Eenie, Meenie, Miny, Mo...

Sanity Break #1

Here’s something to kickstart your week—instant earworm plus from indie artists Arivu and Dhee. You don’t have to understand Tamil to love its vibrant, infectious energy. (h/t subscriber Sowmya Swaminathan)

Headlines that matter

RAGE OVER A LONDON KILLING * 33-year-old Sarah Everard left her friend’s home on Wednesday night at around 9 pm, and set out on a 50-minute walk home—which took her through the most brightly lit and busy streets of London. But she never arrived home. * Days later, the police announced the arrest of a police officer—and said they’d found her remains in the woodlands in Kent. * They then reveal the identity of the arrested officer: Wayne Couzens, a 48-year-old serving in the force’s elite Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. He has since been formally charged with kidnap and murder. See timeline . * There has been great outrage over the lack of safety of women—and for good reason. A showed that over 70% of women in the UK had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. That figure rose to 97% among women aged 18 to 24. * The police refused to give permission to hold a vigil at Clapham Common—the area where she first disappeared. * Hundreds gathered anyway—and the police responded by threatening the gathered women with arrest, and then taking some into custody. * But all this only after Kate Middleton made a quiet low key appearance—a la Deepika Padukone at JNU—to lay a bunch of daffodils. See it . * that summed up the sentiment: “The irony of it is so explicit—are you going to drag women off the street for protesting about a woman being dragged off the street?” See photos of the candle-light vigil . * You can see the most shocking moment of confrontation with the police —where the crowd is yelling ‘shame on you’. has the latest on the growing rage at the police. * The photo that went viral is . has more on this protester. GRAMMYS’ BIG WINNERS Taylor Swift won her of the year award—becoming the first woman to do so. Beyoncé's collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion ‘Savage’ won best rap song and best rap performance. She also took best R&B performance for ‘Black Parade’ and best music video for ‘Brown Skin Girl’. With 28 Grammy wins in all, Queen Bee broke the previous mark set by Alison Krauss. The : BTS which failed to win one for pop duo/group performance. KPop fans are mad (as they should be). Here’s the of winners. as always has the quirkiest red carpet picks. Our faves: Noah Cyrus’ tribute to bedsheets and Bad Bunny’s adorable cap. Winning the night: performance of ‘Watermelon Sugar’. FYI: People are also talking about performances by and an awesome retro number by . Indian cameo: wearing a face mask in support of the farmers. MAMATA FAILS TO CONVINCE EC The Election Commission has dismissed the so-called ‘attack’ on the West Bengal Chief Minister—which landed her in hospital—as an accident. It also pointed to serious lapses in her security protocol. The EC has the director of security for the state, sacked a Superintendent and transferred the local district magistrate. Banerjee too has changed of the incident: > "It is true that I was very badly hurt yesterday and that I have a foot injury, a bone injury and in the ligament and I had pain > in my head and chest as a result of the injury. I was greeting people from the car bonnet and a huge pressure came....and the > car crushed my foot.” Mamata is back on the campaign trail in a wheelchair—looking frail, but sounding like her usual self, : “Don’t forget an injured tigress is more dangerous than a dead one.” THE AMBANI CASE: THE LATEST UPDATE The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested former Crime Investigation Unit (CIU) head and ‘encounter specialist’ Sachin Vaze. The reason: A white Innova was seen trailing the infamous SUV with the gelatin sticks on CCTV footage: “On the day of the bomb scare, the vehicle was parked for some time behind the SUV before it was driven away by an unidentified person.” This car was later found to belong to the CIU, and was found parked at its headquarters. Also this: “The NIA stated in court that they had received inputs about Vaze’s involvement in placing the gelatin sticks in the SUV, and claimed that he had confessed.” Plus: Vimla Mansukh—wife of the owner of the SUV who was murdered— that Hiren was in touch with Vaze, who also had been using the SUV. Indian Express has the most details on and of Vaze. Also: read our on the case. THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * India’s numbers continue to rise. The number of daily new cases hit over the weekend—with Maharashtra accounting for of the cases. The good news for India: The —percentage of cases that result in death—is dropping. * Bad news for Brazil: It has and is now the second worst hit country in the world with cases. * A doctor in Madhya Pradesh has despite taking her second jab of an unnamed vaccine on March 1. * Japan is mulling on spectators at the Tokyo summer Olympics. * Several European countries suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of blood clotting. But the WHO insisted that the Oxford vaccine remains safe and recommended. Now, Indian authorities are look at adverse events triggered by both Covaxin and Covishield (Oxford) vaccines. * A found that the virus jumped straight from bats to humans without many changes. * New say that anyone who doesn’t follow standard pandemic protocol—like wearing masks at all times—will be instantly deboarded, handed over to security agencies, and tagged as an ‘Unruly Passenger’. * Last but not least, Yo-Yo Ma received his second jab of the vaccine at a community college, and