Towards a Sustainable State (Dharma Rajya)

In the wake of the inhuman devilish terrorist attacks on Mumbai, here is a layman’s common sense thoughts on how to tackle this monster that has been bleeding us for long, once and for all. 1. Discontinue all train, bus, air and sea transport and trade with Pakistan and Bangladesh, till such a time that cross-border terrorism stops completely. 2. Put a 20 feet tall steel fence all along our borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, wherever it does not exist yet, with high voltage electric current running through it. Put up watch towers with heavily armed soldiers all along the Indian side of this fence at every 1 kilometre and illuminate the entire border with flood lights at night. Put up warning boards on the outer side of this fence that anybody who attempts to cross this fence will be shot without warning. A strip of land of about 200 metres on either side of this fence should be cleared of all habitation, vegetation and other obstructions. If such a fence is not possible in the high ...

A train crawls into Churchgate station, and frantic commuters are on the run. There's a mad rush to climb and sit, and it’s stuffed with people within a minute. Soon the train moves out again, to get more people in its abdomen. Struggling along it reaches Dadar, and people now fill up every nook and corner. It enters Bandra to get some more, the army inside thunders “No, no more”. Towards Andheri, some seats are vacant, and the standees are relieved in an instant. The torture and heat lessens at Kandivli, and breathing easy, it speeds to Borivli. The train and the people now rest till morning, to recharge themselves for the next evening. - Atul Sathe © (This content is under copyright and the writer can be contacted on atulsathe@yahoo.com )

I am an Indian, who deeply believes in the holistic Vedic culture of India, of which we all are inheritors and who is also proud of his mother tongue – Marathi. Thus, the recent fight between Marathis and north Indians (from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) is really saddening for a patriotic person. So allow me in my attempt to discuss a golden middle path, in which all Indians contribute and avoid further violence. What is applicable to Maharashtra, will also be valid for any other state that may face a similar problem in future. Some time back, just before the most recent beastly acts of terrorism at the Taj, Oberoi, CST and Nariman House by Pakistani terrorists, there had been a different kind of tension in Mumbai, Thane and a couple of other places in Maharashtra. This started with the renewed Marathi versus north Indian argument, following unrest by Raj Thackarey's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The immediate trigger was the railway recruitment exam that was conducted in Maharashtra for...

Observations related to “Creating A World Without Poverty” by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus: Recently I read this book by Muhammad Yunus and it reminded me of many other sustainable and socially responsible practices and concepts that have been taught in many ancient scriptures of India and even abroad. Below is an indicative list that I recollect off-hand. · “Social Business” where the author talks about marrying interests of corporations with socio-economic development, is based on profound age-old eastern wisdom. This excellent concept of the author reminds us of the Vedic maxim of “Dharma-Arth-Kaam-Moksh” where ethics/universal laws, finance/economics, fulfilment of desires and spiritual liberation are considered to be an integral part of the life of any individual/organization. The Vedic model has an in-built aspect of being socially conscious and environmentally conscious, where all people, all living beings, earth and the entire universe are considered as sacred and manifestatio...

Kashmir, the land of apples and fir, where lakes like Dal get frozen in winter. Splendid is the Agra city, where Taj Mahal stands in all its beauty. Assam is the haven of forest, where the rain gets no rest. The province of Bengal is the home of tiger, through which flows the Ganga river. The land of palaces, Rajputana, stands proud forever in the name of Rana. Kokan in Maharashtra, a true paradise, is studded with jackfruit, mangoes and rice. The fragrance of Chandan lingers in Karnatak, where Vijaynagar was the city of luck. Then, there’s the land of Malayalis, Tamils, adorned with temples and hornbills. This is India, rich and dear, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari shore. - Atul Sathe, © (This content is under copyright and the author can be contacted at atulsathe@yahoo.com )

We live in a knowledge age and naturally media plays or are expected to play an important role in conveying or propagating any idea, business or ideology. Whether today’s media plays such a constructive role or not is not the subject of this article, but the fact remains that media is indeed an important vehicle today. India being such an all-encompassing culture, we have such a diversity of languages flourishing happily along-side each other and since each of our regional languages have a sizeable number of speakers (in many cases numbers are comparable to speakers of European languages), it would be interesting to discuss how the media in one such language is performing. So let’s see where the Marathi media is headed towards. Readers and viewers of other regional language media could easily draw interesting parallels from this discussion. Lokmanya Tilak was one of the pioneers of Marathi mass media with his firebrand daily – Kesari. He had successfully ignited the spark for freedom a...

