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� Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023 � �����������������

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� INDORE � BHOPAL � UJJAIN � MUMBAI � PUNE
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JUDGE SEEKS proof
linking toolkit used by
her with R-Day
violence in Delhi
���������������
���������
An additional sessions
judge in Delhi on Saturday
reserved its order for pro-
nouncement on next Tues-
day on the bail plea of
Disha Ravi, a 22-year-old
climate activist from Kar-
nataka accused by Delhi
Police of creating a toolkit
to help the farmers protest-
Sidhi tragedy: All
54 bodies found
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ing against the Centre's
controversial farm laws.
She was arrested from
Bengaluru on February 13
by a cyber cell team of Delhi
Police, brought here and
booked for sedition and oth-
er charges. A trial court on
Friday sent her to a 3-day ju-
dicial lockup after her 5-day
police custody expired.
The judge, Dharmendra
137 test Covid
+ve in city
������������������
������
Cases of Covid-19 are in-
creasing continuously in the
city as 135 patients tested
positive out of 1,891 sample
reports received on Saturday.
Rate of positive patients was
recorded at 7.14 percent and
the total number of positive
cases reached 58,756. With 2
deaths, toll reached 931.
According to the CMHO
bulletin, reports of total sam-
ples received till Saturday
was 8,20,215. As many as
1,739 samples were tested
negative on Saturday. De-
partment took 1,907 more
samples for testing including
1590 for RTPCR. As many as
612 patients are getting treat-
ment in various hospitals of
the city. Total 57,213 patients
have been discharged so far.
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Rana, had his own doubts
on the case built by police as
he pointedly asked: "Is there
any evidence or are we act-
ing on the basis of surmises
and conjectures?"
He sought evidence link-
ing the toolkit used by her
with the violence in Delhi
on the Republic Day when
additional solicitor gener-
al SV Raju claimed on be-
���������������������
������������������
������
A 30-year-old woman weight
lifter of Bhopal was found
murdered in Haryana's Ro-
htak district on Thursday.
Her throat was slit and body
was dumped in the forests,
said police.
The cops found slips of
bike-parking and bill of a ho-
tel at Habibganj railway sta-
tion from her trouser. A
team of Rohtak police visit-
ed Bhopal and contacted
Govindpura police on Satur-
day. The 30-year-old woman,
a resident of Saket Nagar
weight-lifter was also a
coach in an institute of
Bhopal. She had accused a
man Bhagat Singh, a coach
in Haryana, of rape. A case
was registered with
Haryana police on her com-
half of police that the doc-
ument by her has to be
read with hashtags and
links to show all were
meant to "instigate people
to come on street and cre-
ate a public disorder."
Delhi Police vehemently
opposed the bail plea filed
by Disha on Friday, while
her lawyer rubbished all
the charges and wondered
plaint in 2018. The woman
had also lodged a case with
the Govindpura PS of re-
ceiving threats from Singh.
Her body was found in
forests at Damar village un-
der Sadar Rohtak police sta-
tion. The Haryana police
are yet to trace the accused,
Bhagat Singh, in the case.
DSP Rohtak Sajjan Kumar
said the body was lying in a
pool of blood and it ap-
peared her throat was slit
and was stabbed. Kumar
said the accused is on the
run. Woman's Passion Pro
bike was found parked AT
Habibganj station by the
cops. She had parked her
two-wheeler and boarded a
train to Haryana. SHO
Govindpura Ashok Singh
said the woman had lodged
a complaint of threatening
calls in 2018.
how the sedition charge be
levelled against her that
was not even slapped on
those indulging in violence
on January 26.
She said if supporting a
protest is sedition, she
would like better to be in
jail. She said through her
lawyer: "If highlighting
farmers' protest globally is
sedition, I am better in
jail." The lawyer asserted
that in the first place, the
police should not have ar-
rested her since it has no
evidence to show that the
toolkit on farmers' protest
is responsible for the
violence in Delhi on Janu-
ary 26. ������������
3,778 HCWs get second
jab against corona
������������������
������
Around 3,778 HCWs were
given second dose of coro-
na vaccine in 13 districts on
Saturday. These districts in-
clude Alirajpur, Bhind,
Bhopal, Chhatarpur, Dhar,
Dindori, Indore, Jhabua,
Narsinghpur, Sehore, Sha-
japur, Sheopur and Ujjain.
Around 3,778 second shot
were given to HCWs while
4,474 first shots were given
to HCWs who had missed in
first round. ������������
half-day state wide bandh
������������������
������
Mixed response was wit-
nessed on Saturday's Con-
gress-supported half-day
bandh call to protest the
price hike in petro prod-
ucts. Bhopal police booked
former minister PC Shar-
ma and other Congress
leaders when they were
forcing shopkepeers of Bit-
tan market area to down ������������������������������������������������������������
shutters on Saturday
morning. hike. The Congressmen in- bandh. While big shops in
On Friday, former chief cluding the ex-minister the markets remained
minister Kamal Nath ap- were sent to jail on Satur- closed, small shops in the
pealed people to partici- day morning, by the police. city interior managed to
pate in the bandh to raise Mixed impact was seen in do their business as usual.
voice against oil price the state capital over the ������������
NASA rover sends first colour OZ CHAMP
images of Mars, a selfie too
����������
NASAs Perseverance rover
has sent some stunning
photos of the Red Planet,
including a high-resolution
colour selfie taken during
its landing.
The selfie is part of a age was taken from that
video taken by several cam- footage, which is still be-
eras as NASA's Persever- ing relayed to Earth and
ance rover touched down processed," the US space
on Mars on February 18. agency said in a statement
"While NASA's Mars Cu- on Friday. A camera �������������������
riosity rover sent back a aboard the descent stage ������������������������������
stop-motion movie of its captured the shot. Unlike �����������������������������
descent, Perseverance's with past rovers, the ma-
���������������������������
cameras are intended to jority of Perseverance's ���������������������������
capture video of its touch- cameras capture images in
����������������������
down and this new still im- colour. ������������
2 INDORE CITY
Indore-Daund (Pune) train to restart on Feb 25
INDORE: The train between the city and Daund (Pune) is going to restart on February 25.
According to official information, Train No 02944/02943 Indore-Daund-Indore Special Train will
run six days a week. Train number 02944 Indore to Daund will run on Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Train number 02943 Daund to Indore will restart on
FREE PRESS 26th February and will also run 6 days a week , save Thursdays. There is no change in arrival /
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | INDORE departure time and stoppage of the train.

CRIME OF THE WEEK Doctor misbehaves with

FRIEND IN 'DEED': 6 HELD AYUSH team, booked
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
lice have registered the
case under Section 353,
probe a complaint made
against the centre in CM

FOR KILLING TRUCKER

Killers fled with lorry
Police registered a case on
Saturday against a doctor
in Bhawarkuan area who
misbehaved and manhan-
dled a team of AYUSH doc-
tors who reached his Day
said the deceased named weighing about 20 tonnes also known as Kunal Care Centre for inspection
294, 506 and 34 of IPC.
Police said that Dr Anil
Ghai allegedly tore the
documents of the team
members and abused
them and misbehaved
with the lady doctor.
According to District
Helpline.
"A complaint was made
against Hemlata Pardeshi
and it was mentioned that
she didn't have an MBBS
degree and only a BHMS
degree but she was pre-
scribing allopathic medi-

loaded with iron rods

worth lakhs
Friend was nabbed as
his purse with aadhar
Golu Chouhan (26), a resi-
dent of Indorama area in
Pithampur was found mur-
dered near the Super Cor-
ridor on Thursday. The
body was wrapped in a
blanket. After the autopsy
report, the police came to
FP VIEW on February 17, 2021. Since
then, he went missing and
Malviya, and the deceased
were friends and the
following a complaint
made to CM Helpline. The
AYUSH officer Dr Himmat
Singh Dawar, our team in-
cines.
When Dr Garima and Dr
L
ike in Amitabh the consignee also contact- killers took advantage of incident took place on cluding Dr Garima Mand- Sachin reached the spot,
Bachchan-star- ed with company inform- this. They used him as a Thursday. loi and Dr Sachin Shah Dr Anil Ghai came there
rer Don, where ing that he didn't receive pawn to "get hold" of the Police said that the ac- had reached The Day Care and misbehaved and man-
Pran gets caught by the the consignment. vehicle with its consign- cused are Dr Anil Ghai and Vaccination Centre at handled them and abused
cops for having stolen
the salary from a van as THE ACCUSED… ment worth lakhs and then
finished off the poor driv-
and Hemlata Pardeshi. Po- Bholaram Ustad Marg to them," Dawar said.

card was found in know that the man was his cigarette case had SP Bagri said that follow- er.

truck cabin
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
The killers' run was cut
short within 48 hours as
the alert cops with the help
of CCTV grabs managed to
put a brake on them.
The police arrested six
strangled to death.
WHAT THE POLICE DID
On the instruction from
senior officials, a team led
by Banganga police station
in charge Rajendra Soni
was constituted to investi-
gate the case and to arrest
the accused. The police cir-
culated the photographs of
the deceased through so-
popped out of his pock-
et, quite the same script
was destined for the
trucker's friend whose
purse which had his
Aadhaar card fell off
his pocket in the dri-
ver's cabin as the ac-
cused were scuffling
with the trucker. The
innocent trucker was
duped by his friend for
ing technical investiga-
tion, the cops managed to
recover the truck from an
isolated place on Sanwer
Road. After that, six ac-
cused named Bhonal
Malviya, a resident of Bag-
dun in Dhar district, Kam-
lesh Chouhan of Dharam-
puri in Dhar, Prakash
Gehlot of Gandhwani,
Antra Singh of Gand-
But as they say, all crimi-
nals, however, clever they Deepak Madda's City poetess
may be, leave behind a
wins 2nd prize in
clue. In this case, too, it
was the same. In the scuffle
to get Golu out of the
properties being scanned Mumbai event
truck, Kunal's purse in-
cluding his Aadhaar card OUR STAFF REPORTER COLONISERS HONOUR OUR STAFF REPORTER
fell off his pocket into the Indore Indore
driver's cabin. And this COMMITMENT WITH
was the huge catch for the Determined to nail-down PLOT BUYERS The city's young litterateur
cops to zero in on the the land mafia completely, IN ONE MONTH Amaysikirti Khurasia re-

persons in connection with
the murder of a truck driv-
er and robbing his vehicle
in Banganga area on Sat-
urday. One of the accused
was the trucker's friend
and the police suspect that
this made the driver walk
into trap of stopping his
vehicle after his friend
asked him to do so on the
fateful day. Two of the ac-
cused were arrested for
buying iron rods worth Rs
5 lakh from the killers.
SP (east) Ashutosh Bagri
cial media and the infor-
mation about the missing
persons was also collected
from the nearby police sta-
tions.
A person approached
Banganga police station
and identified the deceased
(as Golu Chouhan). After
that, police collected fur-
ther information about the
deceased. He was em-
ployed as a driver in a com-
pany in Pithampur. He had
left from the company
premises with iron rods
whom he stopped the
vehicle and had to pay
the price by "laying
down" his life. But with
the help of technology,
social media and CCTV
grabs… the alert cops
pieced the evidence to-
gether to nab the ac-
cused within just two
days. Also, thanks to
the city administra-
tion's attempts to cover
the entire city and its
limits with CCTVs.
hwani for killing truck
driver Golu Chouhan.
HELD FOR BUYING
THE GOODS
Accused Shahrukh Khan
of Krishnabag Colony and
Mohsin Khan of Chhoti Kha-
jrani area of the city were ar-
rested by the police for buy-
ing the iron rods from the ac-
cused in cheap price.
OLD FRIENDS
Accused Bhonal, who is
killers led by Kunal.
HOW THEY KILLED HIM
The accused strangled
him to death with a piece
of cloth. The accused then
wrapped the body in a
blanket and dumped it
near the spot. After that
the accused drove the
truck to Sanwer Road and
sold the goods to other ac-
cused. The goods worth Rs
30 lakh and the truck was
recovered from the ac-
cused.
the district administra-
tion is now conducting the
identification of proper-
ties of land mafia Deepak
Madda. The administra-
tion's view is that the
white collar land mafia
will be treated like gully
gunda.
Collector Manish Singh
said on Saturday these
land mafias are like gully
gundas, who either them-
selves misbehave with
plot buyers or get it done
through their henchmen.
"The investigation of the
T
he district cently secured the second
position in the self-com-
administration has
to follow the
instruction of Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan, which are given
to the top officials of the
city, including Divisional
Commissioner, IG,
Collector, DIG and IMC
Commissioner. Collector
said that we are warning
to the all land mafia,
colonizers, and societies
to honor the commitment
posed poetry recital compe-
made to plot buyers or tition held in Mumbai.
refund their amount with

Ayodhyapuri Colony: Second registry holders

illegal property built by
CBSE directive to the Deepak Madda is un-
derway. Madda's name has
school principals surfaced in the probe of
interest in one month.
Otherwise the action will
be initiated against them.
A self-composed poetry
recitation competition was
organised at a college in
Mumbai for youngsters.

asked to surrender registry docus

OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
Central Board of Secondary Educa-
tion (CBSE) has asked principals of
all the CBSE-affiliated schools to
encourage the teachers to complete
the free online training on Experi-
ential Learning and Competency-
based Education on the DIKSHA
portal by March 20, 2021.
The training is mandatory for all
the teachers and principals to com-
plete as per the requirement of the
New Education Policy. Teachers
have to complete both the courses
before the deadline and submit the
compliance report online on or be-
fore March 31.
A notice regarding this was issued
by Dr Biswajit Saha, CBSE Director
(Training & Skill Education) to af-
filiated schools and uploaded on the
official website of the board.
As per the notice, so far, 65,931
teachers & principals have complet-
ed the course on Experiential
Learning, and Competency-based
learning has been completed by
8,743 teachers & principals.
Teachers must install DIKSHA
app on their smartphones to com-
plete the training. Alternatively,
teachers can also access the DIK-
SHA portal on the
(desktop/laptop). The direct links
web
to access the training module are
given in the official notice of CBSE.
ABOUT THE COURSE
The course aims to share multi-
sensory pedagogic processes in-
volved in experiential learning,
sensitize educators to implement it
in their classrooms, and make
learning more joyful, reflective and
multidisciplinary. The module in-
cludes series of webinars conduct-
ed by CBSE to familiarize the prin-
cipals and teachers with the con-
tent, processes, and objectives of
the course.
To promote competency based ed-
ucation in schools, CBSE has devel-
oped an Interactive online course
on Competency based education for
the teachers and school leaders,
said Saha.
He added that the course is divid-
ed into four modules, designed to
deepen educators' understanding
around the best practices in compe-
tency based teaching, learning, as-
sessment design and processes un-
derlying CBSE models.
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
Collector Manish Singh
has said that to do jus-
tice to the victims of the
Ayodhyapuri colony,
who have the legal docu-
ments and registration
documents, the second
registry holders will be
asked to surrender their
papers. Otherwise, crim-
inal action will be initi-
ated against them. Also,
to ensure development
of the colony with civic
amenities, its land use
will be changed in the
master plan.
Singh said this while
interacting with the me-
dia after visiting the
colony and interacting
with plot holders on Sat-
DCBS students given tips on how not to procrastinate
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
Trouble persuading yourself to
do the things you should do or
would like to do is one of the
biggest challenges for man-
agers today, said life coach
Aishwarya Bedhotiya as she ad-
dressed the gathering of man-
agement students at Daly Col-
lege Business School IMA (In-
dore management association)
student chapter on Saturday.
She gave simple tips for over-
coming it for a more productive
and fulfilling life.
"When you procrastinate, in-
stead of working on important,
meaningful tasks, you find
yourself performing trivial ac-
tivities," Bedhotiya said.
She added that procrastina-
tion is one of the main barriers
blocking you from getting up,
making the right decisions and
living the dream life you've
thought of.
Recent studies have shown
that people regret more the
things they haven't done than
the things they have done. In
land frauds so far. If his Only those who have writ-
properties are found to be Collector said FIR is ten their own poems were
illegal, the same would be lodged against the land selected for the competi-
razed. mafias to give a message tion. Due to the Covid-19
His criminal "connect" to other land mafias that crisis, the event was held
urday. cuted the registry in in the new master plan. has been as found in the either they start doing le- online this year. Winners
On the instructions of favour of other persons He said that there are many land dealing cases, gitimate work and do hon- were selected by experts in
Chief Minister Shivraj and also made the com- clear instructions from thus National Security est deal with the plot seek- the competition based on
Singh Chauhan, effec- plete payments. Some Chief Minister that all Act (NSA) has been ers, otherwise same kind the topic of their poem,
tive action is being tak- people said that even victims should get jus- slapped on him," Singh of action will be initiated language and presentation
en against the land though they have the tice and there is no foul added. against them also. of the poem.
mafia in the city. In this registry documents a play. Under these in-
order, the district ad- second round of reg- structions, all eligible
ministration has initiat-
ed to deliver the plots to
istry was executed in
favour of illegal owner
beneficiaries will be giv-
en their rights.
GUV WANTS EDUCATION STANDARDS
legal owners of Pushp
Vihar, Ayodhyaprui and
of the plot.
Collector Singh heard
They also thanked
Chief Minister Shivraj
TO IMPROVE IN COUNTRY
Heena Place by booking the problems of one and Singh Chouhan, MLA OUR STAFF REPORTER er Sumitra Mahajan was in that direction. If we talk
FIRs against the land all and said that he will Mahendra Hardia and Indore special guest in the pro- about development of new
mafias associated with give a chance to those Collector Singh for pro- gramme. As many as 331 India we have to keep our
these 3 colonies. In this who did double registry viding justice to the vic- Governor Anandiben Patel students got their degrees past in mind.
sequence, Collector and they must give up tims and freeing them said that efforts should be and five of them were We should develop a new
Singh met and discussed their registration. If from the atrocities of made such that foreign stu- awarded gold medals at the India on old foundations.
the victims of Ayodhya- even after this the reg- land mafia. During the dents come to India for ceremony. We have to take our educa-
puri Colony on the spot istry is not surrendered, visit of the Collector, higher studies. She was Governor Patel said, tional facilities to that lev-
on Saturday. During the criminal action will be Additional Collector Ab- speaking at a convocation "Even after so many years el so that students from
discussion, the victims taken against the con- hay Bedelar and Deputy programme organised at a of our freedom, still our other countries should
of Ayodhyapuri Colony cerned. He assured the Commissioner Coopera- private university on Sat- education level needs to be come to India for educa-
said keeping them in the victims that land use tive ML Gajabhiya was urday. improved, and the govern- tion and praise India
dark, the land mafia exe- will be made residential also present. Former Lok Sabha speak- ment is putting its efforts worldwide."
Excise officials recover 25
USEFUL TIPS cartons of liquor from SUV
� Understand what motivates
you, and you will be able to main-
tain your discipline and make the
most out of each day.
� To-Do Today method helps you
get the most important and ur-
gent tasks done every day, while
also helping you prioritize the
work on your schedule and limit
new tasks. With its help, you will
be able to manage much more in Indore: The State excise de- cused was booked under
a day, with less stress and tired- partment arrested one per- the relevant section of the
ness. son who was carrying MP Excise Act. The offi-
� Learning new habits is one of liquor illegally in an SUV, cials are trying to find who
Life coach Aishwarya Bedhotiya addressing management students the basic elements of personal de- late on Friday. supplied the liquor.
addition, feelings of regret and the potential that life has to of- velopment. If we make a habit of On the instruction of assis-
guilt resulting from missed op- fer. doing something, its implementa- tant excise commissioner Man arrested with liquor
portunities tend to stay with
people much longer.
"We now know that the world
today is conducive to procrasti-
tion requires less mental energy
to do it. Habit-list is based on sci-
Raj Narayan Soni, a team led
by Bhoi Mohalla excise circle
worth Rs 44,000
"Sometimes all our opportuni- nating and learning how to entific research about proper in-charge Nitin Ashapure A team led by excise sub-
ties seem to be at our fingertips, overcome it is, therefore, one of planning, learning habits, and cordoned off the area and inspector Priyanka Sharma
but we can't seem to reach the most important skills you tracking, which then motivates managed to intercept the ve- raided a house in Musakhe-
them. When you procrastinate, can learn," Bedhotiya said. us even further. hicle on Kesarbagh Road. di area and recovered
you waste time that you could The guest of honour for the � This tool will help to guide you The accused named Sum- liquor worth Rs 44,000 from
be investing in something function was Maharaja Naren- through your own "Meeting with it was carrying 25 cartons there. The officials arrested
meaningful," Bedhotiya said. dra Singh Jhabua, president Yourself" a time allocated just for of country liquor in an accused named Pratap and
She added that if you can board of governors, Daly Col- you! During your meetings, you SUV. The seized liquor is recovered 410 quarters con-
overcome this fierce enemy, you lege who spoke on the occasion can focus on long-term planning worth Rs 1.30 lakh. The ex- taining country-made
will be able to accomplish more and motivated the students to and the overall retrospective of cise officials have also liquor. The officials are in-
and in doing so better utilize excel in the chosen field your personal growth. seized the SUV and the ac- vestigating the case.

WORLD PANGOLIN DAY LOCKDOWN GIVES A BOOST TO ILLEGAL TRADE

MORE THAN
100 CASES LAST YEAR
TINA KHATRI
Indore
More than 100 cases of illegal
trade of pangolin scales were
reported last year in Madhya
Pradesh! While we talk about
becoming the leopard state,
tiger state and are hoping to re-
ceive cheetah soon, wildlife
crime rate indicates our inabil-
ity to protect the wildlife.
While Madhya Pradesh is be-
coming conducive to wildlife
survival, illegal trade of wild
animals is still reported every
month, while many of the cases
go unreported.
Pangolins are one of the most
trafficked mammals in the
world. Even as we celebrate
World Pangolin Day on the
third Saturday of February
every year, for raising aware-
ness on their importance and
plight, it's high time for intro-
spection of our state's protec-
tion cover for animals and con-
trol measures for illegal trade.
As shared by Special Task
Force (STF) officer Indore,
more than 100 such illegal
trades of pangolin scales were
busted in the state in 2020. "The
number has been rising and es-
pecially in 2020, the cases of
wildlife poaching, illegal trade,
etc rose as people are seeking
good luck and easy medicines,"
the officer said.
Most cases of illegal trade of
pangolin scales are reported
from Jabalpur, Mandla and
Kalaghat area, said the officer.
LOCKDOWN EFFECT
During lockdown, when ani-
mals came out and #Animal-
CrossingNewHorizons trended
on social media especially Twit-
ter, the harm to these wildlife
animals also amplified.
With wildlife animals coming
out in the open during the lock-
down due to reduced human ac-
tivities, poachers have been
hunting down pangolins at a
INDIAN PANGOLIN
much higher rate and using
their scales to make 'easy mon-
ey'. Many of the poachers also
gave the excuse that they were
hard-up due to the lockdown.
SUPERSTITION DRIVING
PANGOLIN TO EXTINCTION
Pangolin scales made up of
keratin, the same material that
makes human hair and nails,
are used by the Chinese for me-
dicinal purposes. "They believe
pangolin scales have medicinal
benefits and that it will cure
many diseases including can-
cer. But researchers have
proven that it is nothing but a
myth," STF officer said.
Madhya Pradesh Forest De-
partment has busted several
pangolin poachers over the
years.
20 KG PANGOLIN
SCALES RECOVERED!
Five days back, pangolin
scales weighing around 20 kilo-
grams were seized by STF team
near Jabalpur. One adult Indian
Pangolin weighs maximum of
around 13 kilogram.
STF is continuously appeal-
ing to the public to get rid of
various superstitions and help
in controlling illegal wildlife
trade in the state and country.
Pangolin is the most trafficked
mammal in the world. There
are eight species of pangolins.
They're listed by the IUCN as
critically endangered.
895,000 PANGOLINS
SMUGGLED IN A DECADE
The pangolin has been under
the highest protection since
2016 when 181 nations, includ-
ing China, signed an interna-
tional treaty - the Convention
on International Trade in En-
dangered Species of Fauna and
Flora (CITES). It sounded like a
lifeline for the pangolin, but the
global trading of the mammal
did not stop.
A report by Wildlife Justice
Commission (WJC) shows that
an estimated 206.4 tonne of pan-
golin scales were confiscated
from 52 seizures between 2016
and 2019. And TRAFFIC, a
wildlife trade monitoring net-
work, estimated about 895,000
pangolins had been smuggled
between 2000 and 2019 world-
wide. As long as the market de-
mand for pangolins exists, the
illegal trading won't stop.

