On Autism Awareness Day, WION's Prashasti Satyanand Shetty speaks to psychologist Krishnaveni K about autism, its early signs, and diagnosis. Krishnaveni highlights ways in which individuals with autism can be integrated into society. She further emphasises the importance of raising awareness about the disorder.

World Autism Awareness Day: It's time for society to be sensitised

Title: World Autism Awareness Day: It's time for society to be sensitised

Here's something which generates a lot of curiosity, how many days do you work in a week? The usual five days? Well, in most parts of the world, the work week is from Monday to Friday. But, a study now reveals that a four-day work week is more productive.

Are you ready for a four-day work week? Trial really positive, says study

In the largest-ever trial of four-day working week, it's found that most UK companies participating are not turning to a five-day standard, a third are ready to make that change permanently. The study involves 61 organisations and about 2,900 workers.

World's largest four-day working week trial; study involves 61 organisations, 2,900 workers

A big question - how much money do you need to be comfortable when you retire, it is one of the trickiest financial problems. The latest Bloomberg news survey says that at least $3 million is needed for a secure retirement.

How much money is enough when you retire | Lifestyle News

If you could choose how your future baby is going to look or create the perfect human; would you do it? Watch this first.

'Designer' babies: How far is too far?

A philosophy paper has suggested that brain-dead people, or rather their bodies, could serve as surrogates for childless couples. Here's why people aren't happy with it.

Using brain-dead females for surrogacy: Ethical? | WION Shorts

Valentine's Day is round the corner, Dopamine levels in couples are kicking in - but what is Dopamine? It is a neurotransmitter associated with the feeling of love, experts say too much of it could turn out to be a sign of bad match.

How much love is too much love? Experts say too much Dopamine is a 'red flag'

For the longest time, alcohol has been a player in getting people together, a silent cupid many would call it but this cupid is taking a backseat in today's dating scenario. It's been noticed that an increasing number of people going on dates are preferring to without this liquid courage support called as 'Dry Dating'.

What is the 'Dry Dating' trend? Is it here to stay?

How much should one drink? Well, teetotaller will say that alcohol is bad, doctors too agree that it is bad for health but those who like a drink or two after a hard day at work will not agree. Zero-alcohol has been touted as the only risk-free approach as per the recommendations by the Canadian Centre on Substance.

How much alcohol is too much alcohol? Canada says two drinks a day!

Every now and then, we see new workplace trend emerge, while Moonlighting and Quiet Quitting dominated the headlines last year, this year a new trend is gaining momentum - Rage Applying. It is the process of angrily sending out your CV to a bunch of open positions with higher salaries and better perks than the job you got.

What is 'Rage Applying', the new workplace trend for millennial employees?

It is officially the holiday season and during holidays it is common for everyone to overindulge in alcohol and junk food. But have you ever thought about what repercussions can junk food and alcohol have on your cardiac health? Watch this video to know more.

What is holiday heart syndrome? Enjoy holidays while keeping your heart healthy

From Albanian tradition of chasing Turkeys to Baltic Pagan tree burning tradition, Christmas traditions across the world are unique. One of the most famous traditions known by many as the 'stolen Mistletoe kiss', but from where did this tradition arrive? Watch the video to know more.

What is Mistletoe tradition? Ritual comes from Norse mythology

From birthing PTSDs to baby blues, it takes a toll on the mental health. A new research reveals the longer women spend time on mom focused social media sites, the higher their stress levels. Watch this to know more.

Do mom groups really help?

A New research has revealed that the Y chromosome, which is responsible for the birth of a male offspring, has been found to be degenerating and men may soon be extinct.

Will males be extinct in future? | WION Shorts

A new study has claimed that excessive drinking water could lead to death. Examining how legendary actor Bruce Lee died. A study in Clinical Kidney Journal claimed it happened because his kidneys were unable to eliminate extra water. Watch this to know more.

How much drinking water is too much? | WION Shorts

According to a new study, people can maintain their brain health by taking a flavonol-rich diet. This means, eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more tea and wine can be really good for your brain.

WION Fineprint: Tea & wine may slow down memory decline

We are all aware that exercise is good for our body, most of us workout in some form or the other - while some prefer long walks other prefer working out at the gym - there are various ways to keep your body active. But does exercising more means that you are healthier and fitter? Not necessarily! Watch the video to know more about it.

Can you exercise yourself to death? High-intensity workout linked to heart problems

Internet is a strange place, there is a tutorial for everything. There was a time when there were tutorials on how to hide puffy eyes after crying. Now believe it or not, there are tutorial on what is being describes as 'Crying Makeup'. Watch the video to know more about it.

Gen Z's latest obsession: 'Crying Makeup' becomes a trend on TikTok!

Can you stand on one leg for 10 seconds? Studies link poor balance to serious health problems. Should you be concerned? Listen in to Molly Gambhir.

Gravitas: Studies say your balance is an indicator of your health

5 unique clutch bags that don't look anything like your usual accessories

By saying 'revenge' porn are we implying that the victim must have done something wrong or hurtful to elicit such breach of trust and privacy? Is this another subtle attempt at victim blaming? Let's try and understand.

