As Covid-19 began spreading its tentacles, the nation also pulled up its socks and responded by developing its own vaccine in astonishingly quick time. While the vaccination has taken off in right earnest, India has also been magnanimous in providing a healing touch to its neighbouring countries proving that “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” wasn’t just a rhetorical slogan, says Gajanan Khergamker. . India rose to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for self-reliance and became Aatmanirbhar by creating its own vaccine and pulling off what was nothing short of a miracle. When, in India, all looked lost towards the third quarter of last…
Author: oiop
Invincible in death (1916 –1944) Netra Bahadur Thapa was born on 8 January 1916 and joined the Indian army in 1932. He was recruited in the Fifth Gorkha Rifles (5 GR) and served on the North West Frontier. He was promoted to the rank of Subedar and was transferred to the 2nd Battalion of the regiment (2/5 GR). In World War II, the unit was deployed in Chin Hills in Burma with the 17th Indian Division. In March 1944 the division was ordered to withdraw to Imphal to halt the Japanese assault and movement towards Assam-Bengal. As the Japanese 15th…
Bollywood’s vintage poster artist (1930-2021) Those were the days when before a movie hit the theatres, big posters, banners and hoardings announced its arrival. Bollywood’s yesteryear publicity designers were responsible for giving them a larger-than-life appeal. There was no 24 by 7 media then and the poster of the film in itself was one of the most potent mediums of promotion. One saw the heroes, the villains, the heroines all in full glory in the handmade film posters created with much love, creativity and labour. Yet in today’s film world, there is hardly any mention of these great poster artists…
The quintessential social activist (1939-2020) Pushpa Bhave, who died in October 2020 at the age of 81 defined the spirit of the quintessential Mumbai activist. Politically and socially aware and culturally rooted in the progressive local and international thought. She was a college lecturer and erudite of course who gave her students—as they testify so admiringly—more than a deep knowledge and love of Marathi literature. Starting from the Samyukta Maharashtra movement (She was a teenager then) this writer, theatre personality and Socialist contributed to every enlightened struggle and cause in the city and state. In the book “Gandhi in Bombay…
A Marathi actress, producer, director and writer, Vaishali Vasant Kendale is also a double M.A. in Communication Studies and History, a B.Ed. in English and has cleared SET (State Eligibility Test) for Lectureship. She believes that film is an effective medium to express our thoughts and convey a social message to the masses. Vaishali has featured in Marathi films like ‘Khwada’, ‘Masuta’, etc., and a Hindi feature film ‘Kastoori’. In a free-wheeling chat with A. Radhakrishnan, she talks about her creative journey. What does acting mean to you? Is acting inborn or taught? For me acting is an interpretation of a…
Steeped in history, Karnataka’s capital of Bangalore or Bengaluru has in and around it scenic and idyllic locales that make for a wonderful weekend getaways. Nestled among rocky outcrops and hill ranges, it also boasts of beautiful temples. It’s topography dotted by tanks, forts and watch towers are natural tourist hotspots, offering great hiking opportunities and picnic spots. The wonderfully amiable climate all through the year is the fringe benefit. Text and photographs : Usha Hariprasad Bangalore, the garden city as it popularly known is quite ancient. A 9th century Begur inscription has the record of Bengaluru. The hero stone found in the premises of the Begur Nageshwara…
A true blue Rajput warrior (1919-1944) Ram Sarup Singh was born on 13 April 1919 in a Tanwar Rajput family in village Kheri Talwana, Mahendragarh, Haryana. Kheri is a cluster of about forty villages inhabited by Tanwar Rajputs where men traditionally choose a career in the army as duty towards nation. Ram Sarup passed middle class from Ahir High School, Kanina, and then enlisted in 2nd Battalion of 1st Punjab Regiment on 12 April 1937. He excelled in all service matters and he was awarded the Viceroy Commission in April 1943. He was probably the youngest soldier to have been…
The ubiquitous actress (1941 –2020) Ashalata Wabgaonkar, popular as Ashalata, was a well-known Hindi and Marathi film actress, theatre personality and television actor. Originally from Goa, she spent her life majorly in Mumbai working in the film industry and doing theatre.She studied at the prominent St. Columba Girls High School at Gamdevi, and was a post-graduate in Psychology from the SNDT Women’s University. Beginning with Konkani and Marathi plays, she acted in more than 100 plays. Her debut in theatre was enacting the role of Revathi in the play Sangeet Sanshaykallol, presented by the Goa Hindu Association. Her Marathi plays such as Guntata Hridhya He, Varyavarchi Varaat, Chinna and Mahananda are evergreen in the minds…
Peerless, the world was his stage (1947-2020) A pall of gloom hung over classical dance circles across the country with the passing of renowned contemporary dancer Astad Deboo. Deboo succumbed to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a virulent form of cancer at 73, the diagnosis coming barely a month before his demise. In a career spanning over five decades, Astad Deboo created and visualised a dance form that was a confluence of cultures although rooted in the dynamics of Kathakali and Kathak and earned accolades galore. Born in a conservative Parsi family in Navsari, Gujarat on 13 July 1947, he picked up the…
Usha Ganguly was one of a kind, feisty and ready to tread uncharted territories taking on themes and issues beyond the conventional. Her versatility went far beyond the Hindi plays she was passionate about and made strong political statements for the contemporary audience, says Shoma Chatterji in her tribute. It is difficult to pen a posthumous tribute to a celebrity who also became a close friend over the years. Usha Ganguly’s passing on April 23 last year was a personal shock as I had spoken to her over the phone just around four days before when Kolkata was in lockdown…