BJP's setback in Uttar Pradesh marks demise of beneficiary vote bank

Mangoes don’t bite: Setting aside political rivalry, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sent baskets of mangoes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The baskets, weighing 10kg each, included varieties such as Himsagar, Langra, Mallika and Amrapali. Mamata also sent them to President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. This tradition of sending Bengal’s mangoes to bigwigs in Delhi every year has been a feature of Mamata’s tenure. War of words with BJP leaders during the recent Lok Sabha elections did not hinder the sweet tradition | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Standing challenge: Former Lok Sabha member A.P. Abdullakutty has skipped from one political ideology to another more than once—he went from the CPI(M) to the Congress and then to the BJP. That is flexibility, but on International Yoga Day, the BJP national vice president struggled to find his footing with the vrikshasana (tree pose). He had to stand on one leg, place the other foot on the inner thigh, bring his palms together above his head and breathe deeply. Try as he may, he just could not steady himself; he fell sideways each time. Standing rooted to one place is clearly not his forte.

Paper langurs: The life-size cutouts of langurs to keep monkeys away from the G20 summit in Delhi last year have found their way into the bungalows of some cabinet ministers. One such cutout stares at visitors from atop the wall of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s residence. The use of langurs outside Delhi’s government buildings is an old practice. The only difference is that live langurs spotted on Delhi streets during the UPA tenure have transformed into ferocious looking langurs on paper.

Run, Snoop, run: Snoop Dogg can rap, but can he run? Apparently, yes. The American rapper and record producer ran the 200m race at the US Olympic Team track-and-field trials in Eugene, Oregon, competing with greats like four-time Olympic medalist Ato Bolden and world champion Wallace Spearmon. He did not win (Spearmon did, with Bolden coming second), but it is the enthusiasm that counts, right? Completing the race in 34.44 seconds, he quipped: “34.44 for a 52-year-old? Ain’t bad.” He came within 15.25 seconds of breaking the world record, but who’s counting? | Reuters

Fit bits: After his memoir Made in India, Milind Soman is out with his second book, Keep Moving: Lessons on Staying Young in Mind and Body from India’s Fittest Family. It is told through the perspective of three members of the Soman family—Milind, 58, his mother, Usha Soman, 84, and his wife Ankita Konwar, 32. The book offers no quick fixes or prescribed formulae for fitness. But just because it is flexible, it does not mean it does not work. The proof, of course, is in the form of arguably “India’s first family of fitness” | Getty Images

Father act: If not the king, Karan Johar is definitely the king-maker of Bollywood, having launched the careers of Alia Bhatt, Ananya Panday, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and a host of others. But inside himself, there is a frustrated actor, he says. After making his full-fledged acting debut with Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet, Johar says he did not get any more offers. “I try to subtly suggest my name in my company,” he says. “‘This part is very exciting, I wish I could play it’. Directors just change the subject.” Now, he is even open to playing Panday’s father. Desperate desires, we guess, call for desperate measures | Amey Mansabdar

Jurassic dream come true: Scarlett Johansson has confirmed that she will star in the fourth Jurassic World movie, set for release in July 2025. “I’ve been trying to get into this franchise for over 10 years,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I’ll die in the first five minutes! I can get eaten by whatever! I’ll do the craft service.’ I’ll do anything for it.” The film is being directed by Gareth Edwards of Godzilla fame and penned by David Koepp, who also wrote the original Jurassic Park film. Johansson will star alongside Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey. The prospect of watching rampaging dinosaurs has never looked so good before | Getty Images

Fashion’s ‘It’ mermaid: Janhvi Kapoor was one mermaid who definitely made a splash at the Paris Haute Couture Week this time. She made her international runway debut there in a Rahul Mishra-designed mermaid skirt and black bustier top. The theme of the collection was Aura. “Each individual is perceived to have an aura which represents their electromagnetic field, similar to that of the earth, and their emitted vibrations that connect them to and facilitate their interaction with the rest of the universe,” said Rahul Mishra, describing the collection | Getty Images