“What people are looking for is someone to explain life tothem. But there is no explanation and nothing to explain.”

Marty Rubin 03EXPLAINER

1 NEXT WITH BEAR GRYLLS IS...

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Nearly 2 million people have signedan online petition to use KobeBryant's image as the new logo for theNational Basketball Association followingthe death of the Los Angeles Lakersgreat on Sunday. Bryant, one of NBA'sall-time greatest players, and his 13-year-old daughter were among thenine people who died last weekwhen the helicopter carrying themcrashed into a hillside outside thetown of Calabasas, California.

BRYANT, THE LEGENDKobe Bryant, who made the leap directlyfrom high school to a glittering 20-year ca-reer with the Los Angeles Lakers that estab-lished him as one of basketball's all-time greats,was among nine people killed in a helicoptercrash north of Los Angeles. Bryant was 41. ❚Theson of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant,Kobe was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets on behalfof the Lakers and did not try to hide his ambition to sur-pass the accomplishments of the legendary Michael Jor-dan. Charlotte had agreed going into the draft to tradeBryant's draft rights to Los Angeles in exchange for veter-an center Vlade Divac. ❚ During the next 20 seasons, Kobeearned 18 All-Star selections, MVP award in 2008 and twoNBA Finals awards to go with his fivechampionship rings.

Kobe will be remembered most for inspir-ing people around the world to pick up a

basketball and compete to the verybest of their ability.

He was generouswith the wisdom

he acquiredand saw it ashis mission toshare it with

future generations of players, takingdelight in passing down his love of thegame to Gianna, who also died in the crash.

Kobe won five NBA championships forthe Lakers andamassed a numberof accolades. Hewas NBA's MostValuable Player in2007-08, a 15-timeAll-NBA selection,18-time All-Star and

12-time All-Defensive team member. Hewas twice named MVP of the NBA Finalsand was the All-Star Game MVP four times.

Kobe is survived by his wife, Vanessa,and three daughters.

Kobe played in 1,346 career games andretired as the third-leading scorer in NBAhistory with 33,643 points.

Kobe had been a vocal booster ofwomen's sports since his retirement,coaching and mentoring basketball playersaround the world while also backingwomen's soccer and other endeavours.

PETITION TO MAKE KOBE BRYANT THENEW NBA LOGO GETS 2 MN VOTES

1The festival that colourseverything in hues of yel-low, Basant Panchami, was

marked last week across the coun-try. On the festival, which is cele-brated every year on the fifth dayof the bright half of the ‘Magha’lunar month, people flock to mar-quees and temples, dressed in yel-low attire, offering prayers to theGoddess of knowledge, art andmusic, Saraswati.

2Besides marking the onsetof the Spring season, theoccasion also highlights how

people from different communitieshave co-evolved through the courseof time.

3While Basant Panchami is aHindu festival, celebrated byoffering special prayers to

Goddess Saraswati, it is also knownto hold eminence in some Muslimshrines of New Delhi.

4Renowned historian RanaSafvi, who is known for herpopular blog, 'Hazrat e Dilli'

says Sufi Basant is celebrated infive major dargahs of Delhi sincethe 18th century. “We have

accounts from the 18th centurythat say Basant was celebrated inNew Delhi, all the way fromPaharganj's Dargah Qadam Sharifto Mehrauli's Dargah Hazrat KhwajaQutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki RA”.

5Celebration of the festival inone of the greatest Sufishrines — Hazrat

Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah —revolves around a tale, the histori-an said. According to her, Delhi'sChishti Saint Hazrat NizamuddinAulia, after the death of his youngnephew, Taqiuddin Nooh, wasstricken by grief. "He was veryupset and was grieving him for along time. He wasn't smiling ordoing anything,” said Safvi. Oneday, the saint's disciple AmirKhusrow saw some women wearingyellow clothes, carrying mustardflowers, walking and singing. Heasked them where they weregoing; they said they were going tooffer flowers on Basant Panchamito the God and after that, he alsogot dressed in a yellow saree andcarried the mustard flowers andwent to Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliawhich brought a smile to theSaint's face," said Safvi.

