Pensha

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...

Authors Varuna Shunglu and Ken Spillman tapped into ancient wisdom and made it relevant for teenagers in a new book 'More Than I Am: Yoga Wisdom for 21st Century Teens. Here’s more about the book…   Not long ago, terms like ‘stress’, ‘anxiety’, ‘grief’ were associated with grown-ups. But look around and you will find that the teenagers and children are no stranger to anxiety and feel pressured. The teens are stressed about trying to fit in, scoring top grades and have a strained relation with food. What about exercise and running around with friends? Really, who has time for that? It’s a tough situation with a simple solution. “Yoga, mindfulness, breath,” says Varuna Shunglu. Shunglu with Ken Spillman has co-authored More Than I Am – Yoga Wisdom for 21 st Century Teens. An international yoga teacher, Shunglu says “ More Than I Am was born from a deep need to speak directly to kids, giving them tools to build resilience and a sense of self.” The tone of the book is not ...