Singham the movie was echoed in real life late one evening recently in Mangaluru as a section of the police force went on a snap protest in support of a colleague.

The real life story went like this: An inspector who had arrested someone involved in a rioting case was reported to have been asked to go on leave following political pressure. As the news of the police protest spread, people from different sections of society joined in. Following this, the inspector turned up at the site.

Elated by his appearance, the public carried him on their shoulders to the station. The city police commissioner, who was present at the venue, said that he had neither asked the inspector to go on leave nor had he sanctioned it. WhatsApp and social media circles are now referring to the inspector as ‘Mangaluru’s Singham’. Life mirroring art!

Up the down times

It is said that when superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s career was taking a nosedive, he decided to present himself his favourite luxury watch believing that it was better to go down like a king.

Something similar is happening in the case of Vijay Mallya who is all set to celebrate his 60th birthday on December 18 with his usual style and pomp, never mind that lenders and CBI officials are at his heels.

Apparently, guests are being flown in from different countries to his residence in Goa for the occasion and Enrique Iglesias will have the honour of singing “happy birthday” to the host.

It remains to be seen whether, like Bachchan, whose career revived soon after the costly buy, Mallya’s career will be resurrected.

Poetic wedding

As weddings become more and more institutionalised, ceremonial and commercial, a young couple in Kerala chose to do it in a different way. The bride, a budding Malayalam poet, collected 52 of her poems and published them in book form.

And guess who formally released the book? None other than the groom, Arun. MM Raji teaches at a higher secondary school in Ernakulam district. After the book release, Raji and Arun tied the knot. Is this what they call a textbook wedding?

Securing the borders

A high-profile meeting of directors-general of police (DGPs) is scheduled to take place at Dhordo in the border district of Kutch in Gujarat from December 18 to 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the event at which the entire internal security establishment, including Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, will be present.

Departing from tradition, Modi will not inaugurate the event but deliver the valedictory speech. As host, the Prime Minister has encouraged invitees to bring along their spouses to a tourist destination known for its sparkling white appearance during the full moon. However, keeping in view the proximity to the Indo-Pakistan border, from where the 1965 war had started, a tight security regime, including anti-aircraft guns, has been set up. Gujarat’s second chief minister, Balwantrai Mehta, his wife and six others were killed during the war in September 1965 when the aircraft in which they were flying was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force along the international border.

Who? Don’t know him

At a recent MBA careers conference in Bengaluru, the HR director of the country’s top e-commerce firm was accosted by a journalist who asked pointed questions on the firm’s HR policies. The HR director politely told the journalist to get in touch with the corporate communications head to fix up a meeting the following week. To the utter surprise of the journalist, the communications head, on being contacted, said, “I don’t know who you are talking about, I have never met him. However, I will ask one of my colleagues to revert on your request.”

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