Collapse of the 19th century pedestrian suspension bridge over the Machchu River in Gujarat kills 141, toll could rise

The pedestrian suspension bridge in Morbi reopened just a week ago after repairs. Officials say the bridge collapsed probably due to overcrowding as people celebrated the Diwali festival. The British built the 754ft bridge on the Machchu River in the 19th Century. At least 141 people died in the accident and the dead included women, children or elderly. The death toll could rise further. Police, military and disaster response teams have rescued 177 people and the rescue effort is continuing. An eyewitness revealed to a section of the media - "Many children were enjoying holidays for Diwali and they came here as tourists. All of them fell one on top of another. The bridge collapsed due to overloading." India bridge collapse: Death toll rises to 141, many still missing. Videos on social media showed people struggling for survival by clinging onto the wreckage or clambering up the bridge's broken netting. Some managed to swim to the riverbanks.

According to reports, several hundred people were on the bridge when it collapsed at around 18:40 India time (13:10 GMT) on Sunday. A video shot before the collapse showed it packed with people and swaying and many gripping the netting on its sides. The tragedy happened in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said he was "deeply saddened by the tragedy." He also announced compensation for the families of victims. The authorities have promised a full investigation into the accident of a popular tourist attraction known locally as Julto Pul (swinging bridge).

Some popular stories of this blogger –

The West Bengal government to launch electric buses in Calcutta to bring down air pollution

Two explosions rocked the capital of Somalia and left at least 100 dead and 300 injured

Horror at Halloween in Seoul – stampede takes more than 150 lives

Chhath puja is a four-day festival for women of Bihar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and parts of Odisha and Nepal

Health of Tuan Tuan, a male panda gifted by China to Taiwan, deteriorating

Storm Nalgae strikes the Philippines and leaves at least 72 dead

Spare is the title of Prince Harry’s 416-page memoir, publishers Penguin Random House

Tata and Airbus joint venture to make C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force

Climate change a matter of concern for the security of Britain

Bengalis of Kolkata love mouthwatering dishes and Khaibaar Pass helps them choose the best

TV reality shows, social media and food festivals like Khaibaar Pass have helped give an impetus to the culinary scene in Kolkata. Hotels and restaurants go all out to woo the food lovers with exotic dishes and food festivals keep creating new varieties of well-known products. Fuchka is a household name in Bengal and is known as golguppa in other places. These fall in the category of cheap fast foods. However, in Khaibaar Pass this has multiple varieties like chicken fuchka, ice cream fuchka, chocolate fuchka – the price range is several times more than that in the roadside stalls. ABP Ananda is a major media house in Bengal. It arranges an annual three-day food festival ‘Khaibaar Paas.’ This is where foodies arrive to taste unique culinary dishes from restaurants and food outlets in Bengal. The 8th edition of this food festival took in the city in March, 2022. ABP Ananda launches Khaibaar Paas food festival.

At this festival, those who love food can sample delicacies from innumerable food stalls and sees thousands of footfalls every day. The festival offers business opportunity to all those involved in the world of food and includes restaurants and food joints. There are major well-known brands who sponsor the event. Products include Biryanis, Kebabs, traditional Bengali dishes, sea food, sweets and snackable items to Mughlai, to Chinese and Lebanese dishes. In addition, there are fun games to maintain the festive mood. As an official of the network said - “Khaibaar Paas has been able to carve out a niche for itself in the Bengali food space.”

Durga Puja from outside India and within –

13 Best Durga Puja in London UK 2022

14 Best Durga Puja in New York USA 2022

2022 Durga Puja Calendar for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tourist hotels in Puri, Darjeeling and Digha –

GosaniYatra or The Durga Puja of Puri

Darjeeling hotels brim with tourists

How Can You Enjoy Durga Puja At Affordably Priced Hotel In Digha?

