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A 60-bed isolation centre to be readied within 90 days
BMC TRIES
A WUHAN
(well, almost)
Inspired by China which built hospitals
in 10 days to counter corona, BMC plans
a three-storey pre-engineered building
on the Kasturba Hospital premises
| Chaitanya.Marpakwar
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @chaiMIRROR
T
he city will get a brand
new coronavirus isolation
facility in the next three
months. A three-storey
building will be built
inside the premises of
the Kasturba Hospital, which is at
the heart of the city’s battle against
Covid-19.
The building will be erected
using the Pre Engineered Building
(PEB) technology, which means the
parts of the building will be engi-
neered at a factory and assembled at
site. Once works starts, the BMC is
expecting the ground-plus-two sto-
rey building to be ready in just three
months or 90 days.
In China’s Wuhan, where the
»
INSIDE
IN MMR TODAY
NEW CASES 329
DEATHS 6 Top class from
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virus originated, authorities had
built two hospitals in just 10 days in
February to treat Covid-19 patients
amid international glare to curb the
virus. Besides the two 1,000-bed hos-
pitals, China also built 14 additional
makeshift health centres to quaran-
tine and treat patients. All of them
were closed down recently.
The BMC’s isolation facility at
Kasturba Hospital will have 60 beds,
including ICU beds, a clinical labo-
ratory and even drug stores. PAGE 4 » Hospital in Wuhan that was readied in 10 days
NILESH WAIRKAR
The Sanjay Gandhi National Park has more animals than people
these days. On Sunday, a deer didn’t mind posing for the camera.
BMC STARTS
14/14 WORK
SCHEDULE
Around 1.4 lakh BMC
workers will get 14
days off in a month
to protect them
from Covid-19
| Yogesh.Naik
DEEPAK TURBHEKAR
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @yogeshMIRROR
S
tarting today, around 1.4-lakh
BMC employees who have been
working every day for the past
several weeks will get a breather.
Municipal Commissioner Praveen
Pardeshi told Mumbai Mirror yesterday
that the BMC will implement the 14/14
schedule wherein its workers will get 14
days’ leave a month. The 14/14 sched-
ule also covers doctors and nurses. The
schedule is planned such that there will be
no shortage of manpower across depart-
ments, and gives enough time to know
whether any civic body official has been
infected with coronavirus.
Pardeshi told Mumbai Mirror that
many municipal bodies across the world
had already implemented the 14/14
schedule, which requires employees to
work 14 days at a stretch, followed by 14
days’ leave. “This will help in reducing
fatigue. The schedule will cover hospitals
and other departments,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pardeshi said that lifting
of some lockdown restrictions today will
The components of the building will be engineered at a largely cover the pending pre-monsoon
factory and assembled at site; (Left) The Huoshenshan work. In Mumbai, which is one of the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 »
Complete shutdown
in Mira-Bhayandar
NSCI dome to take in
patients from today
Only medical stores will be Nearly two weeks after it
allowed to remain open as was turned into an institu-
Covid-19 positive cases in tional quarantine centre,
Mira-Bhayandar rise to 69 the National Sports Club of
India’s (NSCI) dome in Wor-
li, one of the largest event
former top cop
venues in the country, will
be turned into a Covid-19
Former DGP D Sivanandan’s care centre on Monday.
NGO is feeding 30,000
slum-dwellers across the
city every day
Pages 3-9
 City
MumbaiMirror 2

INFORMER
Monday, April 20, 2020

THE
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Think you’ve got a story? Write to us PAGE THAT’s trying to get used to home concerts
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FILE PHOTO: RAJU SHELAR

Life’s a beach
IN case you are wondering how an Indian supermodel
in New York is posting pictures of herself on a beach
while the Big Apple is burning with mounting cases of
Covid-19, here it is. Ujjwala isn’t in New York anymore.
Since the cases of positive patients and deaths were
steadily rising, Ujwala took her teenage daughter Ksha
and moved to a girlfriend’s home in Florida. The two mums
and their daughters are lucky to be spending time in a
giant mansion, and with a beach all to themselves.

Ujjwala Raut in Florida

EVERY STEP OF THE WAY
Gulzar in a throwback photo outside the BMC office in Bandra. The renowned poet-writer
recently wrote a couplet urging people to stay indoors during the lockdown.

Play on Summer style

DELHI -based designer Sanjay Garg has come
up with a fantastic idea for his friends SUNIL Gavaskar has never
been a fan of facial
during the lockdown. He has released an album on hair. Barring a few occasions when
various online streams for everyone to enjoy. The he sported a handlebar moustache
Indian classical and folk mix album, called ‘Ghar’, was (during the first Asia Cup in 1984 in
created by Garg and celebrated musician Suryakant Sharjah), the Little Master has
Sawhney (aka Lifafa). Most of the songs are original, always given public appearances
only one is a cover version. “The idea came from a deep clean shaven. In fact, he doesn’t even
love and respect for music, which takes centrestage like an evening stubble, preferring to
at every show of ours – from folk drums to a church style himself like his favourite
choir,” Garg tells us. “I created this album as part of a Hollywood star Paul Newman. But
series of objects commemorating a decade of my label. these days under lockdown,
The importance of home – a dwelling or India – are Gavaskar has grown a beard as he
central to me. Everyone is at their ‘ghar’. Even the doesn’t have a shaving kit. “I’m stuck
word ‘gharana’ comes from ghar. With various in my old flat, while all my clothes
acoustic influences and genres, I’d like to think the and accessories are at another
album, like all my work, is beyond classification.” Sanjay Garg house,” he says. Sunil Gavaskar

@NeinQuarterly A gentle reminder from the philosophers.

CORNERED Morparia
No, your life has not lost meaning. It has found philosophy. Tailpiece
IF you try to shut down
Mumbai’s nightlife, the

Out and about city’s party-goers will find

another way to get together –
following all rules of course.
A socialite and art patron committed a
bit of a boo-boo lately. In a bid to Over 100 lovers of a Saturday
showcase the history and heritage of Delhi, night-out got together via an
Shalini Passi took to the empty streets online party. A Bandra-based
during the lockdown and photographed them bar and DJ Rafiki put together
in all their splendour. Some of these included a virtual party asking everyone
the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Rajpath, the to dress up, turn down the
Dandi March statue at Mother Teresa lights and light up some fairy
crescent and the like. Later, she shared lights and disco balls instead.
these images on her photo-sharing site. It Of course, the long-distance
was only when her followers questioned how dancing and drinking was
she was allowed to move about, did she welcomed, as one saw all the
remove them. When your diarist reached out friends but could talk to them
to her, she declined to comment. only via online chat.
Shalini Passi
 City
OUTBRE AK 3
* Monday, April 20, 2020

S
MumbaiMirror
CORONAVIRU

DEEPAK TURBHEKAR
Services still
functional, allowed
from today
z
Kirana and ration shops with strict
social distancing norms, without
any restriction on timings
z
Commercial and private
establishments, like print and
electronic media, IT and IT-enabled
services (with up to 50 per cent
strength), data and call centres for
government activities only, and
courier services
z
E-commerce companies selling only
essential items
z
Services provided by self-employed
persons like electricians, IT repair
personnel, plumbers, motor
mechanics and carpenters
z
Private vehicles for emergency
services and for procuring essential
commodities. One passenger, besides
the driver, permitted in the backseat
in case of four-wheelers. For two-
wheelers, only the rider permitted
z
Inter- and intra-state movement of
goods/cargo
z
All health services, including
The NSCI was the city’s first sports facility to be turned into a quarantine centre for asymptomatic contacts, but it lay vacant so far hospitals, nursing homes, clinics,

NSCI dome to now take

telemedicine facilities, dispensaries,
chemists and pharmacies
z
Veterinary hospitals, dispensaries,
clinics, pathology labs, sale and
supply of vaccine and medicines
z
Manufacturing units of

in asymptomatic patients
pharmaceuticals, medical devices,
medical oxygen and those
manufacturing their packaging
material, raw material and
intermediates
z
Construction of health

500 people can be but it lay vacant. With the BMC

revising its testing protocol—the
housed there; the new rule says all asymptomatic
contacts can be tested only
Worli sports facility between days 5 and 14—asympto-
was an institutional matic patients from G-South ward
will be now housed there.
quarantine centre Asymptomatic contacts have either
been sent home, provided they
before BMC changed have toilets inside their houses, or
testing protocol
shifted to select schools, hotels and
lodges that have toilets attached to
rooms for quarantining.
| Chaitanya.Marpakwar Officials said 500 people can be
@timesgroup.com accommodated at the NSCI dome,
and a team of 10 doctors and 30
TWEETS @chaiMIRROR
semi-slum and slum areas like
Worli-Koliwada and Jijamata
Nagar, and of those in quarantine,
843 people are high-risk contacts.
Virus’ spread slows
down in Worli
Ughade, however, asserted that
the BMC has been able to “break
the chain” in the ward. Data pro-
vided by the BMC showed no new
case in the ward on Friday. On
Sunday, 18 cases were reported.
“We screened over 40,000 people
in Worli-Koliwada alone. Thirty-
nine people have been cured/dis-
personal protective equipment
such as gloves for the health work-
infrastructure
z
All agricultural and horticultural
er and kit for collecting samples.
One side of the unit is made of
activities. These include farming
operations and procurement of
glass with two holes where remov- agriculture products
able and disposable gloves are fit-
ted from outside, while other
z
MNREGA works, but social
distancing and face masks must
three sides are made of aluminium
panel board. The phone booth
z
APMC markets
z
Operations of the fishing (marine/
reduces the manpower needed for inland) aquaculture industry
z
Operations of tea, coffee and rubber
collecting samples while strictly
follows the principle of social dis- plantations but with maximum 50%
tancing. “It has been developed worker strength
under the guidance of minister z
Collection, processing, distribution
Aditya Thackeray and will help and sale of milk and milk products
with cheap and early diagnosis,” z
Operations of poultry farms,

