His infectious smile had a mesmeric power of holding big sway on the people around him. It had many shades and shapes, ranging from a toothy grin to a gentle smirk. For Sanju, the entire day held excitement of communicating with different sets of people and charming them with his sweet mannerisms. This was life, his world, for the eight-year-old at the popular food joint of the city. ..

Busy and barren are such paradoxes in terms that to put them together in one framework of a sentence seems odd. But we, the living epitomes of a busy life, know how desperately we need to remind ourselves of the wisdom of this caution – ‘Beware, for your seemingly busy life is hardly as productive as it should be.’ For, may be, it isn’t producing anything worthwhile but money. Freedom, stability, respect, happiness and so many more true-to-life things are all not being earned but lost in this donkey ..

IT IS time we looked at the issue of senior citizens whose off-springs are elsewhere in the country or in foreign countries comprehensively. And because we do not take such an approach, the problem is getting more and more complicated with passage of time. Generally, we tend to treat such issues rather dismissively, as if the answers are simple and we know them. That is visible in responses of many people to the last week’s ‘Loud Thinking’ on this problem. Some suggestions even bordered on the casual, ..

The statement in the title of this edition of ‘Loud Thinking’ has had its own importance -- which came back rushing up in the loud-thinker’s mind as he pondered over the importance of celebrating the World Book Day (on Saturday). A long time back, when he was confused about handling of some professional obstacles and challenges, the loud-thinker shared his anxieties with a fatherly person. He heard the wailing in full calmness, and then said, “Don’t worry. Go back, and read your books”. The loud-thinker ..

TO many people, there may not be anything amiss in the spectacle -- the get-together of more than a hundred college boys and girls for an end-of-the-year see-off or farewell event in a city hotel. The programme was over and they were in the process of leaving -- taking selfies, group pictures, saying ‘good-bye’ to one another. Yet, there was something to be concerned about, deeply worried about. The theme colour for the event appeared to be black. Therefore, most boys and girls wore black -- varied ..

THE Congress party is playing out an old drama on an oft-repeated theme -- with one difference. This time, rumour did the rounds for a while that the Gandhi family had expressed desire to resign. But then, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) played out its old drama -- of rejecting the resignation offer. So, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi will continue as Working President until the party polls are over. And yes, she has promised to take corrective steps to help the party come from the debris of the recent electoral ..

These lines have a haiku-like quality -- to communicate so much in words so few! The thought embodied in these words, however, has certain universality, certain spirituality, certain invitation to look within. This has been the thrust of entire realm of spirituality, of course. Real growth takes place within, and looking outside for it is running counter to the idea of the soul where there are seeds of sublime growth. Yet, like everybody else, the poet, too, craves for growth and starts looking for ..

  Netaji gave his life for an idea. Now, we must keep that idea alive in our midst so that it keep incarnating itself again and again for all the time.“Tum muze khoon do, Mein tumhe aazadi doonga.” “We should have but one desir..

IT SEEMS that there will be a conventional conflict between NATO and Russia -- not possible to say when, but probably within the near to medium future in our lifetimes of present folks living on planet earth. And there is a probability, presently in the low teens, that this conventional conflict will spiral into a nuclear conflict (more on this NATO-Russia can be subject of a next column). However, there might arise another scenario wherein nuclear weapons may be rattled within 3-6 months, in a different ..

The festivities were over as soon as they began. It was just a day and like all days it had its sunset. The idea, though, must remain. In babysteps and leaps, the march should continue. International Women’s Day: A celebration, a recognition, an attempt to bridge the gap, an effort to undo wrong, or just flowing with the stream of ‘seemingly right’?!? March 8 was all about celebrations as it should have been. The world again paid wholesome tribute to the entity called ‘woman’. Greetings were SMSed, ..

Of the monarch of the arts SENSIBLE and sensitive defence of poetry -- the monarch of the arts! Sir Philip Sidney felt compelled to write that detailed piece ‘An Apology For Poetry” because in the 16th century England, coarse, metrical writing was billed as poetry and many in the reading class were finding that work as unacceptable. Even as a popular opinion was emerging that poetry was nonsense, Sir Philip Sidney chose to mount a defence of what poetry was understood classically...