The Etymology Of ‘Revenge’ Porn

Luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren has been called out by Mexico for copying indigenous designs. This isn't the first time Mexico has hauled up fashion brands to protect its cultural heritage.

WION Fineprint:  Ralph Lauren caught in Mexican design row

India's chances at T20 world cup received a major blow when reports emerged that Jasprit Bumhrah is set to miss the event because of stress fracture. So what is his injury all about? To know, watch the video.

Breaking down Bumrah's injury: What is stress fracture of the back?

Urban Dictionary defines situationships as more than a friendship but not quite a relationship. So why are situationships on the rise among Gen Z and how can you navigate them?

WION Fineprint: Why more young couples are opting to be in a 'situationship'

Is your baby continuously crying? Do you think sometimes it's just impossible to make the babies stop crying? Here's the solution. A new research, published in Current Biology on Tuesday (September 13), talks about the most effective way to soothe a crying baby.

Is your baby continuously crying? Do you think sometimes it's just impossible to make the babies stop crying? Here's the solution. A new research, published in Current Biology on Tuesday (September 13), talks about the most effective way to soothe a crying baby. The research, which is led by Kumi Kuroda at the RIKEN Centre for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan, weighs in on the importance of carrying infants rather than simply holding them when they are crying. The research says that just sitting down with the babies in your arms might not work when you are trying to soothe them. Doing this can even raise the heart rate of the baby and make them fussier. ALSO READ | Aspirin found to boost survival rate in cancer patients in new study The study shares details of how crying babies are physiologically affected by being held, carried, and laid down. The researchers explain, "Crying infants are calmed and inclined to sleep by a five-minute walk/hold, even in the daytime when the infants are normally awake." To carry out this small study, participants sat with their sleeping children for another five minutes after walking with them. As per the findings, they had the best success at getting their kids to stay asleep. ALSO READ | Robots are here 'for good, or bad,' but will they take over the world? World's most advanced humanoid says no During the study, in one of the experiments, of 13 crying babies that fell asleep and stayed asleep, nine were put to bed using the walk-sit method. The authors say, "For secure holding, caregivers should attach the infant's body snugly to their own body and support the infant's head. Five-minute walking should be on a flat and clear passage and at a steady pace, preferably without abrupt stops or turns." WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Scientists believe this is the most effective way to soothe a crying baby

On Wednesday, in a truly rare moment, Queen Elizabeth shared unseen photo of her great-grandchildren during a royal ceremony at Windsor Castle.&nbsp;

 
On her way to presenting concert organist Thomas Trotter with The Queen’s Medal for Music on Wednesday, fans of the Royal British family spotted a family portrait sitting on one of the tables in the background that was partly blocking a handbag.&nbsp;

 
Despite the handbag blocking the view of these eagle-eyed fans, in the photo, Queen Elizabeth could be seen smiling from ear to ear while Princess Charlotte on her lap. Late Prince Philip was also in the frame with their great-grandchildren Prince George, Peter Phillips’ daughters Isla and Savannah, and Zara Tindall’s oldest daughter, Mia.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-exclusive-leonardo-dicaprio-jonah-hills-a-genius-would-love-to-work-on-100-more-films-with-him-435164" hreflang="en">EXCLUSIVE! Leonardo DiCaprio: Jonah Hill's a genius, would love to work on 100 more films with him</a>

 
Media outlets have reported that the photo was most likely taken back in 2016 when Princess Charlotte was a little over one-year old and the other royal babies were aged between two and six.

&nbsp;<img alt="cfngfAW" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="68275cb0-8e57-461f-818c-7c7ac84876d5" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/pjimage%20-%202021-12-09T122644.856.jpg" /> 
Last month, The Queen attended the christening of two of her great-grandsons, August Brooksbank and Lucas Tindall, at All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-more-power-to-britney-spears-judge-allows-her-to-sign-paperwork-handle-finances-435340" hreflang="en">Power to Britney Spears! Judge allows her to sign paperwork, handle finances</a>

 
Queen Elizabeth was hospitalised briefly on October 20 but since been doing well. She is reportedly doing “far better” and “looking forward” to the yearly family Christmas gathering at her Sandringham estate.

 
However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be joining the royals overseas for the Christmas festivities.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/pehchaan-kaun-young-pics-of-ranbir-kapoor-shah-rukh-khan-disha-patani-others-are-nostalgia-personified-435137" hreflang="en">Pehchaan kaun? Young pics of Ranbir Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Disha Patani, others are nostalgia personified</a>

On Wednesday, in a truly rare moment, Queen Elizabeth shared unseen photo of her great-grandchildren during a royal ceremony at Windsor Castle. On her way to presenting concert organist Thomas Trotter with The Queen’s Medal for Music on Wednesday, fans of the Royal British family spotted a family portrait sitting on one of the tables in the background that was partly blocking a handbag.

