Asianet Newsable

How a bullet bike saved 'Mimicry' Dayanand from being a joke!

kumuda k — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 20:29:52 +0530

Among the very few comedians in Karnataka, Dayanand or commonly known as 'Mimicry' Dayanand is still popular for his spontaneous comic timing. His simple dialogues leave everyone rolling on the floor with laughter. While he continues to crackle up the audience with his weekly appearance on a popular comedy show, not many know that he was once the most sought-after comedian in Sandalwood. His popularity was such that he has the credit of sharing screen space with three generations of Sandalwood actors. Here, 'Mimicry' Dayanand shares an experience with us that was no less a joke!

Dayanand was essaying the role of a police inspector in Dr Rajkumar starrer 'Dhruvatare'. It was for the 36th time - back to back - he was given the role of police inspector. Dayanand had toned a body and that complemented his character very well. To suit his role, Dayanand had even stitched a khaki uniform for himself.

During the shooting of 'Dhruvatare', he had to reach the shooting spot between Kengeri and Ramanagar. He decided to ride on his Royal Enfield bullet bike to the shooting spot. But to his bad luck, the bike had developed some snag and was causing him lot of troubles through the day.

With great difficulty, he reached the spot and gave his best shot. After everyone packed up, he decided to change his khaki shirt. But the bag in which he had brought the white shirt had been misplaced and he had no other option but to wear the khaki uniform, till he reached his home.

As he was on his way back to Bangalore, the bike developed frequent snags. The bike would go off, if he left the clutch, so, he had to ride without stopping. As he rode, passersby mistook him to be the real cop riding the bullet and saluted him.

"I was so happy that people were saluting me. I was so desperate to salute them back, but fearing that bike would go off, I held myself back," recalls Dayanand.

Somehow he managed to reach the Island Hotel where the rest of the film crew had gathered. "I went to Dr Rajkumar and narrated my bike experience. He was quick to acknowledge that I indeed suited my part as cop," says Dayanand. But when he shared his desire of wanting to salute the people back, Dr Rajkumar was quick to say that "If you had done that you would have been caught! For, no police officer salutes back at the people. You were saved..!"

Experience of first snow is nothing less than love at first sight

Roshini Jacob — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:53:51 +0530

In my teens, I could not stop giggling with excitement when I saw falling snow. The first time I saw white dots fall from the sky, I stopped everything and soaked in every bit of this amazing natural phenomenon. It was a late spring afternoon and I was wandering about exploring Zurich. I found myself outside a post office, freezing in my fleece sweater. At the first flake on my sweater I looked up. When the snow was real, instinctively I opened my mouth to let the beautiful white flakes in. I remember the feeling of enthusiasm bubbling inside me. The exhilaration!

Back in October 2011, in New York City, everyone around was worried. “It’s too early! What about fall? We still haven’t had enough leaf color. Halloween is going to be too cold!” The first snow was viewed as painful, was looked on with dislike and an early start to shoveling season. There I stood, telling everyone who cared to listen, that I could not wait to see the snow.

It was late spring the year we went to Switzerland and my parents and I were cold all the time! We weren’t clad for 30 degree ( 0°C ) days, while it was 107 in India. I jumped around running after every snowflake, as passersby looked disgruntled about the weather.

In anticipation of the October snow ‘storm’ of 2011, I geared up to play. After lunch, when there was enough wet snow on the streets, Ashwin and I put on our jackets, running shoes and headed out. Twinkling eyes, dancing toes, I stepped out.

Two minutes on the streets and my shoes were soaked from the melting snow and then through my socks, the cold got to my feet. I had never felt such cold! My fingers got icy and I could not feel Ashwin’s hand holding me, keeping me from slipping. I began to shiver. Involuntarily tears rolled down my cheeks.

Outside the post office in Switzerland, I ran around, giggling, laughing trying to catch every snow flake that I could. It was the first time I was seeing cotton soft, white magic dust fall down on me. For all I knew, it may be the last. Did my fingers feel like they would break off? Did my nose leak continuously? Did my cold toes bother me? I cannot remember.

On my first snowy day in the United States, Ashwin managed to take us to the train station and then to a store, where I bought my first pair of snow boots. I bought gloves and a pair of long socks before heading out again. I was finally out on streets, jumping around in the snow, catching the flying flakes, trying to gather it to make little mounds. Finally snow was as beautiful as I remembered. I was a child again!

Saturday was New York’s first snow of this season. People around dreaded it and hated that they had to shovel, cursed that roads were going to get slippery and icy in December. I was asked, “Ready for the snow?” “YES! YES! A thousand times YES!”

Tara Kothari is a photographer, writer and educator who lives in New York City. Her work on the website JournalsFromAmerica.Com is geared to help make people aware, of life in the United States from an immigrants’ perspective. She is our guest writer for this month and will share some of her photo stories with us. She can be contacted at

No Punches Pulled: Modi-Shah taking 2019 outcome for granted, unmindful of unforeseen events

Virendra Kapoor — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:47:44 +0530

There seems to be a barely concealed bravado about the ruling party assuming that it already has the 2019 poll in its pocket.

From the Prime Minister down to the BJP chief Amit Shah, everyone in the ruling dispensation seems to be convinced that a second term for the NDA is a certainty. While making due allowance for the unforeseen events, there is near unanimity even among the anti-Modi elements that, as of now, there is no stopping the return of the NDA for another five-year term. The Prime Minister’s I-Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort further firmed up the impression what with several targets to be realised by 2022 or even later.

A recent opinion poll by a well-known media outlet further bolstered the confidence of the ruling party. Should the polls be held now, the survey revealed, the NDA could end up winning nearly 350 seats. Whether Amit Shah has taken the cue from the said opinion tester to set the target for his party’s rank and file to win 350 seats is not known.

But given the total disarray in the Opposition, and, more importantly, the continuing connect of Modi with the masses, that handsome tally does not seem too ambitious.

Shah might have energised the BJP cadres, enforcing an astructured and systematic plan for round-the-year mass contact and party enrollment even in States where the BJP hitherto was barely present, but without the charismatic figure of Modi to rally the voters, his efforts could not have borne fruit. Not unlike Indira Gandhi at her peak in the early 70s, it is Modi’s public image that has brought the BJP such spectacular successes.

Let us be clear about it. Shah’s strength lies in turning Modi’s popularity into seats for the BJP. Notably, despite Vajpayee’s nation-wide appeal, the BJP at the time had no one to exploit it for greater number of seats. Advani was a good organiser but being himself a claimant for Vajpayee’s position, his efforts probably lacked that extra something which alone on election time makes the vital difference between winning and losing.

Shah is not Modi’s rival. And he does not have an eye on Modi’s prime ministerial ~gaddi~, at least not till the fellow Gujarati completes his second term in 2024. Who will lead the party then, or whether Modi, on popular demand, will agree to do duty, nay serve the people for the third straight term of five-year each are questions only the future will answer.

Though there are some in the BJP who sotto voce hazard the possibility of Shah emerging as the prime ministerial candidate upon Modi’s voluntary withdrawal from the race in 2024 or later.

But right now, there is no denying that the Modi-Shad duo is on course to win yet another LokSabha poll. Better messaging and oratorical skills do not fully answer why Modi is such a draw with the people. The truth is that at the ground level the difference in governance is being felt by the ~ aamaadmi~.

Whether it is the sheer fine-tuning of welfare schemes, such as the delivery of LPG cylinders to below the poverty line households, the frontal assault on rampant leakages in several anti-poverty programmes and the general drive against corruption and black money, the fact remains that these have further added sheen to the PM’s image.The widespread perception that he means well and cares for the poor is a factor in his growing popularity.

Above all, it is the poor state of the anti-Modi forces which probably is the single most important reason for the BJP’s confidence to score an encore in 2019. With Nitish Kumar back in the Modi stable, and the belated effort of Sharad Yadav to try and become his own man at the fag end of his long political career, when all along he had relied on others to get him into Parliament, set to come to nothing, the revival of the Opposition seems unlikely.

While Mamata Banerjee has little or no pull outside Bengal and Laloo Yadav in the doghouse, it is the deadwood Crown Prince who continues to be the biggest drag on the Opposition.

His failure to gain maturity and drive, and above all, the cowardice of the Congress’s bonded slaves who refuse to break free from the dynastic shackles have grounded the Opposition juggernaut. And so long as the dynastic prince remains at the helm, there can be no question of any forward movement.

However, the Modi-Shah duo will be making a huge mistake if they come to take the people for granted. There is no telling what and when the popular mood turns against the ruling party. Voters are fickle in these matters, with a solitary mishap changing the popular mood.

Therefore, the duo needs to be mindful of the antics of the cow vigilantes, the vicious social media trolls, the anti-love jihad warriors, the Hindi language zealots, the unthinking fetters on the public broadcaster, the sycophantic conduct of verandah journalists now ensconced in various positions of patronage et al.

A self-confident government sure of its hold on the popular mood should be able to cut some slack to its critics, especially when it knows that with Rahul Gandhi as their Great Helmsman they will only come to further grief. Dismissing with disdain the concerns of the so-called liberal sections can only inject avoidable bitterness in the polity. Avoiding it will add to Modi’s appeal --- even as it defangs his critics.

Widening the party base

On the eve of the Independence Day, several parts of the national capital witnessed an unusual sight: Ordinary people taking out motorised processions, shouting ~Vande Matram,~ and ~ Bharat Mata Ki Jai~ while crisscrossing residential areas.

Such displays of nationalistic fervour on the eve of 15 August hitherto was reserved for the dull and dreary official events. It was the BJP or one of the offshoots of the RSS which had organised the ~aamaadmi~ to take out rallies to work up patriotic passions.

But what should be far more significant for the political observers --- and worrying for the Opposition--- was the composition of the rallying crowds. A vast majority of them seemed to be from the poor and lower middle classes.

This is the aspirational class which the BJP has successfully enlisted in its support. While the middle-class colonies, which hitherto constituted the core-support of the BJP, seemed to be indifferent to the procession of people on two-wheelers and on an odd truck or two with patriotic songs blaring from loudspeakers, the people from the lower middle class and shanty clusters h most enthusiastically seemed to have come out at the call of a Sangh Parivar outfit.

It is this penetration at the mass level which accounts for the BJP’s rise—and its transformation from an urban-based middle-class party to the most dominant political force in the country. Even a cursory comparison of the speeches of Vajpayee and Modi would tell you that the latter has knowingly shifted the thrust and direction of the party, making it overtly pro-poor, a winning strategy paying handsome dividends.

Ministership denied, turn opposition hero There is more to Sharad Yadav’ supposed `courage and conviction`, as a viscerally anti-Modi mouthpiece proclaimed, editorially the other day, in organising an anti-Modi front. His belated effort to become a leader in his own right probably stems from the knowledge that Modi is dead-set against making him a minister even as Nitish Kumar’s return to the NDA may have made it possible for the JD(U) to be represented in the ministry. Incidentally, such is the venom of the newspaper quoted above that it laments the fact that Nitish has ditched Mahagathbandan `to go back to the NDA and his old partners in the political ~crime~. Crime, Mr Editor?

