Latest news with #SoBo
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
How community journals are soldering on against winds of change
MUMBAI: In a city where identities jostle as tightly as commuters on a local train, Mumbai's regional, community-based publications continue to thrive—quiet sentinels of memory, language and belonging. While 'Parsiana', the polished SoBo journal of Zoroastrian life, is perhaps the most well-known with its global readership, it is within the pages of the less celebrated but equally vibrant Marathi, Gujarati and Konkani periodicals that the city's diverse inner lives find an expression. While Urdu journal 'Shayar' folded up after a 93-year run in 2023, 'Kalnirnay' stands out as a rare success. Consider 'Marmik', the Marathi weekly founded in 1960 by Bal Thackeray. Initially conceived as a political cartoon magazine, it quickly transformed into a platform for Marathi pride and grievance—what the late Sena supremo described as 'anxieties of a community pushed to the margins of its own city'. It eventually galvanised a linguistic identity into a political force, showing the mettle of regional publications. But beyond political assertion lies a quieter world of Marathi magazines and journals. 'Society newsletters, temple magazines and monthly cultural journals continue to hum gently,' says Dr Vidyesh Kulkarni, a Pune-based scholar who chronicled these for his doctoral thesis in 1991. He points to titles such as 'Sahyadri', 'Antarpat' and 'Deepstambh', which offer poetry, short fiction, essays on saints and rituals, and commentary on theatre and literature. 'Produced by cultural mandals, these magazines circulate through homes, temples and libraries—carrying the scent of agarbatti and old paper. They are cultural bridges between generations.' However, Kulkarni notes a growing fragmentation. 'There's a tendency I call 'sociocultural meiosis and mitosis' — where every sub-group within a community demands its own platform. In the age of WhatsApp and social media, this proliferation is becoming unsustainable.' Among Marathi publications, 'Kalnirnay' stands out as a rare success. For 53 years, it has had a pan-Maharashtra presence. 'It began as a way to democratise the panchang, but quickly became more than an almanac,' says Shakti Salgaonkar, the current director. 'The back pages featured writers like Durgabai Bhagwat and P L Deshpande. We've included recipes, lifestyle columns, even train timetables.' So deeply woven is 'Kalnirnay' into the Maharashtrian ethos that its jingle is played on the shehnai at weddings and naming ceremonies. Mumbai's Gujarati-speaking communities offer a similarly layered ecosystem. 'Kutchi Patrika', a newsletter for the Kutchi Jain community, has run for over 60 years. 'It's our mainstay for news, obituaries and event updates,' says Kanji Savla Vamik, part of the team that produces and distributes it. 'It's particularly vital to the Kutchi Visa Oswal Jain community, whose ties stretch across the world.' Religious institutions also publish journals — 'Anand Yatra', 'Shree Yamuna Krupa', 'Vallabh Ashray'—distributing discourses, festival calendars, and moral reflections. 'We tried to keep the younger generation connected,' says Hemal Rawani, who edited 'Raghuvansham' till it shut in 2005. 'But it's a losing battle—they don't even want to learn the language.' His lament finds an echo in Hamid Siddiqui who recalls with anguish the folding up of the Urdu 'Shayar' after a 93-year inning. 'Despite being a top-notch literary publication, it was becoming increasingly unsustainable to produce and we had to stop in 2023,' he says, recounting how his family still 'has sack-loads of the mail' from the readers. 'I wonder why none of them came forward to keep 'Shayar' going…' Among Mumbai's Konkani-speaking communities—Catholics, Goud Saraswat Brahmins, and others—journals have long served as spiritual and cultural anchors. Weekly 'Raknno', printed in Roman-script Konkani since 1938 and distributed from Mangalore to Mumbai, blends religious reflection, fiction and news, often touching on migration, memory, and the sea. Closer home, 'Voice of GSB', a monthly GSB Konkani magazine, features articles on festivals, recipes, wedding traditions and proverbs. What binds these publications—across language, caste, and faith—is their intimacy. They are not driven by TRPs or algorithms. Their contributors are often retired teachers, community elders or enthusiastic youth. Their pages, modest in print and design, pulse with lived experience. 'They are guardians of language in a city where English and Hindi often drown out the subtler cadences of mother tongues,' says Dr Kulkarni. 'In their pages, Marathi, Gujarati and Konkani breathe—not as relics, but as living entities that argue, console and dream.' To read them is to walk the bylanes of Matunga, Dadar, Girgaon and Mahim, listening in on the inner life of communities that built this city long before it reached for the skies.