You get down from the bus and start walking down a narrow winding path to reach the place where you are going to spend a very exciting night in the company of some exotic beauties! As you take careful steps on the path less traveled, sweet fragrances of jungle flowers welcome you. Soothing evening breezes blowing gently down the mountain slopes bring great relief to your weary mind and body. The melodious song of a magpie robin brings a smile on your face and the hauntingly beautiful “miao” of our national bird refreshes you like mint. You are in Mumbai! And the beauties that you can expect to entice you tonight include panthers, deer, jackals and wild cats!! Sounds contradictory, isn’t it? Not exactly. If this is what greets you after alighting from a bus in Mumbai, then you are in the famed Borivli National Park in the northern part of the city. Recently the state forest department conducted the annual wildlife census in the forests of Maharashtra and the nature lover inside me woke ...

From the land of Gods, blessed by the river Goddess, nurturing the soul of India, to the ocean they race. Descending icy heights, Mother Sindhu travels to Kashmir, she reminds of Rigved chants, inspired by Saraswati’s elixir. Cascading down Shiva’s crown, she enriches the northern plain, From Gangotri to Sundarban, Ganga fills the land with grain. Before reaching Prayag, she skirts Kurukshetra, Yamuna brings to us, the nectar of Gita. Greening the horizon, she traverses Punjab, Lassi flows freely in the Satluj Doab. Coming from Arunachal, swells the mighty Brahmaputra, Before hugging Teesta, she worships the holy Kamakhya. Caressing the nation’s heart with waters of the Vindhya, Swift Chambal meanders, along with Tapi and Narmada. Great river of the east, aptly called Mahanadi, Enriching Utkal, she prays to Jagannath Puri. Blossoming Maharashtra, the tough rugged country, elegantly surge ahead Wainganga and Godavari. Touching SriShailam’s feet in Andhra, gracing fertile region is the l...

If we want to live, in sustainability we have to believe. Saint Tukaram’s words are relevant today, if we listen what earth’s trying to convey. When a hungry panther forays into town, and extinct Indian cheetah makes us frown. When flamingoes are killed in broad daylight, and sooty smog ruins the winter night. When cement dust chokes our road to office, and cardiac ambulance shatters the peace. When the freeway takes us to barren hills, and the beach is destroyed by oil spills. When women have to walk many a kilometer, as overuse by tankers has depleted ground water. When plastic waste blocks the drains, and floods claim the roads and trains. When dumping grounds pollute the neighbourhood, and pesticides poison our drink and food. When climate change and heat waves we dread, and are facing Kaliyug’s darkest period. That’s when we realize that we want to live, and in sustainability we have to believe. Saint Dnyaneshwar’s words are crucial today, if at all we wish to see the next day.. A...

The sun inches down the western sky, as the egrets to their home, they fly. At this peaceful scene, I glance, sitting at town’s edge, I go into a trance. The ephemeral clouds are golden at sunset, as the atmosphere darkens from orange to violet. Such has been life, like a fable text, bright at one moment, gloomy the next. Bulbul’s twitter replaced by night heron’s quack. Cold winds from the creek, blow on my back. People we love, leave us mid-way, and dreams and wishes often go astray. I walk back home on the lonely trail, only the stars witness, from the heavens they sail. We flounder around, hope in our heart. But with depression, it has begun to depart. And suddenly, fireflies blink their elfin light. On the black canvass, it’s a lovely sight. Why feel sad when bliss is nearby? It’s inside! Why search outside and cry? Then the moon comes with a silver radiance, brightening the land with fluorescence. As Krishna says, work on what you can. Why bother about fruits of the plan? At last...

It is known that all living creatures, including man, are made up of the five divine natural elements of earth, fire, water, air and space, called the Panchmahabhootas in the Vedic culture. No matter how much “progressive”, “modernized” or “prosperous” we become, no wonder we feel time and again the strong urge to go back to nature and re-establish that lost touch with divinity. And for a nature lover like me, such sojourns into the lap of Mother Earth are extremely cherished moments. Towards the end of December 2007, the green man inside me desperately needed a gentle caress once again from the leaves, creepers and flowers that inhabit the rolling hills and the enchanting countryside, after having spent several months at a stretch in the concrete madness called Mumbai! Thus, the night of 21st December saw me and my lawyer friend – Prasad Rane – sitting in a state transport (ST) bus at 8.30pm destined for Chiplun, a little town snugly nestled between two offshoots of Sahyadri Mountains...