Tag: MissUniverse

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-47

About: the world this week, 17 November to 23 November 2024: The War bugle missiles; arresting Israel; Iran’s Supreme Leader; Germany shakes; hypersonic India; Adani in trouble; G20 Brazil; Miss Universe 2024; and the Sexiest Man Alive.

Everywhere

Ukraine’s Missiles

In what could be perhaps be the next level in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine fired United States-supplied long-range missiles into Russia, supposedly a day after the US gave its permission for such attacks. Ukraine used the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) in a strike on Russia’s Bryansk region this week. Five missiles were shot down (by Russia) and one damaged without significant effect. Ukraine also used British missiles at targets inside Russia. All this despite warnings by Russia that it would view such action as a major escalation.

Meanwhile, this week, Russian President, Vladimir Putin approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal. It now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.

Then in the middle of the week, Russia launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) at the city of Dnipro in Ukraine in what would be the first use in this war of a weapon designed to deliver long-distance nuclear strikes. It was also to show the world that Russia means business and would not hesitate to retaliate. ICBMs are strategic weapons designed to deliver nuclear warheads and are an important part of Russia’s nuclear deterrent.

Arresting Israel

This week, in an outrageous act, The International Court (ICC) of Justice in The Hague issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Galant (in addition to a dead Hamas’ Commander). This evoked a strong response from incoming US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who said: “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US Government. Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January”.

Iran’s Supreme

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, aged 85, is reportedly seriously ill, with his second oldest son, Mojtaba Khamenei, likely to succeed him.

Khamenei has served as Supreme Leader since 1989 following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the first to hold the title. He previously served as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei’s 35-year-long rule makes him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest-serving Iranian leader of the last century after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

As supreme leader, Khamenei is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic. He is the head of state of Iran, the commander-in-chief of its armed forces. And can issue decrees and make the final decisions on the main policies of the government, in economy, the environment, foreign policy, and national planning. Khamenei has either direct or indirect control over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, as well as the military and media. There seems to be nothing he doesn’t control!

Shaky Germany

Olaf Scholz, Germany’s least popular Chancellor on record, is facing growing calls within his Social Democrats (SPD) Party to step aside and let his Defence Minister Boris Pistorius lead the party into next year’s federal election.

Germany is set to hold a snap election on 23 February 2025, after Scholz’s ideologically diverse three-way coalition of SPD, Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) collapsed last week following months of infighting.

Scholz, 66, has said he wants to run for a second term and SPD leaders this week individually backed his bid, counting on his experience paying off – despite the party languishing in third place behind the opposition.

However, the final decision is likely to be announced at a party congress in January. And this week, a raft of lesser-known, regional politicians called for a rethink in what would be an unprecedented move – akin to that of the US Democrats in July in persuading President Joe Biden to drop his re-election bid.

India Goes Hypersonic

While the world was asleep, India quietly tested its first hypersonic missile with the ability to strike beyond 1500 kms and capable of speeds of upto more than 5 times the speed of sound at about 6,200 kmh. With this indigenously developed missile technology, India joins an elite club of a small group of nations consisting of the United States, Russia, and China, which have demonstrated similar hypersonic capabilities.

India’s hypersonic missile, developed by the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and industry partners, is designed to carry payloads for the armed forces. A Government statement said that flight data confirmed the successful terminal manoeuvres and impact with a high degree of accuracy.

The test-firing took place from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the eastern coast of Odisha state, last Saturday.

Adani Again

In other India news, in what appears to be a far-fetched overreach, the US Government indicted India’s Adani Group of bribery, in regard to supplies for solar power projects sourced from the US.

This Wednesday the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced charges against Gautam Adani, 62, Sagar Adani, 30, and six others. They are accused of orchestrating a USD 265 million bribery scheme to secure solar energy supply contracts from the Indian government. These contracts were projected to generate profits of nearly USD 2 billion (Rs 16,880 crore) over two decades.

The charges are that, following the promise of bribes to Indian government officials between July 2021 and February 2022, state electricity distribution companies entered into power supply agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). This is a public sector undertaking, that acts, among other things, as an intermediary for power procurement – under the Manufacturing Linked Project scheme of the Government of India. The States involved are, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Indian media had this to say, “The indictment against Adani is thin on evidence & details. It is not a judicial order but a hatchet job – bribes alleged, but no clarity on the officials or the quantum involved. This reeks of a strategic attack on India’s growth via its industrial giants”.

G20 Brazil

The 2024 G20 Rio de Janeiro Summit, the 19th meeting of Group of Twenty (G20), a Heads of State and Government meeting, was held at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro from 18th to 19th November 2024. It was the first G20 summit to be hosted in Brazil. Additionally, It marked the first full G20 summit with the African Union as a member, following its inclusion during the previous summit in 2023.

The goals of the Summit were; social inclusion and the fight against hunger; energy transition and sustainable development in its social, economic and environmental aspects; and reform of global governance institutions.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden, and Indian PM Narendra Modi were among the leaders who participated.

PM Modi underlined India’s commitment to bringing 250 million people out of poverty. He emphasised India’s strategy of fusing conventional practices with progressive tactics. And recognised the urgency of implementing digital transformation and making it accessible to everyone especially the deprived. Digital transformation has greatly empowered Indian citizens, who now have easy access to resources through their mobile phones.