On Wednesday, in a truly rare moment, Queen Elizabeth shared unseen photo of her great-grandchildren during a royal ceremony at Windsor Castle. On her way to presenting concert organist Thomas Trotter with The Queen’s Medal for Music on Wednesday, fans of the Royal British family spotted a family portrait sitting on one of the tables in the background that was partly blocking a handbag. Despite the handbag blocking the view of these eagle-eyed fans, in the photo, Queen Elizabeth could be seen smiling from ear to ear while Princess Charlotte on her lap. Late Prince Philip was also in the frame with their great-grandchildren Prince George, Peter Phillips’ daughters Isla and Savannah, and Zara Tindall’s oldest daughter, Mia. Also read: EXCLUSIVE! Leonardo DiCaprio: Jonah Hill's a genius, would love to work on 100 more films with him Media outlets have reported that the photo was most likely taken back in 2016 when Princess Charlotte was a little over one-year old and the other royal babies were aged between two and six. Last month, The Queen attended the christening of two of her great-grandsons, August Brooksbank and Lucas Tindall, at All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park. Also read: Power to Britney Spears! Judge allows her to sign paperwork, handle finances Queen Elizabeth was hospitalised briefly on October 20 but since been doing well. She is reportedly doing “far better” and “looking forward” to the yearly family Christmas gathering at her Sandringham estate. However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be joining the royals overseas for the Christmas festivities. Also read: Pehchaan kaun? Young pics of Ranbir Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Disha Patani, others are nostalgia personified

Rare! Queen Elizabeth reveals unseen picture of her great grand-children

Best bars in the world 2021 revealed, New Delhi's Sidecar only Indian entry to make the list

Yet again, Oprah Winfrey did what she does best: help people!

 
Supermodel Ubah Hassan, who has&nbsp;ventured into the business of selling hot sauce, titled Ubah Hot, just got an Oprah boost for the holiday season.&nbsp;

 
After it was reported last summer about the supermodel's business, Hasson has now shared with a media outlet that a friend pushed her product to Oprah Winfrey and what do you know, the talk-show bae added it to her 'Oprah’s Favorite Things' list.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/money-money-money-abba-sues-over-abba-mania-cover-band-434004" hreflang="en">Money, money, money: ABBA sues over Abba Mania cover band</a>

 
“I felt like I had won the Oscar for small business entrepreneurs,” Hassan told a media outlet.&nbsp;

 
She also reportedly revealed that she had never anticipated the impact Oprah's nod would have on the supply of her hot sauce.&nbsp;

 
“I had about 1,000 boxes when I started in June… I launched in a pandemic, and it’s a new product, so I thought, maybe sell 100 or 200 and send the rest to family and friends to try it,” she was quoted as saying.&nbsp; 
Hassan revealed, “I was running low on inventory when I got the phone call!”

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/money-heist-all-set-to-end-heres-where-else-you-can-see-its-famous-cast-433836" hreflang="en">'Money Heist' all set to end; here's where else you can see its famous cast</a>

 
The supermodel started to panic seeing the spike in the number of orders she was receiving and sought help to package more of her product, which she eventually found in Ohio. Hassan also had to package stuff on her own, along with help from her boyfriend and a couple of other friends who ended up boxing thousands of orders on their own.

 
“We were packing 36 to 40 boxes in minutes. If Elon Musk saw us in this warehouse and how fast and efficient we were working, he wouldn’t need to create robots,” she joked.

&nbsp; 
In fact, Hassan was able to deliver 10,000 units to meet client demand. Her three hot sauces go for $23 per jar on her Ubah Hot website.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-deepika-padukones-appreciation-post-for-husband-ranveer-singh-will-leave-you-in-awe-434138" hreflang="en">Deepika Padukone's 'appreciation' post for husband Ranveer Singh will leave you in awe</a>

 
“We sold out. [For] a piece of my company’s success to come from [Oprah] is a blessing on earth for me. I can’t wait to give back like her,” Hassan said. 
&nbsp;

Yet again, Oprah Winfrey did what she does best: help people! Supermodel Ubah Hassan, who has ventured into the business of selling hot sauce, titled Ubah Hot, just got an Oprah boost for the holiday season.

Yet again, Oprah Winfrey did what she does best: help people! Supermodel Ubah Hassan, who has ventured into the business of selling hot sauce, titled Ubah Hot, just got an Oprah boost for the holiday season. After it was reported last summer about the supermodel's business, Hasson has now shared with a media outlet that a friend pushed her product to Oprah Winfrey and what do you know, the talk-show bae added it to her 'Oprah’s Favorite Things' list. Also read: Money, money, money: ABBA sues over Abba Mania cover band “I felt like I had won the Oscar for small business entrepreneurs,” Hassan told a media outlet. She also reportedly revealed that she had never anticipated the impact Oprah's nod would have on the supply of her hot sauce. “I had about 1,000 boxes when I started in June… I launched in a pandemic, and it’s a new product, so I thought, maybe sell 100 or 200 and send the rest to family and friends to try it,” she was quoted as saying. Hassan revealed, “I was running low on inventory when I got the phone call!” Also read: 'Money Heist' all set to end; here's where else you can see its famous cast The supermodel started to panic seeing the spike in the number of orders she was receiving and sought help to package more of her product, which she eventually found in Ohio. Hassan also had to package stuff on her own, along with help from her boyfriend and a couple of other friends who ended up boxing thousands of orders on their own. “We were packing 36 to 40 boxes in minutes. If Elon Musk saw us in this warehouse and how fast and efficient we were working, he wouldn’t need to create robots,” she joked. In fact, Hassan was able to deliver 10,000 units to meet client demand. Her three hot sauces go for $23 per jar on her Ubah Hot website. Also read: Deepika Padukone's 'appreciation' post for husband Ranveer Singh will leave you in awe “We sold out. [For] a piece of my company’s success to come from [Oprah] is a blessing on earth for me. I can’t wait to give back like her,” Hassan said.

