Photographs of compassion

Ace photographer Shekhar Soni, Star Chef Vishnu Manohar, Mohan Kulkarni and others taking a round of the ‘Expressions of India’ photo exhibition with the nine-year-old photographer Ameya Kulkarni. 

Just a week after he came back from a fun-filled family holiday in J&K, deaths and destruction poured in the form of massive flood in the valley. While watching news channels from his home in UK, nine-year-old Ameya Kulkarni learned that scenic beauty he captured in his tiny digital camera was shattered completely. The visuals of destruction left lasting impact on his mind. Ameya made a presentation, shared it with his schoolmates, and appealed them to raise relief fund for the flood-hits. Students donated 600 British pounds (around Rs 60,000). An exhibition of the same photographs was organised in the Orange City.

“I VISITED stunning Kashmir Valley this summer and enjoyed meeting friendly people, especially the boatmen in Dal Lake. When I returned to London, I heard about the terrible floods and how thousands lost their homes and livelihoods. I am exhibiting some of photographs from my trip to Kashmir to help raise awareness in support of the Kashmiri people,” when nine-year-old Ameya Adish Kulkarni explains the motive behind his photography exhibition, one realizes how sensitively he must have visited Valley. 

Ameya’s grandparents Duhita and Mohan Kulkarni are based in Nagpur. They decided to nourish and nurture this sensitivity in their grandson. “We were pleasantly surprised to see Ameya’s sincere attempt to raise funds for the flood-hit J&K. He presented his photographs in his London based school, and collected 600 pounds on his own. We decided to encourage the sense of compassion in our grandson. The exhibition scheduled to be held from December 18 is one of the efforts," says Duhita Kulkarni. 

Ameya and his parents are visiting the city during Christmas Holidays. They have decided to dedicate this holiday to the noble cause of raising funds for the flood-hits. "We will exhibit select photographs which will be available for sale on nominal price. We will add this money to the already collected funds and donate the wholesome amount to Prime Ministers' Disaster Relief Fund after the exhibition," says Mohan Kulkarni. 

The exhibition will be organised at Jawahalal Darda Art Gallery. Curator of the gallery Milind Limbekar says that Ameya's photographs are of top quality and the kid is blessed with the talent. "I must say, these photographs will attract not only the art-lovers but also the connoisseurs. The cause of course, will impress the sensitive hearts of true art-lovers. In fact when the Kulkarnis approached me with the idea, I was impressed a lot by Ameya's talent and motive," Limbekar says. 

“We would love to receive school students and young photography enthusiasts at the exhibition. We named it as ‘Impressions of India’ because we want to inspire others to use their talent for the noble cause,” Kulkarni says. 

A nine-year-old photographer, his beautifully captured photographs, and a noble cause behind the exhibition must motivate the art-lovers in Nagpur to visit the exhibition once and appreciate not only the art but also the emotion behind it.          

Pt Prabhakar Deshkar passes away

CLASSICAL music doyen Pt Prabhakar Deshkar, who taught music to three generations of Nagpur, breathed his last on Thursday at his New Ramdaspeth residence. He was 84.
Until the last moment when he suffered a cardiac arrest, Pt Deshkar lived his life to the fullest - went to cast his vote, attended the Shewalkar Sangeet Mahavidyalaya where he was Principal, ate a dinner with family, and suddenly collapsed in the evening. The end came around 9 pm.
Pt Deshkar leaves behind a host of relatives and thousands of disciples to mourn the loss. Last rites would be performed at Ambazari ghat on Friday at 11 am.
Pt Deshkar represented a fine mix of classicism as well as experimentation in classical music and won accolades at national concerts where he performed in the company of globally recognised masters. His association with stalwarts like Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande was a matter of legend in music circles. Theatre was another dimension of Pt Deshkar’s multi-faceted personality. He acted and sang in various musical plays by the legendary Purshottam Darwhekar and made a mark for himself.
Pt Deshkar was often given credit for his relentless effort to promote systematic teaching of classical music in what could be losely called ‘guru-shishya parampara’ of the old-school idea. When commercial element in teaching of classical music was invading the music scene, Pt Deshkar continued teaching music in a traditional manner and earned a sizeable following over time.
Pt Deshkar carried on with this activity through Buti Sangeet Vidyalaya which later became Shewalkar Sangeet Mahavidyalaya. To his countless disciples, he continued to be a guru in the traditional mould. To him, his disciples retunred time and again, to hone their skills, to get musical nourishment from him, and to firm up their faith in classicism. To each of those disciples, Pt Deshkar kept offering opportunities to learn finer and finer nuances of ‘ragdaari’. What made him special was his method to provide a foundation of ‘thought’ to the notes, which offered certain newness to the same ‘raga’ he may sing again.
Pt Deshkar’s last major public appearance was during the Swara Sadhana Sangeet festival a few months ago. The audience witnessed an open interview of Pt Deshkar during which he hummed many a notation and regaled the connoisseurs.
Winner of countless awards and honours, Pt. Deshkar, however, remained aloof from carrying airs. Even through the public adulation he often got, he remained essentially a person who enjoyed his own company.

