Satyajit Ray is born, parents advised to keep him away from 'Coolie No. 1'

When a new year begins, it is interesting to check what happened exactly a 100 years ago. And it is entertaining to juxtapose the personalities and developments of the years against each other. If we did this exercise with 1921 and its great grandchild 2021, here are 10 possible scenarios.

1. Satyajit Ray is born in Kolkata on May 2, 1921. The doctors advise the boy’s parents to guard him from dangerous hazards in the air, like COVID-19, pollution, and Coolie No. 1.

3. Coco Chanel launches the legendary perfume Chanel No. 5. Baba Ramdev launches his own version, Paanch Pandav. He says it will make you smell good and beat the Coronavirus. Ingredients include the blah blah of bergamot, the blah blah of neroli, the yada yada of oud and pure bull manure.

4. Charlie Chaplin’s silent drama, The Kid, arrives at the theatres. Party members arrange a screening for Aaditya Thackeray. Later they vandalize the cinema. “We appreciate art and understand that this was a film with no dialogues. But at least the silences should be in Marathi,” the party says.

5. Australia whitewash England in the Ashes twice in a year. Former England captain Michael Vaughan, who had tweeted England would win easily, is demoted to commenting about obscure topics, such as Papua New Guinea’s entry into the 2021 World T20 and Brexit.

6. The Communist Party of China is established. Xi Jinping taunts world leaders with a Tik-Tok video of him singing ‘Xi Drives Me Crazy’.

7. White Castle hamburgers are launched in Wichita, Kansas, starting the fast food chain trend. Locals begin to spot a group of South Asians playing an unfamiliar sport with a bat and ball. They learn they are cricketers from Pakistan, including one Sarfaraz Ahmed, preparing for the World T20.

8. Gucci officially begins its journey in Florence. Bollywood people, after a cursory visit to the historic sites, flock to the store, meet the Gucci clan and raise a toast – “To nepotism and overpriced clothes.”

9. Albert Einstein wins the Nobel Prize for physics. Harvey Weinstein loses appeal for relief in sex abuse case.

10. PV Narasimha Rao is born on June 28. He is a smiling baby, but starts crying every time Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story starts playing.