From Vijay Mujumdar

"Pegasus" What is all this hoopla about Pegasus? Does it affect only the Pigs & Asses? How does it bring harm to them? From the hullabaloo in that community one can assume that it is indeed very bad. All this is very confusing and unclear to us simple folks. From time to time such balloons are released in the media to divert the attention of the masses from real issues. For example not long ago we were glued to our TVs/Phones watching the story of gelatin sticks planted opposite Antilia in a SUV in Mumbai. It created the excitement of a suspense movie, clever among us tracked every move of police, CBI, ED etc speculating arrest of top policemen, politicians even collapse of a state government & much more. Emotions ran high for a while but the fiz petered out on arrival of the next scam. Now there is not a squeak in hyper active media about the gelatin affair. Now what is holding public attention is Porn in the film industry of Mumbai. A sleazy subject that has fired t...

Sherni (Amazon Prime) A movie that held us in thrall.  This is the story of a committed Divisional Forest Officer (Vidya Balan), acting in the capacity of a Wildlife Warden. It takes us through trials & tribulations of foresters duty bound to protect our forest, flora & fauna. How rapacious politicians, kowtowing officials, poachers & a ballooning population encroaching on forest lands undermine our ecosystem, is portrayed with objectivity.. It is a sad saga of tigers & other animals engaged in a losing battle for survival. And a fast paced drama of a female officer trying to do her job consciously. The settings, scenes & issues seem surreal. The end had a sobering impact on us & may be on others too who have watched this movie.  How the forest department functions now is obviously quite different from what it was meant to be & had been so from its formation around 1860, and continued to be so in the first few decades of independence. It used to be ...

सह्याद्री वाहिनी 07.02.2021 विशेष चर्चा - श्री प्रवीण दीक्षित, माजी पोलीस महासंचालक, महाराष्ट्र माझे मनोगत सह्याद्री वाहिनी वरील उत्तम मुलाखत पाहीली. प्रसार माध्यमातून खलिस्तान्यांनी व दुर्दैवाने देशाच्या काही प्रमुख राजकीय पक्षांनी चालवलेल्या युद्धाबद्दल तपशीलवार माहिती आणि योग्य उपाय सोप्या भाषेत मांडले आहेत. हा विषय गंभीर तर आहेच तसच भारताच्या सुरक्षेशी निगडित असल्याने अति महत्वाचा आहे. हे युद्ध एकतर्फी होऊ नये म्हणून आपण केलेल्या सूचना अमलात आणणे गरजेचे आहे. देश विघातक शक्तींना त्यांचेच तंत्र वापरून सायबर लढयात रोखणे व हरवणे भारतास करावे लागेल. तंत्रज्ञान आहेच पण त्याचा कुशलतेने वापर आमच्या संरक्षण एजंसिज कश्या प्रकारे करतात ह्याच्या कडे भारतीयांचे लक्ष्य राहील. ह्या लढाईच्या पहिल्या झुंजीत शत्रू वरचढ झाला असे दिसले तरीही ही फक्त सामन्याची सुरवात आहे. आपल्या सारख्यांच्या मुलाखतींचा वापर जन जागृती साठी सरकार करेल अशी आशा आहे.

The Plastic Lollipop" An outstanding marketing feat of a political party. Performer - Party in power at the center. Target - Indian Middle Classes. Objective - Casting Mesmeric Spell on voters. Tool - Plastic Lollipop Method -  Rob middle class to subsidise 'so called Poor'. Drum up fake patriotic emotions. Promise religious utopia. Curse Pakistan, China & opposition continuously. Divert public attention by anointing departed leaders, erecting their statues at exorbitant cost to public exchequer. Publicise imaginary Vikas through cyber warriors.  Make unprincipled compromises with opposition. Conduct numerous raids on thieves but convict no one. Win elections by acquiring votes with middle class tax money. Create a smoke screen of good governance without effecting any substantive change in Leviathan government machinery. Middle class must resist being taken for granted. Demand real development and orderly governance. Their good nature should not be taken as blind faith...

"दिवस आलापल्लीचे"  लेखिका निलिमा क्षत्रिय एक वाचकाचे मनोगत दिवस आलापल्लीचे हे पुरस्कारीत पुस्तक वाचले व फार आवडले म्हणून हे लिहीत आहे. आधी उज्ज्वलाने  वाचले आणि मला वाचण्याची शिफारस केली कारण हे मला नक्की आवडेल ह्याची तिला खात्री होती. ह्या आकाराचे पुस्तक वाचायला मला एक आठवडा तरी लागतो पण मी ते अतिशय वेगाने दोन दिवसातच संपवले. उज्ज्वलाने मात्र तिच्या नेहमीच्या वेगवान पद्धतीने काहीं तासांतच वाचले असावे. लेखिकेची विचार मांडण्याची पद्धत, भाषेवरील पकड, सुंदर व चपखल शब्दांचा वापर, मनुष्य स्वभावातील खाचाखोचा, कणव, सर्वत्र विनोदाची झालर आणि देवदत्त स्मरण शक्ती प्रकर्षाने जाणवली व आवडली. सगळ्या घटना एका दहा बारा वर्षीय मुलीच्या डोळ्यानी पाहिल्या व स्मृति पटलावर रुजवल्या, अनेक दशकानंतर मनात घोळवल्या आणि पुस्तकाच्या रूपाने बाहेर आणल्या. हे सगळं नैसर्गिक वाटते, कुठेही कृत्रिमपणाचा लवलेशही नाही. आलापल्लीचे वर्णन डोळ्यासमोर चित्र उभे करते. गाव, घरे, सॉ मील, रस्त्ते, फॉरेस्ट रेस्ट हाउस, आउट हाउस, क्लब हाउस, शाळा इत्यादी रूप धारण करतात. त्यातली माणसे जिवंत होतात.आलापल्लीत हिवाळा, उन्हाळा, प...

Goa - An adventure gone awry For two septuagenarians driving from Pune to Goa during the pandemic is an adventure in itself; although Ujjwala & I have done many road trips to Goa from age 25 until now. Our journeys had been from places of my postings like B'lore, Mumbai & Pune. As both of us enjoy driving we have made long and short drives in vehicles such as Fiat, Ambassador, Jeep, Maruti 800, Esteem, Hyundai Accent, Nano & WagonR across North and South India. I have lost count of our entries into Goa over 50 years - may be 50 or so, including about 25 by air from Mumbai for company work. We have an emotional bond with Goa, the abode of our family deity & the land of our ancestors, a beacon as much of spirituality as it has been for fun and frolic. Ujjwala remembers childhood visit with parents during Portuguese rule & I have memory of my first visit in 1969 to a pristine and easygoing Goa.  On Nov 22nd we filled the car-tank, packed our bags and set ourselves ...

2020 & 1962 Indians often say that 2020 is not 1962. Meaning India is now stronger and can face Chinese military threat effectively. But then China of 2020 too is not China of 1962.  Attitude and actions of Chinese show that they are not overly worried about Indian Army. They push us around at will. For them it's a cat & mouse game. China being the cat. They have demonstrated this time and again. During this skirmish we brought back 20 bodies of our brave soldiers. How many enemy soldiers were brought down has remained a matter of speculation or hot debate between political parties, as had happened during the so-called surgical strikes.  We Indians enjoy debating what Panditji did six decades ago or what vengeful opposition is saying now. Indians never ask why after 4 wars POK, Gilgit Baltistan have remained unliberated or why Aksaichin is still with China? They don't want to know if Indian army is strong enough to face Chinese onslaught? Or is India as a nation physic...