Letters to the Editor: 15 January, 2020

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January 15, 2020

Blast at Palghar

At least seven persons were killed in a huge explosion at a chemical factory at Boisar in Maharashtra’s Palghar district and it was one more fire disaster in the state. Boisar is over 100 km away from Mumbai. The under-construction plant of Ank Pharma, where the explosion took place at an enormous proportion caused death and burn injuries. The blast took place during testing of certain chemicals was severe and was heard up to 15 kms from the blast spot. Even window panes of some of the residential areas in the vicinity were broken in the impact of the blast. The impact was so severe that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was called for assistance and rescue operation. It is one more case of serial fire in the state that is causing loss to human lives and property.

Nikhil Akhilesh Krishnan

Demolition of high rises sets a precedent

The demolition of the high rises in Kochi’s Maradu complying to the Supreme Court’s order as these were built violating the coastal regulation zone rules, is an eye opener and a warning to the local administration, the state machinery and the various stakeholders who ignored nature and believed that political influence, power and money can get them everything. What they forgot was that law and justice is above everything. This is a lesson meant for all cities, states, nations and mankind in general.

It was indeed an overwhelming sight to watch such huge skyscrapers that rose to the sky with so much of human energy and labour, time and wealth raised to the ground in seconds. At the same time along with the flattening of these concrete monster’s Nature in the guise of law and justice has taught humans lessons to be learnt in depth and to pass the same to generations to come. The lessons are- never to violate rules and regulations and rules and it can’t be amended according to anybody’s wish and will. Laws and restrictions cannot be taken for granted. I would like to opine that this demolition episode will be fully complete only when the corrupt officials, the politicians, the builders and many others who were behind this illegal construction are brought under law and punished.

M Pradyu

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Makar Sankranti sees dip in kite sales

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 14, 2020

Makar Sankranti Shopkeepers,Makar Sankranti,Sankranti, Shopkeepers,Makar, Sankranti Shopkeepers,Happy Makar sankranti,Makar sankranti 2020 — Boys play carrom at a shop selling kites in Hyderabad. Makar Sankranti, India’s kite festival is celebrated on 15 January every year : AFP

Along with women, children also look out for the Makar Sankranti festival. While the women folk prepare ‘Til Gul’, children wait for this day when they can fly kites happily. But they are not aware of the fact that it is on this day when many accidents take place while many are killed in accidents (while running after a cut kite).

When AV spoke to Architect, Bhaskar Parikh, about the lack of enthusiasm among people for celebrating Makar Sankranti he said, “Kids nowadays have turned cell phone addict rather than getting out and learn new activities whether it be cultural or social as they find them boring. I feel cell phones have changed and ruined many things and secondly the parents are either busy with their work or if they have a holiday, they would prefer taking rest instead of going out and teach their kids to get socially and culturally active. There has been fall in sale of kites because people have become more aware of the environment as hundreds of birds are killed on this day.”

Kids are always fascinated with Indian festivals and one of the most interesting festivals for kids is the ‘Uttarayan’ or ‘The kite flying festival’. When it comes to teaching Science to kids, we at Fundoo Las believe the best way to make kids understand scientific concepts is through experimenting and connecting science with things used in daily life. So kites are the best tool to teach your kids simple concept of aerodynamics in a fun and happening manner, said the firms manager on an anonymous note.

Siddhant Mohite- Social Worker & Entrepreneur said, “With the passage of years, the excitement of festivals is falling down continuously. I remember when I was a kid, I and my friends used to get really excited about flying kites during Uttarayan.”

“Nowadays, there are very few people who care to actually fly kites during the season. The people are losing interest in celebrating festivals day-by-day. Not just Makar Sankranti, but all the festivals are being celebrated low-key because the millennial generation of today was born with phones in their hands and nobody ever encouraged them to actually go out from their houses and fly kites or celebrate festivals!,” he added.

This day is celebrated with great enthusiasm across India. But this year, the excitement seems to be on a low key. Not many people were seen crowding a kite shop to buy kites on this auspicious day in Mumbai. Though the markets are flooded with kites but in proportion numbers of buyers were missing.

