THAT early November morn, the eastern sea was truly boisterous -- as if eager to converse with anyone who was willing. ‘So much I hold within’, He meant to say. ‘So much I want to emote’, He added. And then suddenly, He fell silent -- as if dipped in deep ponder. Then came the roar -- of waves heaving and sighing and hissing and rising and surging on the soft, wet sands, drenching those who stood on the beach. In the distance, two grey and hazy outlines of ships breached horizontal line where the ..

TRUE, temples are receiving throngs of devotees on a daily basis -- young and old. Consequentially, there is reason to believe that prayers are pretty popular with people. People pray, bow to the Divine, surrender to the Ultimate Power ... and then place demands at the altar! So, prayer is very much relevant in people’s lives, as anybody would see and say. How, then, can one ask why the prayer has gone missing from our lives ? This question does need a rather elaborate consideration. For, prayer is ..

THE municipal authorities in Nagpur were seen engaged in a drive to book people who spit in public places or urinated anywhere at will or threw domestic waste and other garbage in open spaces. In one single day, as the reports have us believe, the authorities booked as many as 96 cases and collected a fine of Rs. 46,000/- All this sounds good, so to say ! Yet, given the size of the Second Capital of Maharashtra, the achievement should be termed as very small. For, anyone can see literally hundreds ..

In the facts and circumstances of this case, a strong action needs to be taken in order to maintain the faith of the litigant and the society at large. Provisions provide for a mechanism of dealing with cases of professional misconduct on the part of advocates. It also provides for an opportunity of hearing to both the sides to arrive at a conclusion, either way ..

THESE days, there is stark polarisation of political viewpoints, with no room for grey areas. Everything is either black or white, with no other shade in picture. “If you are not with us, you are against us,” is the sentiment ruling the minds of the so-called ‘loyal’ workers of various political parties. But, what many are glorifying as ‘loyalty’ is actually ‘surrender’ -- a political surrender. The political surrender has far greater evil ramifications that have seeds of disrupting social harmony ..

JUSTICES Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande have at the principal seat of the Bombay High Court in Mumbai, in the criminal case – Balaji Abhaji Puyad v. The State of Maharashtra and others, allowed the writ petition of the convicted prisoner Balaji on October 25, 2024, for being released on parole, in the wake of illness of his wife with direction to the Superintendent, Nashik Road Central Prison to release him after ascertaining genuineness of the cause cited by the petitioner and if that is ..

THROUGH the judgement of the Income Tax Appeal in the case-The Commissioner of Income Tax-IV, Pune v. Dr Kasliwal Medical Care & Research Foundation, Solapur, delivered on October 21, 2024, Justice G S Kulkarni and Justice Firdosh P Pooniwalla, at the Bombay High Court, have held that the clear position in law is, as has been decided by the Supreme Court in its decision of the case – Harshit Foundation Sehmalpur v. Commissioner of Income Tax-(2022)139 taxmann.com 55(All), that section 12AA(2) of the ..

It needs to be noted that Mr. Omar Abdullah is insisting upon restoration of statehood, but appears to have dropped the demand for the restoration of Special Status to the region (which the Centre had abrogated on August 5, 2019). This demand was actually one of the main planks of the I.N.D.I. Alliance during the recent legislative elections. ..

THE advice is full of wisdom -- by Nagpur’s Commissioner of Police Dr Ravinder Singal to the City Traffic Police Force -- ‘Be polite and full of kindness while managing traffic.’ This leadership action by Dr Singal -- aided by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-Traffic) Mr Archit Chandak -- will certainly go a long way to mould the Traffic cops into a force with finer culture. The fact that the Commissioner of Police himself sat with the newly-appointed personnel in Traffic Police for the training ..

Life is full of paradoxes, they say. Night is darkest before the dawn and that you never understand true happiness until you have experienced tremendous pain. I have understood these edicts of life, well, I dare say. It’s the intensity or depth I am trying to reconcile with. ‘Tremendous’, is my pain presently, and I am sure I have reached such a degree of ‘tremendousness’ that I am absolutely ready to understand true happiness, if life gives me a chance. But apparently, it still thinks my pain is ..

THE strongest reason to write this serial appeal to parents is that they must not lose sight of their responsibility towards not just their wards but also towards the larger society -- so that the youngsters turn out to be good citizens and healthy personalities living a happy and meaningful life. Many parents may tend to think that they know how to care for their children. Yet, they need to be told that parenting is not a touch-and-go affair, but a full-time commitment to ensuring that the off-springs ..

ANYBODY can see and sense the helplessness of Traffic Police in Nagpur. No, the purpose here is not to defend the cops and show them as symbols of goodness. They, too, have their own failings, all right. On occasions, they are slack and even indifferent to their own mandated task. Yet, they also find themselves pitted against larger numbers of people who appeared to have made it their mission to flout traffic rules and regulations. Against such (anti)-social menace, any police force would find things ..

“Shaam utari fir ahate mein (The evening descends on the yard) Jism par roushani ke ghaav liye” (Carrying the hurt of the light on her being) – Bakul Dev, new genre Hindi poet ..