N
early two weeks after it
was turned into an insti-
tutional quarantine cen-
tre, the National Sports
Club of India’s (NSCI)
dome in Worli, one of the largest
event venues in the country, will
be turned into a Covid-19 care
centre on Monday.
The NSCI was the city’s first
sports facility to be turned into a
quarantine centre for asymptomat-
ic contacts of Covid-19 patients,
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
worst-affected regions in the coun-
try, the following will be measures
will be implemented:
z Construction at key infrastruc-
ture projects and private projects
where workers don’t have to be
brought from outside will resume
from Monday.
z All passenger traffic (road, rail,
and air) will remain suspended till
May 3. No taxis, autos, and private
cab aggregators will be allowed to
nurses will monitor them round
the clock. Sharad Ughade, assistant
municipal commissioner of the
ward, said patients will be kept at a
distance. “Once they test negative,
they will be sent home,” he said.
G-South ward, which covers
Worli, Prabhadevi and Lower
Parel, is the BMC’s Gordian knot—
it has 425 Covid-19 cases (the
highest in the city), 3,554 people
in institutional quarantine and a
high density of slums. Around 86
per cent of the total cases are from
operate.
z Educational institutes, industry
and commercial activities and
hospitality services will also
remain suspended unless given
specific exemption. Cinema halls,
malls, shopping complexes, enter-
tainment parks etc. will also
remain closed. No exemptions for
wine shops either.
z Social, political, religious, cul-
tural, entertainment and academic
and sports gatherings are prohibit-
ed. Places of worship and religious
charged,” said Ughade.
With the testing norms
relaxed, health workers are wait-
ing for patients to report them-
selves at the several ‘fever clinics’
set up across the city. One such is
a phone-booth style swab testing
unit set up last week at Podar hos-
pital in Worli—a concept first
introduced by South Korea while
undertaking aggressive testing of
its citizens. The unit looks like a
public telephone booth and con-
sists of a small cubicle along with
congregations will also remain
prohibited. Funerals cannot be
attended by more than 20 people.
Most of these relaxations will
not be applicable in designated
containment zones and any new
area included in the containment
zones list.
z No industrial establishment will
be allowed to operate in the BMC
limits. No worker from hotspot or
containment zone will be permit-
ted to go to industrial establish-
ments outside Mumbai.
said Ughade.
Aaditya Thackeray, who repre-
sents Worli as an MLA, credited
health and municipal officers for
slowing down the virus’ spread in
the area. “They chased every pos-
sible case. The people of Worli
cooperated well and supply chains
are running smoother. It had the
first zone in Maharashtra to be
sealed off, but after two weeks,
people from quarantine and those
from isolation are returning home.
Worli is now safer,” he said.
z Construction of public projects,
resurfacing, repairs abd pothole-
filling of roads and bridges, works
of laying and repairs of water
supply, sewer, storm water drains,
construction repairs and pre-
monsoon desilting of storm water
drains, and construction of
health infrastructure facilities will
be allowed to operate subject to
strict compliance of Covid-19
safety guidelines.
Inputs: Satish Nandgaonkar
hatcheries and livestock farming
z
Operation of shops for truck repairs
and dhabas on highways, with the
stipulated minimum distance
z
All public utilities, like oil and gas
sector, postal services, water,
sanitation and waste management
sectors, telecommunications and
internet services
z
RBI and RBI-regulated financial
markets and entities
z
Bank branches and ATMs
z
SEBI, and capital and debt market
services as notified by SEBI, IRDAI
and Insurance companies
z
Operation of homes for children,
disabled/mentally challenged, senior
citizens, destitutes, women, widows,
observation homes, after care homes
and places of safety for minors
z
Disbursement of social security
pensions, such as old age, widow,
freedom fighter pensions; pension
and provident fund services
z
Operation of anganwadis—
distribution of food items and
nutrition once in 15 days to
children, women and lactating
mothers at their homes
(NOT APPLICABLE IN CONTAINMENT ZONES)
 City MumbaiMirror
3,000 biscuit packets cheer up Worli-Koliwada kids
Biscuit company sends a truckload following a post by a lawyer and a phone call from another Good Samaritan
Mumbai Mirror Bureau
mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @MumbaiMirror
T
hree days after children in
Worli-Koliwada, the city’s
biggest Covid-19 hotspot,
said they were tired of eating
the khichdi almost every
day and wanted biscuits, a truck full of
1,500 biscuit packets arrived to cheer
them up on April 16. The supply did
not end here.
The supply followed a social
media post by a lawyer and a call to the
company by another Good Samari-
tan who spotted the post and contact-
ed Parle Products, which despatched
the first batch of biscuits across.
With 390 positive cases and 17
deaths, G-South Ward, which com-
prises Haji Ali, Mahalaxmi Race-
course, Worli and Lower Parel, is the
BMC tries a Wuhan
Kasturba, which is the city’s only dedicated hospital for
infectious diseases, has taken the bulk of Covid-19 patients
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
A meeting to discuss the project
was held on Saturday. The de-
sign will be finalised this week
and work is expected to start by
May 1. This is the first time the
BMC will be using the PEB tech-
nique to make a hospital. “In the
PEB technique, the piling and
construction up to plinth level is
traditional. After that, the entire
building is made at a casting yard
and it is brought to the site. It will
only be nutted and bolted at the
site,” said a senior civic official.
The structure will be made of
stainless steel. This type of struc-
tural concept is generally used to
build industrial buildings, Metro
stations, and warehouses. Offi-
cials said that a PEB structure can
last at least 30 years.
“The structure will be a per-
manent facility and will become
the city’s new isolation center for
Covid-19 patients and later for
other infectious diseases. We
hope to build it in record time,”
said Suresh Kakani, Additional
Municipal Commissioner
(Health).
The hospital will have 47
beds in the ward, 6 beds in the
ICU and 7 other beds in rooms.
There will be a central sterile sup-
ply department and decontami-
nation rooms. BMC has called
for bids for the design, which will
be vetted by engineers from IIT
and the BMC. Officials said the
soil testing has already been car-
ried out. At the moment, Kastur-
ba Hospital which is the city’s
only dedicated hospital for in-
fectious diseases, has taken the
CORONAVIRUS OUTBRE AK
The biscuits were distribued by Ekdant Krida Mandal and BMC
worst-affected zone in the city.
Being worst hit also means bear-
ing the brunt of the most strictly-en-
DEEPAK TURBHEKAR
China shuts
down hospital
Last week, China shut
down one of its largest
makeshift hospitals built
in February to treat
coronavirus in Wuhan,
the epicentre of the
pandemic, as the last
group of thousands of
medical workers de-
ployed to fight the out-
break also left the city.
The makeshift Leishen-
shan (Thunder God
Mountain) Hospital,
which was one of the two
hospitals built in just 10
days, ceased operation in
Wuhan, on Wednesday,
Xinhua news agency said .
bulk of the Covid-19 positive pa-
tients and has also tested the bulk
of samples. In 2009, when the
H1N1 pandemic hit the world,
the Kasturba Hospital’s PCR lab-
oratory was upgraded to test re-
spiratory samples for the first
time. Kasturba Hospital, which
has admitted all the positive pa-
tients from the Mumbai Metro-
politan Region, does not have a
full-fledged ICU. Medical ex-
perts say that negative pressure
with changing air conditioning
cycles, HEPA filters, ultraviolet
lights and anterooms are essen-
tial for any isolation facility ad-
mitting infectious patients. Offi-
cials said that the new isolation
centre will have all such top-of-
the-line facilities to deal with in-
fectious diseases.
forced lockdown.
Lawyer Abha Singh said since she
lives close to Worli-Koliwada, she has
CR ’s team ensures
4-year-old doesn’t
miss his medicine
After nothing else worked, railway guards from Pune took turns
in delivering a packet of medicine to the boy’s house in Belgaum
Kamal.Mishra
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @MumbaiMirror
A
team of Central Railway’s Pune
division has come as a ‘Dev-
doot’ for a four-year-old boy
and his family from Belgaum.
The family used to buy special
medicines for him from Pune as the boy is
under special treatment of a homoeo-
pathic doctor from the same city. After
the nationwide lockdown to stem the
spread of coronavirus on March 24, the
boy was unable to get the medicines.
The boy has trouble swallowing the
food since childhood.
“One of our relatives lives in Pune. He
used to send medicines by courier, and we
always got it in time. Due to the lock-
down, the fresh supply stopped. The fam-
ily was left with no medicine for the
child,” said a relative of the boy. “The fam-
ily then contacted the Belgaum police for
permission to travel to Pune, but our re-
quest was turned out,” he said.
Finally, the boy’s family approached
railway officials for help. “The railway of-
ficials of Belgaum discussed the matter
with their counterparts in Pune on April
11,” the relative said.
Operation manager Mayank Rana
and assistant commercial manager Ajay
Kumar of Central Railway’s Pune division
readily offered to help the family.
The family’s relative in Pune handed
over the medicine to Sujeet Anand, a
guard of a goods train headed to Belgaum
from the city. Anand handed over the
medicine to his reliever, Dayashankar Pa-
tel, at Satara. Dayashankar in turn deliver-
ed the packet of medicine to Dinesh Ku-
mar, another guard at Miraj. Kumar hand-
Monday, April 20, 2020
been supplying food inside the con-
tainment zone through local resi-
dents. During her interactions with
the people, she was told that some
children there were craving biscuits.
With most of the shops closed and
poor supply of packed items, there
was no way to get biscuits for the chil-
dren.
Singh then put up a post on Face-
book on April 14, asking if someone
could arrange biscuits from the Parle
Products factory or from elsewhere. “I
resorted to social media because bis-
cuits were not easily available any-
where,” she says.
Within two hours, Singh says, she
received a call from someone, who
did not wish to be named, and asked
for the quantity required. “I gave a
modest number – 1,000 packets – be-
cause that’s all I could afford.”
Indian Railways has transported 1,150 tonnes of medicines and medical
equipment in various parts of the country till April 18; (below) Sujeet Anand
ed over the packet to the station author-
ities at Belgaum. This way the packet
passed through three guards before reac-
hing Belgaum the next day. As the family
was not able to reach the station due to the
lockdown to receive the parcel, the Bel-
gaum station authorities made sure that it
was delivered to their home.
“During the transit period, both the
officers at Pune were in constant touch
with the goods train guards so that there
was no hiccup,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief
public relations officer of Central Rail-
way. “A big salute to the real heroes of In-
dian Railways,” he said, lauding the ef-
forts of the railways to help the people in
4
No sooner did this conversation
end than she received a call from the
company asking her to put down the
children’s demands on mail. “Since
the Good Samaritan sounded very
positive, and it was going to be free, I
asked for 3,000 packets,” Singh said.
By April 16 evening a truck load of
biscuits had arrived. She says that part
of the biscuits that arrived were hand-
ed over to the BMC’s ward officer for
distribution and part to Ekdant Krida
Mandal that undertakes the everyday
distribution work inside Koliwada.
“Today a banker sent four boxes,
and tomorrow (Monday) the remain-
ing 1,500 biscuit packets are likely to
arrive,” Singh said on Sunday.
While the Good Samaritan did not
wish to be identified, Singh says he of-
ten plays golf with the Chauhans, the
owners of Parle Products.
the time of crisis.
Indian Railways is touching human
lives in different ways during the hour of
crisis. Recently, the railways transported
skimmed camel milk for an autistic child
through a parcel train from Ajmer to
Mumbai when the parents sought help
on social media. Similarly, the railways
came to the help of another autistic child
in Ajmer suffering from serious ailments
when his stock of medicines ran out. The
child’s relatives approached the railways,
and medicines were transported by a par-
cel train from Ahmedabad to Ajmer.
Indian Railways has transported 1,150
tonnes of medicines and medical equip-
ment in various parts of the country till
April 18. The Central Railway and the
Western Railway account for 136.64
tonnes and 328.84 tonnes, respectively.
“Apart from transporting medicines,
Indian Railways continues to deliver
masks, hospital items and other medical
commodities through its timetabled par-
cel services to strengthen government’s
efforts in fighting the coronavirus,” said
an officer of CR.
 City MumbaiMirror
BMC asks Metropolis
to stop testing samples
Lab tests cases that are neither high-risk contacts nor showing symptoms
| Chaitanya.Marpakwar@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @chaiMIRROR
T
he municipality has asked Metropolis
Healthcare to stop collecting samples and
test patients after it came to light that the
lab was testing people who were neither
high-risk contacts nor showing any symp-
toms of the novel coronavirus.
The BMC has issued a show-cause notice to
the private lab asking why it should be allowed to
test samples.
“It is expected that they don’t collect samples
of asymptomatic persons. If such persons are
high-risk contacts, then it is understandable,”
said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal com-
missioner, Health. “But we found that they were
collecting samples even of asymptomatic persons
who were not high-risk contacts. We have issued
them a show-cause notice and asked them to stop
testing till we get a satisfactory response.”
The Indian Council of Medical Research has so
far approved more than 100 laboratories across
the country for such tests including private and
public facilities. The laboratories operate under
the aegis of the Council of Scientific & Industrial
Research, the Department of Biotechnology, and
the Defence Research and Development
Organisation.
The BMC last week once again revised its
already tweaked testing protocol, which had stat-
ed that no asymptomatic contacts will be tested.
In its latest circular, the BMC has said asympto-
matic high-risk contacts may be tested only after
the fifth day after careful observation. According
to the BMC, from now on, tests will only be done
for symptomatic persons. Even if the suspects are
high-risk contacts, their swabs will not be taken
for testing as long as they don’t show symptoms.
With the new proposal in place, the BMC has
begun asking hundreds of high- and low-risk
asymptomatic contacts kept in institutional quar-
antine across various location in the city to go
back home. Officials said health workers had
already reduced the number of swabs being taken
by aggressively chasing high-risk and late-risk
contacts.
Goa claims no active cases in state, lockdown to continue
The repeat samples of the seven Covid-19 patients have tested negative, says CM Pramod Sawant
A
ll seven Covid-19 patients in Goa have
recovered from the infection and have
been discharged, Chief Minister Pramod
Sawant said on Sunday.
He said that all the seven persons are from
Goa, but that six of them had returned to the
state from abroad.“The repeat samples of the
seven Covid-19 patients have tested negative
for the infection. While six of them had been
discharged earlier, the last patient was
discharged on Sunday,” Sawant said.
He said that after their recovery, all of them
have been shifted to a quarantine facility,
where they will be kept under observation for
the next few days. The last of the seven Covid-
19 cases in the state was detected on April 3.
The state government has set up a dedicated
hospital to treat coronavirus patients. It has
also set up a laboratory at the Goa Medical
College and Hospital (GHMC) for testing.
CORONAVIRUS OUTBRE AK Monday, April 20, 2020
5
Fadnavis to
CM: Test
asymptomatic
cases as well
| Chaitanya.Marpakwar
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @chaiMIRROR
L
SATISH MALAVADE eader of the
Opposition Devendra
Fadnavis on Sunday
asked Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray
to resume testing of
asymptomatic contacts of
Covid-19 patients, stating
that 63 per cent fall in this
category.
It was Fadnavis’s second
letter to Thackeray over
the issue.
“Despite the fact that
63 per cent Covid-19
patients are asymptomatic,
the BMC, on April 15,
decided to discontinue
testing those who are
asymptomatic,” Fadnavis
Health workers carry out tests at Dharavi on Sunday said. “Of the people who
Metropolis said it has replied to the show stands at 2,789. are admitted in hospitals,
cause notice “in an honest and an amicable man- Maharashtra recorded 552 new cases - the 79 per cent have shown no
ner”. highest single-day tally - and 12 deaths. The symptoms. It could be very
“We have been given to understand that number of cases in the state now stands at 4,200. dangerous not to conduct
show-cause notice has been issued to many play- The pandemic has claimed 223 lives in tests on people showing
ers. We would like to clarify that our notice does Maharashtra so far. no symptoms. ICMR
not pertain to delay in testing, quality or mis- A BMC official said the 289 cases — the sec- guidelines also lay down
match of results, but to guidelines on sample col- ond highest increase in a 24-hour period for that tests be conducted on
lection from asymptomatic patients,” it said in a Mumbai — included 154 cases tested in private people falling in the high-
statement. laboratories between April 14 and 16. “The results risk group even if he or she
“Metropolis is testing an average of 500-600 of private laboratories are added periodically is not showing
samples per day. Metropolis has not been because we cross-check details,” said a senior symptoms,” he said.
removed from the BMC panel. In fact today, BMC BMC official. Fadnavis also pointed
had an inter-lab meeting of all private labs On Friday, Mumbai’s tally rose by just 12 cases out to the discrepancy in
including Metropolis to discuss guidelines and — a 93 per cent drop over the previous day. Covid-19 figures being
protocols with respect to Covid-19 testing. BMC officials said that 29 people were cured released by the state
Metropolis is closely working with the BMC to and discharged from various hospitals on Sunday government and the
ensure that we adhere to all guidelines and com- and the total number of patients cured now stood BMC. “The state
pliance with respect to Covid-19 testing. Our at 310. government’s report says
only goal now is to work together with everyone Out of the six victims on Sunday, five had co- Mumbai has 183 Covid-19
as a team for the common cause,” the lab added. morbidities. patients while the BMC
The computation of Covid-19 numbers claims it is 87. The
Six deaths, 289 new cases by both the civic body and state is rigid: while numbers shown in the
in Mumbai BMC revised its initial death toll on Saturday report’s footnote are not
The city recorded 289 new Covid-19 cases on from five to four, as a patient had tested negative, reflected anywhere. Such
Sunday. Six people died, taking the toll to the state decided to go with the initial toll as errors must be rectified,”
131. The number of cases in Mumbai now “changes take some time to reflect”. he said.
Sawant said that all the agencies, including
the health department and police, worked in
as per the central government’s guidelines,”
he said.
SPAIN REPORTS
tandem to achieve the results. In a separate statement, State Health SHARP DROP IN DAILY TOLL
The chief minister said his government will Minister Vishwajit Rane said, “While we Spain registered a sharp drop in its daily
write to the Centre to inform it that all the currently do not have any active case in toll from the novel coronavirus on Sunday
patients have been cured and discharged, and the state, it is our responsibility to keep with 410 new fatalities -- the lowest in almost
no fresh cases have been reported in the state.” in mind the importance of lockdown, a month. “It’s a number that gives us hope,”
said health ministry emergencies coordinator
It is up to the Centre to declare Goa as a green maintain social distance increase the
Fernando Simon. “It’s the first time we are under
zone,” he said. scope of testing and adhere to norms
500 dead since the daily tolls began to climb.”
A government statement had said, “If no and guidelines issued by both central
The total number of fatalities in Spain, the third
case is reported in the last 14 days then the red and state government.”
hardest-hit country in the world after the United
zone district will be placed in the an orange “My deepest gratitude to our
States and Italy, has reached 20,453, the health
zone category. If no case is reported in the next warriors, the excellent team of doctors
ministry said.
14 days then that district will come under headed by Dr Edwin at ESI hospital for But Simon admitted the daily fall could be explained
green zone.” working tirelessly to counter the by the lower registration of fatalities over the
The chief minister said that though the menace of this deadly virus...,” Rane weekend. Such a drop is often followed by a rise at
number of positive cases have reduced to zero, added. the start of the week. Nevertheless, he said
citizens should continue to remain at home As per the government data, 758 that the number of deaths, hospital and
during the lockdown. “The restrictions during people were tested for the virus in the intensive care admissions were on a
the lockdown period will continue. We will go coastal state. —PTI downward trend.
 CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
City MumbaiMirror Monday, April 20, 2020 6