News18
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Akshay Kumar Calls Haiwaan Co-Star Saif Ali Khan's Humour ‘Very SoBo': ‘Mera Andheri Ke Aage…'
Akshay Kumar opened up about reuniting with Saif Ali Khan in Priyadarshan's Haiwaan, 17 years after Tashan. He called Saif a very funny guy! Akshay Kumar has an exciting line-up of films, including Priyadarshan's Bhooth Bangla, Hera Pheri 3, and others. He is also set to star in Priyadarshan's next film titled 'Haiwaan', which also stars Saif Ali Khan. This film marks Akshay and Saif's on-screen reunion 17 years after the film Tashan. Days after the director announced the film on social media, Akshay Kumar has now opened up about the project, expressing his excitement to work with Saif after so many years. Akshay Kumar called Saif Ali Khan a funny guy and pointed out a major difference in their sense of humour. He said Saif's is more 'SoBo' (South Bombay), while his own sense of humour reflects Mumbai's suburbs Andheri and Borivali. While speaking with Hindustan Times about reuniting with Saif Ali Khan in Haiwaan, Akshay Kumar said, 'It's great that I am working again with Priyadarshan ji. And the best part is that I'm working with Saif Ali Khan again. After a long time, we are both going to come together. I am actually waiting to start shooting with him. And he is also a very funny guy. But farak ye hai uska jo humour hai wo bohot hi SoBo hai. Bohot hi South Bombay hai. Aur mera jo hai, wo Andheri Borivali ke side se jaake aage tak jaata hai. Toh dono ka humour jo hai bilkul hi alag hai. (But the difference is that his humour is very SoBo — very South Bombay. And mine is more like it starts from Andheri, goes through Borivali, and beyond. So both our styles of humour are completely different). But it's going to be so much fun shooting with him." Akshay Kumar will reportedly take on the role of the villain in Haiwaan. When asked about the film's title, the actor jokingly said, 'This is something that was written in my destiny. First, I did a film called Insaan. Then after that, I did Jaanwar. Now I'm doing Haiwaan. So the trilogy is complete — Insaan, Jaanwar, Haiwaan." However, he laughed it off and added, 'It's not something that was planned this way." As per reports, Haiwaan is the Hindi remake of the 2016 Malayalam film Oppam, which originally starred Mohanlal. On July 15, filmmaker Priyadarshan took to his Instagram to share a picture featuring Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar from the India versus England Test match at Lord's Cricket Stadium in London. The photo shows Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan enjoying a candid moment together while watching the match. Priyadarshan wrote, ''Haiwaan' my next film with @akshaykumar and and Saif Ali Khan at Lords." The film will reportedly go on floors in August this year, and will likely release in 2026. This marks the first collaboration between Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan in 17 years, following their last outing together in the 2008 film Tashan. Previously, they have collaborated on several hit films including the cult classic Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Yeh Dillagi (1994), Tu Chor Main Sipahi (1996), and Keemat (1998). Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
15-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Man signs discarded cheque book from scrap to dupe SoBo traders
MUMBAI: The police on Sunday arrested a 56-year-old scrap dealer for allegedly cheating several traders and shopkeepers from south Mumbai by placing bulk orders and paying through cheques from a chequebook that was lost by its original owners. Man signs discarded cheque book from scrap to dupe SoBo traders The accused, Bharat Nimavat, is a resident of Shivai Nagar in Thane West. He earns a living as a scrap dealer and a real estate broker. Police said Nimavat visited south Mumbai whenever he found discarded cheque books in scrap. The complainant, Viraj Jain, 26, owns a marble shop in the Gol Deval area in Bhuleshwar. According to the complaint, on June 13, the accused posed as a trustee of a private trust looking to buy 31 heaters for the trust's newly constructed rooms. He purchased Racold heaters, which cost ₹1.27 lakh, and signed two cheques for it. On the delivery day, the accused insisted on collecting the heaters from the street instead of providing a location. 'When the complainant deposited the cheques in the bank, they bounced. So, he approached the VP Road police,' said a police officer. The police registered a case under sections 319 (cheating by personation) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Under the supervision of deputy commissioner of police Mohit Garg and senior police inspector Jagdish Kulkarni, assistant police inspector Vishal Gaikwad began investigating the complaint. The police traced the cheque to its owner, a Satara-based businessman, who had his bank block it as he had lost the chequebook. 