
Restaurant Fig by any other name
The time couldn't be more opportune to launch an Indian restaurant, given the global praise and recognition being heaped upon the cuisine currently. Obviously, the fact is not lost on chefs and restaurateurs if the rapid mushrooming of new Indian restaurants is any indication. Where Anjeer succeeds is in its departure from the expected. It is Indian food that is familiar but non-conformist; refreshingly fuss-free but thoughtful, ingredient led but layered, offering a dining experience that celebrates flavour through a creative lens.
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The Hindu
36 minutes ago
- The Hindu
A moment to cherish for an extraordinary leader of men
Nearly a month before his 44th birthday (July 7), Mahendra Singh Dhoni received an early gift. On Monday in London, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, a little less than six years after his last international outing. There was no fairytale exit for the former captain, whose final game for the country ended in unshed tears and bitter disappointment following the semifinal elimination by New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup in Manchester on July 10, 2019. But Dhoni's propensity for detached attachment means he would have put that heartbreak behind him not long after the loss and geared up for the next phase of his life. Unorthodox, unconventional and effective 🙌 A cricketer beyond numbers and statistics 👏 MS Dhoni is inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame 🥇 More ➡️ — ICC (@ICC) June 9, 2025 In a world where people measure the currency of their popularity by the number of followers on social media – of whom he has millions – and a constant desire, whether by choice or otherwise, to keep staying in the public eye, Dhoni is a spectacular exception. He is still an enigma to his vast legion of supporters, assiduously refusing to court attention, surfacing in the lead-up to a fresh season of the Indian Premier League and then retreating to relative obscurity, inasmuch as someone of his stature can become obscure, for months on end, happy in his own world of parents, wife, daughter, bikes, dogs… This isn't a calculated, well-planned formula to ensure that the fans keep wanting more of him, to see more of him. That's how he is wired. That's how he always has been. When he was the captain, the door to his hotel room was open till such time that he was awake. No one needed to ring him up to ascertain if he was free or if they could drop in. It was literally open door, but when he closed it shut late at night, he was oblivious to the world. No surprise There is a fascinating story of how, when a former senior functionary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India passed away, the support staff just couldn't get in touch with him even though they were all in the same hotel. His cell phone was switched off, he had put the hotel phone on 'Do not disturb'. By then, Dhoni had retired from Test cricket but he was still the limited-overs captain and had great regard for the administrator who was no more. Out of respect for his skipper and to ensure that tongues didn't wag about (non-existent) differences were they to travel separately to pay their respects, Test captain Virat Kohli waited patiently and accompanied Dhoni in a later flight while some of the senior management staff flew out early in the morning. Dhoni evokes such emotions, without making an effort to do so. His presence in the Hall of Fame should come as no surprise. After all, he is his country's most successful captain, rising from the hinterlands to establish himself as the ultimate poster boy of Indian cricket even when the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, among others, were going strong. Every year for the last five seasons, towards the end of Chennai Super Kings' IPL campaign, speculation reaches fever pitch over Dhoni's imminent retirement. Each year, he has smiled enigmatically, made a few off-hand remarks and allowed the speculation to mount for the next several weeks. It was no different last month when he pithily remarked that he didn't have to make an immediate decision about his future when he had months to do so. Door open, you say? Dhoni had already played for nearly five seasons since his First Class and List-A debuts for Bihar in 1999-2000 when he travelled with the India-Aside for a triangular series in Nairobi, under Sairaj Bahutule, in August 2004. One afternoon, the phone warbled — a former India fast bowler who was commentating on the tournament from the venue was on the line, almost demanding that one switched on the TV and watched 'this guy, this incredible guy' take the bowling apart. Batting at No. 3 in a league fixture against a Pakistan 'A' side helmed by Misbah-ul-Haq, Dhoni smashed a 122-ball 120 at the Nairobi Gymkhana as India batted first. Three days later, on a slightly trickier surface with India chasing 235 for victory against the same opponents, he was a lot more measured, guiding the successful chase with an unbeaten 119 off 134 deliveries, the five towering sixes reiterating that he was batting well within himself. His contribution in the final, which India won by six wickets also against Pakistan 'A', was just 15 but Dhoni topped the run-scoring charts with 362 at an average of 72.40 and a strike-rate of 90.15. "Whenever you played against him, you knew the game was never over until he was out!" 