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The morning of July 25, 2024, brought with it the sorrowful news of Father’s passing. The grief was profound, and all day, a cascade of memories swirled in my mind. My acquaintance with Father Francis Dibrito began at a symposium in Pune. The topic was ‘How Religion Has Evolved Through Time.’ Father was deeply impressed by my address, in which I presented a rather bold thesis: that since the concepts of God and religion are human creations, they can never be superior to huma

Youth is not merely a stage of life; it is a cascade of dreams, a wellspring of optimism, and a delicate sprout of self-confidence wrestling with the tempests of social uncertainty. Every generation forges its own values. The youth of today are dismantling traditional frameworks to build new paths. It is for this reason that if we look at them not with a lens of criticism, but with one of understanding, we will see the light of tomorrow. "This generation is lost," "they have

Here is the corrected version of the text. The original was already very well-written, so the corrections are minor, focusing primarily on standardizing spelling and ensuring flow. If one were to define the current epoch, it might aptly be called the Age of Shifting Loyalties. Words like ‘devotion’ and ‘commitment’ seem to have been relegated to the dictionary, their very resonance lost to time. This erosion of allegiance, this game of faithlessness, begins where all things

An immensely wealthy American, upon celebrating his centenary, was in the midst of a media interview when his secretary approached him. “Sir,” he announced, “the people to whom you promised donations have arrived.” The industrialist instructed his secretary to bring the chequebooks and, upon their arrival, pressed his thumb upon each cheque. The assembled journalists, astonished to see that he could not even sign his name, asked him, “Sir, you cannot even write your signature

June 27, 2025. It was 10:30 in the morning. Our Jetstar flight soared into the sky from Sydney Airport, marking the beginning of a journey to a truly offbeat destination: Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock. Located approximately 2,800 km from Sydney, it is a natural marvel so extraordinary that UNESCO has recognized it as a World Heritage site. We had a pleasant three-hour flight. The weather was beautiful, with not a hint of turbulence. Below us, there was little to see but

Language is the fundamental element that gives meaning to human existence. Behind every word that dances on our tongue lies a culture, a geography, a specific time, and the people who lived in it. While every language has a formal, official version, it also possesses a flourishing dialect, a spoken variant that contains the very essence of its people's lives. Ahirani is one such expressive, beloved, and rich dialect. In Maharashtra, Marathi is the standard language. Just as

This isn't one of those high-stakes murder mysteries, a breathless thriller about a gruesome crime and the genius detective who solves it by pulling a universe from a single thread of evidence. No, this is a lighter, more curious tale. It’s a story about the extraordinary lengths people will go to for their livelihood, the absurd situations they can orchestrate, and the complex knots they can tie. It is a story about how, with a calm head, the police can navigate these mazes,

In the city of Gurdaspur in Punjab lived Samsher Bahadur, who had only one son. Samsher Bahadur himself was a Wing Commander in the Air Force, and his family’s legacy was one of valor. For three generations, his ancestors had demonstrated their mettle in the armed forces. His was a family of warriors who carried their lives on the palms of their hands for the sake of the nation. Indeed, certain regions of our country give birth to such bravehearts, for whom sacrificing their

Bharat’s Turbulent Skies: A Collision of Grand Ambitions and Grounded Realities On June 12, 2025, the skies over Ahmedabad witnessed a horrific tragedy. Flight AK-171 of Air India, a symbol of national pride, became a fireball, its smoldering wreckage scattering across the ground and extinguishing 274 lives in an instant. The disaster is a chilling echo of the 2010 Air India Express crash in Mangalore that killed 158 people. Such incidents force us to confront the complex and

Street brawls at a young age. Hooliganism with his peers. Spouting every curse word imaginable without even knowing their meaning. Petty theft at home. Sneaking off to smoke bidis and chew tobacco. Bunking school to hang out with gangs at their dens. And when the headmaster demanded to see his parents, convincing a friend or someone close to pose as a brother or sister-in-law to speak on his behalf… I was introduced to a boy who had done all of this. What could a boy like thi

How many homes can one person have? My first was in a childhood village. A sprawling, tiled-roof house, rooted in the earth, bustling with family. In those days, the very soil of people’s hearts was soft, full of affection. Even the earth in our courtyard would play with our hands and feet. The first time I witnessed what it means to be a ‘refugee’ was in the tears of my aunt as she left for a stranger's house in another village after her wedding. As she left her —her matern