Commies’ double standards It is ironic that the CPI(M) should suspend Rajay Sabha member Ritabrata Banerjee for his `lavish lifestyle,’ a charge apparently triggered by his possession of an Apple watch and a Mont Blanc pen, while completely ignoring veterans who too have very expensive habits. Among them is a senior party apparatchik who with spouse in tow has no hesitation enjoying the good things in life, often at the expense of close relatives who stand accused of stealing hundreds of crores in taxes.

Why, Jyoti Basu, the longest serving chief minister of West Bengal, used to love his expensive scotch and soda every evening while another senior leader chain-smoked but only one of the more expensive foreign brands. Why pick on poor Ritabrata, even when he has revealed how a fellow politico gifted him the said pen while the Apple watch came from a close friend?

(Virendra Kapoor is a senior journalist and columnist. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of Asianet Newsable.)

Capital Buzz: India already paying a huge price for wide open, porous borders

suman priya — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 21:51:38 +0530

In another time not long gone past, the Supreme Court would have dismissed at the threshold the plea for spreading the red-carpet for the thousands of Muslim Rohingays who have illegally entered India without even waiting for the response of the Union Government. For, the Constitution simply does not empower their Lordships to make the laws as well as to interpret them. You don’t have to be a genius to know that the decision whether the Rohingyas are to be admitted or not lies squarely in the domain of the political executive. Judiciary can have little say in this.

However, thanks to a series of self-goals by the executive, a handful of judges now think nothing of expanding their remit far beyond the boundaries drawn up in the division of powers and functions between various branches of the State.

Not that the higher judiciary has not been assailed by the same infirmities of conduct and character that have led to the erosion in the public standing and power of the executive in favour of the judiciary. The latest example of gross judicial misconduct and alleged corruption is in the news these days with a former chief justice of a high court facing arrest in a medical college scam. But let that pass for now. Back to the Rohingays.

It is strange that the very left-liberal elements who seemed to endorse the denial of further visa to the Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen, who faces a serious threat from the Islamic fundamentalists in her home country, now want fully undocumented Muslim Rohingays given a free pass to settle anywhere in India.

The humanitarian grounds cited by top lawyers, some of them closely connected with the Congress Party, cannot pass muster either. Because it is laughable to extend humanitarian aid to those fleeing from military repression in Myanmar without first guaranteeing the same to tens of millions of homeless poor who, having entered the country illegally, now stake claim on its meager resources. India cannot be a ~dharmshala~ for all comers, can it be?

Remember that the same people who essentially for political reasons want India to play host to illegal Rohingya immigrants - by no stretch of imagination can they be called refugees going by the legal definition - were a party to the demand to evict illegal Bangladeshis from Assam and other parts of the country.

After all, Parliament back in 1983 did pass the Illegal Migrant (Determination by Tribunals) Act. Not a single illegal Bangladeshi might have been deported under this law, but the fact that the Supreme Court spoke clearly and loudly on the need to deport all illegals must inform the deliberations of the apex bench hearing the Rohingya petition.

Illegals distort socio-economic conditions, destabilise local communities, a good number eventually pose security threat, and generally act as a pressure group against national interest. The demographic havoc wrought by the illegals, for years vociferously welcomed by the Congress Party for electoral reasons, is there for all to see in much of Assam and in the border districts of West Bengal.

Secular politicians play footsie for the sake of votes with the most rabid maulvis and mullahas spouting venom against this country. Also, various minority loudspeakers rooting for unregulated entry of Rohingyas whom you hear on nightly television these days are not motivated by any lofty ideals.

Their heart only bleeds for fellow Muslims. It is strange that wealthy Muslim potentates and dictators sitting on mountains of unearned petro dollars should have no inclination to admit them in their vast and sparsely populated jagirs.

No country, rich or poor, opens its borders without first checking the antecedents as to who it is who seeks shelter. Britain voted recently to quit EU essentially on the question of unchecked flow of immigrants choking the sinews of its economic systems.

More than one European country in recent times has erected high walls to keep out people flowing in illegally from the war-torn West Asia and Africa. Yes, India has a long history of welcoming outsiders, letting them settle here. In most cases, that open-heartedness proved harmless barring an exception or two. But remember that the biggest ingress not only caused a life-long strife within the society but it also ended up partitioning the country.

Not wanting to earn any brownie points from those who tend to wear liberalism on their shirt sleeves, we make bold to assert that not too far in the future we might be forced into a second partition, especially when the bleeding hearts pleading human rights remain blind to the concerns of both national sovereignty and national security.

It is significant that seventy years after the partition, Muslims have felt emboldened enough to float their own separate, Muslim-specific political organisations. It might also help to keep in view that the Rohingyas too have been sucked into the global Islamic jihadi network, with their Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army drawing more than spiritual sustenance from the likes of Hafiz Saeed and al Qaida.

As for funding, well…, the ever generous Saudi Arabia with its hordes of petro dollars is ready to spread the cult of Wahhabism at the point of the sword, if necessary, in each and every part of the world.

Meanwhile, it is not without significance that a few thousand illegal Rohingyas have already settled near the LoC in Jammu and are said to have got themselves Aadhaar cards as well. Clearly, the forces inimical to the national interest were behind their entry and settlement.

Why they did not settle in the Kashmir Valley is easily answered. For those hell-bent on altering the demographic character of Jammu would use the Rohingyas to achieve their objective. Already, Ladakh and Kargil have seen an increasing influx of Muslims from other parts of the State, with the local ethnic communities feeling socially and economically pressured. Notably, India’s border with Myanmar is far removed from the Rakhine State from where most of the Rohingyas are now being driven out for sheltering the jihadi terrorists of the Arakan Rohingyas Salvation Army.

The highest court in the land, it is safe to assume, will not pronounce on the petition regarding Rohingyas without considering fully the potential for trouble, now or in the not-so-distant a future, that always lies in an unregulated entry of illegals into the country.

The human rightswallahs, ~sare jahan ka dard inkey jigar mein hain~, one among whom asked why pellet guns were not used against protesters in Gujarat or Maharashtra, as if the people there were seeking to break India, are in the business of burnishing its self-image, or even doing these things at someone else’s behest.

Grandstanding has always been far removed from the motives of those who under no circumstances would jeopardise larger national interest. And that interest lies in showing the door to Rohingyas. We already have enough troubles on account of millions of illegals crowding around in almost every big and small town and kasaba in the country. Period.

Too many cooks….

Apropos the recent tutored tour of the US by Rahul Gandhi. Orchestrated by Sam Pitroda, a poster, most likely printed in India, inviting people to the reception for “our beloved leader” at a hotel in New York underlines the desperation of the organisers. It reads like a mini directory of the NRIs based in the US. Nearly two hundred names, all of them holding some post in the Indian Overseas Congress, are listed. There are a dozen national presidents, an equal number of national vice-presidents, executive vice-presidents, joint secretaries, general secretaries, treasurers, joint treasures et al. If all these two hundred odd people clutching some meaningless nomenclature in the IOC showed up with a member or two from their families, it would have constituted a full house for the visiting vice-president of the Congress Party. Well done, Pitroda. You are assured of a high post should the Congress Prince graduate to something more meaningful, more purposeful.

R Rajagopalan is a senior correspondent in New Delhi. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect those of Asianet Newsable

RIP Sudarshan: Luck did not favour this talented actor?

suman priya — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:37:04 +0530

He started with a bang with Vijayanagarada Veeraputra movie, which won people's hearts. The 1961 movie made by father Nagendra Rao, brother Jayagopal's music and Krishnaprasad's cinematography was a huge hit.

But though brothers were successful in creating an identity for them, the talented Sudarshan had a tough time in the Kannada film industry as a hero.

Lyricist CV Shivashankar has spoken about Sudarshan, "I know Sudarshan from 1956. He got a good start with his first film. But opportunities did not come in search of him. But as he had good physic, he got offers from Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies. He shined as an antagonist in the south Indian cinemas.

"But after some years, he shifted from Madras to Bengaluru. This time he got busy in character roles in Kannada films and small screen. But he did not get the due opportunities for the talent he had," he added.

Another fact many people don't know is that RN Sudarshan was a singer. The popular song 'Hoovondu Balibandu...' in the movie Shubhamangala was sung by Sudarshan. His voice gave dignity to the antagonists.

He won people's hears recently in the movies Matha, directed by Guruprasad in 2006. He played a memorable role as a seer in the movie. From then he became busy in movies. He also acted in the movie Charulatha released in 2012.

Currently, he was acting in the Kannada serial Agnisakshi.

Sudarshan got married to Shailashree who was a dancer and actress. The couple did not have any children. But Sudarshan was satisfied in what he was doing and did not curse his luck. Instead, they were a happy couple on screen as well as off screen.

Thus Sudarshan was busy on the big and small screens for more than five decades. His death is a great loss to the Kannada film industry.

RIP RN Sudarshan.

Skinny, fat, medium, just right: No matter your size, you are bound to be shamed

rushali pawar — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 17:09:41 +0530

I must confess I am a huge Deepika Padukone fan and when I heard she was on the cover of the latest UK Vanity Fair I googled with a vengeance that only a Deepikator (Deepika fan) can assume. (Sidenote: Is Deepikator a thing? If not, then can I make it one?). I was however, taken a little aback with the other thing that showed up on the search.

The actress was relentlessly skinny-shamed for her look. The tweets happen to be advisory in nature, basically asking her to eat food. Sigh! Makes you think doesn’t it? If an international actress of her calibre can be trolled for looking the way she does, how does the average Indian girl stand a chance?

The onslaught sent me back a few years, one of my best friends was getting married and all of us piled into her room after getting dressed. While the bride was busy getting her makeup done, I decided to help out some of the aunties with some arrangements. On my approach however, a generally grand-motherly looking lady turned up her nose at me and said something. The entire room burst out laughing.

I looked around for an explanation, till a friend told me that she had called me ‘Sukha bombil’, a dried duck! Fast forward a few years later, I was on a break from work and living at home. Like any child, I decided to make the most of my mother’s cooking and devoured food like there’s no tomorrow. The result was, as you imagine, rather ‘filling’.

During this phase I heard many helpful remarks, some of them being, “What happened to you? You used to be so thin?”, “I think you should start going to the gym”, “Everyone has to be careful about what they eat after 25” and the best one “You look like you are pregnant!”.

Yes, I hold the enviable distinction of having been both skinny and fat shamed. I am guessing there is a world record trophy with my name on it somewhere.

Skinny, fat, medium, rare, thin, I have never come across any woman whose physique has not been commented upon by others. To be honest, this former Sukha Bombil has also made some unsavoury remarks in her lifetime and has decided to turn a new leaf.

I won’t preach about how awful it is to body-shame people, no, there’s no point to that. Instead, I am just taking an oath to suppress that sneaky little comment that arises whenever I meet or see someone. No more “Have you seen her in that dress?” or “Chee, what happened to her?” or some other such mean, debilitating comment that probably won’t affect someone like Deepika Padukone but can have damaging effects on the psyche of women like you and me.

The only thing that I can hope for is that anyone reading this article takes the same oath, or at least considers it once. I am not hoping for the world to change overnight, we are all addicts and can only try to cut down on our toxic behaviour. So guys, next time, try giving a compliment instead, who knows whose day you might brighten?

Do you know where is 80s actress Madhavi now? [Photos]

suman priya — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:00:08 +0530

Do you know where is the most talked about heroine of the 80s, Madhavi? Yes, it has been many years since the moviedom has not seen her or heard anything about her. We bring you the details on what is Madhavi busy with currently.

