Peaks In ‘Plains’ Sight

Our planet is spherical—not flat, unfortunately. And so, the laws of physics don’t agree with claims of Himalayan peaks becoming visible from cities in north India hundreds of miles away. When reports of such mountain sightings from Jalandhar in Punjab and Sitamadhi and Purnia in Bihar appeared as the air became pristine clean during the 2020 Covid lockdown, retired physics professor Vijay Singh and his teenaged apprentice Arnav Singh decided to catch the curveball headlong. They got deep. With empirical evidence, they challenged a piece of history—orientalist Sir William Jones claimed in 1785 of seeing Mt Jomolhari from Bhagalpur in Bihar, 366 km away. Henry Colebrooke, another Briton, is said to have seen the peak from Purnia, 80 km from Bhagalpur. Given the Earth’s curvature, the farthest point from which Jomolhari can be seen is 300 km. But it is possible to catch a glimpse of the Dhauladhar from Jalandhar, about 200 km away.?

The Con Captain

There can’t be a man looking smarter than the dude in a military uniform—ironed olive, shiny lapels, shining boots. Captain Shekhar of the Indian Army, ramrod straight and all of 40, could make women swoon on social media. But then, this chap from Delhi is no army officer, but a private security guard who obsessed about his twin desires: to be in the military and to attract women by posing as a soldier. Dilip Kumar was arrested for impersonating an officer when he had gone to meet a “date”—and some of his previous sweethearts called in the cops. His paraphernalia included a fake ID as well. Now, we couldn’t be sure if Dilip Kumar is his real name after his playacting of four months.

Family Size Matters

When it comes to children, how many is too many? Ask Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and he will say TWO. Ask Mizoram sports minister Robert Romawia Royte and he backs a big family, numbers unspecified. On Father’s Day, Royte announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to “a living parent” with the most number of children in his constituency to encourage a baby boom among Mizos—who account for just over 1 million people. The minister’s announcement came a week after the death of Zion-a Chana, 76, who headed a family of 38 wives, 89 children and 33 grandchildren. For its part, Assam is all for population control. Sarma champions a two-child policy—state-funded schemes and jobs will be available only to two-kid parents.

Planet Of The Primates

Delhi is full of monkeys. Yes, Delhi is full of rhesus macaques and one of them sneaked into a Metro train, ambled around in a coach, did playful antics, climbed onto the handrail bar before traipsing to the neighbouring -compartment and settled down a seat. Video footage of the primate cavorting and roaming in the coaches was widely shared on social media. This also triggered a singular, reflexive question: how did Dunston check in, and take a free ride? The Metro administration assures passenger safety is paramount and SOPs are being planned to deal with such “unexpected situations”. In the past, a person was hired to scare away monkeys by mimicking a langur’s voice.

Devil Of A Pastor

Followers of a cult leader in predominantly Christian Meghalaya, whose influence spreads over remote villages of seven districts in the Khasi Jaintia Hills region, don’t avail themselves of any government support such as jobs, housing, grain, toilets, polio inoculation, medicines et al, and adults stay away from voting. That’s because Phawa, a rogue pastor, preaches against such schemes. He tells parents not to send children to schools and calls the Aadhaar number “akin to being marked by the devil”. Phawa went into hiding when officials found the cause of the low turnout in the 2018 assembly elections. He told his followers to abstain. And from his hiding place he has done it again—asking people not to get vaccinated for the coronavirus. This explains reports of low Covid vaccination in several pockets.

Brevis

Illustrations: Saahil, Text curated by Alka Gupta