Column

Weekends therapy

    COME Friday, I start my weekend, the most awaited days of my life. People in the five days work culture have a lot of things to catch up on. It is not less than festive time and I make sure that I leverage these two days the most. ..

Glory! -- 350 Years Ago !!!

    The nation celebrates 350th anniversary of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with great enthusiasm, on June 2, 2023. By Vijay phanshikarDESPITE the great energy with which the celebrations went on all over the coun..

The Martian possibilities

    LAST two years have witnessed four Mars-centric events almost one after the other. China soft landed their Lander as also the Rover ‘Jhurong’ on Martian soil, USA landed their Lander and Rover ‘Perseverance’..

Abolish Nuclear Weapons

   By Dr Arun Mitra  MUCH was expected from the recently concluded summit of group of seven countries the G7 which included USA, UK, France, Canada, Italy, Germany and Japan. Since the world is faced with serious threat of use of ..

Tridevi!

    IT WAS in 2002 when I first met her. We had recently shifted to our new house. All were busy in unpacking and organising things. I was carefully opening up the box of crockery when I heard a sweet voice. ‘Didi, press ke kapde..

AGI Replacing AI

    By Gwynne Dyer  “Sometimes I think it’s as if aliens have landed and people haven’t realised because they speak very good English,” said Geoffrey Hinton, the ‘godfather of AI’ (Artifici..

Lives - boxed, timid, shut from reality…!

LIFE– precious as itis, one cannotputitina secure box to keep it safe. Those who have tried to keep itthatway, realisemuchtotheirperil,thatitquickly loses its colour, fragrance, charm and character. Like a flower in a mud-filled garden, it needs exposure–to soil, to sunlight, to rains…, to the company of likeminded, lively flowers, not so like-minded buds and thorns and to the majesty oftrees. It also needs its own ground to stand firm and its own sky to think and dream about...

Syria back in the Arab-fold

   BY ASAD MIRZA  AFTER more than a dozen years of ostracism by regional Arab and western leaders, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is officially back in the Arab fold, he was warmly embraced by regional leaders at the Arab League..

All for the love of mangoes!

   NATURE had bestowed a myriad of colours and flavours to each fruit, making them succulently unique in their own way.While we all had our favourites in the intoxicating fruit basket, it seemed mango was the popular choice. Everyone would ..

SHAPING GEOPOLITICS

    BY D C PATHAK  IN RECENT years the international scene has been conditioned by new geopolitical trends that were affecting all regions particularly West Asia, IndoPacific and Eurasia. India now a major power influencing g..

Remembering Rock&Roll queen - Tina Turner

   By Chauncey K. Robinson  TINA Turner, a trailblazer of rock and roll, has died at the age of 83. Throughout her decades-long career in the public eye, Turner showcased a raw and unfiltered musical energy whenever she took the s..

Leave Encashment Benefit

   By Adv. R. S. Agrawal  IN THE judgement of the case – Pramod Prabhakarrao Deshmukh v. State of Maharashtra and Others delivered on April 28, 2023, Justice Rohit B. Deo and Justice Vrushali V. Joshi, at the Nagpur Bench of..

Those importantseven years:Entitlement versusempowerment

T HE most important component of grooming of young people between ages 12 years and 18 years is the sense of entitlement the kids get via multiple channels. Almost all adults -- the parents, other family elders, neighbours, teachers -- keep reminding the child of what he or she is entitled to. This is the general experience -- which few can deny. And that becomes a problem area in the child’s life and personality. Let us consider the details -- shocking details, so to say. The culture we have evolved ..

Situational awareness

   SOMEONE sent a video on WhatsApp about a young lad saving many lives as he halted the school bus he was riding while going to school. It so happened that the driver got a heart attack and lost control of the bus. This lad stopped the bus..

Of Failed Urban Design

   Bengaluru, May 21 (PTI): A woman, identified later as Bhanurekha, drowned to death on Sunday after the car in which she was travelling with her family got stuck in neck-deep water at the K.R. Circle underpass just a stone’s throw ..