Oprah Winfrey comes to supermodel Ubah Hassan's rescue: Here's how!

In the fictionalized movie version of his life, Jonathan Larson ignores the ringing phone and lets the answering machine pick up. Crouched on the bare wooden floor of his shabby apartment in 1990 New York City, he listens as Stephen Sondheim leaves a message — instant balm to his battered artist’s soul.

 
“Jon? Steve Sondheim here,” the voice says in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s biomusical “Tick, Tick … Boom!,” and it really is Sondheim’s voice we hear, offering a bit of badly needed praise for the prodigiously talented, profoundly discouraged Larson.

 
Sondheim scripted that voicemail for the film himself, and goodness knows he’d had decades of practice, offering just the right words to buoy the spirits of Larson and countless other young artists. When Sondheim died on Nov. 26 at 91, the American stage lost not only a composer and lyricist nonpareil but also its longtime encourager-in-chief.

 
The story of his own early tutelage under Oscar Hammerstein II has been told and retold, but much less known — at least outside professional theater — is the rigorous dedication with which Sondheim passed that tradition on.

 
As a mentor, as a letter writer, as an audience member who showed up far beyond Broadway to witness new work, he quietly, faithfully nurtured generations of theater makers.

 
Miranda, who first met Sondheim at 17 and began corresponding with him in earnest while writing “Hamilton,” said he was initially afraid of intruding on Sondheim’s time.

 
“It took me a while to realize he was serious when he said, ‘Reach out if you ever want to talk about anything,’ ” Miranda said.

 
The letters Sondheim wrote over the decades were so numerous that they might seem cheap currency if they weren’t so powerfully affecting to the recipients. Imagine the hand of God reaching toward Adam in Michelangelo’s fresco and you have some idea of the vital charge they could carry.

 
After Sondheim died, Twitter was flooded with images of them. Notes to students and professionals and fans, they were thoughtful and specific, full of gratitude and good wishes, each on letterhead, each with the elegant, sloping signature that’s familiar now from the Stephen Sondheim Theater marquee.

 
“He was always concerned about the future of the art form, and he wanted it to survive,” said director Lonny Price, who played one of the leads in the original Broadway production of Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along.” More than three decades later, he directed the documentary “Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened,” about the making of that show, a notorious flop.

 
But it was as a Sondheim-obsessed 14-year-old in 1973 that he struck up a decades long correspondence with his hero, and discovered that Sondheim was kind enough to take him seriously.

 
“He didn’t have biological children,” Price said. “But there are so many of us that are his kids.”

 
You make me want to write more’

 
Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld of Fiasco Theater got a cherished letter from Sondheim in 2013, after he saw their company’s production of “Into the Woods.” Declaring it “inventive and exhilarating,” he ended with a breathtaking line: “You make me want to write more.”

 
“It was the most important thing that’s ever happened in our professional lives,” Steinfeld said, calling it “unspeakably meaningful” to learn “that the cycle of inspiration might have actually flowed in the other direction.”

 
After that, Sondheim opened his archives to the company as he collaborated with them on their 2019 off-Broadway revival of a reworked “Merrily We Roll Along.”

 
Sondheim cultivated the field by founding the Young Playwrights Festival, where theater and television writer Zakiyyah Alexander recalls him having “a proud dad vibe” about her and the other teenage winners.

Elsewhere he championed emerging composer-lyricists like Larson and Miranda and Dave Malloy. For years, he was the president of the Dramatists Guild Council.

 
Revered as the closest thing we had to a theatrical deity, Sondheim didn’t retreat to reign alone on some Olympus. He ambled down from the mountaintop fully aware of the power and responsibility that came with his position.

 
And so it was immensely moving, but utterly unsurprising, that he spent his last day of theatergoing, two days before he died, taking in a pair of form-bending documentary plays that were struggling at the Broadway box office and about to close: a matinee of “Is This a Room” and an evening performance of “Dana H.,” both at the Lyceum Theater.

 
He had told a New York Times journalist his plan, and after he died, Michael Paulson reported what he had said in anticipation: “I can smell both of those and how much I’m going to love them.”

 
To Emily Davis, the star of “Is This a Room,” the fact of Sondheim having been there — which she said she learned about only when she read it in the newspaper — felt like “the biggest and most grand actual welcome to Broadway that there could have been.”

 
And when she noticed, the day after his death, an unusually large number of audience members doing doubleheaders — spending their Saturday catching both plays — it seemed to her like people paying tribute to him by doing as he had done.

 
Children will listen. He got that right.

