THE VERSATILE ACTOR RECALLS MAGICAL MOMENTS FROM HIS LIFE AND ACTION-PACKED CAREER
by ASJAD NAZIR
PROLIFIC Indian actor Mukul Dev has had an action-packed career that has seen him mix up big commercial movies in multiple languages with turns on television.
He has worked with many big names throughout his career, including starring opposite Madhuri Dixit and playing a lead role in Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar’s final film Qila. He continues to be in demand as an actor, recently announcing two historical films and has also successfully started writing.
Working on diverse projects and genres, along with landmarks in his personal life, has gifted the younger brother of actor Rahul Dev many great moments.
Eastern Eye got Mukul Dev to take a trip down memory lane to talk about some of his most memorable life moments. Before selecting the moments, he said, “I have been gifted with many great memories and am thankful for each one of them. Here are some memorable moments from my life that immediately come to mind.”
My heroic father: I will never forget my father getting gallantry awards for his bravery. There was a particular one he received for saving an entire police station at Daryagunj, which was surrounded and supposed to be lit up. He went there and managed the entire mob alone, and got a gallantry award for that. That’s something I remember well.
Childhood: There are so many childhood memories that have remained with me. My elder brother (Rahul Dev) used to bowl me out while playing cricket. I used to sit there, cry and ask him to let me bat again.
Faith: Another moment I cannot forget was when my mother introduced me to the Buddhist way. She introduced me to the lotus sutra, the mystic law of our environment and Gautam Buddha. That day was memorable. This has come in so handy for me.
Take off: I was a pilot before I became an actor. So I will never forget clearing my flying academy exams and getting a scholarship to become a commercial pilot. I could have not have asked for anything better. I was ranked number four among so many pilots across the country, from one of the best training schools called Indira Gandhi Udaan Academy. I was so thrilled to know that I would be a commercial pilot.
Flying solo: A proud memory is of the first time I flew a plane solo. This was back in 1991. When you are a pilot, there is a time when the instructor releases you to fly solo. There is no one else besides you. That was a great moment.
Flight emergency: While training as a pilot, I had another moment which was so memorable. It wasn’t a happy one though. An emergency occurred when we were flying from Rai Bareilly in the north to the southern coast. And before we hit Trivandrum, there was really bad weather. We were in such a lurch. We were rookies and had no idea how to land. How we managed to land the aircraft that was in a hellish situation in the air is something I can never forget. That was the closest I have been to seeing death right in front of my eyes. I can never forget that. Experiences like that make you more grateful to be alive, so shouldn’t be forgotten.
Incredible landing: During flying, there was another scary moment – when I was flying and my runway was obstructed. A plane had landed and couldn’t move, so I had only half the runway available for myself. I landed on half a runway, while SAS communicating with my chief instructor. He guided me step by step and helped avert an emergency.
Big call: When I was in Mumbai I got a call from Mr Amitabh Bachchan’s office, saying they wanted me to do a film for them. It was my first film, which unfortunately didn't see the light of the day. For the first time, I was sitting next to Mrs Jaya Bachchan and Mr Amitabh Bachchan walked out, and I can never ever forget that moment.
Acting debut: An unforgettable milestone was of course when I got the Best Debut award. They nominated me and said that you are the best debutant. This happened in 1996 with my film Dastak. That’s something I fondly remember.
Madhuri magic: A great career experience for me was when I got to work with Madhuri Dixit in Wajood (1998) who was the lead heroine opposite me. I felt like a complete clown dancing with her and that’s something that brings a smile.
Ultimate compliment: Another wonderful experience would be when I got the opportunity to work with Mr Dilip Kumar in Qila. He complimented me and said that you are an amazing actor. One of the big magazines carried that. I could not have ever dreamed that someone like Mr Dilip Kumar would compliment me on my acting skills.
My child: The day my daughter was born, back in 2002, is etched in my memory. It was December 30 and I was in Delhi. I got a call late in the night from my ex-wife and flew down immediately. The next morning the moment when I held her in my arms just aces everything else that has happened to me.
Proud father: I remember with pride the moment when my daughter was getting into the Sriram school in Delhi. It was a difficult thing. She passed with flying colours. She was still a young kid, so we were so worried if she would get it, but she did through her sheer IQ. That’s one moment I can hardly forget. Holy meeting: I got an opportunity to meet his holiness Dalai Lama at the Buddhist monastery in Dharamshala. That day is imprinted in my mind. The calmness and joy that you experience when he is around you is surreal.