Iron Boxing

Think boxing, and almost instantly either Muhammad Ali-The Greatest-or Mike Tyson– Iron Mike-flashes across your mind. Tyson was one of the most fearsome heavyweight champions of all time during his heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Late last week he tried to make a comeback in an intergenerational heavyweight battle.

The boxing bout was between 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul and the now 58-year old Tyson. The fight was streamed live on Netflix and played out in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Paul beat Tyson by unanimous decision to win, in an event that failed to live up to its enormous hype. Fans were left largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and was never able to generate any offense against his opponent, landing just 18 punches to Paul’s 78.

Tyson said he had no regrets about his defeat. “This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in the ring one last time. I almost died in June. Had eight blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 11 kg in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight, so I won”.

Looking back, Mike Tyson’s life is absolutely insane. He robbed houses, spent lots of time in jail; got his prison counsellor pregnant; was convicted of rape and sent to jail; bit opponent Evander Holyfield on both ears- during a fight; assaulted two motorists after a traffic accident and was jailed; used the urine of his wife and infant kid to pass doping tests; held kilos of cocaine; owned tigers that ate his neighbours…and much more ferocious stuff -not for the faint-hearted. Perhaps the scariest man on the planet?

Miss Universe 2024 – It’s a Woman

Late last week, on 16th Saturday, 21 year oldMaria Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark was crowned Miss Universe 2024. She is the first Danish woman to win the dazzling event, held in Arena CDMX, Mexico City, Mexico. She beat 120 other contestants in a more traditional competition than 2023 that featured plus-size, married, and transgender women. The First Runner-up is Nigeria’s Chidimma Adetshina, and the Second Runner-up is Mexico’s Maria Fernanda Beltran. India’s Rhea Singha failed to make it to the top 12. The New Miss Universe was crowned by last year’s Title Holder – Miss Universe Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios.

Kjaer Theilvig is a professional dancer and Entrepreneur and aims to become a Lawyer. She is blonde (the first blonde winner since Australia’s Jennifer Hawkins in 2004) and blue-eyed. And was Miss Denmark 2021 and Miss Universe Denmark 2024.

On the sidelines, avid watchers of the competition were sarcastically celebrating the winner being a biological woman following the pageant’s decision permitting transgender women to participate.

The Crown of Miss Universe has changed twelve times over the course of its 70-year history. This year it’s a new Crown called The Jewelmer Lumiere de l’Infini Crown unveiled on 13 November 2024. It is designed by Philippine-based luxury jewelry company Jewelmer, known for specializing in golden Philippine South Sea pearls. It was handcrafted by master jewellers using traditional Filipino and French jewelry design and making techniques, particularly the Place Vendome technique. Each of the golden pearls was harvested and prepared in 377 steps. The design of the crown is meant to encapsulate and evoke the long history of beauty with the Miss Universe Organization and its Queens. Its gold and platinum metal foundations resemble those of the waves and the dance of the universe, which are adorned with hundreds of diamonds and 23 golden South Sea pearls. The biggest golden pearl featured at the top-center of the crown represents the sun, bursting with diamond-adorned golden rays. The French Lumiere de l’Infini translates to ‘Light of Infinity’ and shining Infinitely’ or Infinite Brilliance.

The Sexiest Man Alive 2024

People is an American weekly magazine that specialises in celebrity news and human-interest stories with the stated goal of ‘connecting people’ to the pulse of American culture. The first issue of People hit the stands in the year 1974.

People has been granting the Sexiest Man Alive title every year, since 1985 when actor Mel Gibson discovered he was the sexiest man alive. Since then, People has found 36 sexiest men (hopefully alive). The list includes a galaxy of stars such as: Sean Connery, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Nick Nolte, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, George Clooney (twice), Michael B. Jordan, Brad Pitt (twice), Pierce Brosnan, Ben Affleck, Johnny Depp(twice), Jude Law, Matthew McConaughty, Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum, Adam Levine, Chris Hemsworth, David Beckham, Dwayne ‘the rock’ Johnson, Blake Shelton, Idris Elba, John Legend, Michael B. Jordan, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy)- last year 2023.

In the year 1993 instead of sexiest man alive, People named Actor Richard Gere and Supermodel Cindy Crawford as the ‘Sexiest Couple Alive’. However the couple split after a year, and Richard Gere went on to win the title on his own in 1999 – a second time,

The Award is chosen by paying close attention to comments and what the general public says on celebrity coverage throughout the year. People’s Editors consult focus groups, which inform discussions among higher-ups in the magazine and the editorial staff is asked to give their own input. They also talk to other celebrities, including women to ‘win’ their views. People starts thinking about who could be next year’s Sexiest Man the day after the last one is published. They consider ‘everyone’, to begin with. Research is done, including focus groups. The magazine editors hold top-secret meetings to decide on the winner.

This Year, People crowned American Actor and Filmmaker John Krasinski, 45, as the Sexist Man Alive – 2024.

He is known for his role as Jim Halpert in the TV sitcom, The Office , where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the 2018 horror film ‘A Quiet Place’, for which Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Krasinski has given us one of TV’s most beloved characters and, in recent years, has evolved his sense of style.