Some popular stories of this blogger –

Kolkata loves variety in foods and the Kokattans have their favorite food joints

Prince William and Kate head to school with their kids George, Charlotte and Louis

Kolkata gears up for Durga Puja rush with special buses for shoppers

China grows rice and vegetables on the Tiangong space station

The summer of 2022 was hottest on record in England and it tied with 2018

Second successive loss of India in Asia Cup 2022 – this time to Sri Lanka

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern China and left at least 65 dead

A mass stabbing incident in Canada left ten people dead and at least 15 others injured

Liz Truss, the current foreign minister, will become the next prime minister of Britain

For our eyes only – blind man’s bluff

There comes a time in the life of every person when he or she wants to enact a role that is not his original self. One of these is that of a blind person. In fact, this instinct of role reversal begins in childhood. That is when children cover their eyes and play blind man’s bluff. A group of them gets together and one among them has to become ‘blind’ by getting his or her eyes covered. The others then move away and hide in nearby places. When indoors, these could be behind walls, doors, or cupboards. When outdoors, they could opt for trees, shrubs, or any similar object. Once they have sought out apparently safe ‘hideouts’, the blindfolded child has to move around and locate at least one of them and catch or at least touch him or her. The game becomes interesting as the children try to confuse the ‘blind’ kid by giving wrong directions.

Incidentally, this game is not meant only for the children. Even the adults enjoy such activities, especially when they go outdoors. Here the elders have a field day recollecting their childhood. The usual procedure is to blindfold the individual, who has to break an earthen pot. He or she is given a long bamboo stick and the pot is placed at a distance. The ‘blind’ person has to break the pot. Sounds simple enough but the barrage of directions given by the others make it difficult to hit the target. This game is usually scheduled before lunch and provides unbridled fun while it lasts. Incidentally, this is a gradually vanishing game because such outdoor picnics are rare nowadays. Such modes of relaxation are outdated in the age of smartphones because social sites like Facebook provide much more variety.

Some popular stories in this and related sites –

For our eyes only – the blind ones and eye donation

For our eyes only – popularity of contact lenses on the rise

For our eyes only – when kids wear glasses

For our eyes only

Street foods for breakfast in Kolkata

Street foods are popular even in Singapore

Street foods have become a common feature even in Hong Kong

Street food in Kolkata during lunch hour.

Eggs have a field day when it comes to street foods

Street foods like idli and dosa of South India have flooded Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and other cities

Street foods from Kolkata to Mumbai, Delhi and beyond

The social media loves to showcase street foods from all corners of India and also from abroad. There are prestigious hotels and restaurants that cater to one section of society. However, those who operate outlets of street foods are in a class of their own. They love to experiment with food and offer unique dishes that mesmerize their customers who keep coming back for more. The word spreads and people throng to the counters – sometimes they come as individuals, or with their near and dear ones to share a few moments of tasting the preparations.

Mumbai is famous for its bhel puri. This is similar to the jhal muri of Kolkata. Both are dry mixtures of a whole lot of ingredients. The bhel puri is usually served on paper plates while the jhal muri is served in open-mouthed paper packets known as thongas. Then there is the fuchkas of Kolkata aka gol guppa in Delhi and pani puri in Mumbai. The product is the same. Crisp balls made of flour and stuffed with a mixture of mashed potatoes and other ingredients. The combination is dipped in a liquid before being served to the customer. And – there is always a queue of them around the person who keeps count of the items sold.


