Pensha

This is an interview with Ravi Pattanshetti, who came 47th in the recently declared UPSC exams --- In September 2008, Ravi realised that he wanted to become part of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), a job with endless opportunities and challenges. And, so he quit his job at Infosys and joined the Dnyanprabodhini's civil services coaching center. Mentored by Vivek and Savita Kulkarni and I P Singh, he gave his first shot at cracking the UPSC exam in 2010. Ravi cleared it, but did not score enough to be selected for the IAS. He joined the supplementary services – Indian Corporate Law Service attached to Ministry of Corporate Affairs – in 2011. A little disillusioned with the result of his first attempt, Ravi again sat for the exams and failed. Ravi, who is an Electronics and Telecommunication Engineer, says that “all work and no play” affected his second chance. He decided to take a crack for the third time, with a more relaxed approach. “ There were weeks whe...

I had reviewed this children's book for the Sunday supplement. ---- Name: The Lu Quartet Super Sleuths and Other Stories By: Nalini Das Translated by: Swapna Dutta Published by: Hachette India Pages: 417 Price: Rs 399 I have grown up on Nancy Drew mysteries, like several other teenagers, wishing I could idolize a desi girl detective pitting her wits against unscrupulous minds. Well, I learnt pretty late of a team of four school girls, who were a perfect foil for each other, in solving cryptic clues. The four school girls had impressed the readers of Sandesh, a Bengali magazine for children, with their intelligence and presence of mind, throughout the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Kakoli Chakrabarty (Kalu), Malabika Majumdar (Malu), Bulbuli Sen (Bulu) and Tultuli Basu (Tulu) – together referred to as Gandalu (in Bengali) or Lu Quartet – are boarders in a residential school at Kanchanpur. Their first case, Lu Quartet - Super Sleuths - is innoc...

This has already been published in the Sunday supplement. Krishnaji Keshav Damle also known as Keshavsut --- Poetry never really appealed to me. And, so it was with great reluctance that I agreed to my husband's plan to visit Keshavsut Smarak – a memorial raised in memory of 'Father of Modern Marathi Poetry', Krishnaji Keshav Damle – in Malgund. We were in Ganapatipule at that time and decided to go to Malgund, a 10-minute drive (a kilometre) from the popular tourist destination. A sign-post told us to take a left turn and what greeted us, at the end of the lane, was tranquil silence. No security guards, no tourists, just a plaque announcing that Damle, popularly known as Keshavsut, was born in the red-roofed house, surrounded by green shrubbery. Keshavsut's house in Malgund  A poem by Keshavsut  The house, renovated in the old style, was near-empty, except for Keshavsut's portrait that was hanging from the wall in the front room. In the...