A list of curious facts
One: Pretty paintings of Hindu gods are hardly rare. What makes the murals at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur is their artist: the Polish artist Stefan Norblin—who became the painter to the Maharajas during World War II. Below is a stunning scene from the Ramayana—of Sita, Ram, and Lakshman returning from Lanka to Ayodhya. Our favourite is the lead image—a majestic Durga who resembles a Greek goddess in her flowing robes. BBC News has loads more on Norblin.
Two: Sticking with Indian history, did you know that Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s grandson was one of the earliest donors to Bhartiya Jan Sangh—the precursor to the BJP? Nusli Wadia—the Bombay Dyeing tycoon—was the kid of Neville Wadia and Dina—Jinnah’s daughter. She was disinherited when her father chose to lead the newly created Pakistan. Maybe that’s why Nusli formed a strong bond with Hindu nationalists like Nanaji Deshmukh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The fact first came to light through Vinay Sitapati’s book ‘Jugalbandi: The BJP Before Modi’. You can read an excerpt from the book here, and listen to a podcast interview with Sitapati. (or read the transcript at Indian Express)
Three: Did you know about the time Jack Nicholson turned up at the Balenciaga show in Paris in a bathrobe? Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. The unexpected guest was, in fact, performance artist Elliot Joseph Rentz—whose talent for transforming his appearance is truly astonishing—as you can see below:
What makes it even more awesome: it’s a reboot of his turn as Nicholson at the Cannes film festival back in 1974:
Our personal fave, however, is his Jen Coolidge. (New York Times)
Bonus fact: Champagne has an unlikely rival in Domaine Evremond—produced in the south of… England. While it isn’t exactly a dime-store drink, the sparkling wine will be way cheaper at £50 ($67). And it’s all down to climate change—which is making the cold and wet UK weather “warmer and sunnier, and southern England now has a climate very similar to that of the Champagne region some 50 years ago.” (Times UK, paywalled, France24)
