Ardent proponent and dancer of Odissi(1926-2004) Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, the Indian classical dancer, choreographer, guru, and proponent of Odissi dance, was born on 8 January 1926. He redefined the dance style with his creativity. As he put it, ‘Dance has not only made my life purposeful, it has been my whole life…’ Born into a family of painters at Raghurajpur, as a child, he loved the jatras (open air roving theatres) of Orissa (now Odisha). His father, Chintamani Mohapatra, a painter and a khola (drum) player, instilled in him the love of rhythm. The sound of the drums, along with…
Author: oiop
The tug-of-war often played between the Executive and Judiciary in India, is highly avoidable. The Judiciary must be independent, but whether the collegium system is the way forward or is there an alternative, we will have to see, says Prof. Avinash Kolhe. Like Banco’s ghost, some issues in our polity keep coming back to haunt us. Appointing judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court is one such issue. It has become a bone of contention between the Executive and the Judiciary, where both refuse to blink. This stand-off must be resolved at the earliest, as we are badly…
Prisons should not be punishment facilities, but should rehabilitate and help reform the prisoners, says Sujit Bhar. He profiles famous dancer Alokananda Roy and her work with prisoners in Kolkota to prove his point. Asix-foot man quietly strides across the green room, thoughtfully addressing his ducktail beard. He puts on his period costume as he silently mouths verses from Rabindranath Tagore’s Valmiki Pratibha. He is the lead actor in this well-known dance drama that tells the story of reformation – of how the dreaded dasyu (dacoit) Ratnakar metamorphosed into Saint Valmiki, who went on to pen the great epic, Ramayana.…
A disturbing number of incidents in recent times have involved attacks on women by rejected suitors or the unrequited stalker. Is this inspired by movies where often women are shown falling in love with their stalkers and abusers? The ghastly murder of a young girl at a railway station in Chennai, allegedly by a besotted lover who had been stalking her for three months, has once again raised questions about women’s safety and the indifference of the public who remain mute witnesses to such crimes that occur in public places in broad daylight. However, a parallel debate has also begun…
A villager was once taking his three donkeys to sell them at the market. Walking by a river, he felt a strong urge to take a dip. He took out two ropes and tied two of his donkeys to a nearby tree. He then wondered how he could tie the third one. Just then he saw a sage sitting on the river bank. The villager went up to him and asked him if he could lend a rope. The sage said he did not have a rope and added, “Just pretend to tie up the third donkey. He will stay…
Rural subsidies provided by the government are vital, but they have to be better implemented, says Bharat Dogra. Subsidies should be need-based and not be politically motivated sops, which eventually do more harm than good, he argues. W hile farmers and weaker sections in our rural areas need and deserve subsidies at some levels, a big question is whether subsidies promote their sustainable livelihood or not. Unfortunately, the bulk of subsidies have not gone into the promotion and protection of sustainable livelihoods of farmers. The story of food and farm subsidies However, there are also a few examples of rural…
Meet a man who left a lucrative career in the US to literally become a son of the soil. E. Vijayalakshmi Rajan writes about Madhuchandan S.C. who is spearheading an organic farming movement in Mandya, Karnataka, and dreams of a chemical free Mandya district by 2020! About 50 km from Mysore in the southern Indian state of Karnataka is a district called Mandya. It holds the dubious distinction of being the ‘farmer suicide capital’ of Karnataka. A dubious distinction and a sad testimony to the farmer woes that continue to beset India, almost seven decades after Independence. But slowly, there…
To entire generations of Indians, Muhammad Ali was a figure to be admired, be in awe of, and emulate! His each utterance was greeted with whoops of wonder and delight. A. Radhakrishnan doffs his hat to this great American boxer, who left a mark on the world’s psyche. The tall, 6’3” man, 210 pounds when young, was charm personified, an amazing athlete and a man who could bash in someone’s head with a nifty jab. The three-time world heavyweight champion floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. The greatest boxer, who also was the greatest sportsman of all…
The Defence Minister is doing a good job visiting and interacting with young Navy and Air Force personnel, says Lt. Gen. Vijay Oberoi. But he also wishes the minister would visit infantry regiments like the illustrious Maratha Light Infantry Training Centre and interact with the young recruits. After all, they form the bulk of the Indian Army’s fighting prowess. It was good to see photographs of our Raksha Mantri (RM), Manohar Parrikar, a few days back, interacting with air force pilots under training, in both the print and electronic media; launching the new Trainer HTT 40; and testing the ergonomics…
Undying love for theatre (1928-2016) Malayalam theatre lost one of its greatest stalwarts recently when Kavalam Narayana Panikkar (88), breathed his last in Thiruvananthapuram. Kavalam, who was born in Alappuzha on 28 April 1928, trained to be a lawyer after obtaining his law degree from the Madras Law College, and practised in the courts for six years. His interest in theatre was kindled after he was made the Secretary of the Kerala Sangeet Nataka Akademi, where he had a tenure of 10 years. Having had a grounding in epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata at a very early age,…