His unconventional playing calls have marked Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India’s most innovative cricketer. Off the field, the alpha male, otherwise obsessed with bikes, has swiftly morphed into a loving and devoted dad. Anjali Doshi decodes his mind and mystique
Fatherhood makes people do strange things. An alpha male shows no hesitation in carrying a man purse. An intensely private person doesn’t object to personal interactions being broadcast on social media. A man who has long suspected the futility of the rat race embraces the idea that achievement is essentially an illusion, as useful as it may be in earning fame and wealth. MS Dhoni seems to have discovered much joy — and a softer side — in fatherhood, using all his spare time on the IPL trail to bond with daughter Ziva. For a man otherwise obsessed with motorbikes, fighter jets and the armed forces, Dhoni seems just as ready now to discuss baby food, colic and the terrible twos. Perhaps, there’s no real surprise here. His roots may lie in the chauvinistic crannies and nooks of Ranchi, but the most influential figures in his life have been women he would describe as smart and strong: his mother Devaki Devi, sister Jayanti and wife Sakshi.
Will he ever be as loved as Sachin Tendulkar? unlikely. Will he ever be as highly regarded a batsman as Virat Kohli? Surely not. Can he be considered India’s most innovative and unusual cricketer, on and off the field? Almost certainly.
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Denne historien er fra June 2016-utgaven av Verve.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.