The South Indian much sought after heroine Madhavi is currently in the New Jersy. She is currently the Vice President of the Pharmaceutical company owned by her husband, Raul Sharma. Here are more details about her family.

Madhavi is a well-celebrated actress in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Oriya languages. Telugu based Hyderabad girl Madhavi was spotted by the popular director of Tollywood, Dasari Narayana Rao when she performed a traditional dance when she was just 13 years old. Enchanted by her performance, Madhavi cast her as the lead in his movie Thooorpu Padamara. Madhavi wins people's hearts in her debut movie. This success was followed by offers from Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi Bengali and Oriya films.

In Kannada movies she is known for her performance against Dr Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan. in Tamil, she has acted opposite Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. In Malayalam movies too she has acted opposite Mammootty and Mohanlal.

Big Boss Telugu movie opposite Chiranjeevi was her last film.

However, the actress who was much sought after took the advice of her families spiritual Guru Swamirama Guru and got married to Indo-German origin Raul Sharma, who is a Pharmaceutical business person on February 14 in 1996.

Currently, she has three children with Ralph, Tiffani (13), Priscilla, (9) and Eveline, (6). Madhavi's in-laws Kanwar Sharma and Merline in the US.

Currently drawn towards spirituality, Madhavi wants to build an old age home near Adoni in Andhra Pradesh in the name of her Guru Swami Rama.

When asked if she will even make a come back in the movies, former actress strongly says, I am very sure, I will not.

Not lost, you can find yesteryear heroine Khushboo here!

suman priya — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:35:18 +0530

Born at Andheri in Mumbai on September 29, 1970, and named Nakhath Khan, she adopted the name Khushboo after entering the film industry.

She started her acting career as a child artiste in the movie Burning Train in 1980 and then went on to act in Thodi Si Bewafai.

But the industry started recognising her as an artiste with her acting in the movies including Lawaris and Dard Ka Rishta in 1981. She came to prominence with her role in the movie Meri Jung in 1980. The Bol Baby Bol gave her the needed popularity.

When she got an offer to act in the South Indian movie, she shifted here. Her first movie in the South was Kaliyuga Pandavulu in Telugu, directed by K Raghavendra Rao. She acted opposite Venkatesh. Within a short span, she grew to be the darling of South Indian cinemas and got many lead roles in prominent movies.

She went on to act in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam movies. In total, she has played the lead role in more than 100 movies opposite Kamal Hassan, Ravichandran, Rajinikanth, Vishnuvarshan, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Sathyaraj and Prabhudeva.

In a big turn in her life, Khhushboo married popular director of Tamil film industry C Sunder, 15 years ago. She converted to Hinduism and had two daughters Avanthika and Nandita.

Khushboo still loves taking part in the film festivals and movie related events. Even to this day, she is a staunch supporter of the rights of workers-artistes as well as technicians in the film industry.

She became closer to the hearts of people with her roles in mega serials Kalki, Janani and Kunkumam. She also became the first actress to have a temple built by the fans.

She entered politics by joining DMK party but later shifted to Congress. She is an active politician well known for speaking her mind out, be it premarital sex or about women's rights.

She is also seen in Telugu and Tamil movies and reality shows currently.

In Sandalwood too she won the hearts of people with movies like Gagana, Ranadheera, Yugapurusha, Anjadagandu, Shanthi Kranthi, Anti Prreethse, Magic Ajji, Jeevanadi, Ontisalaga, Maha Edabidangi.

She has produced movies like Giri, Rendum, Nagaram Marupakkam, KalaKalappu.

No Punches Pulled: Stop killing in the name of cow of protection, build gaushalas instead

Johnlee Abraham — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:48:16 +0530

The unambiguous condemnation of the killings in the name of cow protection by Arun Jaitley on Thursday and a few days earlier by Narendra Modi ought to send out a stern message to the assorted loonies who have undertaken to kill and maim in the name of gauraksha.

This is just not acceptable. No civilised society can, and will, condone such barbaric conduct. The entire force of law must be brought to visit upon these goons who take shelter behind gaumata to advance private criminal and other agendas. True gaubhakts do not kill in the name of cow which is universally supposed to be one of the more gentle of domestic animals around.

Having said that, visceral critics of the Government and other vested interests aligned with them ought to appreciate the importance of cow in our religio-cultural ethos. Acknowledging this, the Founding Fathers unanimously enjoined upon successive generations to preserve and protect cows and, specifically, prohibited slaughter of milch cows and calves.

Gauraksha has always been a priority with Hindus for historic reasons. One may reject some of those reasons in the modern context --- just as one might in the present times dismiss the rationale behind the prohibition against the consumption of pig meats --- but, there can be no questioning their civilizational validity.Gau Mata has been dear to Hindus, nay, Indians for centuries.

It would help to recall that the first time the then well-entrenched Congress Party suffered a major jolt was in the 1967 Lok Sabha election. The sole reason was the police firing a few months earlier on the tens of thousands of sadhus and saints who had laid siege to Parliament House seeking a total ban on cow slaughter. Scores of people died in the firing, though the official figure was lower.

The point is that even the most modern-mined Congress leader would not publicly defend cow slaughter, though he may consume beef at home and/or abroad. Simply put, one does not quarrel with one’s shared heritage. Nor can one try and change it. One may eat beef but it will be foolhardy to seek its public availability and consumption.

In small geographies within the country where it is consumed openly, it is again due to the cultural and religious particularities of the local population.

As a young child one had seen a cow or two always tied in the half-a-football-ground-sized compound of the family haveli back in a small town in Punjab. At the end of its fecund period, the old cow would be dutifully transferred to the ~gaushala~ nearby with a small donation for its upkeep, even as a much younger milch cow immediately replaced it in the compound.

Indeed, some years ago visiting the long-abandoned home town after a couple of decades upon the death of an uncle -- who for longheaded the local RSS-Jana Sangh units --- it was disappointing to know that the gaushala lay shut, while its managers fought bitterly over land which had gained much value in the intervening period. Small wonder then the old and abandoned cows now roamed the streets, foraging for food in various garbage dumps.

The point is that those who kill, and those who talk of cow protection, should, instead, think of re-energizing the network of charitable gaushalas which was strong and widespread in the erstwhile united Punjab and much of western UP. In fact, one recalls as a child the commission agent ( ~aadhtiya~) earmarking more or less mandatorily one paise out of every rupee of ~aadhat~ for ~dharamarth~ (charity) which helped sustain such gaushalas.

That spirit of charity is missing from the society now. Also, since the FCI spread its corrupt network aadhtiyas have virtually vanished from Punjab.

Meanwhile, the debate in the RajyaSabha on cow vigilantism exposed once again the hypocrisy of critics. Kapil Sibal was all fire and brimstone, accusing the Prime Minister of double- and triple-speak, but having said his piece he seemed to be in a hurry to rush back to the courts to print money. Indeed, in spite of the frenzy being kicked up by the anti-Modi brigade over cow vigilantism, both the attendance and the level of debate left much to be desired.

If truth be told, the Congress Party cannot seem to decide whether to go whole hog in taking on the Government over the question of cow vigilantism. Aware that the ordinary voter in much of the country holds cow sacred in his heart, if not in his mind, the party is afraid to identify itself fully with the Communists whose limited influence in Kerala and a few other small pockets allow them to celebrate cow-killing and beef-eating.

Congress still dreams of regaining relevance in what is derisively called the cow- belt and would, therefore, always hedge its words on cow vigilantism. Besides, the Congress would be conscious not to self-attest further the charge of minority protection and appeasement by aggressively shouting about the lynchings, real or highly exaggerated, in the name of gaumata.

But notwithstanding what its critics say, the reason why the Government must come down with a tonne of bricks on all those engaged in this idiocy over gauraksha is that it detracts from all the good work it is doing in fixing the broken plumbing of the system. The noise over cow vigilantism smothers any discussion over various programmes and schemes undertaken to deliver good governance to the poor and the underprivileged.

The fact that the Modi Sarkar has consciously undertaken to provide succour to those who have missed the fruits of vikas so far in the last 70 years is relegated to the margins while scary reports about cow vigilantism occupy center-stage.

Western media, unable to grasp the reality of India outside the confines of Lutyens’ Delhi, further amplifies the negative image in world capitals, relying on its incestuous circle of a few English-speaking media types and politicians who themselves are alienated from the reality of India, that is, Bharat. A VIP crook

It pays to have connections in high places. A notorious Delhi-based fixer whose name figured in laundering money for Laloo Yadav’s daughter Misa Devi’s purchase of a property in Sainik Farms in South Delhi seems to have got away cheaply due to his close ties with a powerful dignitary of the regime.

On the other hand, the chartered accountants who helped Laloo and his family to float fake companies in order to launder black into white have had to bear the brunt of the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department.

The fixer with connections had got so emboldened that he even managed to become a member of some of the more exclusive watering holes in the capital.

Disturbing his sleep Samajwadi leader Mulayam Singh Yadav wants to move out of his present official accommodation urgently. The reason: he finds it hard to have his post-lunch siestas with all these small groups of protesters shouting slogans in support of this or that demand. The problem is that Yadavas a former cabinet minister has been allotted a spacious bungalow on the edge of Jantar Mantar Road. Which means he has to negotiate often road blocks and slogan-shouting groups converging nearby, especially when the Parliament is in session. Paradoxically, Yadav feels the need to be in Delhi just when the procession of protesters gathers momentum, that is when the Parliament is on.

Mrs and Mr Yadav with family

It is normal for people to get wedding invitations with the words~ with family~ written at the end of their names. It is probably the first time that in criminal jurisprudence LalooYadav will get summons as follows: Mrs and Mr LalooYadav with family. And remember with Mrs and Mr LalooYadav the total comes to a full eleven. Samajh Gaye Na?

(Virendra Kapoor is a senior journalist and columnist. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of Asianet Newsable.)

The Sinha versus Sinha saga: a pantomime of clashing interests and priorities

suman priya — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:58:12 +0530

Of course, we can do without such levity. Former Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, and his minister son, Jayant, are exceedingly bright. They seem to know what they are talking about. Their views on the current state of the economy, expressed by Sinha Sr. in a column in the Indian Express, and by Jayant in the Times of India, were bound to attract notice.

Despite the disparate distance between the contents, focus and emphases of the two columns, it is possible to locate some common ground: the economy is under stress, alright, but, as Sinha Jr., underlines, ~acchhe din~ might not be too far away on the horizon.

Where the 80-year-old Sinha seemed to have gone horribly wrong was to allow his own personal prejudice and pique to cancel out some very valid criticism of the recent economic decision-making. Particularly painful for the country was the abrupt and ill-implemented notebandi followed virtually on its heels by the roll-out of the half-cooked GST. Nobody in his right mind would deny that both well-meaning and far-reaching reforms could have done with greater preparation and better imagination.

But if Sinha Sr. was to put himself into the shoes of the decision-makers, he would immediately realise that when you have 30-plus cooks rustling up a meal, the end product cannot be most edible. Yes, the GST in its present form is far from being `one nation, one tax’ it was billed out to be. But it is better to press ahead with a half-baked reform than none at all.

Yes, there are hazaar glitches, hazaar headaches in understanding and implementing the new-fangled tax at the level of individual tax-payers. But to suggest that we should have waited till the 30-odd cooks, that is the 29 State and seven UTs together, came up with a perfect version of GST is foolhardy.