 
'Forgive me'

 
Composer Jeanine Tesori, who spent many hours alongside Sondheim as the supervising vocal producer on the new “West Side Story” movie, got her first letter from him in the 1980s, when she was just out of college. To her retrospective mortification, she had mailed him some music she had written.

 
“That’s what we all did,” she said. “We just cold sent him our stuff because we didn’t know not to do that: send a cassette, and then you would just sort of wait and hope.”

 
He wrote back, gently, apologizing that he had been unable to listen to her tape — and somehow even that felt like a kind of validation, because he had noticed she was there.

 
“The beautiful thing was, it didn’t go into the ether,” she said. “He could have easily ignored it. But what he did was acknowledge that he had gotten it, and he returned it. I’ll never forget those words, typewritten: ‘Forgive me.’”

 
To a legion of fans Sondheim was and is the be-all and end-all. But his own horizons as a theatergoer were significantly broader than that. In an art form that is so much about being present for the unrepeatable moment, he not only showed up, but he also often did so to experience work that was offbeat and obscure, challenging conventions just as his own work did.

 
When the Chicago-based experimental shadow-puppetry troupe Manual Cinema brought “Ada/Ava” to New York in 2015, Sondheim headed downtown to see what they were up to — “the ultimate pinch-me moment,” said Ben Kauffman, one of the company’s composers.

 
When Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers performed their loopy Matt Damon-Ben Affleck sendup “Matt &amp;amp; Ben” at P.S. 122 in 2003, Sondheim went backstage afterward to celebrate its unknown, 20-something playwright-stars.

 
Kaling tweeted last weekend that she had told him she hoped someday to star in one of his shows; Withers, by phone, recalled his grace in focusing the encounter on them, not him.

 
“He made the effort to stay and talk to us and see our eyes get wide and let us ask him a couple questions,” she said. “He wasn’t there because his publicist told him to be there, and to be nice. He was there because he wanted to be.”

 
But Sondheim, far too famous simply to blend into an audience, was cautious about making such appearances. Jason Eagan, the artistic director of the artist incubator Ars Nova, said that Sondheim went to shows there but never to openings, because he didn’t want to be a distraction on someone else’s big night. 
And while there was nowhere for him to hide when he first saw the immersive “Natasha, Pierre &amp;amp; the Great Comet of 1812” at Ars Nova’s tiny space in Hell’s Kitchen, when he went to see it on Broadway, he sat in the mezzanine to be as inconspicuous as possible.

 
However much that theatergoing nourished him, as it nourishes all of us when the work is good, it was also frequently an obligation, and he fulfilled it diligently. Tesori remembers him showing up at City Center just after his close friend, the author and composer Mary Rodgers, died in 2014.

 
He had promised that he would listen to some young artists perform his music, so he did — “even though he was heartbroken,” Tesori said. He asked her to give him the performers’ addresses, “because he wanted to write to all of them, to encourage them.”

 
Even in freshest grief, that was his habit.

 
‘Why I wanted to write for the theater’

 
Playwright Lynn Nottage, now a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, was returning to the theater after a seven-year absence when Sondheim wrote to her out of the blue in 2004, praising her new play “Intimate Apparel” and telling her: “It reminded me of why I wanted to write for the theater in the first place.”

 
“I entered back into New York theater sort of tiptoeing and frightened and not sure whether there was a space for me,” Nottage said. “And so when I received this letter from one of the giants, it just was the kind of affirmation that I needed in the moment. What it said to me more than anything is that I belong in this community.”

 
From then on, at all of her plays, she said, “at some point I’d look out in the audience, and there he would be.”

 
Sondheim’s letters generally weren’t long, but it’s the little things, right? Except that the little things combine to eat up who knows how many hours of a life. And even when a genius lives to 91, it’s easy to lament — as Miranda recently did, in an interview in The New Yorker — the works that went uncreated because of finite energies expended elsewhere.

 
Over the phone a few days after Sondheim’s death, though, Miranda said he didn’t truly feel that way. 
“Obviously it’s to theater’s enormous benefit that he took that time, and I think it fed him to encourage others,” he said. “He succeeded on both fronts because he left a legacy of immortal works that we’ll be doing forever — I mean, just look at this season alone — and he also left behind a generation of artists who got encouragement from him, and support.”

 
It was part of Sondheim’s gift to understand not only the encompassing job description of great artist but also his singular effect on his colleagues — how even a few words of appreciation, or moments of attention, could prove enduring sustenance over the long slog of a career in an often pitiless field.

 
It was unglamorous work, and Sondheim did it exquisitely.

 
No single theater artist right now is as revered as he was. No one else can yet step into those shoes. We nonetheless could, artists and audience members alike, seek to borrow from his example — by being adventurous, by being generous, by showing up.

 
That would be one way to honor the giant.

In the fictionalized movie version of his life, Jonathan Larson ignores the ringing phone and lets the answering machine pick up. Crouched on the bare wooden floor of his shabby apartment in 1990 New York City, he listens as Stephen Sondheim leaves a message — instant balm to his battered artist’s soul.

