Of paintings and jokes

Watch

Van Gogh on Dark Water

Turkish artist Garip Ay mesmerises with his rendering of two of Van Gogh’s most recognisable paintings —

The Starry Night and a self-portrait. With Beethoven playing in the background, the artist swirls paint across inky blue water to recreate timeless art on a fickle medium. Although I simply can’t understand how he has the heart to wipe out one part of his work, I’m glad he gets the final result on paper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKy7HNU4vk

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Ace Against Odds — Sania Mirza and Imran Mirza with Shivani Gupta

She’s perhaps the most iconic Indian woman tennis player, and this is her story. Find out what drives her passion for the game, how she made it big where plenty of others have not been able to, the physical and emotional trauma she underwent, and how she learned to live life in the public eye. The book, which has been written in collaboration with her father, and sports journalist Shivani Gupta, releases on July 4.

Listen

Grace VanderWaal

She’s all of 12, and Simon Cowell calls her ‘The next Taylor Swift’. This ukulele-playing, original-song-writing pre-teen got Howie Mandel to hit the Golden Buzzer — which sends her straight through to the live shows — on America’s Got Talent . Her YouTube page (called ‘Oh never mind it’s just me’) features not just the audition that got her worldwide recognition, but also several covers and original numbers sung in her remarkable voice.

Do

Tell a joke

There are four types of people in the world: those who can tell a joke properly, those who can’t, and those who can count. Clearly, I fall under the second category. Anyway, July 1 was International Joke Day, so even if you missed it, don’t fret. Get your puns, knock-knock jokes and limericks ready. It’s the perfect time to channel your inner Chandler Bing, and get everyone laughing or groaning in frustration with your witty repartees and PJs (that’s poor jokes for the uninitiated), respectively.