In For the Win!

Sanity Break #1

Why can’t you let me just work in peace?!! Oh, well, if you’re going to be that absurdly cute about it… This is the best ever thread of while they work. Every picture is golden! Sigh, We clearly chose the wrong profession.

Headlines that matter

INAUGURATION DAY: A QUICK UPDATE * Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the rioters were "provoked by the president and other powerful people.” Why this matters: Trump has been impeached for inciting violence. And it suggests McConnell—the most powerful Republican in the Senate—may vote to convict him. has more (See our explainer ). * 12 members of the National Guard—tasked with protecting the inauguration ceremony—have been from duty. The reason: They all have links to rightwing militias. * Democratic members of Congress that they saw one of their own— Republican House Rep. Lauren Boebert—offer a guided tour to a group of people three days before the attack. Why this matters: Investigators suspect that a number of the rioters knew exactly where to go once they got inside the Capitol building. * The Inauguration festivities will be virtual this year—and Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Tom Hanks. Also on the list: who skateboarded to TikTok fame thanks to . * profiles Vinay Reddy who will likely be the chief writer of Biden’s I-Day speech. THE SUPREME COURT COMMITTEE ROLLS ON The farmers have refused to engage with the committee appointed by the Court. And the one member who belongs to a farmer union has quit. But that hasn’t stopped its remaining members from getting on with their (likely thankless) job. * Starting January 21, they will a two-month consultation process—which includes meeting with State governments, farmer unions and other relevant groups. There will be Zoom meetings and a website that invites comments. * In other words, the public consultation that should have happened before the laws were crafted will take place now—after the government has clearly refused to repeal the laws. * Committee members they have an open mind—despite their public record of supporting the laws. They will not “impose their ideology” and instead “listen to the farmers.” And yet in the same breath, they insist their goal is to “try to convince” the farmers. To which we say: hain? * Meanwhile, Chief Justice Bobde helpfully : “Committee members are not judges. They can always change their views.” * A good read: on Reliance’s plans to build a grocery empire that will disrupt Indian agriculture. In related news: The National Investigation Agency has its investigation of the Punjab NGO Khalsa Aid. The reason: it has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Well, that’s certainly inconvenient. THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * The government has to the Co-Win app used to register vaccine recipients. Now, no-shows can be replaced with others on the target list to ensure that vaccines do not have to be thrown away (see our for more). * Turnout at vaccination centres . In Punjab, only 27.9% showed up. The numbers were not stellar in Puducherry (34.6%) or Tamil Nadu (34.9%) either. The highest performing: Lakshadweep (89.3%) followed by Sikkim (85.7%) and Odisha (82.6%). * Now, the Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD) has that healthcare workers be offered the choice of whether they should get Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin or the version of Oxford vaccine (Covishield) distributed by Serum Institute. * Government is : there is no difference at all between the two vaccines, trial data be damned. * Meanwhile, India is getting ready to send doses to its neighbouring countries—including Bhutan and Maldives. has more on New Delhi’s vaccine diplomacy. * Dubai has a : tourism season is in full swing but its numbers are going up. * Not partying in Dubai: The 20 million organised sector employees who dipped into their retirement kitty and more than Rs 73,000 crore between April and December. ‘MIRZAPUR’ IS BELATEDLY OFFENSIVE Poised on its third season, the Amazon Prime series has suddenly been found offensive by a local journalist in Uttar Pradesh: > “In his police complaint, Mr. Chaturvedi says the plot and dialogues of the web series have hurt his ‘religious, social and > regional sentiments’ and that it has provided a wrong portayal of Mirzapur city.” To these things, we now resort to that old Hindi film song: ‘Yeh kya hua, kaise hua, kyun hua…” has more details. In related news: Following a second meeting with the ministry of information and broadcasting, the makers of Tandav to “implement changes to the web series to address the concerns raised.” No comment. A GREAT LOSS TO INDIAN MEDICINE Dr V Shanta—chairperson of The Cancer Institute at Adyar in Chennai, and doyen of oncology—dedicated her life to affordable cancer care. The medical pioneer was born in 1927 into a family of achievers, which included two Nobel laureates: her maternal uncle S Chandrasekhar and maternal grandfather C V Raman. One of the first women graduates of medicine in India, she joined the Adyar institute in 1955, a year after it was founded by Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy. has a collection of the best tributes that poured in from all over the country, from PM Modi to her students and fellow oncologists. FEELING THE MEDIA PAIN Media companies have not been good to their employees during the pandemic. Some like Times of India were quick to lay off their employees. Others like Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age did the opposite: Force their employees to work every day but delay paying their salaries: > “So many staff members with families haven’t been able to pay their house rent, children’s school fees and have had to move into > their parents’ houses or relocate... > > Despite all this, we did not stop working for even one day. We have carried on working, first by wiping out all our life’s > savings, and now, by living on borrowed money for months.” has more. FRENCH VEGAN RESTAURANT IS A STAR In a historic first for France, a vegan restaurant has received the coveted Michelin star. ONA—which stands for Origine Non Animale—near Bordeaux is run by chef Claire Vallée. She launched ONA in 2016 thanks to crowdfunding from supporters and a loan from a green bank—after the traditional banks turned her down, saying “the outlook for veganism and plant-based food was too uncertain.” () TWO COOL TECH INNOVATIONS One: Elon Musk has competition. Virgin just successfully launched a satellite into space using a “customised” Boeing 747. Here’s why it is : > “Instead of lifting off from a launch pad on the ground, the rocket is carried under the wing of a customized Boeing 747, named > ‘Cosmic Girl,’ and released at a predetermined location. Once it’s released, the rocket ignites and powers itself to orbit. > That’s exactly what happened on Sunday.” Also, it looks kinda like this: Two: China has unveiled a ‘floating train’ that floats over rails and travels at 620 kilometers per hour—a speed which would take you from Paris to London in 47 minutes! Here’s what it looks like in the below. If you prefer to read, here’s the story.

Sanity Break #2

asked filmmaker Hansal Mehta to name his favourite Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan’s compositions. Our favourite is '' from 'Umrao Jaan'—for purely nostalgic reasons. We plan to check out his other three picks with our next glass of wine at the end of a very long day.

Smart & Curious

A LIST OF INTRIGUING THINGS One: This is a ‘’ that lets you pretend you are all dressed up on Zoom: “a piece of clothing that looks like a classic suit jacket but feels like PJs.” Of course, it . Two: This is something that splainer subscriber Indrani Chakraverty passed along. It is absolutely amazing, but we have no more to add about this bit of (despite vast amounts of googling). Three: This is the world’s largest home—and America’s priciest. Set on a five-acre property, the LA home measures 105,000-square-foot. Below is: “A rotating white sculpture titled Unity by Mike Fields anchors the home’s foyer, which also features a custom white glass Murano chandelier.” TBH, you are better off checking out the full extent of the madness over at Four: The hottest Lego trend is not yet another Hollywood franchise puzzle, but bouquets of very pretty flowers. Flower Bouquet and Bonsai Tree come with nearly 1,000 pieces and instructions to turn them into your very own floral arrangement. These may be the only artificial flowers we ever love. has more. Five: This one is less intriguing, and truly horrifying… using Lysol as a , really?