Once implemented, it is expected that the rough edges will be smoothed and enforcement made easier for faster and hassle-free compliance. Those who want to pay ought not to be made to suffer unnecessary emotional and financial stress due to the shortcomings in the GST network.

Besides, it is harsh and unjust on millions of small- and medium-traders to file monthly returns in triplicate, especially when they haven’t felt the need to pay any sort of taxes all their working lives.

Yes, it is a commendable project to make honest citizens of us all, but a wise king would always temper idealism with common understanding about the ingrained nature and tendencies of his subjects. Right now those crying the loudest against the poor implementation of GST constitute the core of the BJP constituency.

The we-couldn’t- care-less attitude of the Modi Sarkar has spawned angry protests by various traders’ associations, particularly those dealing in textiles, milk products, and even garment exports. This requires immediate attention of the authorities. Requisite changes to accommodate the genuine concerns of the people even if it entails a temporary loss of revenue and diminution of the GST concept ought to be made. Making it a prestige issue can only lead to further alienation of the ruling party’s support-base.

It seems that the Government proceeds on the assumption, not easy to dismiss though, that ~ sab chor hain~ and would do their worst to avoid paying their due to the public kitty. However, this belief has led to an across-the-board blacklisting of Shell companies not all of which were in the illegitimate business of money-conversion and not all of their directors were culpable of wrong-doing.

Such an indiscriminate, nay, ruthless approach to public policy is unnecessarily creating enemies for the government. The single-minded enforcement of honesty in taxation matters needs to be tempered with considerations of equity and justice in order to ensure that the innocent do not suffer in the rampant raid raj that threatens to drag every businessman in its arbitrary sweep. Besides, a lot of black sheep in the tax bureaucracy need to be weeded out.

Now, for the criticism that the GDP is down to 5.7 percent in the last quarter. As any economist would tell you, not all of it is due to notebandi and/or GST. Some of it is certainly due to the global cyclical decline. The Fed is threatening to unwind soon.

Global crude prices are once again inching upwards. Foreign funds are pulling out money from the BSE. Contrary to early Met predictions, monsoon has been deficient and uneven. Again, cotton farmers in Punjab are getting below the minimum- support price. Despite general price stability, food inflation is beginning to rise. And lack of fresh job opportunities in the organised sector is directly linked to the financial anarchy and crony capitalism that had reigned unchecked in the previous UPA decade.

Therefore, it does not lie in the mouth of someone like P Chidambaram to blame the current government for the downward spiral in the economy after the mess he had left behind in May 2014. The organised loot and plunder of the public funds that was the order of the day, particularly after the Lehman Bank crisis in 2008, had left the banking sector gasping for breath. The humongous amount in non-paying-assets of the public sector banks virtually denuded both the lenders and the borrowers of any capacity for further lines of credit.

Poor credit offtake is the direct result of the yeoman’s efforts by the Modi Sarkar to recover lakhs of crores of public funds lent at the say-so of ministers in power or their near and dear ones for hefty commissions.

Ever-greening of dud loans was rampant under UPA. Those who now pillory Modi for the slowing economy should pause to consider how the big borrowers are now being made to cough up bank funds at the pain of jail and loss of their business empires. No other regime in free India has gone after the big fish as this government has, forcing iconic names in business and industry to sell companies to repay banks. The pioneering bankruptcy code was enforced by Modi, though the UPA under the pretext of liberalisation had handed over keys of the bank vaults to crony capitalists.

Give credit where it is due. Modi has shown zeal to enforce honesty in the conduct of business. It is an uphill task. Those used to free lunches at tax-payers’ expense will resist, and egg on their accomplices in the Opposition to create anti-Modi ~hawa~. But you can rely on Modi to heed genuine criticism and make necessary changes. Both GST implementation and the somewhat harsh and counter-productive petroleum product pricing is soon to be softened, in order to blunt the incipient Opposition challenge.

As an adviser to that hypocrite Arvind Kejriwal, Yashwant Sinha’s peevish cry could well be justified. Also, its ready endorsement by the likes of P Chidambaram might reflect the poverty of ammunition in the Gandhis-owned party. But what the senior Sinha needs to ponder is whether it was proper for a leading light of the ruling party to air his vituperation through the columns of a newspaper.

Again, by complaining that for ten months Modi had refused to meet him, he only detracted further from whatever little conviction he could have carried with his angry swipe at the Finance Minister. Not being where Arun Jaitley is causes heartburn to a lot of people in the BJP, Sinha is not the only one. Jealousy, Sinha ought to know, is a most wasteful emotion.

Fake news

One, the Modi Sarkar will soon make it mandatory for every adult Indian to tattoo the Aadhar number on his right forearm and PAN on his left while the GST number is to be tattooed on the forehead.

Two, when Rahul Gandhi last met Sachin Tendulkar he commiserated with him, saying that that though he was senior his name did not figure in the national anthem while Dravid’s did. And he promised to make suitable amends once he became prime minister.

A Freudian slip, this?

One of the several companies of Karthi Chidambaram under the CBI-ED scanner is named Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Limited. Pray, what advantage was he advertising other than the fact that he was P Chidambaram’s son?

(Virendra Kapoor is a senior journalist and columnist. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of Asianet Newsable.)

Central Hall Tales: AIADMK leaders get high security ahead of meet to sack Sasikala

Johnlee Abraham — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:58:22 +0530

The fate of imprisoned AIADMK leader, Sasikala will be decided on Tuesday. Chennai is gearing up to hold the General Council meeting, and massive pandals are being erected at the venue.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will have to now decide whether to sack Sasikala as General Secretary of AIADMK or not?

The decision on this will be taken by the AIADMK General Council - which comprises of a total of 3425 members. The meeting will be presided over by party's Presidium Chairman E. Madhusudhanan at Sri Varu Venkatachalapathy Palace Mahal, in Vanagaram near Chennai. Both the factions of AIADMK OPS and EPS had met at the headquarters in August, where four resolutions were adopted including the announcements made by the sidelined Deputy General Secretary of the AIADMK (Amma) TTV Dhinakaran as "not valid," and retrieving Dr Namadhu MGR and Jaya TV from the clan of V.K. Sasikala.

The third motion mentioned that a meeting of the general council and executive council would be convened shortly. The last resolution talked of efforts to be made for running the party and the government “cohesively and protecting” them.

The AIADMK leaders have asked for top-level protection for the leaders attending the meet.

Cabinet Committee on Security to clear PM visit to UNGA

The Cabinet Committee on Security will hold its first meeting on Tuesday. The CCS is the highest policy-making body of the Union Cabinet on the internal and external security of the country.

This will also be the first meeting of the Union Cabinet since the reshuffle. The leaders are expected to discuss on eight important issues concerning Union Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, Telecom and Urban Development.

The CCS is scheduled to meet at 3 pm. The agenda papers have been circulated, however, contents of it are "top secret." However, the word in the high-corridors is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to formally brief the CCS about his China and Myanmar visit.

During the CCS meet, PM Modi is also expected discuss the talking points on security issues that he will be raising at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on September 24.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi new dictum to his Council of Ministers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his Council of Ministers to pay a courtesy call on the President Ram Nath Kovind-former President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. This instruction was communicated by the Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to the Union Council of Ministers.

What does it mean politically? This instruction to the Union Ministers is in continuation of an internal dialogue that has been taking place since the elections in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP chief Amit Shah often undertakes visits to the homes of Central Parliamentary Board members, and this has helped the party a lot in improving the personal relations among its leaders.

Now PM Modi wants to bring the same level of bonhomie in the top-rung as well.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh currently holds a meeting of senior ministers at his residence. On September 8, Singh, in fact, held the screening of the film Mughal-e-Azam. Nitin Gadkari too has now started similar 'hangouts.'

And all these meetings have just one agenda, that is, how to win the 2019 elections?

R Rajagopalan is a senior correspondent in New Delhi. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect those of Asianet Newsable

Central Hall Tales: Nawaz Sharif and why are Congress MPs worried about Rahul?

fleme f — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:45:20 +0530

The disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as Pakistan’s Prime Minister was the main topic in the Central Hall the Parliament. BJP MPs were largely in attendance, they were of course rejoicing but were concerned with the Pakistan Army further getting the upper hand. The second hot topic was Nitish Kumar winning the vote of confidence. Many BJP and JDU MPs wanted to know JDU leader Sharad Yadav’s reaction to the developments.

The Central Hall, however, saw a reduced attendance of MPs on Friday, as many of the Congress MPs were disgruntled with the 'bad news' of many MLAs resigning from Congress in Gujarat. Congress MPs were worried about how Ahmed Patel, Congress’ contender for Rajya Sabha from Gujarat might be defeated with this reduction in strength. Today being Friday, many of the MPs were also in the New Delhi Palam Airport returning home for the weekend. Moreover, on Fridays, the Parliament deliberates on private members bills. If the MPs names figure in the agenda papers and if their private bill is introduced they will be present in the House, otherwise, many leave Delhi.

Here’s what this correspondent picked up on Friday, among other news:

M Venkaiah Naidu is sulking. He is seemingly not too happy with the upgradation to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, that is as Vice President. Many Andhra Pradesh MPs in private conversations have been heard talking about this. The reasons, however, cannot be discerned at this point.

Among others, Sharad Yadav was seen being cajoled and comforted by BJP Bihar MPs.It is now almost certain that Sharad Yadav will be inducted as Union Minister in the ensuing expansion.

Congress MPs were also heard commenting on Rahul Gandhi’s statement that he knew about Nitish Kumar ploy of deserting the Mahagathbandhan. In private, Congress MPs are worried about Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi. The friends of the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan were heard saying that Congress does not have a tall leader who can take on Narendra Modi and this is, in other words, no confidence in Rahul’s leadership.

Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab is another hero in the Central Hall. He raised the issue of Bofors scam and based on technicalities, Mahtab established that the Bofors files were not shown to the Public Accounts Committee. Officials confirmed that those files were missing and Mahtab created a furore in the PAC meeting.

Sitaram Yechuri, CPM General Secretary, was denied a third term to Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. Kerala CPM MPs who are in good books of Prakash Karat were joyful. They were murmuring that it was CPM, under the leadership of Prakash Karat, who withdrew support to the UPA - but Sitaram Yechuri being a hardcore comrade is 'licking" the feet of the Congress, to get third term in Rajya Sabha.

There is more to this episode: What’s interesting is that West Bengal CPM MPs were teasing Prakash Karat as "LBW" and when this correspondent asked to expand the alphabets LBW, one West Bengal MP jokingly stated - Leather Bag and Water Bottle Prakash Karat. He does not bother to spend time beyond 5.30pm in the CPM Party office.

Jairam Ramesh walked upto E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, the former MP and congratulated him in advance. It is believed that Rahul Gandhi has cleared the appointment of EMS Natchiappan as President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in the place of Su. Thirunavukkarasar. On hearing this buzz many Congress MPs from Kerala went to greet Natchiappan.Reason being that Natchiappan is the AICC observer for Kerala. Hence, many MPs want to keep Natchiappan in good humour. Jairam Ramesh replying to Kerala MPs questions, confirmed that Natchiappan will be made TNCC Chief by September.

R Rajagopalan is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect those of Asianet Newsable.