'We learnt that the accused had called the complainant on the phone, but when the police traced the person in whose name the mobile number was registered, it turns out he purchased the SIM card by registering it by a different name,' said a police officer. After studying the call details record (CDR), the police reached Thane's Shivai Nagar where they used CCTV footage of the accused to identify Nimavat. 'We picked him up. Initially, he denied having anything to do with the episode, but later confessed to the crime,' said the officer. The police said Nimavat has similarly cheated a dry fruits trader by taking hundreds of kilograms of cashews and almonds from him and by paying through cheques. He had several cheating cases registered against him in Thane, Vakola and Panvel police stations, the officer added.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Hindu
Is Mumbai really the best city for dating? Here's the truth
Mumbai means a hundred things to a hundred people. It is the City of Dreams, the land of hustle, the place you come to find your break, or yourself. Every year, thousands arrive chasing a new start, pulled by its promise of anonymity, ambition, and some version of freedom. It is where people say you can discover your identity, your kink, your person. Maybe that is why, in Time Out's recent global survey, Mumbai was named the best city in the world for dating, with 72% of locals saying it is easy to find love here. But in a city where friendships blur into networking and meet-cutes are sidelined by side hustles, relationships can start to feel like one more thing to optimise. Here, even intimacy is scheduled between meetings. And yet, despite it all, people still believe in the possibility of connection. Maybe that is Mumbai's greatest trick — it wears you down, yet keeps you open. Take, for instance, Kim Rebeiro, a 31-year-old pastry chef in Andheri. She describes her twenties in Mumbai as a dopamine-fuelled blur of late-night swipes and midnight texts. 'Swiping right at a remotely cute, unavailable South Bombay (SoBo)/struggling artist and instantly getting a match was a welcome validation for this wandering, low self-esteemed, egoistic alt girl,' she recalls. 'The anticipation of a first date, the ones that followed, the constant buzz of connection, it felt intoxicating.' But that euphoria did not last. 'The longing for something real almost always turns out to be a disguise for situationships or just hollow sex and alcohol-driven nights,' Kim says. 'By the end of my twenties, I'd stopped looking for a real connection entirely.' Today, she sees dating as more performative than ever: 'The available men are probably already in healthy relationships, trying to be emotionally present. Until then, I'll take my life lessons from Mumbai's subpar dating void and grow.' Love in the fast lane Also, Mumbai, not Bombay. Because this version of the city, one that today's daters navigate, is shifting. In contrast to the stereotype of the chronically non-committal urban millennial, young singles in Mumbai are surprisingly intentional. According to Tinder's Future of Dating report, the city's most popular relationship goal is 'short-term, open to long' — a choice that reflects flexibility, not flippancy. Nearly 48% of young Mumbaikars say situationships are their current preference, as they offer connection without the heavy pressure of long-term expectations. But make no mistake: this is not about emotional detachment. 60% say that being upfront about dating intentions actually makes someone more attractive. It is not a fear of commitment; it is a desire for clarity. And yet, love in Mumbai still demands stamina. The city moves fast, both literally and emotionally. According to an IDFC Institute and Uber report, the average Mumbaikar spends nearly two hours a day commuting, losing up to 11 days a year just in transit. Even basic logistics — like planning a date — become monumental tasks when your weekday ends with a 90-minute train ride and a delayed dinner. Public relations professional Kabeer Khan, who lived in Mumbai for a decade before moving to Bengaluru around six months ago, knows this all too well. 'Mumbai is intense,' he says. 'Even if you want to date, the city demands a lot — your time, your energy just to cross town. You could really like someone, but meeting them for dinner might still involve a sweaty train ride and a long walk. That adds pressure.' And yet, Kabeer does not believe people in the city deprioritise dating. Quite the opposite. 'Especially folks in their late twenties, like me, are looking for something serious now,' he says. 'You just want someone who understands the hustle. That's why so many people end up dating within their workplace or social ecosystem.' But over the years, he has noticed a shift. 