6Qawwals in yellow outfitscarry mustard, flowers andoffer yellow chaadar at the

shrine. Another interesting detailthat Safvi shared is that the Basantfestival is the only time of the yearwhen singing is allowed inside theshrine which is otherwise doneoutside in the courtyard.

Dear Basketball,

From the momentI started rolling my dad'stube socksAnd shooting imaginaryGame-winning shotsIn the Great Western ForumI knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.A love so deep I gave you my all –From my mind & bodyTo my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boyDeeply in love with youI never saw the end ofthe tunnel.I only saw myselfRunning out of one.And so I ran.I ran up and down every courtAfter every loose ball for you.You asked for my hustleI gave you my heartBecause it came with somuch more.I played through thesweat and hurtNot because chal-lenge called meBut because YOUcalled me.

I did everything for YOUBecause that's what you doWhen someone makes youfeel asAlive as you've made me feel.You gave a six-year-old boyhis Laker dreamAnd I'll always love you for it.But I can't love you obses-sively for much longer.This season is all I haveleft to give.My heart can take the poundingMy mind can handle the grindBut my body knows it'stime to say goodbye.And that's OK.I'm ready to let you go.I want you to know nowSo we both can savor everymoment we have left together.The good and the bad.We have given each otherAll that we have. And we both know, no mat-ter what I do nextI'll always be that kidWith the rolled up socksGarbage can in the corner:05 seconds on the clockBall in my hands.5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1Love you always, Kobe

Superstar RAJINIKANTH RE-CENTLY SHOT WITH BEARGRYLLS for an episode of thenew television show ‘Into

The Wild’.Sharing a photo of himself and

Rajinikanth, host Grylls wrote onTwitter, “After our episode withPrime Minister @NarendraModiof India helped create a bit of TVhistory, (3.6 billion impressions),superstar @Rajinikanth joins menext, as he makes his TV debut onour new show #IntoTheWildWith-BearGrylls on @DiscoveryIN.#ThalaivaOnDiscovery"

Discovery Channel also sharedthe tweet with the caption, “Con-tinuing our tradition to host Icon-ic Indians, after @NarendraModi,we are delighted that @Ra-jinikanth, debuts on TV, joining@BearGrylls for #IntoTheWild-WithBearGrylls and spread themessage of water conservation.#ThalaivaOnDiscovery.”

THE EPISODE

The episode, featuringRajinikanth, will focus onwater conservation.Talking about the need toconserve water, Thalaivarsaid, "Every Indian willneed to come forwardand contribute in con-serving water. This warhas to be led at all levels

including government, com-munity as well as on theindividual front. I believethis show on Discovery is aperfect platform to take themessage of conservingwater to every home acrossthe country."Into The Wild with BearGrylls is a new formatwhich is inspired by Grylls'popular show Man Vs Wild.

BEAR GRYLLSHe is a British former SAS serviceman, survivalinstructor, and honorarylieutenant-colonel, and,outside his military career, an adventurer,writer, TV presenter and businessman. He iswidely known for his TVseries Man vs. Wild (2006-2011), originally titled Born Survivor:

1On May 16, 1998, Gryllsachieved his childhood

dream of climbing to thesummit of Mount Everest inNepal. At 23, he was at thattime among the youngestpeople to have achievedthis feat.

2 In 2000, Grylls led theteam to circumnavi-

gate the British Isles on jetskis, taking about 30 days,to raise money for the Royal National

Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

3 In 2007, Gryllsembarked on a

record-setting Parajetparamotor inHimalayas near Mount Everest.

4 In 2008, Grylls leda team of four to

climb one of the mostremote unclimbed peaks inthe world in Antarctica.

NAMES, PLACES & TERMS

You know the news,but did some terms puzzle

you? On this page, we explain theterms used in news or by our

newsmakers. Figure out why thenames, places and terms became

the actual newsmakers this week.

RIP KOBE...

HOW BASANT PANCHAMI BRINGSTOGETHER CULTURES

A POEM WRITTEN BY KOBEWHEN HE RETIRED IN 2016