Ramnath a shop keeper in Kandivali told Afternoon Voice, “Bajar Thanda hai (there is no expected business), there can be a sudden rise in the sale tomorrow as most people indulge in last-minute shopping. “Ab to ek do din ka dhandha reh gaye, pehle maheenon chalta tha (Now the business is confined to just one or two days, earlier it used to be a month-long affair).”

On the other hand, heavy rush was seen at shops selling feeni, gajak and other items across the city. Many traders were allowed to keep their shops open till midnight. “Traders of the Dadar market who run shops throughout the day, usually start buying kites after closing their shops. So, keeping our kites shops open in the night is very necessary,” said a trader.

Mrudala Mhatre, a resident of Dahisar said, “These days all the Hindu festivals are losing their sheen, be it Makar Sankranti or Diwali. Earlier this festival day was celebrated as Haldi-Kunku (get-together among women). This is the day when they used to exchange gifts while the men indulged in kite flying. But now, this day is treated as just a holiday and the festival has become just a formality. In fact, there is no place to fly kites, we live in congested chawls alongside roads.”

Some traders do fairly good business depending on the area they are in. Kites sell the most where there a lot of Gujratis, Marwaris and Maharashtrians reside. But this year, for a change we could see some traders resorting to the use of loud speakers through which they announced, “Chinese manjha mangkar sharminda na karen” (Don’t embarrass us by asking for Chinese-made manjha).

Shivani Lokhande, HR executive said, “Yes, the enthusiasm among today’s youth is eloping somewhere leading to frustration and lack of zeal. The reason may be an unnecessary burden in the form of competition, unemployment, lack of job skills and skill based job etc. The Indian youth presently also faces acute pressure in every field from getting job to performance at the work place. Today’s culture has become way more modernised, the traditional touch is lost in the fast lifestyle. Sale of kites has reduced because people are becoming aware that it causes damage to the birds.”

Said another trader with a word of caution, “We have urged our customers not to leave the manjha the moment a kite is snapped as it might endanger lives. It is better to roll the rest of the manjha after kites snap. By this, no one is harmed.”

Neeraj Gala, Producer said, “Yes, there is a lack of enthusiasm on Makar Sankranti. May be this festival has fallen on a week day. And about the slack condition in kite industry, may be it is because the manjha harms the wildlife and the kite flying also hampers the bird species.”

Though the police have built up considerable pressure to put an end to sale of banned Chinese kite string (manjha) which often causes immense physical damage to humans, animals and birds, it seems the crackdown by cops has not deterred sellers and buyers of that particular product, if market watchers are to be believed.

Neelu Gupte LLP Accountant said, “Although kite flying has been a tradition in India for a very long time, this year there has been a drastic change in the number of people flying kites. It may be due to mobile phones and social media. Children are having studies they are running from one classes to another. Earlier people used to get holidays for celebrating the festival but nowadays they don’t get.”

These razor-sharp strings used by kite fliers without any check poses a threat to the lives of birds and two-wheeler riders in the city. Residents blame the government as well as the authorities concerned for not taking concrete measures to stop the sale and use of these strings. Two-wheeler riders have met with accidents after getting entangled in manjhas attached to broken kites. The Chinese – made manjhas are easily available in different areas as children are seen flying kites with such string.

Are we losing our traditional ways of celebrating festivals?

By

Vaidehi Taman

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January 14, 2020

When I was kid, there used to be hustle and bustle in my house before and after festivals. All this included days long preparations, new clothes, house cleaning and most favourite part of all this was shopping. And then greeting relatives, going to friend’s house for greetings and get together was fun.

Things have changed now. Our hectic lifestyle is majorly to be blamed; also since most of the families are nuclear, it becomes very difficult to follow all those rituals of celebration. However, I know of a few families who still get together and celebrate festivals the same old way. It’s really good because in doing so they preserve our customs and traditions. Moreover, the smart phone addictions have distanced people from meeting and talking. Everyone is in some or the other kind of stress, one is running from the other. In the Indian culture, there was a time when there used to be a Holi Gulal Hindu Festival every day of the year, 365 festivals in a year because a festival is a tool to bring life to a state of exuberance and enthusiasm.

