Author: oiop

Pushkar, the enchanting town in Rajasthan, is redolent with religious myths, divine antiquity and a present firmly rooted in culture and commerce. The town comes alive during Kartik Poornima, when millions of pilgrims and tourists throng Pushkar’s bathing ghats, its unique Brahma temple and the camel fair. Pilgrims, mystics, sadhus, traders, herders and tourists mingle in one of the greatest gatherings known to mankind. There is romance in the air as Pushkar transforms into a riot of colors and reverberates with joy and music. THE town of Pushkar welcomes visitors with the fragrance of incense sticks, the mellifluous sounds of…

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Soumitra Chatterjee is a living icon in the country not only because of his performance as a protagonist in 14 films directed by Satyajit Ray and other eminent films over the past five decades, but also because of his multi-layered excellence in several forms of creative expression. He is a renowned poet among contemporary Bengali poets, and co-edited one of the most outstanding literary magazines in Bengali called Ekhhon and authored 11 collections of poetry. He is a famous director, actor and translator in Bengali professional theatre, having translated, directed and acted in different kinds of plays. He is a…

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Randhir Khare gives a poignant account of the sacred spaces which were once such an intrinsic part of tribal culture and mythology. While some of these sacred spaces have managed to survive, most are inexorably vanishing in the march of modernisation and encroaching external culture. People from traditional communities in India, like their near and distant neighbours, have always considered the physical spaces that they inhabit or frequent as meaningful. These physical spaces are intrinsically connected to their way of life, their worship, folklore, mythology and culture. In some cases, they are closely related to social customs, songs and story…

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Despite decades of special status accorded to them, has the tribal population in India made significant socio-economic progress? Is it time to redefine the vision for their development? Mukesh Khullar studies Maharashtra state’s Vision 2020 tribal development policy and other legislations to see if they hold some answers. The general perception of tribal development in India is that there has not been a significant improvement in their socio-economic status. This is especially so, if the perception is based on media reports, legislative discussions and court proceedings, as much of the discussion hovers around misappropriation of budget, misdirected schemes and poor…

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A true karmayogi (1922-2014) The hospitality industry in the country recently lost one its most illustrious personages , C P Krishnan Nair, Founder Chairman of the Leela Group of Hotels who breathed his last in Mumbai at the age of 92. The son of a government servant who earned a princely monthly salary of nine rupees in those days, Captain Nair as he was affectionately called joined the freedom movement when still in his teens and was associated with leaders like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the leftist leader A K Gopalan. He also had a stint in the Army…

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BATIK is an ancient art of textile designing that probably derives its name from the Indonesian-Malay term ambatik meaning ‘a cloth with little dots’. First, a design is traced onto a white cotton or silk cloth. Parts of the design that will remain white are covered with a combination of beeswax and paraffin wax. The cloth is then dipped in a dye solution. The longer the time it is immersed, the darker the colour. The procedure is repeated many times. The wax is then washed out of the cloth. In India, batik textiles are mainly produced in Shantiniketan in West…

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The labour conditions in our factories are already bad because of pitiable administration of labour compliance norms. It is now feared that the proposed Factories Amendment Bill 2014 will further deteriorate the conditions and stagnate real wages. Social scientists have always, and now even the RBI governor recently, commented on the shortage of skilled labour in India. The kind of labour that can put in order plumbing, wiring, make durable furniture, sturdy buildings, roads and bridges, skilled masons, electricians, joiners, mechanics, technicians, operators, tailors, cutters, executors of designs and such like expert workers of manufacturing processes. They cannot be found…

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A man carrying bales of cotton cloth stopped to rest beneath a tree. Next to the tree was a large stone statue of the Buddha. The man was so tired that he fell asleep in the shelter of the pedestal. When he awoke he found that his bales of cloth had vanished. He immediately reported the matter to the police. The judge said that as there were no witnesses to the crime, the Buddha must have stolen the goods. “The Buddha is supposed to look after the welfare of the people, but he has failed to perform his holy duty.…

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The valourous Maharaja of Jaipur (1931-2011) Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur was born on 22 October 1931 in Jaipur. He was the first maleborn heir to the ruling Maharaja and his birthday was celebrated in style. So much champagne flowed that he was called Bubbles. He was educated at Doon School Dehradun and later at Harrow in UK. Like his father who served the Army as Lt General, he was keen to join the army and was commissioned into 3 Cavalry in 1954 and later served in the President`s Bodyguard for eight years. In 1963, he was posted to Headquarters…

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Ujwala Ajit Gokarn of Nagpur is perhaps the only female percussionist in Maharashtra. And the surprising part is that she has had no training in the art, and there are no members in her family or circle of friends who are percussionists. (A percussionist is a person who plays instruments which are struck, scraped or rubbed by hand and are an essential part of a team of vocal and instrumental music.) Her musical instruments add background scores to popular film songs like ‘Jaago Mohan pyare’ ‘Ik ladki bheegi bhagi si’ ‘Mere samnewali khidki mein ik chand ka tukda rehta hai,’…

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