Environmental pollution may not be a cause for asthma and COPD, but it most certainly aggravates an already existing illness, especially in a city like Mumbai, which is in the midst of a construction boom. Pollution is a reality of urban life, but one can mitigate its ill effects by taking certain steps. Dr. Sujeet Rajan tells us how. Smita gets frequent colds and has asthma. Every day when she goes to work, she dreads the traffic. Environmental pollution levels in Mumbai and around have risen over the past years, though with new roads and flyovers, traffic has certainly speeded…
Author: oiop
Shubha Benurwar is a Community Development Officer (CDO) with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), and has two and a half decades of experience in implementation of poverty alleviation policies in Mumbai. In an interview (published in One India One People) earlier, she had spoken extensively about how well-designed policies like the Swarana Jayanthi Shahri Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) can lend a hand to poor women. The policy revolved around forming groups of women from poor neighbourhoods into thrift and credit groups, and linking them with nationalised banks for loans. The policy also supported skills training for women, micro enterprises,…
An incomparable doyen (1930-2014) The passing away of K. Balachander or KB, one of the greatest film directors the country has seen, cast a pall of gloom across the film industry. Balachander directed over a hundred films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. KB also introduced to the silver screen more than 60 artistes, the most famous among them being Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, with the latter, who started out as a child artiste, landing his first role as an adult in Balachander’s Arangetram. Rajinikanth whom he spotted while scouting for talent at the Madras Film Institute, played a cameo…
The Northeast Region of India has abundant natural resources, but very little development. Security considerations in this conflict-affected region have dictated the Centre’s policies here, leading to angst in the local population, which sees the Centre as being ‘exploitative’ of its resources, with very little benefits trickling to the people. There is a huge trust deficit here which needs to be addressed, says Amiya Kumar Sharma. The most paradoxical situation in the world today is of iniquitous distribution of income, which has resulted in some people enjoying an excessively luxurious life, while others lack food and the barest of necessities.…
A monk knocked at the door of a wealthy landowner late one night and asked for shelter. It was readily given. The next morning as the monk was about to leave, his host asked him for a blessing for the continued prosperity of his house. “Father dies, son dies, grandson dies……let it be so,” intoned the monk. “Is that a blessing or a curse!” exclaimed the householder. “What have I done to displease you?” “I am not displeased,” replied the monk. “If the son dies before the father or the grandson before the grandfather, the family is wounded and prosperity…
The Nagaland Mother’s Association or NMA is a testimony to the fact that if women come together, nothing is beyond the scope of their abilities. The NMA has battled social evils, stigmas and prejudices in the last three decades. Negotiating and dealing with the government and the insurgents is a day’s work for them, says an appreciative Rani Pathak Das. THEY like to be identified as mothers. Indeed, motherhood is symbolic of respect, strength, patience, love, courage and care. However, apart from these qualities of a mother, they have emerged as matchless in the role they have been playing as…
Jurist with a heart (1915-2014) Justice Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer, who was born in Thalasery in Kerala on 15 November 1915, passed away at Kochi on 4 December 2014, after celebrating his 100th birthday in November. The learned judge who graduated in law from the Madras Law College, learnt the ropes from his father, eminent criminal lawyer V.V. Rama Iyer. Justice Krishna Iyer had a brief brush with politics when he won an election to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952. When the first government in Kerala was formed under the chief ministership of the CPM (Communist Party Marxist) leader…
The Narendra Modi government may have embarked on its development agenda with a lot of fanfare, but we are also hearing a parallel Hindutva agenda being flagged. Prime Minister Modi, as the man in charge, has to come down on this heavily, as just sporadic gestures may not be enough to bell this cat. The Narendra Modi government won a convincing majority in the parliamentary elections held in May 2014, and assumed office riding on a plank that included inter alia, development, bringing back black money stashed abroad, ending corruption, doing away with red tape and so on. However, nearly…
When and where was Sitara Devi born? She was born in Kolkata on November 8, 1920. Her father,Sukhadev Maharaj, was a Kathak exponent who dedicated his life to teaching the dance form to his children and others despite facing stiff opposition from the elders of his community who associated the dance with naatch girls. How did she get the name ‘Sitara’? The dancer was originally named Dhanalakshmi as she was born around the time of Diwali. When she was eight years old, her performance in a school dance drama was appreciated by a local newspaper. When her father saw the…
The recent Mumbai Marathon was very signifi cant for a group of participants who were not there to better their previous time or run the longest race. They were there to show the world their enormous grit and determination. The war disabled heroes of the Indian Army ran the Mumbai Marathon ‘Dream Run’ and the Mumbaikars cheered them on lustily, says Lt.Gen. Vijay Oberoi. Once again, the war disabled warriors of the War Wounded Foundation (WWF) were back in the fray at the Mumbai Marathon on 18 January 2015. For them, it was one more challenge, and being soldiers of…