On the personal side, Krasinski began dating English actress Emily Blunt in November 2008, became engaged in August 2009, and married her in July 2010- that’s a steady series! He now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his steady wife of 14 years and daughters Hazel, 10, and Violet, 8. Actress Emily Blunt joked that she would wallpaper their house with the Magazine cover if her husband received the crown – that needs to be checked out! These days Krasinski is calling his own shots and appreciates the life he’s built together with Blunt. “It’s that beautiful thing where when you’re married to someone, you’re constantly learning and changing and evolving,” he says. “And I’m so lucky to go through all that with her.” Not that his new title will change anything: “I think it’s going to make me do more household chores,” he jokes. “After this comes out, she’ll be like, “All right, that means you’re going to really earn it here at home”.

More sexy and crowning stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Powder-up with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2024-18

About: the world this week, 28 April 2024 to 4 May 2024: an extraordinarily generous proposal; India’s Elections and a sex scandal; Old Beauty; and a lifetime in the movies.

Everywhere

The Hostage Situation

The ever going-on behind-the-scenes diplomatic drive to bring at end to the Hamas-Israel war saw booming activity this week. Hamas was urged to swiftly accept Israel’s latest proposal, called an ‘extraordinarily generous’ one by the negotiators, for a Gaza truce and to secure release of the hostages. Israel offered a deal to accept the release of fewer than 40, of the 130 hostages, still held in captivity, in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel, and a second phase of truce consisting of a ‘period of sustained calm’. Hamas has been insisting on a permanent cease-fire. And there is no word from them, as yet, on the decent proposal.

Meanwhile, the unrest in University Campus’ of the United States continued with woke, pro-Palestine students creating ruckus’ and preventing Jewish students from entering Colleges. The Police swung into action, making arrests and getting tougher with the protesters.

India’s Elections: the Gowdas

The heat around India’s ongoing long General Elections only grows hotter almost every week. And most often, a new match lights a new fire, which rages on until it gets doused on its own, and then forgotten – until the next fire story burns the headlines.

Over the past week, a massive sex scandal has shaken the southern State of Karnataka. The grandson of ‘accidental’ former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) from Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, 33, is in the eye of the storm, of a horrendous scandal. He is accused of sexual harassment and abuse of numerous women, over many years, going by leaked videos of the man himself, in action. A former car-driver of the MP, who leaked the videos, has confessed that he handed over a pen-drive containing the videos to a Party leader.

Prajwal Revanna’s father, HD Revanna, is Deve Gowda’s elder son and a former minister, also the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the State’s Holenarsipura. Revanna’s mother Bhavani Revanna was a member of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat. His brother, Suraj Revanna, is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC). Prajwal Revanna is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-of which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a part – candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls, in the second Phase, on 26th April.

Prajwal graduated in mechanical engineering from Bangalore Institute of Technology in 2014. He joined a master’s degree programme in Australia but discontinued to join politics. In 2019, he was appointed as the State General Secretary of the Janata Dal (Secular) Party – JD(S).

The accusation is that girls and women from various backgrounds – government officials, TV anchors, models, minors, maids-have been sexually exploited, with graphic details of the acts recorded on video – shot by Prajwal himself. Apparently the faces of the victims are shown, while Prajwal remains hidden in most of the scenes. Why would an MP do this?It turns out that he not only molests women but also enjoys recording their humiliation on camera, going by media reports of thousands of videos circulated through pen-drives in Karnataka. By some estimates, there are at least 3,000 video clips in circulation. It is hard to say how many women feature in the videos, but the number is estimated to reach hundreds.

A 47-year-old woman who worked as a house-help at Prajwal Revanna’s residence has accused him and his father of sexually assaulting and harassing female workers. She claimed that women would be summoned the storeroom where they would be touched inappropriately, and sexually assaulted by removing their sari pins (allowing the sari to fall). “After four months of joining, Revanna kept calling me to his room. There were six women workers in the house and everyone said that they were scared when Prajwal came home. The male workers in the house also alerted the women workers to be careful,” She said.

There are women of all ages, from teenagers to those in their 60s. What they have in common is that they are mostly vulnerable and largely defenceless. The molestations seem to be a symbol of Prajwal’s power over them. In one video, an elderly woman is heard begging him not to assault her, saying that she has served his family for years and has even fed his father.

The JD(S) has suspended Prajwal from the party until further investigation. His uncle and former Chief Minister of Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy has distanced himself from the MP. The Government in Karnataka has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations of sexual abuse.

The case is yet another example of the moral bankruptcy of politicians and abuse of their positions. The disgrace and horror is heightened when it involves democratically elected representatives like MPs and MLAs, whom people approach with their grievances expecting resolution. The selective outrage of political parties and their leadership against crimes against women is equally abhorrent. Prajwal Revanna is perhaps the sleaziest MP in the history of India.

All over the country, men abused, molested, hurt, raped, and killed women because they thought they could get away with it — and most of them did. The Indian justice system is so lax that they rarely faced the retribution they deserve. And politicians do nothing to make the streets safe.

The Gowda family is not new to controversy. Recently, Prajwal Revanna’s mother, Bhavani Revanna hit the headlines for taking on a biker for crashing into her luxury Sports Utility Vehicle. She told him, “If you want to die, you should have gone under a bus but not under my car. It costs INR 50 lakh to fix the damage. Will you give it ?” The Gowda family later had to clarify her behaviour, calling it a ‘post-surgery stress’. Wow, innovative things only politicians can come up with!

