In 2020, fitness and yoga studios in Michigan, due to COVID-19 and science-based public health mandates, were closed for six months, open for two, and have now been closed again for another month with no assurance of when they will open again. When the pandemic started, outdoor activity was encouraged, but with the weather changing, we need to creatively innovate and develop new resources to promote both physical and mental health.

Local yoga studios all over Michigan, including the Creston neighborhood studio, Flip Dog Yoga (my studio), were quick to pivot to online offerings since March with a range of services like classes, workshops, and more. Through these offerings, health and wellness centers provide community members with an opportunity to support local businesses that have been through it because of the pandemic, while also pursuing their fitness and wellness goals. Nick Dobkowski I often hear that online yoga is not the same; I know. Its not. But, there are many benefits to yoga at home, too. No commute. No worries about feeling silly. The comforts of home are all around you.

However, with those benefits also come challenges. It can be hard to set aside time to take an online yoga class or to "close down" a home's numerous distractions so you can focus while doing it. I can definitely relate to how hard it is to recreate a yoga studios serene feel, as we have three children ages six and under one roof in our home. With this in mind, might I offer insights on some initial steps to enact when starting a successful yoga practice at your home:

1.Determine your motivation. Many times we think that ideas like getting in shape or caring for my well-being will be enough to get us to make a habit out of fitness classes, but often they do not. I know that is not enough for me. It is worth evaluating why you want to do online yoga and getting very clear on what you hope to achieve.

2.Set a goal. Setting goals works in tandem with your motivation. Be specific about what you are trying to get out of online yoga. Documenting a habit goal (attend a yoga class every day for 10 days) can be especially effective in helping you achieve consistency in your exercise/wellness routine.

3.Schedule it. If you are like me, if its not on the schedule, it doesnt happen (or even sometimes if it is on the schedule). This problem is exacerbated by the fact that we are always home. Lack of consistency can be avoided by signing up for live online classes. Then there is a set time the event is happening, which cannot be pushed off easily.

4.Make a space. This can be one of the most important steps to take. I find it is so easy to be distracted by things around the house unless you create space both physically and mentally for the practice. If you can create a permanent space for your yoga practice, great. But I know thats not everyones reality, including my own. A relatively uncluttered space where you have enough room to lay out a mat can serve you well, too. Lighting a candle or creating some other mental marker of the time you have set aside can be a powerful tool to help you stay focused.

5.Get the equipment. You can definitely do yoga on the bare floor (or a towel or blanket), substituting a hardcover book for a yoga block. That may, though, prove to be a hindrance if you feel like your setup is inhibiting your yoga practice. Your local yoga studio would be more than happy to give you recommendations on a good mat/block combo, hopefully for reasonable prices. Here is one other note to consider as you start a home yoga practice. Many people think you need a pre-ordained set of body characteristics to do yoga: you need to be flexible, thin, or somehow already know all of the poses. None of that is required or even helpful. Know that youve got everything you need to do yoga. A good yoga teacher will bring out the tools you already have within yourself to successfully achieve your health goals for the coming new year. You will be able to accomplish your goals while also safely supporting your neighborhood businesses in your community.

Happy yoga-ing! I hope you find an achievable wellness practice that meets you right where you are and delivers to your home what you need.

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Nick Dobkowski is the owner of Flip Dog Yoga in the Creston neighborhood of Grand Rapids. At Flip Dog Yoga, they believe that yoga is for all people. They help self-care skeptics move well, manage their worry, and believe in themselves so they can feel good about their body, tell their minds to chill (i.e. relax that actually feels like relaxing) and rest, confident in their ability to handle life. This January, Flip Dog is running two online programs -- Yoga for Brand New Beginners and Live Your Best Life-2021 -- that can help you get on track with your fitness/wellness goals for the New Year. Learn more at flipdogyogastudio.com

Photos by Tommy Allen

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Published Together: A guide to 2021 health goals and supporting local economy from home - Rapid Growth