'When I first moved here, things were slower. You'd spend weeks, even months, in a talking stage. Now, with dating apps, it feels programmed — match, chat, move on. The accessibility is great, but it's also changed how we approach connection. It's quicker, but more transactional.' That sense of performative connection — and the pressure to always be 'on' — is especially magnified for assigned male at birth (Amab) folks navigating visibility, desire, and burnout. Delhi born Vidur Sethi, a performing artist and curator living in Bandra, is candid about how that plays out. 'Casual dating and sex feel more accessible in Mumbai. It's safer, and there are parties and events with beautiful queer performances everywhere,' they say. 'But it's great for quick encounters, not for building something that lasts.' The illusion of radical openness, Vidur says, often hides the emotional labour required to actually sustain love. 'People confuse Mumbai's surface-level openness with a radical sense of queerness. But real love needs effort, repair, maintenance, joy. Even in polycules or open relationships, the ethics are often missing because sex and social capital are easier to access than care.' In a city that sells freedom as a product, the line between liberation and commodification often blurs. Can we just hang? Tejaswi Subramanian, a journalist and researcher who moved to Mumbai just over a year ago, sees dating here as 'a structured escape.' 'People in Mumbai are exhausted. Everyone's holding together jobs, families, emotional survival. So dating becomes this pocket of fantasy. But many don't have the relational skills to do more than that.' In earlier cities she called home — like Goa or Bengaluru — Tejaswi describes a culture of casual, spontaneous bonding. 'You could just say, 'Come over, let's hang.' There didn't need to be an agenda. But in Mumbai, no one does unstructured hangs. It's like, 'Let's meet for game night,' or 'Let's talk about this idea.' If you invite someone to just be, they get thrown off.' That structuring seeps into dating too. 'There's a whole grammar now around soft-launching relationships on Instagram, how you introduce someone to your friends. It feels performative. People talk about wanting long-term relationships, but when one comes their way, they panic. They're not emotionally equipped to show up.' Among queer folks especially, Tejaswi notes, there's a hunger for connection—but a lack of imagination about what that might look like long-term. 'Many of us weren't allowed to explore romantic or emotional possibilities growing up. So even now, we default to experimentation. That's not necessarily bad—but it does mean that building something substantial often feels unfamiliar. People want love. They just don't always know what to do with it when it arrives.'
News18
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Farah Khan Roasts Karan Johar's ‘Ovary-Pad-A' Accent In LOL-Worthy Mumbai Quiz
Last Updated: On a throwback episode of Farah's YouTube channel, the filmmaker duo proved once again that no one trolls KJo quite like Farah. Farah Khan and Karan Johar are back with their signature banter and it's an all-out roast session disguised as a geography test. On a throwback episode of Farah's YouTube channel, the filmmaker duo proved once again that no one trolls KJo quite like Farah, especially when it comes to anything outside of SoBo or Bandra. To celebrate Karan's birthday week, Farah decided to test his Mumbai-ness with a little game: guess the name of various suburban areas in and around the city. First up was Bhandup, which Karan confidently mispronounced as 'Bhand-up." Then came Ovaripada, which got an even more, erm, creative twist – 'Ovary-pad-a." We're not sure whether to laugh or call a gynaecologist. By the time Farah quizzed him on Asangaon, KJo went full French, pronouncing it as 'Assaun-je." Just when we thought the game was lost, Karan pulled a wild card and nailed 'Chinchpokli." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Farah Khan Kunder (@farahkhankunder) Sharing a clip of the hilarity on Instagram, Farah wrote, 'Another classic frm @karanjohar n me! Let the birthday celebrations continue for full episode go to my YouTube channel pls." The episode wasn't all just tongue twisters and trolling, though. Earlier that day, Farah gave fans a sneak peek into Karan's birthday bash. She showed off the flower tsunami that hit his home, bouquets, balloons, and enough petals to start a wedding. 'Aaj Karan Johar ka birthday hai," she announced while panning to the birthday boy himself, standing by the door like a gracious host (in zebra stripes, naturally). 'Yeh zebra crossing main cross karke jaun ya you will just let me enter?" she joked. Karan, with his signature sass, replied, 'It will only be your honour if you pass this zebra." With a friendship that's over two decades old, Farah and KJo continue to give fans hilarious moments. First Published:
