Virat Kohli hits new century with 100 million followers on Instagra

 Team India captain Virat Kohli has become the first cricketer to cross the mark of 100 million followers on Instagram. Not only this, he is also the first Indian and first Asian to achieve this milestone.

Kohli shared a post on Instagram announcing the achievement and thanking his fans for the love and support.

 

 

The fans of the cricketer can’t keep calm and a hashtag #100millionviratiansoninsta started trending. International Cricket Council also congratulated Kohli by tweeting a picture welcoming him to the 100 million club with the caption “Virat Kohli - the first cricket star to hit 100 million followers on Instagram.”

AAP wins 4, Congress 1 in municipal bypolls held at 5 wards

 

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won four seats and the Indian National Congress (INC) won one seat in the municipal bypolls for five wards in Delhi on Wednesday.

The Bhartiya Janata Party had held one of the wards. They failed to win any ward in the municipal bypolls held on Februay 28 (Sunday).

More than 50 per cent of the voters had casted their votes in the municipal bypolls in five wards on Sunday.

The AAP candidates came out victorious at Kalyanpuri, Rohini C, Trilokpuri and Shalimar Bagh North wards. However, the Congress candidate won from Chauhan Bangar ward.

AAP candidate Dhirender Kumar won by 7,043 votes at the Kalyanpuri ward. AAP's Vijay Kumar won by a margin of 4,986 votes in Trilokpuri. AAP's Sunita Mishra came out victorious from Shalimar Bagh ward by 2,705 votes.

Ram Chander of the AAP won by 2,985 votes in Rohini C ward. Congress candidate Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad won by 10,642 votes in Chauhan Bangar ward.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia congratulated the party workers for victory on Twitter. He said that people were fed up with the BJP and would bring in Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's politics of honesty and work in the municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls next year.

10 women-centric movies you must watch

 For decades, Hindi cinema has been a mirror reflecting the times and scenarios the nation has gone through. From playing decorative objects in movies, if not victims or martyrs, to becoming a strong force, women have come a long way in our movies. The Hindi film actresses have graduated from being the innocent to the woman of substance and strength that stands for her rights, raises her voice against injustice, and fights for her dignity and self-respect and also rebels when she has to.

The women in Hindi cinema have been pivotal in bringing across the transformation the country has been through. We bring you 10 films that show women as the heroes:

1. Mom

Mom is a story of a mother who revenges her daughter's rape and death after being denied justice by the law. Sridevi plays the simple mother who transforms into a smart woman to avenge her daughter's death.

2. Lipstick Under My Burkha

Lipstick Under My Burkha is coming of age film for women's sexuality. A fearlessly feminist film, it holds a mirror to the present times we live in.

3. Pink

Pink told the nation that when a woman says 'no' it means 'no'. No matter what clothes she wears or what lifestyle she leads, she can't be forced into doing anything against her will. Amitabh Bachchan plays an advocate who fights for the girls entrapped in a legal battle against notorious boys belonging to influential families.

4. Neerja

Neerja, the film is based on a true life story of a flight purser who was shot and killed while making sure that hundreds of passengers of the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 were safe and sound. Sonam Kapoor plays Neerja with great grit and elan.

5. Mardaani 2

Mardaani 2 is the story of a female cop, Shivani Roy. It's played by Rani Mukerji who vows to catch Sunny, a psychopath working for a politican, brutally rapes and murders innocent women  leaving a trail of battered bodies in his wake.

6.  Queen

Queen is a beautiful story of a young girl Rani played by Kangana Ranaut. It's heartbreaking when Vijay, played by Rajkumar Rao, just a day before the wedding breaks the news to Rani that he is no more interested in marrying her. The simple, small town girl is shattered but soon she decides to stand for herself and to go on a honeymoon all alone. During her travels, she meets new friends, discovers the world and comes back as a changed person, ready to take control of her life.

7.  No One Killed Jessica

This film is based on the real life story of Jessica Lal murder case. It's a tale of how Jessica's elder sister, Sabrina Lal played by Vidya Balan fights the wealthy and influential man who shot her sister. Rani Mukerji plays the gritty journalist who helps Vidya Balan to fight against all odds. The film shows that even a common woman can rise above all odds and fight for justice. The film is directed by Rajkumar Gupta.