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Im kneeling on the ground doing dumbbell rows, but I cant stop staring at my trainer Greggs arms. Hes facing me, and his arms remind me of two thick, slightly misshapen baguettes: long, glowing, and incredibly enticing. Gregg is much better at this whole rowing thing than I am, but hes encouraging and explains technique in a way thats not condescending. I make a few of the modifications he suggests, and soon Im crushing the workout and crushing on Gregg. No, Im not at my local gym. I havent darkened its doorway for 11 months, and I dont plan on returning until the vaccine has been widely distributed. Instead, Im trying Apple Fitness+, the tech titans latest venture, which is on sale today, December 14. Apple Fitness+ requires you to have an Apple Watch (series three or newer) and an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV (where its part of the Fitness app). You sync your watch, then scroll through the carousels of workouts, which include HIIT, yoga, dance, strength, treadmill, cycling, and even rowing. Some workouts can be done with nothing but a yoga mat, others like rowing or running require big-ticket machines. You can filter by trainer, workout length (there are 10- to 45-minute sessions, and shorter cool-downs), and music type. You can opt for throwbacks like Whip it by Devo or more modern jams like Physical by Dua Lipa, and you can download the playlists you like via Apple Music post-workout. You can also search by ability level. Apple Fitness+ has a whole section of beginner workouts, in which trainers offer more modifications and guidance. For example, in a core workout with trainer Sam Sanchez, she walks you through exactly how to plank and suggests three versions: one with both knees and elbows on the mat, one with just knees down, and one standard plank. There are more advanced workouts too. After a HIIT workout with trainer Kim Ngo, Im more sore than I remember being since before the pandemic, courtesy of the jump squats, ski jumps, jumping jacks, and deadlifts. (The trainers have personality too. At one point, Ngo, who hails from East London, pushed me through a 40-second burpee blast by reassuring me that it takes her longer to make a cup of tea.) During the pandemic, Ive tried a ton of different workout-from-home platforms, and to me, what set Apple Fitness+ apart was the small stuff. The picture is crystal clear, for one. Thanks to the spotty WiFi in my parents house, the Zoom workouts I tend to use are always blurry as though I took out my contacts, then downed three shots of Johnnie Walker. But Apple Fitness+s workouts are downloadable, and the videos are always crisp. Another thing that puts the plus in Apple Fitness+: After a few sessions, the platform learns what you like and will recommend workouts based on what youve done before and what you might want to consider trying to balance out your routine. If youre always doing treadmill workouts, for example, they might suggest yoga to help stretch you out. One big problem with at-home workouts is that its generally so easy to just stop. Why keep doing jumping jacks, when you could easily switch your Apple TV over to Netflix to watch The Queens Gambit. But the platform combats this urge by sneaking in a ton of thoughtful motivational touches. For example, during workouts, theres a burn bar that tells you how hard youre pushing compared with other people whove done the same sessions, based on the metrics your Apple Watch picks up. (Hate competition? You can disable the bar.) A countdown clock also tells you your time remaining or time elapsed in a workout, depending on what you prefer, and during some sessions, a separate timer will pop up on the screen and on your watch to count down the seconds remaining in a particular move. The screen also gives you an option to see your current heart rate and calories burned. Which brings me to one thing I dont love about the platform. It uses your Apple Watch rings, which display a stand goal (stand for at least a minute each hour, 12 times a day), an exercise goal (30 minutes of exercise a day), and a move goal (based on calorie burn). Trainers urge you to close your rings and if you do,theres a firework-like celebration. Some people may love this touch, but I exercise to feel strong and, like Elle Woods, for the endorphins. An emphasis on calorie burn can be harmful, especially for anyone who has a history of disordered eating or exercise habits. Luckily, you take the rings off your screen if they bother you. All in all, though, I found the platform delightful. The trainers are inspiring and high-energy. Some of the workouts include tough moves such as burpees and pop squats, but are presented in a do-able way and they dont make you push so hard you feel like youre going to faint, a la Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap. If you get to the point of burnout, you can switch to a modification that one of the three trainers on the screen will be illustrating for you, or just take a pause. The platform costs $9.99 a month, or $79.99 a year. (To compare, Peloton asks for $12.99 a month.) If you already have an Apple Watch, and an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, thats not too pricey. As of now, though, its not available on MacBooks, which is a bummer. And if you dont have all the right tech or are an Android or FitBit user, its a spendier purchase. Some people may also have to factor in certain equipment, if they hope to do the treadmill or rowing workouts though once its safe to go back to the gym, that should be less of an issue. The bottom line: Apple Fitness+ is seamless, the trainers are fantastic, and I found it fun. Case in point: One evening, I decided to fire up a 10-minute yoga workout,the only thing I had the wherewithal for, since Id only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before. But the vibes were so good that, after doing the stretch session, I decided to do another 10-minute core workout with the fabulous trainer Amir Ekbatani. I ended my workout feeling refreshed instead of drained. During these surreal times, thats enough to keep me coming back for more. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Apple Watch Series 6 Is All About Wellness13 Cool Fitness Gifts They'll Actually UseThe Best Zoom Workout Classes To Sweat To