No punches pulled: The Congress cannot complain about what is happening to it

fleme f — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:48:19 +0530

Not many will now remember Mohan Lal Sukhadia. The veteran Congressman was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for 17 years, beginning 1954. When Indira Gandhi split the Congress in 1969, Sukhadia was all set to throw his lot in with her Syndicate rivals. That is until the backroom managers of Indira Gandhi resorted to blackmail - and neutralised the strongman of the Rajasthan Congress.

What helped Indira Gandhi achieve her objective was the blatant misuse of the intelligence agencies. The Ram Nath Kao-led RAW too bolstered Indira Gandhi’s cause - as the Opposition leaders said at the time the ‘Kashmiri Pandit mafia’ was active behind the scenes on her behalf.

Apparently, it was her Principal Secretary P N Haksar who had word sent to Sukhadia about the Sadri gold case. In 1965, over 240 kilograms of gold was found buried in a haveli in Chhotti Sadri in the Mewar region. Suspicion was that a good part of the treasure belonged to Sukhadia. The matter was still under dispute in courts when Indira Gandhi’s operatives used the Sadri threat to tame Sukhadia.

Once the Syndicate was vanquished, the story goes Haksar felt anguished at the continuing misuse of intelligence agencies, income tax authorities, etc.. Little did he realise when he sanctioned Sukhadia’s capitulation that his own bitter medicine would be administered to him as well - the Haksar family-owned Pandit Brothers outlet of the then popular Bombay Dyeing in Connaught Place was raided on Sanjay Gandhi’s orders. Apparently, the heir apparent had taken an intense dislike to the intellectually-minded family retainer.

Now, return to circa 2017. Having poisoned the political system, ridding it of all concerns about scruples and propriety, the Congress cannot complain about what is happening to it. What is happening to it in Bengaluru, in Gandhinagar is that it is being paid back in its own coin. Only the naïve will believe that the raids on the money-collecting Karnataka minister have nothing to do with the Rajya Sabha poll from Gujarat, scheduled for August 8.

Or that the high-voltage action is not meant to thwart the bid of Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel for yet another RS term. Ahmad is a resourceful man with friends across the political spectrum. Importantly, he enjoys the trust of a corporate biggie whose phenomenal reach can accomplish the un-accomplishable. Yet, even Ahmed will find it hard to counter the charge that for ten years under the UPA he choreographed every move by the central agencies to target the Modi-Shah duo. Shah in particular had to spend time in prison, was exiled out of Gujarat, and in general had a very, very harrowing time all through the UPA decade.

For sure, no one in his right mind would condone the abuse of coercive instruments of the State to intimidate citizens. But the dramatic events attendant upon the August 8^th RS poll are foregrounded in the travails and troubles of the Modi-Shah duo in the UPA decade. Not a stone was spared to cow them down. It is to their credit that not only did they survive the ordeal but lived to thrash their tormentors and then shout the old and reliable truth: As you sow, so shall you reap. Meanwhile, should Ahmed still win, his stock is certain to rise in a party which has been starved of good news for a long time.

Law and order: Yogi seems to be clueless

It is early days yet but news from UP cannot be music to the ears of those who chose to put the saffron-clad Yogi Adityanath in the chief ministerial ‘gaddi’. Poor man, it seems, is out of his depth getting a grip on the administration. It may be so because running a State is quite different from running a ‘math’. And UP, mind you, is no ordinary state. So unwieldy and so populous, so poor and so backward is UP that it can test the talents and the resolve of the most experienced of administrators.

And our dear Yogi Maharaj, you know, is supposed to begin learning the A, B, C of governance on the job, not having headed even a small municipality thus far. Given the mess in which the police and civil services were thanks to the sway of one caste and one family on UP till very recently, it requires a thoroughly clued-up chief executive to set things right. Granted, years of abuse and misrule cannot be undone overnight.

But early signs are far from encouraging. This is also the impression of a number of BJP leaders from the State. The BJP leaders were not very enthusiastic when the Yogi showed up in the Central Hall of Parliament the other day. Hardly anyone from the ruling party rushed to greet him. Apparently, he was here to meet the Prime Minister and other senior ministers. Some ruling party members believed that he had been summoned by the PM to be administered a gentle but firm warning to get his act together.

It is undeniable that Yogi means well, but he is hamstrung by his own lack of experience, especially when confronted by entrenchedvested interests all around. Of course, members of the police force and the lower administrative ranks who had thrived under the Yadav Raj could be relied upon to make things difficult for the new government but the onus to overcome these inbuilt obstacles was on the Yogi and his ministers. No purpose can be served by blaming the previous regime for the continuing mess in the police and civil administration.

Of course, there are those who argue that there has already been an incremental improvement on the law and order front. But the change is yet not felt by the ordinary people. BJP Chief Amit Shah is said to be personally monitoring the UP situation. On his recent visit to Lucknow he is said to have done a bit of plain-speaking, putting the ministers on notice about the urgency to rid UP of the trademark rotten and corrupt governance.

For sure, the well-entrenched crooks and criminals, who had had a field day under the Yadav and Mayawati regimes, would try and fight back, making things difficult for the BJP. But the onus is on the new rulers to neutralise these elements so that there is a palpable improvement in the law and order situation and the same is felt by the ordinary people. Unfortunately, of this there is not much evidence as yet. UP still cries for an end to the lawlessness that was the leitmotif of the Yadav Raj till very recently.

Whither secular pretence

A circular issued by the administration of Daman and Diu has enjoined upon all government servants to “ celebrate the festival of Raksha Bandhan on 7^th August 2017 in all offices/departments which shall remain open and celebrate the festival collectively at a suitable time wherein all the lady staff shall tie Rakhis to their colleagues.” Issued by Deputy Secretary Gurpreet Singh of the Department of Personnel on August 1, the circular further adds that “ attendance report should be furnished by 5.00 pm on 8^th August.”

(Virendra Kapoor is a senior journalist and columnist. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of Asianet Newsable.)

What's in my travel bag?

Johnlee Abraham — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:39:34 +0530

Exploring new places, tasting eclectic cuisines and going on adventures are all part of an ultimate vacation. Amid all this enjoyment, fun and frolic, we tend to forget a very important aspect – skin care. Yes, it is vital that your skin feels alive and moisturised no matter where you are and what you do.

Today I am speaking to one of my best friends. Introducing Sudha Kappet. Sudha has been travelling since she was a baby. Her job keeps her 35,000 ft among the clouds. Yes she has been a Flight Attendant and is now training to become a Commercial Pilot. Hence, by now Sudha has an experiential PhD on how to deal with skin while on travel.

Me: How important is skin care while travelling?

Sudha: “While we associate travel and holidays with leisure it’s actually a time when our skin is working overtime. The dry, recycled cabin air in long-haul flights, sudden and maybe extreme weather changes, sleep deprivation, too much alcohol, salt water (if you’re traveling to a coastal region) etc are just some factors that can be the devil to our skin and even short-term exposure to these elements can cause long-lasting damage to our skin– ask someone who spent 6 years of her life flying and neglecting her skin (ME!). So, while we may be on vacation and would love to travel light; don’t skimp in your skincare department.”

And I totally agree with her. In the rush of packing bags and weight limits by airlines, we leave our skin care products behind thinking that we can always buy it later or use the hotel amenities. You never know what brands will be available where you are going, whether or not there will be a drug store to pick it up from let alone a Clinique store!

TRAVEL TIP: Yes, toiletries are heavy and take up too much space. However, there is a way to work around the whole too much space required situation. There are travel containers available that have 100ml empty bottles. These are life savers! And guess what? They can also go into your cabin bags! You will find these bottles at any local drugstore or departmental store. It's easy. Its light, its small and you don’t have to sacrifice your skin care routine! Me: What are the essential skin care products in your travel bag? (send pics of your products) Sudha: “Since I travel for a living I have two bags for skin care: one with normal sized products and the second smaller bag with travel sized ones to keep the airport security officers happy. Here’s what I carry from head to toe (never forget your feet! Lounging around Goan beaches can be so much fun but the prolonged exposure to saltwater and coarse sand can be devastating to your soft soles)

Cetaphil cleanser for oily skin I alternate this sometimes with the Himalaya Purifying Facewash

Dabur Rose Water Any rose water would actually work. The reason I use Dabur is that their product comes with spray nozzle. I use rose water as a toner after cleansing and as a mist, couple times during a long day to refresh my face.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser I can’t honestly tell if this has minimised my pores but it works amazingly both as a moisturizer and as a primer especially on humid days when you want to keep the layers on your face to a minimum. It also mattifies without drying your skin.

Lotus Herbals Safe Sun UV Screen Matte Gel (SPF 50) I cannot rave enough about this product! First: If you aren’t in the aviation industry I wouldn’t recommend a product with an SPF as high as 50 however if like me your office is literally 4,000 – 35,000 ft in the air and you live in one of the hottest cities in the country I would advise you to get yourself a whole pack of these. This sunscreen unlike the million others I have tried is NOT greasy! It is a gel which when applied is cooling, mattifying and does not remind you of its existence at all. It also has a very subtle fragrance. They do recommend that you reapply every 2 hours. I wouldn’t argue with that.

Himalaya Neem Face Pack I only carry this on trips that last longer than a week. Your skin tends to get tired especially if you wear makeup on a daily basis so a face pack or mask is vital.

Victoria Secret Amber Romance body lotion This is definitely the most delicious smelling lotion I have EVER come across in my life. I wouldn’t recommend this at humid locations though as it is quite creamy. By far the best body lotion for a night out.

Bath and Body works Warm vanilla sanitizer

NEVER step out anywhere without a sanitizer! You may not be using your hands to eat but you are probably going to touch up your make up sometime and you want your hands to be extremely clean at the time. B&B sanitizers are tiny, they can be attached to your bags and smell amazing.

Himalaya Wellness Foot Care Cream The best way to use this is to apply just before you sleep, wait a couple minutes and wear a bedtime sock. I’ve found it works better with socks on.

Odomos Mosquito Repellent Cream Especially if you’re travelling to a tropical city

Batiste Dry Shampoo I carry these especially if I’m only travelling for a few days. The dry shampoo not only saves you time, it gives you volume too! A trick I picked up is to apply it the night before, as a part of your “before sleep” routine. The product has enough time to work its magic and the white powder would have disappeared by morning.

Moroccan Oil I will literally never leave my city without a bottle of this. All you need is a drop and your hair turns silky smooth and smells heavenly.

Johnson’s Baby Oil As I’ve mentioned before I have extremely sensitive skin so I try my best to keep products I use on my face to a minimum or as mild as possible. I use baby oil as a makeup remover and it works well even on water proof makeup.

Wooden Emery Board A lot of fun holiday activities can be fatal to those long nails. Always carry a file on you for emergencies.

A lot of people have also asked me multiple times if makeup is good while travelling. In my experience, if you are boarding a long-haul flight, avoid make up. If you are travelling short distances, it is good to first apply generous quantities of moisturiser and then a light foundation. Choose a foundation with SPF. This forms a filter between your skin and harmful UV rays, dirt, germs and general garbage that would possibly damage your skin.

TRAVEL TIP: Even though make up can be a saviour for you, I would recommend avoiding it as much as possible while travelling. Keep your skin clean and moisturised at all times!

