Due, but still in dream job race

Not many can go this far for a career. A wannabe police officer stunned her selectors by taking part — and winning — a 400-metre race despite being eight months pregnant.

Vimala risked the baby she was carrying to land the dream job, which required candidates to run the distance to show that they are fit enough to be selected to the post.

After the 28-year-old breasted the tape, even her competitors turned well-wishers, applauding her for her courage to defy the restrictions placed on expectant mothers. “I will win and realise my dream of becoming a sub-inspector,” the lady from Tiruvannamalai district said.

Her parents and doctors had advised her against jumping into the fray, but her karate coach and her husband egged her on. Vimala must now clear the long-jump and shot-put events to qualify, but the devotee of Goddess Kali is confident of clearing those hurdles as well.

Miles to go for life with mate

Rajkumar had to travel five days to meet his beloved. And, he did so in style. The 18-year-old elephant at Mumbai’s Byculla zoo left last week in a truck, accompanied by two mahouts and a doctor, for a zoo in Thiruvananthapuram where he would be united with a mate.

Raju, as he is fondly called, had been at the zoo for the past eight years — but in forced celibacy. There are two female elephants at the zoo, but they are too old for him. A court-appointed panel had proposed shifting him to a new home.

Rajkumar will begin a new life with Rani, who’s been in the zoo at Thiruvananthapuram for the past few years.

But the journey wasn’t exactly pleasant. Being chained to a cage on the truck meant a lot of trouble, but Raju wasn’t fretting. Finding love is never easy, after all.

Loo check on Metro

The Metro has changed the face of Delhi and even forced the rest of India to take a fresh look at the way it moves. But the much-touted answer to the capital’s travel woes appears to be lacking something more basic — toilets.

Judges at Delhi High Court last week asked officers to accompany a petitioner — who filed a public interest suit to focus attention on the problem — around Metro stations to check if there are as many toilets as authorities claim.

The lawyer for Delhi Metro argued that of the 58 stations, 48 have separate toilets for men and women. Only 10 stations don’t have the facility, but that was because repairs were under way or the construction of toilets wasn’t over.

Not convinced, the court asked the petitioner, Mahender Ahuja, to visit the stations and file a separate report. The retinue of Metro officials following him was quite a sight.

Pat for truckers

Truck drivers may get to rub shoulders with Richard Gere, Shilpa Shetty and Sunny Deol in a star-studded event this Sunday. The get-together at the Gole Dhaba at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar is to celebrate the contribution made by the drivers to HIV prevention. Joining the actors will be comedian Naveen Prabhakar.

Until a few years ago, the drivers were classified “high risk” for the spread of HIV. Some studies suggested they picked up the virus through sexual contact when they were away from home and passed it on to spouses. The Sunday event is called “Seena Taan Ke Utsav”.

Delhi: Blend Mediterranean and Mexican food with a visual feast of God’s Own Country, Kerala, at Market Cafe in Khan Market on April 15. Boats, a chained elephant, flowers, waterfall and much else — all portrayed in black and white photos by Gunjan. From 10 am to 11 pm.