In the year 2006, the then 19-year-old Nikhil Kumarasamy son of HD Kumaraswamy created a ruckus in a Bengaluru Hotel for not serving him and his gang of friends food late at night, when they came riding-in. His father was then the CM of the State. Nikhil threatened the hotel with, “I am the CM’s son, I will get this hotel blown up”.

Now, let’s blow onto something cooler!

Old Beauty

Alejandra Marisa Rodriguez, a 60-year-old lawyer from Argentina, emblazoned her name in the history books, after she was crowned Miss Universe-Buenos Aires. With this, she became the first woman of her age to win such a prestigious beauty title. She contested with 34 others, ranging from 18 to 73 in age, to win the beauty pageant that was held on 24th April.

Next, Alejandra begins preparations to represent Buenos Aires in the upcoming national selection for Miss Universe Argentina title in May 2024, which takes her to the Miss Universe 2024 Title Competition to be held in September in Mexico. Mexico has hosted the pageant four times in the past: 2007, 1993, 1989, and 1978.

In September 2023, the Organisers of the Miss Universe Pageant announced that there would no longer be age limits for contestants. And starting in 2024, every woman over the age of 18 can participate: in the past, only women aged between age 18 and 28 could contest.

Alejandra is from La Plata, the capital city of Argentina’s Buenos Aires Province. After completing high school, she embarked on a career in journalism before pursuing a law degree. Later, she transitioned into a role as a legal advisor for a hospital.

Nothing much is known about her family – for the moment, she is single and stunningly beautiful for her age.

Alejandra believed she had long aged-out of the worldwide beauty pageant, but when the rules changed in 2023 she thought she had a chance.

She credited her lifestyle to her appearance. Alejandra keeps her diet, and works-out three times a week; does intermittent fasting and includes copious amounts of fruits and vegetables in her diet.

“The basic thing is to have a healthy life, eat well, do physical activity. Normal care, nothing too extraordinary and a little genetics.” She said. “What I try to do is intermittent fasting, I think that helps a lot. Then I try to eat organic foods, a lot of fruit, a lot of vegetables, and use good creams.”

Will this take her to the Miss Universe Title? Why Not?

A Lifetime in the Movies

Late last week, on Saturday, Hollywood legends gathered to celebrate Actress Nicole Kidman, 56, receiving the American Film Institute (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th Gala Tribute, Hollywood, California.

She is the first Australian to receive the Award. Previous winners, which the AFI calls the ‘highest honour in American cinema’, include Meryl Streep, Julie Andrews, Denzel Washington, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, and Steven Spielberg.

Actress Meryl Streep presented the Award and praised Nicole Kidman’s formidable talent and stunning range of work.

During the ceremony, Kidman teared up as her husband, singer Keith Urban, who came-up on stage, said she showed him “what love in action really looks like” when his substance abuse problems emerged soon after they married in 2006. “Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months,” Urban said, addressing Kidman and their two teenage daughters, Sunday Rose, 15 and Faith Margaret,15 who joined their mother on the red carpet for the first time. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.”

Australian actors Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Cate Blanchett also gave video tributes to the first actor from their country to win the award.

Nicole Kidman appeared on stage looking regal in a glamorous custom Balenciaga gown, from the Fall ’24 Collection. The fitted gown was embroidered with gold sequins and featured a long gold train. Her long strawberry-blonde hair was made in a side part with loose waves framing her face. And she looked irresistible, in a vision of gold.

Kidman was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001 with who she shares two children, Isabella and Connor. She married Keith Urban in 2006.

Nicole Kidman won an Academy Award for Best Actress in ‘The Hours’ (was nominated for ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Rabbit Hole’, and ‘Being the Ricardos’). In addition, she won two Prime-time Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Awards and a BAFTA Award. She also won a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Nicole Kidman’s breakthrough in the world of movies came with lead roles in ‘Dead Calm’ and the Australian mini TV series, ‘Bangkok Hilton’, both in the year 1989.

Pure Gold!

More old and new beautiful stories coming in the weeks ahead. Wear gold, win awards with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-51

About: the world this week, 12 December to 18 December 2021, tearing tornadoes, F-1 racing, a new Miss Universe cat-walks, an ancient Temple shines, a hero flies away, and an animal shows off its thousand legs.

Everywhere

Amercia’s Tearing Tornadoes

We have, during the course of our life, torn paper, clothes, or many other things on numerous occasions, and rightfully or wrongfully worn deliberately torn jeans as well. Now Nature is doing about the same, with 30 tornadoes tearing through and ripping apart six states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee, of the United States (US). This happened last Friday and Saturday. The pictures of the devastation-before and after-showed shreds and tatters like pieces of clothing, the mangled remains of houses, cars, railway carriages, and residential communities. More than 70 people have died in the mayhem caused by the tornadoes.

“It’s changed the landscape, here in Mayfield (one of the affected areas),” said an Official. “We’re seeing destruction that none of us have ever seen before”.

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud. They can have wind speeds between 180 and 480 km per hour. Tornadoes occur most frequently in North America, particularly in central and southeastern regions of the US colloquially known as ‘tornado alley’; the US and Canada have by far the most tornadoes of any countries in the world.

Formula -1 Motor Racing: New Formulas

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a Formula One (F-1) motor racing event that takes place every year on the Yas Marina Circuit located on the Yas Island of United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Grand Prix launch was first announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F-1 Festival in the UAE and the first race took place on 1 November 2009.