Akashvani and Doordarshan have made an unforgettable contribution to the cultural, social, and educational fabric of India. These mediums have been more than just tools for entertainment; they have served as powerful platforms for education, awareness, and national integration. The Akashvani Pune station, in particular, has become the voice of Marathi identity by providing a stage for Marathi literature, music, folk arts, and social enlightenment. This article sheds light on

You never know what your social media feed will conjure. The other day, an Instagram Reel surfaced, likely a remnant of the Nag Panchami festival. In it, a live cobra was presented with a birthday cake, encircled by a dozen or so ecstatic youths. They celebrated as if they had won the lottery, lustily singing "Happy Birthday, Nagoba!" Following the song, the most zealous of the group lifted the cake towards the snake. The cobra, which had held its hood erect and poised, sudde

You know me well enough by now. You know that my heart finds its home in the wild woods, among the leaves and flowers, the trees and vines. The title, the first few lines… you’ve grown adept at guessing where my stories will lead. The great poet-saint Tukaram once said, “The trees, the creepers, the denizens of the forest are our kith and kin,” and so it is in my own home. In my courtyard and the little space behind my house, a garden of my kin has blossomed. For every tree,

"You strike up such good conversations with a stranger in your first meeting. Would you consider conducting interviews for our magazine?" That question was posed to me exactly 25 years ago by Shivraj Gorle, then the editor of and magazines. Just five or six months prior, I had spontaneously written and sent a short story to magazine. Its publication boosted my confidence, and I had just submitted my next one. The magazine's office was a mere five-minute walk from my home,

The world of books is truly unique. There's a special joy in holding a book, reading it peacefully, and savoring its content. It's also fun to reread parts you don't understand or really love. After we outgrow the habit of thumb-sucking and start taking small steps into the world, we get introduced to books. As we build our connection with letters and begin reading small books, we realize, consciously or unconsciously, that we've entered a vast and magical world. Holding and

For the last forty to forty-five years, I've been writing. This writing has been continuous. It's never happened to me that I've stopped because I couldn't think of anything to write. Something is always on my mind, and I choose the right structure for it. One reason for this might be that I don't rely on autobiographical material. Also, I'm not an author who writes just for the sake of writing, simply going through the motions. I'm an author who prepares for years, studying

Why do I write? The question seems simple, and its answer could be just as simple: I write because I have a pen and paper. I write because I possess the skill of writing, much like the ability to read and converse. But when I approach this question as a creative writer and poet, there is no option but to dig deep within myself. I grew up in a small village. The ways of farming and the soil naturally became a part of me. I didn't like school. Until the fourth grade, I wasn't

विवेक अग्निहोत्री दिग्दर्शित ‘द बंगाल फाइल्स’ हा चित्रपट केवळ एक कलाकृती नसून, तो भारतीय समाजाच्या डोळ्यांत घातलेले एक दाहक अंजन आहे. आजवर ज्या इतिहासाच्या पानांवर सोयीस्करपणे पांघरूण घातले गेले, ज्या जखमा भरल्या आहेत असे भासवून आतल्या आत चिघळत ठेवल्या गेल्या, त्या जखमांवरील खपली काढण्याचे धाडसी कार्य हा चित्रपट करतो. ही कलाकृती पाहिल्यानंतर मनात विचारांचे काहूर माजते आणि अनेक अनुत्तरित प्रश्न डोके वर काढतात. आपल्या देशात इतिहासाचे दर्शन घडवताना नेहमीच एक विशिष्ट वैचारिक चाळण

महाराष्ट्राच्या शैक्षणिक आव्हानांवर 'अरणी'चा प्रभावी तोडगा काही प्रवास केवळ व्यक्तींचे नसतात, तर ते एका ध्येयाचे असतात. काही जखमा केवळ वेदना देत नाहीत, तर त्या इतरांच्या वेदना समजण्याची शक्तीही देतात. श्री. श्यामसुंदर कुलकर्णी सरांचा जीवनप्रवास हा अशाच एका ध्येयाचा आणि सामर्थ्याचा अविश्वसनीय दाखला आहे. ज्या मुलाला एकेकाळी परिस्थितीमुळे केवळ अंगावरच्या कपड्यांनिशी घर सोडावे लागले, ज्याने पोटाची खळगी भरण्यासाठी दिवसभर पॉपकॉर्न विकले आणि रात्री दिव्याच्या प्रकाशात अभ्यास केला, त