Write direction: I am an actor, who now also writes, and that passion stems from my love for reading. When I started writing Omerta, it wasn’t with the intention of making it into a film. But then filmmaker Hansal Mehta picked it up and turned it into a movie. Writing is one of many interests I have and I am sure will give me more moments like Omerta, but acting will always be my priority.
Survey of more than 12,000 UK women finds heavier, longer periods linked to long Covid
Symptom severity rises and falls across the menstrual cycle, worsening during periods
Tests reveal inflammation in womb lining and hormonal changes, but no damage to ovaries
Iron deficiency risk may exacerbate fatigue, dizziness and other common long Covid symptoms
Study highlights link between long Covid and menstrual changes
Women with long Covid are more likely to experience longer and heavier periods, putting them at increased risk of iron deficiency, researchers have found. The findings come from a UK survey of more than 12,000 women, which also showed that the severity of long Covid symptoms fluctuated across the menstrual cycle and often worsened during menstruation.
Findings from UK survey
Between March and May 2021, 12,187 women completed an online survey. Of these, more than 1,000 had long Covid, over 1,700 had recovered from the virus, and 9,400 had never tested positive. The study revealed that women with long Covid reported heavier and longer periods, as well as more frequent bleeding between cycles, compared with other groups.
A follow-up survey with 54 women showed that symptoms worsened in the two days before and during menstruation, pointing to a strong link between hormonal changes and long Covid severity.
Biological markers and test results
Researchers also analysed blood samples from 10 women with long Covid. These tests showed excessive inflammation in the womb lining and elevated levels of the hormone dihydrotestosterone, both of which may drive heavier menstrual bleeding. Importantly, there was no evidence that long Covid damaged ovary function.
Risks of iron deficiency
Heavier periods increase the risk of iron deficiency, which is already common among women of child-bearing age. Symptoms of iron deficiency — such as fatigue, shortness of breath and dizziness — overlap with common long Covid complaints, leaving women particularly vulnerable.
Dr Jacqueline Maybin of the University of Edinburgh, who led the work, said the findings could pave the way for more tailored treatments for women. “Our hope is that this will allow us to develop really specific treatments for women with long Covid who are suffering with menstrual disturbance. It may also lead to female-specific treatments for long Covid itself.”
Global and national impact of long Covid
An estimated 400 million people worldwide are living with or recovering from long Covid. In England alone, nearly 2 million people self-report as having symptoms lasting more than four weeks after infection. More than 200 symptoms have been recorded, with the most common including fatigue, brain fog, breathing difficulties, digestive problems, headaches and changes to smell and taste.
Expert views on treatment potential
Dr Viki Male, a reproductive immunology specialist at Imperial College London, said the findings support a biological explanation for the link. “Inflammation in the uterus is associated with heavy menstrual bleeding, so this could be the link between long Covid and prolonged or heavy periods,” she explained. She added that anti-inflammatory drugs already used to treat heavy periods may also be effective for women experiencing this symptom as part of long Covid.
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The discovery coincides with Bradford’s City of Culture celebrations
Research for the World Curry Festival uncovered evidence of a curry house in Bradford in 1942.
Cafe Nasim, later called The Bengal Restaurant, is thought to be the city’s first.
The discovery coincides with Bradford’s City of Culture celebrations.
Festival events will include theatre, lectures, and a street food market.
Historic discovery in Bradford’s food heritage
Bradford’s claim as the curry capital of Britain has gained new historical depth. Organisers of the World Curry Festival have uncovered evidence that the city’s first curry house opened in 1942.
Documents revealed that Cafe Nasim, later renamed The Bengal Restaurant, once stood on the site of the current Kashmir Restaurant on Morley Street. Researcher David Pendleton identified an advert for the cafe in the Yorkshire Observer dated December 1942, describing it as “Bradford’s First Indian Restaurant”.
Festival organisers confirm findings
Festival founder Zulfi Karim said the discovery ended long-standing debate over which was Bradford’s first curry house. For years, different establishments had laid claim to the title, including restaurants from the 1950s and the Sweet Centre in 1964.
“This was during the Second World War, so it’s hard to imagine what ingredients they had access to with rationing,” Mr Karim said. “Even the current owner of Kashmir Restaurant thought it only went back to the 1950s.”
Bangladeshi roots of curry in Britain
Mr Karim highlighted the role of Bangladeshi immigrants in establishing Britain’s curry houses, noting that many early arrivals to the UK were former Navy workers. “That’s 80 years plus now since we’ve had a curry house in Bradford and that’s a huge story,” he added.