This year’s Abu Dhabi F-1 Championship has a new winner. Belgian-Dutch Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing-Honda won the Drivers’ Championship for the first time in his career. Four-time defending and seven-time champion British, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished runner-up. Mercedes won the Constructors’ Championship for the eighth consecutive season. But there was a controversy on the conduct of the race and decisions made by the Race Director.

Let’s take a ‘pit stop’, and get familiar with a few F-1 terms, before we drive on.

Pole Position: is the most favourable place for a car to start the race, situated on the inside of the front row. It’s a place that has to be earned, going to the driver with the best qualifying time.

Pit Stop: This is a permitted stop during the race to change tyres. Current F-1 regulations dictate that a F-1 Driver has to make at least one pit stop, of the about 3 allowed stops. This is because at least two different tyre compounds have to be used during a race. The harder tyre, referred to as the ‘prime’ tyre is more durable but gives less grip, and the softer tyre referred to as the ‘option’ tyre gives more grip but is less durable. And the racing team has to be smart to use pit stops to the advantage of the Driver in the hot seat and the race track.

Safety Car (SC): In F-1, if an accident or lousy weather prevents normal racing – a caution period – from continuing safely, the Race Director will call for a ‘safety car’ period, which would see marshals wave yellow flags and hold ‘SC’ boards. The SC limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack during the period and enables the clearance of any obstruction under safe conditions, especially for marshals. The SC which generally consists of an aptly modified high-performance production car that enters the track ahead of the leader. Depending on the regulations in effect, competitors are not normally allowed to pass the safety car or other competitors during a caution period, and the safety car leads the field at a pre-determined safe speed, which may vary by series and circuit. At the end of the caution period, the safety car leaves the track and the competitors resume normal racing.

Now, over to the controversy.

Verstappen took the pole position in Abu Dhabi, ahead of Hamilton, ‘earning it’ on performances over the week. During the race, Hamilton had a better start and took the lead into the first turn. At turn six, Verstappen attempted to pass, forcing Hamilton to evade by going off the track. Emerging from the corner still in the lead, Hamilton was instructed to give up the advantage he had gained. The pair settled in their positions until the first round of pit stops, with Hamilton gradually extending his lead. Later, a virtual safety car period allowed Verstappen to change tyres without losing track position; however, despite the tyre advantage Verstappen was unable to challenge Hamilton. With seven laps remaining, the safety car was brought out again for a crash involving another car. Red Bull used the opportunity to give Verstappen a fresh set of soft tyres, while Hamilton, still on his now-quite-old hard compound tyres, was not pitted. The Race Director took the decision to allow the five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to un-lap themselves before restarting the race with only one lap remaining. Upon the restart, Verstappen quickly passed Hamilton and held him off for the remainder of the lap to win the race and the championship. Mercedes immediately lodged two separate protests against the race’s result. Both protests were rejected, and Mercedes said it intended to appeal the decision, but later announced that it has decided against it, ‘in the spirit of the game’. The winner takes it all!

Motor Racing happens in the circuit and off the circuit as well. And all the while, the mind races tirelessly in many lanes.

Meanwhile, soon after the race, maybe to enliven his racing spirits, Lewis Hamilton was knighted this week, with Britain’s Prince Charles doing the honours. Henceforth, it will be, Sir Lewis Hamilton.

India’s Meow Comes After 21 Years

India’s ‘cat works’- including the original sound – and the usual cat-walking, won the day at the 70th Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, which culminated this week at The Universe Dome, Eilat, Israel.

Miss India-Universe, Harnaaz Sandhu, 21, was crowned Miss Universe 2021 in a stunning display of presence of mind, beautiful costumes, and among other things, meowing like a cat. The first runner-up was, Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira, and the second runner-up, Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane. Andrea Meza, Miss Universe 2020, crowned the new Miss Universe 2021.

That’s an amazing sequence: a 21 year old winning a Beauty Title for her country, after 21 years, in the year 2021. Wish Mathematician Ramanujan (and Hardy) was around to find any fascinating meaning to this number combination.

The last time India won the competition was in the year 2000 when Lara Dutta wore the Miss Universe tiara; and the same year that Priyanka Chopra won the Miss World Title. Sushmitha Sen was the only other Indian-the first ever -to win a Miss Universe Title in 1994; and the year that Aishwarya Rai won the Miss World Title. Those were the days when India won beauty titles on the double. This means Harnaaz Sandhu was just born when the Miss Universe crown was finding head space on Lara Dutta.

Harnaaz was born in Chandigarh in a Punjabi family and schooled at the Shivalik Public School. She started modelling at a young age, gradually walking her way to beauty pageants and won her first Beauty Contest in 2017 as Miss Chandigarh. This was followed by the LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2021 Title. While she was growing in beauty, she has also acted in two Punjabi movies.

After School, Harnaaz Sandhu studied Information Technology to earn a Bachelor’s Degree, and is now pursing her masters in Public Administration. She draws inspiration from her mother, who broke generations of patriarchy to become a successful gynaecologist.

She has a talent for mimicry and can mimic almost anyone, including animals and when during the contest, host Steve Harvey challenged her, she actually meowed like a cat. I could hear my neighbour’s cat (I don’t have one) meow in delight, acknowledging an original.

Harnaaz showed a great sense of style in her choice of outfits. In the finals she wore a silver gown- a sign of victory- inspired by Phulkari motifs, a geometric design unique to Punjab, designed by fashion designer Saisha Shinde. Embellished with sequins, stones, and embroidery, the gown featured a deep V-neck and a thigh-high slit in the centre, which complimented Harnaaz’s hour-glass figure. The winning sparkle was there for all to see through!

