From Vijay Mujumdar

Viral in time of virus  "An extraordinary feat - Girl cycling 1200 km with father and a bag" A medal next 26th Jan felicitations for bravery would be in order. Apart from a physical feat it is a logistical masterpiece too. Here is why: Cycle tiers are weak and a second-hand bike of this story would be vulnerable to punctures at least once every 100 km, looking at the size of the father and the bag {approx wt in kg. 55(g)+70(f)+5(b)=130}. How did she manage puncture repair? How did she get air filled or other mending the bike would need when subjected to such a heavy duty run? Every cycle repair shop along the way was shut. We have a bicycle similar to the one shown in the media; it is very fragile. How about places to rest, food & water? Again remember there was perfect lockdown & locals were generally hostile to outsiders at every border crossing; district or state. In the picture the girl looks puny whereas her father looks robust. One would expect him to be peddlin...

सोन्याचे अंड देणारी कोंबडी   ‌‌‍‌‌भारतातील अग्रगण्य राज्य म्हणजे महाराष्ट्र. हे राज्य उद्योग, तंत्रज्ञान, व्यापार, कला, शिक्षण इत्यादी सर्व आघाड्यांवर नेहमीच अग्रेसर ठरते. इथे सगळ्यात मोठी गुंतवणूक व आर्थिक उलाढाल तर होतेच पण महाजंगी महसूल गोळा होतो. राजधानी मुंबई व जोड शहर पुणे यांचे तर सर्वांना विलक्षण आकर्षण असते. म्हणून प्रत्येक राजकीय पक्षाला इथे आपलीच सत्ता असावी असे वाटणे सहाजिकच आहे.  कर्मधर्मसंयोगाने असा योग नोव्हेंबर 2019 मध्ये आला. सोन्याचे अंडे देणारी कोंबडीच हाती लागली व तिनीही पक्षात आनंदी आनंद झाला. धनदौलत व अमाप संपत्तीची आणि बेफाम सत्तेची स्वप्न डोळ्यासमोर तरळू लागली.  पण घात झाला सत्ता ग्रहण करण्याच्या काही आठवड्यातच बडगा घेऊन करोना नावाचा चिनी गृहस्थ उपस्थित झाला आणि सगळी स्वप्नं धुळीला मिळाली. एवढेच नव्हे तर काही श्रेष्ठींच्या घरातच या गृहस्थांनी प्रवेश केला व दणका दिला. खरंतर सोन्याचे अंडे देणारी कोंबडी चक्क खुडूक निघाली. सद्य परिस्थितीला "भीक नको पण कुत्रा आवर" किंवा "घी देखा लेकिन करोना नही देखा" या दोन्ही म्हणी लागू पडतात.

दो हाथ की दूरी  Social Distancing From perspective of a soldier, there is no guarantee of our enemies honouring social distancing even during a pandemic. Chinese have made this amply clear by boxing, punching, kicking & pushing at the border, so have Pakistanis who walk in at their whim unchallenged and engage us in mortal combat. Therefore we can't let our guard down by being alert, fit & ready for a fight. During our early morning cycling rounds through Pune Camp we saw platoons in PT dress on a brisk run. At times they would be in full uniform with packs on their backs and a rifle in hand on an assault course, emerging from early morning darkness. Our minute observation told us that while most of the recruits were taking exercise seriously there were many laggards too. They plodded or just walked and had to be nudged by instructors to complete their run. Not an inspiring spectacle. Of late one doesn't see troops being put through their paces. No early morning stampin...