MIXED RESPONSE
TO CONG BANDH
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
The Congress call for a
half-day bandh to protest
against the fuel price hike
received a mixed response
as shops were closed in
the main city markets but
remained open in many
other areas.
However, many people
faced trouble till noon as
petrol pumps remained
closed for three hours be-
tween 9 am and 12 noon.
A large number of Con-
gress activists on cycles
appealed to the people to
keep their shops closed
till 1 pm to press for a re-
duction in fuel prices.
"Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi had come to pow-
er with the promise of de-
creasing inflation, but in-
stead he has doubled fuel
prices and inflation in the
last seven years of BJP
rule," former minister and
MLA Jitu Patwari said.
He visited all the mar-
kets of the city on cycle
MGM to send Covid
samples to Delhi for
genome sequencing
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
Concerned over increasing
cases of COVID-19 again,
Divisional Commissioner
Dr Pawan Sharma has di-
rected Mahatma Gandhi
Memorial Medical College
administration to send
samples of patients for
genome sequencing to New
Delhi.
As many as 100 samples
have been sent to New Del-
hi for sequencing which
may help in learning about
the strain of the virus as
well.
According to in-charge
Chief Medical and Health
Officer Dr Purnima
Gadaria, samples of differ-
ent patients including
those having mild or mod-
erator symptoms, those
died with sudden cardiac
arrest and also of those
with no symptoms.
"About 51 samples were
taken from Sodani Diag-
nostic Centre, 27 from
MGM Medical College in-
cluding 9 samples of de-
ceased, 17 from Central
Lab, and 3 of the patients
of Burhanpur," Dr Gadaria
said.
Dean of MGM Medical
College Dr Sanjay Dixit in-
formed about the trend of
increasing COVID cases
and about various strains
of the virus. He said that
the virus is mutating in
various parts of the coun-
try and sequencing will
help in learning about the
strain so that actions can
be taken accordingly.
Dr Salil Sakalle informed
patients in home isolation,
admitted to facility, and
treatment guidelines.
Kissa kursi ka: Chair for royal event
now kept in Residency Kothi for CM
INDORE
A chair specially made for a
royal occasion is now kept
in a room in Residency
Kothi where the Chief Min-
ister of Madhya Pradesh
sits whenever he visits the
city.
According to information
and details gathered from
historic evidences, on
March 22, 1911, a royal
proclamation announced
that an Imperial Durbar
would be held in December
to commemorate the coro-
and appealed to the people
to support the bandh call.
Congress leaders also
staged demonstrations at
Rajwada and took out ral-
lies from different areas
of the city.
A minor dispute between
a shopkeeper and Con-
gress activists was also re-
18 percent vaccination
target achieved, 561
gets second dose
The Health Department
could achieve an 18 per-
cent target of vaccination
during the last mop-up
round for frontline work-
ers and health workers on
Saturday.
Health department also
started vaccinating health
workers with the second
dose and as many as 561
health workers get the jab
including CMHO Dr Purn-
ima Gadaria, Dean of
MGM Medical College Dr
Sanjay Dixit, Dr KK Arora,
Dr Santosh Verma, Dr PS
Thakur, and Dr KK Arora.
MORE CITY NEWS ON PG 5
nation in
Britain a HUMARA
few months
earlier of
HERITAGE
King George V and Queen
Mary and allow their
proclamation as Emperor
and Empress of India
where the announcement
of the move of India's cap-
ital from Calcutta to Delhi
was also made. Practically,
every ruling prince and
nobleman in India, plus
thousands of landed gen-
try and other persons of
note, attended to pay obei-
ported which ended after
the police intervened.
AHILYA CHAMBER
REACTION
Sushil Sureka, general
secretary Ahilya Cham-
ber of Commerce and In-
dustry, said that we can-
'Attempts must be made to beat
Chinese plans in toy industry'
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
Even as toys are made in In-
dia, but as the sector is un-
organized, it has taken a
beating and China has up-
staged us in this field.
To make things worse for
us, China is applying new
technologies in this field to
produce smarter products.
Experts expressed such
fears and gave new
thoughts at a workshop or-
ganized by the MSME De-
velopment Institute. The
workshop was organised to
raise awareness about the
safety standards of toy
manufacturing.
Bipin Mandal, officer of
the Bureau of Indian Stan-
dards (BIS) briefed about
the new safety and standard
rules become applicable
from January 1 this year. He
said that it would be manda-
tory to get the license of BIS
Electoral list has 1.3L fake voters: Sajjan
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
Senior Congress leader and
former minister Sajjan Singh
Verma alleged manipulation
in the voter list prepared for
the forthcoming civic body
polls and said that over 1.30
lakh fake voters have been
added in the list.
While submitting a memo-
randum along with docu-
ments to divisional commis-
sioner Dr Pawan Sharma, Ver-
ma alleged that the fake voters
have been added in the list by
BJP.
"We have submitted proofs of
the same to the divisional
commissioner and the elec-
tion commission has also
asked the administration to
probe the matter. The district
sance to their sovereigns.
In the forefront was also
present Maharaja Tukojirao
Holkar III of Indore along
with a retinue of his Sar-
dars and officials who had
gone to Delhi by a special
train for the occasion.
Special chairs were made
by the Maharajas for the
Darbar. Darbar chairs were
also installed for the British
diplomats of high rank. The
chair is still well preserved
not say that it was suc-
cessful bandh. It received
a mixed response. In
many places, the markets
already open late in the
day, so a first half bandh
did not affect them. Also,
the traders are now occu-
pied busy with GST com-
pliance.
and it will be necessary to
put an ISI mark on the prod-
ucts, the application process
will be completely online
and the enterprise will also
be inspected by the depart-
ment. You mentioned that
so far 156 toy manufacturers
have completed their li-
cense process.
Pramod Dafaria, presi-
dent of AIMP said that we
should pledge that we will
buy only Indian toys and we
will promote them further.
collector had accepted that
80,000 voters are fake in the
list but the same names were
added again. We submitted
the documented proofs to the
Divisional Commissioner and
asked him to take immediate
action over the same," Verma
said while addressing the me-
dia.
He also added that BJP
in one of the rooms of In-
dore Residency sits the
historic Delhi Darbar
chair of Charles Russell,
Agent to Governor Gen-
eral for Central India.
The back carved with a
shield armorial sur-
rounded by 'GRI'
(Georgius Rex Imperator
- Royal and Imperial
Cypher of George V) and
ribbons inscribed with
'DELHI' and '1911'
flanked by uprights with
coronation scepters sur-
mounted with Royal
crowns. The serpentine
moulded arms are with
lion's head legs and joined
by turned baluster stretch-
ers. Originally the seat and
back were covered with
crimson velvet with cream
and bullion-fringed foot-
stools and matching cush-
ions painted with two inter-
laced 'S's below a Ducal coro-
net above crimson velvet-
covered seats and back.
CONTRIBUTED BY: ARSH RAFIK VISAAL
INDORE CITY 3 FREE PRESS
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | INDORE
MY Hosp 'guts' it right!
Two persons from
Bhopal arrested for Docs repair girl's food pipe
chain snatching
through small intestine
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore It was damaged following
Two persons associated with a gang
involved in chain snatching were ar-
acid 'consumption'
rested by the police from Bhopal on OUR STAFF REPORTER
Saturday. Two gold chains and their Indore
motorcycle were recovered from
them and they are being questioned Sonam Chandrawanshi, 24, was living
about other such crimes in the city. with an extremely badly damaged
SP (west) Mahesh Chand Jain said a food pipe following intake of acid. of surgery. She
woman was robbed of her gold chain Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital's had, in fact, start-
by two bikers in Juni Indore area on doctors on Saturday gifted her a new ed intake the next
February 11, 2021. She was on her way lease of life by "preparing" her food day of the sur-
to home on her scooter when two bik- pipe through the small intestine. gery. Over 20 doc-
ers snatched her gold chain in
Bairathi Colony. Then, the police reg- NO SOLID FOOD tors participated
in the surgery
istered a case against unidentified Sonam was unable to consume "al- conducted by me
persons and a search was on for them. most" anything for the last two years and Dr KK Arora,
The police examined the CCTVs in- and her weight had dropped to 35 kilo- Dr Abhay Brah-
stalled near the spot. The faces of the grams. She survived only on milk and mane, and Dr
suspects were captured in a CCTV. water. Ritu Pauranik,"
During the investigation, the police
came to know that the accused are DOCTORSPEAK HoD of Surgery
Department Dr Arvind Ghanghoria
from Bhopal and they are also asso- "Resident of Chhindwara, Sonam said.
ciated with Irani Gang, which is in- was suffering from corrosive injury of
dulged in such crime. esophagus and she had gone through THE SURGERY
Later, a police team was sent to two-three procedures to increase the The doctors performed gastric pull
Bhopal. The police collected infor- size of the same but to no avail. She up operation for healing of corrosive
mation about the accused and man- had gone to Nagpur and other medical injury of oesophagus through la-
aged to arrest them. The accused centers across the country but she paroscopy which lasted for over 8
have been identified as Hasan Ali didn't get any relief. Later, she ap- hours.
and Abbas Ali, the residents of Irani proached MY Hospital and we decided
Dera area in Bhopal. A motorcycle to perform the complex surgery to DOCTORS' CLAIM
used in the crime and two gold save her life. The cost of this surgery The surgery added another feather
chains were recovered from the ac- was Rs 7-8 lakh in private institutions to the MY Hospital's cap more so as
cused. Police believed that the ac- but we performed it for free. "The pa- the doctors claimed that this was the
cused were indulged in other such tient is healthy now and she has start- first of its kind surgery in any gov-
crimes in the city. ed normal intake of food after 12 days ernment health set up in the state.
Atharv '20 Day Two
The Pi quiz, cultural
events main draw
from AIMP and MSME DI
also to start their own ven-
ture.
OUR STAFF REPORTER
Indore
Bhardwaj, Miss Earth In-
dia 2018; Cicero was
judged by Madhu Jain, Di-
Sachin Bansal, President IIM Indore witnessed huge rector of the IIFL Founda-
of Plast pack Forum and enthusiasm from the par- tion; and Imperium- was
Ashok Sahu president of ticipants virtually from judged by Ganesh Balakr-
Toys Manufacturers' Asso- across the nation on the ishnan (Co-founder, Flat-
ciation encourage entrepre- second day of Atharv '20 heads) and IshangJawa
neurs. Sahu said that many on Saturday. (Partner, BCG). Partici-
years ago, the city was the Besides cultural events, pants attended enthralling
only leather toys producer the second day also saw the workshops: the first one by
in the country and exporter first rounds of The Pi quiz, Gaurav Sethia from Kau-
to the world. But we could where 60 of the country's tilya Academy, wherein he
not succeed as were unor- brightest young minds introduced them to vari-
This will reduce the import ganized. Today, we can re- competed, negotiated, and ous writing dynamics and
from China and help in in- establish ourselves in the battled in mind-boggling the second workshop by
creasing manufacturing in toy industry. games based on the foun- Utkarsh Gupta, founder of
our country, which will fi- Expert speaker from IIT, dation of Game Theory. Daurcom, which enlight-
nally increase employment
here also.
Indore Dr R. Swaminathan
explained the potential of
The Fashion Show Vani-
ty, was judged by Nishi
ened them to the intrica-
cies of branding.
Neelesh Trivedi, Assis- toy industry through the
tant Director of MSME DI presentation. Sunil Vyas,
and Program Coordinator, secretary of AIMP said that
said that the toy cluster is at present the role of BIS is
taking shape around the very positive and MSME DI
city and efforts are on at the is ready to cooperate in
governance as well as AIMP every possible way. More
level. He asked entrepre- than 50 entrepreneurs at-
neurs to take cooperation tended the workshop.
Kangana is
Nrityangana, Shivraj
should change his
name as well
Replying to a question related
to a rape incident in Bhopal,
Verma targeted chief minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan and
home minister Narottam
Mishra and said that they are
ready to provide security to
'Nrityangana' Kangana Ranaut
wants to win the election by but not to the women of the
unfair means. "I challenge state. He also targeted
BJP to contest elections in Chouhan for changing name of
Bengal through ballot papers. Hoshangabad to
They know that they cannot Narmadapuram and said, "He
win by fair means. Adminis- is doing politics of pitting
trative officials of working Hindu versus the Muslim by
under tremendous pressure changing cities' names. He
from the BJP government, should also change his name
and accused them of working as a person cannot have God's
as its tool," Verma said. name."
Five arrested with 51
firearms, live cartridges
Indore: In a major haul of il- cused were showing the
legal firearms, crime firearms to one Govind
branch arrested five per-
sons and seized 51 firearms
alias Lala when the crime
branch arrested them.
and live cartridges from The accused were identi-
them, late on Friday. Police fied as Prakash Sikligar of
said the accused had come Anjad in Barwani, Govind
to deliver the consignment alias Lala of Juni Indore,
to someone in the city. Piyush Singh of Au-
DIG Manish Kapooria said rangabad in Bihar and pres-
crime branch officials re- ent resident of Sendhwa,
ceived a tip-off that some Ravi Solanki of Gandhwani
Sikligarhs, traditional mak- and Rajendra of Niranjan-
ers of illegal firearms, pur area of the city.
sharp-edged weapons, locks During the search, the
and keys from adjacent dis- crime branch officials re-
tricts like Barwani, Dhar covered 51 firearms includ-
and Khargone will deliver ing 29 country-made pistols,
firearms to someone in the 14 live cartridges, four mo-
city. On the instruction from bile phones and Rs 5050
the senior officials, a team from the accused. The ac-
of the crime branch was cused allegedly confessed to
constituted to collect fur- making the firearms. The
ther information about the police are questioning the
accused and to arrest them. accused to find out about
The crime branch team their other clients.
verified the information It is noteworthy that re-
and reached Juni Indore cently the crime branch had
area from where five per- also arrested some accused
sons were arrested by the of an interstate gang with
crime branch team. The ac- 80 live cartridges in the city.
�������������
FREE PRESS
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UJJAIN WEATHER
MAXIMUM: 29.8°C, MINIMUM: 10.4° C
HUMIDITY
MORNING: 77 per cent, EVENING: 45 per cent
SUNRISE: 6.56 am , SUNSET: 6.26 pm

VIKRAM UNIVERSITY HOLDS 24TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY

Country turning out to be jagatguru: Governor
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�������

During the 24th convocation cer-

emony of Vikram University,
Governor Anandiben Patel on
Saturday attended the convoca-
tion ceremony organised by
Vikram University. During the
programme She awarded PhD ti-
tle to 325 scholars and distrib-
uted medals to meritorious stu-
dents of graduate and post grad-
uated courses. Addressing the
students the governor told that
the country once again heading
towards of the path of being ja-
gatguru that will enlighten the
path of world.
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In her speech governor praised
Vikram University for its initia-
tive to start over 100 new courses
related to electronics, forensic,
food-technology, horticulture
and fisheries steams. Addressing
the students during convocation
programme higher education
���������������������������
minister Dr Mohan Yadav
underlined the impor-
tance of new education
policy to fulfil the aim of
development of the coun-
try. The new education pol-
icy is based on our ancient
education system, Yadav
added. UGC head Prof DP
Singh on this occasion threw
light on the strength of youth
and admired their courage to
touch the sky.
Vikram University vice
chancellor Prof Akhilesh
Kumar Pandey in his wel-
come speech threw light on
history of the university and
its jurisdiction expanding in 7
district of Ujjain division cover-
ing 188 colleges, 14 research cen-
�������������������������������������� tres and 31 study centres.
During the programme mem-
ber of parliament Anil Firojia,
MLA Paras Jain, Rajesh Singh,
Sachin Dave, Mamata Bandwal,
Dr Vinod Yadav and other digni-
taries were present. The convoca-
tion ceremony was conducted by
registrar Dr Udaynarayan Shukl
and gratitude was also expressed
by him.
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���������������������������������� Public reps, officials

inspect works underway
in Mahakal Temple area
���������������
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District Congress gave a call for

half-day bandh on Saturday to
protest against recent hikes in
fuel and gas cylinders prices
across the country.
Congress leaders moved across
the city from early morning to
shut the markets, restaurants,
petrol pumps and public con-
veyance. But as per reports the
impact of ‘bandh’ remained neg-
ligible as the shopkeepers did
close their shops when the Con-
gress rally came to the markets
to seek their support for the
bandh. But, as the rally left for
another place the shopkeepers
opened their shops.
At some places like Dewas-Gate
and Nanakheda, Congress lead-
ers also bore the brunt of shop-
keepers while at Piplinaka area
BJP supporters raised slogans to
support PM Modi, BJP govern-
ment and its policies right in
front of the Congress rally.
Cong leaders set out to
shut shops in morning
Early morning Congress lead-
ers went out to markets of the
city in groups and started to shut
shops invoking Gandhian way—
with folded hands. In fact the
leaders had informed about the
‘bandh’ call to city dwellers in ad-
vance by taking out a rally across
the city. But on Saturday morn-
ing the Congress workers had a
hard time as public conveyance
and restaurants at bus stands,
railway station areas started ear-
ly on the day.
�������������������������������������������
Shut restaurant run
by party member
Meanwhile the Congress lead-
ers assembled at Kanthal
Square and started announcing
on speakers about the bandh
call given by the party.
First they went to old city and
appealed to shut the shops and
restaurants later the leaders
moved to Freeganj, Sindhi
Colony and Nanakheda where
they appealed to shut restau-
rants and petrol pumps.
The Congress party members
also stopped public conveyance
like magic and auto rickshaws
and forced passengers to get
down.
The party members also
forced to shut a restaurant run
by their own party worker.
��������������������������������������������������������
Bandh was successful,
claims Congress
Congress spokesperson Vivek
Soni said that rising prices of fu-
els and domestic gas cylinders
has made it harder for common-
ers to make both ends meet,
���������������
hence Congress staged a protest
against rising prices. Soni fur-
ther added that hundreds of Con-
gress leaders hit the roads in the
morning to shut the markets and
locals extended tremendous sup-
port to the bandh call given by
Congress. District Congress head
��������������� main routes.
������ Member of Parliament
Anil Firojia suggested that
Peoples’ representatives live darshan of Mahakal
and senior officials con- Jyotirlingam should be
ducted a joint inspection of made on all LED screens
various construction installed across the city
works under Mahakalesh- and a separate disaster
war Development Plan late plan should also be execut-
on Saturday. ed along with the Ma-
Higher education minis- hakaleshwar Temple’s de-
ter Mohan Yadav asked the velopment plan.
officials to ensure that Collector Asheesh Singh,
proper sitting arrange- Ujjain Municipal Corpora-
ments and public facility tion commissioner Kshitij
centre are constructed for Singhal, ADM Narendra
devotees. Suryavanshi, Smart City
MLA Paras Jain asked of- CEO Jitendra Singh
ficials to ensure that sum- Chouhan and UDA CEO
mit of Mahakaleshwar Sojan Singh Rawat were
ADMINISTRATION Temple be visble from the present.
REMAINS ON ALERT
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Mahesh Soni expressed gratitude
to locals for extending their sup-
port to bandh. �����������������������������

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Rajput Karni Sena 4 more found
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Meritorious girls of Bharatiya ������������������
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to stage demo today infected in city Mahavidyalaya feted �������������������������

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Rajput Karni Sena will
take out a vehicle rally for
their demands here on
Sunday. The rally will
start out from Nanakheda
stadium at 12 noon and
will traverse through Sind-
hi Colony, Tower Chowk,
Shaheed Park and Police
Control Room to reach
Neemuch: Judicial magis-
��������������� trate first class, district
SC/ST Atrocity Act must
be amended and all the fal- ��������������������� ������ Neemuch, Dr Manoj Kumar
Goyal has sentenced an ac-
lacious cases must be im- Meritorious girls of Bharatiya cused to six months’ impris-
partially investigated. ��������������� Mahavidyalaya of Vikram Uni- onment with a fine of Rs 500
Sena demand that once ������ versity were honoured at an for not presenting a single
the reservations are ex- event. bed and a double bed for con-
cluded from the 9th sched- Four persons tested positive for corona Veteran freedom fighter Prem- fiscation in the court. ADPO
ule, the person cannot avail taking the tally of district to 5,216 on Fri- narayan Nagar was the special Vipin Mandloi while giving
the benefits of it more than day. The toll is 103. guest for the occasion. He in- information said that the in-
once. The students of poor As per the medical bulletin issued at 11 spired the students to endure cident is of 2016 when the ac-
and general category pm, out of 268 sample reports received on hard work and patience in life. cused Satish was asked to
should also get the benefits the day, 4 persons (all from Ujjain City) Along with him, professor Viru- ������������������������������������������������ present the said furniture
of the scholarships. The 10 tested corona-positive. Overall, 45 pa- paksha Jaddipal of Maharishi for confiscatin following a
per cent tients, 17 of them symptomatic, are under Sandipani National Ved Vidya sition, whereas the fourth place en by the institution president warrant in a long pending
reservation, treatment. Pratishthan also addressed the was secured by Meenal Bafna. Krishnamangal Singh Kul- case by Additional session
meant for the Samples of 1, 70, 589 persons have been students by saying that when Akshita Mittal of B Com Hon- shrestha. The guest reception judge class II of Civil judge
Sawarna taken across the district so far and no re- girls get educated, the whole so- ours secured ninth• place. was done by principal Neelam class I Manoj Kumar Rathi.
Samaj should port is awaited. With 2 more discharged on ciety gets educated. These students were honoured Mahadik, academic director Consequently, Baghana po-
be reviewed the day, the total number of corona win- In the merit list Prayas Baldia by the guests. Girish Pandya and faculty of lice booked him under rele-
and the valid- ners has gone up to 5,068. of M Com secured the first po- The welcome address was giv- commerce Seema Dubey. vant sections.
ity of the eli-
gibility cer-

�������������������������������������������
��������������������������������
Dussehra Maidan, where a
grand public meeting will
be held.
Addressing a press con-
ference on Saturday,
Karni Sena State presi-
dent Shivpratap Singh
Chouhan, organising sec-
retary Jaswant Singh Run-
ji and spokesman Jitendra
Singh Barkhedi demanded
that in the assembly elec-
tions, the general seat
shall be reserved for the
general category only.
Along with this, the
tificate
the
for
same
should be in-
creased from
at least 1-5 years.
District president of Ra-
jput Society, Ishwar Singh
Jhala, and Municipal
president, Shubham
Singh Rajput put forth the
demand of changing the
name of the Ghattia sub-
division to Pratap Nagar.
All India Kshatriya Ma-
hasabha, Parshuram
Sena, Akhil Bharatiya
Brahmin Mahasabha and
other general, backward
class organisations will
back these appeals.
Acting workshop: Kids stage two enactments
���������������
������
The acting workshop, or-
ganised by the Abhinava
Rangamandal, concluded
on Saturday with two en-
actments presented by the
children at Kalidas San-
skrit Academy.
The purpose of the
workshop was to make
the children aware of act-
ing practices and to im-
prove their understand-
ing of dramatics.
�����������������������������������������������������������
In this workshop, the
children mainly worked on
body and voice culture,
ideation, assimilation of
character, importance of
research, team co-ordina-
tion as well as creation and Meena, Neeta Kukde,
preparation of scenes. Dharmendra Sharma,
These exercises have been Shruti Soni, Nikhil
group work and all the Ghavri, Karthik Srivasta-
children prepared every- va, Pradyuman Amritafle,
thing by themselves, from Ankit Patel, Hariom
storyline to stage décor. Chaudhary, Krishna Shar-
A total of 14 children ma and Tarun Thavre par-
have prepared two small ticipated in this pro-
scenes by improvising, gramme. The scenes were
which lasted for about 45 directed by Randhir Ku-
minutes. Yasmin Siddiqi, mar (Patna) and the assis-
Rudrakshi Badole, Gopal tant director was Nayan
Patel, Ayushman Badole, Raghuvanshi, consulted by
Harsh Mehta, Kriti Jan- Rangmandal chief Sharad
wade, Payal Kale, Kamlesh Sharma.
�������������������������������������������
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����������������������������������������������������������������������������
���������������������������������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������������������������
�������������� � FREE PRESS ������ � �������� �������� � ������

�������������������������������������������������
������������������
������
Minister of MSME and Sci-
ence and Technology Om-
prakash Sakhlecha visited
IIT Indore to understand
the vision and plan behind
MP Vigyan Sammelan and
Expo 2021 (MPVS-2021),
which is being conducted
by IIT Indore in association
with Madhya Pradesh
Council of Science and
Technology (MPCST) and
Vijnanabharati (VIBHA)
from May 11 to 13, 2021.
The theme of the expo is
to have a collaborative
ecosystem of traditional
and modern Sciences for
Vikasit Pradesh and At-
manirbharDesh.
Dr Santosh Kumar Vish-
vakarma briefed the minis-
ter on various programs of
the expo.
Omprakash Sakhlecha
guided all the coordinators
of the expo on the areas of
responsibility.
He said, “I am happy to
have a fruitful discussion
with the Institute on my
dreams of having which
type of an educational sys-
tem, ecosystem of educa-
tion vs industry, innovation
and employment. I am sure
that this discussion will
yield results which would
be remembered for long.”
He further said “We
should not focus on brain
drain but focus on having
an extra brain that would
help us in being a world
brain power. Our tradition-
al educational system has
been very robust and is
liked by other nations. We
should talk about our tradi-
tional educational system
quite often which will build
confidence in our students.
We should focus on the
problems of the medium
scale industries as they
look up to Institutes like
IITs to provide them with
quality research. There is a
lot of responsibility on top
institutes of the country
like IITs to minimize the
import bill of the country.”
Omprakash Sakhlecha
and Prof. Jain released the
brochure of the Expo and
planted a sapling in the
campus of IIT.