For railways, the lockdown TMC starts own

throat swab

presents rare opportunity

test facility
David.Delima
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @MumbaiMirror

Mumbai Divisions
T
he Thane Municipal Corpora-
tion set up its first Polymerase
of CR and WR take Chain Reaction (PCR) testing
facility, which will conduct
advantage of throat swab tests for the novel coro-
navirus. The facility has already be-
extended break gun operations at the CR Wadia Hos-
pital in Tembhi Naka, an official told
to carry out Mirror. The number of coronavirus
cases in Thane rose to 130 over the
much-needed weekend.
maintenance work The laboratory is fully compliant
with Indian Council of Medical Re-
search (ICMR) standards and will
Kamal.Mishra provide free-of-costs tests, the official
@timesgroup.com
said. The ICMR has allowed two
TWEETS @MumbaiMirror forms of testing in the country. The
PCR test requires the collection of

T
he Mumbai Divisions of throat swabs and take six hours for re-
both Central and West-
ern Railway are taking the
opportunity provided by
the lockdown to carry out
much-needed repair and mainte-
nance work in their sectors.
Since the beginning of the lock-
down on March 24, the Mumbai
Central Division of WR has in-
Patients at Thane Civil Hospital
spected 1,394 kilometres of track;
workers have also tested 210 kilo- sults. The second, rapid antibody
metres of track and 1,250 critical test, is a blood test that detects anti-
welds using ultrasonic flaw detec- bodies in the bloodstream and pro-
tors, according to officials. vides results within half an hour.
An entire fleet of track mainte- Over a week ago, Mirror had re-
nance machines has performed ported that the civic body expected
tamping on 99 kilometres of track to start their own PCR testing facility
and 105 turnouts (points connect- but that it was awaiting approval
ing more than two tracks). An Oscil- from the ICMR to begin. Before this,
lation Monitoring System assessed the city relied on two privately-run
the health of 2,503 kilometres of testing facilities -- Metropolis Lab on
track, said Ravinder Bhakar, chief the Ghodbunder Road and another
public relations officer, WR. centre at Wagle Estate.
The Signalling and Overhead Civic official Sandeep Malvi told
Electrical Departments of the CR Mirror that the facility will reduce the
has also been working to keep their city’s dependence on Kasturba Hos-
equipment and assets in good pital and JJ Hospital, where it would
shape. The Signalling Department take Thane residents an average of
has completed a major chunk of reg- two days to receive test results. “The
ular maintenance by carrying out hospitals were already reeling from a
17,605 cable tests, among other heavy load of cases. This will reduce
things. The Overhead Electrical De- the wait period from two days to six
partment has completed 365 kilo- hours,” Malvi said.
metres of foot patrolling, checked Until now, patients who wanted
405 kilometres of bonding and earth- to get themselves tested would have
ing, and live overhead inspection to pay up to Rs 4,500 at private facili-
spanning 412 kilometres in the sub- ties in Thane. Malvi added that the
urban section. new testing facility would be able to
The authorities are not only doing handle a hundred throat swab sam-
regular maintenance, but also prepar- ples on a daily basis. “Since we now
ing for summer and monsoon - the have our own facility, we expect a
most challenging season for the rail- considerable rise in testing capacity,”
ways. he said.
“Our courageous workforce is The new facility will only be used
working day and night to ensure to test patients quarantined by the
smooth operation of rail services once TMC at their facilities, Malvi told Mir-
the lockdown is lifted,” said Shivaji ror. This includes the TMC-run
Sutar, CPRO, CR. Thane Civil Hospital and Horizon
The administration has provided Prime, a private hospital ‘acquired’
the workers with safety equipment to by the civic administration on the
safeguard against the novel coronavi- Ghodbunder Road.
rus, he said. “We are also teaching Patients who test positive for the
them how to take care of themselves novel coronavirus are relocated to
and their families, and how to stay safe the Thane Civil Hospital or to Hori-
during this period.” zon Prime “All our departments have
been converted to fight the coronavi-
rus. Those patients suffering from
NO LOOSE ENDS: (Clockwise ) A worker from Western Railway’s other ailments have been moved to
Mumbai Central Division maintaining the suburban section signal the Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital in
 Jerk-checking work carried out by WR  Central Railways Kalwa while new patients are also
Mumbai Division cleaning an overhead equipment  WR giving sent there,” said Dr Kailash Pawar, a
sufficient cushion to the ballast level to prevent rail fracture surgeon at Thane Civil Hospital.
 CR maintaining overhead equipment of the suburban section
 City
CORONAVIRUS O
MumbaiMirror
U TBR E AK 7 Monday, April 20, 2020

Dharavi chemist, 17 at Bhandup medicine warehouse test positive

Cases increase fears among chemists operating around 7,000 stores across city; organisations issue stricter guidelines to prevent spread of virus
creased fears among chemists week. The BMC sealed the warehouse bai and under our observation. For the Mehta said that the body is concerned
Shruti Ganapatye prompting their organisations to issue immediately and the employees were rest, we have informed the other mu- about its members. "We have asked
@timesgroup.com stricter norms to curb the spread of the screened soon after. Their test results nicipal corporations concerned.” chemists to sell medicines only to
TWEETS @@Shruti_Mirror virus. arrived on Sunday. “We got a letter On Friday, a chemist from Dharavi those with doctor’s prescriptions,"
There are 7,000 chemist shops in from the Navi Mumbai Municipal tested positive for coronavirus. He was Mehta said.

S
eventeen people working at
a medicine warehouse in
Bhandup and one Dharavi-
based chemist have tested
positive for the novel coro-
navirus. The development has in-
Mumbai that have been operating
through the lockdown with a skeleton
staff.
In the Bhandup case, the owner of
the medicine warehouse tested posi-
tive for Covid-19 in Navi Mumbai last
Corporation about the person who
tested positive,” a BMC official said.
"We asked him to ensure that his em-
ployees were tested. He tested all100 of
them, 16 of whom tested positive.
Four of the employees are from Mum-
admitted at the Hinduja Hospital and
his family members were quarantined
immediately. “On Sunday, his moth-
er tested positive," a BMC official said.
Maharashtra State Chemist and
Drug Association president Hukumraj
Retail and Dispensary Chemist As-
sociation president Prasad Danve
said, “We have issued guidelines on
social distancing, maintaining hy-
geine, using sanitisers to all our mem-
bers.”