That was the significance and importance of festivals. The whole culture was in a state of celebration. If today was a plugging day, it was a kind of celebration. Tomorrow was planting day, another kind of celebration. Day after tomorrow was wedding, that was a celebration. Festivals bring happiness, cheer, hope, optimism, celebrations, lights, joy, cooperation and many more pleasant things in our lives. During Diwali, Christmas, Holi, Eid, Guru Purab, Passover or any other festival, the world appears to be a heaven. It appears as if the entire world is attending a wedding celebration. Children, adults, teenagers, elders, and middle-aged people all of them look cheerful and vibrant. The ambience looks bright and poise.

Now life is mostly restricted to urbanites, we are losing our culture. The cause behind it is the new moderately well to do middle-class parents of youngsters. They fail to educate the kids about Indian culture but get thrilled when the kids dance to a Bollywood tune or a MJ song. Nowadays, these kids would not be able say which is Bharatanatyam and which is Odyssey or Kathak. They would identify any western singer but not Pt. Jasraj or any other Indian classical musician. They would have seen 2012 or Star Trek but not Shakuntala or Ramayana. Their parents who are in the age group of 30 to 50 years as of now had no time to teach the young about anything Indian. Further, if you take a look at the schools today you may notice that all their school day functions vibrate with even five year olds dancing to Sheila Ki Jawani. I remember of having acted as Krishna or Rama in school functions and girls performing Bharatanatyam or singing classical songs.

With a much more demanding work life than earlier and with the amalgamation of cultures happening globally, we are losing our cultural identity. I wouldn’t know if it’s good or not. All I know is we are no longer following age-old practices which reflect our true culture. One reason which comes to mind is, maybe we have a more demanding working lifestyle than ever. There’s too much at hand to be doing things the traditional way. I would like to believe that this is not the case. Many will disagree, I’m sure. Secondly, we, in today’s world, have enough distractions to be able to reflect on our past way of life. I’m sure many of us have childhood memories when our grandpa used to do the traditional “pooja”(prayers) which seemed to go on for eternity. I also remember my grandparents were very particular about how things were done. There was no reasoning with them as to why they were doing the way they were doing.

Finally, time is of utmost importance according to today’s generation. We do celebrate festivals but more often than not, it’s more of a family get-together rather than following tradition itself. All of our festivals have become more of coming together for a day or two and then going back to your separate individual existence. We aren’t patient enough to go through all procedures for lack of time and more than that, a lack of interest. The rich and vibrant festivals of India are a testimony to our diverse tradition and culture. Festivals in India revolve around Lord’s birthdays, traditional myths, seasonal changes, relationships and much more. Festivals are celebrated irrespective of religion or caste in the country, bringing people closer and creating a strong bond of humanity. Right from childhood, infants in India are part of every festival celebration in the house. This helps them understand the rituals of each festival and they develop a liking for the festivals and celebrations.

As they grow older, they get fonder of these festivals and want to celebrate it in its full potential to enjoy it thoroughly. You will notice a lot of youngsters participating in festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Durga Puja and Christmas. These festivals bring them closer to each other as well as the country and instill a feeling of patriotism as well. For students, it is a great way to understand the rich heritage of India and learn about the importance of various festivals. These festivals also help students from across the world to know about India and its history. This creates a good reputation of our country in the world and we get an opportunity to spread our country’s rich heritage. Many schools organise cultural exchange for students that foster intercultural learning experiences. Cultural exchange programs promote mutual understanding between nations and students get an opportunity to learn the culture of other countries.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

4th edition of tri-services veteran’s day celebrated at Colaba

By

Web Team

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January 14, 2020

The fourth edition of Tri-Services Veterans’ day was celebrated on Tuesday in a solemn ceremony with a tri-services guard of honour at the Shaheed Smarak in Colaba, Mumbai. The Honourable RRM Shri Shripad Naik was the Chief Guest for the event and paid homage to the fallen soldiers by laying a wreath at the Shaheed Smarak. The event was attended by Veterans and serving officers from all three services.