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We Tried Them: 8 Yoga Mats That Are Actually Worth the Investment - Yahoo Lifestyle

(Rptg correcting error in headline) Lucknow, Dec 16 (UNI) In order to ensure better education to the students of the weaker section, the Uttar Pradesh Social Welfare Department will be constructing "Ashram" system-based government schools in 20 districts of the state.

These schools will be completely modern and will be having facilities like computers, smart classes, projectors, etc.

"The state government is dedicatedly working to ensure that each and every person in the state gets all the benefits extended through various schemes and the Lucknow tribal museum will soon be set up in the state capital," Ramapati Shastri, the minister for social welfare, said, here on Wednesday.

At present, there are 103 ashram system schools in the state and while 49 are of CBSE board, 54 are affiliated to the UP board. In the financial year 2016 -17, 32,616 students were registered here and in 2019-20, they increased to 34,281, he added.

To facilitate students preparing for civil services, the department is also constructing a coaching centre at a cost of Rs 8.71 Crores in Gorakhpur and this centre will start operating in the 2021-22 financial year.

At present, seven coaching centres are being operated in the state providing assistance in the preparation of civil services to the students of scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and general categories," the minister said. These centres have produced 51 IPS and PCS and 438 candidates got selected in other services in the last four years, informed Mr Shastri. He also informed that the annual scholarship of the students of scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and general students has also been increased from Rs 2250 to Rs 3000 and the monthly pension of the beneficiaries of the old age pension scheme has also been increased from Rs 400 to Rs 500. In 2017, there were 36.53 Lakhs beneficiaries of the old age pension scheme and this increased to 51.21 Lakhs in the year 2020-21. There has been increase of 14.68 Lakhs beneficiaries, Mr Shastri said. As many as 1,05,427 couples have also benefited from the chief minister Samuhik Vivah scheme and the expenditure amount per couple has also been increased to Rs 51,000. By 2016-17, there were old age houses in 22 districts and on the directions Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, old age homes have been established and are being operated in remaining 52 districts. Under the Swarojgar scheme, as many as 1,07,772 people were given a grant of Rs 107.72 Crore and an interest free loan of Rs 462.54 Cr. Along with this, 3,749 villages were also identified under the Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Scheme and infrastructural works were conducted, Lalji Nirmal, the president of the scheduled caste finance and development corporation, informed. To ensure better education to students, Eklavya model residential schools have also been constructed and are operational in Behraich and Khiri and the construction work is in progress in Lalitpur and Sonebhadra. Besides this, the construction of hostels is in progress in Gorakhpur, Khiri, Balia, Gonda and Balrampur, Nirmal added. Besides, the scheme of buying 87 small forest products at minimum support price has already started, said Mr Nirmal. UNI MB GK 2027

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Ashram system schools to be set up in 20 districts of UP - United News of India

Lucknow, Dec 16 (UNI) In order to ensure better education to the students of the weaker section, the Uttar Pradesh Social Welfare Department will be constructing "Ashram" system-based government schools in 20 districts of the state.