Chinese products Rotary awareness drive

about childhood cancer
luring locals again Indore: Rotary District 3040 and Lions Dist 3233 G1
members jointly organised an awareness drive about
������������ soon as possible. childhood cancer at Janjeerwala Square on Friday.
������ He further added that, Members were standing with banners, posters carry-
“Around 88% of the com- ing messages from cancer precautions, and corona
The grip of Chinese prod- ponents used by the mo- guidelines and the importance of wearing masks. Ro-
ucts is back in the Indore bile smartphone industry tary district governor Dr Gajendra Singh Narang , Li-
market after a short span. are imported from coun- ons Club district governor Dr IL Mundra , PDG
Once again, people are tries like China, so a blan- Parvinder Bhatia , PDG Dhiren Datta , Rashmi Gup-
buying more Chinese ket ban of Chinese prod- ta , Sadhana Sodani , PDG Dr Jawahar Biyani, pro-
products as compared to ucts is next to possible”. gramme coordinator Jasprit Bhatia and other mem-
Indian products, and sales Priyesh Gurbani, a mo- bers of Rotary and Lions club were present.
of Chinese goods kept on bile shop owner said that,
increasing during the fes- “It is just an imagination
tive season.
After the government-
to boycott Chinese prod-
ucts because when it Saraswati River banks light
imposed ban on many Chi-
nese apps in the wake of a
face-off between the PLA
comes to smartphones,
computers, television, mi-
crowaves, speakers, cam-
up with cultural events
and Indian Army at Gal- eras etc. also almost all ������������������ the cleanliness of rivers in
wan Valley, people started the major components are ������ the city which IMC is con-
boycotting Chinese prod- sourced from China, and stantly cleaning.
ucts and opting for prod- are only assembled in In- The Indore Municipal Cor- “I am glad that now again
ucts made in India. dia. poration on Saturday or- after so many years the
However, this was short- Shruti Panwar, a house- ganised a programme on clean water is flowing in
lived and during the fes- wife said that, “Made in the banks of the Saraswati the river. Also, when I came
tive season the huge dis- China products are in river near Amitesh Nagar. occasion MP (Indore Lok for inspection I found fish
counts given by e-com- every household. We are Aarti and puja were per- Sabha Constituency) in the water after which I
merce websites on many also dependent on China formed along with the Shankar Lalwani was pres- talked in central ministry
Chinese products was too for raw materials. Traders recitation of Gurbani, and ent along with senior IMC and with funds from the
tempting for the people to and manufactures are later songs and dance items officials. MP Lalwani said Centre and IMC the area
resist. largely dependent on im- were presented by a troupe that it is the responsibility will be developed further,”
According to Pranav ports from China”. on the river bank. On this of the citizens to maintain added Lalwani.
Jadhav, a student, “India
can’t boycott Chinese
products because people
prefer to buy Chinese
products as they are
cheaper to products made
in India”.
He further added, “In In-
dia most families belong
to the middle class and
they can’t afford to buy
expensive products made
in India”.
According to Ashish
Patidar, a student, “Indi-
ans can’t completely boy-
cott Chinese products
as we are heavily depend-
ent on them. Whatever
products we use in our
daily life has some Chi-
nese part in it.”
According to Abhishek
Jain, another business-
man, “for instance, when
you buy an India made
LED bulb, what you prob-
ably don’t know is that 30-
40% of its component are
imported from China”.
According to Balvinder
Singh, a businessman,
“The shopkeepers are now
not buying products
which are manufactured
or imported from the Chi-
na. Currently, they are
selling the products which
they already have in stock
and they want to clear
these Chinese stock as

Vidyarthi Jagran
prog at Himalaya
Academy

���������������
�����

Swadeshi Jagran Manch's Vid-

yarthi Jagran programme con-
cluded at The Himalaya Acade-
my recently. The chief guests
of the programme were Alka
Saini (All India Sahmila Head-
Swadeshi Jagran Manch),
Vivek Chauhan, Hariom Ver-
ma (Province Convenor-
Swadeshi Jagran Manch), De-
vkaran Sharma (Department
Convener- Swadeshi Jagran
Manch Shajapur Department),
Ramsingh Rajput (District
Convenor- Swadeshi Jagran
Manch), Alok Pilot, Ramesh
Chandra Modi (District Con-
venor All World Gayatri Pari-
var), Sadhana Rathore (Dis-
trict Women Head) and Chetna
Rathore. Under this pro-
gramme, all students were giv-
en guidance to use made in In-
dia goods. Institute principal
Pratiksha Rathore gave all the
information.
6 READER’S CORNER FREE PRESS
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | INDORE

SUBHRANSU
GUPTA APPROACH OF HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES
TOWARDS MERGER & ACQUISITION
Chief
Manager - Research
SBIHRD, Indore

W
ith globalisation, the
world is shrinking. One of
the major impacts of glob-
alisation is the precedence of Merg-
er and Acquisition. The main pur-
poses which are supposedly served
by the Merger & Acquisition in-
cludes: i) Incorporation and imple-
mentation of new Technologies;
ii)Venturing into new untapped
markets in order to increase the
market presence; iii)Improvising
the present market standing in order
to achieve the pinnacle.
Recently India has witnessed a ma-
jor Merger activity in the banking
sector under the reform driven
measure in which 10(ten) public sec-
tor banks have been merged into
4(four).The main aim of the merger
is to reap several benefits, including
generation of higher efficiency and
improving governance in banking
encompassing areas of Human Re-
source, Information Technology and
rationalisation of ATMs and
branches etc.
With the announcement of merger,
the concern and fear amongst the
employees regarding their job secu-
rity, pay and perquisite structure,
growth avenues, territorial jurisdic-
tion, cultural issues, relocations etc
tends to pile up and prove hindrance
for successful implementation of the
merger. Thus, alignment of human
resource priorities along with those
of legal, financial, marketing, tech-
nology should be at par during the
merger activity. Issues related to lay-
offs, career growth, perks, and
perquisites, reporting structures, re-
locations, job profiles etc should be
examined closely and explained
clearly.
Managing the human resource is
very critical during any Merger and
Acquisition exercise. Human re-
source of any organisation is gener-
ally considered as soft target howev-
er they are hard to manage. The ma-
jor reasons attributing towards the
failure of any Merger and Acquisi-
tion are: unrealistic expectation,
hastily constructed strategy, poor
planning and unskilled execution,
incompetency towards unifying un-
der a single macro message, losing
out or mismanagement of the tal-
ent, productive objectives being re-
placed by power and politics, re-
quirement of impossible degree of
synergy, unnoticed cultural con-
flicts, inefficiency and failure of the
Transition Management, Financial
drain out on account of incorrect es-
timation of transition cost, defen-
sive motivation etc.
The three broad strategies in view
of Human Resource required for
successful implementation of any
Merger and Acquisition includes: i)
Pre-Combination ii) Combination
iii) Solidification and Assessment.
The first stage is the Pre-Combina-
tion stage which involves creation of
team led by a dedicated and skilled
leader who would mainly assess the
culture prevailing in entities prior
to merger and weed out the chances
of occurrence of cultural shock in
the employees after the merger.
The next stage is the Combination
stage, and it involves the integration
of the entities which is most pivotal
in any Merger and Acquisition ac-
tivity. This is done under the guid-
ance of a competent Integration
manager who possesses the charac-
teristics traits of being sensitive to
cultural differences, having a open
minded approach, flexible, able to
identify and report the actual
strength and weaknesses of the
merging entities thus having a solid
knowledge about the merging/ac-
quiring entities, good listener, vi-
sionary, committed and focussed. Is-
suance of Human Resource policies
should ensure transparency, flexibil-
ity, and bi-directional mode of shar-
ing and transfer of knowledge. The
policies should ensure alignment of
employees' short term and long-term
goals with that of the merged entity.
The final stage includes Solidifica-
tions and Assessment of the New
Entity which emerges after Merger
and Acquisition. The critical role of
Human Resource personnel involves
application of soft due diligence for
analysing the impact of the merger
on the various stakeholders includ-
ing communities, employees and
their families, unions, various part-
ners etc.Other critical functions
pertaining to Human Resource func-
tionaries includes gathering com-
plete knowledge on the merger/ac-
quisition , motivation of the work-
forces, assessment of the manage-
ment team of the merging entities,
analysis of the organisational struc-
ture and SWOT analysis of benefits
, compensation policies , labour con-
tracts, cultural differences .
Aligning the right people with
right knowledge and at right posi-
tion enables in achieving the objec-
tive of merger/acquisition. All
these efforts by Human Resource
team lead to removal of obstacles in
the path of successful implementa-
tion of merger/acquisition and
help the workforce to adjust them-
selves with the changed working at-
mosphere.
India has already witnessed sever-
al mergers in the field of banking,
insurance, pharmaceuticals, health
care, telecom, software, steel, alu-
minium, power, energy etc and few
are yet to come. Under such sce-
nario, Human Resource Depart-
ment is bound to the play the dy-
namic role of leadership managing
all crisis and disputes thereby en-
suring a smooth transition for em-
bracing a new organisation culture.
Human Resource Department plays
the dual role of instigator and a
guide to ensure collective and con-
structive accomplishment of the
goal of merger. The constructive ap-
proach of Human Resource Depart-
ment will inculcate the feeling of se-
curity and belongingness amongst
the workforce of the merged entities
to tide over the fear and mental
blocks and pave the way forward for
successful implementation of the
merger and acquisition.

Decoding RBI draft guidelines on

CREDIT DEFAULT SWAP
my mind to contemplate on different
experiences. I do nothing just medi-
tate but in those precious moments I
sort out things and ultimately learn
a lesson. I am also in the habit of jot-
ting down in my diary the gist of
PROF SUSHMA those experiences. I also write ers are entities that can buy and Credit Default Swap. CDS would 12% Core CRAR (Tier 1) 8% Net
CHOUDHARY quotes which I like because they re- RAGHVENDRA sell CDS. CDS is like insurance act as a boon for low-rated Corpo- NPA less than 3%, Primary Deal-
late to my life. When I read them af- P PANKAJ against default of debt. CDS seller rates. ers, NBFC, Mutual Funds, Insur-
ter some time I get a new energy to pledges to reimburse the CDS pur- RBI is introducing Credit De- ance Companies, Housing Finance
straighten and upgrade my life. I
IIM Indore chaser in case underlying debt in- fault Swaps (CDS) on corporate Companies (with minimum owned
would like to share them with you: Alumnus strument defaults. CDS buy- bonds as a risk management tool. funds of Rs.500 crore), Provident
Do not always believe all you see ersmust make premium payments This would enable participants to Funds, Foreign Institutional In-

D
r. Daniel Amen wrote many and hear. You take them on face val- to the CDS seller until the maturi- transfer and manage credit vestors with strong financial and
years ago 18/40/50 rule, "When ue but sometimes when you delve be- ty of the contract or the credit de- through redistribution of risk. risk management capabilities.
you are 18, you worry about yond perception, you are amazed at fault event, whichever is Market Participants can In accordance with draft propos-

what everybody is thinking of you,
when you are 40 you don't give a
damn what anybody thinks of you,
when you are 60 you realise nobody
is thinking about you at all."
Sometimes a saying or a proverb or
a quote explains the mysteries of life
so well that we wonder why all of us
don't accept the stark truth and
learn our lessons early in life. But it
is also the truth that in spite of all
these wise sayings, we ultimately
learn our lessons from our own ex-
periences.
We learn to assimilate the wisdom
when we participate in activities of
the world, interact with other people,
see the world from our own point of
view and gain experiences. The more
we reflect on what our experiences
teach us, the better we learn. When
we don't understand this we make
mistakes again. On the other hand
those who ponder over their experi-
ences ultimately learn and gain con-
fidence to move on and upgrade their
lives.
I often get lost in thoughts as I let
what you discover.
All happiness and success comes
with intention and hard work. Noth-
ing falls in your lap without work-
ing with dedication, sincerity and
strategy. May it be relationship, job
or acquaintances.
If you set your mind and heart to
do something, you can achieve it.
Nothing is impossible if you are de-
termined and organised.
Allow happiness to lead your life.
Always choose what makes you hap-
py- be it your career, relationship or
friends.
Always remember change is the
law of the universe. Nothing is per-
manent especially joy and sorrow,
good and bad. They come alternately.
Remember in your bad times this too
shall pass.
These are the rules of life I have
written for myself and as I said be-
fore one has to learn from his/her
experiences. The important point is
to learn and not to commit the same
mistakes again and again. You may
upgrade your life if you do that.
I
n challenging times when Cen- earlier. In case there
tral Bank all over the world is is no default CDS
using all the weapons in their seller would
arsenal to manage the roller-coast- keep the pre-
er of the economy. RBI has issued mium.
a draft guideline on a new product Corporates
Credit Default swap for market with lower
participants. I would like to make ratings got
an endeavor to simplify Credit De- a very
fault Swap in this article. lukewarm
Credit default swap is a credit de- response
rivative contract. To put it simply from the
if you are Corporate Bonds or oth- market as
er debt securities investor and are risks per-
worried about default from com- taining to
pany/ institution that has issued them were
these bonds. One can purchase a high. Investors
CDS to offset the Credit Risk. The though wanted
company that issues the bond is to have high-inter-
called Reference Entity. In case est rates offered by
Reference Entity defaults and In- these low-rated corporate
vestor has purchased CDS.An in- entities. But investor refrain from
vestor can reach the CDS seller purchasing these bonds consider-
and get their payment. This would ing the high probability of default.
offset the credit risk of investor. With the introduction of CDS in-
Credit Default Swap would be vestors can invest in low rated
sold by Market Makers (investor bonds and to hedge themselves
willing to take risk). Market-mak- against default by purchasing
hive off credit risk al exchange would be allowed to
and assume credit offer standardized single-name
risk in accor- CDS contracts with guaranteed
dance with cash settlement. Retail users may
their risk ap- undertake transactions in ex-
petite. Users change traded CDS only. Market
and Market Makers would not be allowed to
Makers are sell CDS if the counterparty is a
important related party.
partici- Historically, CDS was attributed
pants in to have played an important role
this prod- in the global financial crisis in
uct. 2008-09. Lehman Brothers which
RBI has filed its bankruptcy in the finan-
defined users cial crisis, owed $600 billion in
and market debt, out of which $ 400 billion
makers. Users was covered by CDS. Insurance
would be allowed firm AIG lacked enough funds to
to buy CDS only to clear the debt, forcing the US Fed-
hedge underlying eral Reserve to arrange a bailout.
credit risk on corporate Considering the magnanimity of
bonds. Market Makers would be al- impact, it can have on the finan-
lowed to purchase protection with- cial world RBI is cautious and is
out having underlying and quote bringing all possible deterrents
both buy and/or sell CDS spread. against these risks. It is a great
Market makers would be financial initiative to develop more buzzing
institutions like commercial liquid markets for low rated cor-
banks (With minimum CRAR of porate bonds.

Lent in Christianity: Forty days of spiritual preparation before Easter A MAGICAL

tional Christians, Lent is be- preparing to endure what was what we want to savor most:

BOOK
ing re-discovered by us fueled to come. Prayer helps us re- abundant blessings, family,
by the desire for a forty-day ceive the grace we need to face work, health, creation, rela-
PC THOMAS journey into the proverbial the particular challenges of tionships, etc.
desert to follow Jesus Christ, each day. Allow the new forms Whether we have decided to
focusing on our heart's deep- of prayer practiced during do something new this Lent,
est longings to know Him but Lent to become part of the or have continued our own ANERI PODDAR
also to address our silly and daily routine in Easter and be- traditions, our Lenten prac- 4TH A
off times sinful compromises yond. Before we can share our tices transform us and im- MEDICAPS

T
he universal Chris-
tians now follow the
Lenten season or Fast-
ing for an extended period of
time which is a practice that
goes back long before Jesus. It
is a moveable feast, falling on
that rob us of joy.
The Catholic Christians
open the season of Lent this
year from the Ash Wednesday
(February 17), by putting ash-
es on their foreheads as the
Church admonishes. It re-
arrive here from the same
humble beginnings. No one
among us came from anything
other than the earthly design
thing is possible. God has be-
come like us so that we may
become like Him. This is what
the lent season teaches.
faith with others, we our-
selves need to be in union
with Christ.
The lessons of Lent and Holy
Week are never finished. Jesus
is role model, and when we ap-
ply the lessons we learned dur-
print on us memories that car- INTERNATIONAL
ry deep meaning. Let these re- SCHOOL
flections invite us to look into INDORE
our life and discover our own
powerful and meaningful
Lenten moments.
So, here is hoping and

a different date each year be-
cause it is dependent on the
date of Easter.
Lent or fasting is tradition-
ally associated with "giving
things up" and "giving to
those in need". As non-tradi-
minds him - "Turn away from
sin and believe the Gospel."
To have the ashes smeared on
their foreheads is to embrace
a grim truth about their lim-
its. It also reminds them that
we are made from dust, we all
of human birth. And to dust
we shall return - we are mor-
tal. It further reminds that
Without God, nothing has val-
ue. No human rights without
God. With God, everything is
beautiful, or with God, every-
According to Scriptures, Je-
sus spent 40 days fasting in
the desert before the begin-
ning of his public ministry.
Jesus went to the garden to be
alone with his Father before
the start of his Passion,
ing these seasons throughout
the year, we will become East-
er people who sing, "Jesus has
risen!" So just as during Lent,
we make a list of things to give
up, Easter can and should be a
time for us to make a list of
praying that these 40 days
will draw us closer to God,
help us recognize and
amend our sinful ways, and
prepare us for the great and
glorious resurrection of
Our Lord.
O
nce upon a time,
there was a girl
named Riya. She
loved to read books. One day
she went to a book store.
There was a book named
Magic. She decided to buy it.
She went home and opened

For national consciousness, all illusions of British education system to be removed

DR HARSVARDHAN Committee worked under the direc-
SINGH TOMAR tion of Baba Saheb Apte since 1973. In
HEAD OF RASHTRIYA 1992-92, the body was registered as All
SWAYAM SEVAK India History Compilation Scheme.
SANGH’S AKHIL Over 4,000 professors are joining us.
BHARATIYA ITIHAS Work is underway at 40 locations and
SANKALAN YOJANA over 300 books have been published.
(ABISY), NEW DELHI We recruit professors of history, re-
search fellows of humanities and
school teachers and independent
vert people in India to Christianity as
English-educated person can be taken
away from one’s country. That’s why
they started closing traditional
schools and promoting English and
Urdu. They then established the theo-
ry of Arya and Anarya.
CONGRESS CONSPIRACIES
TO GAIN POWER
from Euro-centric history and now we
are suffering from Delhi-centric his-
tory- which teaches about Alauddin
Khilji’s market system and Moham-
mad Tughlaq’s irrigation system.
How will the idea of nationality be de-
velop? If we are not able to get rid-off
colonial mentality.
WHITE PAPER ON
mu and Kashmir or Kerala they did
not accept Indianness, there is a
demand for a Christian nation in
Nagaland: Why is this happening
after Independence? It is our effort
to develop such a curriculum of
history that comes out of the histo-
ry of villages, history of masses,
history of folk traditions.
EDUCATIONAL MODEL
the book.
She was surprised because
when she opened the book,
sparkles flew in the room.
The sparkles came from the
book. That day she under-
stood that this book is not a
normal book. She said it's "A
MAGICAL BOOK". Day by
day the book showed incredi-
ble magics like characters of
the book came out and talked
to Riya.
Riya showed the book to her
friends but, after a few days

W
e are not opposed to anyone,
but even as we are to cele-
brate the 75th year of Inde-
pendence, there appears to be no
sense of “self ” anywhere in Freedom
and Swaraj.
Even today, the IPC of 1860, the Prop-
erty Transfer Act of 1882 and the Con-
tract Law of 1872 are being taught as
if we are doomed to pursue British ed-
ucation system. All these illusions are
going to be removed by recombina-
tion and rewriting of history.
The History Compilation Planning
columnists. We are researching in the
light of national consciousness and
have given 50 fellowships so far.
BRITONS WANTED INDIA TO
BE A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY
The Britishers, under a specific mo-
nopoly, developed an education sys-
tem in India after 1824, through which
they wanted to turn Indian into a
Christian country. The Charles Wood
report and Lord Macaulay's education
policy mention in many places that
we will now have the facility to con-
People with a European mindset
promoted a great myth that various
caravans came and settled in India
and they never tried to say that India
emerged as a monolithic nation. A
reading of Indian history of 1947, will
bring to fore the conspiracies the Con-
gress to regain power. Communist
thinkers established external in-
vaders in our history. There is very
little on persons like Shivaji Maharaj,
Prithviraj Chauhan, Rana Sanga,
who are synonymous with Indian
identity. Earlier we were suffering
PSEUDO-SCHOLARS
The institutions of higher educa-
tion, which are ideological establish-
ments, were occupied by the so-called
scholars. The conspiracy of award re-
turn was only for the fact that all their
facilities were closed. Central govern-
ment is going to bring a white paper
very soon to expose these historians.
WHERE WAS INDIANNESS
BEFORE 2014?
Imagine India of 7-10 years ago:
When we go to Guwahati, or Jam-
HAS TO BE PRESENTED
We would not like to cage stu-
dents in the system of BA, B Sc and
B Com. A student with arts will
now be able to take up the subject
of science and vice versa. We don't
have to increase the army of the
unemployed: concept of small and
cottage industries will be imple-
mented in a real way. From class
6th, we will lead students to Skill
India to make Self Reliant India a
reality.
she started feeling jealous of
them. Her friends decided to
ignore her. Suddenly she felt
bad and went to talk to her
friends. They asked Riya to
share everything with her
friends and have fun together.
Riya understood this and
they again became friends.
MORAL- If there is any spe-
cial and lovely thing, we
should share it with all and
have fun together.

OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN ARTICLES ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS. THEY DO NOT PURPORT TO REFLECT THE OPINIONS OR VIEWS OF THE FREE PRESS Send articles to editor.indore@fpj.co.in
New JDU MLAs to deliver positivity on social media
PATNA: The experienced members of the ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar are now teaching new MLAs how to use
social media for maximum benefits. They will give tips to their juniors on delivering positive things to the public
through social media. Former JD(U) President and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has multiple times vented his ire at
various public meetings about the negative and inflammatory things on social media. The Chief Minister also
expressed displeasure over anti-social talk on social media at the meeting of the party's MLAs on Friday.
NATION 7 SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | INDORE
FREE PRESS

Modi is an arrogant king: Priyanka 56 yrs on, govt gets custody of 56 kg

News from South

gold used to weigh then PM Shastri

Says Prime Minister is not ready to listen to farmers FP CORRESPONDENT / Jaipur ever Shastri died in Tashkent
in January 1966 and the gold
SRAWAN SHUKLA
Lucknow Urgency to resolve farmers’ After 56 years, the govern-
ment has got custody of 56.86
could not be used. It had been
in custody of the Chittorgarh

A jockey guides his buffaloes on the slush track
during Kambala competition, at Moodabidri in
Dakshina Kannada district, on Saturday PTI
Kamal Haasan meets
Rajinikanth at his residence
CHENNAI: Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM)
president Kamal Haasan on Saturday met actor
Rajinikanth at his residence at Poes Garden in
Chennai. They held a meeting nearly a month after
Rajinikanth announced his decision that he will not
enter into active politics due to health concerns.
Notably, the Superstar Rajinikanth was admitted to
Hyderabad's Apollo Hospital in December 2020
after severe blood pressure fluctuations.
Congress general secretary Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra on Saturday dubbed Prime
Minister Narendra Modi an ‘arrogant
king’ who shuts himself in a palace to
keep away from aggrieved people.
Addressing party’s third Kisan Panchay-
at in Muzaffarnagar, Priyanka continued
to hit Modi on the issue of the contentious
farm laws. “Except for our Prime Minister,
the whole world is watching farmers’ agi-
tation. Sometimes, I feel our Prime Minis-
ter is acting like an arrogant king who is
surrounded by his yes men and is least
bothered about what is going on in his own
country,” she charged. “Since no one
shows him the real picture, his arrogance
has grown to a level where he laughs at the
tears of farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait and
ignores the sufferings of agitating farm-
ers,” she alleged.
“Every political leader should be indebt-
ed to people of this country, farmers in
particular. But he (read PM) chooses to in-
sult them by calling them traitors, terror-
Priyanka Gandhi being presented a model of
plough during a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' at
Baghra in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday PTI
ists, parasites and andolan-jeevis. Delhi
border is sealed like LoC. It’s nothing but
his growing arrogance,” she commented.
In her entire speech, the Congress leader
repeated what she had stated during the
first Kisan Panchayat in Saharanpur on
February 9 and then another in Bijnor on
February 15.
She reiterated the three farm laws will
grievances: Captain to PM
OUR BUREAU / New Delhi
Punjab Chief Minister Captain
Amarinder Singh, who skipped the vir-
tual meeting of Niti Aayog on health
ground, on Saturday urged PM Modi
chairing the meeting to ensure an urgent
resolution of the farmers’ agitation "to
the satisfaction of the protesting farmers
by addressing their grievances.”
In his speech submitted to the virtual
meeting of the Aayog, he reiterated his
government’s stand agriculture is a state
subject and so it should be left for the
states to make the laws in the true spirit
of “cooperative federalism” in the Con-
stitution. He pointed to the state amend-
ments in the central laws passed by the
Punjab Assembly in October.
only fill pockets of BJP’s capitalist friends
and make farmers’ life miserable as it will
shut mandis and finish MSP.
kg of gold that was to be used
to weigh then prime minister
Lal Bahadur Shastri in the
wake of the 1965 India-Pak-
istan war. The gold valued at
Rs4.76 lakh at the time, is now
valued at Rs27.29 crore.
The decision was given by
the district and sessions
court in Udaipur which ruled
the gold was the property of
the government. The court
dismissed a writ that chal-
lenged handing over the gold
to the government.
The writ has been filed by
Goverdhan Singh. Dismiss-
ing the writ, the court upheld
a 2007 decision of the Ra-
jasthan High Court in the
matter. Ganpatlal Anjana,
Goverdhan’s father had given
the gold to Chittorgarh dis-
trict collector in 1965 to be
used to weigh Shastri. How-
collector. The case has been
heard 5 times in 56 years and
each time the decision went
in favour of the government.
The court said the gold, cur-
rently in the treasury of the
Udaipur collectorate, would
be handed over to the assis-
tant commissioner of Central
Goods and Services Tax in
Chittorgarh. The controversy
over ownership of the gold
dates back to December 9,
1965, when Gunvant filed a
case against Ganpatlal An-
jana and three others saying
they had not returned the gold
to him. On Dec 16, 1965, Gan-
patlal had given the gold to the
Chittorgarh collector. Howev-
er after Shastri’s demise in
Tashkent, his tour did not ma-
terialise and the gold was
seized by police and handed
over to the collector.