😮💨 Cricket greats celebrate MS Dhoni, one of the newest inductees in the ICC Hall of Fame 🤩 📝: — ICC (@ICC) June 10, 2025 Four months later, he turned out in India colours for the first time, inauspiciously run out without scoring on his ODI debut in Chattogram. It was ironically coincidental that in his last international innings too, he would be run out, courtesy a fabulous direct hit from the deep from Martin Guptill that practically ensured India's exit at the World Cup. But between those two incidents, Dhoni set the world afire with his astonishing batting and composure in white-ball cricket, with his unbelievably slick hands behind the stumps, with his supreme mastery of captaincy, especially in limited-overs internationals, with the felicity with which he marshalled teams that included a host of not just former captains but also legends of the game like V.V.S. Laxman. India aren't huge on left-field decisions when it comes to the captaincy of the national side. In modern times, Mohammad Azharuddin was the first to be pulled out of reasonable anonymity to marshall the 'Team of the '90s' by Raj Singh Dungarpur at the start of the first decade of the last millennium. More than a decade and a half later, Dilip Vengsarkar's selection panel identified Dhoni as the man best suited to take India into the future, appointing him captain for the T20 World Cup in 2007 after the triumvirate of Dravid (then the Test and ODI leader), Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly decided to give the tournament a miss. That squad of 15 included Sehwag, who had already led India, as well as Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj. Dhoni's ascension took many by surprise and didn't go down well with many others, including some picked to play under him. But the wisdom of the Vengsarkar-led panel's move became evident when, out of the blue, he masterminded a wonderful charge to the title that would inexorably change the landscape of Indian cricket. When Dravid stepped down from the captaincy, Dhoni was made the full-fledged white-ball skipper and was the captain-in-waiting when it came to the five-day version, benefiting immensely from the one-year apprenticeship under the champion that Kumble is. Dhoni's captaincy career that ran between 2007 and the end of 2016 (he didn't receive the Test captaincy until December 2008 and gave it up in December 2014, when he abruptly retired from the longer format) was a bountiful phase for Indian cricket. The T20 World Cup triumph was followed in alternate years by India's ascension to the No. 1 spot in Test cricket (December 2009), the 50-over World Cup title run at home (April 2011) and Champions Trophy glory in England (June 2013). 2⃣0⃣0⃣7⃣ ICC World T20 winning captain 2⃣0⃣1⃣1⃣ ICC Cricket World Cup winning captain 2⃣0⃣1⃣3⃣ ICC Champions Trophy winning captain 1️⃣ Led India to the top spot in ICC Test rankings for the first time in 2009 🙌 Congratulations to the legendary former #TeamIndia Captain MS… — BCCI (@BCCI) June 9, 2025 There was also the small matter of a Test series win in New Zealand in early 2009, India's first victory in that country for 33 years. But Dhoni did give the impression that he was more at home in the demanding, compressed cauldron of limited-overs internationals than the slow burn of Test cricket where he didn't quite have the pace resources for his team to compete consistently outside the sub-continent. The legend of Dhoni the Finisher grew with time, his insistence on taking the game 'deep' and invariably getting the job done lending a surreal, otherworldly aura to the bruiser. He shed his flowing locks on being entrusted with greater responsibility, perhaps his subtle well of telling himself – he hasn't really bothered too much about sending messages to the world – that it was time for the boy to become a man. He oversaw some of India's bleakest Test campaigns, marked by successive whitewashes in four-Test overseas series in England (2011) and Australia (2011-12, where he missed the first Test). But he had enough credit points and the confidence of the men who ran Indian cricket to not just survive these misadventures but also come out stronger. One only has to consider the sea of yellow at every IPL venue for the last several years, no matter where Chennai Super Kings are playing, to grasp the true extent of the love, regard, respect and admiration India's cricket followers have for the one immortalised as 'Thala' in the Tamil Nadu capital. His sense of timing was never more apparent than in 2018 when he spearheaded CSK's fairytale title charge as they returned to the IPL after a two-year suspension. That period perhaps was the only time Dhoni allowed his emotions to overwhelm him in public space. Otherwise, he has been inscrutable and equanimous in the face of victory and defeat, in light of dizzying heights and terrible depths, both of which he has encountered in ample measure. India's 11th entrant into the hallowed Hall of Fame is in excellent company. He made all the right noises to 'celebrate' his induction, including saying it was something he would 'cherish forever'. He will, yes, just as Indian cricket too will cherish him forever. A regular Joe with the same fears and apprehensions and doubts and insecurities as anyone else, but an extraordinary performer who has found the fortitude and the wherewithal to overcome the odds and set himself up as an inspiration for millions, especially those from one-time cricketing outposts who could dare to dream that their dreams would come to fruition. Take a bow, MS.