Me: Do you think one should carry/wear makeup while travelling? Sudha: I wouldn’t say you have to carry makeup when you travel. Makeup is a personal choice. Some people may feel under-dressed without makeup; some may prefer less because of the kind of activities they have planned. Personally my Instagram and Snapchat accounts are the busiest when I’m vacationing so I do wear make-up but I tend to wear less during the day and more when I head out at night. I would suggest planning your makeup according to the activities you have planned and the weather you will be facing.

Me: What are the beauty essentials in your travel bag? Sudha: “I tend to travel light when it comes to make-up so I do skimp on some steps such as concealer, highlighter and sometimes eye shadows.” • Primer – The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser • Foundation – Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions OR Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Foundation (depends on the weather of the place I’m travelling to and the state of my skin at the time) • Loose powder – MAC Mineralized Loose Powder • Contouring – MAC Bronzing Powder • Eye shadow – The Urban Decay Naked Palette • Blush – Bobbi Brown Powder Blush in Apricot • Kohl – Maybelline the Colossal Kajal in Super Black • Eyeliner –Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen • Mascara – Clinique High Impact Mascara • Lipstick – Colorpop in Avenue, MAC in Whirl, Sephora in Always Red

Here are a few more hacks for you from her to make life simpler!

Sudha: After countless YouTube videos and many broken foundation bottles, I can safely say that I have picked up a few tricks to travelling with makeup hassle free. • Foundation bottles are a pain to carry around. I generally carry my foundation in a contact lens container. I use one side for foundation and the other for either concealer or primer. • I daresay you would want to spend your vacation cleaning your brushes and beauty blenders. The best solution to dirty brushes is to not carry them at all or carry very few. For instance, your fingers work wonders are a blender when applying foundation. Why carry a beauty blender? • I’m quite lazy and one of the hacks I’ve mastered is to reapply my foundation as a concealer when I’m travelling or in a hurry. • Some products can be multi-functional. For instance, your bronzer/ blush can be used as an eyeshadow. Some other multi-functional products and their uses are : o Dark brown/ bronze eye shadows used as bronzers. o Peachy eyeshadows can be used as blush. o Your kohl can be blended in place of a black eye shadow for those sought after smokey eyes. o Lipsticks can be used as a cream blush. o I personally carry around the staple lip colors i.e. A bold red and a nude. If in the mood to experiment you can mix your eyeshadow with Vaseline and use that as a lip colour. • As I mentioned earlier I try to use my fingers in place of brushes as much as I can while travelling. Another common place item you could use is a Starbucks napkin in place of a brush to apply your loose powder. It sounds super weird but when you find yourself brushless in Starbucks on a humid afternoon with a shiny sweaty face, you realise that a napkin can be a lifesaver!

I hope these pointers from Sudha were helpful! We look forward to hearing from you guys if you have more!

No Punches Pulled: Politicians obsess with here and now, ignoring developing storms

fleme f — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:47:45 +0530

To douse fires when the first spark is lit does not come easily to politicians. No, not here in India nor anywhere else in the world. Politicians live for today. But given that their today is never without a whole lot of nerve-wracking problems, those generously disposed might excuse their lack of interest in the early warning signals about the troubles ahead.

History is witness to the incontrovertible fact that Nehru was deaf to the dire warnings over China and Kashmir. From Sardar Patel to J B Kriplani a number of senior figures in the public sphere had spoken of the need to be not too trustful of this business of Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai. But Nehru was on a trip of his own, smug in reclaiming for himself the leadership of the emerging Third World, even as China sharpened the knife on the border.

We can list a whole lot of problems which have now become intractable, from Kashmir to the Mandir-Masjid dispute - why even the continuing Hindu-Muslim divide with all its attendant repercussions, in all honesty, is the bitter legacy of a leadership which having first partitioned the sub-continent on communal lines did not fully follow through on it.

Unfortunately, those who are in the business of deifying the Republic’s first prime minister do a great disservice to the younger generations by failing to take note of his numerous Himalayan blunders. The closet admirers of the Dynasty uncritically assess Nehru in the mistaken belief and thus, they obliquely castigate the competing worldview of the RSS-BJP. Truth, however, may lie somewhere in between these clashing beliefs and philosophies.

The above somewhat lengthy preface is meant to spotlight the fast building threat of a potential conflagration unless urgent steps are taken to nip the problem in the bud. Latest warning has come from Mumbai. A huge procession of Marathas brought the commercial megapolis to a halt a couple of days ago. Of course, this wasn’t the first time they had given notice to the political class of their intent to seek a share in the national cake. Feeling increasingly marginalised in the state’s agrarian economy, and virtually disqualified for the job market thanks to the SC-ST reservations, the once proud middle castes have raised the banner of protest against the flawed economic and social order.

Though they have not thus far demanded a repeal of the special provision of jobs and seats in educational institutions for the SC-STs and the OBCs, if the political class turns a deaf ear to their baleful cries, it wouldn’t be long before their agitation spirals out of control. Only a few months ago, the Jats in Haryana had given an early glimpse of what could go wrong if the politicians continue to behave ostrich-like and refuse to undertake a drastic review of the current system of reservations.

Of course, nobody can dare suggest that the existing beneficiaries of reservations be denied the same --- though the Founding Fathers wanted these to last only for a period of ten years, Jagjiwan Ram’s grandchildren continue to wallow in special privileges seven decades after the founding of the Republic. Yet, some modus vivendi has to be evolved to douse the embers of protests in Gujarat, Rajasthan, western UP, Haryana and, of course, Maharashtra.

To their credit, the Marathas have so far been peaceful, marching in orderly files of twos and threes in South Mumbai without any kind of lawlessness. It may be because the agitation is spearheaded by those who have had nothing to do with politics. The protest leaders have steered clear of both groupings in Maharashtra, having first launched the stir when the Congress-NCP was in the saddle in Mumbai.

Now it is the turn of the BJP-Shiv Sena to grapple with the growing Maratha unrest. Periodic drought and farmer suicides only hide the real story, that is, agriculture can no longer support everyone who lacks an alternative source of livelihood -- shrinking holdings and growing families make that impossible. Maratha boys and girls want jobs, and government jobs at that. But there are not too many jobs going around. The widespread grievance that jobs are hogged by the SCs-STs whose economic condition has improved while that of the dominant middle castes has deteriorated, further inflames passions.

Given that the Patidars in Gujarat and the Jats in Haryana, UP and Rajasthan too have been seeking a share in the economic pie, it will be a folly to ignore these early warnings of the coming social and economic upheaval. Sops such as those announced by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis following last week’s Maratha protest only patch over the problem. Hitherto dominant castes in the rural hinterlands feel left out thanks to the policy-makers’ failure to integrate the village and town economies. The growing unrest in the countryside cannot be settled by band-aid solutions or by fobbing off with promises of reservations which predictably are rejected by the courts.

Of course, the unrest has been growing due to the wrong economic and social policies of successive governments. Unless the entire political class rises above partisan concerns, summoning requisite wisdom and strength in order to privilege larger national interest over partisan concerns, the time-bomb ticking in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana , Rajasthan, et al is bound to explode sooner than anyone realises. In short, no time is to be wasted on having a serious re-look at the entire system of reservations.

And before the partisans begin to howl that the reservations are being abandoned, -- as the Congress had falsely raised the red flag when Vajpayee merely wanted a review of the governing system by a widely respected former judge of the apex court -- they will have to be persuaded that, otherwise, the existing benefits for the socially and economically weaker classes could be in jeopardy as the new claimants on the national cake overwhelm the system. Statesmanship is needed to nip the Maratha, Patidar, Jat trouble in the bud.

One Dalal caught, one more to go

Politicians are suckers for sycophancy. Otherwise, fixers and dalals wouldn’t be able to gain access to their durbar. An otherwise clued- up BJP leader, who runs a very tight ship, indeed, seems to have tripped, falling for the ‘chamchagiri’ of a couple of TV journalists only to belatedly realise that the two were no party loyalists, only freelance money-making racketeers pretending to be life-long Sanghis. They freely wheeled-and-dealed in the previous regimes as well. Well, one of them got caught red-handed the other day, while his boss somehow managed to escape.

But there is no denying that all these years the duo operated in unison, feeding falsehoods to ruling politicians to grind their own axe, pointedly abusing fellow journalists who openly disapproved of their misdoings, and generally acting as commission agents for all manner of favour-seekers. The two claimed to be the confidants of the top cogs in the present ruling dispensation, even getting election tickets for their clients, and generally throwing their weight around in the business and media circles. After the exposure of their racket a couple of days, expect the two to lie low for sometime but given that dalali has all along been their calling card, the ruling party bosses need to be wary.

A companion in life and death

How often have you heard the question, especially while disapproving excessive greed and acquisitiveness: “ Will he carry it with him when he dies? He will still go empty-handed, isn’t it?” (Marney pey kaya saath ley jageyga…? Jayega to khalihaath hi)

Well, it is to the credit of the Modi Government that at long last every Indian has got something to take with him when he meets his maker. And, that is, his Unique Identification Number or Aadhaar. Amen.

(Virendra Kapoor is a senior journalist and columnist. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of Asianet Newsable.)

No Punches Pulled: Every Party discards the manifestos once the elections are over

suman priya — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 21:51:33 +0530

There is much noise over the unkept promise of jobs. Why not? After all, led by Narendra Modi, then prime ministerial candidate, everyone in the BJP did commit himself on the stump to create a million jobs a month should the party be voted to power.

Indeed, the promise was duly enshrined in the BJP manifesto. By all accounts, jobs have been hard to come by, especially in recent months due to the economic slowdown. That much ought to be readily conceded for it is an undeniable fact.

But the question that needs to be asked is whether it is the BJP alone which ought to be held accountable for its failed election promises?

The Congress’s Prince, who is going around asking his listless audiences in Gujarat to seek ~jabab ka sabal~ on jobs, ought to look himself up in the mirror. A cursory acquaintance with what his maternal great- grandfather, grandmother and father had promised to the voters beginning with the first Lok Sabha election back in 1952 will prove instructive, that is, if anything can prove instructive to someone who despite his 47 years remains mentally under-developed. ( Latest evidence: jawab ka sabal.)

Indeed, if Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had kept their election-time promises, there would have been no need for Modi to promise jobs. For India would have been a land of milk and honey already where everyone was rich and prosperous and there were plenty of exotic foods to go around.

Unfortunately, hunger and poverty stalked India for as long as Nehru ruled India, and he did rule for a very, very long time. His samajwad saw nearly three quarters of Indians living below the poverty line.

Daughter Indira was installed by the old Congress fogies in the hope that she would remain a goongi gudiya, doing their bidding as prime minister. Once she found Machiavellian advisers like P N Haksar and P N Dhar, whose bag of dirty tricks overwhelmed the rather straitlaced Syndicate leaders, Indira Gandhi became a leader in her own right. Her greatest electoral triumph came in 1971 on the back of the catchy promise of Garibi Hatao.

Her grandson should wonder why Garibi was not 'hataoed'. Again, had she wiped off poverty from the land, there would have been no need for a Narendra Modi to promise a million-jobs-a-month, to very nearly match the numbers that join the job market every month.

Now come to Rajiv Gandhi. He marketed New Hope in the election bazaar and went on to win a historic victory in 1984, helped no doubt by the round-the-clock telecast on the State-controlled Doordarshan of the last rites of the slain Indira Gandhi being performed by a sacred thread-wearing son in white dhoti and half-kurta and interspersed with visuals of people shouting 'khoon ka badla khoon'.