Popular stories on this and related sites –

Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans are two new teams in TATA IPL 2022

Delhi Capitals won the title in 2009, Royal Challengers Bangalore have yet to win

Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad won one title each and will try to improve their tally in TATA IPL 2022

Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings – film stars own these two teams of TATA IPL 2022

Street food rules the roost, regular food joints must innovate to survive

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings - top two teams of TATA IPL 2022

Prince William and Kate on a week’s visit to Belize to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Owners of the 10 teams in TATA IPL 2022

Tidbits of the 15th edition of TATA IPL 2022

A cat has nine lives, I have many more – 4

A cat has nine lives, I have many more – 3

KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE FOR MORE ON IPL2022

The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed

The gruesome murder of a couple of girls has raised questions of how safe is interaction with people on the social media, especially on sites like Facebook.
Social media on the internet is a medium where one can suppress his true identity and create an impression about oneself that is far from the truth. After all no one will verify the truth about whether a smart looking young man’s real name is Ram or Shyam and whether he really is an engineering graduate from a well-known institution like IIT or whether he is an NRI.
The fact is that whatever he posts on his profile is taken at face value – literally.

The truth is revealed only when a crime is committed and the crime can be a case of financial duping or, coldblooded murder.
That is what two recent cases are about – cold blooded murder. Both are girls who had made friends with boys via Facebook.
One of these girls was killed in July and her body was concealed in a concrete packing covered with a marble slab. The boy who has reportedly committed the crime has admitted to the police that he had also murdered both his parents – even before he murdered this girl!
The other was of another girl who was lured away from her home and her nude body was discovered in another remote location – the suspect here is also a boy who was her friend on Facebook.
In this text it is relevant to note that interaction on the social media has led to happily married couples who appear on the many game shows and reality shows. The question that is normally asked is – was your marriage an arranged one? And the girl gives a broad smile and replies ‘no, we eloped and married in a temple’ or ‘we met on a social networking site’ etc.
Such girls are undoubtedly the lucky ones.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

New luxury cruise liner Seabourn Encore is labeled as 'sexiest ship at sea'

Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi at Rajghat gets a new look

200-year-old banyan tree uprooted by cyclone Vardah replanted in Chennai


The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed

Saraswati Puja means entering a new phase of life

Moody on UFO, Mangalyaan and Moon Mission for monkey baat (satire)


Naomie Harris gets Oscar nomination in the best-supporting actress category for Moonlight

Nicole Kidman could earn $8 million if she writes her autobiography

Sets of the film Padmavati in Jaipur vandalised, Bhansali cancels shooting


Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

Militants in Indonesia looking for women terrorists

Six people shot dead by gunmen in a mosque in Quebec City during evening prayers

Didi to gift pepper spray to all girls (satire)

Didi convened a hurried meeting before leaving for Delhi on a very important mission – it was mission 19. Yes – she has enough foresight to chalk out plans for a major upset in the New Delhi power equation come year 2019.
‘Don’t you think it is too early?’ Moo Cool, her Man Friday asked.
Didi grinned.
‘Remember – the early bird catches the worm,’ she said.
Just then two of her women members entered her chamber. They were Golla Sen and Chandi Ma. They worshipped the ground Didi walked on and could do anything to see her happy.
Didi waved them to the chairs and Moo Col got up to leave but Didi signaled him to remain.
‘I am worried about the safety of women in our state,’ she said. ‘I keep hearing of atrocities on school girls, college girls, working women and even housewives. That must stop.’
‘It is all propaganda of the opposition,’ Golla Sen replied. ‘They are jealous of our rising clout and want to discredit us. I have never faced any such situation.’
‘I agree with Golla,’ Chandi Ma said. ‘I also have never faced any such situation. And, I know, neither have you. They are afraid of our size.’
‘Forget all that. I believe in the saying – prevention is better than cure. I want all school and college girls to be given pepper sprays,’ Didi said.

