Bangladesh not turning into a fundamentalist country: Veteran journalist

Kinetic energy: When Kinetic, of the Luna and Kinetic Honda fame, launched an electric scooter under the brand name Zulu last year, it ruffled the feathers of electric mobility company Yulu, which promptly filed a case for trademark infringement and got a court stay on Zulu’s sale. Enter Kinetic’s formidable lady boss Sulajja Firodia Motwani. She negotiated her way out of the stalemate and got the leftover stock sold under the original name, and then continued selling the same model just by reworking the name Zulu to e-Zulu. In the end she entered into a partnership with the till-then rival Yulu, the details of which are yet to be announced | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Cat in the act: It has been more than a month since the devastating landslides in Wayanad. Congress leader T. Siddique, who represents the Kalpetta constituency in the district, has been coordinating rehabilitation efforts. During a visit to the area, he rescued a cat, which has since found sanctuary in the MLA’s home. Recently, he shared a photo of him with the cat on Facebook, saying: “Every life is valuable.” Within the first few days, the post had more than 16,000 likes and 1,200 comments—largely glowing praise for the MLA’s efforts to help those affected by the disaster.

A feast for cows: The cattle of the gau shalas of Rajasthan were in for a treat on the birthday of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on September 7. Pilot’s supporters celebrated his 47th birthday by organising gau seva at cattle shelters and gave thousands of quintals of fodder to the bovines. The leader’s supporters have, in the past, planted trees and donated blood on his birthday.

Cross-border chic: Indian fashion is conquering America, one over-priced lehenga at a time. After American actor-singer Jennifer Lopez was seen sporting Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s jewellery at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Golden Globes party, it was the turn of Nepalese-American designer Prabal Gurung to bring an Indian touch to his show at the New York Fashion Week, with Punjabi dhol players and pink gulaal (coloured powder). Also at the NYFW was the collection of another Indian legend—Kamal Haasan. His fashion line, KH House of Khaddar, showcased ‘Sutura’, a collection that intertwined “the elegance of high fashion with the principles of sustainability”. So what if your credit card maxes out on some ethical shopping. Anything for the planet, right? | PTI

Sisters before misters: Ananya Panday’s riches-to-rags show, Call Me Bae, might not be everyone’s cup of masala chai. All that bling might be a little too blinding, but you know what is not? The show’s central theme of ‘behencode’, creator and writer Ishita Moitra’s answer to the bro code. “It’s when women prop each other up and fix each other’s crowns,” said Moitra. Panday could probably relate, as the behencode is the basis of her friendship with Suhana Khan and Shanaya Kapoor. The star kids have been friends since childhood, and Ananya recently revealed the name of their WhatsApp group—Charlie’s Angels (the film about a crime-fighting trio of women). After all, who said jewels and judo cannot go together | AFP

Battle of the ’90s bands: The 1990s were the decade of geek chic, Super Mario and all things Shah Rukh Khan. Since then, many nineties tropes have become cringe—like the gay jokes in FRIENDS or Celine Dion’s song in Titanic. Our hearts did go on, and now they are beating hard for another ’90s music act, Linkin Park, which just announced a new lead singer, Emily Armstrong, who will join them for their world tour and latest album, From Zero. With Oasis also set for a reunion, can anyone else hear Cher’s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ playing on loop in their heads? | AP

Thumping theatrics: For decades, Super Bowl halftime shows, featuring a couple of college marching bands, were more sleeping pill than screaming fest. Until Michael Jackson revolutionised it in 1993 and moonwalked his way into the Super Bowl hall of fame. After Jackson, the music gods really went crazy. From men in cobra costumes playing drums to Jennifer Lopez pole dancing on the spire of the Empire State Building, the musicians turned it into a theatre of the absurd. And now, it has been announced that rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. His 17 Grammy Awards and Pulitzer might not be enough to get the crowds enthused, but perhaps some snakes, ladders and stage glitter might work? | AFP