For Waheeda Rehman, the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award may have come a day too late but there is little doubt that she belongs to the rare breed of actresses who blended beauty with the virtuoso of an accomplished performer. Shoma A. Chatterji takes a look at her career graph that meandered through myriad roles and did justice to each of them. Born on 3 February 1938, Waheeda Rehman has been working in the Indian film industry since 1955, when she made her debut as a dancer in the Telugu social drama Rojulu Marayi. In her biography, Conversations with Waheeda Rehman, author…
Author: shubhangi
A prolific singer from down south, Chithra was hailed as a worthy successor to the legendary S Janaki, a singer whom she claimed to have always idolized. The singer who has been conferred with Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan and recently turned 60, has had a thorough grounding in Carnatic music as well that has stood her in good stead while singing songs in various raagas, says C V Aravind. One hot summer day in 1986 in Madras (now Chennai) a 23-year-old girl accompanied by her father walked up the steps that led to the recording theatre of maestro Ilaiyaraja,…
Statistician par excellence Indian American mathematician and statistician Calvampudi Radhakrishna Rao, C R Rao for short, was born in Bellary in Karnataka in a Telugu family as the eighth of ten children. After pursuing his early education at Vizag, he obtained a Master’s Degree, MSc in Mathematics from the Andhra University and an MA in Statistics from Calcutta University. Later he secured a PhD from the King’s College, Cambridge University and also added a DSc degree from the same University. His abiding interest in Statistics led him to the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta which had been established by the…
His cartoons needed no caption Legendary Indian political cartoonist and illustrator Ajit Ninan was multi-faceted. Born in Secunderabad, he studied at Madras Christian College, Chennai, before moving to Delhi to pursue his interest in cartooning. Self-taught, he developed his own style. As a student, his first cartoon was printed in the now-defunct political satirical magazine Shankar’s Weekly. Before joining TOI (Times of India), he worked with well-known English-language newspapers, including weeklies. He was the famous cartoonist Abu Abraham’s nephew. While Abu had a minimalistic style, Ninan’s cartoons were visually exuberant with crisp lines and stinging sarcasm to tell powerful stories about current events. Ninan flourished in the 1980s against a backdrop of revolutionary favourable circumstances when printed words were frequently subordinated to illustrative news and commentary. More of a social cartoonist who liked to make social commentary than an editorial cartoonist, his artistic ability put him in a completely different league. Among the…
The braveheart of Udhampur The J&K’s (Jammu and Kashmir) Udhampur railway station has been renamed to ‘Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan Railway Station.’ The decision was taken to remember and honour the late Captain in the Indian Army. Captain Tushar Mahajan was born on 20 April 1989 to Dev Raj Gupta, an educationist and Asha Rani, in Udhampur, J&K, India. He completed his schooling from Happy Model Higher Secondary School. “When he was asked to write an essay in the class, he wrote that his aim was to join the Army and kill terrorists. That was the time when his…
Tracing the history of crimes and dwelling on the administration of justice, Anushka Singh argues with facts and figures that India has made significant efforts and achievements in controlling certain crimes over the years but it also faces a number of challenges and limitations. There is a need to constantly review and revise its strategies and policies in accordance with the changing trends and patterns of crime and to prevent the abuse of law. Crime has existed in human societies since ancient times. It is defined as an act or omission that violates the law of the state and causes…
Ruchi Verma cites examples to show how the law is misused and its loopholes are exploited to the hilt for personal and political gains. The bottom line: The high and mighty propagate crime and encourage breeding of anti-social elements in society. She makes out a case for judicial reforms and stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure that justice is not denied or delayed for the victims of such crimes. Powerful people and their relatives often misuse laws for personal and political gains. Many such families propagate crime and encourage breeding of anti-social elements in society. One of the most notorious examples…
Combating crime is a daunting task given its magnitude and gravity, points out Kriti Kalra and lists several activists in the country who have been leaving no stone unturned through multiple methods and strategies to raise awareness, provide support, and demand accountability to reduce or eliminate the causes that lead to crimes. She pleads that victims of crime get justice and support to heal from their trauma and rebuild their lives. Crime is a serious problem that affects the lives and rights of millions of people in India. Crime prevention, detection and eradication are the three main aspects of combating…
Democracy is faced with an array of challenges, crime and violence being one of them and impacting significantly the lives of millions. Nandini Rao observes that criminal activities are influenced by a complex maze of social, economic, political, cultural, and psychological factors and their consequences corrode public trust in the state and its institutions, fosters fear and insecurity, disrupts social harmony, and impedes economic development and social well-being. India, often lauded as the world’s largest democracy, stands as a shining example of democratic principles, secularism, federalism, and human rights. Its illustrious history of democratic movements, from the battle for independence…
Dwelling on the phenomenon of road rage, Gayathri S says it is no longer sporadic and isolated but a disquieting fixture in the collective psyche of the nation. As the number of vehicles on roads multiply, honking horns and perpetual traffic snarl are endemic of road rage. The road, once a means of transportation, has transformed into a battleground where the battle is not against fellow commuters, but against the mounting stress of urban life itself. Road rage, once regarded as an affliction primarily afflicting the Western world, was a distant spectre for India. It was the stuff of Hollywood…