News18
44 minutes ago
- News18
Virat Kohli's Brother Vikas Reacts To Rahul Vaidya's Blocking Row: ‘Isse Achha Singing Pe Dhyan Dete'
Last Updated: Singer Rahul Vaidya opens up about being blocked by Virat Kohli and reveals how Vikas Kohli reacted to the controversy involving Avneet Kaur. The tension between singer Rahul Vaidya and cricketer Virat Kohli made headlines recently, sparking online buzz and fan backlash. The issue began when Rahul hinted that the RCB champion had liked a post featuring actress Avneet Kaur, prompting a response that shook social media. Rahul later claimed that Virat blocked him following the comment, and also alleged that the cricketer's fans targeted his family – including his wife and daughter – with abusive messages. Now, in a recent chat with Instant Bollywood, Rahul has opened up further about the fallout. He shared that Virat's brother, Vikas Kohli, personally reached out to him after the incident and expressed displeasure about his public remarks involving the Indian cricket star. Rahul recalled, 'After the incident, his brother had said some things to me. 'Isse accha aap apni singing pe dhyaan dijiye.' He is the same Vikas Kohli who had met me outside a stadium in Manchester and praised my singing. But I know how it feels because these small controversies also have an impact on the person's family. He did not like whatever was happening, and that's the reason he said all these things to me." Reflecting on what Vikas said, the singer added, ''Aap kyu Virat ke baare mein bol rahe ho? Aap kyu publicity le rahe ho?' He said something like this, I don't remember the exact words. Then he said, 'Isse achha toh aap apne singing pe dhyan dete.' I know Vikas is a good guy, and I have not taken anything he said to my heart. Because the problem is that people just want to react without even knowing what the matter is." For those unfamiliar, the drama began when Rahul commented on Virat allegedly liking a social media post related to Avneet Kaur. Things escalated when Rahul revealed he was blocked by Kohli and became the target of fan outrage, including verbal attacks aimed at his loved ones. This ongoing back-and-forth has drawn mixed reactions online, with many weighing in on whether celebrities should call each other out publicly or handle matters privately. First Published: June 10, 2025, 21:21 IST


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Scars of Beauty OTT Release Date: When and where to watch Camila Pitanga & Giovanna Antonelli's Brazilian series
Scars of Beauty OTT Release Date: There's something about Brazilian dramas that makes them stand out, their unapologetic emotions, twisted family secrets, and the thrill of revenge. And now, Indian audiences can finally immerse themselves in one of Brazil's most-talked-about shows of 2024. Scars of Beauty, or Beleza Fatal as it's known in Portuguese, is all set to premiere on JioHotstar on June 26, 2025. The plot that hooks you in from the first scene At its heart, Scars of Beauty is about betrayal, vengeance, and the scars, both emotional and physical, that define us. The series begins with a tragedy: a fire that destroys the life of young Sofia, played by Camila Queiroz. Her mother, Cléo, is wrongly imprisoned, thanks to a malicious scheme orchestrated by Sofia's own aunt, Lola, portrayed by the brilliant Camila Pitanga. The trauma doesn't stop there. Cléo dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving Sofia orphaned and fueled by a growing hunger for justice. Adopted by a new family - the Paixãos, who are nursing their own wounds after a botched plastic surgery leaves their daughter Rebeca in a coma, Sofia finds herself stepping into a world of wealth, secrets, and power plays. Years pass, and Sofia grows into a strong-willed woman, reinventing herself as Júlia Guimarães. She returns to confront the people who ruined her life. But things don't go as planned, especially when she crosses paths again with Gabriel, her childhood love… and Lola's son. The beauty of Scars of Beauty is that it doesn't just deal in black-and-white character arcs. Everyone's hands are dirty. Everyone's heart is bruised. A stellar cast and a creator who knows drama It helps, of course, that the show is packed with powerhouse performances. Camila Queiroz shines as Sofia. Camila Pitanga as Lola is dangerously charismatic; you'll love to hate her. Giovanna Antonelli, another Brazilian TV favourite, adds soul to the show as Elvira Paixão. Behind the camera, the series is created by Raphael Montes, the same mind behind the cult-favorite Good Morning, Verônica. Montes teams up with a strong writing team, including Mariana Torres, Victor Atherino, Manuela Cantuária, and Rafael Souza-Ribeiro. The directing baton is mostly held by Maria de Médicis after Joana Jabace stepped away from the project. Production-wise, it's slick. Shot in Rio and São Paulo, the music swells at just the right moments, and the editing keeps things tight across all 40 episodes of Season 1.