Trump warns China

of consequences
for virus outbreak COVID -19
HAS SHOWN US
U
S President Donald
Trump warned on Sat-

THAT
urday that China could
face consequences if it
was “knowingly responsible” for

the coronavirus pandemic.
“It could have been stopped
in China before it started and it
wasn't,” Trump told reporters at a
White House briefing. “And now
the whole world is suffering be-
cause of it.”
Trump was asked whether
China should suffer consequenc-
es over the pandemic which be-
gan in the Chinese city of Wuhan
in December .
“If they were knowingly re-
sponsible, certainly,” he said. “If
it was a mistake, a mistake is a mis-
take.” .
“In either event they should
have let us go in,” he said. “We
asked to go in early.”
“They said they're doing an
investigation," the president
continued. "So
WORLD
let’s see what
happens with
their investiga-
tion. But we’re
doing investigations also.”
The Trump administration
has said it doesn’t rule out that
the novel coronavirus was spread
—accidentally -- from a laborato-
ry researching bats in Wuhan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Zhao Lijian — who
previously alleged that the US
military may have brought the
virus into China — has rejected
US media reports on the subject
Ai uc+c+iir
It seems fake news on social media is
spreading faster than the virus itself. And
answers are harder than ever to come by.
It could have Now we aren ' t medical experts, but we know
been stopped in
how to get to the truth. By thoroug hly
China before it
started and it researching and verifying every word before
wasn’t i t s actually printed . So in these uncertain
—US President Donald Trump
times, might we ask you to wait . Wait before
and said there is “no scientific ba-
sis.” you share something you have no way of
Trump also cast doubt on offi- confirming. Wait until the truth in print
cial Chinese fig-
ures showing the makes its way to your doorstep.
country has suf-
fered just 0.33
deaths per PRINT IS PROOF.
1,00,000 people. The United
States, according to a chart dis-
played at the briefing, has had
11.24 deaths per 1,00,000 people.
Director of Wuhan lab
denies link to source of virus
The director of a maximum-secu-
rity laboratory in Wuhan has re-
jected claims that it could be the
source of the outbreak, calling it
“impossible". AFP

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF GREATER MUMBAI r.

'r 6 r

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

e-TENDER NOTICE l
The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) invites online Bids for-
"Supply of 404 Nos of First Aid boxes for the personnel working
In Section Chowkies , Motor Loader chowkies and checkpost of
SWM Department. "
The bids can be downloaded from MCGM's portal (http: // ao tal.mcam.oov.
l u n r d by India i leading nemr pen
d under 'eyrrocurement' section.
The Bid Start Date and time is 20.04.2020 after 11.00 A.M. and the Bid
. .
End Date and time is 11 05.2020 up to 04 00 P.M. THE TIMES OF INDIA Dainik Bhaskor hindustantimes THESIaatHINDL VIJA®'ANI

The intending bidders shall visit the Municipal web site at (http:// 2Qrt l
m.aovinl for further details of the tender.
The bid document vrll not be issued or received by post. Ti>EPrxikieacTmtF.
v I Mun Mirror
'lam + { ] Mra e alqIXtt2M

MCGM Sd/-
Exe. Eng. (SWM) Planning INIV
[?Caenasa f 8mr& I BusineSsl,inc midday
PRO/19/ADV/20-21
 City MumbaiMirror
CORONAVIRUS OUTBRE AK Monday, April 20, 2020
8

A knockout blow to hunger

An NGO founded by former top cop D Sivanandan, Mumbai Roti Bank has been feeding 30,000 mouths
every day in slums from Colaba to Mira Road to Mankhurd since the lockdown was announced
| Suktara.Ghosh
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @suktaraGMIRROR

