stories is your chance to learn from those who’ve done it all. Hosted by Rituraj Singh, Senior Podcast Partner Manager at Spotify India, this immersive one-day workshop on June 21 at Essar House, Mahalaxmi, will walk participants through the building blocks of podcasting, from content ideation to publishing and promotion.
Participants will also get a live demo of the Spotify for Creators app and hear from Gauri Devidayal, co-founder of The Food Matters Group and host of Speak Greasy, her fourth podcast, focused on the F&B industry. “In my session, I’ll cover technical aspects like quality audio-video, the content side — what makes a podcast engaging — and how podcasting can build your personal brand,” says Devidayal.
Design, pitch, solve
The winning team with Tanya K of Austrade, Susie Ho of Monash, and MS Unnikrishnan of IITB-Monash Research Academy
Australia`s Monash University, in collaboration with JBCN International School, hosted the first Indian edition of the Monash Innovation Guarantee (MIG) Programme last week. The three-day programme brought together 53 learners from Grades VIII and IX across JBCN campuses to tackle real-world challenges through collaboration and innovation. Learners worked on live briefs from organisations, guided by global mentors. The programme culminated in a pitch session judged by an industry panel, with the top team awarded in a closing ceremony.
A dose of encouragement for Gill & Co
Australia’s Alan Turner in the World Cup final at Lord’s on June 21, 1975. Pic/Getty Images
Recently, Daily Dossier had an item on how cricket’s unexpected ways came to light when Australia drew the 1972 series in England after the pundits reckoned Ian Chappell’s visiting team were the worst side to leave Australian shores. Our snippet was aimed at offering the England-bound inexperienced Indian team some hope. The 1972 Australians sprung a surprise with wins in the second Test at Lord’s and the fifth and final Test at the Oval, where the series honours were shared although England kept the Ashes by virtue of their 1970-71 win Down Under.
Our in-house cricket nut walked all the way to our desk armed with another example of an unexpected show by Australia after being written off.
According to him, the man who didn’t give Australia a chance to do well in the 1975 Prudential World Cup was their captain-turned-broadcaster Richie Benaud.
“Our boys [Australia] simply do not have enough experience of this kind of cricket [one-day internationals] which is vastly different to Sheffield Shield matches or Tests. There are defensive aspects of this game in field placings and bowling virtually unknown to our players,” wrote Benaud, who tipped hosts England to lift the trophy.
Clive Lloyd’s West Indies took home the Cup, but they had to combat a tough Australian team in the final. As for England, they were beaten by their old enemy
in the semi-finals. Shubman Gill & Co, hope you are reading this.
Queerness in the printed word
Parmesh Shahani
Godrej Dei Lab, the diversity and inclusion initiative of the Godrej Industries Group and Westland Books, have taken the initiative to come out with an imprint for LGBTQIA+ communities. Called Queer Directions, the imprint will involve genres like non-fiction, poetry, and eventually, fiction, with publishing house Westland.
We will be able to look forward to some memoirs to imaginative narratives for younger readers, Queer Directions aims to build an ever-expanding bridge between queer creators and readers this year.
Parmesh Shahani, Head of Godrej DEI Lab and author of Queeristan, will serve as Series Editor for Queer Directions. Shahani said, “The idea is to build a bridge, not a border. At a time when queer rights are being challenged across the world, this imprint stands as both an act of solidarity and a space to nurture fresh, authentic voices from within the LGBTQIA+ communities. It will showcase the rich diversity of queer lives to straight allies and non-queer readers.”
Westland Books, which has steadily built a credible LGBTQiA+ list over the years, from Queeristan to recent acclaimed fiction by Unmana and Santanu Bhattacharya, now takes a bold step forward with this focused publishing programme.