These schools will be completely modern and will be having facilities like computers, smart classes, projectors, etc.

"The state government is dedicatedly working to ensure that each and every person in the state gets all the benefits extended through various schemes and the Lucknow tribal museum will soon be set up in the state capital," Ramapati Shastri, the minister for social welfare, said, here on Wednesday.

At present, there are 103 ashram system schools in the state and while 49 are of CBSE board, 54 are affiliated to the UP board. In the financial year 2016 -17, 32,616 students were registered here and in 2019-20, they increased to 34,281, he added.

To facilitate students preparing for civil services, the department is also constructing a coaching centre at a cost of Rs 8.71 Crores in Gorakhpur and this centre will start operating in the 2021-22 financial year.

At present, seven coaching centres are being operated in the state providing assistance in the preparation of civil services to the students of scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and general categories," the minister said. These centres have produced 51 IPS and PCS and 438 candidates got selected in other services in the last four years, informed Mr Shastri. He also informed that the annual scholarship of the students of scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and general students has also been increased from Rs 2250 to Rs 3000 and the monthly pension of the beneficiaries of the old age pension scheme has also been increased from Rs 400 to Rs 500. In 2017, there were 36.53 Lakhs beneficiaries of the old age pension scheme and this increased to 51.21 Lakhs in the year 2020-21. There has been increase of 14.68 Lakhs beneficiaries, Mr Shastri said. As many as 1,05,427 couples have also benefited from the chief minister Samuhik Vivah scheme and the expenditure amount per couple has also been increased to Rs 51,000. By 2016-17, there were old age houses in 22 districts and on the directions Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, old age homes have been established and are being operated in remaining 52 districts. Under the Swarojgar scheme, as many as 1,07,772 people were given a grant of Rs 107.72 Crore and an interest free loan of Rs 462.54 Cr. Along with this, 3,749 villages were also identified under the Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Scheme and infrastructural works were conducted, Lalji Nirmal, the president of the scheduled caste finance and development corporation, informed. To ensure better education to students, Eklavya model residential schools have also been constructed and are operational in Behraich and Khiri and the construction work is in progress in Lalitpur and Sonebhadra. Besides this, the construction of hostels is in progress in Gorakhpur, Khiri, Balia, Gonda and Balrampur, Nirmal added. Besides, the scheme of buying 87 small forest products at minimum support price has already started, said Mr Nirmal. UNI MB GK

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Ashram system schools to be set up in 20 districts of UP : Tribal Museum in Lucknow - United News of India

Aaditi Pohankar has been ruling hearts all over the country with her ongoing web series Aashram on MxPlayer. In the web series, she portrays the character of Pammi - a strong headed, young lady and a wrestler who dreamt big and made sure to not compromise towards the patriarchal and unjust ways of society. Directed by Prakash Jha, the crime drama also features Bobby Deol, Tridha Choudhury, Anupriya Goenka and Adhyayan Suman in pivotal characters. In an exclusive chat with ETimes, Aaditi opens up about her journey in the series, and the kind of preparations she took for pulling off the character with perfection. She also opened up about her childhood days concerning the choices she made for becoming an actor. Here are excerpts from the chat with ETimes. Being an athlete to an actor

On an opening note, Aaditi shared about her initial days as a runner, who never imagined about being an actor. When I was a runner, I never ever thought about being an actor because I was really focused on sports. I wanted to go to the Olympics and I was working for it; I was looking forward to the Commonwealth at that point under 19. I even had my whole life planned based on that.

I was just 15. I lost my mom, amidst all my plan-making stages. My mom always wanted me to be an actor. She wanted to see me on a bus hoarding - something like 100 on 100 - Aditi Pohankar' - that kind of thing. But woh toh nahi ho payabecause I wasnt that studious. So I decided now I will be on every other billboard all around town, and I will make my mom proud. This is why I started acting.

Losing out on roles

Well, of course. I mean, I auditioned like hundreds of them. And there were parts when I really thought that I would probably do this. I realised the more you hold it tight, the more it slips out of your handso when it comes to audition, I look at it like a practice and leave it and dont let it get into my skin.

