Pensha

Tem Tapung (Arunachal Pradesh), Sabyasachi Samanta (West Bengal), Dr Avantika Kekan (Maharashtra), Dr Subhendu Sikder (West Bengal), Prakruti Alagudekar (Karnataka), Shubham Thapliyal (Uttarakhand) and Joy Das (West Bengal) A team led by Subhajit Banerjee took on a challenging task -- exploring a new untested route in Lahaul valley, south of Ladakh. S tarting from Manali on September 3, the team reached the summit after 10 days.    “It’s a matter of pride for mountaineers that a new route has been opened! exclaims Dr Avantika Kekan, who was one of the two medicos in the team.  The journey was far from easy, especially on the less-travelled mountain paths, where even the best laid plans can come to a naught.  “During our 10-day expedition, we had only a two-day window of clear weather.  It was snowing, some days it was windy.   Our cook faced acute mountain sickness and had to be evacuated. At Camp 1, I had no idea that the water source froze overnight and...

Sarthak with his father Racing to the Top  Imagine zooming down a racetrack at breathtaking speeds -- it's a dream many teenagers share. For Sarthak Chavan, it's not just a dream but his everyday reality. This young racing champion from Pune proves that success in motorsports takes more than just chasing thrills -- it requires dedication, hard work and countless hours of practice. “Racing isn't just about speed, ” says Sarthak, who had an incredible year in 2024.  “It's about careful planning, strategy and mastering techniques. ”  His hard work paid off when he became the first Indian rider to finish third in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship, (ARCC) TVS One Make category. He also claimed the title of Indian National Motor Racing Champion in two categories – all before turning 18. Racing runs in Sarthak's family. His father runs a  motorcycle racing workshop and his uncle was once a racer too. “ I was only five or six when I knew I wanted to race, ” Sart...

Arati Patil's journey from a village athlete to an international para badminton player has not been without its twists and turns.  Born with one only arm, Arati considers her disability a blessing in disguise.  “ If I had both arms, I would not have trained so hard. My disability inspires me to face challenges more fiercely, ” she says. Indeed, she has never allowed her disability to  become a hindrance in her pursuit of excellence. Arati was born in Nandgad village in Karnataka. She took to sports when she was not yet a teen --initially as a sprinter before switching to badminton in 2009-10. The credit for making Arati a self-sufficient and confident individual goes to her mother.  “She would not fuss over me unnecessarily. She was a kabaddi player in her school days and knew the importance of sports in shaping a person. She did not allow my disability to limit my ambition to scale new heights, ” Arati says. “I played my first national para tournament in 2010 in Ben...

Prachi Shevgaonkar, is the 26-year-old founder and CEO, Cool the Globe, an app for climate action. A media student-turned climate activist, Prachi is now an entrepreneur, an advisor to the Tata Power Company, a UNICEF climate advocate and a TedEx speaker. She tells how her attempts to reduce her personal carbon footprint became a movement Finding her calling “When we consider energy saving or reducing carbon footprint, the first step we probably think of is ‘switching off the light bulb’. But I wanted to take stock of the different ways -- from the time I wake up to the time I sleep – in which I could reduce carbon emissions,” says Prachi. “It could be as simple as taking a cold water shower, or installing solar panels to heat water. I realised that I reduced 14 kg emission after a month of cold water baths. In college, I requested to increase the AC temperature by one or two degree Celsius. That reduced 12 kg emission in a month. Segregating waste at home saved about 4kg emissio...

The mostly teenaged members of Tale of Melodies tick all the right boxes – aptitude for learning something new, being open to ideas and suggestions and importantly a fine taste in music. No wonder then that the band members presented hauntingly beautiful numbers of legendary musicians like Salil Chaudhuri, Hemant Kumar and R D Burman, to Elvis Presley, Queen and The Beatles in their concerts held in Pune so far. How it all began Shubhankar Kulkarni, who is the lead vocalist of Tale of Melodies, has made a name for himself by singing popular Marathi songs like Aagobai Dhaggobai and Ekti Ekti Ghabarlis Na . In his last two years of school, he took up Western classical music class that piqued his interest in English songs. “I was tuned into Indian classical music from childhood, because my parents, Salil Kulkarni and Anjali Marathe, are accomplished artists. In school, our Sir taught us some three songs in Western classical. I was fascinated by guitars, drums and then I started listeni...

Each house has a story to tell History is best not remembered only through dates; it retells itself through documents, paintings, people and last not but the least, the houses, structures w here history was first scripted. If Mumbai has its iconic chawls, fishing villages, Parsi colonies that testify to the megapolis’ thriving diversity, Pune and other parts of the state, have the wadas, that saw the rise and fall of regimes. Here’s the story of wadas and how they came into being. What is a wada? Simply put, a wada is a traditional residence usually with a courtyard. Dr Vaishali Latkar, a conservation architect, opines, “Our vernacular houses typically had aangan (garden in front) and paras (open space at the back of the house for daily ablutions).” The facade of Raste wada. Pics: Ambika Shaligram “Wadas prominently developed in 18 th century. One possible reason for this development is the relative peace and economic stability that Peshwa regime ushered in as compared to earlier times...