Thunderstorms, lightning
forecast for southern Andhra Will be happy if Chandy becomes CM again: Metroman
AMARAVATI: Following unusual winter rains THIRUVANANTHAPURAM announced that Sreedharan nithala and PK Kunhalikutty.
on Friday during the February month in Andhra will be officially joining the They had treated me very well,
Pradesh, the Met department on Saturday Metroman E Sreedharan, who party when his state wide ya- but I did not get the same from
forecast thunderstorms accompanied by has recently been roped in by tra reaches his home town in the Left" Sreedharan told the
lightning to be very likely in parts of south the Kerala's BJP unit and is all Malappurram next week, media. "I wish to contest from
coastal AP and Rayalaseema on Sunday. set to contest the Kerala As- Sreedharan has been busy North Kerala, while I live in
According to the Met department, a trough is sembly elections slated for with the media and made his Malappurram district but hail
running in the westerlies from northeast Bihar April-May, said that he would intentions clear. from Palakkad district. People
to southeast Arabian Sea, spanning Jharkhand, be happy if Oommen Chandy "It would be a big disaster if there are aware that I am not
Chattisgarh, Telangana, Rayalaseema, south becomes the Chief Minister the Left returns to power. I contesting the polls for them,"
interior Karnataka and north Kerala. again. would certainly be happy if he said.
However, he said that it Congress leader Oommen The 88-year-old Sreedharan
Mangaluru Air Customs seizes would be a disaster if the Left Chandy becomes the Chief said it's pointless to be a Rajya
under Pinarayi Vijayan re- Minister again. Even now I Sabha Member, as apart from
gold worth Rs 19 lakh, one held turns to power. Ever since the have great respect for Oom- asking questions, nothing can Air India Express flight hit an electric pole while landing at Vijayawada International Airport at
MANGALURU: The Customs officials on state BJP chief K.Surendran men Chandy, Ramesh Chen- be done. Gannavaram near Vijayawada on Saturday PTI
Saturday seized 402 grams of gold worth Rs 19
lakhs from the possession of a passenger who
arrived here at Mangaluru International Airport
from Dubai. As per the Mangaluru Air Customs R-Day violence: Police PM to visit Assam, Surviving girl better, off ventilator
officials, the gold was concealed in the wheel of a
release photos of 20 Bengal tomorrow
trolley bag and motor plates of a toy vacuum
cleaner. The accused has been arrested and NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Naren-
AGENCIES / Kanpur agriculture field
Babuhara village of Asoha
in Now, double murder
further investigation is underway.
more people dra Modi will visit poll-bound Assam
and West Bengal on Monday to dedi-
The girl who was found
along with her two cousins
police station area by the vil-
lagers on Wednesday night
rocks Kanpur
Declare Godavari-Cauvery river cate to the nation some oil and gas in an agriculture field in a when they did not return af- SRAWAN SHUKLA / Lucknow
AGENCIES / New Delhi the Red Fort violence. sector projects, engineering colleges village in Unnao district was ter leaving their house to
link plan a national project: TN Thousands of protesters and various railway projects aimed taken off ventilator support take fodder for cattle. The lo- A double murder has rocked
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K The Delhi Police on Satur- had clashed with the police at opening avenues of opportunity on Saturday after cal residents had Unnao's neihbouring Kan-
Palaniswami on Saturday urged the Centre to day released the photo- during the tractor parade for local the youth, in line with the showing improve- UNNAO rushed the teenagers, pur district where two peo-
declare the Godavari-Cauvery river link initiative as
a national project and said if it was done, it would
graphs of 20 people who
were allegedly involved in
called by farmer unions on
January 26 to highlight
government's vision to drive eastern
India's socio-economic growth.
ment, a senior police
official said. The girl
CASE who are all related to
each other, to a hospi-
ple were shot and chopped in
a group clash. The incident
benefit people in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the violence that broke out their demand for repeal of During his visit to Assam, the has shown improvement and tal where two of them were happened in Ujiyaripurwa
Tamil Nadu. Speaking during the virtual meeting of at the Red Fort on Republic the Centre's three farm Prime Minister will dedicate to the doctors decided to take her declared brought dead. village under Nawabganj po-
the NITI Aayog being chaired by Prime Minister Day during the farmers' laws. nation important projects of the oil off the ventilator, Kanpur FIR against Cong leader lice station. The Kanpur po-
Narendra Modi, Palaniswami noted that Tamil tractor parade, officials Many of the protesters, and gas sector at an event organised DIG Preetinder Singh said. The Unnao police has lodged lice said that old enmity and
Nadu stood first in the country in coverage under said. driving tractors, reached in Silapathar at 11.30 am, besides in- The girl is still not in a condi- an FIR against Congress political rivalry was the rea-
micro irrigation in 2019-20 and 2020-21, he Police said they are scan- the Red Fort and entered augurating the Dhemaji Engineering tion to speak to the police leader Udit Raj on Saturday son behind the murder. Act-
underlined rejuvenation of river Cauvery. ning the videos and releas- the monument. Some of College and laying the foundation and narrate the incident, the for posting a misleading ing swiftly, police have ar-
ing the pictures of people them even hoisted religious stone for Sualkuchi Engineering Col- DIG said. The doctors are tweet on his twitter account rested all the four accused
YSRCP organises 'padayatra' from them. flags on its domes and the lege. constantly monitoring the in connection with the Un- involved in the crime.
"We have released the pic- flagstaff at the ramparts. The Prime Minister will also inau- girl's condition and taking nao murder case. The FIR A painter by profession,
in Vizag for steel plant tures and the process of The farmers have been gurate several railway projects in care of her, he said. was lodged against Raj on Rajkumar, a resident of
VISAKHAPATNAM: Yuvajana Sramika Rythu identification (of the peo- protesting since late No- West Bengal's Hooghly district. Heavy deployment of po- the direction of CM Yogi. Ujiyaipurwa village, was
Congress Party (YSRCP) senior leader and ple) has been started," a vember at Delhi's borders In Assam, her will dedicate to the lice force has been made at The CM was annoyed Oppo- talking to his friend Ravi,
Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy senior police officer said. with Haryana and Uttar nation the INDMAX Unit at Indian the hospital to ensure the sition leaders were spread- when four accused identified
spearheaded a padayatra (protest walkathon), Earlier, police had re- Pradesh, demanding a roll- Oil's Bongaigaon Refinery, Oil India safety and security of the ing false and misleading in- as Shivam, Vikas, Vishal and
accompanied by scores of YSRCP leaders, leased 200 photographs of back of the Centre's three Limited's Secondary Tank Farm at girl. Three girls - aged 16, 15 formation on the Unnao Akash came and started
supporters and others to oppose Visakhapatnam people in connection with new agri laws. Madhuban, Dibrugarh. and 14 - were found in an double murder. abusing them.
Steel Plant (VSP) privatisation on Saturday.
Reddy called the padayatra as 'parirakshana porata

WORST OF COVID NOT BEHIND Sidda seeks accountability on temple donations

yatra', a walkathon for the protection of VSP. "Our
'Parirakshana Porata Yatra' was well-received at
Marripalem as it gathers strength and further

US, WARNS CSIR OFFICIAL

momentum with more and more people joining in BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader Sid- should ask for accounts. What I have said
support of its cause to protect our national assets daramaiah on Saturday said he is having is, in the past too money and bricks were
and people's livelihood," said Reddy. a Ram Temple constructed in his village, collected for Ram Mandir during Ayodhya
as he urged those involved in collection of agitation... did they account for it?" Sid-
1971 India-Pak war: Victory AGENCIES / Panaji be a reflection of the fact donations for the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya daramaiah said.
that people have become to be accountable to the people of the Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said,
flame reaches Bengaluru Over the last 30-40 years, In- complacent and people prob- country, as it is public money. it is said Rs1,500 crore has been collected so
BENGALURU: The Victory Flame or the Vijay dia has been confident of its ably believe that the worst is Accusing the BJP of playing with the far, an account should be given, all 135
Mashaal, symbolising India's victory in the 1971 healthcare system to deal behind us. The worst is not emotions of people in the name of god, crore people might not have given, but it is
war reached Bengaluru on Saturday. The with any challenge, but the over and unless we follow all the former Karnataka CM said he too has public money. “I’m not mentioning about
Victory Flame was lit by the Prime Minister in Covid-19 pandemic has precautions, unless we fol- faith in god, but for him beliefs are per- any corruption, but an account has to be
National War Memorial, New Delhi on December proved to be a grim re- low due diligence we will not sonal issues and should not be used as a given.. they are accountable... if they don’t
16, 2019. According to an official release, the minder proving otherwise, be able to get over the pan- political tool. "... there is nothing that give an account, doesn’t it give rise to sus-
Victory Flame reached Bengaluru, in the morning, Director General of the demic so easily," he also said. only those who have given the money picion about misuse?” he asked.
after travelling a distance of approximately 2,000 Council for Scientific and Mande also said that the
kilometres. The flame in Bengaluru was given a Industrial Research Dr Covid-19 pandemic is a
grand reception by the valiant Thambis of the Shekhar Mande said on Satur- es. The current pandemic is a "grim reminder" that similar
Madras Engineer Group and Centre, who day. Speaking at a webinar or- grim reminder that it is not pandemics will continue to af-
escorted it through the Old Madras Road. ganised by the International the case. We have been found fect humanity.
Centre, Goa, Mande also said to be wanting in all respects. "That's a grim reminder that
Tamil Nadu CM slashes that the worst of Covid-19 is- In fact the most advanced na- such kinds of pandemics will
n't behind us amid the in- tions, the nations that prided continue hitting us, will con-
Metro rail fare by Rs 20 crease in the rate of infec- themselves on having the tinue hitting humanity and
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K tions in Kerala and Maha- most advanced healthcare we better be prepared for
Palaniswami on Saturday announced a reduction rashtra. systems have been worst af- them. There are much more
in the maximum fare for travel in the Chennai "We have been priding our- fected," Mande said. serious problems staring at
Metro rail by Rs 20, thus bringing down the fare selves over the last 30-40 years "In Kerala and in some parts us. Climate change has the po-
for full length travel to Rs 50 from the present that our healthcare systems of Maharashtra the numbers tential to throw up way worse
Rs 70. The new CMRL fare will come into effect can deal with any kind of sit- have been increasing in the pandemics than Covid," he
from February 22. uation or emergency that aris- past few days and that might also said.

India's first Digital Varsity comes up in Kerala

AGENCIES
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala took a major step forward
in its progress towards a knowl-
edge society with the inauguration
of the country's first Digital Uni-
versity, based in Technocity at
Mangalapuram near here on Sat-
urday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vi-
jayan presided over the function,
where Governor Arif Mohammed
Khan, who is also the Chancellor
of the Kerala University of Digital
Sciences, Innovation and Technol-
ogy (KUDSIT), unveiled the varsi-
ty plaque.
Both the Governor and the Chief
Minister addressed the function
through video conferencing.
In his inaugural address, Khan
said the launch of the Digital Uni-
versity is part of the state's resolve
to embrace new technologies and
desire to use them for bringing
positive changes in the life of peo-
ple and become a global hub for
higher learning and technology.
Praising the state government
for recent initiatives in higher ed-
ucation including the launch of
Sree Narayana Guru Open Univer-
sity, the Governor said "In any as-
pect of life, knowledge brings
courage, understanding, accept-
ance, unity and also liberates us
from the clutches of ignorance."
"The society expects the Digital
University to provide intellectual
support to lap up the new world
of opportunities arising through
artificial intelligence (AI),
Blockchain, Data Analytics and
other digital transformation
courses," he said.
In his address, the CM said the
launch of the first Digital Univer-
sity in the country would open
tremendous opportunities for
youngsters.
"There should not be a digital di-
vide in the society. The govern-
ment is involved in the efforts of
attaining digital excellence in var-
ious fields. We need to foster tech-
nically-talented people in accor-
dance with the changes in the new
world," the CM said.
Noting that the Digital Universi-
ty aims at utilising the develop-
ments in digital technology for so-
cial progress, he said the benefits
of digital technology should be
made available for people in vari-
ous walks of life.
According to official sources, the
Digital University is set up by up-
grading two-decade old Indian In-
stitute of Information Technology
and Management Kerala (IIITM-
K), a centre of excellence in infor-
mation technologies established
by Government of Kerala.
8 NATION
FREE PRESS
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | INDORE
Farmer, son kill selves over debt, laws
HOSHIARPUR: A debt-ridden farmer and his son allegedly committed suicide in Punjab’s
Hoshiarpur, saying in a note they were upset over the Centre’s new farm laws and the state
government’s failure to waive their loans. Jagtar Singh (70), and his son Kirpal Singh (42) were found
dead at their house in Muhadipur village on Saturday morning, DSP Munish Kumar said. They
allegedly consumed poison.

PM bats for PLI schemes BJP youth leader held in drug

Continued from page 1
Toolkit case...
case names Vijayvargiya’s aide
to increase production
He said none of those arrested for the Red Fort violence
has said that he was inspired because of the toolkit and as
such there is no evidence to show the toolkit behind the
violence. He also questioned the FIR, wondering if one AGENCIES ed. This is his conspiracy,"
can be accused of targeting Yoga and Chai. He said the Kolkata Goswami told reporters
talk of alleged genocide in Kashmir has been going on for while being taken to lock-
years and it can't suddenly become sedition. The addi- BJP's youth-wing leader up from a city court. She,
tional solicitor general countered: "This was not just a Pamela Goswami, arrested however, did not repeat the
toolkit. The real plan was to defame India and create OUR BUREAU / New Delhi nomic resources of local bodies in the in a drugs case, on Satur- allegations inside the
unrest in the country." He said Disha knew the legal 15th Finance Commission. Modi said day demanded the arrest of court.
actions in store for her and that is why she deleted Advancing his call of "vocal for local," along with use of technology public party colleague Rakesh Singh, a BJP state com-
WhatsApp chats, emails and other evidence. Why did she Prime Minister Narendra Modi on participation is also very important Singh, accusing him of mittee member, alleged
cover her tracks and delete evidence if she did not commit Saturday urged the states to promote in the Local Governance reforms. conspiracy, and sought a that the ruling Trinamool
any wrong? he asked. Claiming a sinister design behind the production-linked incentive (PLI) The Prime Minister said India has CID probe into the matter. Congress and the Kolkata
the toolkit, he said Disha was "part of the Indian chapter schemes to increase production in the to spend about Rs 65,000 crore on im- Goswami, the state secre- police were conspiring
of the global conspiracy to defame India and create unrest country and cut down dependence on port of edible oils, which can go to the tary of Bharatiya Janata against him and have
in the garb of farmers' protest and that is why she was in imports. country’s farmers if they focus on Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was "brainwashed" Goswami.
touch and preparing and sharing the toolkit with those In his opening remarks at the sixth gov- growing the oilseeds.Similarly, he arrested along with a He said that he has not
advocating Khalistan. On her plea to restrain police from erning council meeting of NITI Aayog said, there are many agricultural friend, Pradip Kumar Dey, been in touch with Goswa-
leaking to the media the probe material, Delhi High Court through video conference, he said the and the states.On the increase in products, which are not only pro- and her personal security mi for more than a year
had on Friday asked the media not to broadcast any states should take full advantage of the funds allocation for infrastructure in duced for the country but can also be guard from south Kolkata's and was ready to face any
leaked investigation material as it could affect the probe. scheme to reap the benefits. He pointed Budget 2020-21, the Prime Minister supplied to the world. For this, it is New Alipore area on Fri- investigation.
MIxed response... out that the PLI scheme offers incentives said this would help the country's necessary that all states make their day after around 90 gm of "If I am involved, they
to boost domestic manufacturing and at- economy advance on many levels. He agro-climatic regional planning strat- cocaine worth lakhs of ru- can call me or Kailash
Similar situation was seen all over the state. tract large investments in production of also urged the states to increase the egy. He said a holistic approach has pees was allegedly found Vijayvargiya or Amit
Congressmen took out rallies and asked people to observe various types of equipment. exports. been adopted over the years, from from her handbag and car, Shah. I think the police
bandh till 2pm. The party also asked employees of private He laid stress on the need to He stressed the importance of mak- agriculture to animal husbandry and according to police. have brainwashed her. I
and government offices to close work till 2 pm. The lead- strengthen businesses, MSMEs and ing the states self-reliant and giving fisheries. As a result, the country's "I want a CID investiga- am not in touch with
ers have also asked bus, local transport, truck operators startups. Modi also stressed the im- momentum to development in their agricultural exports have increased tion. BJP's Rakesh Singh, Pamela for more than one-
not to run their vehicles till 2 pm but the traffic kept on portance of a better coordination and budget. The PM announced that there significantly even during the coron- the aide of Kailash Vijay- and-a half-years now,"
running normally. In Jabalpur and Gwalior, mixed policy framework between the Centre would be a major increase in the eco- avirus era. vargiya, should be arrest- Singh told PTI.
response was also seen on the day. The bandh was seen
more successful in urban areas. Bhopal remained closed EASTERN LADAKH BORDER ROW: INDIA-CHINA 10TH ROUND OF MILITARY TALKS
Bail plea of six
till 1 pm and after that shop-keepers started opening their
Trouble mounts for Vijayan accused in Lankesh
Focus on further disengagement
shops. Congress leader Manoj Shukla and his supporters
forcefully pulled down shutters of some shops in Karod
area. The Congress leaders took rounds and asked them
not to open the shops. Police force was also deputed in
good number. The Congress leaders did not become
govt over deep-sea fishing deal murder case rejected
AGENCIES AGENCIES / New Delhi
aggressive to such extent in which situation could slip out THIRUVANANTHAPURAM "On Friday, both Mer- Bengaluru
of their hands. Former chief minister Kamal Nath 'did cykutty and the state's In- India and China on Satur-
not come out. He remained in his bungalow and later he Trouble seems to be mount- dustries Minister EP Ja- A special court here on day held another round of
delivered thanks to the citizens in his video massage for ing for the Chief Minister yarajan replied that they Saturday rejected the bail military talks with a focus
participating in the bandh. On the other hand, former Pinarayi Vijayan-led Ker- are not aware of any such plea of six accused in the on taking forward the disen-
chief minister Digvijay Singh reached Roshanpura ala government after the company. Now I have re- Gauri Lankesh murder gagement process in Hot
square and asked the shopkeepers to close their shops. He Opposition leader Ramesh leased this picture of Mer- case. Earlier, the court Springs, Gogra and Dep-
also visited various places in the city and participated in Chennithala on Saturday cykutty having discussions hearing cases registered sang in eastern Ladakh and
the rally. came out with a picture of will be releasing two more under Karnataka Control bring down the tensions in
3,778 HCWs get... a meeting between the documents which say that a of Organised Crime Act the region, official sources
state's Fisheries Minister J. four acre plot of land was had dismissed the bail ap- said.
Similarly, around 9,940 FLWs were given first dose. So Mercykutty and a US-based handed over to this US firm. plications of three other The 10th round of Corps
total 18,192 vaccination was reported against 81,827 in MP firm on a proposed project If needed I will release the accused. Commander-level talks are
on Saturday taking overall tally to 6,40,422. FLWs tally of handing over the deep- meeting pictures among “The bail plea filed by taking place two days after started at 10am at the Moldo Depsang to bring down ten-
went to 2,90,542 while HCWs tally went to 3,49,880. Bhopal sea fishing in the state to Mercykutty and those US of- nine accused have been re- the Chinese and Indian mil- border point on the Chinese sion in the region that has
reported 13% vaccination with 1365 against 10,438 while the latter. ficials," the the Opposition jected including six on itaries completed the with- side of the Line of Actual witnessed a tense standoff
Indore reported 25% with 1,538 against 6,253. Similarly, However, Mercykutty de- leader said. Chennithala Saturday,” Special Public drawal of troops, weapons Control and it was continu- between the two militaries
Seoni reported 7% with 40 vaccinations against 540. nied the allegation of any said the precious fisheries Prosecutor in the case S and other military hard- ing, the sources said. for over nine months. “The
Umaria reported 8% with 66 vaccinations against 825. such meeting and said that wealth of Kerala has been Balan told PTI. He added ware from the North and They said India will insist focus of the talks is on car-
Harda reported 9% with 70 getting shots against sched- Chennithala has lost his handed over on a platter to that the hitman and his South banks of Pangong on a faster disengagement rying forward the disen-
uled 738. Dindori leads with 80% vaccination. Health bearings as he came out an US firm -- EMCC, which prime aide did not move lake areas as part of an process in remaining areas gagement process,” said a
department will start full-fledged second dose of vaccina- with this project on Friday. has operations in India. any bail plea. agreement. The meeting like Hot Springs, Gogra and source.
tion from February 22. Apart from second dose to health-
care workers, catch-up round was also conducted for
Smriti Irani buying
Now, slogan war in Bengal
HCWs and FLWs in all districts. State immunisation offi-
cer Dr Santosh Shukla said, “The second dose started in
CHHATTISGARH DIARY
land in Amethi to
Man injured
13 districts on Saturday. From Monday, it will begin in all
52 districts. Today, apart from second dose, we had catch
–up round for HCW as well as FLWs too in other districts.” ARITRA SINGHA / Kolkata keep poll promise
NASA rover... Slogan and counter slogan in CISF firing SRAWAN SHUKLA

After landing, two of the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) cap- along with war of words in-
tured views from the front and rear of the rover, showing volving the saints of West
one of its wheels in the Martian dirt. A key objective for Bengal and Bengali senti-
Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including ments are nothing new in
the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover West Bengal politics. With
will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, the assembly poll scheduled
pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, in a couple of months, the
and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock ruling Trinamool Congress
and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA on Saturday had launched
missions, in cooperation with ESA (the European Space their new campaign slogan
Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these ‘Bangla Nijer Meyeke Chaye’
cached samples from the surface and return them to (Bengal wants her own
Earth for in-depth analysis. In the days to come, engineers daughter) to further promote
will pore over the rover's system data, updating its soft-
ware and beginning to test its various instruments. In the
the TMC supremo Mamata
Banerjee.
following weeks, Perseverance will test its robotic arm
and take its first, short drive. It will be at least one or two
months until Perseverance will find a flat location to drop
To strengthen their claims
that the BJP is an ‘outsider’,
the ruling Trinamool Con-
off Ingenuity, the mini-helicopter attached to the rover's gress, through their new poll
belly, and even longer before it finally hits the road, begin-
ning its science mission and searching for its first sample
of Martian rock and sediment.
campaign, tried to establish
that Mamata Banerjee and
her party Trinamool Con-
gress is from West Bengal
and close to the people of
NHRC accepts Andhra’s actions Bengal. Meanwhile, the Left
Front, who always claimed
in aftermath of Vizag gas leak to be a regimented party
and spoke of Karl Marx and
Owaisi to start poll
campaign on Feb 25
A t a time when the Left-
Congress alliance is all
out to bring in Furfura Serif
cleric Abbas Siddiqui’s Indi-
an Secular Front in their al-
liance, the All India Majlis-e-
Ittehadul Muslimeen chief
Asaduddin Owaisi is sched-
uled to come to West Bengal
on February 25 and start
their election campaign in
West Bengal with a rally in
the Metiabruz area.
meet Abbas to discuss their
further course of action.
Bengal BJP chief’s
convoy attacked; TMC
party office vandalised
A convoy of cars led by
West Bengal BJP presi-
dent Dilip Ghosh was on Sat-
urday attacked in West Ben-
gal North 24 Parganas dis-
trict, triggering a scuffle be-
tween activists of the saffron
party and the ruling Tri-
namool Congress, police said.
at Gevra mines
Lucknow
Union Minister Smriti Irani,
AVDHESH MALLICK who had defeated Rahul
Raipur Gandhi to snatch Congress
citadel Amethi from the
A man was injured when a team of the Gandhi Parivar, is buying a
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) big piece of land in her par-
fired upon him at Korba’s Gevra mines, police liamentary constituency to
said on Saturday. build a house.
The incident occurred on Friday night. The minister had promised
Additional SP of Korba Kirtan Rathore in- people would not have to come
formed that the CISF team detected suspected to Delhi looking for her after
activities and found an SUV and a truck without
number plates going into the mining area.
her victory for the resolution
of their problems as she
When they instructed the truck to stop, it start-
ed speeding away. The CISF team then chased
the vehicle, but another truck came from behind
would have her own house in
Amethi.
To keep her pre-poll prom-
and hit the CISF vehicle. ise, Irani has seleted a piece of
In defence, CISF sub-inspector Uday Kumar
first fired in air. But the CISF team was attacked
with rods. The sub-inspector and the CISF con-
land measuring 11 biswa
(14,850 sqft) near Gauriganj.
She is arriving in Amethi on
stable Ankit Raj opened fire on the attackers Monday to get the registry of
which injured one of the assailants, later iden- the land done. Irani has rent-
tified as Salik Ram Gond (32), the ASP said. The
assailants escaped from the spot.
ed a house on Jamo Road in
Amethi where she stayed dur-
Gond was admitted to Apollo Hospital
Bilaspur for treatment and his condition
ing her campaign in 2019.

AMARAVATI/NEW DELHI: The National Human Vladimir Lenin, now re- Incidentally, Metiabruz While the BJP accused the was stable.
Rights Commission (NHRC) has accepted the Andhra sorts to ‘middle-class Ben- comes under Diamond Trinamool Congress of at-
Pradesh government's action of giving Rs 1 crore each to gali parody’ music to attract Harbour constituency tacking the rally at Minakha, Accused who escaped held
the families of the 12 people who died due to styrene gas
leak in Visakhapatnam in May 2020.
The Andhra government informed the commission that
people for their upcoming
public rally at Brigade Pa-
rade Ground in Kolkata on
which is considered to be a
strong citadel of the ruling
Trinamool Congress and
the ruling party denied the
charge and alleged that work-
ers of the saffron camp ran-
A 48-year-old accused of breach of trust, who
escaped from the custody of Andaman &
Nicobar Police, was arrested by Raipur police on
485 people, who were hospitalized for 2-3 days were paid Rs February 28. Abhishek Banerjee, sacked its party office in the Saturday.
1 lakh each, and criminal proceedings were initiated Talking to Free Press, CPI nephew of Chief Minister area. Police said that at least The accused earlier managed to give a slip to
against 12 accused. The commission took suo motu cog- (M) leader and politburo Mamata Banerjee is the two vehicles, which were at Andman and Nicobar police in a Raipur-based
nizance of media reports about the death of eight persons member Sujan Chakraborty Lok Sabha MP from that the rear part of the saffron guest house and escaped a few days ago.
and 5,000 others falling sick due to styrene gas leak on May 7, said that Bengali parody is constituency. party's 'Parivartan Yatra' ral- Raipur Senior SP Ajay Kumar Yadav said the ac-
2020 from LG Polymers company in the port city. the best medium to connect According to sources, ly, were damaged after stones cused, identified as Ram Kumar Sahu, who man-
The noxious fumes affected people in a radius of 3 km, leav- with the mass not just in ru- Owaisi who will lead the ral- were thrown at them at aged to flee from the guest house on Tuesday, has
ing some people dead on the road and causing rashes and ral Bengal but also in the ur- ly from 1 pm, post-Friday Malancha under Minakha been arrested on Saturday.
breathing difficulty in several others. ban areas. prayers is also scheduled to police station area.