Wreaths were also laid by Vice Adm Ajit Kumar FOC-in-C Western Naval Command, Lt Gen SK Prashar GOC Maharashtra Gujarat and Goa Area, AVM Rajeev Hora AOC HQ Maritime Air Operations and Veterans from the three services. On completion of the wreath laying ceremony, the chief guest interacted with the veterans over high tea and acknowledged their sacrifices and stellar contributions to the society.

The Veterans’ day is celebrated on 14 Jan every year to honour their contributions and also marks the day in 1953 when Field Marshal KM Cariappa, OBE, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army post independence, hung his uniform after a glorious service to the nation.

A humane deed saved the day for Dr Swapna Patker

By

Web Team

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January 14, 2020

I am Dr Swapna Patker. I bring smiles to people’s faces through my foundation Dream & Happiness on a regular basis. This time, my foundation had arranged a screening of the film Tanhaji for cancer striken patient kids of the Tata Hospital on January 13.

For this, I booked the Hindamata cinema on call and later sent my office boy to collect 120 tickets. This screening was for Tata cancer hospital volunteers and patients with a guardian each. After collecting the tickets, my office boy kept the tickets in a packet and duly sealed them. The bundle was so well-packed that I let it be that way in order to not lose the tickets.

On the appointed day, I left for the theatre with the ticket bundle. And you won’t believe, when I opened the bundle I found that the theatre people had given us tickets for the 10.30 pm show and not the 2.30 pm show. This shocked me to no extent.

I was worried because two buses full of patients had left the Tata Hospital with volunteers. My first instinct was to speak to the people at the theatre. After some time, it led to an argument. Clearly it was an act of miscommunication. But arguments did not solve the problem. The people at the Hindmata cinema tried their best to help me in this situation by stopping the counter booking immediately but that was not enough.

Nothing was happening. Only 10 minutes were remaining for the film to start. Patients were all standing in the lobby. Finally, I left the booking counter and entered the theatre at 2.20 pm with my volunteers. Santosh Engolla my foundation volunteer was all along with me when I was in this mess. I stood in the middle and asked the people standing to sit down.

I told them that at this stage, I needed their help because we had cancer patients waiting outside. Due to some mishap in ticket time punching, the patients wouldn’t be able to watch the movie, but if you help and accept to watch the next show, my people can watch the movie at 2.30 pm. If not, then it’s ok. But if yes, then they can really help me.” I also suggested a refund from my side to the people.

Two young Marathi boys got up and said, “We can watch the film later” they said and started leaving the premises. Many other young people got up and started leaving the theatre following them. Families too followed. Slowly the theatre looked empty. Every on in the audience began clapping as the audience came out. Because, it was not just me doing a kind deed, but they too joined me in my misson.

I was in tears to see that people are so caring and they are so humane. After everyone came outside the theatre, my patients entered. And the people in fact guided them in. My patients saw the movie. And the people who left had a very big smile on their faces because they were happy they did something nice. The Tata representative Santosh Sherwade was shocked to see all this unfold and was so happy about it. An old couple of 70’s came and thanked me. The lady said I am glad we got to do something good today. This was an experience to remember.

–Dr Swapna Patker

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Makar Sankranti: Heralding change of season

By

Vinod Dixit

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January 14, 2020

15^th January the Makar Sankranti (Uttarayan) day, heralds the change of season. An event is best experienced at the heart of all the action. Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan, the kite flying festival in Ahmedabad, the world heritage city is synonymous with kite flying. It is celebrated across the country in different ways and the cultural significance of the festival varies geographically.

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms with great devotion, fervour and gaiety. The word ‘Makar’ means Capricorn and ‘Sankranti’ is transition. The term Uttarayana is derived from two different Sanskrit words “Uttara” (North) and “ayana” (movement), thus indicating a northward movement of the Sun on the celestial sphere.