8. Kahaani

Kahaani is a movie which lives up to its name more than you could ask for. The entire script of Kahaani was filled with unexpected twists and turns that you definitely won't see coming. Vidya Balan has done an amazing role for this movie.

9. English Vinglish

English Vinglish is a story of a common housewife Shashi Godbole played by Sridevi. It beautifully shows how the housewife, who is brilliant as a homemaker, a wife and a mother, is looked down upon and made fun of by her daughter and husband just because she can't speak fluent English. A hurt Shashi Godbole turns things around as she learns the language on her US trip to her niece's wedding. Gauri Shinde's simple story is an impressive one as the woman overcomes her shortcomings.

10.  NH 10

Anushka not only produced this movie but made sure she single-handedly handles the script on screen as well. And with this movie, we loved Anushka Sharma even more! In the movie, her husband is killed by the local gangster family. She survived and killed the family who killed her husband played by Neil Bhoopalan. Shout out to Deepti Naval for being an amazing antagonist!

Let's wait for more upcoming women centric movies in Bollywood like – Thalaivi, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Saina, Gul Makai and Dhaakad. Let's cheer for all the women out there on the occasion of International Women's Day.

'Brave lady' serves mouthwatering Dosa in Dwarka

 Dosa is one of the most-loved street foods in Delhi. There is a woman who has been selling amazing south Indian food in Dwarka for 21 years now. It's a very famous stall in Sector 7, Dwarka.

A 54 years old woman named Raja Mani, sits in one corner of a platform near Gokul garden in Sector 7. She has been selling Dosa, Idli for 21 years now.

How it all started?

Raja Mani is from Tamil Nadu and stays in New Delhi with her husband and two sons. Her elder son used to love her Dosa and Idli and wanted her food to reach out to all the people. It was his dream for her to start a stall in Dwarka.

In 2000, Mani started a south Indian food stall with the help of her elder son and her husband. But when she started her new venture, she lost her elder son in an accident. That didn't stop her and she went ahead and started the food stall and now she is a very popular food vendor in Dwarka. She did this for her son.

In the beginning, it was a huge struggle for her to get recognised but when people started coming to her stall and started eating her home-made south Indian food, she became a huge buzz among netizens. She makes really tasty masala dosa and idli and that too just for Rs 50. She and her husband, both run the food stall together now.

This International Women’s Day, let's cheer for all such brave women out there, who did not let the adversities of life affect them and went on to achieve and live their dreams. 

Delhi reports 217 new Covid-19 cases; no new deaths

 

The Capital on Wednesday recorded 217 new coronavirus cases, taking the cumulative tally to 6,39,681. The number of new cases reported came out of 66,624 tests conducted on the previous day.

At least 42,632 RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 23,992 rapid antigen tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was at 0.33 per cent.

No death was reported in the last 24 hours, keeping the death toll at 10,911. A total of 78 patients recovered from the deadly disease, taking the total recovery figure to 6,27,227 in the national capital.

Currently, there are 1,543 active cases in the city. Out of the total 5,721 beds in coronavirus hospitals, 5,177 are vacant. A total of 777 patients are in home isolation. 

Story of a nature enthusiast and birder

 

Dr. Jai Prabhan is a 68-year-old nature enthusiast and birder who visits the Dwarka waterbody in Sector 23 regularly. He is a pathologist and consultant by profession and a bird photographer by hobby. Prabhan’s journey as a birder started when his friends visited him and took him out to explore the birds of Jim Corbett and Nainital.

“We used to write down the descriptions of the birds we came across and discussed them in our meetings as there weren't many advancements in technology at that time. Today, we have the benefit of technology and with a click of our fingers, we can Google whichever bird we capture. We didn’t have this opportunity in our time,” said Prabhan when CitySpidey asked him about the start of his career as a birder.

He got his first camera with a 100 mm lens and started photographing birds seriously in 2007. He slowly transitioned from Kodak 100 mm to Canon 550 (Rebel). He now owns a telephoto lens attached to a Canon EOS R6.

“Bird photography is one of the most exciting career options but unfortunately there aren’t many opportunities for people who want to opt it as a profession. One first needs to seek financial stability  which will help them support their hobbies. It isn’t very lucrative,” he said.

Some benefits of bird photography as stated by Prabhan:

Bird photography helps you stay physically fit as you are supposed to be on your feet all the time. You might have to climb a tree and work out regularly to help your body stay in shape for the extreme conditions you might face during a shoot.