D
Sivanandan’s daily work-
load has more than dou-
bled since the lockdown
forced Mumbaikars to
hunker down at home. The
former Director General of Police
(DGP) of Maharashtra spends his
mornings overseeing the cooking of
humongous quantities of food at a
kitchen in Mahul and ensures that
they are packed and delivered to
thousands of underprivileged people
across the city.
The Mumbai Roti Bank (MRB),
a non-governmental organisation,
which Sivanandan founded in
January 2018, has tied up with the
Mumbai Police to ensure that the
city’s daily wage-earners and the
poor living in areas like Dharavi,
a containment zone, do not go
without food. “Normally, we pro-
vide around 3,000 to 4,000 meals
a day. But now, we are providing
around 30,000 meals daily,” said the
69-year-old. While around 9,000
meals are prepared in Mahul, the
staff of Hotel Midtown Pritam in
Dadar and 90 Ft Above in Borivali
are cooking another 9,000 and
1,500 meals respectively. “A caterer
friend of mine, Harshad Prabhu,
prepares nearly 5,000 meals while
others like Thyrocare, a diagnos-
tic centre, are providing us with
another 6,000 packed meals,” he D Sivanandan, former DGP, founded Mumbai Roti Bank in 2018; it has tied up with the Mumbai Police and NGOs to provide meals to the underprivileged
said. MRB is catering to slums from
Colaba to Mira Road to Mankhurd. MRB’s operations involved picking chapatis to the menu, MRB tied up of around 140 volunteers, mostly turn around their lives and in turn,
“The coronavirus has triggered up excess food from restaurants, with the likes of Bombay Scottish students. The Nagpur roti bank is reduce crime,” said Sivanandan.
people’s generosity like never parties and conventions and and Cathedral schools, where stu- providing 2,500 meals daily. Around 200 children living
before,” said Sivanandan, adding delivering it to the needy in the dents are asked to bring two extra But now, battling shortage of on the streets in Mira Road have
that MRB provided one million vicinity. Additionally, rice, dal and chapatis in their dabbas every day. manpower like everyone else, it is been adopted by the Holy Cross
meals in 2019 and intends to sabzi would be cooked fresh every “Nearly 2,000 rotis are collected tying up with NGOs and individ- School and can now focus on their
double it this year. “Numerous day at the Mahul kitchen, where in designated baskets daily,” said uals who’re picking up the food studies because they are getting
organisations and individuals are Jayangarth Yashwant Tambe, a Sivanandan, adding that he has in their own vehicles to deliver to proper food, thanks to MRB. “These
contributing both with ingredients former police inspector and now 10 vans in Mumbai and one in different areas. 10-12-year-olds tell us how their
and money, and right now, I have the operation manager of MRB, Nagpur, which deliver the food For Sivanandan, the urge to erad- lives have changed and that makes
adequate supply for the next three oversaw the operations. To add to different locations with the aid icate hunger goes back to his child- me feel like we are doing something
months.” hood in Coimbatore. The 1967-68 right,” said Tambe.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Meer food crisis, before the Green Kashmira Pokale, a 25-year-old
Foundation got in touch with MRB Revolution, had affected millions who volunteered with MRB for a
to pay for 10,000 meals a day for a and Sivanandan, then a school-go- year while pursuing MBA, has now
month; the Bharat Diamond Bourse ing boy, had to battle hunger along joined the organisation as its chief
in BKC has provided 10 tonnes of with his family. Later, in his job administrator. On days she found
rice and two tonnes of dal; the Essar with the police, he saw how hunger the going tough, she admitted to
Foundation is providing a tonne of drove people to crime as well. “I drawing inspiration from her expe-
fresh vegetables every two days, to was posted in the Gadchiroli region, rience as a volunteer. “My first food
name a few. “We have been making known for Maoist violence, for distribution drive was at Dharavi.
a lot of khichdi and today, there is three years. I have seen the tribals The humility, warmth and kindness
pulav full of carrots, cauliflowers go without food for days. The city of the people touched me. I inter-
and broccoli. I tried the food myself slums aren’t much better either,” acted with many kids and I could
and found it to be very tasty,” said he said. I came across some data feel the difference MRB had made
Sivanandan. “We are also delivering that said that 200 million Indians to their lives,” she says.
fresh idlis to people outside the Tata go without food every day and 1.4 It’s also the smiles on the
Cancer Hospital in the morning.” tonne of food is wasted against each faces of the children that remain
The former top cop is pleased person going hungry. So I decided Sivanandan’s driving force. He
with how the Mumbai Police is to become the bridge between the recalled the time when he had
showing a humane face while deal- empty plate and the surplus food.” taken a refrigerator full of ice-cream
ing with the corona crisis. “They are MRB also provides nutritious for the children in a school in
literally going door-to-door deliv- Mumbai cops are going door-to-door meals to 1,500 underprivileged chil- Chakala. “I also took poha and oats
ering food. An activity like this not delivering food. An activity like this not only dren across the city. “There are mid- but children are children; they were
only makes them feel good about day meals but I figured that if they so happy with the ice-cream. I can’t
themselves, but also burnishes the
makes them feel good about themselves, but get some extra food during tuitions, explain what I felt when I saw their
image of the force,” he said. also burnishes the image of the force they would not discontinue school. smiles,” he said. “The sky is the
In pre-corona times, a part of –D Sivanandan, former DGP of Maharashtra The education would, hopefully, limit if we do our duty.”
 City MumbaiMirror
All Mira-Bhayandar
shops shut for 4 days
With Covid-19 cases rising to 69 and people still coming out
in droves, civic body allows only medical stores to stay open
Only home delivery of provisions like milk, meat, vegetables, fruits and groceries will be allowed, from 9 am-5 pm
Vinay.Dalvi
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @VinayMIRROR
A
ll shops in Mira-Bhayandar,
including grocery stores
and vegetable markets, will
be shut from Monday to
Thursday in an attempt to
stop the spread of the novel coronavi-
rus. Pharmacies have been granted an
exemption, said Chandrakant Dange,
commissioner of the Mira-Bhayandar
Municipal Corporation (MBMC).
Movement of only those engaged
in providing essential services will be
allowed.
Only home delivery of essential
provisions like milk, meat, vegetables,
fruits and groceries will be allowed,
Spotted in good company
A deer joins some winged friends on a leisurely Sunday afternoon at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali
CORONAVIRUS OUTBRE AK
NILESH WAIRKAR
been a spike in the number of cases in
Naya Nagar, Kashigaon, Uttan,
Ghoadpdeo, and Bhayandar East and
West. “We saw that people were not
We saw that people following social distancing norms in
were not following
these areas and were coming out in
social distancing huge numbers to buy vegetables.
norms in these areas Hence, this decision was taken.”
The MBMC has registered 69 Co-
and were coming out in vid-19 cases. Thane district’s tally rose
huge numbers to buy to 364 on Sunday after 44 more people
vegetables. Hence, this tested positive. One more person died,
taking the toll in the district to 12. So
decision was taken far, 130 Covid-19 cases have been re-
—A civic official
ported from areas under Thane Mu-
from 9 am-5 pm. nicipal Corporation, 73 from Kalyan-
A police official said social distanc- Dombivali, 60 from Navi Mumbai, 14
ing will have to be mandatorily prac- from Badlapur, 10 from Thane rural,
tised at pharmacies, failing which ac- four from Ambernath township, three
tion will be taken. from Bhiwandi-Nizampur municipal
An MBMC official said there has limits and one from Ulhasnagar.
NILESH WAIRKAR
Monday, April 20, 2020
SONALI GUPTA
Keeper of secrets, healer of hearts, and a
practising psychotherapist writes here on
TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT
Write to her at mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
Relational health in
times of Covid-19
A
34-year-old female
client recently told
me over FaceTime:
“This is the only time
when I can really talk
to you. The kids need to be
asleep before I can get on a call.
My husband now starts his
work at 9 am and ends his work-
day only by 9.30 pm. Both the
children have assignments sent
by the school, which I need to
sit and finish, then complete
the housework along with
cooking for the family. I can’t
tell you how frustrated and
saturated I feel. I’m really long-
ing for the day when I can just
sit on the couch and have my
cup of tea and read the paper in
an empty house. I feel guilty
saying this, but I feel I’m begin-
ning to feel bitter about my
husband, life, and it’s physical-
ly impacting me to the point I
can barely sleep. I think we are
going to need couple’s counsel-
ling, once things settle”.
The client felt that her hus-
band’s work from home (WFH)
situation had become over-
whelming for her. She was
beginning to feel alone when it
came to taking care of the chil-
dren and felt that no one really
understood her situation.
People have been confined
in their homes for more than
three weeks and a lot has
changed when it comes to their
marriage and parental relation-
ships. The complicated bit is
that every week comes with
either increased intimacy or a
growing distance between
families and partners. At the
same time, it has become hard
to predict the patterns in such
relationships.
A lot of people are feeling
more and more lonely in their
own homes, marriages and
within families. The three
consistent themes that run
across households based on my
experience are: an acute aware-
ness of one’s own mortality, the
stark inequality when it comes
to gender roles, and a deep
feeling of not being understood
and ‘seen’ by others in ways we
want.
Whether it’s individual
sessions or couple’s sessions, all
have shades of these. These
feelings come with helpless-
ness, a certain frustration and
also a haste to take massive life
decisions. In fact, a lot of work
in therapy has been to help
people examine this feeling of
‘haste’ rather than take quick
decisions.
In my practice, I have seen
that parents’ death becomes a
trigger for couples to reexamine
their own marriage. In the same
way, the current situation has
left couples with a dichotomy
9
where they are spending so
much time physically in the
same house and yet feeling that
there is so little they share in
common. Then there are cou-
ples who are consciously trying
to rekindle their intimacy by
making a choice to invest in the
marriage and address concerns
that were left unaddressed.
While this sounds simple, for
most couples life navigates
against a complicated back-
ground of extensive past bag-
gage, feelings that run deep and
their willingness to work to-
wards the relationship.
As Irvin Yalom, a well-
known psychiatrist, says,
“Though the physicality of
death destroys us, the idea of
death may save us.” I think a lot
of people are reexamining their
relational wounds, gender
inequalities against this back-
ground and wondering: “What
would a good, fulfilling life
look like?”
While it’s hard to tell how
people would be eventually
impacted by the global pan-
demic, what is certain is that a
lot of research in the months to
come will explore how men
and women have been impact-
ed differently during this peri-
od and the discussion about
gender roles. Most families
have been cognisant of these
differences, but when people
are spending so much time
together the intensity and the
magnitude of the problem has
become clearer.
People are operating their
life with low threshold and
patience levels, given how
difficult the last few weeks have
been. These low levels are a
function of the anxiety and
uncertainty we all are experi-
encing. Also, many of us have
had the privilege of having staff
and house help on a daily basis.
Now their absence is contrib-
uting to so many people feeling
overworked.
People’s emotional re-
sponses and coping styles in a
crisis often can be contradic-
tory. With a lot of couples this
has led to massive misunder-
standing and a feeling that
their narratives are trivialised.
When it comes to decision-
making, what makes most
sense is to become aware of our
feelings, acknowledge them
and yet wait to see if the feelings
are fleeting or consistent. May-
be this is the time for all of us to
pause and reflect, yet park our
decisions till the time we feel
emotionally ready and stable to
take decisions.
The next article will explore
how to work around this.
(This is the second
article in the series.)
 City MumbaiMirror
Watching porn?
Beware of online
extortion racket
Operating from abroad, the racket, claiming to have the victims’ email ids
and passwords, threatens to expose their secrets if not paid in bitcoins
Abhishek.Sharan
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @abhishek _ mirror
T
he state police’s cyber wing
is keeping a watch on an
online extortion racket
that claims to have email
ids and passwords of people
visiting porn sites. Operating from
abroad, the ring threatens to expose
the secrets of their victims if they are
not paid in bitcoin, sources said.
“The emails sent to the victims
claim that the racket had installed a
malware at a porn site through
which they can remote access the
victim’s electronic device. This, in
turn, has given them access to the
person’s emails, webcam and dis-
play screen,” said a source associated
with the probe. “In order to apply
pressure on the victim, the emails al-
so claim that a special pixel in the
message informs the sender that the
recipient has read the mail,” the
source said.
According to the police, the ex-
tortionists first send an email stating
that the passwords of the victim’s
mail IDs and social media accounts
are in their possession and threaten
to spill his secrets to his family and
other contacts if he doesn’t pay up
within a day. As per the complaints,
the victims are asked to pay in bit-
coins. In one such case, the victim
was told to pay Rs 2.21 lakh in bit-
coins “for our little secret”. The
email also instructed the victim
“how to buy bitcoin” online.
Labourer dies, co-workers
claim he was hit by police
Payal.Gwalani
@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @MumbaiMirror
A
labourer died on Saturday
night at Null Bazar after alleg-
edly being hit on the head.
The incident took place around 9
pm when Sameer Ahmed, 41, and
two other labourers were returning
to a godown after delivering some
items on a handcart to a building in
the neighbourhood. Ahmed, who
was lagging behind his fellow work-
ers, had disappeared. He later told
them that he had been hit on the
head. Doctors at a nearby hospital
declared him dead on arrival.
Social worker Ghulam Mansuri,
who lives on the second floor of the
building, where the godown is lo-
cated, said, “Ahmed and his co-
workers were helping a family shift
One of the victims was told to pay Rs 2.21 lakh in bitcoins
“The one-day notice is to prevent
the victims from approaching the
police,” said another source.
Balsingh Rajput, SP (cyber), told
Mirror that as per preliminary assess-
ment, the emails are being sent from
“abroad” and the criminals could be
using information obtained from
“data breaches” involving some of
the popular email service providers
based in the US and Europe. “The ex-
tortionists send the browser history
of the victim, with porn website ad-
dresses, for blackmail,” he said.
Sameer Ahmed, the deceased
to their new house in Bhindi Bazaar
on Saturday night. While returning
with an empty handcart after drop-
ping off the furniture, Ahmed’s co-
workers walked fast and reached the
godown only to realise he had not
Cyber police advise email users to
update their passwords and other
relevant security details regularly.
Virtual currencies like a bitcoin
employ encryption techniques to
regulate the generation of their units
and verify the transfer of funds,
while operating independently of
banks. The Supreme Court in March
allowed banks and financial institu-
tions to provide services related to
cryptocurrencies by setting aside the
RBI’s 2018 circular which had pro-
hibited them.
followed them back. They went
looking for him and found him at a
street corner.”
He was writhing in pain and
couldn’t walk, said Mansuri, add-
ing that after returning to the down,
he started vomiting. The workers
immediately called the police.
There was panic and anger
among the residents as some of
them believed that Ahmed was hit
by policemen. An official from JJ
Marg police station confirmed that
an accidental death report has been
registered and further investigation
is underway.
“We have taken the statements
of the deceased person’s co-workers
and will check the CCTV footage
from the area to establish the se-
quence of events. If needed, we will
make necessary changes in the FIR,”
he said.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Corridors
of Power
Keeping an eagle eye on all that’s hot
Write to him at mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
The travails of
Shivraj Chouhan
B
S Yediyurappa must
thank his stars that he is
not in Shivraj Singh
Chouhan’s shoes. He
missed meeting a fate
similar to Mamaji’s by a whisker.
But the BJP’s ‘central command’
graciously allowed him to expand
his ministerial council. Now,
Yediyurappa is trying pretty much
to do what he wants. He unveiled a
post-April 20 agenda that was
expected to see two-wheelers on
Karnataka’s streets (to which the
Centre said no) and the staggered
resumption of the IT industry.
No luck for Chouhan, who was
anointed by stealth for a fourth
time as the Madhya Pradesh chief
minister just when the coronavirus
started its rampage. Nearly a
month on, Chouhan does not have
a single minister to handhold, not
even a home or health minister.
With Amit Shah receding in the
background and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi delegating much of
the crisis management to his offi-
cers or the state chief ministers,
Chouhan looks like a rabbit caught
in the headlights. He’s beholden to
the BJP dispensation in Delhi for
getting back his job but the ‘reward'
carries a price: it has reduced the
leeway he exercised for 13 years as
LK Advani’s favourite CM.
MP reported a few cases when
Chouhan unseated Kamal Nath
but initially the statistics didn’t
look devastating. Within weeks,
the killer virus invaded and sucked
the state into its spikes. As things
stand, MP has the ignominy of
occupying third place in the na-
tional index of reported infections
and deaths after Maharashtra and
Delhi. The deep ruts and fissures in
the state’s health systems were
visible. There was no infrastructure
or back-up to buttress the systems.
The shortage of testing labs meant
the samples were transported to
other states in a jumble. Private
health facilities all but folded up
because the management and
doctors didn’t want to own up
culpability in case the crisis got out
of hand, which it did.
For a while, Bhopal’s BJP gov-
ernment used the Tablighi Jamaat
as an alibi to try and explain away
the spurt of cases in Indore and
Bhopal. Very soon, it became
evident that most of those who
were infected, especially in affluent
Indore, had a travel history.
All this while Chouhan looked
helpless. His former health secre-
tary, Pallavi Jain Gohil, did not
disclose that her son had returned
from the US until the media
squealed. Once she tested positive,
she refused to be hospitalised and
summoned the doctors and para-
medics home where pictures
showed her meeting them without
10
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN
a mask. Gohil wasn’t a role model
for anyone, health carers or pa-
tients, but Chouhan lauded her
‘courage’. Within days, after he was
singed by the rumpus over 50
health department employees
testing positive, he brought in a
new health secretary. Nothing
helped. Not even the formation of
an advisory panel, headed by Nobel
laureate Kailash Satyarthi.
There are many undertones to
the MP fiasco. Health, as a crucial
national sector, was under the
RSS-BJP’s radar, unlike education
and culture, which brimmed over
with transformative potential for
the Sangh’s ideologues. As a minis-
try, health was placed on a par with,
say, tourism or women and child
development, as appendages to
more over-arching concerns that
impinged on the economy, nation-
al security and defence, and educa-
tion and culture. The Sangh’s
understanding of health began and
ended with the marvels of cow
urine. Gau mutra as an article of
faith to the detriment of ignoring
cutting-edge developments in
science and medicine.
Chouhan’s dealing with an
over-centralised BJP command
that brooks no place for the region-
al chiefs. As the chief minister in his
earlier tenures, he was used to being
indulged by Delhi bosses who even
saw him as a potential PM candi-
date. There’s no Advani or Sushma
Swaraj to patronise him. JP Nadda,
the current BJP president, is still
finding his feet. In the circum-
stances who does Chouhan go to?
Yediyurappa leveraged his senior-
ity and perceived indispensability
to push Delhi to green-light his
cabinet expansion, which the
bosses did after dawdling.
Chouhan doesn’t even have the
measure of luxury afforded to the
Bihar deputy CM, Sushil Modi.
This Modi survives on his proximi-
ty to Nitish Kumar. He’s fortunate
that the BJP has not found another
leader in Bihar. It depends on
Sushil Modi to keep the alliance in
place. Little wonder then that
under Modi, the BJP ratified Nit-
ish’s rejection of the NRC-NPR,
unmindful of the Centre’s determi-
nation to go ahead with the citizen-
ship package in toto.
A BJP office-bearer from MP
remarked cynically that even if
Chouhan had a health minister, he
couldn’t have done much, except
implement central diktats. Would
he have been a Pinarayi Vijayan?
The nub of the issue is that
throughout its 15-year rule in
Bhopal, the BJP government fo-
cused inordinately on education
(rewriting history texts) and agri-
culture. Health was the last thing
on its mind. The chickens have
come home to roost.
You
ASK THE
SEXPERT
DR MAHINDER WATSA
1 I am a 43-year-old
man. I have been
married for the last 11
years. We don’t have any
kids. In fact, my wife and
I have an awful marriage.
We live together because
both our parents are
quite old and won’t be
able to handle our
break-up. My wife and
I have a strange
arrangement. We barely
speak with each other. I
am actually deeply in love
with another woman.
Because of this lockdown
I haven’t seen her in
weeks, leave alone had
sex with her. The other
night — probably for the
first time in years — my
wife and I had sex with
each other because both
of us were bored. Now,
she has hinted again that
she wants to have sex
with me. How do I tell her
— let alone the fact that
we don’t get along — I am
actually in love with
someone else. I don’t
want to cheat on my
girlfriend with my wife.
At the same time, I am
craving for sex. What
should I do?
Lockdown or no lockdown,
this is not an ideal situation
at all. You mentioned your
marriage is terrible, I’m sure
your wife isn’t under the
impression that things are
hunky dory. Be honest with
your wife. You cannot have
your cake and eat it too.
2 I am 18-year-old. Most
of my self-isolation
time is now spent
watching porn. It has
increased from an hour
every day to almost six to
seven hours now. Is it
bad? Am I a porn addict?
Do I need therapy?
I’m sure there are several
others wondering the same
thing about themselves at
this point. This seems to
stem more from boredom
than addiction. However, if
you think you have an issue,
it might be prudent
to occasionally occupy
yourself with other
activities/hobbies.
SEND YOUR QUERIES TO
Ask the Sexpert, Mumbai Mirror,
Times Of India Building, Dr D N Road,
Mumbai 400001 or email at
drwatsa@timesgroup.com.
Contact Dr Watsa, send an email to
mcwatsa@hotmail.com
HEALTH TIP: Strawberries contain
# anthocyanins, which are powerful
antioxidants that help lower blood pressure
Thanks to social media,
we have a profound
new way to comfort
one another
Maintain social, not
emotional distance
Isolation can have a severe and long-lasting psychological impact.
Here’s why we need to connect with people, now more than ever
| Hvovi Bhagwagar
mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @MumbaiMirror
T
hese are strange times.
And we are coping. We are
slowly getting accustomed
to the restrictions that the
lockdown brings; getting
into the routine of balancing home
chores with office responsibilities,
keeping ourselves updated with the
news and procuring our essential
supplies while maintaining social
distancing. However, a huge part of
our lives is missing, all the things
that gave us a sense of belonging
— be it weekend family gatherings,
office meet-ups, working out at the
gym, dining out. It’s normal to feel
emotionally disconnected from oth-
ers at this time. Filmmaker Karan
Johar, in a recent interview, summed
it up: “What I miss are the hugs.
When I meet people, the first thing I
will do is hug them”.
The continued social isolation
can have a lasting negative psycho-
logical impact on us, too — man is,
after all, a social animal. A study in
The Lancet titled “The psychologi-
cal impact of quarantine,” reviewed
several studies after the SARS out-
break in 2003, and found that
being quarantined could lead to
symptoms of acute stress disorder.
Similarly, America’s Centres for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) warns that the following
signs could indicate that you’re
Orange juice contains a good quantity of
Vitamin C, which promotes the absorption
of iron into the blood stream
feeling emotionally distant:
z Feelings of numbness, disbelief,
anxiety or fear
z Changes in appetite, energy, and
activity levels
z Difficulty concentrating
z Difficulty sleeping or nightmares
and upsetting thoughts and/or
images
z Physical reactions, such as head-
aches, body pains, stomach prob-
lems, and skin rashes
z Worsening of chronic health
problems
z Anger or short-temper
z Increased use of alcohol, tobacco,
or other drugs
The most important finding of
the The Lancet review study is that
the psychological effect of quaran-
tine can still be detected months or
years later. So, how well we manage
to stay emotionally connected will
determine how heathy we emerge
from this crisis.
You’re not “quarantined”
Using the term “quarantine” to
define any period of isolation can
perpetuate a sense of helplessness
and make one feel psychologically
more distanced from others.
'Quarantine' involves avoiding con-
tact with others to see if a person
has been exposed to the coronavi-
rus. 'Isolation' involves separating
an individual who has contracted
Covid-19 to prevent them from
spreading it to others. However,
what the larger population is fol-
lowing during this lockdown
period is best defined as “social
distancing”: restricting our contact
with those outside our family
units, keeping a safe distance
(approximately six feet) from
others when outside, as also avoid-
ing gathering spaces such as
schools, religious places, malls and
public transportation.
Understanding these terms is
important, because their misuse
can increase the inner feeling of
emotional vulnerability during this
period. Also, most of the adverse
psychological effects we experience
come from the restriction of liber-
ties. So while social distancing is
required by law, it’s good right
now to focus on the freedoms you
do enjoy — such as the ability to
connect with friends and family
with technology.
Connect emotionally
On one hand, we experience
moments of national solidarity that
bring us together such as the PM’s
request to honour the medicos
with claps. On the other, we con-
tinue to remain divided across the
faultines of communities and class.
One lesson this pandemic seems to
be driving home is that while we
are socially distant, we are all con-
nected emotionally by our collec-
tive vulnerability. The virus has in
many ways, been an equaliser. This
is a global experience that each of
us, regardless of race, class, culture,
MumbaiMirror 11
Monday, April 20, 2020
mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
facebook.com/themumbaimirror
@MumbaiMirror
age or gender, are facing together.
We can come out of this more resil-
ient if we work together.
Use the internet
Dr Bessel van der Kolk, the world’s
leading expert in trauma therapy
writes in his book The Body Keeps
the Score. “When something
distressing happens, we automati-
cally signal others to come to our
assistance. However, if no one
responds to our call for help, the
threat increases, and our primitive
brain jumps into “fight or flight”
mode. And if there is still no help,
we disengage, collapse, and freeze.
Now imagine, during this time
of complete isolation, how big a
mental health crisis we might have
faced had we not had access to
social media, online meetings or
WhatsApp chats. Dr Kolk, speaking
to the New York Times said “The
internet is a huge variable in this
pandemic, we have a profound
new way to comfort one another.”
Remember, an inability to engage
with people could cause not just
anxiety, but also long-term distress.
If you live alone
Our minds are attuned to visual
contact and to physical proximity.
Mirror neurons help us reflect non-
verbal cues and establish social
connection. So, when the only
option is to connect virtually, the
engagement needs to be more inti-
mate, rather than superficial.
The next time you visit a store for
purchases, don’t avoid eye contact
with others. Even while we are all
wearing masks, eye contact can be
used to convey solidarity during
moments of despair. Pets can be a
huge source of connection, too. You
can also take a mindfulness class
online or broadcast your talents to
the community. We are used to hug-
ging, shaking hands, back-slapping
and high-fives. But we can bond
even though we are physically dis-
tant. All it takes is some effort.
The writer is a psychologist
and psychotherapist
 MumbaiMirror 12
Movies 16 This Week That Year: Balraj Sahni,
a gentleman and an actor
Monday, April 20, 2020
mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
@MumbaiMirror
Entertainment Industry Promotion