World Curry Festival 2025
The festival, first launched in Leeds in 2008, is being held in Bradford this year as part of the City of Culture 2025 celebrations. Running from 15–29 September, it will feature a mix of food, culture and performance.
Highlights include:
Theatre of Curry: A staged reading of Balti Kings (1999) by Sudha Bhuchar and Shaheen Khan, with curry served during the interval.
Supper club experiences.
Talks by Dr Amir Khan on nutrition and preserving authentic recipes.
Preserving the future of curry
Mr Karim stressed the importance of supporting the industry, which faces challenges due to a shortage of new talent.
“We need to keep it local, keep it authentic, and encourage people to enjoy it but also learn to cook at home,” he said.
Finding romance today feels like trying to align stars in a night sky that refuses to stay still
When was the last time you stumbled into a conversation that made your heart skip? Or exchanged a sweet beginning to a love story - organically, without the buffer of screens, swipes, or curated profiles? In 2025, those moments feel rarer, swallowed up by the quickening pace of life.
We are living faster than ever before. Cities hum with noise and neon, people race between commitments, and ambition seems to be the rhythm we all march to. In the process, the simple art of connection - eye contact, lingering conversations, the gentle patience of getting to know someone - feels like it is slipping through our fingers.
Whether you’re single, searching, or settled, the landscape is shifting. Some turn to apps for convenience; others look for love in cafés, gyms, workplaces or community spaces. But the challenge remains the same: how do we connect deeply in a world designed to move at lightning speed?
We’ve become fluent in productivity, in chasing careers, in cultivating polished identities. Yet are we forgetting how to be fluent in intimacy? When was the last time you sat across from someone and truly listened - without checking your phone, without planning the next step, without treating time like a currency to be spent?
It’s a strange paradox: we have more access to people than ever before, yet many feel more isolated. Fun is always available - dinners, drinks, nights out, fleeting encounters - but fulfilment is harder to grasp. Are we mistaking access for intimacy? Are we human, or are we slowly adapting into versions of ourselves stripped of those raw, humanistic qualities - vulnerability, patience, tenderness - that once defined love?
Perhaps we’ve grown comfortable with the fast exit. It’s easier to ghost than to explain. Easier to keep moving than to pause. But what does that cost us? What do we lose when romance becomes a checkbox on an already overstuffed to-do list?
The truth is - the heart doesn’t move at the pace of technology or ambition. It moves slowly, awkwardly, with a rhythm that resists acceleration. Maybe that’s the point. Love has always lived in the messy spaces - hesitant pauses, nervous laughter, words spoken without rehearsal.
So the real question for 2025 is not “Have we gone too far?” but “Can we afford to slow down?” Can we still allow ourselves the sweetness of beginnings - the chance encounters, the unplanned moments, the quiet courage to be open?
Because in the end, connection is not about speed or access—it’s about presence. In a world that won’t stop moving, choosing to be present might be the bravest act of love we have left.
Instagram & TikTok: @Bombae.mix
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Researchers from the UK and US analysed data from American households between 2004 and 2019
Hotter days linked to greater intake of sugary drinks and frozen desserts
Lower-income households most affected, research finds
Climate change could worsen health risks linked to sugar consumption
Study based on 15 years of US household food purchasing data
Sugary consumption rising with heat
People are more likely to consume sugary drinks and ice cream on warmer days, particularly in lower-income households, according to new research. The study warns that climate change could intensify this trend, adding to health risks as global temperatures continue to rise.
Sugar consumption is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and has surged worldwide in recent decades. The findings, published in Nature Climate Change, suggest that rising heat could be nudging more people towards high-sugar products such as soda, juice and ice cream.
Climate link to diet
Researchers from the UK and US analysed data from American households between 2004 and 2019 and compared purchases with local weather conditions. They found that for every additional degree Celsius within the range of 12–30°C, people consumed an extra 0.7 grams of sugar per day on average.
Those with lower incomes or less education were the most affected, according to the study. Under worst-case climate scenarios, disadvantaged groups could be consuming up to five additional grams of sugar daily by the end of the century, lead author Pan He of Cardiff University told AFP.
Beyond recommended limits
The American Heart Association recommends a maximum daily intake of 36 grams of added sugar for men and 24 grams for women. However, most Americans already consume two to three times these amounts. A single can of soda contains about 40 grams of sugar.
The study showed that the increase in sugar consumption levelled off once temperatures rose above 30°C. Co-author Duo Chan of the University of Southampton suggested this may be because people had already altered their diets by that point. He warned this could be “even worse news”, as it showed dietary changes were occurring even at lower, not extreme, temperatures.