Being with nature gives you peace of mind. The process of nature photography is very harmonious. It makes you want to stay fit as one gets into a self-disciplinary lifestyle.

“I’m not a city man, I love the peace nature brings to me,” he ended with a laugh.

SDMC issues challans against 153 shopkeepers for littering on roads

 

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has issued a no tolerance policy against those who trash garbage on streets and roads.

Under this, the SDMC issued challans against 153 shopkeepers who were found littering on the roads on Monday. Those who have been ticketed will have to pay a fine of Rs 500.

The action was taken at 100 markets including areas like Sarita Vihar, Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji, Amar Colony under its special sanitation drive. The action has been taken to improve the rankings of SDMC in Swachh Survekshan 2021.

Rajiv Jain, superintending engineer and nodal officer of SDMC’s Swachh Bharat Mission said that the SDMC is running a sanitation drive in all of its zones. He also appealed to the residents to support the initiative and maintain cleanliness in the areas around them.

“The residents and traders have to be a part of the initiative to make it a success and to improve rankings in Swachh Survekshan 2021,” he said.

The corporation has also taken an initiative to remove hoardings, posters, and banners from public places and till now, more than 2,000 such posters and banners have been removed from all four zones, and work to make the areas more hygienic and beautiful has been done. 

RWA election conducted at Mahindra Aura

 

Resident Welfare Association (RWA) election was conducted at the Mahindra Aura Apartments, a residential highrise society in Sector 110A, New Palam Vihar on Sunday.

The elected members are – Vijeta Malik, President; Rajesh Chadha, Vice President, SB Soni, General Secretary; Rajat Khurana, Joint Secretary; and Kuldeep Singh, Treasurer.

The other team members include Ashok Tandon, Sumitra Jakhar, Gita, Deep Kohli, Sanjiv Marwah, and Surya Garg.

During the election, the opponents lost all the key positions. “This is a big win. The residents again chose us. The few new faces are Deep Kohli, Gita, Sumitra Jakhar and Surya Garg,” said Kuldeep Singh, Treasurer.

When CitySpidey asked about their next step they replied that they will look forward to work on the commitments and transparency.

Man proposes to his girlfriend while skydiving

 

Unique marriage proposals always grab eyeballs of people. We often see them going viral on the internet. It is also a fact that everyone wants to propose to partners in unique ways.

Now, an unusual and absolutely heartwarming marriage proposal of a man to his girlfriend while skydiving is going viral on the internet. The video made social media users emotional. The skydiver posted his video on his Instagram account ‘Wingmanskydive’.

In the stunning video, the man holds the ring between his teeth. After a few moments, he pulled a ring and proposed to her, saying, “I fall in love with you more and more every day. Will you marry me?”

She was surprised and she agreed by saying yes. The man was screaming with joy as you saw in the video. He also gave a caption to his video – Skydive marriage proposal. On the internet, users got anxious that the ring might fall.

ESPN, a sports channel, shared a video on Twitter and tweeted, “An EPIC proposal. He kept the ring in his mouth.”

Animal protection bodies hopeful after Madras HC's directive on elephants

 

In many parts of India, elephants are being burdened with heavy loads. Not only with loads of luggage but also with human beings. Tourists visit India and enjoy elephant rides. But do we even acknowledge that this is slavery that it is done to elephants by us?

Elephants are made to walk on hot pavements. According to a report, India is ranked second in the list of highest number of elephants used in tourism. Reports also showcase that 45 per cent of the animals are kept in severely inadequate conditions. Indian animals are not only cultural icons but also help in continuing the natural integrity of their forest and grassland habitats.

On February 25th, the Madras High Court opined to consider prohibition of future ownership of elephants by individuals or temples. The International Animal Welfare Organisation and World Animal Protection, who took this initiative to safeguard elephants, appreciated this uniform policy.

"World Animal Protection welcomes this decision and encourages the Rajasthan government to stand by this decision and not allow the sick elephants to be used for rides. Given that the Madras High Court directive indicates that the use of elephants for joyrides, for exploitation, use as beasts of burden must completely be prohibited by a uniform policy, we must do everything in our capacity to ensure that the National Heritage Animal of India is treated well and respected everywhere in all situations. Elephants are wild animals and not commodities. Wildlife belongs in the wild,” said Gajender K Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection office.