TV shoots set to resume in early May?

Pointing out that they employ many daily wage earners, JD Majethia hopes that work will re-start on
closed, sanitised set with a small unit and precautions; to approach government with a proposal
Motion Picture Producers’ “The PM, in his recent address, add that no one’s health will be
| Akash.Bhatnagar
@timesgroup.com Association (IMPPA), had held announced that keeping the daily compromised by this move. “If we
a joint meeting on March 15 at wage earners in mind, some set required parameters, shoot in a
TWEETS @Akash_Mirror which it was decided to stop all industries will be started, in sanitised zone and are extremely

B
efore the nationwide ongoing film, TV and OTT shoots phases, depending on how the careful, then, we would like to be
lockdown, which started for March 19-31. The restrictions situation improves. We have a lot allowed to resume business
on March 25, Mirror were further extended to of daily wage earners in our slowly,” he adds.
(March April 15 and then to May industry and we are working to Currently, most General
16) had reported 3, following Prime approach the government with a Entertainment Channels are
that film and Minister Narendra request to be given preference. We airing reruns of old shows, with
TV bodies, Modi’s address to the can work out some SOPs, and no new episodes in the bank.
including nation. with a small unit, we would like Ramayan and Mahabharat reruns

CORONAVIRUS
the Federation of Now, chairman of to be given permission to start on Doordarshan have gathered
Western India Cine the TV wing of IFTPC, shoots for TV on a closed set at record-breaking TRPs. Two of JD’s

OUTBREAK
Employees (FWICE),
the Indian Film &
Television Directors’
Association (IFTDA), Indian
Film and TV Producers Council
(IFTPC), Western India Film
Producers’ Association (WIFPA),
Association of Advertising
Producers (ASAP) and the Indian
JD Majethia, informs the earliest. Right now, we feel we shows—Khichdi and Sarabhai Vs
that they plan to will be able to shoot after May 3,” Sarabhai—are also being telecast
reach out to the says the producer. He is quick to on Star Bharat.
government with a proposal
that they be allowed to restart TV We can work out some SOPs, and with a
shoots in a protected small unit, we would like to be given
environment from May 4. A plan
of action is currently being
permission to start shoots for TV on a closed
developed. set at the earliest –JD Majethia

‘I encourage everyone to Fighting fit

W
exercise for 30 minutes’
ith no mad
rush to get to
work, actors
find time for some
parent appreciation. A
self-confessed fitness

Anil Kapoor on how to wrap one’s head around corona-induced lockdown

freak, Hrithik Roshan
has been sharing clips
of daddy, Rakesh,
upcoming projects, attending meetings killing it in the gym.
| Himesh.Mankad@timesgroup.com
over the phone and on video calls. We are He raves, “This is the
TWEETS @HimeshMirror all doing whatever we can virtually,” the kind of resolve and

W
ith body language and voice 62-year-old actor shares, going on to add determination we
modulation training, Anil that besides work and spending hours with all need to have to
Kapoor was all geared up to start family, he is devoting time to fitness as well fight in times like
shooting for Karan Johar’s Takht, and trying not to get lazy. “Exercising is these...This seriously
in which he plays Mughal emperor Shah even more important now for our physical is more inspiring to
Jahan. The period-drama features Ranveer and mental health. I encourage everyone to me than anything
Singh and Vicky Kaushal as Shah Jahan’s do it religiously, at least for 30 minutes
warring sons, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb, every day. It doesn’t matter what you do, else”.
while Kareena Kapoor portrays Jahanara but you should make sure to move.” Rakul Preet Singh’s
Begum. The film also has Alia Bhatt, Anil is hoping something positive will armyman dad, too,
Janhvi Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar in come out of the lockdown. Reflecting on made her proud by tak-
pivotal roles. the way the outbreak has changed the ing up the T-shirt chal-
Anil also has the Abhinav Bindra biopic concept of work-life balance, he lenge. Doing a head-
in the offing, in which he will be seen as says, “Work was a major part of stand without support,
Apjit Bindra to son Harshvardhan my life. My daily routine has the veteran wore a tee
Kapoor’s titular character. Things, changed since we have been while upside down.
however, came to a screeching halt on indoors for a while now and I “My daddy strongest,”
March 19, when film bodies advised don’t mind it. After all, no gushes the
that all production work be one complains about actress.
immediately stopped as coronavirus spending a whole lot Meanwhile,
strengthened its grip in India. Five of quality time with the OG He-Man
days later, a nation-wide lockdown family, eating, of Bollywood,
was imposed to contain it. But life, laughing, pulling Dharmendra is
and work, go on. each other’s leg staying fit effort-
“I am researching for my and simply lessly. Sharing a
enjoying each picture of himself with
Work was a other’s a freshly plucked
major part of company,” he bunch of bananas
my life. My daily concludes. from his farm, the
sprightly veteran
routine has actor reveals that he
changed... I is enjoying a bounty
don’t mind it. of homegrown
After all, no chikoos and coco-
nuts at his farm too.
one com- There’s nothing like
plains about daily kheti to look
spending 20 years younger
and fight the virus
time with fear.
family —Ankita Chaurasia