In the fictionalized movie version of his life, Jonathan Larson ignores the ringing phone and lets the answering machine pick up. Crouched on the bare wooden floor of his shabby apartment in 1990 New York City, he listens as Stephen Sondheim leaves a message — instant balm to his battered artist’s soul. “Jon? Steve Sondheim here,” the voice says in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s biomusical “Tick, Tick … Boom!,” and it really is Sondheim’s voice we hear, offering a bit of badly needed praise for the prodigiously talented, profoundly discouraged Larson. Sondheim scripted that voicemail for the film himself, and goodness knows he’d had decades of practice, offering just the right words to buoy the spirits of Larson and countless other young artists. When Sondheim died on Nov. 26 at 91, the American stage lost not only a composer and lyricist nonpareil but also its longtime encourager-in-chief. The story of his own early tutelage under Oscar Hammerstein II has been told and retold, but much less known — at least outside professional theater — is the rigorous dedication with which Sondheim passed that tradition on. As a mentor, as a letter writer, as an audience member who showed up far beyond Broadway to witness new work, he quietly, faithfully nurtured generations of theater makers. Miranda, who first met Sondheim at 17 and began corresponding with him in earnest while writing “Hamilton,” said he was initially afraid of intruding on Sondheim’s time. “It took me a while to realize he was serious when he said, ‘Reach out if you ever want to talk about anything,’ ” Miranda said. The letters Sondheim wrote over the decades were so numerous that they might seem cheap currency if they weren’t so powerfully affecting to the recipients. Imagine the hand of God reaching toward Adam in Michelangelo’s fresco and you have some idea of the vital charge they could carry. After Sondheim died, Twitter was flooded with images of them. Notes to students and professionals and fans, they were thoughtful and specific, full of gratitude and good wishes, each on letterhead, each with the elegant, sloping signature that’s familiar now from the Stephen Sondheim Theater marquee. “He was always concerned about the future of the art form, and he wanted it to survive,” said director Lonny Price, who played one of the leads in the original Broadway production of Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along.” More than three decades later, he directed the documentary “Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened,” about the making of that show, a notorious flop. But it was as a Sondheim-obsessed 14-year-old in 1973 that he struck up a decades long correspondence with his hero, and discovered that Sondheim was kind enough to take him seriously. “He didn’t have biological children,” Price said. “But there are so many of us that are his kids.” You make me want to write more’ Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld of Fiasco Theater got a cherished letter from Sondheim in 2013, after he saw their company’s production of “Into the Woods.” Declaring it “inventive and exhilarating,” he ended with a breathtaking line: “You make me want to write more.” “It was the most important thing that’s ever happened in our professional lives,” Steinfeld said, calling it “unspeakably meaningful” to learn “that the cycle of inspiration might have actually flowed in the other direction.” After that, Sondheim opened his archives to the company as he collaborated with them on their 2019 off-Broadway revival of a reworked “Merrily We Roll Along.” Sondheim cultivated the field by founding the Young Playwrights Festival, where theater and television writer Zakiyyah Alexander recalls him having “a proud dad vibe” about her and the other teenage winners. Elsewhere he championed emerging composer-lyricists like Larson and Miranda and Dave Malloy. For years, he was the president of the Dramatists Guild Council. Revered as the closest thing we had to a theatrical deity, Sondheim didn’t retreat to reign alone on some Olympus. He ambled down from the mountaintop fully aware of the power and responsibility that came with his position. And so it was immensely moving, but utterly unsurprising, that he spent his last day of theatergoing, two days before he died, taking in a pair of form-bending documentary plays that were struggling at the Broadway box office and about to close: a matinee of “Is This a Room” and an evening performance of “Dana H.,” both at the Lyceum Theater. He had told a New York Times journalist his plan, and after he died, Michael Paulson reported what he had said in anticipation: “I can smell both of those and how much I’m going to love them.” To Emily Davis, the star of “Is This a Room,” the fact of Sondheim having been there — which she said she learned about only when she read it in the newspaper — felt like “the biggest and most grand actual welcome to Broadway that there could have been.” And when she noticed, the day after his death, an unusually large number of audience members doing doubleheaders — spending their Saturday catching both plays — it seemed to her like people paying tribute to him by doing as he had done. Children will listen. He got that right. 'Forgive me' Composer Jeanine Tesori, who spent many hours alongside Sondheim as the supervising vocal producer on the new “West Side Story” movie, got her first letter from him in the 1980s, when she was just out of college. To her retrospective mortification, she had mailed him some music she had written. “That’s what we all did,” she said. “We just cold sent him our stuff because we didn’t know not to do that: send a cassette, and then you would just sort of wait and hope.” He wrote back, gently, apologizing that he had been unable to listen to her tape — and somehow even that felt like a kind of validation, because he had noticed she was there. “The beautiful thing was, it didn’t go into the ether,” she said. “He could have easily ignored it. But what he did was acknowledge that he had gotten it, and he returned it. I’ll never forget those words, typewritten: ‘Forgive me.’” To a legion of fans Sondheim was and is the be-all and end-all. But his own horizons as a theatergoer were significantly broader than that. In an art form that is so much about being present for the unrepeatable moment, he not only showed up, but he also often did so to experience work that was offbeat and obscure, challenging conventions just as his own work did. When the Chicago-based experimental shadow-puppetry troupe Manual Cinema brought “Ada/Ava” to New York in 2015, Sondheim headed downtown to see what they were up to — “the ultimate pinch-me moment,” said Ben Kauffman, one of the company’s composers. When Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers performed their loopy Matt Damon-Ben Affleck sendup “Matt &amp; Ben” at P.S. 122 in 2003, Sondheim went backstage afterward to celebrate its unknown, 20-something playwright-stars. Kaling tweeted last weekend that she had told him she hoped someday to star in one of his shows; Withers, by phone, recalled his grace in focusing the encounter on them, not him. “He made the effort to stay and talk to us and see our eyes get wide and let us ask him a couple questions,” she said. “He wasn’t there because his publicist told him to be there, and to be nice. He was there because he wanted to be.” But Sondheim, far too famous simply to blend into an audience, was cautious about making such appearances. Jason Eagan, the artistic director of the artist incubator Ars Nova, said that Sondheim went to shows there but never to openings, because he didn’t want to be a distraction on someone else’s big night. And while there was nowhere for him to hide when he first saw the immersive “Natasha, Pierre &amp; the Great Comet of 1812” at Ars Nova’s tiny space in Hell’s Kitchen, when he went to see it on Broadway, he sat in the mezzanine to be as inconspicuous as possible. However much that theatergoing nourished him, as it nourishes all of us when the work is good, it was also frequently an obligation, and he fulfilled it diligently. Tesori remembers him showing up at City Center just after his close friend, the author and composer Mary Rodgers, died in 2014. He had promised that he would listen to some young artists perform his music, so he did — “even though he was heartbroken,” Tesori said. He asked her to give him the performers’ addresses, “because he wanted to write to all of them, to encourage them.” Even in freshest grief, that was his habit. ‘Why I wanted to write for the theater’ Playwright Lynn Nottage, now a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, was returning to the theater after a seven-year absence when Sondheim wrote to her out of the blue in 2004, praising her new play “Intimate Apparel” and telling her: “It reminded me of why I wanted to write for the theater in the first place.” “I entered back into New York theater sort of tiptoeing and frightened and not sure whether there was a space for me,” Nottage said. “And so when I received this letter from one of the giants, it just was the kind of affirmation that I needed in the moment. What it said to me more than anything is that I belong in this community.” From then on, at all of her plays, she said, “at some point I’d look out in the audience, and there he would be.” Sondheim’s letters generally weren’t long, but it’s the little things, right? Except that the little things combine to eat up who knows how many hours of a life. And even when a genius lives to 91, it’s easy to lament — as Miranda recently did, in an interview in The New Yorker — the works that went uncreated because of finite energies expended elsewhere. Over the phone a few days after Sondheim’s death, though, Miranda said he didn’t truly feel that way. “Obviously it’s to theater’s enormous benefit that he took that time, and I think it fed him to encourage others,” he said. “He succeeded on both fronts because he left a legacy of immortal works that we’ll be doing forever — I mean, just look at this season alone — and he also left behind a generation of artists who got encouragement from him, and support.” It was part of Sondheim’s gift to understand not only the encompassing job description of great artist but also his singular effect on his colleagues — how even a few words of appreciation, or moments of attention, could prove enduring sustenance over the long slog of a career in an often pitiless field. It was unglamorous work, and Sondheim did it exquisitely. No single theater artist right now is as revered as he was. No one else can yet step into those shoes. We nonetheless could, artists and audience members alike, seek to borrow from his example — by being adventurous, by being generous, by showing up. That would be one way to honor the giant.

