A (Un)Civil War
This stunning photograph—which would make any Impressionist master jealous—took the top prize in the ‘2020 Bird Photographer of the Year’ awards. We also highly recommend a high-res, full screen viewing of all the 2020 winners over at the BPOTY . And you can see this year’s finalists .
THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE A maha mess over vaccines: Maharashtra’s Health Minister warned that the state will run out of vaccines in three days. The warning in turn drew an enraged response from the Union Health Minister who : “The lackadaisical attitude of the Maharashtra government has singularly bogged down the entire country’s efforts to fight the virus… Allegations of vaccine shortage are utterly baseless.” Because what we really need in the midst of a second wave is a Centre-State jhagda? Meanwhile, everyone is shocked by of eight bodies of Covid victims being cremated on a single pyre. has that story. Oxford vaccine doubts: South Korea the rollout of the Oxford vaccine due to concerns over blood clots. The UK government issued a with data: 79 cases developed clots out of the 20 million people vaccinated, of which 19 have died. Three of them are under 30, and two-thirds of the clots occurred in women (yikes!). As a “course correction,” the government will offer to people under the age of 30. Our question: Er, what about the women? We ask since the leading European health agency’s data also shows that most of the cases occurred in women under 60. Covid and your brain: A new Lancet study shows that people diagnosed with Covid in the past six months are more likely to develop depression, dementia, psychosis and stroke. A third of those who got Covid went on to develop or have a relapse of a psychological or neurological condition. The most common are anxiety or mood disorders caused by stress, while strokes etc are caused by the virus’ effects on the brain. has more. New mask rules: The Delhi High Court has issued a ruling making it mandatory to wear a mask even if you are the sole occupant of a car. The logic: your car is “public property.” () A far bigger problem: The Kumbh mela which is taking place in the midst of a second wave. reports that at a government meeting, a senior official said: "If the government does not decide to end Kumbh before the stipulated time, it may become a COVID-19 'super spreader’.” (duh!) But the government has no plans to shut it down. Its new policy: “The government is forming a team that will appeal to all with the help of sadhus and religious leaders to ensure pilgrims, who are visiting the Kumbh, wear masks and follow social distancing.” Yup, that should work! Also ineffective: night curfews, which is now being imposed in . But these don’t really do anything to curb the spread—and instead hurt restaurants and other businesses. According to one expert: “The only purpose I can think they serve is to give a break to police and those in allied jobs, who are in charge of enforcing Covid-19 appropriate behaviour in the day.” has more on this. Meanwhile, in Brazil: The country recorded 4,000 deaths in a single day—taking the overall toll to 337,000. Experts : > "Brazil now... is a threat to the entire effort of the international community to control the pandemic… If Brazil is not under > control, then the planet is not going to be safe, because we are brewing new variants every week... and they are going to cross > borders.” On a lighter note: Rapper Will.i.am with Honeywell to launch with “Bluetooth connectivity, LED day glow lights, noise canceling audio and microphone capabilities, seven hours of battery life and a magnetic earbud docking system.” Also, it looks like something out of a sci-fi dystopia: AN AMBANI CASE UPDATE The prime accused, Sachin Vaze, submitted a letter to the special National Intelligence Agency court. In it he accuses various Maharashtra ministers of corruption—including Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Transport Minister Anil Parab and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. He says each of them—on separate occasions—asked him to variously shake down contractors, gutka sellers, bars and restaurants for money. The court refused to accept the letter. has more. FORBES’ FILTHY RICH LIST The magazine put out its of billionaires—which has 660 additional