Her superb answer to the question of what advice she would give young women on coping with pressures of every day life was, ’to believe in themselves, to understand that they are unique and that is what makes them attractive. Stop comparing yourself with others and instead focus on significant issues affecting the globe’.

This beauty surely has the strength of inner beauty, and the brains. Cats Beware.

Kasi Vishwanath Shines

Varanasi, located on the banks of the River Ganges, in India’s Uttar Pradesh State, is regarded among the holiest of Hindu cities.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple, in Varanasi’s Vishwanath Gali, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is one of the most famous and important places of worship in the Hindu religion. Varanasi was called Kashi (shining) in ancient times, and hence the temple is called Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Inside the Temple is the Jyotirlinga, or Jyotirlingam – a devotional representation of the Hindu God Shiva Vishveshvara or Vishwanath- which has a very special and unique significance in the spiritual history of India. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas- the holiest of Shiva Temples in India. The main deity is known by the names Shri Vishwanath and Vishweshwara, literally meaning Lord of the Universe. The Temple is referred to as a central part of worship in the Shaiva philosophy (worship of Lord Shiva) in ancient Hindu scriptures.

The Kasi Vishwanath Temple had been demolished by many Muslim rulers during the numerous invasions of India: the last was by Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal Emperor who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. The current structure was built on an adjacent site by the Maratha ruler, Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in the year 1780.

Many Indian saints such as, Adi Sankaracharya, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Bamakhyapa, Goswami Tulsidas, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Sathya Sai Baba, Yogiji Maharaj, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Mahant Swami Maharaj, and Gurunanak have been in the Temple, in the past.

A visit to the temple and a bath in the holy River Ganges is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to ‘moksha’ (liberation from the cycle of life). Thus, Hindus from all over the world try to visit Kasi once in their lifetime. There is also a tradition that one should give up at least one desire, after a pilgrimage to the temple, which would also include a visit to a Temple in Rameswaram (another one of the 12 Jyotirlingas) in Tamil Nadu, South India. People take water samples of the Ganges to pray at the temple and in return, bring back sand from near that temple.

Over the years, the Kasi Vishwanath Temple had literally lost its shine and the locality became wildly crowded and deeply congested with houses and shops making the best of any available area, in and around the Temple.

Then came India’s Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, who represents Varanasi, having been elected twice to Parliament from the Varanasi ‘Member of Parliament’ Constituency. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project was conceived in 2019 to connect the iconic temple and the ghats along the River Ganga. And to ensure an easy flowing movement of pilgrims and devotees between the ghats and the temple: earlier, they had to pass through stifling, congested streets. Over 300 properties have been acquired to implement the project with about 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners rehabilitated. More than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered during the works, which were restored without any change in the original structure.

The temple area which was only three thousand square feet before the renovation has now grown to about 5 lakh square feet.

The testimony of the success of the project is the fact that there is no litigation pending in any court of the country regarding acquisitions or rehabilitation related to the development of the project.

This week, on 13 December, PM Modi inaugurated the completed works of the first phase and visuals of the ancient Temple were magnificent. “It is a symbol of our spiritual soul, it is a symbol of India’s antiquity and traditions, said the PM.

I’m almost 60, and maybe I should make that trip to Kasi?

Another Hero Flies Away

In last week’s deadly helicopter copter crash, which martyred India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, the lone survivor was Group Captain Varun Singh. And after a final struggle in Hospital he succumbed to wounds sustained in the crash. This wipes out the entire passenger list on that fateful day. Now it’s time the Government gets to the bottom of what caused the crash.

The Land of a Thousand Legs

When it comes to strange animals, there is no country in the world more fascinating than Australia, and throwing-up unique hidden ones ever so often.

Now Scientists in Australia have discovered a millipede with more legs than any known animal. The pale-coloured millipede has more than 1300 legs in an elongated body of about 95 millimetres length. It was found almost 60 metres underground in a mining region in Western Australia and has been named Eumillipes Persephone. In Greek mythology, Persephone is the Queen of the underworld – that’s a well deserved name! The previous record holder was a California millipede with 750 legs.

Millipedes first appeared more than 400 million years ago and there are about 13,000 known species. Most millipedes are blind, colourless and are presumed to live on fungi. They are believed to be the first animals to conquer land. Wow, that’s an awful lot of leg.

More shining stories coming up in the weeks ahead, meow and discover more legs with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-21

About: the world this week, 16th May to 22th May 2021, different kinds of music – beauty, rocket-guns, mice, tics, and actual song.

Everywhere

Miss Universe

The 69th Miss Universe Competition was played on 16th May at the world’s first and only Guitar Hotel, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States of America.

The first note-a winning tune-of the Miss Universe 2020 Crown was strung by Miss Mexico, Andrea Meza, 26, from Chihuahua City, Mexico. She was crowned Miss Universe by the outgoing Miss Universe, South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi.

Andrea has a degree in software engineering, is an activist focused on women’s rights, and currently works closely with the Municipal Institute for Women in her City. She is also a certified make-up artist and model. That brings wonderful assets to the catwalk.