Security beefed up outside Jalsa as RPI vows protection to Big B
Maha Cong chief Patole had slammed Amitabh and Akshay for keeping mum on rising fuel prices
PRIYANKA NAVALKAR ditional security
Mumbai was prompted af-
ter the Republi-
Security outside Bolly- can Party of In-
wood superstar Amitabh dia (RPI) ac-
Bachchan’s Juhu resi- tivists claimed
dence, Jalsa, was beefed that they would
up on Saturday, close on support the ac-
the heels of Maharashtra tors, protect
Congress chief Nana Pa- them if the need
tole’s comments slamming arose, and would reported-
Bachchan and actor Ak- ly march towards Jalsa.
shay Kumar for keeping An official said that the
mum on the issues like security was beefed up for
fuel price hike, claiming the RPI activists showing
that party workers will support and not due to the
show black flags to them Congress leader’s threats.
and their films, when re- Mumbai Police had learnt
leased, in protest. that the RPI party ac-
The Mumbai Police, how- tivists were to arrive at
ever, clarified that the ad- Jalsa to show their sup-
port for the ac-
tors on Saturday
amid the contro-
versy, security
was tightened
around and out-
side Jalsa. A po-
lice van was sta-
tioned along with
two police offi-
cers and barriers.
Amitabh’s personal secu-
rity guards were also com-
missioned along with in-
creased security.
Amid the soaring petrol
and fuel prices, Patole had
launched an attack on
Bachchan and Kumar, call-
ing out their silence on the
rising fuel prices in the
country in the time of
Modi government. Patole
had said at a press confer-
ence, “Stars like Amitabh
Bachchan and Akshay Ku-
mar had tweeted when the
price of petrol rose to Rs 70
per litre. But now the price
is nearly Rs 100 per litre.
Why are they quiet? Don’t
they have the courage to
speak against the dictato-
rial Modi government?”
Patole on Saturday said
that the Congress will
protest against the actors’
silence and black flags will
be shown to them whenev-
er they are spotted outside
or when their movies re-
lease.
Frame charges against Rita Joshi,
Raj Babbar, others: MP MLA court
SRAWAN SHUKLA
Lucknow
The MP MLA court in
Lucknow rejected a peti-
tion of the Uttar Pradesh
government on Saturday
to drop cases against BJP
MP Dr Rita Bahuguna
Joshi, Congress leaders
Raj Babbar and 16 oth-
ers.Rejecting the petition,
the MP MLA court judge
Pawan Kumar Rai direct-
ed the prosecution to
frame charges against all
the accused in the next
hearing on March 6. Dr
Joshi was present during
the hearing.
On August 17, 2015, an
FIR was lodged by a sub-
inspector Pyarelal Prajap-
ati at Hazratganj police
station against Congress
leaders Dr Rita Bahugna
Joshi, Raj Babbar,
Pradeep Jain Aditya, Ajai
Rai, Nirmal Khatri, Ra-
jesh Pati Tripathi and oth-
ers for making a violent
attack on the police when
they marched to gherao
Vidhan Bhavan building.
When the police tried to
stop them, they resorted
to stone-pelting injuring
ADM (east) Nidhi Srivas-
tava, SP east Rajeev Mal-
hotra, CO traffic Avneesh
Mishra, SHO Alambagh
Vikas Pandey, SHO Hu-
sainganj SS Singh and
other policemen.

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Opp. Ravindra Bhawan, Bhopal, Phone : 0755-2660570/71/ 79 Fax: 0755-4271345 E-Mail news.freepress@gmail.com Ujjain:- 2550385. Ratlam:- 234567. Dewas:- 221373. Mumbai, Ph:- 69028000. Advt Dept.: 69028026. New Delhi, Ph:- 23718853. Calcutta Ph:- 22875645. Chennai - Ph:- 28217766. RNI No. 38281/83
 Pakistan: Maryam Nawaz alleges fraud in Punjab bypoll
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (N) vice president Maryam
Nawaz accused the country's powerful military establishment
of abducting over 20 election officials to rig the by-poll in
Punjab province in favour of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
(PTI). At least two political workers were killed during the by-
election to the National Assembly seat NA-75 in Daska on
Friday, when clashes broke out, including an incident of
shooting between the supporters of the PTI and the PML-N.
WORLD 9 FREE PRESS
SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021 | INDORE

NEERA TANDEN’S CHANCE TO LEAD BUDGET IN POLITICAL PERIL

She had alienated both Republicans and Democrats with her caustic tweets which have now come back to haunt her
ARUL LOUIS
New York
President Joe Biden's Indi-
an-American nominee for a
cabinet post is at risk of not
getting the Senate's approval
after a Democratic Senator
announced he would not
vote for her.
Joe Manchin said on Fri-
day that he will oppose
Neera Tanden's nomination
to be the director of the pow-
erful Office of Management
and Budget citing her histo-
ry of attacking leaders of
both Democratic and Repub-
lican parties.
"Her overtly partisan state-
ments will have a toxic and
detrimental impact on the
important working relation-
ship between members of
Congress and the next direc-
tor of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget," he said.
A loyalist of former Demo-
cratic Party presidential can-
didate Hillary Clinton, she
had alienated both Republi-
cans and Democrats with her
caustic tweets which have
now come back to haunt her.
Appointments of members
of the cabinet and senior of-
ficials have to be confirmed
by the Senate.
Despite the red flags, Biden
had nominated her in ex-
pecting that she would sail
through the chamber with
the vote of all the 50 Democ-
rats and the tie-breaking
vote of Vice President Ka-
mala Harris as the Senate
president. But that calcula-
tion has been upended by fel-
low-Democrat Manchin.
It seems unlikely that any
Republican would support
her nomination in the even-
ly divided 100-member Sen-
ate.
However, Biden stood firm-
ly by Tanden saying a firm
"No", when reporters asked
him if he would withdraw
her nomination.
His Spokesperson Jen Psa-
ki said, "Tanden is an ac-
complished policy expert
who would be an excellent
Budget Director and we look
forward to the committee
votes next week and to con-
tinuing to work toward her
confirmation through en-
gagement with both parties."
Defeat of Tanden's nomi-
nation would mark the first
defeat for Biden in the Sen-
ate, which has so far ap-
proved seven appointees
Her overtly partisan
statements will have a
toxic and detrimental
impact on the important
working relationship
between members of
Congress and the next
director of the Office of
Management and Budget
–DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JOE MANCHIN
with the support of many
Republicans. They include
the secretaries of state, de-
fence, treasury and home-
land security.
It would also point to the
rough road ahead for Biden
in keeping all the 50 Democ-
rats in his fold to get the
budget and some other legis-
lation through.
Tanden has apologised for
her tweets telling the Senate
Homeland Security Commit-
tee last week, "I deeply regret
and apologise for my lan-
guage and some of my past
language."
At that committee's hear-
ing Republican Senator Rob
Portman brought up some of
her tweets.
"You wrote that Susan
Collins is the worst, that
Tom Cotton is a fraud, that
vampires have more heart
than Ted Cruz. You called
leader McConnell: Moscow
Mitch and Voldemort, and
on and on," he said.
She faced an embarrassing
situation when she appeared
before the Senate Budget
Committee, which is chaired
by Senator Bernie Sanders,
an independent aligned with
the Democrats who had run
for that party's presidential
nomination against Hillary
Clinton in 2016.
As an adviser to the Clin-
ton campaign, Tanden had
made personal attacks on
Sanders.
Republican Senator Lind-
sey Graham brought up a
tweet by her accusing
Bernie of being helped by
Russia a" a charge that that
had also been made against
former President Donald
Trump.
She admitted, "I must have
meant them, but I really re-
gret them."
Sanders has not indicated
how he would vote, but dur-
ing the hearing the leftist
leader grilled her about the
donations of 33 million the
Centre for American
Progress that she headed
WHO IS NEERA TANDEN?
had received from big busi-
ness.
She has admitted to delet-
ing more than 1,000 tweets in
November 2020 around the
time Biden had named her to
be OMB director.
If her nomination were to
be approved by the Senate,
she would be the second In-
dian-American to serve on
the US cabinet.
The first was Nikki Haley,
who was given a cabinet
rank by Trump when she
was the US permanent rep-
resentative to the United Na-
tions. –IANS
AtheDemocrat, Tanden is president and CEO of
Center for American Progress, an
independent policy institute. She also serves
as CEO of Center for American Progress
Action Fund. Prior to these positions,
Tanden was senior adviser for health
reform at the US Dept of Health and
Human Services, where she worked on
key provisions in President Obama's
landmark legislation, the Affordable
Care Act. Before that, Tanden was
director of domestic policy for the
Obama-Biden presidential campaign,
and policy director for Hillary Clinton’s
first presidential campaign. Neera
was born in Bedford, to immigrant
parents from India.

Two killed in Myanmar protests

AGENCIES / Mandalay
Two anti-coup protesters
were shot dead by riot police
who fired live rounds Satur-
day in Mandalay, Myanmar's
second-largest city, local me-
dia reported.
One of the victims was
shot in the head and died at
the scene, according to Fron-
tier Myanmar, a news and
business magazine based in
Yangon, the country's
largest city. Another was
shot in the chest and died en
route to the hospital.
Several other serious in-
juries were also reported.
The shootings occurred near
Mandalay's Yadanabon
dock, where tear gas and
rubber bullets were used on
protesters earlier in the day.
The Irrawaddy news web-
site also confirmed the
deaths on social media.
Security forces had been
increasing their pressure
against anti-coup protest-
ers earlier Saturday, using
water cannons, tear gas,
slingshots and rubber bul-
lets against demonstrators
and striking dock workers
in Mandalay.
At least five people were
injured and had to be car-
ried away in ambulances,
according to an AP jour-
nalist who witnessed the
violence.
Some 500 police and sol-
diers descended on the
area near Yadanabon dock
after dock workers joined
the national civil disobedi-
ence movement, refusing
to work until the military
junta that seized power in
a Feb. 1 coup reinstates the
democratically elected
government.

US, Europe need to develop joint

strategy on China, Russia: Merkel
AGENCIES
Berlin
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel called for the United
States and Europe to find a
joint strategy to deal with Chi-
na and Russia and also
stressed the need for dialogue
with these two countries.
Taking to the stage at the
2021 Munich Security Confer-
ence (MSC) on Friday after
the address by US President
Joe Biden, Merkel said that
China has gained more power
on the international stage
and the transatlantic alliance
needs to react to the develop-
ment. "We need to address
that," she said.
"In recent years, China has
gained global clout, and as
trans-Atlantic partners and
democracies, we must do
something to counter this,"
Merkel said at the MSC, an
annual conference on inter-
national security policy that
has taken place in Munich
since 1963. This year it was
held virtually due to the She said she agreed with also highlighted the impor-
Covid pandemic. Biden on his criticism of Rus- tance of the COVAX pro-
The German head of state sia working to destabilize the gram, especially in light of
noted that dealing with China EU, a block of 27 member the distribution of Chinese
and Russia is "perhaps more countries. and Russian vaccines in de-
complicated" as Beijing is The German head of state veloping countries.
both a competitor but a neces-
sary partner of the West.
"China, on the one hand, is a
competitor, but on the other
hand we need China to settle
global problems such as cli-
mate change, biodiversity
and others," the chancellor
said.
According to European
Union statistics released on
Monday on Eurostat, China
has overtaken the US as the
EU's top trading partner in
2020. The EU inked an invest-
ment deal with China earlier
this year, while US tariffs put
in place during the Trump ad-
ministration remain under
Biden.
In her address, Chancellor
Merkel also accused Russia
of causing "hybrid conflicts"
and said "We have not really
made progess in recent years
"Russia continually entan-
gles European Union mem-
bers in hybrid
conflicts...Consequently, it is
important that we come up
with a trans-Atlantic agenda
toward Russia that makes co-
operative offers on the one
hand, but on the other very
clearly identify the differ-
ences," Merkel said.

Chinese fighter
planes enter
Taipei’s air
defence zone
TAIPEI: After a US-trained
defence minister got
appointed as Taiwan's defence
minister, eight Chinese fighter
aircraft flew into the
southwestern part of its air
defense zone.
CNN cited Taiwan's Defence
Ministry as announcing on
Friday that four Chinese J-
16s, four JH-7s and an
electronic warfare aircraft
flew near the Taiwan-
controlled Pratas Islands in
the top part of the South
China Sea.
 SUNDAY|FEBRUARY 21, 2021
10

Manoj Bajpayee and

Anubhav Sinha

The year of
BHOJPURI
disruptors
On International Mother Language Day, Shilpi looks at how
the world’s most rapidly developing language — Bhojpuri — made
waves with its astonishing ascendency in the music, politics, The migrant crises in the wake of
the lockdown led many artistes to
literature and media circuits in the pandemic-struck world use Bhojpuri to their advantage

I
n a free-wheeling chat aired
during the peak of COVID lock-
down, UK-based author, speak-
er, filmmaker and entrepreneur
Raga Olga D’Silva interviewed ac-
tor Manoj Bajpayee to find out
‘Who is the real Manoj Bajpayee?’
As she delved deep into exploring
the real person, who grew up in a
small village in Bihar before mak-
ing it big in Mumbai, she request-
ed him to speak in his mother
tongue. Bajpayee responded in
chaste Bhojpuri, and with this im-
promptu act, the true son of the
soil knocked the socks off for all.
“Bhojpuri is my mother tongue.
The language I grew up speaking
at home,” and with a child-like in-
nocence added, “I learned Hindi
and a little bit of English at school,
and worked hard to improve my
English in Delhi and that too by
hanging out with Tanzanian and
Kenyan college friends.” His hon-
est admission pulled at the heart-
strings of one and all.
Singing star
Barely two months later, the actor
let the cat out of the bag by croon-
ing a Bhojpuri rap — Bambai Main
Ka Ba. The video featuring him in
a funky avatar as a rapper was a
long-due collaboration between
two old friends — Bajpayee and di-
rector Anubhav Sinha, and the en-
suing migrant crises in the wake of
the lockdown only fuelled their de-
sire to come together. “Bhojpuri is
my identity, nature, culture, and I
am proud of it. I have never been
away from my roots. Bhojpuri is
my bridge to cover the geographi-
cal distance between Belwa and
Mumbai, and brought me closer to
my roots,” he says.
The heart-wrenching lyrics high-
lighting the plight of migrants
were penned by Dr Sagar, with mu-
sic by Anurag Saikia. Recounting
the musical journey, Sagar says,
“Several Bhojpuri songs abusing
actor Rhea Chakraborty had gone
viral on social media during those
days. The vulgarity was appalling,
and it had ired so many of us, in-
cluding filmmaker Anubhav Sin-
ha. A pained Sinha tweeted, say-
ing, “If there’s any a good lyricist
who can write in Bhojpuri, he
wouldn’t mind taking a plunge
into the world of Bhojpuri films.”
Someone recommended Sagar’s
name to him, and the rest, as they
say, is history. Sinha sent him a
beat, and one sleepless night later,
he got cracking on finding words
to convey the migrants’ misery
that was unfolding all around
then. “I had been itching to write
in my mother tongue for long, and
this song seemed to happen at the
most opportune time. It is a collec-
tive ode to all the migrants from all
over, for all that they leave behind
in their native villages, their trou-
ble and turmoils in the big cities,
and the dreams that they nurture
in their weary hearts,” he says.
Another Bhojpuri song that put
the devastating impact of the lock-
down on the lives and struggles of
migrant workers from UP and Bi-
har in sharp focus was released by
actor-singer Amrendra Sharma,
who calls himself a ‘migrant cre-
ative labourer’. The song — Chal
Re Batohi Chal Re Apan Gaon —
showed how a migrant had to pedal
along to reach home during the
lockdown.
Across the shore
During the lockdown, the Nether-
lands-based Sarnámi-Bhojpuri
singer and songwriter Raj Mohan
collaborated with various artistes
worldwide to record Batohiya song
written by renowned Bhojpuri poet
Babu Raghuveer Narayan. “I dis-
cussed the idea with my manager
and business partner in India, De-
vendra Singh, who came aboard
and coordinated with various
artists in India and overseas, man-
aged audio and video recordings
and did online marketing. My stu-
dent and artist Ragga Menno also
came along,” says Mohan.
With direction, music and vocals
by Mohan, the song features 11
singers from seven different coun-
tries. Mohan’s song gave a kaleido-
scopic view of the depth and reach
of the language spoken not just in
India, but across Fiji, Maldives,
Mauritius, Suriname, South
Africa, The Netherlands, and
Caribbean countries as a result of
the ‘girmitiya’ or indentured mi-
gration during the colonial period.
There are various versions of the
same song, but Mohan says, “Mine
is my favourite. We are batohiyas
(travellers) in the truest sense. The
song conveys our pride, longing,
belonging and even sadness.”
Politically correct
The breakout star of 2020 was a
young folk singer Neha Singh
Rathore whose songs in Bhojpuri
critiqued and questioned the gov-
ernments and made her a social
media sensation in no time. “The
lewd and innuendo-laden Bhojpuri
songs perturbed me, and my en-
deavours are aimed at restoring
the lost glory of Bhojpuri music,”
says Rathore. Of the many songs,
the ones dealing with migrant
workers, lockdown woes, unem-
ployment, social issues, politics
and politicians of the state and
country hit the right chords with
the people. A song battle ensued
when she highlighted the sad state
of affairs in Bihar Me Ka Ba? A
quick rebuttal by BJP in the poll-
bound Bihar saw the release — Bi-
har Me Ee Baa — in Bhojpuri,
highlighting the developments that
had taken place in the state during
the NDA rule.
Hooked and booked
The language has close to 200 mil-
lion speakers spread across India
and abroad. “But the rich Bhojpuri
literary tradition of writers like
Bhikhari Thakur and Gorakh
Pandey has a fairly negligible pres-
ence in the literary circuit because
the speakers of this language
aren’t necessarily also the read-
ers,” says Dr Braj Bhushan
Mishra, a doyen of Bhojpuri litera-
ture. That perhaps explains why
the long and diverse Bhojpuri liter-
ary tradition remains mostly un-
noticed and even neglected. “It is
because Bhojpuri is largely per-
ceived to be a folk language spoken
by illiterate villagers. The other
reason could be the near absence of
its interactions with the other liter-
ary cultures, through translations
or otherwise,” notes academician
and writer Gautam Choubey, who
has translated Pandey Kapil’s Bho-
jpuri novel — Phoolsunghi — into
English that hit the stands in
November 2020.
Media nama
In the news circuit, Earshot
launched in October 2020 amid the
pandemic as India’s first digital au-
dio venture for news and entertain-
ment in five languages, including
Bhojpuri. “Bhojpuri has a special
place in our hearts. It is a language
that millions speak but is still to get
its due. We will remember 2020 as
the year in which we rolled out our
signature Bhojpuri shows
like Baahubali, Gangs of Purvan-
chal and Derahia Maat. You can
now listen to shows like Jiya Raja
Benaras on Dolby Atmos,” says Ab-
hijit Majumder, co-founder and
editor-in-chief, Earshot.

finally
Ganesh Chaturthi celebra-
tions. “As part of the offer-
ings (also called naivedya)
to Ganpati bappa, we pre-
pared chaklis, nevri (karan-
jya), modak, special dessert
madgane made of rice, jag-
gery and coconut milk and
khotte that is, idlis steamed
Deprived of celebrating the annual Ganeshostav last in jackfruit leaves,” says
Maya. The celebrations
year owing to lockdown restrictions, many families were restricted to family
are now revelling in Maghi Ganesh Jayanti. members, this time around,
as opposed to the 30-odd
Manu Shrivastava gives a glimpse of the celebrations invitees who would be pres-
ent for the Ganesh
Niyoti Shenoy, and other
members of the family en-
sured nothing was left unat-
tended and stayed identical
to the
regular celebrations.
“We got the idol made by a
murtikar at a workshop in
Prabhadevi and took the
idol to the Kashi Math at
Banganga directly where
the members gathered to
perform the rituals.”
Walkeshwar Kashi Math
Secretary, Hemprakash
Shenai says, “For genera-

T
he one thing that
kept Maya going dur-
ing the arduous lock-
down months was her un-
flinching faith in her Gane-
sha. So, last year though
she couldn’t celebrate
Ganeshotsav owing to the
worsening COVID-19 situa-
tion in the country and en-
suing restrictions on move-
ment and social gatherings,
the banking professional
compensated by showering
her love on Lord Ganesha
by celebrating the festival
in February 2021, during
the Hindu month
of Magha.
The “now more than 100-
year-old family tradition,”
is being carried forward by
Bengaluru-based Amey Bal-
wally and wife Maya Bal-
wally from this generation
of Chitrapur Saraswats.
“When I realised celebrat-
ing Ganesh Chaturthi won’t
be possible during the lock-
down last year, I spoke to
the family matriarch who
lives in Mumbai. She sug-
gested it was okay to post-
pone the festivities and in-
stead hold them in the
Magha month to come. This
is the first time in the fami-
ly’s history we did some-
thing like this,” says Ms
Balwally.
This year, several families
across Maharashtra, Kar-
nataka and Goa observed
Ganesh Chaturthi in Febru-
ary as they could not do the
same in August last year.
Due to the lockdown restric-
tions, priests were unable to
visit homes to perform the
puja and gatherings weren’t
possible to maintain social
distancing norms.
Traditionally, Ganesh
Chaturthi or Vinayaka
Chaturthi is observed in the
Hindu month of Bhadrapa-
da (August/September) fol-
lowed by the popular 10-day-
long Ganeshotsav before cul-
minating in the final visar-
jan. Maghi Ganesh Jayanti,
Ganesh Jayanti or Varad
Chaturthi is celebrated in
the month of Magha
(January/February).
Even before the lockdown,
Maghi Ganesh Jayanti was
celebrated by select few
communities in Maharash-
tra, mostly across the
Konkan belt as Lord Gane-
sha’s birth anniversary.
This year, February 15
marked the celebration of
the auspicious Hindu festi-
val of Ganesh Jayanti.
While most feel that
Ganesh Chaturthi is Bap-
pa’s birthday, it actually is
celebrated to commemorate
the arrival of Lord Gane-
sha and his mother Parvati
from their heavenly abode
in Mount Kailash to Earth,
and Maghi Ganesh Jayanti
is actually the birth an-
niversary of Ganesha. Yet,
according to some, Ganesh
Chaturthi is considered the
birthday of Lord Ganesha.
“Every year, we would
have very elaborate
Ganeshotsav celebrations
when we would bring the
idol home,” offers digital
marketing specialist Amey.
“Last year, obviously,
things were different
but we are fortunate to
be able to celebrate
during this year’s
Magha month. We im-
mersed the idol
after one and half day
on February 16 and per-
formed all the vidhis as
per scriptures.”
The celebrations included
preparation of special dish-
es made only during the
Chaturthi festivities.
Mumbai’s Anushakti Na-
gar-based Shenoy family also
observed Ganesh Chaturthi
in the Magha month as they
couldn’t organise the same
during the Hindu month of
Bhadrapada last year. In
2020, Ganesh Chaturthi fell
on August 22, when COVID-
19 cases peaked in several
cities across Maharashtra,
Goa and Karnataka, the re-
gion where the festival is
mostly observed, leading to
most festivities being de-
ferred.
“Several members of our
extended family gathered at
the Walkeshwar Kashi
Math on February 15, 2021
for a long day of festivities
for the deferred Ganesh
Chaturthi celebrations. We
started with a puja in the
morning and concluded
with visarjan of the idol at
This year, several the adjacent Banganga wa-
ter-tank in the night,” main-
families across
tains businessman Sharad
Maharashtra, Shenoy.
Karnataka and “With relatives scattered
across the city, we come to-
Goa observed gether to celebrate Ganesh
Ganesh Chaturthi Chaturthi at the Kashi Math
in February. at Banganga during August-
September. This year
around, like always, all the
rituals were performed,
prasad distributed to family
members, aarti and bhajans
sung and finally the idol
was immersed but all on
Maghi Ganesh Jayanti,”
he added.
For the Shenoy clan
this year, the atten-
dance was lesser by
“about fifty per cent”
from the usual 90-100
members who would gath-
er every year for the festivi-
ties during Ganesh
Chaturthi. Shenoy’s wife
and senior BARC scientist,
tions, it’s been a tradition
that if, for any unforeseen
reason such as a death in the
family, Ganesh Chaturthi
celebrations cannot be ob-
served during the Bhadrapa-
da, the same can be held on
Ashwin Shuddh Chaturthi
during the Navratri. This
time around, even for Navra-
tri in October 2020, the lock-
down was not lifted com-
pletely leading to a further
deferment of the festivities.
Hence, the celebrations were
held during the month of
Magha, in February 2021.”
Kashi Math Managing
Committee member and
Sharad Shenoy’s brother Vi-
las Shenoy offered, “We are a
big family living in different
parts of Mumbai such as
Prabhadevi, Jogeshwari,
Chembur, Mulund, etc., and
all came together for the aus-
picious celebration.”
Colaba Market-resident
Ranjan Ramnathkar, who
moved to stay at his farm-
house in Vani in Maharash-
tra during the lockdown
came to Mumbai to cele-
brate Ganesh Chaturthi
with his daughter, married
and settled in Mumbai dur-
ing Magha. “For 12 years,
she has been getting Gane-
sha over for a day at home
following her son’s recov-
ery from a near-fatal acci-
dent, but was heartbroken
at being unable to do so last
year owing to the lock-
down,”
he says.
So, this time, during
Magha, Ranjan celebrated
the festival with aplomb with
daughter Sayali and grand-
son Rohit in tow before im-
mersing Bappa at Banganga
after keeping him at home,
complete with puja and ritu-
als, for a day.
 11 WEEKEND SUNDAY|FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Healthy relationship & unhealthy Positivity

The path to
mind: A complicated combo!
Everything is rosy and romantic until unwanted distance between couples start expanding, which sometimes could be the result of nothing but
happiness
Ravi Valluri explains how an
uncluttered mind and a positive
attitude together can open the
mental blues. Here’s an explainer on how stress, depression, anxiety, etc, take a toll on love life door to bliss and jollity
KANCHAN RAI duced opportunity for bonding and
can result in unmet needs.