entries this year, taking the total to 2,755. Also: We added 1 new billionaire every 17 hours, during the pandemic, no less! And the Tyler Perry, Kim Kardarshian and Kanye West. The #1 and #2 spots are occupied by Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. The of the world: Beijing with 100 fat cats, and it narrowly beat New York City for the top ranking. The filthy rich Indians: Mukesh Ambani is once again Asia’s richest person with $84.5 billion—after losing out to AliBaba’s Jack Ma last year. The second richest Indian: Gautam Adani, followed by Shiv Nadar. Point to note: The top three added a staggering $100 billion to their wealth last year. has more on the India list. A NEW LINKEDIN SCAM This online peril is called ‘spear phishing’—where the hackers post fake job openings: “Victim receives an email that leads them to a fake website infected with malware allowing the hacker to install malware or steal data from the victim’s computer.” What makes it even sneakier: They lure you into clicking on a zip file with a job offer that is customised to the job title you use on your profile. () OLYMPICS IN NEW CHINA ROW The International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave a uniform contract for the Tokyo Summer Olympics and the Beijing Winter Olympics to a Chinese textiles company that openly advertises its use of Xinjiang cotton. Why this matters: Uighur and other ethnic minorities are used as slave labour in detention camps in the region. Human rights activists are up in arms. The IOC says the company gave them a certificate of origin which indicates the cotton came from outside China. Also: "Given the diverse participation in the Olympic Games, the IOC must remain neutral on all global political issues.” () Meanwhile, in China: Television channels are of global brands that have expressed concerns about Xinjiang. We’re not kidding! They are earnestly scrubbing all offending t-shirts, sneakers etc., and the results look like this: A BEAUTY PAGEANT UPROAR The finale of ‘Mrs Sri Lanka’ turned into an ugly mess when the winner Pushpika De Silva was publicly and immediately stripped of her crown on stage. Last year’s Mrs Sri Lanka, Caroline Jurie, ripped it off her head—and placed it on the head of the runner up, announcing that De Silva had been disqualified. The reason: She is divorced. De Silva burst into tears, and stormed off stage. The good news: the contest organisers plan to return the crown to De Silva. has more details. below at the 1:15 mark: In related news: Lucy Maino who was crowned Miss Papua New Guinea in 2019 was stripped of her title because she shared a video of her twerking on TikTok 🙄. has the story. See the below: A FEW WONDROUS THINGS One: This Bronze Age slab of rock may be the oldest map of Europe. It was first discovered in 1900 in France, but no one understood the significance of the etchings until now. The 4,000-year old stone depicts a small region in France. has the story, but has far better infographics and photos. See it below: Two: Astronomers have discovered a huge and mysterious structure shaped like jellyfish in space. Dubbed USS Jellyfish, it is spread across one million-plus light years, and is made of plasma. It is like nothing ever been observed before. What’s truly amazing: “It is indeed exceptionally old, at more than two billion years, and by luck it's remained highly undisturbed over that time.” has the nerdy details. below: Three: Hyundai the Guinness Book of World Records with a —which launched the most unmanned aerial vehicles airborne simultaneously. The event marked the introduction of its luxury vehicle in China. See it below:
This 1952 Oscar-winning stop-motion titled ‘Neighbours’ has a universal message—spelled out at the end in multiple languages, including Hindi: Apne padosi ke saath prem purvak vyavahar kijiye (act lovingly toward your neighbour). (h/t founding member Kruthika Ravi Kumar)
: That time when subscriber Shobha Das rescued the most adorable baby owl ❤️ … : A child demonstrates the least ideal way to add flour to your recipe. : The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand demonstrates the least ideal way to put out a forest fire—especially when you’re doing it for a staged photo-op. : A young man demonstrates the least ideal way to fix your wooden deck.
