Mixed Shots

Lotus Hero Makes Modi Idli

Amma canteens in Tamil Nadu might soon face some undercutting—from ‘Modi idlis’. Posters have come up in Salem offering the rice cakes at throwaway prices—Rs 10 for four pieces along with sambar. The man behind the move? The BJP propaganda cell state vice-president Mahesh or as the poster calls him, ‘lotus hero Mahesh’. The advert claims that the snacks are “made with modern kitchen equipment, tasty and healthy”. Befittingly, the sale of idlis will start from September 17, the birthday of PM Modi.

Manipur’s Queen B

When Dr Beyonce Laishram addresses patients, they sometimes get startled. For many don’t realise that she is a transperson until they hear her voice. The 27-year-old resident doctor at a private hospital in Imphal is the Northeast’s first transgender doctor and a symbol of hope for Manipur’s marginalised nupi maanbi (transwoman) community. A thorough professional, she has not faced any discrimination or hate at her workplace. “All my colleagues treat me as a friend,” she says. Beyonce is now busy fighting COVID-19.

Wings For A Wedding

The pandemic has made travel tough. But when the road, trains and flights seem too dangerous or even impossible, helicopters have come to the rescue. An elderly couple from Palakkad, Kerala, opted for a helicopter to fly to Bangalore for their grandson’s wedding. “It was like flying from my backyard to Bangalore and back,” says the 90-year-old man who travelled with his 85-year-old wife. At Rs 90,000 per hour though, the joyride didn’t come cheap.

Sunny-Side Up

T he merit list of admission to the BA English Honours programme of Calcutta’s Asutosh College seems to be plagiarised from movie credit rolls. For right at the top is Sunny Leone, who supposedly took the 12th board exams administered by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education and secured 400 marks. Sunny, pleasantly surprised by the results, tweeted, “See you all in college next semester!!! Hope your in my class. (sic)” One would have expected the topper to know the difference between your and you’re, but alas...

Bus To Bathroom

A n old bus could have been rusting in a junkyard or chopped up and sold as scrap, but thanks to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s ingenious idea, it is now a women’s toilet. Built at a cost of Rs 12 lakh in association with the Bangalore Internatio­nal Airport Authority, the ‘Sthree toilet’ has three Indian toilets and two Western ones. It, however, is not your run-of-the-mill public restroom—it comes with solar sensor lights, a sanitary napkin vending machine, incinerator and baby feeding and diaper changing areas. Sulabh Shauchalay, please take note.

Brevis

Illustrations: Saahil, Text by Alka Gupta and Syed Saad Ahmed