Cherished words from theater’s encourager-in-chief

Anyone who uses social media knows that gone are the days when people would write funny one-liners or deep quotes on their Instagram biographies. In today's world, people like to let others know which gender they identity with: He or Him? She or Her? Or, is it just They?&nbsp;

 
Now, in theory, the concept is empowering to some, but in reality, many countries and cultures are struggling to inculcate the concept of gender-neutral identity into their lives with complete clarity. &nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-ari-lennox-rb-star-arrested-in-amsterdam-they-hate-black-people-433012">Ari Lennox, R&amp;B star, arrested in Amsterdam: They hate Black people</a>

 
Using the wrong pronouns is like an insult. In fact, gender-neutral word 'they' was declared word of the year in 2019. But can this change be replicated in all languages? Take French, for instance. It would be a logistical nightmare because French is a gendered language: the pronoun you use reflects the gender of a person or object you are talking about.&nbsp;

 
There's no gender neutral pronoun in the French language. But now, some linguists are trying to introduce it like Le Petit Robert: the best French dictionary. They will introduce a gender-neutral pronoun from 2022. They are calling it 'Iel': the merger of two French words 'Ielle' and 'Iels'. The question is: will the French buy it? They are fiercely protective of their language. It was going to be a risk but it is already backfiring. Here's what the Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has said about the new dictionary, "... It's authors are the militants of a cause that has nothing French about it." He is talking about the 'woke culture'. It doesn't have many fans in France.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-revealed-priyanka-chopra-is-sati-in-matrix-4-korean-poster-of-the-film-confirms-432996" hreflang="en">Revealed! Priyanka Chopra is Sati in 'Matrix 4', Korean poster of the film confirms</a>