I think acting has become like a life for me. Mostly what I have realised is that acting or cinema or theatre, for that matter is nothing but life and life is nothing but drama. I read somewhere that we all are desperately under rehearsed, and nothing else in life.. I think this makes it easy for me to perform when I'm on set, it doesn't make a difference to me, because I'm pretty much doing that every single day of my life.

I was fortunate enough to get these scripts so that I could portray what I feel; this is what I have been feeling for a very long time because when we were runners also there used to be some kind of discrimination between a man and a woman always. Obviously boys are faster than girls no doubt, but what I feel is that more than just discrimination, there is acceptance of the discrimination.

You know, from the women of the world, there is an acceptance of it. As an actor, portraying Bhumika the real twist is where she realises her power through sexuality; This is what makes this script so interesting, because that's when she realises her self worth. And you just need to explore it, you need to understand it and you need to use it very tactfully in the sense of jitna kam use karo na, utna impact zyada hota hain. You just have to be silent, steady, and calm.

Dealing with mental health, setbacks and failures

Well, it might sound philosophical, but these words don't exist with me like I don't really look at anything as a failure at all because I think I've learned so much from it. If I fall I know that I'm gonna get up and start running again. After I fall, I know why I fell and I won't do it again. So I think it's such a blessing in disguise which is called failure.

So whatever I have, I make sure to give my hundred percent and then I leave it up to the directors I don't even look at the monitor. My 100% is what matters the most.

There are two scenes - one is where she comes to know that Baba is the one who's done this to up. That's one scene and second is, when she gets to know that something like this act has been performed and this has actually happened to her. Pammi was just in the best place or safety wise for that matter that she could have ever imagined because she was in the ashram. And when this happens to her she has no idea of why this has happened.

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Exclusive! 'Ashram' actor Aaditi Pohankar: Explore the power inside you, then nobody can stop you from fu - Times of India

Mangaluru: In Bible, according to Matthew 25: 31-40 it says, For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me . When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Drinking Water Facility at the Bishops House, Kodialbail

Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. The King will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

Drinking Water Facility at the Milagres Church., Hampankatta

Following these words from the Bible, a few Catholic churches and religious institutions have provided DRINKING WATER FACILITY for the public, to quench their thirst, especially now during the treacherous hot summer days. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, thats right- passing by pedestrians and motorists can quench their thirst by using these pure filtered water installed at few Catholic Churches/religious institutions, like in front of Mangaluru Diocese Bishops House; Milagres Church., Fatima Retreat House; St Anthony Charitable Institutions (St Anthony Ashram), Jeppu, among others.

Drinking Water Facility at St Anthonys Ashram, Jeppu

Ms Nagamma, a pourakarmika of Antony Waste Handling Cell who was quenching her thirst using water from the drinking water facility at Bishops house speaking to Team Mangalorean said, When we dont have money to buy bottled water from stores, I appreciate and thank the kind gesture of the Mangaluru Bishop towards the general public, by providing this purified water. Every morning few of the pourakarmikas use this facility, to quench their thirst. Once again I thank the Bishop for his generosity towards the people.

Drinking Water facility at Fatima Retreat House, Valencia

Shanker Bhat, who resides a few blocks from Bishops House said, I am very thankful to the Bishop and management here, for providing clean and safe drinking water since at home I get dirty water from MCC. Every morning, I collect two-three one-litre bottles of purified water from this facility at Bishops House, for drinking and cooking purposes. Truly appreciate the kind gesture from the Bishop. The Bishops House purified water facility was inaugurated in March 2016, by the then Bishop Rev Dr Aloysius Paul DSouza.

The drinking water facility at St Anthonys Ashram was launched in 2016, at Milagres Church in 2016, and at Fatima Retreat House on 25 October 2020.. (Ref: Pure Drinking Water Purifier for Public launched at Fatima Retreat House). In conclusion, Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans. It is important because it is needed for life to exist. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water. Therefore, all these Purified Drinking Water facilities provided indeed shows the kind gesture of the Catholic Churches/institutions for the benefit of the public, without any discrimination of caste or creed.