The cup that cheers

   THE World Tea Day was celebrated recently. The souls of the Chinese emperor who accidentally discovered the drink and the tree that had been shedding its leaves for years without anyone taking a second look at them must be wondering how ..

Women’s Success In upsc

   By Dr. Gyan Pathak  INDIA is at a cross-road. The country needs to ensure the administration to be more sensitive and humane for which women’s spectacular success in UPSC is a good signal. The UPSC results show women at t..

Listen to your soul

    The word “Passion” is known to us. We know its literal meaning which is the same for all. But where we all differ from one another is the actual realisation of the word. It’s different for different people. Passio..

Tough Task For Congress

   By Kalyani Shankar DAME Luck smiles at every Party at a particular moment. The 137-year Grand Old Congress Party, which has seen many ups and downs, is no exception. Winning a prosperous and significant Karnataka recently gave Congr..

The unresolved Palestinian question

   BY ASAD MIRZA  NAQBA Day marks the beginning of Palestinians exodus from their homeland, but for the last 75 years the international community has been unable to give the Palestinians their right to their own homeland. On May 1..

D(Anger)

   WE all were requested to assemble in the school auditorium for the staff photograph. All the staff members started gathering there. I was in the examination department and by the time I reached, all the best places were already occupied...

Ukraine: Biden’s Timing

   By Gwynne Dyer  AGREAT many people are glad that US President Joe Biden has finally agreed that Ukraine can be supplied with modern Western aircraft – specifically F-16s – but they are still cross about his procras..

‘Gymholic’

    GYM was not my cup of tea. It does not mean that I am not health centric, I am, but despite going to the gym and being muscular, I prefer walking. But this year my ‘gymholic’ colleague cum friend insisted me to join it ..

Pakistan’s Fall

   By M A Hossain  PAKISTAN is currently in a critical juncture of political turmoil which is posing a threat to its sovereignty as well as growing concerns about global security. Not only that, if Pakistan fails to address the cr..

The secret of life

   IT WAS a bright sunny day, with birds chirping and flowers blooming. Happiness was in the air. An old man named John was standing in the garden. He was looking at the pond full of ducks. He seemed to be perfectly happy and content with h..

Worrying Signals

   Amritsar, May 18 (PTI): Hundreds of activists of farmers’ outfit Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMC) on Thursday squatted on railway tracks and blocked rail traffic at a number of places in Punjab over alleged inadequate compen..

Demons in stealth mode

    THE demons in reference are fear of uncertainty and greed, these dangerous demons are the root causes of all unrest in society. Fear of uncertainty and greed are two of the most powerful demons in the world. They can cause people t..

‘Frankenstein’ AI

   By Anjan Roy  SOME of the most successful practitioners and developers of “Artificial Intelligence” are now calling for its regulation by the Government. These creators of the strikingly advanced AI systems are unde..

Imran’s popularity has grown outside home

   By Hamza Ameer  FORMER Pakistan Prime Minister, cricketer-turned-politician and chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan is by far the most popular leader in Pakistan at the moment. Khan is someone whose populari..

‘Premature’ Purchase Notice

   By Adv. R. S. Agrawal  THROUGH the judgement delivered on May 4, 2023, in the case – Mandakini Ruprao Khangar and Others v. The State of Maharashtra and Others, Justice Atul Chandurkar and Justice M.W. Chandwani, at the N..

Of the missing conversationin the family

THE subject of conversation within the family has had its own importance in human society. The quality of conversation among members of the family decides the quality of culture of the people, a fact that has been recognised since time immemor..

New dimension of love

    MY SCHOOL friend Shirish, from Mumbai had worked abroad for forty years. A progressive thinker, ahead of his time, now retired rich, the couple is suave, fashionable, articulate with excellent social manners, speak English with an ..

A ‘God’ That Failed

   By Vijay phanshikar NOBODY can deny the correctness of this observation about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders. A few years after the AAP rode to power on the wings of the image of its incorruptibility, the party now stands..

