Soumitra Das

“Almost 25 years ago, I played my first National Championship in Ahmedabad. As a 17-year-old boy, it was an amazing experience because it’s a city that has produced cue sports legends like Geet Sethi.

In a sport long dominated by powerhouses such as China, Japan, Korea Republic, Sweden and Germany, few would have expected two young paddlers from Gujarat to emerge as one of the world’s most formidable men’s doubles pairs. Vadodara’s Manush Shah (25) and Surat’s Manav Thakkar (26) have done exactly that.

The anchor of a small but outstanding exhibition of Indian and Italian masterpieces titled One Mother, Many Tongues, now on at the Humayun Tomb Museum, Delhi, is Sandro Botticelli's Madonna and Child

The mother as protector is embodied in the fearsome sculpture of the goddess Chamunda that faces Botticelli's Madonna and Child painting across the room

“Some of my most cherished memories are associated with Ahmedabad. After all, I spent my college days (he studied Chemistry at St.

Pratik Gandhi, who was in Vadodara recently for his play Hu Chandrakant Bakshi, got nostalgic while talking about his association with the city. The Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story actor, who will soon be seen in Ghamasaan, a project he is “really excited about”, tells us, “My eldest uncle lived in Vadodara, and he was a school principal here.

While Vrajesh, her elder brother, is six years older than her, racer Mira Erda tells us, “Despite the age difference, we work really well together. He has always been my Secret Santa, and our bond has evolved beautifully over the years.” Vrajesh adds, “The moment I get a hint about what she needs, I love gifting it to her.” On Raksha Bandhan, the siblings, who joined us for a fun shoot, talk about their plans and the special bond they share.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who was one of Team India's most reliable batters in Test cricket and played a key role in Team India's first ever test series win on Australian soil in 2018-19, says watching cricket matches on TV with his grandfather (Shivlal Pujara) and father (Arvind Pujara) during childhood was one of the key reasons he fell in love with the sport. Pujara, who has 19 Test centuries to his name, tells us, "My grandfather was a cricketer, and my father played the sport too.

Harmeet Desai, a three-time Commonwealth Games medallist and Asian Games medallist, is an Arjuna Award-winning athlete and an important member of the Indian table tennis team. Talking about how he fell in love with TT, he shares, “I was just six years old when my father brought a TT table home.

Manush Shah with his first coach Shailesh Gosain To say Manush Shah has made rapid strides in the past few months will be an understatement.