R
elationships are one of the Risk of co-dependant behav-
most significant aspects of iours: Co-dependency is an un-
our lives, yet we can often for- wholesome behaviour pattern that
get just how crucial our networks manifests as one person supports
with other people are for our physi- another person’s faulty mental
cal and emotional well-being. There health, addiction or coping strate-
is no doubting gies. The partner of a person with
the fact that re- emotional illness may start to de-
lationships are scend their self-worth from the de-
complex. gree to which they are needed or
Healthy rela- how much they are capable enough

tionship can
sometimes be-
come a blame
game as it
seems so easy
to point fingers Kanchan Rai
at our partner,
but can we blame our mental condi-
tions of our partners? While rela-
tionships may extrinsically
appear to be enriching ex-
periences, they do have the
prospective to be unhealthy
and harmful from the in-
side due to our mind health
condition.
Mental illnesses often tend
to be very complicated, with
manifold conditions like post-
traumatic stress disorder, ma-
jor depressive disorder or gen-
eralised anxiety disorder. For
instance, while you might not
have been born exhibiting the fea-
tures of a certain mind illness, it
may be lying dormant inside your
mind till the condition is triggered
by a major traumatic event. Your
love although may be intense from
the outside, but it is prudent to
know that your mind can have an
impact on your relationship.
If this is pertinent to you, be con-
scious of the many challenges you
and your partner may face, and
make use of the resources and
strategies that will facilitate you in
growing and nurturing your rela-
tionship. Below mentioned are ways
by which mental illness can affect a
relationship.
The issues enclosed below are
common within couples impacted
by an unhealthy mind. No two rela-
tionships are exactly the same, so it
is vital to take into consideration
your unique relationship in order to
enable you to be able to categorise
where you may need additional
guidance.
Shame, guilt and antipathy: Un-
dergoing an emotionally
unhealthy state of mind is
challenging enough, but
the stigma linked to men-
tal health conditions can
add an additional layer of
anxiety for both the part-
ners. Mentally unstable
partners may feel shame,
awkwardness, may feel guilty
about their condition and may
even try hiding their symptoms.
In some cases, a person with de-
pression or anxiety may have a lim-
ited emotional inability and may
lack the desire to socialise. These
behaviours and challenges can put a
stress on the relationship which
may lead to feelings of disappoint-
ment, denial, and disconnect. When
couple relationships are under ex-
treme stress, partners start physi-
cally and emotionally distancing
themselves from each other. When
they do come together, the strained re-
lationship results in controlled or sur-
face-level con-
versations. The basic quality of
dealing with the problem together as
a unit will be torn apart as both part-
ners feel a bigger level of frustration.
Intimacy problems: Having a men-
tal instability is bound to make a
person disinterested in physical in-
timacy. This is due to stress that
tends to decrease one’s libido.
Alongside people with mental
health conditions may feel insuffi-
cient and may have performance
anxiety and low self-esteem. For
both partners, this can lead to a re-
to take care of their loved one.
In extreme cases, co-dependency
can surge the peril of unmannerly
behaviours, encompassing manipu-
lation other insalubrious dynamics.
Knowing how to differentiate be-
tween the need to encourage and
support from the co-dependant
nature of upholding the other
person’s symptoms will help.
Having a partner impacted
by an emotional health con-
dition can be steered in a re-
lationship if both partners
have the required skills and
awareness to cope and in-
terconnect through these
challenges. This is exactly
why a paradigm shift is
needed. People should feel
enabled to seek profession-
al help if they or their loved one
has been battling with mental
health. Mental illness is not a
character flaw nor a moral issue.
Although people need to be held
accountable for their actions and be-
haviours patterns, but they also de-
serve an appropriate context, under-
standing, and guidance so they can
learn to uphold their mental well-
being, heal from past trauma and
above all honor their partner’s
experience.
(The writer is an Emotional and
Mental Well-being Coach, and the
Founder of Let Us Talk)
A
pessimist sees the difficulty in every
opportunity; and an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty,” wrote
Winston Churchill.
Positive oriented people seize opportunities
during adversity, some magic conspired by
the Universe takes place and events
automatically unfold. Now these efficacious
and positively inclined people do not complain,
crib or grumble. Those who hold a grouse and
bleat about result in becoming non-achievers.
The world of cricket
For a moment in the amphitheatre let our
minds recall and float to some riveting mo-
ments of the fascinating game of cricket. Indi-
ans are in any case a cricket insane nation.
Now, there are only three iconic and voguish
players in cricketing history, namely Garry
Sobers, Ravi Shastri and Yuvraj Singh who
struck 6 sixers in an over. In that triumphant
moment these talismanic players were in a
messianic quarter and precinct. They were
obviously in a zone of happiness.
An uncluttered mind, is a mind in the present
moment and is in absolute peace with itself
and in that zone of jollity. When an individual
is in such a state the mind remains focused and
fully concentrated.
This could be say in the game of sports like
cricket or soccer, or the spiritual realm or even
while performing daily chores, which may ap-
parently appear quotidian or prosaic at the sub-
terranean level where an individual needs to
give his/her hundred percent.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in his teachings lays
tremendous importance on being in the present
moment and providing 100% percent.

Wash away those yellow blues!

A child always gives 100 percent as the infant
is living in the present moment. The child is in
a meditative state. He does not get easily dis-
tracted and luxuriates even while say savoring
his chocolate or playing with a set of toys.
Children do not complain. And even if they
display displeasure, it is singularly momentary.
They of course demand attention which is
Jaundice can cause a series of problems like fever, nausea, abdominal pain, headache, weakness and more. Know how quite charming in nature or are engaged in
self-healing techniques along with home remedies can help you recover faster from the illness their own magical world.
Stephen Hawking the noted scientist had suc-

W
hen a person is un-
well, there is a com-
mon expression heard
“you look jaundiced!”. It’s to
imply the paleness or yellow-
ness that accompanies certain
kind of illness. But that is not
necessarily Jaundice itself.
Jaundice, also called icterus,
causes your skin and the
whites of your eyes to turn yel-
low. The
condition
is caused
by too
much
bilirubin,
a yellow
chemical
in hemo-
globin Prof. G B Luthria
(the sub-
stance that carries oxygen in
your red blood cells). As red
blood cells break down, the
body builds new cells to re-
place them. The old ones are
processed by the liver, but if
the liver cannot handle the
blood cells as they break down,
bilirubin builds up in the body.
About 60 percent of all in-
fants born in the United States
have jaundice. However, jaun-
dice can happen to people of all
ages and is normally the result
of an underlying condition
that include:
Acute inflammation of
liver: This may impair the abili-
ty of the liver to conjugate and
secrete bilirubin, resulting in a
buildup.
Inflammation of bile duct: This
can prevent the secretion of
bile and removal of bilirubin,
causing jaundice.
Obstruction of bile duct: This
prevents the liver from disposing
of bilirubin.
Hemolytic anemia: The produc-
tion of bilirubin increases
when large quantities of red
blood cells are broken down.
Gilbert’s syndrome: This is an
inherited condition that im-
pairs the ability of enzymes to
process the excretion of bile.
Cholestasis: This interrupts
the flow of bile from the liver.
The bile containing conjugated
bilirubin remains in the liver
instead of being excreted.
Rarer conditions that may cause
jaundice include:
Crigler-Najjar syndrome: This
is an inherited condition that
impairs the specific enzyme
responsible for processing
bilirubin.
Dubin-Johnson syndrome: This
is an inherited form of chronic
jaundice that prevents conjugat-
ed bilirubin from being secreted
from of the cells of the liver.
Pseudojaundice: This is a
harmless form of jaundice. The
yellowing of the skin results
from an excess of beta-carotene,
not from an excess of bilirubin.
Pseudojaundice usually arises
from eating large quantities of
carrot, pumpkin, or melon.
Therefore, it is best to be care-
ful about adopting health fad di-
ets – some of which can be
harmful. To check if a person
is suffering from jaundice, a
physical examination of the
abdominal area to check for
possibly liver swelling is con-
ducted. To then check for
severity, the doctor may recom-
mend specific liver function
tests to determine how well the
liver is working.
Some common symptoms of
jaundice include vomiting,
nausea, loss of appetite, fever,
abdominal pains and
headaches, swelling of legs and
abdomen, and weakness. All of
these have been experienced by
people suffering from Covid-19
as well. The itching that ac-
companies jaundice can some-
times be so intense that pa-
tients have been known to
scratch their skin raw, experi-
ence insomnia, or, in extreme
cases, even entertain thoughts
of suicide.
When complications happen,
this is usually because of the
underlying problem, not the
jaundice itself. For example, if
an obstructed bile duct leads to
jaundice, uncontrolled bleed-
ing may result. This is because
the blockage leads a shortage
of vitamins needed for clot-
ting.
The following treatments are
used to treat jaundice:
�
Anemia-induced jaundice
may be treated by boosting
the amount of iron in the
blood by either taking iron
supplements or eating more
iron-rich foods.
�
Hepatitis-induced jaundice
requires antiviral or steroid
medications.
�
Doctors can treat obstruc-
tion-induced jaundice by
surgically removing the
obstruction.
�
If the jaundice has been
caused by use of a medica-
tion, treatment for involves
changing to an alternative
medication.
While aggressive medication
could be needed in some com-
plicated cases, many natural
home remedies can help in
quicker healing from jaundice.
Let’s take a look at some of
them.
1. Natural sunlight
When infants are diagnosed
with Jaundice, apart from
phototherapy, doctors rec-
ommend exposing them to
sunlight.
2. Sugarcane juice
Sugarcane juice helps in
strengthening the liver and
aids in its proper function-
ing. Have a glass daily till
your jaundice improves.
3. Goat’s milk
At par with cow’s milk re-
garding nutrients, goat’s
milk is easy to digest and
is suitable for infants and
adults alike. Goat’s milk
also has useful antibodies
that help in curing
jaundice.
4. Green grape’s juice
Juice of green grapes helps
in improving the liver func-
tioning. It balances the
serum bilirubin levels and
cures jaundice.
5. Ginger
Ginger has excellent antiox-
idative properties. It is also
hypolipidemic so it helps
the liver. Have in the form of
ginger-tea for best results.
6. Garlic
Garlic is a powerful antioxi-
dant. This helps with liver
detoxification and thus con-
tributes to curing jaundice.
7. Lemon
Lemon juice helps in un-
blocking the bile ducts as it
has antioxidant properties.
Also, it enhances immunity
and stops further damage to
the liver.
8. Yogurt
The probiotics in yogurt
help improve immunity. It
brings down levels of
serum bilirubin and offers
protection against harmful
bacteria. Have a bowl of
curd daily to cure your
jaundice.
9. Tomatoes
Lycopene, a compound
found in tomatoes, is a po-
tent antioxidant. This
helps with detoxification
of the liver and curing of
jaundice. Make a juice of
boiled tomatoes and have a
glass daily.
10. Amla
Amla is rich in vitamin C and
other essential nutrients that
help in combating jaundice.
It improves liver function-
ing and helps balance the
serum bilirubin levels. Boil
amlas, make a paste and
mix this with water and
honey and have daily.
11.Tulsi
Tulsi or holy basil is perfect
for the liver as it has hepato-
protective properties. It im-
proves immunity and fights
off infections. Boil Tulsi
leaves in water and have
this daily.
12. Papaya leaves
Papaya leaves are rich in
papain enzymes that sup-
port digestion and improve
liver health. Grind the
leaves and strain to get the
juice. Have a tablespoon dai-
ly. It is normal for a baby to
be suffering from jaundice
when he is born.
There are several modes
of treatment that you can
try to treat jaundice in new-
borns. B low is a list of
remedies that you can try to
treat jaundice in newborns.
1. Breastfeeding
If your newborn baby has jaun-
dice, feed him frequently. Breast-
feeding your little one frequently
will help eliminate the bilirubin
from his bloodstream and flush it
out through stool and urine. Ba-
bies with jaundice sleep a lot; if
your baby has jaundice, he or she
might sleep a lot, too.
Wake the baby up at regular in-
tervals to feed him. Also, mothers
must consume a healthy diet when
breastfeeding their newborns.
Freshly prepared, nutritious, bal-
anced meals can ensure that.
Therefore, include green leafy
vegetables, a small portion of
seafood with low-mercury levels
per week, foods with healthy fats,
seeds, nuts, fruits, well-cooked
meat, and a healthy dose of
fiber-rich starches.
2. Sun-bathing
If your baby has jaundice, keep
him in the sunlight for 1-2
hours daily. However, see to it
that the baby receives the
slanting rays of the sun before
8 o’clock in the morning. The
rays of the sun will help re-
duce the bilirubin content in
the blood and cure jaundice.
3. Massage
A study revealed that soothing
oil massages in morning sun-
light every day could improve
the frequency of bowel move-
ment in babies and aid the elimi-
nation of bilirubin by reducing
enterohepatic circulation.
Pressure points for treating
Jaundice (serum bilirubin,
SGPT / SGOT raised): Both IF
3 / 4 LHM – 4, 5 ���3, 6 �
Lt IF 5 / 6 LHM – 4, 5 �, 3, 6 �
Lt RF 5 / 6 LHM – 2, 4 �� 3, 6 �
�
Paste white side of the Byol
magnet touching the tape
where the white dot is shown
and yellow side of Byol magnet
where black dot is given.
(The Free Press Journal along with
the Lions Club of Mumbai ACTION
would like to guide people on how
to treat self through non-invasive,
therapies like Sujok, Ayurvedic Acu-
pressure and Mudra Yoga. This is
complementary and will not over-
ride the treatment given by doctor.
Please share your problems by writ-
ing to us at features@fpj.co.in;
lionsclubofaction@gmail.com. You
can also share the problem on
WhatsApp at 9323178565.)
cinctly observed , “People won’t have time for
you if you are always complaining or angry.”
We have all the time for children as they are
endearing, loving, caring and attentive and
most importantly not complaining or ensnared
by antipathetic and Sisyphean thoughts of
anger and arrogance.
Why is a child attractive?
The innocence of a child is magnetic and the
USP. A child is in the zone of happiness as the
infant or a toddler displays the attitude of be-
ing childlike and not childish. The alluring na-
ture of a child is that of an infant Lord Krish-
na which draws the devout towards the divine.
Let us take a case of a harmonious household
and a house filled with negative vibes. We are
attracted to the former. Nature provides
abundance to such households.
The grace of the Divine, the grace of the
Guru flows like a waterfall. Imagine a house-
hold which has an alcoholic father, a demand-
ing mother and irritable children! It spews out
negative emotions and thought processes. They
keep complaining and grumbling and lose out
on whatever positivity that could have been
bestowed by nature.
Positive thinking people should buttress on a
couple of points.
One, be grateful and thankful after comple-
tion of the task without waiting for the out-
come and second, once the result is known be
eternally grateful and thankful for the result
even if it is not favorable!
This generates a positive aura around us and
the universe conspires to provide us with
several more such opportunities.
Many times we may not get the desired result
which we aspired for, but nature or the uni-
verse blesses us in some other manner. This is
the intrinsic secret. We need to be happy in
our disposition. Happiness begets additional
happiness and the magnetic aura around us ex-
pands providing us with several more opportu-
nities.
Can we be happy always, can we be positive
at all times? These doubts perennially crop up.
Such is the character of the mind. If the mind
does not think about ‘always’ it will be happy
at least in the present moment. This requires
relentless Sadhana or practice.
May be knowledge alone does not provide an-
swers or succor to our problems.
Then it is our faith and surrender to the Di-
vine that help. We need to surrender our past,
present and future to the Guru and Divine.
Both Guru and Divine are interchangeable.
“Twenty years from now you will be more
disappointed by the things you didn’t do. So
throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe
harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Ex-
plore, dream, discover,” wrote Mark Twain.
This should be the endeavor, to discover and
execute with a positive frame of mind. Then
we are in a zone of happiness like a child.
12 WEEKEND SUNDAY|FEBRUARY 21, 2021
From striking saffron
to soothing secular
SUMEET NAIK
W
e have often heard that one
should not judge a book by its
cover. Make it an exception
this time as the cover of Trail Of The
Tiger is as telling as the content. It is a
well-researched and accounted read,
when it comes to understanding the
change in the colours of the ‘Tiger’s’
stripes from striking saffron to
soothing secular.
Photography and politics have always
had one thing in common, and that was
an alphabet P... Until, Uddhav Balasa-
heb Thackeray stepped into both the do-
mains, displaying skills in capturing
dense forests to the actual ‘wild’ life of
Maharashtra politics. Only difference
being, as a wildlife photographer he had
to guard his own self, while as a politi-
cian he had an unfathomable guard of
Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thack-
eray and an army of Shiv sainiks.
Author Radheshyam Jadhav has
played it brilliantly by opening the book
with a mention of dedicated Shiv Sena
worker (Shiv sainik), Mahesh Patil. An
individual whose loyalty and devotion
towards his ‘God,’ Balasaheb Thackeray,
and Shiv Sena remains unchanged till
date. Even if the guard has changed and
so has the ideology, for Mahesh who
works at a tailoring shop in Umbraj
A veritable manna
from heaven
SUMIT PAUL
T
here’s a beautiful word in Eng-
lish. It’s ‘edifying’. It means
morally uplifting and ennobling.
Reading Ravi Valluri’s pieces, one gets
that edifying feeling. His book Indian
Stories: Images & Thoughts is a treas-
ure trove of heart-gladdening and
soul-cleansing short articles.
Every article is a universe of wisdom
in itself. His fabulous compilation can be
compared to an
REVIEW exquisite ghaz-
al penned by
Ghalib or Mir.
As you know, a
ghazal com-
prises a few
couplets and
every couplet
is an inde-
pendent entity.
A brief piece
like Ra-
mayana by
Valmiki in
� Book: Indian Stories: this book, is so
Images & Thoughts thought-stir-
ring that you
� Author: Ravi Valluri
instantaneous-
� Publisher: Become ly remember
Shakespeare.com the proverbial
line in Hindi:
� Pages: 396
Dekhan mein
� Price: Rs 449 chhote laage
par ghaav kare
gambheer (though they look small, the
wounds they inflict are deep).
The book consists of four segments.
Since he’s a mandarin in Indian Rail-
ways based in Allahabad, readers find
interesting anecdotal pieces on trains in
the book. Readers quickly feel connected
while reading Ravi’s nuggets. Whether
it’s The story of the Telugu Language or
A Long Haul, readers stay glued till they
finish the book. Till 1965, The Reader’s
Digest carried a monthly column. It was,
Not wanting to end books. The column
discussed books that readers wanted
never to end. Had the column been con-
tinued, I dare say, Ravi’s Indian Stories
would certainly have appeared there.
Such is the impact of the book! It casts a
magical spell on readers. Those with a
spiritual bent of mind, will find this
book a veritable manna from heaven.
The best thing about Ravi Valluri’s
book is that there’s no pedantic pro-
fundity or condescending creativity.
The author hasn’t written this book
with a view to winning plaudits and
panegyrics. It’s his humble eucharistic
offering (Nirmalya in Sanskrit) to the
readers. To encapsulate, it quenches
the thirst of the seekers and satiates
the hunger of knowers.
town in Karad, the colour of
his loyalty is still striking
REVIEW
saffron. Such an opening to
the book does make a reader
think from a party worker’s
perspective while reading
the book even when some
chapters touch upon a few
family battles at Matoshree.
Every chapter unfolds the
story within and outside the
Thackeray family and links
it to the political domain
then and now. Smart play of
words and mention of cer-
tain instances in the book � Book: Trail Of The
by the author, shows person- Tiger: Uddhav Balasaheb
al as well as political sides Thackeray: A Journey
of the father-son (Balasaheb
� Author: Radheshyam
and Uddhav) duo.
Uddhav held his first pho- Jadhav
tography exhibition, titled � Publisher:
‘Live and Let Live,’ at the Je- Bloomsbury
hangir Art Gallery in 1999. � Pages: 220
The rules of politics are dif-
ferent from those of the jun- � Price: Rs 599
gle and a seasoned politi-
cian like Balasaheb knew that the politi- son Uddhav Thackeray’s journey from a
cal jungle was not about ‘live and let
live,’ but the survival of the fittest. On
the backdrop of the emerging bitter-
ness between Uddhav and his cousin
Raj Thackeray, the Sena chief knew that Uddhav Thackeray — a mirror image of
there was more humanity and warmth
‘I am at a stage where I only
do a story if it excites me’
Says Chetan Bhagat, as he talks to Pooja Prabbhan Srijith about his new book,
One Arranged Murder, and his mantra of dealing with criticism and internet trolls
A
ffable, intuitive and vo-
cal — author Chetan
Bhagat believes in
evolving, opinionating and
writing as he observes, and has
made peace with the brickbats
that could come with it. His lat-
est lockdown release, One
Arranged Murder, has
amassed mammoth intrigue
quite like his other reads. And,
well, there’s a lot on his plate.
But, at 46, he’s happiest about
not giving a damn… We caught
up with the prolific writer to
talk about his new book, his
mantra of dealing with criti-
cism,
trolls, and more. Excerpts from
the interview.
One Arranged Murder is a little
different from your previous
books. Take us through how the
idea came along...
I started out with stories about
love and friendship. As an au-
thor I wanted to evolve and
also give my readers new sur-
prises each time. Hence, I
moved to murder mysteries,
while retaining the elements of
love and friendship that I have
always had. The specific idea of
a murder on Karva Chauth
came from a news item. Some-
thing like this actually
happened in Gurgaon.
Is there a bit of Keshav or
Saurabh (characters from the
book) in you? Do you really
believe all’s fair in love?
Yes, I think so. I am very ra-
tional and focused like Keshav.
I love food like Saurabh. Well,
everything may not be fair in
love, but love can justify or at
least explain lot of stupid
behaviour sometimes.
Does the pressure of delivering
great reads ever get to you?
A little bit yes. But, now I don’t
get so affected by it to weigh
me down. I am at a stage where
I only do a story if it excites
me, and normally what excites
me works for my readers
as well.
You’ve been vocal on politics,
in the deep woods than in
the city’s concrete jungle.
Passing away of Balasa-
heb Thackeray and rise of
Narendra Modi as the new
Hindu Hriday Samrat, Ud-
dhav and Aaditya Thacker-
ay in seats of power, the
ever-changing prism of fam-
ily equations and the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh’s (RSS) dilemma to
deal with the tug of war in
the Hindutva camp is what
Trail Of The Tiger leads
you to.
As you go deeper and deep-
er into the woods, page after
page, one thing keeps resur-
facing repeatedly: that even
today the name Balasaheb
Thackeray echoes in the jun-
gles of Maharashtra politics.
Just as it makes its magnani-
mous presence felt on the
cover of this book, though
the book is mainly about his
professional photographer in an adver-
tising firm to Maharashtra’s Chief Min-
ister. Minus Balasaheb from the cover,
and what remains is just an image of
that in real life.
bullying, and every-
thing in between.
Are you okay with
being controversy’s
favourite child?
For the last 14
years I have been
writing newspa-
per columns, and
they have to be on
a different topics.
My job is to give
opinions, and
many people like
reading them. Not everyone much I wish I knew when I was
would agree with them and younger. Most of all, self-affir-
sometimes people get upset. mation and a belief in myself
The intention is to not create would have helped a lot. That’s
a controversy, but if it hap- what I try to do now.
pens, it’s a part of the job. What are some of the crassest
How affected are you by comments you’ve come across
criticism? on social media?
I used to get affected a lot at 30, Why give importance to
when my first book came out. filth? If we keep giving them
Now at 46, it doesn’t matter and importance and platforms,
I think I have proved myself. aren’t we encouraging
CELEB SHELF!
Tahir Raj Bhasin gives a glimpse
into his reading habits
The actor who will next be seen in the movie Looop Lapeta with Taapsee
Pannu, speaks about his favourite authors, the books that have made an
impact on him... as Manasi Y Mastakar listens on!
When did you get into reading? School to have read?
or college? Or later? Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
I got into reading when I was in col- Have you ever saved money to
lege. It started with academic reading buy a book?
and later transitioned to reading Yes, I have. It was for Archie
for leisure. comics and Hardy Boys when I
What are your favourite genres, books was a kid.
and authors? If asked to choose three books
I love reading books falling in the from your bookshelf which would
genre of magic realism, and biogra- those be?
phies. I loved the Steve Jobs biography Sapiens: A Brief History of Hu-
by Walter Isaacson. Another favourite mankind by Yuval Noah Harari, The
is Autobiography of a Yogi. It made an Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and
impact on me by making me acknowl- Kafka on the Shore by Haruki
edge the wonder and magic in Murakami.
everyday life. Books you would recom-
My favourite authors are: Haruki mend to our readers?
Murakami for the surreal nature in 1. Sapiens... by Yu-
which he portrays even the most mun- val Noah Harari —
dane of details, and Eckhart Tolle for to know the histo-
the spiritual, contemporary ry of man and
philosophy his books leave me with. our place in it.
You have a busy schedule... how do you 2. The Power
take out time for reading? of Now by
I try to read a minimum number of Ekhart Tolle
pages a day. If not a book I will atleast — for a philo-
read a short article or an essay online. sophical take
How many books do you read in on matters
a month? we perceive
I can’t really put a fixed ‘per month’ as problems.
number since it varies based on my 3. Animal
schedule. But, this question guilt trips Farm by
me into being more consistent with George Or-
my reading game so I have a re- well — for
spectable number to put down in my a satirical
next interview. take on
Where do you get book recommenda- our world
tions from? today.
Mostly through friends or online...
Ebook or physical book?
Physical book any day. There’s some-
thing about the sense of carrying a
book with you and the gratification of
the smell of the pages as you turn
through chapters.
On ‘currently reading’ shelf?
Gabriel García Márquez’s One
Hundred Years of Solitude.
Book adaptation(s) you loved?
A Street Car Named Desire for Marlon
Brando’s performance.
Classic(s) you haven’t read, but claimed
A first-hand account
of Asaram’s arrest
and conviction
KATYA NAIDU ing to legal issues, only
touched upon these acts like
A
ll Indians, young and land grabbing, unaccounted
old, are aware of nitty- wealth, etc. The Delhi court
gritty of rape, molesta- had to overturn an injunction
tion and harassment — on the sale of the book, and
thanks to the multitude of any more information on
cases right from Hathras hearsay which could have of
episode to Hyderabad en- course added colour, had to be
counter of the rape accused avoided.
by the police and much more. Another major roadblock
However, few are aware of the could have been the fact that
technicalities, legalities and the rape case had brought it
the planning and pain that to the attention of the
the police undergo to bring largesse that the Godman had
culprits to court. made it a habit to prey on nu-
Gunning for the Godman — bile young girls of unsuspect-
The True Story Behind ing parents who are his devo-
Asaram Bapu’s tees. It is believed
Conviction by IPS
REVIEW that the Godman
officer Ajay Lamba must have mo-
holds a mirror to lested at least a
such rare and suc- 1,000 girls! But
cessful convictions. the few who had
As the book sug- the courage to tell
gests, the case of the story or lodge
the Godman is ex- a complaint were
tremely sensitive either scared, si-
and complicated lenced or stron-
due to many fac- garmed. The po-
tors. One of them lice too had lost a
being the fact that key witness, who
an intercourse has was killed, and
not occured, in � Book: Gunning for yet another went
PIC: CHETANBHAGAT.COM
spite of the fact missing. But, one
the Godman
that a rape took has to admit that
� Author: Ajay Lamba
place. Added to the police and the
that, much-needed IPS, Sanjeev Mathur prosecution did a
physical evidence � Publisher: laudable job bring-
was also eroded by HarperCollins India ing the Godman to
the fact that the re- justice, physically
� Pages: 248
Being older has crassness? port was filed and legally.
some advantages. In one of your recent inter- much after the � Price: Rs 499 Lamba and his
One of them is views, you mentioned how In- case took place. team also had to
you stop giving dian liberals failed “to ex- The book takes us through hold on to their frayed nerves
a damn. press themselves in a way In- day-to-day and event-to-event due to the political pressure
Most of your dia understands”. Where do coverage of the case, which and threats. He also admits
videos/motiva- you think they are going starts with author Lamba re- that his wife had stopped
tional tips are for wrong? ceiving a call about the case sending their daughter to
youngsters. Is They are more interested in pertaining to the jurisdiction. school for a while due to the
there a tip you impressing people like them- Since then, a team of police incessant death threats and
wish you knew selves than in expressing painstakingly uncovered evi- phone calls.
when you were themselves to people across dence which started with the And, one of his team mem-
younger? India. age of the victim (she was un- bers was also promised ‘all of
Oh, there is so Are you a hopeless romantic? deraged) to her presence at Rajasthan’ properties of the
I guess I am. I am a positive the kutir, which was where ashram if they were to tread
person and love the idea of the event took place. lightly on the course of the
love more than love I guess. While the team’s workings, case. All those were both po-
Three things about Chetan their precautions, their smart litely and angrily shown to
Bhagat his fans should know? planning of evacuating the the door.
He works hard... Godman from the backdoor of However, the victim and her
He has down days... his ashram indeed made a family too belong to a rare
He has fans and haters... thrilling read. But the book class of people who had the
Is there something you want to could have done with more lit- courage to go against a finan-
do, but have put off? erary touch on the Godman cially and politically powerful
Yes, to direct a movie. I might, and his many nefarious activ- man, who wields faith as a
soon. Stay tuned. ities. The book, probably ow- weapon.
 WEEKEND|SUNDAY|FEBRUARY 21, 2021
13