The second note was by the 1st Runner-up, Miss Brazil, Julia Gama, and the next notes by, the 2nd Runner-up, Miss Peru, Janick Maceta Del Castillo, the 3rd Runner-up, Miss India, Adline Castelino, and the 4th Runner-up, Miss Dominican Republic, Kimberly Jimenez Rodriguez. The Guitar kept its promise, delivering beautiful tunes.

Miss India-Universe, Adline Castelino was born and raised in Kuwait and moved to Mumbai, India, when she was 15 years old. And she can trace her roots to Udupi, in Karnataka State, India. She had a stutter ever since she can remember, which took her years of practice to conquer and hold a clear conversation. I can sync with her on this as I too had a stutter, which took me layered years of hard ‘make-up’ to overcome and make sound conversation.

In the National Costume round, Adline draped herself in the traditional six-yard Indian saree, inspired by India’s national flower, the lotus, designed by Hyderabad based designer Shravan Kumar. The border and pallu of the saree was encrusted with embroidery depicting the three-hundred-years-old Pichwai Art (a traditional style of painting identified with the Sate of Rajasthan). It took Shravan and his artisans, the Nakshabandhas, more than five months of hand-work to create the stunning saree.

Adline Castelino has a business administration degree and is a top model, working with India’s leading talent agencies, and is seen on magazine covers, television and digital campaigns for major fashion and lifestyle brands.

Only two Indians have ever won the Miss Universe Title: the first-ever being, one of my all-time favourites, Sushmita Sen, in the year 1994, and the flawless Lara Dutta, in 2000. This year’s Third Runner-up is the closest India could get to the Title, in a very long time.

All the 73 Beauty Queens from around the world, participating in the competition, were fabulously beautiful and I find myself lost in a world of beauty…and for a brief moment my stutter returned.

Israel and the militant Hamas

The deadliest conflict since 2014, between the ever warring parties-Israel and the Palestinians-came to an end this week after 11 days of fighting in which over 200 people died, mostly on the Palestine side. A ceasefire was brokered by Egypt, nudged by the United Nations, United States, Germany, and other Nations.

The guns fall silent from this Friday onwards. Such ceasefires are always tenuous and at it remains to be seen if it can brave any new sparks. And of course, both sides claimed victory.

Earlier, in to the second week of hostilities, Israel went about pounding Gaza with what seemed like never-ending Airstrikes, destroying buildings believed to house Hamas leaders, offices & intelligence systems, and tunnel networks, while Hamas kept-up the Rocket throws into Israel. Israel’s block-buster Iron-Dome system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells was the Rambo of this session of warfare.

It is abundantly clear that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Hamas have failed the Palestinians with their overtly aggressive and militant posturing, and refusing to recognise tiny Israel in the middle of an Ocean of Arab country. Can they change their stripes? The Palestinians ‘need to grow a Gandhi’ who has an ear to the heart of every Palestinian and can peacefully negotiate a settlement with Israel. You simply cannot beat Israel with rockets and gun-fire: you may, without it.

The Mouse Down Under – Need Pied Piper Services?

The last time I talked about Australia was about the deluge and how spiders, snakes, and rodents were spilling over from wet ground to dry ground, especially in to the warm homes of people. I missed one rodent, and now it has come calling. The rains actually did good, creating fertile ground for a bumper harvest. And the grain in Australia was stored in massive hay-sheds in the fields, which then brought this rodent out from the cold.

This time it’s a swarm of mice which are ravaging fields, infesting homes and factories causing millions of dollars in damage to crops and machinery, prompting Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister to declare, ‘The only good mouse is a dead mouse’.

The ‘mice-ed’ areas are Eastern Australia, from the Victoria Border in the South all the way to the Country’s Northern State of Queensland.

At least 800 to 1000 mice per hectare is considered ‘plague’ by Australia’s National Science Agency. And trying to count the number of mice running around Eastern Australia right now is akin to trying to count the stars in the sky.

A pair of mice can produce 500 offspring each season, with females delivering a new litter every three weeks. And all these litters need food – that’s available aplenty!

A New South Wales Farmer calls his Tractor a ‘Mouse Hotel’ as it has been overrun by mice. Another Small Town Resident spends her days disposing of dead mice from traps in her client’s homes. She cleans the mouse excrement out of people’s kitchens, children’s rooms, and even their beds. In her own home she has blocked every nook and cranny with steel-wool to stop mice from crawling in.

Australia, always full of surprises, is looking beyond ordinary mouse traps and is wheeling out heavy weaponry to fight the mice (borrow that Iron-Dome from Israel?) It has secured one of the world’s strongest mice-killing chemicals, Bromadiolone-a poison so potent that it kills with one dose. There are concerns too, as the highly toxic chemical could taint food crops and kill local wildlife. As winter approaches, the mice would be searching for homes to settle into. Wonder, what the cats are doing?

It’s a vicious circle and maybe Australia should call for the services of the famous Pied Piper of Hamelin-if ever there was one. Mice-out a descendant from Germany, maybe?

A Pandemic Tour of Seychelles

The country of Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, with a population of about 98,000 people. Tourism directly or indirectly generates about 72% of GDP(Gross Domestic Product) and employs more than 30% of the population.

Though Seychelles is one of the most vaccinated nations in the world, it is also experiencing a wave of coronavirus outbreak and this could be a bellwether of things to come in other parts, as we freakout on getting people vaccinated.