Unwind
BOOK NOOK
EVERY WEEK NOTED AUTHORS FROM DIFFERENT GENRES PICK THEIR FAVOURITE READS
Love actually
From unconventional tales of romance to those that explore the
realm of self-love, these novels are not your typical tearjerkers
| Anuka.Roy@timesgroup.com
TWEETS @anuka_MIRROR
D
on’t be fooled by the meet-
cutes that dominate the
themes of most rom-coms.
After all, the typical ‘boy-
meets-girl’ and ‘they lived
happily ever after’ routine is getting
old. This week, three authors share
their favourite romantic stories —
those that break conventions and
also those that explore the very idea
of self-love.
The Pursuit of Love by
Nancy Mitford
N
ancy Mitford was a masterful
storyteller. And if reality served
with a dash of froth inside an
exquisite cut glass is your thing, you
have done disservice to yourself in
not reading her work before.
Mitford’s semi-autobiographical
novel is a story about an aristocratic
family endearingly told with a light
touch of wicked humour. But
underneath all that, also lies a
commentary about the hopelessness
of love. The narrator, Fanny, the
child of a serial monogamist mother,
is sent away to be raised by her aunt
married into the eccentric Radlett
family. Linda, the second Radlett
daughter, is Fanny’s best friend and
the main protagonist of the novel.
Early on in the story, Louisa, Linda’s
eldest sister, gets engaged to a man
with a lacklustre personality who has
no doubt been chosen because of his
good pedigree.
Disapproving and yet jealous,
Linda breathlessly waits to fall in
love herself, and what follows is a
series of failed, ill-suited liaisons,
the first of them even producing an
unwanted, unloved child. Then one
day, under the most unusual
circumstances, Linda meets and
falls in love with Fabrice, a French
duke. But then the second World
War breaks out...
To feature an event on this page, send the details and photographs to Vijayeta Basu on mirrorfeatures@timesgroup.com
SHUNALI
KHULLAR SHROFF
RECOMMENDS
Normal People by Sally Rooney
T T
his is a visceral story set
in Ireland about young
love across social classes.
Marianna, a rich high school
student falls in love with
her house cleaner’s son. But
Marianne is a social outcast at
school and Connel is attractive
and well-liked by all. The two
are attracted to each other but
Connel chooses to hide their
relationship from his friends for
fear of embarrassment. In Trinity
College however, where they are
both enrolled, Marianna’s social
currency is higher. A brilliant
student, she has turned
into the proverbial,
sought-after swan.
Their relationship is
punctuated by many
misunderstandings
and their own inner
complexities. Over a
period of four years
they leave each other
many times but
their intense love
and attraction draws
them to each other over and
over again. They go through
their individual journeys, getting
involved with other people as
they go along but all through,
they always feel incomplete
without each other.
And thus, they take turns to
rescue each other. She supports
him through his joblessness, he
by protecting her from assault
and abuse from several men
including her own brother, thus
further nurturing their
relationship. Rooney’s writing
packs the elements of a classic
novel. From the very
beginning, it is the
discourse between them
on politics, movies and
books that forms the
basis of their chemistry.
The book is also about
changing power
dynamics between two
people and it ably
demonstrates that love
is as much about feeling
as it is about power.
MumbaiMirror 13
Monday, April 20, 2020
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facebook.com/themumbaimirror
@MumbaiMirror
KAVITA DASWANI RECOMMENDS
Where the Peacocks Sing: A Palace, a Prince,
and the Search for Home by Alison Singh Gee
W
hile this book can certainly be considered a
romance, it is also a memoir, a travelogue, and a
poignant insight into the makings of a marriage.
The author, Alison Singh Gee, is a long-time journalist
and writer. She is of Chinese-American descent and
was born and raised in Los Angeles. While working
in Hong Kong, she meets Ajay Singh, also a journalist.
Accompanying him on a trip to meet his family in
India turns out to be a revelation, for that is when Singh
Gee discovers that her soft-spoken and unassuming
husband has royal roots, although the family’s haveli
in Mokimpur, is falling apart. While negotiating vastly
different cultural mores, she is also tasked with forging new and sometimes
tenuous relationships with Ajay’s family — potentially throwing
her own connection with her beau into crisis. There are
scenes in Peacocks that will leave you sighing, and others
that are laugh-out-loud funny. And Singh Gee writes
with heart-melting honesty when talking about Ajay.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
O
utlander was not even remotely on my radar
when it first came out in the early 1990s. But
fast forward a few decades, and I finally became
immersed in the Outlander universe, binge-watching
the entire first season in just a few days. The book, natu-
rally, had to follow — only to feed my curiosity about just how
similar the book was to the series. It turns out, very
much so. What is most striking is Gabaldon’s remarkably
proficiency with history, and her ability to set a scene
and provide tremendous context without it ever feeling
preachy. And, of course, at the heart of all the time-travel
action is the swoon-worthy romance that blossoms
between British army nurse Claire Randall, and her
Scot hero, Jamie Fraser. There might be war, torture and
untold dangers at every turn — not to mention a few
hundred years to separate them — yet these two always
seem to find their way back to one another.
ADVAITA KALA RECOMMENDS
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
his story is about a woman — a tempestuous woman —
who becomes stronger during her journey in the book
through the men she meets and the challenges that life
throws at her. Eventually, she finds peace with herself. In an
era where you are supposed to find some sort of complete-
ness with a man, for her the great romance turned out to be
finding the purpose of her own life and her own
journey. To me, that is a very empowering
story. It is not a conventional love story, but
you look at love in a very different way.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
A
gain, this isn’t a typical romantic novel. The protagonist
is extremely comfortable with who she is — authentic and
unapologetic. She is open about what she wants in life — to get married to
a rich man, or at least that’s what she thought she wanted. Another endearing
quality about her is her guilelessness and how she doesn’t conform to society’s
idea of a perfect woman. Through her life experiences in
the book, she realises what she truly needs as a person and
from a partner. It is, in many ways, a story of self-realisation,
of removing the chaff from the wheat. Her own inability
to confront love because of the loss of her brother or her
rejection of a man who loves her, make her seem self-
cantered and she is all those things and yet she finds her
true north and in that there is redemption. The message is
that we can all find love and be better versions of ourselves
no matter where we start out.

Chai-Time
Kakuro
The numbers in the grey 15
squares refer to the
9
sums of the digits that
you must fill into the
empty spaces directly
below or to the right of the
grey square containing the
number. For instance, in the
given example, the 3 boxes
horizontally next to 15 must
contain 3 digits that add up to 15,
Quick
Across
7 Seinfeld regular (6)
8 Steward (6)
9 Change location (4)
10 Find or locate or ascertain;
invent, in a way (8)
11Climb down (7)
13 Immerse in pickle; marinate
(5)
15 Planetary path (5)
17 Unit of magnetic field
strength (7)
20 Informative reaction or
response (8)
21A sheltered bay (4)
22 English river (6)
23 Mixtures of metals (6)
What saying is represented by the following equation?
Riddler (Estimate/Never)^(+Thinking) - 2
whereas for 9, it is the 2
boxes placed vertically
under it that must add up to
9. No zeros are used here,
only the digits 1through 9.
Note: A digit cannot appear
more than once in any
particular digit combination.
For instance, in the example,
we cannot have the
combination of 4+7+4 for 15.
Down
1Recess in a room (6)
2 Similar to, matching (4)
3 Fighting (7)
4 On a level with the water? (5)
5 Active, dynamic or energetic
(8)
6 Delays or postpones (6)
12 Young boys and girls (8)
14 David of English football (7)
16 Was stunned (6)
18 Ambassadors or legates (6)
19 Jeer, deride (5)
21Soft drink (4)
14
MINDCHOW JOKE OF THE DAY MumbaiMirror
Victory is sweetest when you've What do you call a bee that Monday, April 20, 2020
known defeat can't make up its mind? A mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com
Maybe facebook.com/themumbaimirror
@MumbaiMirror
LOOP
Sudokuchallenge
Rules
» Connect adjacent dots with
vertical or horizontal lines, creating
a single loop (Fig A).
» Crossovers or branches are not
allowed (As shown by dotted lines in
Fig B).
» Numbers in the puzzle indicate the
number of lines that should
surround it, while empty cells may
be surrounded by any number of Not allowed
lines. (Fig B)
» You can’t draw lines around zeros.
» Each puzzle has just one unique (Fig A)
solution.
How to begin: To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every digit from one to
Example (Fig A) – Begin with the zero nine must appear in each of the nine vertical co-
next to 3. Since no lines lumns, in each of the nine horizontal rows and in
can be drawn around zero, mark each of the nine boxes.
crosses around it, as shown. Now
there is a cross in one space around
3. So we know the three lines of 3 can
only be drawn in the remaining three Gofigure Easy
= 10
spaces. Next, these lines can only be Place the four numbers in
extended in one direction each. the first, third, fifth, and 1 4 7 8
Continue, using the same logic. seventh boxes and
Hints: Keep eliminating possibilities Medium
whatever operators you
by marking crosses in spaces care to use in the second, = 29
between dots where a line isn’t fourth, and sixth boxes in
possible, i.e, if you have already the correct order to get 3 5 6 7
completed required lines or where a the answer. Use the Hard
line extension may create a branch numbers only once. = 48
or cause a dead-end
(Fig B) The operators 2 6 8 9
Strikeout Fastfive Wordsearch
How long do you think it Mind Over Matter
will take you to unscram- Can you find the words connected in one way or the
ble the ten words shown other with the theme indicated by the title in to-
below and fit them cor- day’s Word Search?
rectly into the grid in the The words may be read horizontally, vertically or
order given? One letter diagonally either forwards or backwards, but al-
has already been entered ways in straight lines. Use a ruler to cross them
to get you started. On through as you find them.
your marks, get set…
Across Down Wordlist: Attend,
This crossword has no clues and answer is there 1Spaes 1Loyal Chary, Convoy,
waiting for you. All you have to do is find it in each 6 Also a 2 Oil up Defend, Guard,
square. You have a choice of two letters, one of which 7 Still 3 Pales Patrol, Picket, Save,
you must strike out. If you choose correctly, you will be Screen, Secure,
left with a grid that contains real words. 8 Loose 4 Pesto Sentry, Shelter,
9 YP Yup 5 Says S Shield, Warder
Quoteuncode Mensapuzzle Bull’seye Alphatriangle
This puzzle is a substitu- Complete the wheel by How many words of four Beginning at the top move towards the bottom
tion cipher in which one adding the missing or more letters can you seven-letter word by adding a letter at each step and
letter stands for anoth- number. make from the letters rearranging. A correct and different word must be
er. If you think that Q shown? Every word made at each step answering to the clue given.
equals C, it will equal C must contain the cen- 1Tonne, abbr. 2 Astatine for the chemist 3 Cash of
throughout the puzzle. tral letter. There should tennis 4 Gone by 5 Roles 6 Clergyman 7 Gates
Single letters, short be one seven-letter
words and words using word. British English
an apostrophe give you Dictionary is used as a
clues to locating vowels. reference.
Solution is by trial and
error.
T
B
TODAY’S CLUE: T
P EQUALS T. L A
T
Y UYFWG QYG FL PAV C
P E T
KVUDVBP PFTV DCU Y
O T
MYEI FW PAV MCCQL.
T
»
06 Average; 07 Good; T
09 Outstanding
DIFFICULT TO SOLVE? FIND THESE SOLUTIONS ON THE NEXT PAGE
 ChaiTime MumbaiMirror Monday, April 20, 2020 15

COMICS Ferd”nand SIGN POST Shirley Bose

If it’s your birthday today

Singles receive some marriage proposals. Couples who feel the cracks in their
relationship are too many to heal, have second thoughts, considering a
reconciliation. Bear in mind that a change of job may involve relocation.
Raising your standards professionally is something thought out over
time. Travel is less for six months. Don’t ignore dental issues