‘Music
Theatre

‘Since
childhood
companies I dreamt
of playing
only want to Chanakya’

work with a
Manoj Joshi takes a
nostalgic trip with writer
Mihir Bhuta while
speaking about their

formula’
three-decade old Manoj Joshi in Chanakya

play, Chanakya
VIJAY SHANKER and more people to watch the play as it is
gives an insight into how 'rashtra bhakti'

C
hanakya, also known as Kau-
tilya and Vishnugupta, might
have existed 2300 years back, but
Singer Hariharan talks about the his ideology is relevant even to-
day. And, that is because Chanakya
independent music scene in India, his new understood the power of people and how
album, and collaborating with son Akshay those very people can make the gov-
ernment or even destroy the
country. And, bringing his
ideology to stage are veter-
is important, if we are united, nobody
can destroy us.”
In the world of theatre and even films
and television Manoj needs no introduc-
tion. In 2018, he was bestowed with the
Padma Shri for his outstanding contribu-
tion in the field of theatre, televi-
sion and films. Recalling about
childhood influences that
led him to performing

F
rom playback singing in films to ex-
ploring new avenues with bhajans
and ghazals, singer Hariharan has
done it all! He is now ready with his new
album Ishq with lyrics by Bickram Ghosh
and produced by Sufiscore. Cinema Journal
caught up with him as he basked in the qui-
et charm of an era gone by at Bharatpur in
Rajasthan. Excerpts from the interview:
Tell us about your new album, Ishq.
The album is about six short love stories
produced by Sufiscore. All the songs have
been shot in Kolkata; I love the city... I have
been going there since the 1980s. This time
I got a chance to shoot at North Kolkata,
which has an old city vibe. It was like
discovering something new all over
again, within a familiar milieu.
Why do you think independent
music is not as popular as film
music in India?
That is because music companies
don’t want to invest in independent
music. Even on radio and television
they only play film music! They only
want to work with a formula. There used
to be channels for pop music or rock mu-
sic. But now it is more about Bollywood and
other film music from different states in In-
dia. That is why when they came to us with
this idea of a non-filmy album it was very
heartening. We need to do more at all levels.
What change do you see in the Carnatic
music scene in the country?
For people living in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Hyderabad learning Carnatic music is a
way of life. Every family will train their
children in music. These children grow up
to become very successful in their profes-
sions but also retain a soft spot for music.
They may not be professional singers or
musicians but will be good listeners. Every-
one has learnt some music in their house.
So Carnatic music is thriving within the
households of the listeners as well as the
musicians. Carnatic music is a staple diet.
Hariharan with son Akshay
Music is being used as a form of
therapy for mental health issues. What’s
your take?
Music therapy started in India and became
popular in the West. The frequencies of the
notes play an important role in soothing
down a troubled mind. If you are uneasy
and not feeling one can listen to some specif-
ic raags which will immediately make you
feel better. Meditative listening to music can
cure major ailments. Why do you think peo-
ple sing bhajans on religious occasions?
That is because that particular kind of mu-
sic has a cleansing effect on the soul. It re-
moves all kinds of negativity. It gets you
into a loop, which makes meditation easier.
Music is the shortest distance between spir-
ituality and humanity.
Do you think we are becoming less
tolerant as a society?
There are so many groups with so
many different schools of thought
now. Aggression has become the or-
der of the day. People are so angry
that they vent it out all over the
place. You may not like something
happening around you but that does-
n’t mean you have to indulge in van-
dalism! We are supposed to be a
civilised society. Violence is not the
solution, rather violence only breeds
more violence! One can have different
philosophies about life, but you cannot
be fanatic about it. Moderation should
be exercised from all quarters and for that
people need to be educated! Only then will
things change.
What are your upcoming projects?
My son, Akshay, is into electronic and fu-
sion music and I have done a few collabora-
tions with him. We will be releasing an al-
bum in August. My second son, Karan, who
is an actor, features in Mora Man Megha Re,
one of the tracks on Ishq. I am also working
on a gazal album based on Urdu love poetry.
an actor Manoj Joshi and
writer Mihir Bhuta.
The duo has been stag-
ing the play, Chanakya,
for almost three Mihir
decades now. In fact, Bhuta
the play was recently
staged on public de-
mand at Dinanath
Mangeshkar Natyagruha
in Mumbai.
Manoj says he had dreamt of
playing Chanakya ever since read
about him during his childhood. Speak-
ing about it, Manoj says, “I learnt San-
skrit in school and knew about
Chanakya, and the oldest play 'Mudrarak-
shasa' written by Vishakhadatta. Since
then I had harboured this dream of play-
ing the role of Chanakya someday. Then
one day, my long time friend and writer
Mihir Bhuta said he would write the play
and I could play Chanakya. We re-
searched for four years before staging the
play almost three decades ago.”
Ask him what makes the play relevant
even today, Manoj says, “The play is rele-
vant today because the Arthashastra also
speaks about corruption, and how de-
monetisation is necessary to curb it. It
also talks about the importance of the
welfare of the people. A person belongs to
a family, a community, a society and the
country at large. In fact it is the people
who make or mar the country's progress.
In the play too Chanakya advises Chan-
dragupta to give up his personal pleas-
ures and be selfless for the sake of his
people. He reminds him that it was the
support of the people that helped him es-
tablish the largest empire. I want more
arts, Manoj says, “My
grandfather was a sto-
ryteller and father was
a kirtan-kaar. People
would listen to their
narrations for hours at
length with great at-
tention. That was the
atmosphere I grew up in,
and hence the performing
arts came to me naturally.”
Manoj, a J J School of Arts
alumnus, was working as a carica-
turist before foraying into the world of
theatre. “But, I realised that to sustain,
theatre was not enough. Then I started
doing small character roles in television
shows and movies. But was not happy
with that. And, that's when Chanakya
happened,” he says.
Echoing similar sentiments, writer of
the play, Mihir Bhuta says, “Manoj and I
are college friends. We were in our 20s,
and after reading over 50 books I scripted
Chanakya. My play is inspired by
Vishakhadatta "Mudrarakshasa" and not
based on Chanakya's 'Arthashastra'. It
shows how Chandragupta Maurya rose to
power and become the king of Magad
with the guidance rendered by Chanakya.
The dramatic pinnacle of the play is the
scene in which King Dhana Nanda at-
tacks and humiliates Chanakya for help-
ing Chandragupta escape. Chanakya was
a Brahmin and a man of principles and
ideology. He explained to Chandragupta
the importance of maintaining the good-
will of his people. Chanakya in the play is
quite aggressive, unlike the version seen
in the TV serial Chanakya by Dr Chan-
draprakash Dwivedi.”

Bollywood Bytes Khajuraho Dance Festival

Of grace, groove and ghungroos!

VIJAY SHANKER
Aditi Rao Hydari’s ‘OTT’ friendship!

O
ne of the most popular classical

A
diti Rao Hydari will
next be seen in the
film The Girl On The
Train, which drops on
a digital platform soon.
Aditi attributes the popularity of
streaming platforms to the fact
that the OTT space became our
best friend during last years
lockdown, although she cant wait
to see people returning to
theatres to watch films. “During
lockdown, we realised that OTT
platforms are like our best
friends. Having said that, I feel
that theatres have their own
magic, so I am waiting to
see people going to
theatres and watching
films in large
numbers. In the
meantime, I think OTT
platforms have been amazing because we can watch really
good content there,” she said. —IANS
Kajol: Happily imperfect
dance festivals, the Khajuraho
Dance Festival, is back. The festi-
val is organised annually to pro-
mote India’s rich cultural heritage,
and is held at the backdrop of the histori-
cal Khajuraho Temple. The festival at-
tracts scores of tourists from all across
the world and features performances by
some renowned classical dancers.
Organised by the Department of Cul-
ture, Madhya Pradesh Government, Us-
tad Allaudin Sangeet Kala Akademi with
the support from Incredible India and
other organisations, the festival is one of
the first major live festivals being held af-
ter the lockdown. The first day of the fes-
tival, which commenced on February 20,
saw a performance by Bharatanatyam
exponent Padma Shri
Geeta Chandran,
founder-director of A still from the group presentation, Anekanta
Geeta Natya Vriksha dance
Chandran company, New Delhi. And to perform for a festival like this is Birju Maharaj. It
Geeta and her troupe of quite challenging and dancers were quite is interesting to
talented dancers thrilled about it.” note that there
performed a group
presentation
Her performance was followed by a
commendable Kathak recital by Deepak
are a fine set of
male dancers

K
ajol does not pay heed to her called Anekanta. Maharaj, son of veteran maestro Pandit who would be en-
imperfections. She does not It is inspired by thralling the au-
put them up for appraisal the Jain philoso- Sathyanarayana dience at the fes-
because she is aware of the phy that there is Raju tival.
effort she has made to reach no one univer- Two brilliant
where she is today. “I don't know sal truth or just male dancers
how I celebrate them, but I don't want one way of looking from Bangalore,
to put them up for critical appraisal, at things. There are Sathyanarayana
either. I don't put them up, and I don't sit multiple realities Raju will
down and pay too much attention to it. to every issue, perform
Because honestly, it has taken me a long whether it is cul- Bharatanatyam
time to reach here,” Kajol said. The tural, political or on February 25, Duet by Vinod
actress went on to open up about social. Geeta por- and Avijeet Das and Vrinda
motherhood, saying: “We are not trayed an artistic will put up the
perfect mothers. perspective in the thrilling Kuchipudi dance on February and her group will perform on February
“Mothers are put into a small contemporary sce- 24. There is an interesting mix of varied 24. Mohiniyattam dancer from Baroda,
little box, like a parameter that nario as to how we styles like Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Aishwariya Warier, will render an ele-
you can never get out of. You can adopt Jain phi- Kathak and Sattriya dances in duet gant recital on February 21. Other star
can't put one step out of it. They losophy for better presentations. Another fine Odissi attractions of the festival include the Ma-
are superhuman, they make living and existence. dancer from New Delhi, Vinod nipuri group recital by the renowned
breakfast, they make dinner, they Speaking about her Kevin Bachan, will perform a duet Jawaharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance
clean the house, they put send performances, Geeta with the charming dancer Vrinda Academy on the last day (February 26) of
you to school, and they go for said, “People always Chedda, both are the disciples of the festival that also includes the power-
work, and they come back and comment that Geeta Padma Shri Ranjana Gauhar. ful Bharatanatyam recital by Poornima
meet your teacher and rarely performs solo, it is Kathak duet by Saurav and Gau- Ashok and her group.
organise their life and your always group. I have a tal- rav Mishra will be held on Febru-
life and their husband's lives, ented team of dancers ary 22. (The writer is a professional kuchipudi-
and still manage to be calm and keeping them active Famous Mohiniyattam danseuse kathakali exponent, dance teacher, chore-
and cool and patient and all the time is important. from New Delhi, Bharati Shivaji, ographer and an actor.)
loving,” she said.
—IANS
Pandemic made people supportive, caring on Twitter, Google
NEW YORK: The use of the words like sacrifice, share and help
more than doubled on Twitter and Google from before the
pandemic to the period after March 13, according to new research,
saying that internet trends suggest Covid-19 spurred a return to
10 weeks before and 10 weeks after March 13, 2020. Use of the
word “help” on Twitter increased by 37% in the period after March
13, while use of the word “share” increased by 24%. The research
also found that use of the word “sacrifice” more than doubled on

14
earlier values and activities among people. Researchers from Twitter from before the pandemic to the period after March 13.
University of California-Los Angeles and Harvard University “‘Sacrifice’ was a complete nonstarter in U.S. culture before Covid,”
analysed how two types of internet activity changed in the US for Greenfield said. –IANS

INDORE | SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Take note if you are planning STREAM, CHILL, STEP OUT!

Amazing Ayurveda
Shishimihir Tel Muktadi Sapt Pishti From music and art to fitness, and from

to go ‘green’ for good skin

Key property: Regular
head massage with
this oil strength-
ens and nourishes
hair. It helps stop
dandruff and itch-
ing. It is also effective
against boils that appear on
the scalp. It averts hair fall.
Ingredient: Agar (Aquilar-
ia), tagar (Valeriana wal-
lichii/ Indian Valerian),
spikenard, red sandalwood,
mahua fool, dry grapes, shi-
tal chinni, lotus seeds, rose,
Key property: It pro-
vides physical
strength, it man-
ages heartbeat. It
helps keeps anxiety
at bay. It provides re-
lief against inflamma-
tion. It cures disorders trig-
gered by imbalanced pitta.
It can help you get rid of
dizziness.
Ingredient: Mukta pishti,
prawal pishti, jahar mohra
pishti, mukta shukti pishti,
karwaha pishti, manikya
webinars to unique workshops, here are some
interesting online & offline events which will
help you keep busy during the pandemic
ENTERTAINMENT
‘Are natural, chemical-free skin products safe?’, ‘Are they effective enough?...’ Shor Police
Here’s busting such five common myths about organic skincare products, WHAT: Shor Police—
Comprising the incredibly
which will help clear the air, if you are confused about going ahead the ‘natural’ way multi-faceted composer-
producer-arranger Clinton
AGENCIES you eat does have an impact Cerejo and the powerhouse
New Delhi on your skin, food cannot vocals of Bianca Gomes—will
cleanse away impurities and reinterpret the works of

I
alkanet root, shilajit, gug- pishti and akik pishti. n today’s generation, con- environmental toxins the contemporary blues-pop
gul (Commiphora wightii), Quantity: 125 grams to 250 sumers have become way a good face wash can, or legend John Mayer in the
camphor, jasmine leaves, grams. Or as directed by more aware and con- provide a protective barrier upcoming edition of Paytm
orange peel, nilofar the physician. scious of harmful chemicals on the skin the way a Insider’s Jim Beam Originals. It’s not surprising then that the
(Nymphaea alba) and (To know more about Shri Moh- hidden in their skincare moisturizer can. duo decided on multiple Grammy-winning John Mayer’s
coconut oil. ta Ayurvedic Rasayanshala, products. They have even be- For truly beautiful skin, be marvellous discography. Shor Police and Mayer are also
Quantity: As per require- call: 0151-2523227/ or reach at come skeptical of using sure to eat healthy, exercise connected by their Berklee College of Music, Boston,
ment or as directed by the mohtarasayanshala skincare that wear the claim regularly, and practice safe, association. Whereas Mayer is a Berklee dropout, Clinton was
physician. @gmail.com) of being “organic” and “all organic skincare. Organic the first contemporary composer from India to conduct master
natural”, often questioning skincare products should ac- classes and residencies at the prestigious college in both their
Disclaimer: The description of the above-mentioned if these claims are just mar- company a healthy lifestyle Boston and Valencia campuses.
products is an excerpt from a booklet, Sankshipt keting gimmicks or more for a more youthful and WHEN: February 27, 9 PM onwards
Aushad Parichay Patrak. Please consult your doctor/ or importantly, if the lack of fresher complexion. WHERE: Watch it on Insider
contact the clinic before taking them. chemicals may contribute to ally extracted at the molecu- smartphone filter except Myth 5: All “natural types” of TO REGISTER VISIT: https://insider.in/
the skin care not being as lar level leaving, behind the this time it’s real! Radiant, skincare are created equal
efficacious. most active and potent part hydrated and clear skin. Af- There is a thin line between ANTIGONE

Apps may steal

Jagvir Singh, Founder and for your skin care. ter just a few uses, your “organic” versus “natural” WHAT: Antigone is a tragedy written by Sophocles and is a play
President, Refresh Botani- Myth 2: Organic products are friends will be asking what products. Note that we use about the aftermath of a civil war in which the two sons of
cals shares five common ineffective you have been doing the word natural here, and Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices Kill each other, where the new
misconceptions about or- Many people are afraid of differently. not organic. While many king and their successor, Creon, tries to punish Polyneices for his

your data via

ganic skincare that will
make you rethink your
regimen:
Myth 1: Homemade organic
face masks and lotions work
change and stick to a prod-
uct that they are familiar
with and have used for
years. Unfortunately, many
drugstore products have
Myth 3: Organic products
need preservatives to last
longer
Highly organic products of-
ten require premium pack-
products may claim to be
“all-natural” on their labels,
it doesn't mean that their in-
gredients are in fact “organ-
ic”. Natural products often
disloyalty by not burying him properly. The daughter of Oedipus
and Jocasta, Antigone pits her beliefs against the King of Thebes
in a bloody test of wills that leaves few unharmed. Antigone
raises issues of law and morality that are just as relevant today
as they were more than two thousand years ago.

location tracking
the same as organic products
You may believe that by
whipping up a yogurt and
honey smoothie in your
blender and using it as a face
mask will benefit your skin
as would purchasing an or-
ganic face mask. However,
often skincare brands ex-
tract organic molecules
from organical, whole plant
ingredients.
While we are all up for a
DIY face treatment once in a
while, the ingredients you
find in your kitchen can't re-
ally compare to the active in-
gredients found in organic
skincare products. These
special ingredients are usu-
been diluted, watered down,
and filled with an abun-
dance of chemical preserva-
tives to extend the lifespan.
This means that while the
product may offer quick re-
sults, you shouldn't hold
your breath waiting to see
any real long-term benefits
for the health of your skin.
Organic products, on the
other hand, are jam-packed
with vital nutrients, antioxi-
dants, vitamins and miner-
als at high concentrations
that they truly feed your
skin with the love that it
needs. You’ll instantly get
that “glow” that is often
achieved with your latest
aging that are equipped with
airless pumps. This prevents
the highly organic plant ma-
terial from oxidising thus
spoiling. When looking for
organic skincare, look for
airless pumps – meaning
that the product is being
pumped through literally be-
ing pushed out of the
container.
Myth 4: Eating healthy is
enough for great skin
There is no argument with
the benefits of eating clean,
antioxidant-rich foods and
drinking tons of water. How-
ever, a healthy diet alone is
not necessarily enough for
great skin. While everything
contain natural ingredients
but may contain pesticides
and other harmful
chemicals.
For a skin care brand to be
able to wear the claim of “or-
ganic”, ingredient suppliers
have to undergo a rigorous
process where they are mon-
itored for many years to en-
sure that their farming
methods are free of pesti-
cides, herbicides and chemi-
cals. Additionally, skin care
brands must ensure that
their manufacturers follow
stringent practices to ensure
there is no cross contamina-
tion of organic and
inorganic materials. –IANS
WHEN: Today, 8 PM onwards
WHERE: Veda Factory: ART STUDIO, Bungalow No. - 120,
Opposite Gulshan Colony Co-Op Housing Society, Aram Nagar
Part 2, Machlimar, Versova, Andheri – West
ATTEND
Virtual Trailwalker Challenge by Oxfam India
WHAT: Oxfam Trailwalker is back this year with a virtual
trailwalker challenge. Participants will walk for
100km/50kms/25kms in 10 days complying with the social
distancing rules. An e-certificate will be provided to the
participant by the end of completing the challenge. This year’s
theme for the walkathon is #WalkForHer, “Walk to end all
discrimination against women.”
WHEN: Slot 1 – February 25 to March 6 & Slot 2 – March 8 to
March 17
TO REGISTER VISIT: https://virtualtrailwalker.oxfamindia.org/
FOOD & FUN

AGENCIES from University of Bologna. Tap Takeover by Great State Aleworks at Terra
London Thanks to machine learn-
ing techniques, these data Here’s how you can make Rooftop
WHAT: Calling all you craft beer lovers! Join Great State

S
martphone users are
unaware of privacy im-
plications of some per-
missions they grant to apps
and services and researchers
provide sensitive informa- Aleworks for their first Tap Takeover this year at Terra, an open-
tion such as the place where
users live, their habits, inter-
swimming pools safer! air rooftop in Bandra. Great State Aleworks is a Pune-based
craft brewery focused on modern and experimental ales using
ests, demographics, and in- AGENCIES/ Washington local ingredients, with an emphasis on juicy IPAs, tangy sours
formation about users’ Epidemiological studies and millet ales. Bringing you a variety of beers over a fun

have been able to identify
which kind of personal in-
formation the apps extract
with location tracking on.
This is the first extensive
study shedding light on the
range of personal informa-
tion that can be inferred
from location-tracking data.
Consequently, the study by
two researchers from Uni-
versity of Bologna, Italy and
Benjamin Baron from Uni-
versity College London, the
UK also shows how collect-
ing such information can
represent a violation of the
users' privacy.
To this end, the researchers
developed a mobile applica-
tion – TrackingAdvisor –
that continuously collects
user location.
From the location data, the
personalities.
Through the TrackingAd-
visor app employed in the
study – published in Pro-
ceedings of the ACM on In-
teractive, Mobile, Wearable
and Ubiquitous Technolo-
gies – researchers were able
to identify which kind of per-
sonal information the app
extracted and its privacy sen-
sitivity according to users.
For the study, 69 users used
TrackAdvisor for at least two
weeks.
TrackAdvisor tracked
more than 200,000 locations,
identifying approximately
2,500 places and collecting al-
most 5,000 pieces of personal
information concerning
both demographics and
personality.
Among the data gathered,
A
team of researchers
has discovered a rem-
edy to lessen the in-
fection caused by chlorinat-
ed swimming pool water.
The new study led by the
American Chemical Society
found that using comple-
mentary forms of disinfec-
tion, like copper-silver ion-
ization (CSI) can help the by
effects of swimming pool in-
fections.
Swimming in indoor or
outdoor pools is a healthy
form of exercise and recre-
ation for many people. How-
ever, the findings published
in ACS' Environmental Sci-
ence & Technology have
linked compounds that arise
from chlorine disinfection of
the pools to respiratory
problems, including asthma,
have linked DBPs to health Sunday brunch easing into a sundowner with great music,
problems, including respira- tapas, and a live BBQ. Look out for a new beer launch at this
tory issues, bladder cancer, Tap Takeover.
and pregnancy and birth WHEN: Today, 1 PM onwards
complications. One way to WHERE: Cafe Terra, Nargis Dutt Rd, Pali Pathar, Pali Village,
reduce the amount of added Bandra West
chlorine is through the use
of complementary disinfec- REWIND
tion strategies, such as CSI,
which involves generating Bandcamp Weekends: Live Bands + Movie
antimicrobial copper and sil- Under The Stars
ver ions by electrolysis. WHAT: BandCamp
Susan Richardson and col- Season 7 is on! Now
leagues wondered whether enjoy the camping
using CSI along with re- experience every
duced chlorine levels could weekend until April’
disinfect pool water while
also reducing DBP forma- How longevity gene protects 2021! BandCamp
Weekends takes you
tion and toxicity.
To find out, the researchers
collected water samples
brain stem cells from stress out of the city hustle
on Friday & Saturday
nights, helping you
from two pools treated with AGENCIES stem cells from dividing un- experience great live
CSI and chlorine, one out- New York til after the stress has band performances
door and one indoor. They passed,” Paik added. and reconnect with cinema in the middle of nature. You can

app can extract personal in-
formation and asks users to
give feedback on the correct-
ness of such information as
well as to rate its relevance in
terms of privacy sensitivity.
“Users are largely unaware
of the privacy implications
of some permissions they
grant to apps and services, in
particular when it comes to
location-tracking informa-
tion”, said Mirco Musolesi
the users find that the most
sensitive pieces of informa-
tion were the ones about
health, socio-economic situa-
tion, ethnicity, and religion.
According to the re-
searchers, analyses like this
pave the way to designing
targeted advertising systems
that help users protect their
privacy, especially with the
data they deem more
sensitive. –IANS
GUIDING LIGHT
in avid swimmers.
Disinfecting swimming
pool water is necessary to in-
activate harmful pathogens.
Although an effective disin-
fectant, chlorine can react
with organic matter and
compounds introduced by
swimmers, such as those in
sweat, urine, sunscreens,
and cosmetics, to produce
disinfection byproducts
(DBPs).
detected 71 DBPs, some of
which were quantified for
the first time in pools.
In experiments with mam-
malian cells in the lab, the
team found that the indoor
pool samples were more tox-
ic to cells than the outdoor
samples, likely because out-
door DBPs can volatilise in
the open air or degrade with
sunlight over time.
–ANI
A
gene linked to unusu-
ally long lifespans in
humans protects
brain stem cells from the
harmful effects of stress, ac-
cording to a new study.
According to the re-
searchers, studies of hu-
mans who live longer than
100 years have shown that
many share an unusual ver-
sion of a gene called Fork-
head box protein O3
(FOXO3).
The study showed that
mice that lack the FOXO3
Many challenges like in-
flammation, radiation or a
lack of adequate nutrients
can stress the brain. But the
team looked specifically at
what happens when brain
stem cells are exposed to ox-
idative stress, which occurs
when harmful types of
oxygen build-up in the body.
“We learned that the
FOXO3 protein is directly
modified by oxidative
stress,” she said. This modi-
fication sends the protein
into the nucleus of the stem
expect the movies to come from a mix of world cinema, classics
and crowd favourites. The live band performance before the
movie screening will be indie, blues, retro music and so on!
There will also be bonfires, a barbeque, sunset walks, and some
great food! The campsite has large grounds and they have
added hammocks, books, and games to ensure that there is
something for everyone.
WHEN: Fridays & Saturdays, 4 PM to 12 PM
WHERE: BandCamp, White Collar Hippie Camping Ground,
Dongri, Uttan, Mira Bhayandar
FOR BOOKING VISIT: https://insider.in/
BODY & MIND
Connect with yourself through Sound Therapy
WHAT: Join this workshop for a self-reflective and inspiring