I RECOMMEND EDITOR’S NOTE Thomas Zacharias, quite honestly needs no introduction. As executive chef, he powered the success of the wildly popular, multiple award-winning ‘The Bombay Canteen’. And his remain a source of continual delight for his devoted fans—which includes the entire splainer team. We’re so happy he agreed to do this for us!! OVER TO THOMAS... As someone who has been obsessed with food and cooking for nearly three decades now (yes, I’m only 35, but I started out as a helper in my grandmother’s kitchen before I could even reach the countertop), I have relied on building an extensive library of food books to guide me through my career. A few of these stand out as significant influences in my culinary journey, not only shaping me into the professional chef I am today but also moulding my philosophy towards food. Regardless of whether you’re an aspiring chef or just an avid home cook, these are definitely books I would recommend exploring: : This was my first introduction into the magnificent mind of the late chef-traveller Anthony Bourdain who influenced my approach to food travel deeply. This is one of his earliest works of writing which catapulted him to fame and stardom, but the story-telling is simply fantastic! Although the edgy lifestyle of chefs as portrayed in this book isn’t as common anymore, it is still a powerful account of the inner workings of the restaurant kitchens of yesteryear. : This book by Harold McGee appealed to the inner geek in me as a culinary student. This one’s a must read for the curious folks who want to understand the science behind food. The how’s and why’s of cooking are an understated aspect of the craft which will enable each one of us, professional or otherwise, to become better cooks in small and big ways. It’s a mammoth of a book but I promise you’ll come out on the other end with a renewed worldview on food. : Eric Ripert and Christine Muhlke have written what is by far one of the finest depictions of how a restaurant functions—let alone that of Le Bernardin, one of the finest kitchens in the world, three Michelin stars included. I was so enamored by the sheer brilliance of how the kitchen operated that I actually ended up applying for a job and eventually working here during my stint in New York. The beautiful imagery and the exquisitely photographed recipes make this a real collector’s item. ; ; and : The entire collection by Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page is a treasure, but especially these books. This wife-husband author duo have spent the better part of their lives codifying different aspects of the culinary arts, from creativity, to flavor pairings, and their books are peppered with insights from leading figures in the food industry. I use many of their books as reference, or for inspiration and ideas, constantly. : I read this book by Michael Pollan nearly 15 years ago at a time when I was still shaping my own philosophy about food. The powerful way in which it makes you rethink what we eat and—more importantly—the journey of our food from seed to plate is still relevant to this day. This is a must-read for anyone who cares (and perhaps even more critical for those who don’t) about the way our food systems and personal food choices have ripple effects on practically everything. : Chef Dan Barber redefined farm-to-table cooking in a way no one else has in the past several decades by giving precedence to the farm over the chef’s creative talent. His world renowned restaurant ‘Blue Hill’ at Stone Barns in New York is a testament to how reevaluating our relationship with food can be applied not just in principle but in action as well. In ‘The Third Plate’, he brilliantly breaks down this hypothesis through the varied stories and experiences that have led to the success of his groundbreaking restaurant. (Oh and please also watch him on S1E2 of Netflix’s ) : This diary of sorts by the legendary French chef Daniel Boulud is a must-read for anyone considering a career in the kitchen. It will either put you off professional kitchens or make you yearn for them even more. It is broken down into easy-to-digest chapters covering various facets of the industry, and even has its own list of Ten Commandments of a Chef. : A touching memoir about an award winning 21st century chef by Grant Achatz’s journey through life, his career, and his battle with tongue cancer that threatened to take away a chef’s greatest asset, his sense of taste. Truly inspiring, even if you’re not in this line of work. : This one by Julia Cameron is not a food book, so I’m using a little poetic license here. But it has still got me through many a harsh creative blocks. What I love the most about the book is its basic premise: we are all artists at our core. This book explains how our upbringing and societal conditioning has worked to stunt the creativity in us. And that innate ability can be unleashed with a 12 week program of tools and exercises anyone can take on. : Okay, one last poetic license. This one’s not a book, but a heart-wrenching New York Times Magazine piece written by chef Gabrielle Hamilton on the future of restaurants and dining in a post-pandemic world. Another example of terrific food writing. And there’s an audio version too! Note: This is NOT sponsored content. We use this section to spotlight the recommendations of people we trust and admire. : That time when subscriber Shobha Das rescued the most adorable baby owl ❤️ … : A child demonstrates the least ideal way to add flour to your recipe. : The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand demonstrates the least ideal way to put out a forest fire—especially when you’re doing it for a staged photo-op. : A young man demonstrates the least ideal way to fix your wooden deck.
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