  “I am prepared for the worst and I feel it would be a good privilege to be allowed to suffer for a cause which to me is dear. ... I am confident that swaraj is at hand ...” - Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, in a letter from prison to ..

BOOSTING DEFENCE..

Of writing life’s sonnet PROFOUND and poetic! Rarely do we realise how difficult it is to fill a fixed form with sensible content. Rarely do we realise that the exercise calls for great poetic ability to choose the right turn of phrase, the right lilt, the right sound, the right lyricism ...! And that is so because a sonnet is a poem or a song -- circumscribed by 14 lines, of 10 syllables each, and a fixed pattern of rhyme. So many conditions of form! So many restrictions! So many rules! So many obligation..

 One of the most endearing and enduring qualities of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was his sense of complete control over himself -- a gift possibly he got out of his strongly and deeply spiritual inner personality. Those who knew him personally through..

    INTERNATIONAL credit rating firm Moody’s Investors Services has raised India’s growth forecast to 9.5 per cent for the year 2022 suggesting a solid momentum in the economic recovery from the pandemic-induced devastation..

The Animal Adoption Scheme started by Van Vihar National Park in 2009 saw daylight on Wednesday after two tigers were adopted by State Bank of India (SBI). The bank has adopted tiger ‘Panna’ and white tigress ‘Riddhi’ to mark its contribution towards the environment and wildlife conservation. Animal Adoption Scheme was introduced by the park about 12 years ago but it could not yield expected results. After a huge gap, a tiger has been adopted by the bank. SBI Chief General Manager Binod Kumar Mishra ..

The Indian model of economic recovery and growth embodied in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call of ‘vocal for local’ is attracting global attention for it revives the familiar local market economy for generating demands of day to day living, decentralises trade and sale facilitating the rise of small businesses at the ground level. ..

THIS unsung hero shunned all the comforts of life and embraced a difficult path full of uncertainties and challenges. Datta Shirke, a Nagpurian, chose to work to uplift tribals in Naxal-hit region of Gadchiroli district. A Naxal attack in Gadchiroli in 2009 shook him to the core. He quit his reputed job as a lecturer in city and decided to dedicate time and life for the sufferers who reel under constant fear of Naxals in Bhamragad. Shirke fondly recalls how his teachers in school made best use of ..

Along with trying to militarily absorb Ukraine into NATO, another major factor that’s becoming more apparent in the Joe Biden administration’s unceasing talk of war with Russia is the desire of U.S. energy producers to invade European markets with fracked natural gas. The U.S. energy producers don’t even need an actual military fight to come out ahead. If there is no war but the conflict manages to sufficiently poison Russian-European relations, then the EU will still turn to the U.S. to supply more ..

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky declares February 16, 2022 as ‘Day of Unity’ apprehending Russian invasion based on US assessment, after speaking to his American counterpart Joe Biden about Russias military buildup along Ukraines borders, with both committing to pursue “diplomacy and deterrence”. It comes after inconclusive talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Biden suggesting ‘swift and severe costs in case of invasion, as well as Normandy format between Russia, Ukraine, France ..

THROUGH the judgement of the case – Essar Shipping Ltd. v. Union of India & Others, delivered on February 8, 2022, Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M. S. Karnik, at the Bombay High Court have seen no reason to hold the Policy Circular No. 25 of 2007 of January 1, 2008, issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), ultra vires Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India as well as section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (FTDR Act) and paragraphs ..

  ONE of the biggest strengths of Ajinkya Rahane’s cricket is his humility and tremendous respect for the game. The middle-order bat will always come out as an unassuming and modest person on the field and also in private life. This streng..

Words. Are they a collection of sounds to convey a certain meaning or a collection of meanings encompassed in certain sounds? They are what you make of them. One often wonders why some sounds are so dear, some so detestable! So much rests on the mouth that utter words. Some are mere utterances to demonstrate power of speech; some are expressions carefully cultivated to show one’s power over speech. Some are nurtured crafts and some are simply art. Alas!..

