Author: oiop

Bittu Sahgal keeps revisiting Kaziranga, a child of the Brahmaputra river valley time and again. Each successive trip makes him discover a new facet, a new personality. Ranjit Barthakur and I sat on a large log watching otters fish in the Diphloo River. We paused a while to take in the throb of life that is Kaziranga on the way back from Debeswari, where we had seen two Bengal Floricans rise and then float down like balloons, in a dance ritual designed to impress females hidden in the tall grass. We also saw where a tiger, elephant and turtle had…

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Unparalleled leadership (1893-1965) With education upto eighth standard, he rose to the rank of secretary and played a key role in transfer of power through merit and integrity. Eldest in a family of twelve, V P Menon was born on 30 September 1893 in village Kothakurussi in Malabar. His father was an agriculturist. Menon studied upto Class eight and left school to work as a miner, construction labourer and teacher. He decided to try his luck at a government job and travelled to Delhi. His money had been stolen and a kind-hearted Sikh gentleman gave him 15 rupees. Menon asked…

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In an exclusive interview with the Common Man (CM to friends), V. Gangadhar finds that the CM is uncomfortable being in the limelight all the time, and is also sick of the lies and flattery that he has to resort to on many occasions. An exclusive interview with the Common Man (CM to his friends) Q: Over the past few weeks it was next to impossible to meet you, let alone seek an exclusive interview with you, Mr. Common Man. CM: Yes I know, I am sorry. You see, it is that time of the year when everyone wants to…

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Advocate Mahesh Chandra Mehta, is a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court since 28 years. He pledged his life for environment and has held the baton to achieve environmental sustenance through the legal route. He is the first Indian lawyer to indulge in legal activism and to show the path on how to protect and safeguard environment. Advocate Mehta grew up and studied in a small village in district Rajouri in the state of Jammu. He completed his post graduation in political science from Jammu University and started his practice as a lawyer in J & K High Court. It…

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The Right to Information (RTI) is one of the simplest and most powerful tool in the hands of the common man to seek information on a number of issues, in order to minimise corruption and get what is rightfully due to him, writes Shailesh Gandhi. Vijaya Dashmi, 12 December 2005, will go down in Indian history as the day which gave citizens the right to realise Swaraj or freedom in the real sense. This has been made possible by the implementation of Act 22 of 2005 the Right to Information (RTI) Act, across the country. Earlier nine states had RTI…

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A thinking actor (1948-2013) Farooque Shaikh, an actor deeply embedded in the world of cinema, was completely devoid of the razzmatazz that dominates Bollywood. His career spanned over four decades. He was not smitten by awards, festivals or money. His career remained understated though he worked with some of the most eminent directors. He was best known for his work in Hindi films from 1977 to 1989 and for his work on television between 1988 and 2002. He returned to acting in films in 2008 and continued to do so until his death on 27 December 2013. He won the…

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The ‘aam aadmi’ of the 70s and 80s was a composition of emerging middle class and toiling masses, who got lost in identity politics. Today, with corruption and problems of governance taking centre stage along with growing concern about inflation and economic slowdown, we see a commonality of interests amongst the two classes re-emerging and bringing the common man or the ‘aam aadmi’ into focus, says Dr. Bhalchandra K. Kango. The ‘Aam Aadmi’ has suddenly become the focus of attention throughout the country. This may be due to the victory of the ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ (AAP) in Delhi, which was…

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V. Gangadhar talks about the common man immortalised by the iconic cartoonist of India, R.K. Laxman. Laxman’s themes, he says, were not lofty, as his common man was someone who every Indian could easily identify with. His sketches exposed the rot in the system, which angered the aam aadmi, but never failed to bring a smile on his face. Geniuses seldom look like genius. Albert Einstein’s suit was always rumpled, and he badly needed a hair trim and a comb in his pocket. No wonder one breakfast morning, he stood in front of his stove in deep thought holding an…

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The recent happenings in the political arena have changed the very perception of the Common Man. He is not the beggar waiting to receive the doles or relief; he has begun to demand what is his due, says Prof. Yogesh Atal. The one appellation that gained currency in the last two years is The Common Man. As more and more countries emerged out of the shackles of colonialism and opted for democratic regimes in independent republics, they became democracies for namesake and transformed into gerontocracies, or democracies in appearance but dynastic in its form. The most popular, and apt definition…

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Urvish Paresh Mehta is a F. Y. B.Com student at Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, simultaneously pursuing Chartered Accountancy. He has a flare for writing, and regularly participates in Inter-Collegiate Debate Competitions. His articles have been published in newspapers and magazines. Urvish follows cricket religiously and dreams of living in a ‘happier India’. THE yards put in by the academia very often are the seminal factors in deciding the distance the nation is likely to gauge in terms of prosperity. Thus, it is no rocket-science to derive that the better sync the learning process has with practicality, the…

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