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Desire to pen book on India’s unsung conservation heroes: Dia Mirza
By Siddhi Jain
New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Actor-environmentalist Dia Mirza, who could soon pen a new book on the “unsung” foot soldiers of conservation in India, said here that her literary tastes have evolved over the past years.
Speaking at the launch of a poetry collection here, Dia told IANS that she has “a deep desire to write a book on the unsung heroes of India, who are on the frontier of, or are the foot soldiers of, conservation”.
“The book will be about those heroes who put their life at risk to protect nature and wildlife, the planet and all of us,” she said.
The UN Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India also said preparations for the book are already underway.
“I’ve done my research; I know who exactly I want to write about. It’s only a matter of taking the time out and sitting down to write it,” shared Dia, who is one of Bollywood’s most active spokespersons on environmental issues.
What’s more is that the book could be expected within the next year.
On the acting front, Dia, who was last seen in “Sanju” (2018) as Maanayata Dutt, is all set to play the character of Khanzada Begum — Mughal ruler Babur’s sister — in Nikkhil Advani’s “Moghuls”.
The historical show, also starring actors Ronit Roy and Shabana Azmi, has been adapted from Alex Rutherford’s six-volume historic fiction novel “Empire of the Moghul”.
Asked if she has read the complete novel, the “Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein” star responded that she had to.
She added that when approached with Khanzada’s role, she realised “the character hadn’t cropped up in any of the history books” that she had read.
Explaining her motivation behind the read, the actor said it helped her “understand the circumstances that the person lived in; and to embody the time, the emotion, and the understanding of the world as it existed that time.”
The former Miss Asia Pacific, who has recently finished reading “The Silk Road”, said her literary tastes have evolved over the years, but history books are her current favourites.
Dia also named Shashi Tharoor and Romila Thapar as two of her favourite Indian authors, terming them as “incredibly engaging and insightful” writers.
“I think so much of your evolution is determined by which literary works you expose your mind and heart to,” she said, adding that she wouldn’t be half the person she is, had she not read the works she has.
The actor also listed “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy”, “Tuesdays with Morrie” and “Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov” as books that had “an indelible impression on her mind”.
Dia recently launched a debut poetry collection “The Sound of Silence”, and placed poetry as a “constant” in her reading lists.
“I think my idea of life and love has heightened courtesy the poetry I’ve read,” she said, adding that E.E. Cummings and Pablo Neruda have been her go-to poets.
(Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in)
–IANS
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International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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