The international Kite festival in Ahmedabad attracts kite flyers from the world over. During this period, kite enthusiasts from across India and also foreign countries participate in the week-long festival that is celebrated across cities in Gujarat. The festival of Uttarayan marks the day when winter begins to turn into summer, according to the Indian calendar. The days become longer, the skies clearer and the breeze cooler. A feeling of anticipation, joy and jubilation grips all who celebrate the occasion of thanksgiving and merry-making. Being popularly known as the Kite festival in Gujarat, it is also heralds the beginning of the harvest season and is celebrated on the same day of the English Calendar every year.

Kite flying during Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan is an important part of the celebrations. One of the reasons is that as it is a time of thanksgiving, it is also a time to be happy. Though Kite festival is celebrated all over Gujarat, it is the most exciting in the capital city of Ahmedabad. The International Kite Festival (Uttarayan) in Ahmedabad is regarded as one of the biggest festivals celebrated. Months before the festival, homes in Gujarat begin to manufacture kites for the festival.

Today, manufacturing of kites is a serious business. It attracts big names of the corporate world as kites provide for the most cost-effective opportunity for branding. Kites for Uttarayan are made of special light-weight paper and bamboo and are mostly rhombus shaped with central spine and a single bow. The festival gives a boost to the kite industry which employs around 3 lakh people. A visit to the Patang (Kite) Bazaar in the middle of the night proves beyond all doubt that the entire population of Ahmedabad city is obsessed with kites and they crowd the streets and buy the stocks while negotiating and enjoying through the night. The Patang Bazaar is open 24 hours a day during the Uttarayan week.

All sorts of colourful shiny toys act as accompaniments to the kites. On Uttarayan, in Ahmedabad the sky is full of colourful kites of all sizes and shapes. One finds an unequalled experience. In the major cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Jamnagar, the skies appear filled with thousands and thousands of kites as people enjoy two full days of Uttarayan on their terraces. Wonderful and appealing kites in various shapes and hues decorate the sky like a thousand fowls.

On this day, locals are hardly seen on the streets as everybody takes to the rooftop of their respective houses to fly kites. In Gujarat, a special winter preparation called undhiyo is the specialty of the day. It’s a preparation of several beans, roots and other local seasonal vegetables. It does not matter what your background or beliefs are, but if you are in Gujarat on January 15, you will undoubtedly find yourself flying kites with everyone sharing fun and pleasure.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

After killing woman with hammer in Bhandup, man commits suicide

By

Hema Singh

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January 14, 2020

A real estate agent allegedly killed a 37-year-old woman inside a high-rise in Bhandup and later jumped off the building from his own apartment on Monday.

According to the Bhandup police, the incident took place around 11.30 on Monday morning at the victim’s building where the accused killed the woman with a hammer. The accused was identified as Kishore Sawant whereas the deceased was identified as Yasmita Salunkhe.

The incident took place in the parking lot of the deceased’s apartment where the duo had an argument following which Sawant hit Salunkhe’s head with a hammer. Police also said that the security guard of the building tried to catch Sawant; however, he pushed him and fled from the spot.

After that, Salunkhe was rushed to a Mulund hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. The police have registered a case of murder against Sawant.

Salunkhe was a school teacher and a resident of Vakratund Palace building in Bhandup. Police said the accused and the deceased were known to each other. The police are investigating the motive behind the murder,reports awaited.

Striken with cancer, Ritu Nanda expires

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 14, 2020

Today happens to be a sad day for both the Kapoor and the Bachchan family because of the sad demise of Ritu Nanda, the sister of Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor and mother-in-law of Shweta Bachchan Nanda. She passed away after battling with cancer. The 71-year-old took her last breath after a prolonged fight with cancer for 6 years. Ritu was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, post which she went to the US for treatment.

Hailing from the famous Kapoor family, Ritu got married to Rajan Nanda. They were blessed with two children namely Nikhil Nanda and Natasha Nanda.

Ritu Nanda’s sister-in-law, Neetu Kapoor shared the news of her demise on Instagram through a heartfelt post. Her post read as “My dearest, may your soul Rest In Peace.”

View this post on Instagram

My dearest may your soul Rest In Peace ???

