India`s transportation sector that relies heavily on tourism finds itself in a piquant situation due to lockdown that stretched over five months. Transport owners, service providers and cab aggregators will have to improvise and find new ways to minimise losses and ensure business sustainability, writes Ankita Sharma. In mid-August, the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the Telangana State Taxi and Drivers Joint Action Committee wrote to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asking for a moratorium on loans to be extended to 31 December 2020, citing losses suffered by the transport sector due to the lockdown. Among…
Author: oiop
Various entities affiliated to the tourism industry are facing existential crisis due to worldwide travel restrictions. The trickle-down effect is drastic with serious implications on lives and livelihoods of lakhs of people. Unless these businesses receive adequate help from the government and tourist footfalls revert to pre-COVID times, they will not survive cautions Shalini Sood. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to standstill various appendages of the tourism industry. Of these, the travel agencies, tourism operators, transporters, holidays planners are the worst affected. These entities are facing existential crisis due to the nationwide and international COVID-induced travel restrictions. The general fear…
Anamika Haridas, a 24 year old comic’s jokes are witty, dark and logical. Her bits oscillate between anecdotal and observational and whether she’s talking about her parents or her dating life, she provides a unique perspective on common experiences. She is also a self-taught rapper, drummer, actor, and singer. Active in the Pune comedy circuit, she has been a part of over a hundred shows. Anamika in a tete-a-tete with A. Radhakrishnan. When did you discover your passion for standup comedy? Absorbed in stand-up comedy for quite a while, I signed up Pune Stand-up Group on Facebook for an open…
At an altitude of about 12,000 ft. above sea level, Tungnath is the loftiest of the Panch Kedars and is often regarded as the highest stone Shiva temple in the world. On a cold winter morning, Akul Tripathi treks to this hill temple set amongst lazy clouds and snowy peaks to experience its sacred aura and is rewarded by a panaroma that is as ethereal as the pilgrimage itself. In retrospect, it was nothing but the blessing of Mahadev; who, just before the pandemic that brought the world to a complete standstill, summoned me to His abode. If a chance…
The affable astrologer (1931 – 2020) Bejan Jehangir Daruwalla was a world-renowned astrologer and prophesier was revered by many. Born into an Ahmedabadi Parsi family, he became a professor of English. His passion for reading, made him study astrology. He later moved to Mumbai. Exuberant, gregarious, affable, imbibed with a fantastic sense of humour and not averse to using invectives, his jolly nature and easy accessibility won all hearts. His life mantra being, Live, love and be happy, his voice boomed Shree Ganeshaya Namah! on the phone. Five feet tall and weighing 200 pounds, there was nothing athletic about Bejan. But…
Sufi music legend (1943 – 2018) Ustad Pyarelal Wadali was the younger of the Wadali Brothers/Bandhu of Sufi singers from Amritsar, Punjab, known as India’s foremost exponents of Punjabi Sufiana qalam. The musical duo, 81-year-old Puranchand and 75-year-old Pyarelal, had a diverse repertoire. The fifth generation of singers and musicians, the brothers lived in their ancestral house in Guru Ki Wadali teaching music free to those who promised to preserve it. They led a very simple life devoted to divinity. Prior to becoming Sufi singers, Puranchand was a regular in an akhara (wrestling ring) for 30 years, and Pyarelal contributed to the…
The Pathankot hero (1981 – 2015) Niranjan was born on 2 May 1981 in Palghat District of Kerala. His ancestors had originally belonged to village Elambulasssery. His father, E K Sivarajan, was employed in Bharat Electronics Ltd., at Bangalore where Niranjan grew up along with his two brothers and a sister. He lost his mother at a young age. After completing his engineering from Sir MVIT College, Bangalore he joined the Academy at Chennai in September 2003. He was commissioned into Engineers on 17 September 2004. He was posted to 10 Engineers Regiment at Tezpur in Assam. He was later…
Social media users would have experienced highly personalised advertisements popping up on their screen every time they use the internet. Poorvi Bose tells us how target advertising is blatantly invading the privacy of online users, and calls for stricter laws to protect the privacy of online users. For any business to sustain, advertisements are a guaranteed way to attract consumers. All of us have noticed ads, either on television, newspapers, magazines, radio or roadside hoardings. All these are traditional forms of advertising, which are universal. Advertisers aren’t aware of their audience. It could be women, men or children, from any…
In the times of pandemic, Centre and States fight a prestige issue while adamant UGC is bent on holding university examinations, writes Masooma Sakriwala. Even as the nation grapples with a raging pandemic, the student community seems to have been caught in the unseemly sparring between Centre and State. Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal (all non-BJP states) had called off university examinations including those for the final year as online examinations did not seem feasible. The University Grants Commission (UGC), however, dropped a bombshell, announcing them as mandatory for final year when a month before, it had expressed strong…
The Government of India can adopt the twin strategy of imposing 10% special import duty on all Chinese products/services and initiating a “Be Indian, Buy Indian” campaign to arouse mass sentiment, says Umesh Asaikar. In a clearly discernible, retaliatory move, the Government of India early July 2020 banned 59 Chinese apps and removed Chinese bidders/ contractors from all the surface transport projects. This move needs to be lauded wholeheartedly. It is important for Indian citizen to understand that using a Chinese product or service is tantamount to denying fair opportunity to an Indian enterprise/competitor. It also has an adverse effect…