‘But – that will run into millions,’ Golla said.
‘So let us set up industries to manufacture them,’ Didi said. ‘It will give jobs to many unemployed and also create a market for producing real hot chilies. The women can grow the chilies and dry them while the men can powder and package them.’
‘Wonderful idea,’ Chandi Ma agreed. ‘We can have a major event and distribute the pepper sprays to the girls, as we did for bicycles. The sprays should be in packets of a dozen each.’
‘Why a dozen?’ Golla asked.
‘These sprays cannot be reused. So – the girls will always have some stock with them.’
‘Let us plan accordingly,’ Didi said. ‘Our ‘pepper spray’ initiative. Moo Cool – I want you to locate industrialists who are willing to invest. And – ask Dee Wreck to get cracking on the social media network to promote the idea. I want our girls to always have the upper hand.’ (to be continued …)


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Efforts on by Odisha to get UNESCO Heritage tag for Bhitarkanika national park

Alitalia pilot refused to fly from Beirut to Rome because he was tired - passengers stuck for 16 hours at Beirut

Wildfire in California spreads over 11,000 acres - residents evacuated


Didi not happy seeing urchins in Howrah Station (satire)

Lord Shiva stumped by the sea of humanity on 21st (satire)

Moody embraces yoga, his medics could embrace poverty (satire)

Lone wolf attack in Munich mall kills 10 including the attacker

Youth attacks train commuters with an axe - leaves more than 20 injured, some seriously

ISIS carries out suicide attack in Kabul - 80 killed, death toll could rise


Sir Michael Caine forced to change his name because of ISIS

Irrfan Khan meets Arvind Kejriwal before release of his film 'Madaari'

Kissing scenes in movies – why this fad has never caught on in Bollywood

Didi reveals the other side of the bribe controversy (satire)

Didi loves to turn the tables on her opponents. She knows that there are two sides to any coin and revels in using the logic to her advantage. The latest is the pre-poll sting operation that had sent jitters up her spine. She had put up a brave front but, in her heart of hearts she was not sure about the integrity of some of her partymen.
But – once she came through victorious, she knew that she could give her own interpretation of what people had seen in the sting videos. It was the logic of ‘is the glass half empty or half full’.
‘What do you think we should do Moo Cool?’ Didi asked.
‘We should pay them back in their own coin,’ Moo Cool replied.

‘Do you believe that our members can really take money like that?’ Didi now turned towards Abhi Shake.
‘No,’ Abhi said. ‘Our members are well off. Most of us are crorepatis. We don’t need such money.’
‘What about Show Van? Do you mean to say that those videos are not true?’
‘Yes,’ Show Van replied, panting. ‘Those are a part of a big conspiracy to discredit us and show us in poor light.’
‘But – truth has prevailed,’ Patro Chatto added. ‘We must get to the bottom of this affair. Let us put the CID on the job. They can unearth the truth.’
‘Let us put the facts straight,’ Dee Wreck opened his mouth. ‘I have studied the reactions in the social media. People have questioned the timing of the sting operation.’
‘Anyway,’ Moo Cool now added. ‘The videos show money changing hands. There are some dialogues. In my opinion, it is all photo shopping. There are experts who can put another’s face on another’s body. And – insert dialogues. The dialogues sound lifelike. Like the ads on TV. The voice of the celebrities who endorse the hair oil or face cream sounds just like him in any language. It is the beauty of modern day technology.’
‘Then let us call our police chief and tell him to go ahead,’ Didi gave her verdict.
‘He is already here’ Moo Cool said. ‘He is waiting in the outer office enjoying hot pakoras with his favorite tea. He is once again his bright old self waiting for your orders.’ (to be continued …)


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

HTT-40, India's homegrown basic trainer aircraft, to debut in Aero India 2017

Maithon Dam to be venue for kayaking and canoeing national championships

KVIC brings out Yogasutra, clothes made of khadi for yoga exercises


Moody’s whirlwind trip - five countries in six days (satire)

Didi’s Delhi dreams – from telebhaja to aloo chat (satire)

All about chest size and happy days (satire)


Christina Grimmie shot dead by unidentified gunman in Florida

TE3N first day box office collection of Rs 2.61 crores in India fails to impress

Sonu Nigam opens up on technology and modern day music


Suicide bomb attacks by Taliban kill more than 20 in Afghanistan

Two brothers arrested from Long Island - another possible massacre prevented

Delhi police unearths a kidney transplant racket - arrests kingpin from Kolkata