There was percentage in tugging at the collective emotional chord of the majority community. 'Nayi Roshni' dimmed soon into complete darkness instigated by the Gandhi family’s own home-grown Bofors scandal.

Interestingly, in the 2004 election, which surprisingly saw Vajpayee’s NDA lose power, the Congress Party manifesto promised to tackle “The root cause of corruption and generation of black money,” - yes, root out the cause of corruption and generation of black money. And recall what actually the party did when, to its utter surprise, it actually got the chance to make good on that promise. The number of scams, the amount of black money generated in the first UPA was probably the highest for any government before or since. And that includes the UPA-II as well.

The Congress improved enormously on its own record, though it should be noted, the DNA was all along contaminated. The 1937 ministries were riddled with high corruption. Old-timers will recall how a disgusted Mahatma Gandhi had threatened to quit the Congress following reports of corruption by Congress ministers. He was persuaded not to quit the party for fear that his resignation would undermine the freedom struggle.

The point is that political manifestoes are not worth the paper they are written on. Even in western democracies these are honoured more in breach than implementation. It is in the very nature of democratic systems to restrain and constrain a fast delivery of promises.

For, the system in all democracies, and to an extent even in one-party autocracies, to wit, Russia and China, grinds ever so slowly. The enormity of the tasks makes it well-nigh impossible to short-circuit processes for quick delivery, especially in democratic countries.

If Nehru’s promise of samajwad was a 'jumla', so was Indira Gandhi’s promise to remove poverty and Modi’s to create a million jobs a month. In the election market, the one with a better and a catchier 'jumla' scores, though a lot depends on who is selling it. And if they have our 'jawab ka sabab' kiddo, there can be no hope in hell of his selling anything to the voters who have tried and tested him - and rejected him with complete disdain. The Congress should go and get a better salesman to market its insipid wares. Period.

And if you think only democratic parties make tall promises, think again. The Communists ruled West Bengal for over 30 years without making much difference to the plight of the jobless and the poor. That is why the Indian voter, like the voter in every other democratic country, has become cynical, taking election-time promises with a tonne of salt - and not taking them on their face value.

Otherwise, they will demand from the Congress’s Prince, and soon to be king, why Nehru’s samajwad and Indira Gandhi’s Garibi Hatao had actually left the poor poorer.

In one word, election manifestoes are meant to be discarded once the elections are over. Even the politicians who release them with great fanfare on election-eve hardly seem to have read them. When the next election comes along, the old manifestoes are recycled with an addition or two of newer promises and an added emphasis on a new and catchy tagline.

Read, don’t speak extempore

Have you noticed that on social media Rahul Gandhi sounds much cleverer than he actually does in real life or on the campaign trail. The reason is not far to seek. For, he tweets not as Rahul Gandhi but as `The office of Rahul Gandhi.’ The royals do not do these things, you see.

They have minions to do these dreary jobs. However, if like Trump, we had Gandhi himself doing his tweets, our mornings would be far more fun. For it is in real life that the Congress Vice-President despite tremendous tutoring, muffs his lines. As in ~jawab ka sabal~. You would recall how sometime ago he copied a condolence message for the victims of the Nepal earthquake from his cell phone.

We have a small suggestion. He should give up trying to become an orator like Vajpayee or Modi. And like his mother, who even says Namestey after consulting the script, ought to come with a prepared text and read it out in his halting, faltering Hindi without rolling the sleeves of his kurta -- though, we must acknowledge, of late he is not rolling them as much as before.

The real face of secular-pretenders

The media in the capital is abuzz with the social media post of a well-known television anchor who of late finds herself without a worthwhile platform to showcase her talents, which, without doubt, are considerable. She has exposed the hypocrisy and double-facedness of her former employers who pretend to be secular-liberal but are actually ready and willing to do business with the `communal forces’ for opportunistic reasons. And the anchors who still strut their act as if they were the paragons of secularist-liberal values, including the Hindi counterpart of Arnab Goswami who has made a career by abusing Modi and Co. day in and day out, are complicit in the perfidious conduct of their owners.

Business Award

And last but not least: The Business Editor of the Year award has gone to Harish Khare, the venerable editor-in-chief of The Tribune, for giving a whole new meaning to turnover and revenue.

(Virendra Kapoor is a senior journalist and columnist. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of Asianet Newsable.)

Is Tamil Nadu politics set to see a battle of the superstars?

vinayak hegde — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 20:06:59 +0530

It was expected that when Kamal Haasan entered the world of 140 characters, he would be quite a character to deal with on the micro blogging site.

More than one and a half years later, the legend of Indian cinema is showing just why he is not a star on the big screen alone; he can set your handset buzzing as well.

His tweet on Tuesday evening set the rumour mills on fire. That Kamal was set to do a Rajinikanth - i.e enter politics. As is his wont, Kamal's tweets were cryptic, almost like a riddle which could be interpreted in more ways than one.

He referred the possibility of him being a chief minister when he wrote, "Mudiveduthaal yaamey mudhalvar" which translates to, "If I decide, I am the chief minister/leader".

The first tweet was philosophically filmy and open to interpretation. The translation from the Tamil original went something like this. "For those who are roaming around without anything in place and for my friend who has everything in place, you will hear a voice soon. The truth is the mushroom that grew in yesterday's rain and is getting dried in the hot sun."

This tweet led some people on social media to sarcastically ask, "Can Kamal tweet in Tamil please?!!"

The next tweet, with a bit more sunshine, is what set the Cooum on fire. It read: "Let us criticise as no one is king now. Let us spring up heartily as we are not kings like them. If routed and dead, I am militant. If I decide, I am the chief minister or leader. Am I a slave because I bow? Am I a loser if I eschew the crown? It is wrong to chase them as fools. Paths that are not searched cannot be seen. Come along with me, my friend because the one who tries to cull absurdity can only be a leader."

24 hours later, Kamal decided to junk poetry for prose and in a two-page letter, called upon the people of Tamil Nadu to question the government. Advising them to do so on the digital platform so that they cannot be junked, Kamal mocked leaders like BJP's H Raja who called him spineless and asked him to enter politics instead of merely indulging in criticism. "I entered politics the day I took part in the anti-Hindi agitation," he wrote.

Kamal's call is Shankar-esque in nature, a Utopian call for people's revolt of sorts. Complaining, the actor believes, will keep the ruling establishment on its toes. Because the system in his opinion is badly in need of an overhaul.

"There is corruption in every department. Tamil Nadu has overtaken Bihar as the most corrupt state in India. The film industry is the one among the many industries asphyxiated by the prevailing systemic corruption in the state," he said last week.

That comment is what set among the pigeons with the AIADMK senior ministers going out of their way to take him on. While one threatened Kamal with a tax audit, another called him a "third rate actor" who is out of work. Another called him a "human being not worth commenting on".

If the reactions are anything to go by, they indicate that the ruling party feels threatened by someone who is articulate, commands respect and can take the veshti off many of the ruling elite.

Unlike Rajinikanth who chooses to stay mum on issues that are too controversial, Kamal wades into them. Whether it was openly supporting the Jallikattu uprising at the Marina in January or his criticism of the handling of the Chennai floods of 2015, Kamal calls a spade a spade.

The AIADMK dislikes him for the manner in which he took on the Jayalalithaa regime when his 'Vishwaroopam' was targeted by Muslim groups in 2013. Which is why it sees an outspoken Kamal as a dangerous commodity. He is like that live bomb that has to be defused.

Media demands simple Yes or No answers to questions, a strategy that does not work with Kamal. Ask 'Will Kamal enter politics?' and the actor will explain that he practises politics every time he votes.

If Rajini's 'Will he, won't he?' is enigmatic, Kamal's a clue a day is a tease. Almost like a film script that wants to build up towards an entertaining intermission. If nothing else, Tamil Nadu is set for interesting political times. The grapevine has it that Kamal has increased his public appearances only to raise his brand equity.

His critics point to his decision to host the Tamil version of 'Bigg Boss' as an indication that the star is facing a money crunch.

In fact, when a fringe Hindu group calls the show anti-Tamil culture, it only increases its TRPs. Kamal is also going to be the brand ambassador of 'Tamil Thalaivas', the team that will represent the state in the Pro Kabbadi league.

As far as the political kabaddi maidan goes, Kamal with his outspoken temperament will be a misfit in any political party. Which is why the jury is out on whether he will be seen by political parties as an antidote to Rajinikanth, should the Superstar finally embrace politics.

One option is that given his antipathy to the AIADMK, he could do for the DMK what Rajini did in 1996. An interesting development for whatever it is worth is that he has accepted the invite to attend DMK mouthpiece 'Murasoli' Daily's Platinum jubilee celebrations in August.

Grab the popcorn.

Anitha's suicide is the story of how dreams are NEET-ly crushed

fleme f — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 20:07:13 +0530

Most people in Tamil Nadu believe that if Jayalalithaa had not died, Anitha would have been alive. That sums up the disgust for the manner in which the political class has messed up the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), which is the national medical entrance examination and forced it on the students, without preparing them for it.

It also has to do with the fact that Jayalalithaa remained steadfast in her opposition to NEET or any entrance exam for that matter and had promised during the 2016 assembly election campaign that she will get it removed.

Anitha committed suicide on 1 September at her home in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu, frustrated that even with a high score (1176/1200), her dreams of becoming Anitha, MBBS had been NEET-ly killed. The girl who aspired to be inside a hospital, saving lives, had chosen to become a corpse instead.

At the heart of the problem is the feeling that the right of meritorious students coming from poor families to get into a medical college had been snatched away by a New Delhi that sought to impose a `One Nation, One NEET'. Since 2005, the class 12 marks were what counted for admission to a medical school. Now the students were being told, those marks were not worth the paper they were printed on. Instead, their performance in NEET is what mattered.

The problem was with the syllabus. NEET paper was based on CBSE syllabus, vastly different from the state syllabus in vogue in most of Tamil Nadu. Akin to a volleyball player being asked to play basketball, arguing both after all, involve a ball. Little surprise then that most State Board students who did exceedingly well in their Plus 2 exams, fared miserably in NEET. Even the 1200-odd who got through were either the bottom layer who would not get a seat in any of the premier medical college or had undertaken coaching classes.

On paper, the idea of a common NEET sounds perfect as it does away with multiple entrance exams. What it does not account for is the heterogeneous nature of our education system, with its socio-economic and linguistic differences. It looks at India, or more specifically Bharat, through the prism of Lutyens Delhi, and assumes every student - be in Dibrugarh or Ramanathapuram - has access to a coaching centre to prepare him or her for NEET. It is this myopia of the policy makers that killed Anitha.

It also does not take into account that poor families who depend on a no fee or low fee government school or a scholarship in a private school, cannot afford to spend over one lakh rupees for NEET coaching in a year. Add to that, several district towns, leave alone villages, do not have a NEET coaching centre. It is like throwing children into the swimming pool without providing them with basic training and safety equipment.

What NEET does is to create a parallel system of schooling for medical aspirants - NEET coaching centres, all of them private players. This practically kills the schooling system because obviously if Plus 2 marks are not going to count, why would a student burn the midnight oil on school work?