The situation threatens to get worse with the National Conference getting majority in legislative elections. It was during its rule 35 years ago )when Dr. Farooq Abdullah was the Chief Minister) that goons had effected what was described by their own ideologues as ethnic purge. With such a background, can the Kashmiri Pandits expect to get real justice at the hands of the Centre -- which could do damned little during the last fives after abrogation of Special Status ? ..

THE news of ‘auction’ of the position of Sarpanch in various villages in Gurdaspur, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Bathinda districts in Punjab have triggered a row in the country about the legal and ethical outcomes of such a step taken by villagers there. But, there is more to the story. Legitimate and illegitimate ‘auctions’ are becoming a norm in the country, which has a rich tradition of democratic, social, and cultural values. One may ask if ‘auctions’ are really becoming a norm in India? Though the ..

THIS ISSUE -- of people’s unruly conduct on roads -- has a tendency to keep cropping up in public discourse again and again. There may not be any social conversation in town without a reference to the uncouth and brazen behaviour of the people in Maharashtra’s Second Capital. Unfortunately, we can see people from all walks of life -- from all economic segments -- indulging in blatant, brazen misconduct on roads or public places, breaking all rules and norms, and also defying common sense. In the process, ..

“This is a war to end all wars.” American President Wood row Wilson had declared this in 1917, justifying decision to join the First World War. A wartoendallwars…anew beginning… a new world. Moved by the same emotion, the leaders of that time formed the League of Nations. But soon enough, theworldwasready for another war, and another, and another. To this day, the desire for a new world free of war has never really gained any ground.For,the groundis fullofweeds. Weeds can spread far and widein no ..

IN THREE writ petitions, not registered yet and having only Stamp Nos.-Harpritsingh Bhupindersingh Hora, Vijay Shankarlal Lalwani, Sacin Suryakant Belagade and Sanjay Marutrao Ingawale, a Full Bench of the Bombay High Court, consisting of Justices Atul Chandurkar, Gauri Godse and Rajesh S Patil, has answered on September 30, 2024, a question referred to it, regarding the interpretation of section 142(1) of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949. The order of reference containing the question formulated ..

l New Delhi, September 30 (PTI): Effects of Covid-19 lockdown on Earth may have reached the moon, as lunar temperatures were found to have dipped abnormally during the April-May 2020, according to a study. Maximum temperatures of the Earth’s natural satellite fell in this period, while nights were found to be cooler by 8-10 degrees Celsius. The Moon, thus, could possibly serve as a “stable platform” to study climate change on Earth, K. Durga Prasad and G. Ambily, researchers at the Physical Research ..

NO MATTER the new (?) increasing numbers of cement roads in Nagpur and their paved sidewalks, the first impression one gets while moving around town is that the city-roads suffer from bad maintenance -- countless pot-holes, countless water puddles, countless street corners needing urgent repair, countless boulders and cement blocks at critical turns on roads ... ! There are countless spots on different city-roads where people keep tripping and hurting themselves and their two-wheelers or even four-wheelers..

THAT most scientists realise that spirituality is the core of science, is common knowledge. However, when Professor Albert Einstein talks of how the scientists get confronted with a higher spirit, then the words assume the power and strength and authority of a Vedic hymn. The point here is not about God as such. Of course, Nobel laureate Dr. John Mather had famously said, in effect, that even after isolating ‘God’ particle, the scientists felt that they were still missing something -- “and that must ..

“AND amidst us we have, as Chief Guest of today’s function, Aasawari Shenolikar, who has very kindly agreed to grace the occasion,” the anchorstated. I,sittingon thedais, smilingly acknowledged theMasterofCeremony, and gracefully accepted the sapling that was presented to me. But the thought running through my mind was, “Ah! Here we go again.” I knew exactly what was coming next - because after attending innumerable functions - some as a Guest, a few as one among the many spectators - I sort of knew ..

Mumbai, September 26 (PTI): Overjoyed by India’s remarkable dual triumph at the Chess Olympiad, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said that while this marked a promising beginning, there was still much work to be done for women’s chess in the country. India scripted history on Sunday as both its men’s and women’s teams secured their first-ever titles, achieving a remarkable clean sweep of gold medals at the Chess Olympiad. Responding to that remarkable feat, 54-year-old Viswanathan Anand ..

THE pictures tell the story without words. The pictures ‘The Hitavada CityLine’ published on September 25, 2024 -- of the pools of rain water at Kachipura and Bajaj Nagar squares -- actually mock at the tall claims of the city leadership that they are modernising the city’s road system. The two pictures prove that the claims are just hollow. Both the intersections are in the city’s prime area, and yet give a clear impression of a failed civic management. One small rainy spell, and many areas in ..

FEAR is such a negative emotion, but possibly the oldest and most heeded to. In adequate amounts, it can be a life saviour; a little more and it consumes life. The line is so fine, you barely know when you have tripped. But I know, I have not just tripped but fallen with a bang. I am scared. Too scared looking at the world around me. Everything about it is so smart but hardly safe! Shouldn’t I be fearful with drones killing, pagers exploding, gadgets consuming most of my hard-earned money, my smartphone ..