Capricorn Taurus Virgo

Frank and earnest by bob thaves Breaking free of Move fearlessly Making a quick and
restrictions feels when planning a wise decision will be
good. A thoughtful change you’ve been necessary. This also
gift is received. Do thinking about for some helps hone your own
get enough sleep. time. Do continue getting power, not depending on other
Karmic tip: A lighthearted enough sleep regularly. Karmic people’s views.
attitude and reply works to tip: Using opportunities to Karmic tip: Trust your own
your advantage. your advantage is important. instincts and feelings.
Colours: teal/ peach Colours: green/ red. Colours: turquoise/ beige

Aquarius Gemini Libra

Being totally Maintaining positive Look inside
Bizarro by Dan Piraro immersed in work
is fine, but make
expectations keeps
you happy. Students
yourself to see
which areas of life
time to have a meal need to continue need forceful
too. following a study time table. action and what can
Karmic tip: Some words/ signs Karmic tip: You make sure be left as it is.
or signals suggest you be family doesn’t feel taken for Karmic tip: Spending quality
cautious. Take this seriously. granted in any manner. time with family is revealed.
Colours: green/ yellow Colours: purple/ fawn Colours: lavender/ orange

Pisces Cancer Scorpio

At one level there The day goes ahead Deferring a
is a feeling of hope according to plans career decision
(it seems to be made. A little kind- for now is better.
Jumpstart fifty-fifty for ness makes a differ- Make sure words are
now). ence. appropriate when pointing out
Karmic tip: Waiting it out Karmic tip: An attitude of a mistake. Health is good.
patiently is the only option as forgiveness and peace not only Karmic tip: Some consider
of now. benefits you but others too. giving up a habit.
Colours: white/ burgundy Colours: brown/ cream Colours: peach/ gold

Aries Leo Sagittarius

Be aware of Living in the pre- Spending some
surroundings and sent helps release quiet time by
people when out. negativity attached yourself is essen-
Take care of possessions, to the past. Try it. tial. A message is
money, documents, jewellery, Karmic tip: Making the delayed. Don’t worry.
Pearls before swine by Stephan Pastis etc. Karmic tip: A slightly first move to sort out a misun- Karmic tip: Karmic situations
challenging time is manoeu- derstanding is daunting, but are being rectified by the
vred successfully. worth it. universe. Be patient.
Colours: burgundy/ rust Colours: aquamarine/ white Colours: tan/ grey

KIDZONE WHATZIT
Amruta Amar More, 11years, Bhandup

Redeye by Mel Casson

Little white lies

SOLUTION:

Mumbai Mirror, Times of India Bldg, Dr D N Road, Mumbai– 1

or email us at kidzone@timesgroup.com LINEMARO
Was your dad a boxer? Because
Please send hard copies of your artwork in A4 size only. damn, you’re a knockout!

SOLUTIONS the end.

9 x 6 + 2 - 8 = 48 pace, place, PLACEBO
in the woods. coal, cope, lace, subtracting it at
Hard
perfect time for a walk cable, cape, clap, removed by
7 - 3 x 6 + 5 = 29 A rainy day is the ing." The "to" is
Medium BULL’S EYE
QUOTE UNCODE positive think-
7 + 8 - 4 - 1= 10 the power of
Easy this is raised "to
GO FIGURE segments, minus 3. "estimate", and
numbers in the opposite er" is under
double the value of the thinking. "Nev-
Portals half of the circle equal power of positive
Parts, Pastor, ments on the right hand estimate the
T, At, Pat, Past, 1. Numbers in the seg- Never under-
KAKURO ALPHA TRIANGLE LOOP SU DOKU MENSA PUZZLE QUICK STRIKE OUT FAST FIVE RIDDLER

Volume No 15, Issue No 274 REGD. NO. MAHENG/2005/16272

Published for the proprietors, Metropolitan Media Company Limited, by R Krishnamurthy at The Times of India Building, Dr D N Road, Mumbai 400 001and printed by him at (1) The Times of India Suburban Press, Akurli Road, Western Express Highway, Kandivli (E),
Mumbai 400 101. Tel. Nos. 66353535, 22733535 and (2) The Times of India Print City, Plot No. 4, T.T.C. Industrial Area, Thane Belapur Road, Airoli, Navi Mumbai-400 708. Tel. No. (022) 2760 9999; Fax: (022) 2760 5275, Response - 66353636, 22733636,
Email - mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com, Fax - 22731160. Editor: Pankaj Upadhyaya (Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act). Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the Publisher is prohibited.
Movies MumbaiMirror Entertainment Industry Promotion Monday, April 20, 2020
16

‘Haven’t thought
ROSHMILA BHATTACHARYA

THIS WEEK, THAT YEAR

about marriage’
Tracing steps to cinematic history
Write to her at Roshmila.Bhattacharya@timesgroup.com

A gentleman and an actor A

fter sparking engagement
rumours with Miley
Cyrus last October, Cody
Simpson has now shared

I
t’s been almost half a century, but again kidnapped by the same his thoughts on marriage. During
filmmaker Praveen Nischol vividly pimp, and her father once again a recent interview, the Australian
remembers a soft-spoken rushes to her rescue in the film’s singer spoke about serious
gentleman on the sets of Chetan climax. Prodded by Jeevan saab commitment and where his head
Anand’s Hanste Zakhm, who would who played the villain, Balraj saab is at with his pop-star girlfriend
sit quietly in a corner, furiously picks up the walkie talkie and after six months of dating. “I
writing between shots. He was none addresses his long-lost child by his believe in marriage, but I haven’t
other than Balraj Sahni who, by then, pet name for her. “Minoo,” he thought too much about that,” he
had already authored books and also mutters, his face reflecting the said, keeping his cards close to the
penned the screenplay of Dev storm of emotions churning chest. Praising Miley’s ‘creativity’
Anand’s Baazi with Sahir within him. He regrets and ‘independence’, he reiterated
Ludhianvi. he didn’t recognise her his closeness to her saying, “She
Praveenji who was earlier and assures her is creative and inspiring, fiercely
assisting Chetan saab on he will get her out, independent and encourages me
the film, admits he was even as she urges him to be my own person, too. We
quite in awe of the to do his duty without are both creative individuals who
legendary actor who bore any thought for her support one another.”
a striking similarity to his safety. The couple is currently isolat-
good-looking brother and “It was a long shot, ing together amid the coronavirus
the film’s hero, Navin intercut later, but the crisis gripping the world.
Nischol. He recalls way he said ‘Minoo’ —Agencies
rounding up Vinod and went on to
Mehra, Prem Chopra and perform the scene, was
Anil Dhawan who lived
in the same housing
felt by everyone
present. Even today, Remembering A An eight-hour
complex, picking up Sujit
Kumar from his
just talking about it,
gives me gooseflesh,” Beautiful Mind love letter
L
bungalow, and with his Praveenji admits, ady Gaga, Paul McCartney
brother going for a run on
Juhu beach. “We
going on to add that
after the shot, Balraj
with Russell and Billie Eilish were among
over 100 artists who per-

invariably landed up
outside Chetan saab’s
shack, and as we sprinted,
exercised and splashed in
the water, we would often
spot a man swimming
deep in the sea, for a mile,
and back. Watching from
afar, we’d marvel at Balraj
saab’s fitness and try to emulate
him,” he recounts.
On the sets, the veteran actor I am
was always very polite, a pretty
dignified figure in his khaki sure he
uniform or suit, commanding
respect without demanding it.
was
“He kept to himself and only had remem-
long conversations with Chetan bering his daughter demise broke his heart again.
saab. They were two dignified when doing that
gentlemen with wonderful smiles
that could blow you away,” the
scene in Hanste
writer-producer-director avers. Zakhm —Praveen Nischol (the Russian actor and theatre
In the film’s prologue, Meena,
the young daughter of the Superintendent of
Police, Dinanath Mahendru (Balraj Sahni), is
abducted by a pimp in a case of mistaken
identity. Despite her father arriving with the
ransom, she is sold into a brothel and grows up
to be a prostitute, Chanda (Priya Rajvansh), who
falls in love with the cabbie, Somesh (Navin),
who ferries her as she goes about her business. In
a not-unfamiliar twist, he turns out to be the
man Rekha, the pimp’s daughter whom the cop
has brought up as his own, was to marry.
To cut a long story short, Chanda, is once
Ayush, Tahira pointing fingers
saab retreated into a
dark space which had
him worried. “But
Chetan saab told me to
let him be.”
He learnt later that
the actor’s daughter,
Shabnam, had
returned home after a
disastrous marriage, suffered a
nervous breakdown and a brain
hemorrhage and passed away
earlier that year. She was just
26-27, a carbon copy of her
mother and his first wife,
Damayanti, whom Balraj saab lost
when she was the same age. Her
“Like Navin, Balraj saab, too,
was a method actor who belonged
to the (Konstantin) Stanislavski
director-theorist) school, which
urged actors to use “emotion memory” to bring
realism to the creative process. In simpler terms,
this meant, revisiting an emotional experience
from one’s life to make the performance credible.
While we never spoke about it, I am pretty sure
he was remembering his daughter when doing
that scene which is why he looked so disturbed
after giving the perfect shot,” asserts Praveenji.
Hanste Zakhm released in 1973 and did well
commercially. On April 13 the same year, Balraj
saab took his final curtain call. He remains
unforgettable.
R
ussell Crowe formed from their living rooms
took a trip for the eight-hour One World:
down memo- Together At Home concert over
ry lane by sharing the weekend.
a throwback Gaga, who curated the line-
picture from the up, called the event “a love letter
sets of his film, A to the world”. Paul McCartney
Beautiful Mind. hailed health-care workers as
In the picture, “real heroes” of the coronavirus
he is seen sitting crisis and remembered his moth-
with Jennifer er, a nurse during the Second
Connelly, his co- World War. THe line-up included
star in the Ron Jennifer Lopez, Hozier and Stevie
Howard-directed biographical Wonder. —Agencies
drama about an anti-social but geni-
us mathematician, John Nash.
The duo have shared screen space
in multiple films. Addressing the
49-year-old actress, Russell wrote,
“Love this gal. Been married to her
twice. Awesome actress. I think we
bring out the best in each other.
This is somewhere in New Jersey,
2001.”
—Agencies
Jazz legend dies
of Covid-19 at 84
J
azz legend Giuseppi Logan died of the corona-
virus at a nursing home. He was 84. Giuseppi,
who became an icon in New York’s free jazz
movement in the 1960s, breathed his last at the
Lawrence Care Center, his friend confirmed.
The multi-instrumentalist taught himself how

W
ith nowhere to go on a Sun-
day, Ayushmann Khurrana
and wife Tahira Kashyap de-
vised a way to keep themselves en-
tertained. Playing a game of ‘Who’s
most likely to’ they answered ques-
tions, only seldom agreeing with
each other. Each thought they are
the one who’s always right, dresses
better, and funnier. However, Ayush
felt Tahira was more athletic and
also more jealous, while she was of
the opinion that he could get away
with murder, forget anniversaries,
be more stubborn and also a bigger
baby when sick. Ayush had no choice
but to agree. When asked who was
the hornier, the duo skipped a beat
before Tahira pointed at him and
the actor sheepishly admitted that it
is true. Truth or dare, or a daringly
truthful game? You decide.
to play alto and tenor saxophone, bass clarinet,
flute, piano and Pakistani oboe and collaborated
through the Swinging Sixties with other avant-
garde musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah
Sanders and Bill Dixon. Giuseppi, who suffered
from addiction and mental health issues, disap-
peared from the music scene in the 1970s. He final-
ly made a major comeback in 2009 with Matt’s
help. The trumpeter and clarinetist helped
Giuseppi land his first show in decades, a chance to
play at the Bowery Poetry Club. —Agencies