A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54) on Jan 13, 2020 at 8:57pm PST

Confirming the news of the demise of his daughter’s mother-in-law, Ritu’s samdhi and Shweta Bachchan Nanda’s father Amitabh Bachchan. Took to his blog and wrote “My ‘samdhan’ Ritu Nanda, Shweta’s mother in law passed away suddenly at 1.15 am .. cannot communicate .. travelling.”

A few months ago, Shweta Bachchan Nanda and Nikhil Nanda’s kids Navya Naveli Nanda and Agastya Nanda had spent quality time with their paternal grandmother, Ritu Nanda and aunt Nitasha Nanda.

Ritu’s brother and veteran actor, Randhir Kapoor confirmed the news by saying, “Ritu Nanda passed away early morning today. She was suffering from cancer. We are in Delhi. The funeral is today.”

Ritu Nanda’s sister-in-law, Neetu Kapoor too, shared the news of her demise on Instagram through a heartfelt post. Neetu’s post could be read as “My dearest may your soul Rest In Peace.” Ritu’s samdhi and Shweta Bachchan Nanda’s father, Amitabh Bachchan confirmed the news of the demise of his daughter’s mother-in-law. Big B wrote on his blog, “My ‘samdhan’ Ritu Nanda, Shweta’s Mother in Law passed away suddenly at 1.15 Am .. cannot communicate .. travelling.”

Her last rites will be performed at the Lodhi Road cremation ground in Delhi at the Lodhi Road cremation ground in Delhi this evening.

Makar Sankranti, the day when women celebrate haldi kumkum

By

Dipti Joshi

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January 14, 2020

On the occasion of Makar Sankranti all around the country, the woman folk are gearing up to celebrate haldi kumkum, a ceremony which follows Makar Sankranti, the first festival to kick-start the year. This day also happens to be the only Hindu festival based on the position of the sun (the others follow the moon). More importantly, it’s the only festival which falls more or less on the same date, either 14th or 15^th of January. Since this mostly applies to married women, singletons can just enjoy the day off and munch on ’til-gul’.

To celebrate this day, women also organise an event known as ‘Haldi kumkum’. It is the day during which women invite others of the same tribe to come over and apply turmeric (haldi) and vermilion (kumkum) on their foreheads, dab perfume (attar) on their forearms, sprinkle rose-water over them and offer them a sweet, a flower, a coconut and a small gift .

This ceremony is for the well-being of the applier of the haldi kumkum and the ‘appliee’. Mostly popular in the western states of India, the period of Makar Sankranti is considered favourable for spiritual practice and any gift given during this period is equivalent to offering and receiving the grace of the divine on both sides.

Especially in these days, it is best to wear black cotton. Because black has the ability to absorb heat and last longer. It helps protect against the cold. In Maharashtra, black sarees are mainly worn on Makar Sankranti day. Primarily for the newlyweds, this festival is special for the first time after marriage. These days, both are adorned with plow ornaments. Mangalsutra, naths, chinchpatti, bangles are made from side to side from the plow. Women and men wear black clothes on Makar Sankranti Day. Seniors in the house observe newlyweds on this day. On this day, Sun enters Capricorn.

It is a social purpose for women to come together following a tradition that began last year. In view of the condition of the Eastern female class, women were not allowed to leave the house unless there was a religious cause. At present, women enthusiastically form a group of friends and establish a board through which they also invest in various programs, trips, and visas throughout the year. As a result, women who are looking to develop their own home-based careers get discreet friendships. Together, they work together on the home business and get along well. Saying ‘तिळगूळ घ्या आणि गोड गोड बोला’, all the little ones enjoy such nutritious foods.This gives the important message of bonding with relatives by exchanging thoughts and ‘Haldi kumkum’ which brings women together for religious reasons also succeeds !!

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 14 January, 2020

By

Web Team

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January 14, 2020

1Pongal the most popular festival of Tamil Nadu

Pongal, also known as the harvest festival, is celebrated by the people of Tamil Nadu every year on January 15. The idea of celebrating this festival is their gratification towards their god, the sun for bringing about the season of harvest for them.

