Pensha

Her younger brother says that she sings even when she is talking. And, it was there for all to see. As usual she charmed her way into the audience’s heart, with her candid and witty comments stringed together with her soulful singing. A musical tribute, Rasik Mohini Asha was organised on Tuesday by Shirish Theatres in honour of the versatile crooner Asha Bhosale, who turned 75 last month. Wearing dark goggles, the young at heart Asha tai began expounding her philosophy on life. “After I wore dark goggles, I realised their importance. They gave me a chance to see life the way I want to lead it. What do I wish to see in life? I want to see happy people around me. I want to lead a life brimming with positive energy, surrounded by young people, encouraging them and getting rejuvenated in turn,” she sums up, humming the evergreen Marathi number, Tarun ahe ratra ajuni. As if she realised that the atmosphere had become sombre, the irrepressible Asha tai turned to Dr Narendra Jadhav, Vice-Ch...

Visited Poman Pimpale village where Marathi picture Valu was shot. --- Documentary la chala… came the shout and Poman Pimpale villagers slowly started gathering at the village square. The children were already there, jostling each other, eager to see the ‘documentary’ – Marathi film Valu, which was shot in this village, some 14 kms away from Saswad. On the occasion of the film completing 50 successful days, the cast and crew of Valu, decided to host a special screening for the villagers on Saturday as a tribute. As Umesh Kulkarni, the director of Valu says, “ The movie is a collaborative venture of the villagers and myself. Valu is theirs as much as it is mine.” You just need to mingle with the crowd to find out what Umesh says is true - it’s their movie that the villagers have gathered to see. Pradeep Poman, a village elder, says that they enjoyed the whole film making process. “It had become a past time for us. Whenever we had some time to spare, we just went to see the shooting. ...

Adjectives like wow and awesome fail to do justice to the black and white images of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn or those of Ingrid Bergman and Veronica Lake. While sifting through hundreds of rare posters, your eyes fall on the cassette of Trial at Nuremberg and a shudder runs through you. And, then you see something which again gives you feeling of awe - a documentary Making of A Legend based on the Oscar award-winning movie Gone with the Wind. For a film buff, Vinayak natu's home is like Ali Baba's cave filled with Hollywood posters, books, trivia, cassettes and DVDs. Natu, who calls himself a connoisseur of Arts, has 220 posters, 270 cassettes and DVDs and several books on Hollywood, Maratha history, philosophy, sociology and anthropology. His mantra is, “Man should be rasik. He should enjoy Art in some form or the other . Merely hoarding money and collecting material possessions is not my cup of tea . ” One would imagine that the 79-year-old Natu has spent half hi...

I loved doing this story --- Secret of a cadet’s energy! His breakfast includes: * 350 ml plain milk * 30 gm butter * 30 gm jam * Porridge * Five toasts * Fruits – mostly bananas * Non-vegetarian - two eggs * Vegetarian - two cutlets Intro A soldier’s life is a tough one. If we needed any reaffirmation, we got it when we spent one day at the NDA trying to catch up with the cadets. This photo spread aims at giving you the big picture of a cadet’s life. A cadet’s day begins with the Muster (6.15 am), where he recites NDA’s prayer, followed by the Academy’s Honour code. Then off he goes to attend the various activities lined up – horse riding and drill. The senior cadet attends session for his chosen service like Army, Navy and the Air Force. In the second half he has classes to attend. Evenings are reserved for swimming, soccer, gymnastics and athletics Cadet Speak Nearly 3 lakh students strive to get into NDA every year. Only 300 lucky ones cross the hallowed portals. Once selected...

I interviewed Mini Shrinivasan, who won Sahitya Akademi's inaugural Bal Sahitya Puraskar for her first book, Just a Train Ride Away. ---- Mini Shrinivasan, is a plain-speaking and no-nonsense mother. A child rights advocate, she works with teachers and children in rural areas. She doesn’t believe in frivolities, nor has time for inanities. No wonder this honest approach reflected in her first book, Just a train ride away, which fetched her Sahitya Akademi’s inaugural Bal Sahitya Puraskar. The book, published by Tulika, has a plain-speaking and no-nonsense scientist mother; and the son (protagonist) Santosh, who has a humourous side to him. The author laughingly admits that Chitra (the mother) is a lot like her, who is particular about educating her son with “real experiences”. Her son, Sidhdarth’s humour and his way of looking at life has shaped Santosh’s character. Listening to the stories of her own upbringing, one would expect the book to be full of values. However, Mini says c...

This is an interview with Vinayak Vaidya and his grandchildren. The article was published in the children's weekly I work for. We have had the fortune of meeting Vaidya ajoba a couple of times in our office. What struck us was Vaidya ajoba’s agility, his enthusiasm and keen interest in the well-being of his grand children. For us Vaidya ajoba became synonymous with adjectives like active and still raring to go. After talking to him, we realised that were not off the mark. Born in Ahmednagar in 1927, Vaidya ajoba graduated in Bsc Agriculture in 1948. Ajoba then sought employment with Godavari Sugar Mills, Shirdi, where his advocate father had also worked. A thorough professional, ajoba took up World Bank assignment in Kenya. Remembering his days in Kenya, the octogenarian says, “I had to teach Kenyans how to cultivate sugarcane and develop the area around the factory in addition to grooming my successor. I did all this in four years.” Even now at the age of 81, Vaidya ajoba works...