‘Acting tough’ is the only way to neutralise Naxalites: Vijay Raman

“If they claim that they have waged war against the state, we should treat it as war,” says ‘super cop’ Vijay Raman, who was instrumental in hunting down dacoit Paan Singh Tomar and terror mastermind, Ghazi Baba

VIJAY Raman speaks very less, to-the-point, straight-forward -- a perfect fit for an IPS of his calibre. One of the most decorated police officers of India, Vijay Raman has a great deal to talk about. After eliminating Paan Singh Tomar in a 14-hour encounter, after tackling dacoits, terrorists and Naxals; Raman has an

exceptional ability to analyse organised crime.

“Terrorism grows with foreign support while Naxalism, to a large extent, is being run by our own people. However, threat is not acceptable in any form. We should tackle it with tough action,” Raman says. He was on a visit to city to share the experience of his first and the most talked-about counter-dacoity operation -- the elimination of dacoit Paan Singh Tomar in 1981 when Raman was barely 30 years old.

However, for the cop who was instrumental in hunting down mastermind of the 2001 Parliament attacks, Jaish-e-Mohammed Kashmir chief Shahbaz Khan alias Gazi Baba and dacoit Paan Singh Tomar, elimination is not the ultimate solution to a crime.

“Killing one or more persons cannot be the solution to terrorism. Generally, any terror attack comes as a reaction of some incident. We should think about the link and then find some intellectual solution to it,” he says, while stressing that terror cannot be associated with any particular religion.

But if killing is not his solution, why Raman has been involved in some of the most famous encounters? “Well, while policing, you have to think about many aspects and then act. If leaving a criminal alive can be life threatening for my informer or my men, I must shot him dead,” he says, as matter of fact as ever. Raman also supports a proper security system for whistle-blowers as their role is very important in combating crime.
One cannot resist but ask him about the proper workable solution for Naxal menace. “How can I give the solution? I am just one soldier of my country. But, the reality is that Naxalites refuse to acknowledge the state. They claim openly that they have waged a war against the state. Then, being a responsible state, we should also take this call as a war and act tough,” Raman gives a straight and simple answer -- in his signature way.

Life full of achievements

INDIA takes pride in Raman’s contributions to the nation. Apart from successful career with President’s Police Medal for Gallantry, the man has many other achievements to his credit.

Raman was awarded Citation in Guinness Book of World Record and Limca Book of Records for his around the world tour in an Indian Contessa car in 39 days 7 hrs 55 minutes.

“I love driving, so took the challenge. The tour was of about 26,000 miles,” Raman says while giving the credit of his world record to his wife Veena and his well-wishers.

Son of Late Major P V Raman, he was a gold medalist in Law and Physics before he opted for Police services. Raman says, “The present generation is more aware and they have ample career options available.”
“Youngsters are more focused these days. It’s good for all of us,” Raman mentions with pride.

Cutting of the same interview published in The Hitavada on April 19