BJP’s moral decline in Mumbai led to suburban train deaths
In Mumbai the then Jana Sangh, the precursor of the BJP, came up from scratch in the 1960s through popular struggles like taking up the issues of Mumbai’s suburban train…
Vidyadhar Date
Maruti Suzuki and the distortion of history
This is how history is distorted, suppressed and this happens well beyond writing on communalism. The more recent case that can be cited is a book written by R.C. Bhargava,…
Karl Marx’s life brought alive in sparking drama
Karl Marx is presented with a correct perspective in this sparkling , moving Marathi theatre production Marx in Soho. Staged last evening, it ended in a gentle dance in which…
School children, senior citizens speak out against Maharashtra government’s neglect of BEST bus network
It was an inspiring, learning, encouraging experience last evening. People from different communities, languages, income groups, different corners of Mumbai spoke the truth to authorities. About the harrowing experience they…
Emperor Aurangzeb’s legacy is seen as very negative for Pakistan and for democracy
Obviously it is necessary to resist the campaign of Hindutva elements for demolition of the tomb of Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor. But by going to the other extreme of eulogising…
A book on Kutch, its history, culture, desert
Some people seem to have a charmed life. Mariam Dossal is one of them. She is the author of a number of books on history, has had a good academic…
Painter spurned money in his lifetime, now his paintings fetch crores of rupees
There was such a fine ambience on the lawns of the CVSM museum, formerly Prince of Wales museum in Colaba last week for the release of a book on India’s…
After Mr Modi’s speech,Tara Bhawalkar spoke eloquently on freedom on the same platform
Soon after Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the 98th Marathi sahitya sammelan in New Delhi last week, the sammelan president Tara Bhawalkar delivered an eloquent speech stressing the importance of freedom…
Stampedes caused by neglect of basic tenets of transport planning
Obviously, those in high places are responsible for the recent stampedes in Prayagraj and New Delhi. Pedestrians and commuters left to themselves can be fairly efficient actually in crowded places..…
Mahesh Elkunchwar,playwright, does not have the political understanding of Tendulkar or Karnad
Mahesh Elkunchwar, playwright, recalled at the Tata Literature festival in Mumbai last week his experience of being treated badly and addressed in Hindi as Saley tum Marathi (you bloody Marathi…
Contribution of G P Deshpande and Arjun Dangle in the era of the Communist scare
It is now 50 years since G.P. Deshpande wrote the pathbreaking play Udhwasta Dharmashala, a professor in JNU at the time,he took the cue from a report of the witch…
Sitaram Yechury went too early, leaders need to take care of health
The Y.B. Chavan centre auditorium was filled to capacity at a meeting on September 24 in memory of Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist party of India Marxist, who…
Modi’s architect Bimal Patel is seen as pro-builder, anti-people
Mr Bimal Patel, favourite architect of Prime Minister Modi, has come in for criticism for his grandiose projects which have caused considerable damage. Worse, one could say it is his…
Paranjoy Guha’s film exposes Adani-led Dharavi project
It was good to see the documentary film Dharavi Ka Dada Kaun by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta , public spirited journalist and television personality , at the Press Club in Mumbai…
Senior citizen wins fight against private bus company
Shekhar Hattangadi is a senior journalist with experience in the U.S. and India, is also a film maker and he is proficient in law.. He has won a significant judgement…
The sea bridge Modi opened denies access to common people
Front page photographs in newspapers today of Prime Minister Modi standing alone in the middle of the sea bridge in Mumbai are quite ironic.The irony is that ordinary people will…
Writers bemoan a lost way of life in cities, in rural areas
The current urban crisis is best reflected in two books in Hindi published in Mumbai recently. One is by Jitendra Bhatia, an IIT trained chemical engineer and prominent Hindi writer,…
A Theatre Event- When Karl Marx Appears in India of Today
Thoroughly enjoyed the play Karl Marx in Kalbadevi at a new theatre Veda Kunba in Andheri last evening. A rare combination of an intelligent look at history and the present…
Are there enough Dalit Muslims in the media?
How many of you watch news on TV ? The audience was asked from the dais in an auditorium on December 16. Not a single hand went up. This shows…
Government pampers motorists, humiliates bus, train riders
Everyone should feel deeply concerned over this report in the Times of India by Somit Sen today about the serious crisis in the BEST bus undertaking in Mumbai, its fleet…
Sudha Bharadwaj’s book and the drama on a revolutionary on death row
The reading by Ratna Pathak Shah last evening from Sudha Bharadwaj’s book about days in the death row in jail, reminded me of a thrilling Marathi play Thank You Mr…
Infrastructure projects for the rich, dust and suffocation for the poor
After listening carefully to a presentation made by MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee last evening one would say that life will be getting much worse for common people in the coming…
Huge increase in restaurants for the rich, a serious decline in eating places for common people
Writing about exotic food, fancy restaurants is now the in thing. Even Abhijit Banerjee, the Nobel economics prize winning economist, wrote about his own cooking and eating out in the…
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