An all-party meeting called by the DMK blamed the AIADMK government and the Centre responsible for what it says is “Anitha's murder”. The BJP warns those trying to blame Narendra Modi for it against doing so. What is lost in this political cacophony is the fact that all political parties are equally complicit.

If DMK wanted to, it could have blocked NEET when the UPA proposed it initially or in 2013, when the UPA government challenged the Supreme court order abolishing NEET. It was left to Jayalalithaa to shoot off letters refusing to let Tamil Nadu be part of NEET. The students and parents assumed the post-Jayalalithaa AIADMK, despite being powerless, would be able to get the Centre to give it exemption. Their hopes got a boost when Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised it would. Anitha and others were mortified to find the Centre doing a U-turn in the Supreme court on 23 August, saying one state cannot be given exemption.

Is NEET per se, a bad thing? No. But the way it has been implemented, yes. The Centre should have first ensured the syllabus for everyone is common and in sync with NEET syllabus. It is extremely unfair to rob a student in a rural area the chance to become a doctor just because he or she studies a different syllabus. The student is made to suffer because the state does not change the syllabus. It is equally wrong to expect a student to compete when you do not even provide most CBSE textbooks in the local language.

With education in the concurrent list, both the Centre and the states have a say but obviously, depending on the political equations, either party rides roughshod. In this case, the Centre knows a divided and weak AIADMK can hardly stand up to what the BJP orders. The demand to bring education back to the state list, from where it was moved during Indira Gandhi's tenure in 1976, is gaining ground.

The takeaway from the unfortunate episode is that only the affluent who can spend money on coaching classes can crack NEET. Those like Anitha, who aspire to fly find their wings clipped because there is very little fuel to power their engines.

15 honeymoon destinations on a budget

Johnlee Abraham — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 12:56:24 +0530

Wedding season is around the corner and I’m sure you can’t wait for your “forever and for always”. But have you put in any thought on where you are going to honeymoon? Most of the time, we are so caught up in wedding arrangements and family meetings and general wedding festivities that we don’t plan our trips until the last minute. And that’s when tragedy hits… especially for those who want to go abroad but the bank balance suggests otherwise.

Plan your honeymoon much in advance to get great deals. Save up separately for your travel. Don’t include this money in your wedding budget.

Love marriage or arranged, honeymoons are a must these days. And where you honeymoon has kind of become a status symbol within society these days (which is very odd). So, does a budget traveller have to sell their kidney, lungs and blood to afford one of those super enticing international trips people keep talking about? Absolutely not!

Here are my personal travel tips for budget honeymooners that are kinder on bank accounts without compromising on exploring the destination.

Every city has something to offer to both luxury and budget travellers. It depends up on how and where you would like to spend your money.

Plan your trip during the off season. Hotels and airlines have much cheaper options during this time. Spend least on transportation – flights especially. If you have enough frequent flyer miles, use them. See where you can take the train or the bus. Ferries are a good option too even though they are sometimes time-consuming.

Check for deals on hotel bookings. You might even get a better deal if you call the hotel and ask for a discount. Booking.com, Skyscanner Hotels and Agoda are great portals to compare prices. If hotels are working out too expensive for you, try Airbnb. They have fabulous accommodations at very reasonable prices.

Book train and day trip tickets early to get discounts and offers. Check Viator for day trips around your destination. Remember that a few locations require an entry fee. Hence, booking through a tour works out to be cheaper instead of you venturing out alone.

Most cities have their own street food cultures. If you are open to trying out local cuisines, eat at street stalls instead of fine dining restaurants. Food is much cheaper (and yummier) and you will also experience the local culture.

If you are a vegetarian or Jain, I would suggest carrying along ready-to-eat packaged food from India. Remember fish is considered as vegetarian in most European countries. If your hotel gives complimentary water bottles, carry them along while you are out. Mineral water can be quite expensive depending on which city you are at. These are a few tips that I have gathered over the years and I hope they help!

You must still be wondering how to choose the perfect destination that does not bankrupt you. Here are 15 exotic destinations that will blow your mind without blowing up your credit cards!

1. Vietnam

2. Cambodia

3. Laos

4. Sri Lanka

5. Thailand

6. Turkey

7. Indonesia

8. Puerto Rico

9. Portugal

10. Jamaica

11. Croatia

12. Hungary

13. Greece

14. Czech Republic

15. Iceland

Do let us know what you think in the comments below!

Deea is an Influencer Marketer, content creator, traveller, photographer and blogger.

Kerala’s School Rationalisation: A Bold Move for Quality Education or a Burden on Teachers? | Opinion

Asianet Newsable English — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 18:45:01 +0530

By Christina VJ and Dr Aditya KumarThiruvananthapuram: The policy of school consolidation and rationalisation in Kerala has sparked a lively debate: does it truly ensure quality education through better use of resources, or does it create new challenges for teachers and students? In simple terms, rationalisation aims to make schools more efficient while ensuring children’s access to quality education. The idea looks simple, but it is not free from challenges. Rationalisation of schools is a participatory process carried out within the framework of the Right to Education Act (RTE). Depending on local needs, the process may lead to opening new schools, maintaining existing ones, merging small schools, or relocating them. The key objectives are to provide every child access to a fully functional neighbourhood school with adequate teachers, infrastructure, and resources, make schools compliant with RTE norms, reallocate staff and resources where required, consolidate resources in the best interest of children, and minimise underutilization and wastage.

If we look back to the early years of the 2000s, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was launched in 2001 to universalise elementary education. The program’s objective was to make the schools available within walking distance for every child. Another education program launched in 2008 and enacted as the Right to Education Act (2009) also carried forward the vision of SSA and mandated the availability of schools for classes 1 to 5 after every kilometre and within 3 kilometres for classes 6 to 8. When these programs came, due to poor technology and the unavailability of GIS mapping led to schools in the overlapping areas. This overlap happened as the land for the schools had to come from the local community's contribution. Schools were opened in areas where there was no demand for public schools. As a result, states are now experiencing surplus schools with low enrolment, which is creating a burden on the state governments in terms of providing resources, monitoring, and ensuring the teaching-learning process.

In 2013-14, Rajasthan had 86,324 government schools for 39000 revenue villages in many places, it exceeded the RTE norms, and the state found that 23,013 UPS with less than 30 enrolment and 142 PS with zero enrolment, so the state took the initiative of integrating of schools and establishing model schools. In 2014-15, Andhra Pradesh analysed the U-DISE report and found that there were 8044 single-teacher primary schools, 5639 primary schools with less than 20 enrolment, and 3300 upper primary schools with less than 40 enrolment. To address this, the School Education Department constituted a Working Group to study Resource Redistribution–Rationalisation (RR-R) of schools. The analysis revealed that several primary schools within a 1 km radius had enrolment below 30. The Working Group recommended positive consolidation by pooling such schools and staff to develop Model Primary Schools at the Gram Panchayat or Municipality level. Further, the state temporarily closed zero-enrolment schools and redeployed teachers to schools with high Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) to ensure better resource utilisation.Similarly, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra were facing the same issue. The existence of surplus schools has faced the issue of low enrolment and poor infrastructure. If children and resources spread in two or more small schools are combined within the habitation, it will not only provide a better teaching-learning environment but will also make schools RTE-compliant.

The Kerala Experience

Kerala is now in the final stages of school rationalisation. The issue first came into sharp focus in 2015- 16, when the then UDF government declared 5,715 schools as uneconomic due to falling student numbers. Many of these schools faced closure or mergers, sparking protests from teachers’ unions, school managements, and local communities. When the LDF government came to power, it chose a different path—strengthening rather than shutting down schools. Through the Public Education Rejuvenation Mission, the government encouraged people’s participation, redeployed teachers, and invested heavily in infrastructure. Over 45,000 hi-tech classrooms were set up, turning many schools into modern learning spaces. One inspiring example is the Government Upper Primary School, Cherayi, which was on the verge of closure due to poor enrolment. The local community rallied together with an admission campaign, raised funds, improved infrastructure, and saved the 98-year-old institution from shutting down.

The Government Lower Primary School at Pookkottur in Malappuram district had fewer than 200 students in 2015-16. Over the decade, the school had witnessed a steady decline in enrolment, primarily due to students opting for private English-medium schools. As a result, the school was on the verge of closure. However, the intervention of the parents’ teacher association played a crucial role in protecting and reviving the school. The PTA raised funds of 1.75 crore through the government, local self-governing bodies, MLA and MP Funds, as well as Contributions from residents, traders, and clubs in the locality. These resources were invested significantly in upgrading the school’s infrastructure, which helped attract students back. The PTA also worked to create awareness among parents about the importance of public education. This initiative was particularly vital for students from economically weaker sections, especially children of daily wage labourers, who could not afford private schooling. Had the school been shut down, it would have violated their right to education. The initiative of the community helped to revive the school from closure.

The Road Ahead: Consolidation and Challenges

The government’s current strategy is consolidation. Schools are being reorganised into two categories: Classes 1–8 as the primary section and Classes 9–12 as the secondary section. This model helps redeploy surplus teachers and ensures better use of resources. The teacher qualification requirements will also change. For Classes 8 to 12, a master’s degree will be mandatory. For Classes 5 to 7, the minimum qualification will be a bachelor’s degree. For Classes 1 to 4, the current requirement of Plus Two with D.El.Ed. will continue until 2030, after which a degree along with a professional qualification will be required.

Unification of high school, higher secondary, and vocational higher secondary departments under a new directorate of general education. All public examinations, including SSLC, Plus One, and Plus Two, will be handled by a new commissioner of exams. Schools will be headed by principals and the current headmaster as vice-principal. While the salary system remains unchanged. The opposition parties in Kerala are opposing the move, arguing that the government is implementing the reform before Dr. Khader committee’s report is completed. They also believe it will create additional burdens, as the higher secondary department alone has nine lakh students and could lead to administrative chaos. If vocational education is merged with formal education, the post of VHSE teachers may be eliminated. Vocational teachers are expected to be transferred to skill development centres and other schools.

But challenges remain. Kerala is facing declining birth rates, which means fewer children are entering schools. In 2024-25, as many as 1,197 schools had fewer than 25 students—452 in the government sector and 745 in the aided sector. Alarmingly, 34 government schools had fewer than 10 students on average, while the aided sector had 160 such schools (P.K.Manikandan, 2025).

Despite this, the number of uneconomic schools has been steadily falling thanks to the combined efforts of the government, teachers, and school management. The push now is not just about keeping schools open, but ensuring that they deliver quality education in an efficient, sustainable way.

The Big Picture

Kerala’s school rationalisation drive highlights a delicate balance: preserving access to education while ensuring that resources are not stretched thin. The state’s efforts—community campaigns, hi-tech classrooms, and consolidation—are seen as a model worth studying. Will school consolidation in Kerala be a good model to ensure quality education, or will it overburden teachers and reduce the quality of education, particularly at the cost of higher secondary students? Given that teachers already struggle to complete the syllabus on time due to administrative and other related duties. So, will this really be a good policy? Yet, the long-term challenge of declining student numbers means that rationalisation will remain a live debate for years to come.

Ms. Christina V J is a final-year M.Sc. Economics student at the School of Economics and Public Policy, RV University, Bengaluru, with a keen interest in education policy and social development. Dr. Aditya Kumar is an Assistant Professor at the same institution, specializing in public policy, education reform, and socio-economic research. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views or stance of the organization. The organization assumes no responsibility for the content shared.