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, issued a joint demand Thursday that NATO halt its plans for further expansion and end their continued push to whip up a “Cold War mentality.” The joint call in the wake ..

THROUGH the judgement of the writ petition filed by Ashish Shelar and 11 other BJP MLAs against suspension of their membership of the Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly on July 5, 2021 for one year, alleging “in disciplined and unbecoming behavior” on their part, in the Speaker’s Chamber; a 3-Judge Bench consisting of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and C.T. Ravikumar, at the Supreme Court, has given the petitioners New Year Gift on January 28, 2022 with its declaration that the impugned ..

  "Comrades! My soldiers! Let your battle-cry be --To Delhi To Delhi."How many of us will individually survive this war for freedom, I do not know. But I do know this that we shall ultimately win and our task will not end until our surviving her..

  INDIA’S diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing after China picked a PLA soldier, who was part of the military command that attacked Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley in 2020, is in line with the hard stance it has adopte..

   TWO separate attacks on a mobile tower and a railway track by Maoists in Giridih district of Jharkhand are acts of desperation by the Left Wing Extremists who are fighting a losing battle with the State. Both attacks were purportedly car..

  “Nothing short of an agricultural renaissance and an evergreen revolution with nutrition as the main component can make us realize this ambitious goal. Nourishing the 815 million people who are hungry today and many millions of children ..

  THE election season in India brings with it some episodes that find place in the media on a regular basis. Defections, promises, claims and counter-claims dominate the social discourse in every pocket of the country. Apart from these things, ..

Bhopal Municipal Corporation carried out fogging exercise on Sunday as well. BMC vehicles went to different localities of city and carried out fogging exercise to contain the mosquito menace and protect citizens from mosquito borne disease and other seasonal diseases as well. On Sunday, BMC carried out fogging exercise in Saketh Nagar, Comfort Palm, Rohit Nagar, Babadia Kalan, Green Valley, Kolua Kalan, Damkheda, Semra, Bihari Colony, Shabri Nagar, Patel Colony, Gram Khejda, Abhiruchi Parisar, Lala ..

  IN THE middle of the projected third wave, India has embarked on a new mission of administering booster dose to health workers and people above the age of 60 as a precautionary step. The drive coincides with vaccination for children between th..

With a puppet acting President MyintSwe, the erstwhile first Vice President of Myanmar, the military leadership has christened its increasing reign of torture to throttle civil liberties as “defensive people’s war” but gets unnerved. Junta forces resorted to looting of civilian possessions, carried out arson attacks, and destroyed civilian property, including food, medicine, and aid supplies intended for displaced civilians...

TWO questions about recent events in Kazakhstan. First, was last week’s slaughterhouse battle between “20,000 bandits” and the regime’s police in Almaty, the country’s biggest city, really just a quarrel among thieves? And second, why did Russian troops get involved? Kazakhstan is a kleptocracy: “a State where corrupt politicians enrich themselves secretly through kickbacks, bribes, and special favors, or simply direct State funds to themselves and their associates. They often export much of their ..

If one goes by the logic of ‘morning shows the day…’, then does January show the year? Well, we are not half-way into the month and I am already detesting the idea of ‘January showing the year…’ Oh no! Nothing against the month. Absolutely nothing. In fact, it is that super cool month of wonderful winters that bring hopes and plans and resolutions and increments and festivals and weddings. In short, a time of a lot of excitement! But this January has brought a third pandemic wave and nothing is like ..

  “The root cause of Indian agricultural crisis lies in economics. I am a technologist. Technology and public policy are both very important. But ultimately, while technology is important for farmers, more important are procurement and pub..

  ALL the Members of Parliament have a fantastic opportunity to bring about a big change in the legal framework of criminal laws practiced in India if they respond positively to the call of Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah. The Home Minister is..

THE spiritual metaphor of this wonderful poem cannot be missed -- though some may not sense it at all. ‘Yes, I am eager to meet Him -- my Lord. And all the time, I am readying myself for that rendezvous. My instrument is yet not ready. I try to string it to perfection, and then unstring it so that I string it back again better. I also have a song in the mind for Him, but the words elude me. Of course, I am yet to see My Lord’s face. I have also not heard His voice, as well. But wait, I have heard ..