The country has fully immunised about 63% of its population using the China made SinoPharm, and the India made Covishield-of the AstraZeneca vaccine. 57% of the fully vaccinated people received SinoPharm, which was given to those between the ages of 18 and 60, while 43% took Covishield, which was given to those over 60.

About a month ago, the Seychelles confident of having overcome Covid-19, dropped most tourist restrictions. With few cases and a mass vaccination campaign underway, the country re-opened its borders to almost all international travellers: anyone with a negative test report could enter the country without quarantining. At that time the country had reported fewer than 3800 cases and 16 deaths.

Since then, the total cases have more than doubled to 9184 and 32 deaths. Of the current active cases, 33% are the fully vaccinated people and though infected nobody is getting seriously sick, nobody is dying, nobody is developing complications. People in the islands have been socializing without taking precautions. And let down their guard, leading to the current spike in cases.

The conclusion is, that the vaccines are indeed protecting people. If not for the vaccines things would have been worse. It is also a reminder that even after widespread vaccinations, infections are unlikely to stop completely. Countries need to be wary of new variants and transmission. And the ‘Seychelles Effect’ may not necessarily be mirrored in other parts of the world.

Cyclone Tauktae

They sure have a way of naming Hurricanes, Cyclones, and Storms-stays in the mind, after they have long gone.

Cyclone Tauktae was born in the Arabian Sea and grew up to wind speeds over 180km per hour and blazed through the West Coat of India leaving the familiar ‘trail of destruction’, this week. Signs of climate change keep showing up ever so often that the Meteorological Department must be running out of names.

India’s Off-shore Oil Installations bore the brunt and were hammered with, up to eight metre high waves. More than 600 people working on Off-shore Rigs were rescued by the Indian Navy. About 49 are dead and 26 are missing from one of the Barges and the Indian Navy is doing a vigorous search.

On land, particularly in the State of Gujarat, Tauktae left its mark with many people saying that they never experienced such intensity in their lives. What with winds smashing Windows, uprooting trees and toppling power lines, more than 16,000 house were damaged in Gujarat.

India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NMDA) is up to the task and in recent times have rooted themselves to the job of saving lives and reducing the effects. I only wish they could whisper to the Storms-to take a path with the least devastation. Yssh…there’s another one coming-Yaash-in the Bay of Bengal, this time.

India and the Coronavirus

Belying various educated projections, India started showing a downhill trend after hitting a peak of 4.14 Lakh, in daily positive cases, on 6th May. However deaths stayed still, hovered around 4000 per day reaching an unfortunate high of 4529 on 18th May.

New daily Infections are at currently at about 2.5 Lakh per day. The average India test positivity ratio is at about 12.6%

Most States appear to have reached their peaks, but some like Tamil Nadu-now under a lockdown- are climbing every day. It was 36,184 cases on 21st May, with a test positivity ratio of over 21%. Close behind, in growth of cases, are Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal.

The total vaccination is India stands at over 19 crore with the three Vaccines, Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V, being jabbed into willing arms. We all need to go for it at the first available opportunity-without any kind of hesitation. I’ve had my first shot of Covishield in early April and the Government has put off my second shot to between 12 and 16 weeks: I have been promised ‘more juice out of the Vaccine’. I can wait, so that others can fill the gap and rise up to the challenge of the virus.

Meanwhile, another infection called, Black Fungus or Mucormycosis, is latching on to COVID-19 survivors and beginning to spread across the country. The Centre has forewarned the States asking them to declare it as an epidemic. It did warn them about a deadly second wave in mid-March but, I reckon, things happened too quickly.

Black Fungus is caused by micro-organisms called mucormycetes, moulds that are present naturally in the environment-particularly damp- found mostly in soil and decaying organic matter such as leaves, compost, piles, and rotting wood. It infects the central nervous system, eyes and lungs leading to blackening or discolouration over the nose, blurred vision, chest pain, difficulty in breathing and coughing of blood. An anti-fungal medicine called Amphotericin-B, is already available to treat the disease. Causes could be due to overuse of steroids during the COVID-19 treatment or poor hygiene in the oxygen delivery system to the patient, when in Hospital. The fungus goes through the first window of opportunity to invade the body in which a small opening is created by COVID-19, because of the sugars (high glucose levels), antibiotics, and many other things, which enables it to get a foothold.

However, Black Fungus is not contagious and does not spread from person to person.

The States most affected are Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Telangana. A total of 5500 cases with 126 lives lost have been reported.

It’s a tough time out there: we should hold together, support our local communities and the Governments at the State and Centre, follow directions, Standard Operating Procedures, and do our part simply by staying-put at home.

Please Yourself

The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with participants mainly from European countries. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio, transmitted to national broadcasters via the EBU’s Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries’ songs to determine a winner. The finals are coming up on Sunday, 23rd May.

A ticking participant in this year’s Eurovision is Norway’s entry, TIX-real name Andreas Haukeland-taking his name from the ‘tics’ he has due to his Tourette’s Syndrome(TS).

TS is a common neuro-developmental disorder which begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterised by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements. These are typically preceded by an unwanted urge or sensation in the affected muscles.

During the semi-final on Tuesday, TIX showed his tics live on stage by removing his sunglasses. TIX’s message to people is, ‘Don’t just be yourself, embrace yourself.’

He adds, ‘Once you embrace yourself, that’s when the happiness starts. TS is both a blessing and a curse, but try to focus on the blessing’.

Lots of ticking stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Stay Blessed.