According to the judiciary, “Any kind of mistreatment of elephants and other animals must be dealt with promptly and as mercilessly as such persons deal with the animals.” The judiciary discarded all the ownership of elephants by individuals and temples. Elephants will no longer be a slave but an animal who can live their wildlife.

Seeing the state of elephants in the country, India's first and only Elephant Conservation and Care Centre was established in 2010. The mission of the organisation was to rehabilitate severely abused and exploited captive elephants. The centre is surrounded by natural vegetation with open fields. It is more like a green natural house for the rescued animals. 

Delhi reports 175 new coronavirus cases; positivity rate 0.44%

 

The Capital on Monday recorded 175 new coronavirus cases, taking the cumulative tally to 6,39,464. The number of new cases reported came out of 39,733 tests conducted on the previous day.

At least 28,048 RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 11,685 rapid antigen tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was at 0.44 per cent.

One death was reported in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 10,911. A total of 105 patients recovered from the deadly disease, taking the total recovery figure to 6,27,149 in the national capital. The recovery rate was 98.07 per cent.

Currently, there are 1,404 active cases in the city. Out of the total 5,721 beds in coronavirus hospitals, 5,232 are vacant. A total of 739 patients are in home isolation.

Fake messages surface on social media before launch of CoWIN 2.

 

The second phase of Covid-19 vaccination started on Monday through CoWIN 2.0. CoWIN is an online portal launched by the government where you can register yourself to get vaccination at the nearest vaccination centers.

However, before the launch of CoWIN 2.0, a  fake message has been surfacing over social media, especially WhatsApp for the registration on the platform.

A lot of people fell prey to the trap and registered on that link and are now looking to deregister themselves but there is no such option available on that website.

Those who registered are now afraid of some sort of online fraud. The user interface of the website is said to be similar to the original website and demands people to share information like name, phone number, ID number etc.

Ravi Jaitely, General Secretory, Seniors Hub Dwarka said, “The message was sent on WhatsApp groups and people registered on it. Later, we got to know that the app was fake when we saw a tweet shared by PIB. The interface of the website was similar to the official website and anybody could easily get fooled by that.”

PIB has tweeted about the message claiming it to be fake and asked people to follow the official handle of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for official information related to Covid vaccination drive.

Carefree Laado – An initiative to bust menstrual myths

 It's said that empowered are those who empower. Being Social – Ek Nai Shuruat is one non-profit organisation, which has been working on an initiative to break the myths and taboos surrounding periods.

They intend to bust the myths including the idea that women are impure, dirty, or sinful while they're menstruating. Some women are discouraged from touching or washing their genitals during their periods to eliminate the possibility that they might contaminate the water of a communal bathing area.

This initiative has been in place since 2017 to normalise periods under the name – Carefree Laado. This program has benefitted more than 8,650 women all across the country.

Recently, on February 28, the volunteers of the NGO assembled at Kinauni village, situated in Ghaziabad, to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene amongst all the women and young girls of the village.

The session started with an awareness talk, in which the volunteers focus on clarifying the myths related menstruation. The awareness talk session described the periods, causes of periods, duration of periods, puberty, etc.

Following the awareness talk session, there was an interactive discussion between the volunteers and the women of Kinauni village, where they talked about periods from their hearts.

Pooja, an 18-year-old girl from the village came forward and shared her fears openly. She talked about how scared she got when she got her first periods and how she was made to sit aloof while she was on her periods.

Most of the women from the village don't have the access to sanitary napkins. So, the NGO with the collaborative support of Paree, manufacturer of sanitary pads, distributed sanitary napkins amongst the women.

During the event, they were enlightened about the use of pads and were guided about the same. The women were also informed about how to dispose the pad hygienically and that a pad shouldn't be in use for more than 3-4 hours.

Another girl from Kinauni village stood up to say that she will be educating her own kids and her little siblings so that they don't go through the trauma that she went through when her periods started. She further added that the session made her realise that periods are no curse.

75+ women of Kinauni started from being shy to being expressive about their menstrual cramps, pre-menstrual syndromes (PMS), and the problems they faced. They celebrated menstruation and their womanhood throughout the event and were encouraged to celebrate themselves not just for a day but everyday.