IN A recent interview-based survey of young people between ages 18 and 24 years, a rather disturbing fact emerged -- that each one of the respondents had role models that were strange, to say the least -- movie stars, YouTube influencers, nondescript fashion models. That revelation was rather saddening. The researcher was none other than the loud-thinker himself. On one past occasion, he did mention similar findings in ‘Loud Thinking’, all right. But this time, the loud-thinker followed another approach. ..

  SINCE 2010, the Indian cricket team has recorded victories in 11 Tests in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries. For the uninitiated, the statistic may look a small number but for the ardent lovers of Indian cricket, t..

AS debates on man-animal conflict kept dominating the social space, Nagpur city and district remained in limelight in 2021 for different developments and issues in wildlife. The Forest Department was busy throughout the year handling poaching cases in Nagpur district. Forest teams arrested many poachers and seized body parts of tiger, leopard, pangolin etc. Similarly, Nagpur city, this year, experienced many incidents of wild animals entering residential areas which created panic among citizens. Man-animal ..

Lord Shri Krishna once said to Arjuna: “Oh best of the Bharata lineage, just as Lord Shesha is best among snakes, Garuda is best among birds, the Ashwamedh Yadnya is best among sacrifices, the Ganges is best among the rivers, Shri Vishnu is best among the demigods and the Brahmans are best among human beings; so, among all vows of austerity the day of Ekadashi is best.” According to Hindu calendar, there are 24 ekadashis mentioned in 12 months very year from Chaitra to Falgun. Ekadashi is the 11th ..

As we stand on the threshold of a passing year, an unhastened, easy smile breaks, simply sliding out of the many barriers of the ‘should-have-been’ about the year that was. Passing thresholds are all about taking and leaving. And so often than not what you take and what you leave determines your onward journey. Standing on threshold of an approaching year while bidding farewell to a departing one, one cannot but think of things that one takes along and all that is to be left behind. As if you are ..

  Either the country does not know the answer to all these troubling questions, or it knows the answers but does not have the courage to rise above the temptation of consumerist and corporate culture in which individual farmer has no space.It mu..

  A GENUINE demand, worth serious consideration, has been put forward by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the aviation ministry for mandatory playing of Indian music on flights operated by Indian carriers. It may sound a uniqu..

THERE is little to be excited about the Government’s latest announcement of a comprehensive strategy to put India firmly on the world map of semiconductor manufacturers at a time when the global industry is silently cerebrating its diamond jubilee of existence. The world’s first semiconductor maker, Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, was founded in Santa Clara, California, in 1957. Since then nearly 50 large semiconductor firms have come up in over a dozen countries..

WHEN flowers bloom! When flowers bloom, they dispel gloom, into free air they zoom ...! The legendary Amrita Pritam visualises that moment -- of bloom, of birth of a flower, of how its petals flair, how they bend outward, how they consume energy in the surrounding, how they emit energy. But that is still only half the story. For, the blooming of flower into a full spread of petals, their complete opening, is not the moment of the flower’s birth. The flower, actually, is born when the tender end of ..

Since Kim came to power, North Korea has fired off over 130 missiles over the last 10 years, punctuated by three intercontinental ballistic missile blasts in 2017. Of the four nuclear tests, the last in 2017, was a thermonuclear bomb. The Korean War that the current leader’s grandfather started in 1950, just two years after founding North Korea, claimed upwards of 4 million lives. His son and Kim’s farher, Kim Jong Il, inherited power in July 1994 and oversaw a devastating famine in which upwards ..

THE appeal of public health groups, doctors, economists to the Government to hike excise duty on tobacco products can well be described at best as a confused suggestion. For, on one hand, these people have made the suggestion so that there would be a considerable hike in revenue generation, while on the other hand they talk of combating tobacco addiction in the society. The second ruse appears to be only cosmetic, while the first one appears to have been inspired by some hidden vested interests. Otherwise, ..