used the 15-minute observation period to stage an . THE PANDEMIC’S BEEN EASIER ON THE OLD found that older people managed to stay happier during the pandemic. People aged 50-plus consistently scored higher on a wide variety of positive emotions- and were more upbeat on a daily basis, irrespective of income or education. The reasons why are revealing: > “After middle age, people become more aware of a narrowing time horizon and, consciously or not, begin to gravitate toward daily > activities that are more inherently pleasing than self-improving. They’re more prone to skip the neighborhood meeting for a > neighborhood walk to the local bar or favorite bench with a friend. They have accepted that the business plan didn’t work out, > that their paintings were more fit for the den than for a gallery. They have come to accept themselves for who they are, rather > than who they’re supposed to become.” A QUICK CRICKET ROUNDUP * India staged an in the second T20i thanks to Ishan Kishan’s stellar 56-run knock—which allowed the team to chase down England’s 164/6 score in 17.5 overs with seven wickets to spare. * The Indian women’s team lost the fourth and therefore the series to South Africa. But there was one gleaming moment: Mithali Raj became cricketer to hit the 7000-run landmark in the one-day format. * The infamous Motera pitch that resulted in a two-day match has been given an by the ICC. A substandard rating could have attracted sanctions. * As part of a Star Sports Network , Mahi ‘reincarnated’ himself in a new avatar as a bald Buddhist monk. The platform first tweeted out a photo, unleashing a . Then came the ads. The monk one is below, see his other ‘avatar’ as a kinda boy scout leader : In kinda related news: the state of Alabama has lifted its 28-year-old ban on teaching yoga in government schools. But, but, but: “Chanting and teaching Sanskrit phrases such as the greeting “namaste,” which means “I bow to you,” remains prohibited.” () ‘AVATAR’ RECLAIMS ITS CROWN Back in 2019, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ ended the 10-year reign of the James Cameron-directed epic as the highest grossing movie of all time. Now, the 2009 sci-fi flick has been re-released in China—and it earned $8 million at the box office on Saturday alone. So it’s back at #1 having now earned a cumulative $2.8 billion over the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ total of $2.797 billion. () In unhappier related news: has a reported must-read on how the new OTT rules are going to dramatically change what you see on your fave streaming platform: > “It goes without saying that sex, nudity and abusive language will be discouraged more stridently than before, but the main > thrust is to avoid anything that rubs the ruling establishment the wrong way or is seen as a derogatory comment on Hindu > culture.” Other movie-related reads: looks at the appalling trend of Telugu superstars slapping their fans—and claiming they are honoured by the abuse. looks at the huge Chinese backlash against ‘Nomadland’ director and Oscar favourite Chloe Zhao. TWO SAD ANIMAL STORIES A dead tigress: In November 2018, forest authorities decided to kill Avni who had been tagged as a ‘man eater’—a decision that triggered great outrage. In December, they tracked down and brought her cub to the Pench Tiger Reserve in Nagpur—where she was trained to live in the wild. They released her back into the Pench reserve, but she was soon fatally wounded after an encounter with another tigress. Authorities say: “This [rewilding]is a learning process and we have to always make amends to make it more foolproof in future. Else, every captured tiger would end up in a cage or in safaris.” () A trapped polar bear: A hotel in China is now offering its occupants an unusual attraction: the promise of round-the-clock viewing of polar bears kept in a glass enclosure. The company boasts: "Whether you're eating, playing or sleeping, polar bears will keep you company." Animal activists are : > "Polar bears belong in the Arctic, not in zoos or glass boxes in aquariums — and certainly not in hotels… Polar bears are active > for up to 18 hours a day in nature, roaming home ranges that can span thousands of miles, where they enjoy a real life." has the story and more photos from the Chinese state media:

Sanity Break #2

This is the grand prize winner of the World Nature Photography Awards—shot by Thomas Vijayan—who climbed up a tree in Borneo, and waited for the orangutans to cross below. See other gorgeous winners over at the WNPA —including a stunning image of Maya the tigress.

Smart & Curious

A LIST OF GOOD READS * has a good piece on QueerNaani—a new agony aunt who solves problems of gay Muslims around the world. * Two excellent reads in the Sunday Hindu. One: spotlights the critical role of Seagull Books—in a world where Western publishers often determine which Indian books are translated into English. * Two: critical look at historian Audrey Truschke is an absolute must-read. He argues that she has used academic hot takes on India to propel her career out of obscurity. * has a brilliant piece on Facebook’s core problem: An AI algorithm that is addicted to hate speech. * Joe Berkowitz in sums up one year of living with the pandemic with moving sparse beauty: “You are not the person you were before the pandemic. By this time next year, though, you will no longer be the person you are now.” * explains why you should hide your iPhone’s unique name from apps on your phone—and teaches you how. * So where did the phrase ‘black sheep’ really come from? offers an excellent trip down linguistic history lane. * has a delightful story on Boor Singh, Berkeley’s first Indian fortune-teller.