Breaking your habits – Living consciously

– Sadhguru, Isha Foundation
SADHGURU: A habit is formed essen-
tially because it brings certain ease to
your life – it makes parts of your life
automatic. You do not have to think
about it. You can do it just like that.
Naturally human beings form habits
because unlike other animals, we have
not come with many of our traits fixed.
You notice a little bit of difference be-
tween one dog and the next. They have
their individual personality, but most of
their traits are fixed. But almost every-
thing is wide open for a human being.
Because of this, as a child, you try to
form a defence pattern where you try to
create your own patterns.
gene in their brain are un- cell where it turns on stress session with Knowledge Contributor – Priyanka Jay Patel, who
able to cope with stressful response genes. will help you connect with yourself through sound. In this do-it-
conditions in the brain, The resulting stress re- along session, you will get to see the immediate shifts that
which leads to the progres- sponse leads to the depletion happen when your body and mind bathe in the ancient
sive death of brain cells. The
gene preserves the brain's
of a nutrient called s-adeno-
sylmethionine (SAM). This
frequencies created through singing bowls and gongs. An
enriching and wholesome experience through a Sound Bath
Every child creates certain habits for Above all, if a person takes up a ability to regenerate by pre- nutrient is needed to help a where you are welcome to come and connect with your heart.
the sake of survival. But generally, chil- spiritual path, his habits will drop be- venting stem cells from di- protein called lamin form a WHEN: Today, 11 AM onwards
dren shake these patterns off as they cause there is no such thing as good viding until the environ- protective envelope around TO REGISTER VISIT: https://insider.in/
grow, depending upon the level of and bad habits. Once you have grown ment will support the new the DNA in the nucleus of
awareness you create around them. Ei- up, habits mean you are learning to cells’ survival. the stem cell. LAUGH OUT LOUD
ther by exposure or through education, conduct your life unconsciously. That “Stem cells produce new “Without SAM, lamin can’t
children change dramatically – they go may look safe, but it denies your life in brain cells, which are essen- form this strong barrier and Comedy Unstoppable
out for three years and when they come so many different ways. tial for learning and memo- DNA starts leaking out,” she WHAT: Hooted1ce is coming for the comedy lovers
back, parents cannot recognize them. Spirituality is the fundamental tool ry throughout our adult said. again with its regular curated comedy show at The
It is those who are engrossed in self- to break all unconscious patterns that lives,” said lead author Paik, The cell mistakes this DNA Matchbox Cowork. There will be fun with some old
preservation who cannot drop old we have within ourselves. What we re- Associate Professor at the for a virus infection, which and new jokes with the freshness of powerful
habits. Those who are looking for ad- fer to as karma is also just this. Karma Cornell University in the triggers an immune re- comedy by the very talented and amazing gang of
venture will drop their habits easily means you are unconsciously creating US. sponse called the type-I in- comedians. The show will have featured artists –
because they are always remodelling patterns for yourself, not only about “If stem cells divide with- terferon response. This caus- Bhavish Ailani, Punya Arora, Namrata Arora and Sonali Thakker.
their lives whichever way it is needed your behaviour but about the way life out control, they get deplet- es the stem cell to go dor- WHEN: Today, 8 PM onwards
for the situation in which they exist. happens to you. ed. The FOXO3 gene appears mant and stop producing WHERE: The Matchbox Cowork: 901 Gazdhar Enclave Near Fun
to do its job by stopping the new neurons. –IANS Republic Mall, Link Road, Veera Desai Industrial Estate, Andheri
– West

YOUR DAY By Nilikash P. Pradhan

ARIES: Domestic issues and personal
matters will keep you tied up. Do not
sacrifice your mental peace for the sake of
monetary, material gains.
TAURUS: You may spend quality time with
your family and loved ones. The atmosphere
at home will be harmonious. People will be
impressed by your communicating skills.
GEMINI: You may discuss ideas, everything
which is important to you with someone
who you want to bring into your life.
Business proposals are indicated.
CANCER: You may get new business projects
which may help recover your previous losses.
Work stress is likely to go down. Your co-
workers will support you over a decision.
LEO: An interesting and energetic day awaits
you. The atmosphere at the workplace will
be less stressful. Share your inner feelings
with partner, it will make you feel better.
VIRGO: Better time and better relationships
will bring happiness and satisfaction. Your
confidence will boost. At work, your
performance will impress everyone.
LIBRA: You will be in a confused state of
mind. You may doubt your decision-making
skills, which may affect your confidence.
Seek expert advice if you are feeling stuck.
SCORPIO: You will be filled with confidence
and would begin to think big and out of the
box. Business collaborations will be profitable
and there will be a boost in your turnover.
SAGITTARIUS: Those in the field of sports
and politics, will see a rise in their name and
fame. This is the time to go with the flow of
wind not against it or you might tumble.
CAPRICORN: Today is the time for
consolidation. Travelling is likely. You may make
new contacts. Do not neglect your health.
Consult experts before making an investment.
AQUARIUS: Start the routine of regular workout
and when it comes to food, be moderate. Little
care regarding your health is required. Work
issues are likely to keep you busy.
PISCES: Certain fluctuations would be felt
in financial flows. But, overall the cash flow
will be positive. Start saving. Those in the
film industry may get their big break.
15 SPORTS
If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail
– Mark Andrew Spitz is an American former competitive swimmer and
nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the
1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, all in
INDORE | SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 21, 2021 world record tim

Awesome Osaka
Lays her hands on Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for
the second time beating Jennifer Brady
FP NEWS SERVICE are watching and are inspired by er unforced errors.
Melbourne what she is doing. Osaka has often said how much

Final
“Hopefully I’m on this stage next she loves the big occasion and her Russia's Daniil Medvedev (L) and Serbia's Novak Djokovic

I
t took one hour and 17 minutes
and the winners was there. And
it was none other than Naomi
Osaka of Japan with devastating
power games to undo the challenge
of Jennifer Brady of United States 6-
time with this girl over here,” she
added, referring to the winners’ tro-
phy.
The end of the opening set really
decided the outcome. Osaka hung on
at 4-4 then, aided by her countering,
record in Grand Slam finals sug-
gests as much, now a perfect 4-0.
This final was a fairly routine
affair, unlike her three oth-
ers.
Osaka overcame

4, 6-3 at the Rod Laver court to regain
her Australian Open, here on Satur-
day.
After nearly exiting less than a
week ago, Naomi Osaka has stormed
to a second Australian Open title
and fourth Grand Slam success by
downing Jennifer Brady.
Osaka broke into a huge smile
when the contest ended, prior to the
players exchanging a hug at the net.
“I didn’t play my last Grand Slam
with fans so just to have this energy
it means a lot,” Osaka said to the
fans during the trophy presentation,
cradling the Daphne Akhurst Me-
morial Cup.
“Thank you so much for coming. I
feel like playing a Grand Slam is a
super privilege right now and it’s
something I won’t take for granted.
Thank you for this opportunity.”
The world No.3 cemented her sta-
tus as the top hard-court player in
broke as Brady relinquished a 40-15
advantage.
The Japanese star subsequently
surged while Brady, the world No.24,
understandably sagged.
Both players struggled with their
first-serve percentage, though Osaka
shaded matters on first-serve and
second-serve points tallied while hit-
ting one more winner and seven few-
showdown
the disappointment
of not converting
three match points in a second
set to beat Petra Kvitova in 2019 in
Melbourne.
It all could have been so different
this fortnight, since Osaka stood on
the verge of departing in the fourth
round. At Australian Open, Djokovic
She saved two match points
against last year’s finalist, Garbine chases 18th Slam, Medvedev 1st
Muguruza, before soaring to anoth-
er level. Wins over the tricky Su-Wei ASSOCIATED PRESS there is anything that can
Hsieh and Serena Williams followed. Melbourne make it bigger."
Osaka joined Caroline Wozniacki, It is an intergenerational
Angelique Kerber and Li Na in tri- Novak Djokovic lost his first showdown - Serbia's
umphing at the Australian Open in career Grand Slam final at Djokovic turns 34 in May;
the last decade after saving match the US Open. Then he won Russia's Medvedev just
points. his second, which came at turned 25 - and another in the
the Australian Open. simmering standoff between
And look where he is now, the Big Three and the next
more than a dozen years lat- wave of up-and-coming play-
er: One victory from a ninth ers hoping to supplant the
championship at Melbourne group that has dominated for

the world. Osaka extended her win-
ning streak to 21, all on hard courts,
a spell that included claiming the US
Open last September.
Osaka and Brady met in New York,
producing a tremendous, hard-hit-
ting semifinal affair in the Ameri-
can’s big breakthrough.
And Osaka got the better of it
again at Rod Laver Arena to foil
Brady’s bid to become the second
straight US women’s winner at Mel-
bourne Park who contested her
maiden Grand Slam final — after
Sofia Kenin.
"I’d like to congratulate Naomi on
another Grand Slam title,” Brady
told the crowd.
“She’s such an inspiration to us all
and what she is doing for the game is
amazing in getting the sport out
there, and I hope young girls at home
I
Park and his 18th major title
’d like to overall, which would put him
congratulate two behind Roger Federer
Naomi on another and Rafael Nadal for the most
by a man in tennis history.
Grand Slam title Daniil Medvedev also lost
his first career Grand Slam
final at the US Open. And
now he will try to win in his
second try, which comes at
the Australian Open on Sun-
day - against Djokovic.
"I know that to beat him,
you need to just show your
best tennis, be at your best
physically, maybe four or five
hours, and be at your best
mentally, maybe for five
hours," Medvedev said.
"I would say to win a Slam,
especially against somebody
(like) Novak, is already a big
motivation, and I don't think
more than 15 years.
Federer, Nadal and
Djokovic have combined to
win 14 of the past 15 majors
(Dominic Thiem at last year's
U.S. Open was the exception),
and 57 of the last 69.
"Spice it up a little bit," by
adding a new name to the list
of Slam champs, suggested
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 22-
year-old who came back from
two sets down to eliminate
Nadal in the quarterfinals be-
fore losing to Medvedev 6-4, 6-
2, 7-5 in the semifinals.
The No. 1-seeed Djokovic is
17-0 in Oz Open semis and fi-
nals, making him nearly as
much of a lock on the blue
hard courts of Melbourne
Park as Nadal is on the red
clay courts of Roland Garros.

Vijay Hazare trophy Suryakumar, Kishan, MP wrestler Sunny Jadhav wins silver medal
SENIOR NATIONAL GRECO ROMAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

Tewatia in T20 squad

Varun Aaron strikes with ball, takes 6 for 37
Kishan stars in Jharkhand's PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
JALANDHAR

The two-day senior greco

mammoth win over MP New Delhi India's T20I squad roman wrestling champi-
V Kohli (Cap), R Sharma (v-c), KL Rahul, S onship has started at Love-
Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav Dhawan, S Iyer, S Yadav, H Pandya, R Pant ly Professional University
INDORE: Skipper Ishan Kishan balls.Courtesy Kishan's heroics, and Rahul Tewatia on Saturday (w-k), I Kishan (w-k), Y Chahal, V at Jalandhar. on the first
smashed a blistering 173 off just Jharkhand posted the highest to- earned their maiden India call-up Chakravarthy, A Patel, W Sundar, R Tewatia, day, Madhya Pradesh's
94 balls to lead Jharkhand to a tal by an Indian domestic side. for next month's five-match T20 se- T Natarajan, B Kumar, D Chahar, N Saini wrestler Sunny Yadav won
massive 324-run victory over Mad- Virat Singh (68 off 49 balls; 5x4, ries against England as the selec- and S Thakur. the silver medal. In 60 kg
hya Pradesh in an Elite Group B 3x6) and Sumit Kumar (52 off 58 tors rewarded them for their stu- bouts, Sunny Jadhav won
game of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, balls, 5x4) also played their parts pendous performances in the IPL. the only silver medal for
here on Saturday. to perfection as all the MP bowlers Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh ning win for his team. Madhya Pradesh. He defeat-
Invited to bat, Jharkhand posted had an off day in the field.Howev- Pant, all-rounder Axar Patel and Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep ed Gyanendra of Common-
a mammoth 422 for nine, shaped er, there was more action in store pacer Bhuvneswar Kumar also re- Yadav, Sanju Samson and Manish wealth and former National
by Kishan's whirlwind knock, and as all-rounder Anukul Roy turned to a fresh-looking squad. Pandey have been dropped from Champion of army in the
then bundled out the opposition smashed seven sixes and three The selectors named a 19-man the side while pacer Jasprit Bum- semi-finals on the basis of
for a meagre 98 in 18.4 overs, with fours in his 39-ball 72 and ensured squad for the series starting rah has been rested. technical education,. Sun-
pacer Varun Aaron (6/37) doing that his team went past the 400- March 12 in Ahmedabad with an Mohammad Shami and Ravindra ny is taking training from
the bulk of the damage. The 22- run mark. Aaron wreaked havoc aim to try out new faces such as Jadeja were not included as they the Sports Authority of In-
year-old left-handed Kishan sin- to leave Madya Pradesh tottering Kishan, Yadav and Tewatia in a they are still recovering from in- dia wrestling coach and
gle-handedly tore apart the MP at- at 21 for five. It was just a matter of World Cup year. juries they suffered on the Aus- Vishwamitra awardee Ved
tack, striking 19 fours and 11 sixes time as they were eventually bun- All three had a stellar IPL though tralia tour. Prakash Jawala, server
in his knock.After Jharkhand lost dled out for 98 as their all top-or- Yadav has formed the backbone of Pant comes back into the team Mansoori and Arjuna
opener Utkarsh Singh (6) early, der batsmen faltered. Mumbai Indians' batting over the following a stellar run in Tests in Awardee Kripashankar
Kishan conjured up a 113-run sec- years.Questions were raised when Australia and his good form has Bishnoi in the wrestling
ond-wicket stand with Kumar BRIEF SCORES: Suryakumar Yadav did not make continued in the home series hall of Malharaashram In-
Kushagra (26) to lay the founda- Jharkhand 422/9 (Ishan Kishan the team for the series in Australia against England. Bhuvneshwar re- dore.
tion for a big score. 173, Anukul Roy 72; Virat Singh but his long wait has finally ended. turns to the side having recovered A few days ago, the Sports
Kishan, who opened the innings, 68; Gourav Yadav 4/73, Shubham Kishan too had a good IPL and from a hamstring injury he suf- Ministry approved a finan- fare Fund. For the last few years, he
continued playing his shots before Sharma 1/44) beat Madhya has been in red hot form in white fered in the IPL. He recently cial assistance of Rs 2.5 Earlier, Jadhav had won a had to work like washing
being caught by Shubham Shar- Pradesh 98 all out (Abhishek ball cricket. He got the call-up on a played for UP in the Syed Mushtaq lakh to Madhya Pradesh silver medal in the 60 kg the car of others to contin-
ma off Gaurav Yadav.Kishan Bhandari 42; Venkatesh Iyer 23; day when he smashed 173 off 93 Ali Trophy. Patel, who last played a wrestler Sunny Jadhav, Greco Roman category at ue his practice of
reached his individual 50 in 42 Varun Aaron 6/37, Bal Krishna balls for Jharkhand in the Vijay T20 in February 2018, is also back who was working as a la- the Under 23 Junior Nation- wrestling.Sunny congratu-
balls, 100 in 74 balls and 150 in 86 2/8) by 324 runs. Hazare Trophy. Tewatia, who plays having performed consistently in borer to fulfill his needs. al Wrestling Champi- lated by olympion Pappu
for Rajasthan Royals and Haryana, the IPL. His selection comes after Jadhav was provided with onships in Chittor, Ra- Yadav, Vikram awardee
Jagadeesan, Aparajith, Shahrukh star in TN win had smashed West Indian Sheldon
Cottrell for five sixes in an over in
he took a five-wicket haul in his
maiden Test and is a like-for-like
financial support from Pan-
dit Deendayal Upadhyay
jasthan in 2018 and the Khe-
lo India University Games
Omprakash Khatri and
wrestling dignitaries of
INDORE: Gurkeerat Singh Mann's unbeaten 139 went in vain as Tamil the IPL last year to pull off a stun- replacement for Jadeja. National Sportsperson Wel- in Bhubaneswar in 2020. MP for his achievements,
Nadu defeated Punjab by six wickets. Mann's 139 off 121 deliveries
(14x4s, 7x6s) had helped Punjab score 288 for four in 50 overs. However, INDORE SPORTS
Tamil Nadu romped home with an over to spare.A 185-run second-wick-
et partnership between Narayan Jagadeesan (101 off 103 balls) and ITF grade-5 championship Gonkar beat Krish Tyagi 3-6, 6 -0, 10-7 Raghav Amin beat Satav of Arena Badminton Club were introduced to players.
Baba Aparajith (88 off 115 balls) put Tamil Nadu on course for a win af-
ter the early loss of Arun Karthik's wicket. Towards the end, Shahrukh
Pahal in second round of qualifying Aryaman Jajodia 6-3, 6-4, Param Chandra beat Aryan Devkar
6-3, 6-4, Aditya Badla beat Vibhu Chalagundla 6-2, 6-1, Ayush
Guests were welcomed by RP Singh Nayar, Vishal Chandwani,
Vrishali and Anay Shirpurkar. Dharmesh Yashlha conducted the
Khanshowed his big-hitting prowess as his 36-ball 55 helped closed the In the first match of qualifying round of International world Hindalkar defeated Nil Pillai 6-3, 4-6, 10-4 to advance to the programme.
match in Tamil Nadu's favour. Khan hit seven fours and a six.
Brief Scores: Punjab 288/4 in 50 overs (GS Mann 139 not out, Prabh-
tennis tour Junior ITF grade-5 championship organized by
Madhya Pradesh Tennis Association and sponsored by Yellow
second round. The final matches of the qualifying round will
be played on Sunday. From which the top boy and girl will get Rohan, Divyansh, Atharv, Bhavya,
simran 71, Sanvir 58) lost to Tamil Nadu 289/4 in 49 overs (N Ja- Diamond, city girl Pahal Kharadkar entered the second round
on Saturday. But other players like Ananya Maheshwari, Rehan
a chance to reach the main round.
Jasraj, in second round
gadeesan 101, B Aparajith 88, Sharukh Khan 55 not out).
Malik and Saurish Singh faced defeat in the first round. Shailendra of MP wins 3 bronze medals The district sub-junior ranking badminton competition of
Andhra Pradesh win by 3 wickets In the first round of the qualifying matches played at the In the 46th senior national (male and female) power lifting Indore District Badminton Association began here at Devi
Indore Tennis Club, Pahal defeated Adhara Malik 3-6, 7-5, 10- championship held at Suguna Auditorium, Coimbatore (Tamil Ahilya Badminton Academy, Ishwar Farm, RR CAT Road on
At SS Cricket Commune ground,in a thrilling encounter, Andhra
7 in a thrilling encounter. After losing the first set, Pahal made a Nadu), Shailendra Sewatiya, who represented Madhya Saturday. There were 50 matches in different age groups
Pradesh defeated Vidarbha by 3 wickets. Vidarbha batted first to score
strong comeback and won the second set to retain his Pradesh in 74 kg won three bronze medals by lifting 722.5 kg. were played on day one. Competition secretary Vikas
331 for 6. Captain Faiz Faizal and Yash Rathod both scored ton, but
dominance in the tiebreaker as well. But other players from The first medal was won in 285 kg squat. He cleared 175 kg in Soni said that in U-13 group, Rohan Majumdar defeated
Andhra's batsmen Ricky Bhui101 not out and Hanuma Vihari's 65 runs
the state had to face defeat in the very first round itself. In girls bench press and 262.5 kg in deadlift. Vidhan Patel 15-5, 15-2 to enter the second round. In the
demolished Vidarbha's challenge. same category, Yudhish Virodihiya, Souhard Verma, Veer
category, Deepshikha Shriram defeated Ananya Maheshwari 6-
Brief scores: Vidarbha 331/6 (Yash Rathod 117, Faiz Fazal 100; C
Stephen 3/66, Girinath Reddy 2/79) lost to Andhra 332/7 (Ricky Bhui 101
2, 6-1. In the boys category, Rehan Malik and Saurish Singh lost
in the first round. Raghav Poonia defeated Rehan 2-6, 6-4, 10-
Niharika, Dhimahi, Rudra, Khare and Kanhaiya Sharma also reached the next round.
In the Under-15 group, Priyansh Chauhan, Arthav
not out, Hanuma Vihari 65; Darshan Nalkande 3/76, Aditya Thakare
2/76) by three wickets.
7 and Skandha Prasanna Rao defeated Saurish 6-4, 6-2. In the
first round of qualifying matches, top seed in the girls category,
Aastha, Aditya in semi-finals Chaudhary, Bhavishya Purohit, Agam Bhandari ,Jasraj
Singh Saluja won their respective matches. Apart from
GROUP A : Solanki hits ton as Baroda beat Goa by five wickets Under the auspices of Indore District Badminton Asociation this, Aditya Somani, Karan Singh also reached the second
Pavitra Parikh defeated America’s Inayat Rai 6-4 6-2 to
Hyderabad beat Tripura by 113 runs and Raja Rammohan Roy Badminton Academy, the fifth Rusi round. In under-11 category, Kriday Shah, Sarthak Verma,
advance to the next round. But the other seeded players faced
Gujrat beat Chhattisgarh by 3 wickets Punegar Memorial Indore District Junior Ranking Badminton Rohan Majumdar, Anesh Prakash, Vidhan Piplia, Reju
defeat. Pari Chavan defeated second seed Rajavi Panchal 6-1,
GROUP C: Uttar Pradesh stun Karanataka by 9 runs tournament was played at Palasia on Saturday. Niharika Sant Sharma and Ashi Chauhan reached the second round.
6-1, Pushti Laddha beat third seed Riya Matharu 6-3, 6-3,
Railways thrashed Bihar by 10 wickets reached semifinal of U-19 and U-17 categories, Rudra Tiwari Earlier tournament was inaugurated by Chief Referee
Raheen Taranum beat fourth seed Hanna Nagpal 6-4, 1 -6, 10-
Kerala beat Odisha by 34 runs (VJD method) in 19 and 17 years boys, Adhya Jain in 19 and 17 years girls. Deepak Yadav, match controller Jigar Harsoa, Vikas Soni,
8 and Karishma Manohar defeated fifth seed Mahi Panchal 7-6,
At KSCA 2, Alur: Bihar 189; 45.5 overs (Anuj Raj 72, Shabbir Khan 46 Dhimahi Chauhan U-15, U-17 and U-19 girls, Anushka Prof. Rafi Mohammad Sheikh, Dilip Majumdar, Karthik
1-6, 10-7 to advance to the next round.In the first round of
not out; T Pradeep 6/43, Amit Mishra 3/30) lost to Railways 190 for no Shahpurkar U-15 and U-17 girls, Aditya Jain U-19 and U-17 Mahendra and Anirudh Bhawsar. More than 170 players
the boys’ qualifying round, Ansh Kundu beat Ankit Srivastava
loss; 29 overs (Mrunal Devdhar 105 not out, Pratham Singh 72 not out) boys and reached the semifinals. During matches, Vimal and are taking part in the tournament.
6-2, 6-0, Ayan Arora beat Aniket Singh 6-2, 6-3, Akshar
by 10 wickets. Prabha Gauravat of Sanchi Chemicals Private Limited and Sunil