A few days before the festival, Tamilians, particularly the women, clean and decorate the house with fresh flowers. They also use swastik and kumkum to embellish big earthen vessels. The pit is filled with water and rice by either the eldest or the youngest member of the family. Colourful designs known as rangoli are also made at the entrance of their houses. Rangoli is a popular folk art and is known by different names in different parts of the country. The design is made by using special kind of coloured powders that are available in the market.

As per the traditions, it is of paramount importance to add some milk to water in which rice is cooked which is to be offered to the sun god. People who get involved in cooking rice for the sun god have to take utmost care of cleanliness. They are not supposed to step over the rangoli design which has been designed.

Jubel D’Cruz

2Improve air quality of Mumbai

The level of dangerous pollutant particles in the air is touching a new high and it is very difficult to achieve balance between rapid development and finding a way to keep its air safe and clean in a metro city like Mumbai. A balanced environment on earth is what makes the survival of species possible. Modern man has made great development in the fields of science and technology. Air is most polluted in the early morning hours and it is not good as the morning walkers face breathing problem. It is now or never situation to improve air in the city during the winter months.

Anandambal Jayanthy

3Wheel of Karma comes full circle in the Nirbhaya case

Justice delayed is not always justice denied as the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case would finally be hanged in Tihar jail on January 22 this month. Legal procedure in our country may have moved at a snail’s pace but we have a vibrant democracy and all convicts were given ample opportunity to prove their innocence before the death sentence was pronounced which would now be executed for a final closure to one of the most deadliest sexual murder encounter ever witnessed in our country’s history.

Nirbhaya was brutally raped and killed by the culprits in an in-humanitarian act of madness and not sure if this sentence would bring a relief to the soul of the victim but the wheel of Karma has come a full circle and people who rape and murder fellow human beings have no right to live. Cases of rapes and murders gets lost in procedural hurdles and sentencing gets delayed which lessens fear among people committing such crimes. The hanging is a landmark judgement and we also need to make our legal system move at a faster pace in special court hearings to create fear in the minds of people committing such crimes in future.

S.N. Kabra

4Necessary to impose restrictions on on-line sale

Multi-page super-costly advertisements are usually seen in leading newspapers offering extra-ordinary heavy discounts on popular-branded electrical and electronics items. Even extra heavy discount is added if items are purchased through credit-cards issued by some specific banks.

Discussion with dealers investing hugely for trade of these items revealed that companies sell all their obsolete models and returned items after claim lodged by consumers through such on-line sale. If it is really so, then all such media-publicity should be directed to compulsorily boldly mention about such bitter reality. Department of Consumer-Affairs should make proper study-report on aspect of extra-ordinary heavy discounts through on-line sale, and logic behind banks giving extra discounts if such on-line purchase is made through their credit-cards.

Main reason for economic recession is steep fall in wholesale and retail trade which contributes maximum 28-percent to Indian economy. Increasing trend of gimmick on-line sale has crushed wholesale and retail trade. In interest of economy and consumers, on-line sale should be restricted to promote wholesale and retail trade. It will also tackle high unemployment in private sector.

Madhu Agrawal

5Bring all cricket-bodies under RTI Act

It refers to recent disturbances in Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) leading duly elected Chairperson to resign, then unruly Annual General Meeting (AGM) on December 12, 2019 and now signatories refusing to sign hefty bills of rupees one crore as legal-fees for just one month and of rupees 90 lakhs to spruce up marquee stands for a T-20 International against about one-third of the awarded tender.

Such hefty payments raise eye-brows in almost all sports-bodies including Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) where coach of cricket-team gets package of rupees ten crores per annum and cricketers get annual packages of rupees seven, five, three and one crores respectively in four categories A-plus, A, B and C respectively apart from hefty match-fees, huge awards money and life-time pensions.

BCCI and its state-affiliates qualify for being under RTI Act on various parameters including indirect government-funding and other aspects qualifying these to be public-authorities under section 2(h) of RTI Act. The then Chief Justice of India required government to study the matter where government required Law Commission to send recommendations. Now with Law Commission recommending BCCI to be covered under RTI Act, steps should be taken to declare BCCI and its state-affiliates including DDCA to be under purview of RTI Act.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)