Noble souls

   FOR someone who has been travelling in trains for the last around 45 years, this incident was beyond my wildest imagination. On 7th May, I was travelling from Secunderabad to Ballarsha. Being on transit flights from Cochi-Mumbai-Hyderaba..

Trump’s Re-election Bid

    THE day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States in 2017, women took to the streets in protest. In varying states of fury and disbelief, millions of women and their supporters participated in the first W..

Consideration for others

    AFTER ending my day at college, the moment I stepped outdoors, I felt the summer heat in full force as the sharp piercing sun singed my skin and I dashed towards the parking lot. Getting inside the car, I switched on the air con, t..

A Death Every 7 Seconds

   By Dr. Gyan Pathak  DECREASING investment in maternal and newborn health has stagnated the progress in preventing premature deaths of pregnant women, mothers and babies globally, due to which death befalls on one every 7 second..

Food shortages - a wake up call

    AGRICULTURE and food are now back in the centre stage against the backdrop of the critical geopolitical developments. This has become necessary after food shortages witnessed in the face of Russian-Ukraine conflict in countries dep..

‘Dynamic’ Injunction

   By Adv. R. S. Agrawal  THROUGH the order passed in the Commercial IP Suit between Applause Entertainment Private Ltd. and Meta Platforms Inc. and others on May 2, 2023, Justice Manish Pitale, at the Bombay High Court, has consi..

A marvel of yore

    OUR maternal grandparent’s eight-decade-old Monkey Top building in Fraser Town, Bengaluru, is a unique architectural structure. Intricate designs and decorative elements adorn the house’s facade featuring red-oxide floo..

Digital Currency In India

   By Arun Kumar Shrivastav  THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a pilot programme to test its digital currency, the digital rupee, in India’s four largest cities. The programme is intended to assess the feasibility..

Become the best version of yourself

    HELLO Beta! How was your performance? Why do you sound so distressed? I asked my niece who tried restlessly for her elocution inter-school competition. I have known her since childhood, she though tries hard, and gives her soul to ..

A Spike In The Ocean

   By Gwynne Dyer  THERE is a fever raging in the ocean. Last month it was worst off the eastern coast of North America, where the sea surface temperature was as much as 13.8 degrees Celsius higher than the 1981-2011 average for t..

Ice cold

   SUMMERS were setting in. Father came home a bit late that day. He seemed a bit excited and after a while he announced we are buying a ‘Fridge’, though a ‘second hand’, but in good working condition. We threesome j..

UK King Getting Popular Support

   By Kalyani Shankar  VIEWERS worldwide will witness the coronation ceremony of British King Charles and his Queen Camilla on May 6. The critical moment in modern British history will be 70 years after Queen Elizebeth 11 coronati..

Home Minister’s initiatives for strengthening internal security

    BY D.C. PATHAK  THE arrival of Amit Shah as the Union Home Minister in 2019 sent out clear signals that he would govern with a strong hand - enjoying the complete trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi - and would not hesi..

Race to White House: Biden, Trump rematch!

   By YASHWANT RAJ  UNITED States President Joe Biden likes to say, quoting his father, “dont compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative”. At 80, Biden is already the oldest President in US history and i..

Addl Ground For Divorce

   By Adv. R. S. Agrawal  THROUGH the judgement in the case – Shri Rakesh Raman v. Smt. Kavita, delivered on April 26, 2023, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice J.B. Pardiwala, at the Supreme Court, have added a new ground ..

Orange carpet

   I WAS driving on a flyover today and I spotted the beautiful and huge orange canopy. Oh! you are back, it is almost a year since I saw you. How refreshing it is to see you back, I said aloud. I came across a few more canopies. I was in h..

Congress’ Suicidal Choice!

   By Vijay phanshikar SO, THE Congress party is at it again -- abusing Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi personally in the filthiest possible manner. Obviously, it has not learned any lesson from the fact its leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi ha..