Substituting frozen treats
The research also indicated a drop in purchases of baked goods on hotter days, likely because consumers were substituting them with ice cream or other frozen desserts.
Health concerns
Unhealthy diets are among the four main risk factors for diseases that account for more than 70 per cent of deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The authors concluded that climate change, by shaping dietary choices, could further worsen public health outcomes.
RESTAURATEUR and writer Camellia Panjabi puts the spotlight on vegetables in her new book, as she said they were never given the status of a “hero” in the way fish, chicken or prawns are.
Panjabi’s Vegetables: The Indian Way features more than 120 recipes, with notes on nutrition, Ayurvedic insights and cooking methods that support digestion.
She told Eastern Eye, “Most families and chefs regularly cook only 15 to 20 types of dishes. Many vegetables in shops are ignored, because people don’t know how to cook them.
“This book gives readers confidence by providing recipes, explanations, and photographs for 30 vegetables. It also shows how they can be prepared in different ways and with different cuisines — not just Indian.”
Panjabi is part of the family that runs Amaya, Chutney Mary’s, Veerswamy and Masala Zone restaurants. She is also the best-selling author of 50 Great Curries, which sold more than two million copies.
She previously worked for Taj Hotels in India, where she was involved in creating menus for various restaurants among other projects. These menus featured Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian and French cuisines.
When she eventually moved on after three decades, Panjabi realised that vegetables were almost always relegated to the end of a menu as side dishes.
In every cuisine the pattern was the same: starters and mains were prioritised ahead of sides — potatoes, cauliflower, or something similar.
“Yet, on the plate, two-thirds of the food is usually vegetables, while on the menu they only make up about five per cent,” Panjabi said.
Vegetarian meals often relied on mixing several items together — such as in a thali, stir-fries, or paneer combined with three or four vegetables.
A single vegetable was rarely celebrated on its own.
Panjabi listed around 30 varieties used in Indian food, including raw fruits such as banana and jackfruit.This sparked the idea for a book in which each vegetable would have its own section. “If someone has a cabbage, they should be able to look up different ways to cook it so that it becomes the main dish rather than just a side,” she said.
The recipes could be colourful, classical, traditional or inspired by street food.
With Indian dishes, people across the country are now, for the first time, experiencing cuisines from other regions, she said. Her book has 30 chapters on 30 vegetables, each with its own story, origin, and details of fibre content, calories, vitamins and whether it is acidic or alkaline.
Mumbai-born Panjabi, a Cambridge educated economist, is widely credited with shaping Indian fine dining on the global stage. She played a key role in launching Bombay Brasserie in London and later oversaw renowned restaurants including Veeraswamy and Chutney Mary. She was the first female board director of a public company in India, while serving as marketing director of the Taj Group. Now in her eighties, Panjabi said, “In most Indian restaurants in the UK, the vegetarian options are limited to dishes like gobi aloo, saag paneer, chole, and baingan bharta. There is so much more to discover.
“Western readers will see for the first time that they can cook vegetables the Indian way without necessarily making an Indian meal. They could have grilled fish or roast chicken alongside Indianstyle vegetables. That is the breakthrough — it is not limited to cuisine.
Panjabi said writing the book took two decades. “I thought it would take three or four years, but the process of discovery was so enjoyable that it kept extending,” she said. Only when Covid forced her to stay at home did she put it all together.
The result is a 350-page hardback with more than 120 colour photographs. Half the book is devoted to cooking fats, while the rest covers vegetables, lentils and millets. She described it as “almost like a food encyclopaedia,” weaving Ayurvedic wisdom with modern nutritional science.
“Much more research still needs to be done on the nutrition of vegetables,” she said, pointing out that the subject remains under-researched.
Everyday ingredients also find space in the book. She tackles myths aro-und protein deficiency in vegetarian diets, noting that Indians solved this long ago. Rice and dal, when eaten together, provide all nine essential amino acids needed for complete protein. “Dal-chawal has sustained Indian health for centuries,” she said.
Her experience in restaurants influenced her writing. Panjabi travelled across India, visiting research institutions including the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad, and consulted scientists studying oils and vegetables.
She said, “When I was young, I felt that Indian food had not received its due recognition globally. My mother always explained the health reasons behind what she cooked, and I realised there must be a huge body of knowledge worth documenting.
“I feel I have only touched the tip of the iceberg (with this book). My hope is that this book will inspire other practitioners and people with influence in Indian food to join this journey.”
Vegetables: The Indian Way was published by Penguin Books