Q 1. After ducking a lightning shot from Sachin Tendulkar's bat, Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar...

a. complained to the match referee that it was a deliberate attack.
b. has decided not to stand in any match in which India is playing.
c. went to offer prayers at a local mosque.

Q 2. To commemorate their centuries at Pietermaritzburg, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly...

a. planted saplings outside the ground.
b. signed two endorsement contracts.
c. penned scathing articles against their critics.

Q 3. A group of Indian fans from Britain called the Bharat Army has complained to the icc that Australian fast bowler Brett Lee...

a. chucks the ball.
b. throws back the bottles targeted at him.
c. abuses them using Hindi profanities.

Answers: 1(c), 2(a), 3(c)

Coming Straight From the Art

PLAYING TO THE GALLERY: Swami Madhav

He is the brother of American singer-actress Barbara Streisand but he calls himself Swami Madhav Maharaj, wears saffron robes and wooden padukas. The neo-convert wants to promote European art in India and opened an "international art gallery" in Bangalore last fortnight.

Called the Masters Gallery of Fine Arts-visits by appointment only-in association with Spectrum Galleries, New York, the gallery features oil paintings from Germany and Italy on Belgian canvas, considered the finest material for paintings. He feels Indians are ready to embrace original works and masterful reproductions-from the era of Impressionism era to the Renaissance and other art epochs.

So you have an American, with a Hindu mind, selling European wares in Bangalore "because it is the most cosmopolitan city in India". The gold-leafed frames showcasing the works are pure Baroque in their opulence. A substantial part of the sale proceeds will go to the Sri Chaitanya Charitable Society.

-Stephen David

Come Together

The publishers of magazines in India have decided to stick to the adage: there's strength in unity. They launched an Association of Indian Magazines (AIM) on February 25. It will have close relations with the International Federation of Periodical Press (IFPP). Says AIM President Paresh Nath: "A magazine is a component of the print media, but they have peculiar characteristics." Here's to a profitable partnership.

The Winsome Warrior

The Indian connection is rocking the world of entertainment. On the same night that Norah Jones was sweeping the Grammys across the Atlantic, Asif Kapadia was making waves grabbing two BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards. Outside Leicester Square's Odeon theatre, Hollywood glamour ruled, complete with diamonds, designer gowns and Jimmy Choos, while inside blockbusters like Gangs of New York and Chicago took a back seat when British-born Kapadia stole the thunder with two awards for his debut movie, The Warrior. He collected the Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the year and the Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement.

"Thank you for letting us in," joked Kapadia, 27. "We thought we might win an award but not one so early." More so considering the Oscars committee had refused to accept The Warrior as a "British" entry, arguing it used a non-British language, Hindi, and was shot on foreign shores, Rajasthan.