 
Even the First Lady, Brigitte Macron, is a staunch opponent. Here's how she reacted to the idea of incorporating gender-neutral words, "There are two pronouns: He and She. Our language is beautiful and two pronouns are appropriate." Many feel this way and talk about a woke-culture assault from the US . Things that challenge basic French ideals. So here's a question: are these changes for the sake of change? Do they improve gender equity or does it defeat the purpose? For example, will the trans community prefer equality in pronouns or actual socio-economic equality? In an ideal world, both. But in this case, we must prioritise. Cosmetic changes are not a substitute for meaningful reforms. Sure, they make you feel good. But there's no systemic progress.&nbsp;

 
Let us give you another example from Scotland. Scottish secondary schools have been experimenting with gender-neutral washrooms. It's been a disaster so far, to say the least. Girls are boycotting the washroom because of vandalism by boys. Survey shows 56 per cent of Scottish people are against gender-neutral washrooms. Why, then, are these schools trying them out? Encourages diversity, they say. And whatever they intend, the result has been quite the opposite. Experiments like this one are counter productive. They become a bad advertisement for gender reforms.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-barbados-declares-rihanna-national-hero-at-republic-ceremony-watch-432983" hreflang="en">Barbados declares Rihanna 'national hero' at republic ceremony: Watch</a>

 
So what could Scotland have done? Perhaps retain single-sex washrooms, offer both services and let the people decide. This has always been the problem with woke culture, nobody is questioning the intentions but the method can be too extreme sometimes. Like changing the laws of French or common washrooms against common wisdom. The gesture's not a measure of change but a tool to create buzz. Good for the headlines, not so much for social equality.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-comedian-murray-hill-loses-everything-in-fire-receives-overwhelming-support-432975" hreflang="en">Comedian Murray Hill loses 'everything' in fire, receives overwhelming support</a>

&nbsp;

https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-gender-neutral-pronouns-france-sees-red-432850

Anyone who uses social media knows that gone are the days when people would write funny one-liners or deep quotes on their Instagram biographies. In today's world, people like to let others know which gender they identity with: He or Him?

Anyone who uses social media knows that gone are the days when people would write funny one-liners or deep quotes on their Instagram biographies. In today's world, people like to let others know which gender they identity with: He or Him? She or Her? Or, is it just They? Now, in theory, the concept is empowering to some, but in reality, many countries and cultures are struggling to inculcate the concept of gender-neutral identity into their lives with complete clarity. Also read: Ari Lennox, R&B star, arrested in Amsterdam: They hate Black people Using the wrong pronouns is like an insult. In fact, gender-neutral word 'they' was declared word of the year in 2019. But can this change be replicated in all languages? Take French, for instance. It would be a logistical nightmare because French is a gendered language: the pronoun you use reflects the gender of a person or object you are talking about. There's no gender neutral pronoun in the French language. But now, some linguists are trying to introduce it like Le Petit Robert: the best French dictionary. They will introduce a gender-neutral pronoun from 2022. They are calling it 'Iel': the merger of two French words 'Ielle' and 'Iels'. The question is: will the French buy it? They are fiercely protective of their language. It was going to be a risk but it is already backfiring. Here's what the Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has said about the new dictionary, "... It's authors are the militants of a cause that has nothing French about it." He is talking about the 'woke culture'. It doesn't have many fans in France. Also read: Revealed! Priyanka Chopra is Sati in 'Matrix 4', Korean poster of the film confirms Even the First Lady, Brigitte Macron, is a staunch opponent. Here's how she reacted to the idea of incorporating gender-neutral words, "There are two pronouns: He and She. Our language is beautiful and two pronouns are appropriate." Many feel this way and talk about a woke-culture assault from the US . Things that challenge basic French ideals. So here's a question: are these changes for the sake of change? Do they improve gender equity or does it defeat the purpose? For example, will the trans community prefer equality in pronouns or actual socio-economic equality? In an ideal world, both. But in this case, we must prioritise. Cosmetic changes are not a substitute for meaningful reforms. Sure, they make you feel good. But there's no systemic progress. Let us give you another example from Scotland. Scottish secondary schools have been experimenting with gender-neutral washrooms. It's been a disaster so far, to say the least. Girls are boycotting the washroom because of vandalism by boys. Survey shows 56 per cent of Scottish people are against gender-neutral washrooms. Why, then, are these schools trying them out? Encourages diversity, they say. And whatever they intend, the result has been quite the opposite. Experiments like this one are counter productive. They become a bad advertisement for gender reforms. Also read: Barbados declares Rihanna 'national hero' at republic ceremony: Watch So what could Scotland have done? Perhaps retain single-sex washrooms, offer both services and let the people decide. This has always been the problem with woke culture, nobody is questioning the intentions but the method can be too extreme sometimes. Like changing the laws of French or common washrooms against common wisdom. The gesture's not a measure of change but a tool to create buzz. Good for the headlines, not so much for social equality. Also read: Comedian Murray Hill loses 'everything' in fire, receives overwhelming support https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-gender-neutral-pronouns-france-sees-red-432850

The Pronoun punch: Why hostility against gender-neutral identity?

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