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For I Was Thirsty & You Gave Me Something to Drink! Churches Provide Drinking Water Facility - Mangalorean.com

While official records of his life remain sparse for the most part, the Sikkimese government recognised Trilochan Pokhrels contributions with the LD Kazi Award for Democratic Movement in 2018.

In 1861, the erstwhile Kingdom of Sikkim and the British Empire signed the Treaty of Tumlong. This treaty effectively made the present-day Northeastern state a de facto protectorate of the British Indian government.

(Image above: Trilochan Pokhrel courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Their objective in bringing Sikkim under their purview was to establish a trade route into Tibet. Within the context of The Great Game against the Russian Empire, the British colonialists sought to increase their influence in the region.

Nearly three decades later, however, the British established a formal protectorate over Sikkim, which the Chinese recognised in the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1890. As a consequence of these events, the British assumed responsibility of the Sikkimese kingdoms defence and external affairs, while its subjects were subject to the same protections as Indians travelling abroad and restrictions when it came to dealing in foreign exchange.

Its within this context of growing British influence on Sikkimese affairs that Trilochan Pokhrel, a forgotten freedom fighter from the state, was born sometime in the last decade of the 19th century, according to scholars Dr. Binod Bhattarai, an Assistant Professor of sociology at Sikkim University, and his senior colleague Dr. Rajen Upadhyay.

Emulating Gandhi

Popularly known as Gandhi Pokhrel, stemming from his love of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhis ideals of non-violence and Satyagraha, he was born and raised in Tareythang region of Pakyong subdivision, East Sikkim. Growing up in a rural area, Trilochen was heavily influenced by Gandhis actions, particularly during the Non Cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements through the early 1920s and 1930s.

However, there are no concrete historical records to ascertain his participation in these movements. His participation in the freedom struggle kicked off during the Quit India Movement of 1942, when he lived with Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat and Sarvodaya Ashram in Bihar, and learned his philosophy from close quarters.

During his stay there, Pokhrel is known to have spent his time spinning the charkha (spinning wheel) and rendering his services for the ashrams along with assisting Gandhi in his daily affairs. He had immense faith in the teachings of the simple life led by Mahatma Gandhi. It is acknowledged that late Pokhrel was highly influenced by Gandhi Jis teaching and his lifestyle. His contemporaries in Tareythang village inform us that he used to visit his native village donning similar clothing as the naked fakir Gandhi, notes Binod and Rajen in this article.

Bande Pokhrel

There are various accounts of how during his regular visits back home, Pokhrel began propagating the boycott of British-made goods and promoting the concept of Swadeshi or indigenously made goods among the Sikkimese peasantry.

As Dr. Binod notes for East Mojo, during his leisure time Pokhrel, used to visit local hatt-bazar (such as Rongli, Rhenock, Pakyong, Rangpo etc) and sit there with his charkha to make cotton threads. In fact, he would even dress up as Gandhi wearing a piece of cotton dhoti and wooden slippers, and would often greet elders in his village with the Bande Mataram salutations. This is what also got him the Bande Pokhrel moniker.

He used to convey the message of Vande Mataram and inculcate the spirit of Swadeshi Movement i.e. to spin and wear swadeshi cloths, to establish Khadi and village industries etc. so that the villages could be developed and income generation for the poor, he adds.

Following Independence on 15 August 1947, Sikkim retained some semblance of its independence as Indias first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, agreed to maintain the erstwhile kingdoms special protectorate status. While the Sikkimese kingdom maintained internal autonomy, it let the Indian Union handle external affairs. However, things came to a head with the Chinese crackdown in the late 1950s and heavy immigration from Nepal.

Meanwhile, Pokhrel continued on his travels across India with his last visit home happening in 1957 when Nehru visited the erstwhile kingdom. As per official records, he passed away on 27 January 1969 in Purnia district, Bihar, while his descendents migrated to Assam. Only six years after his demise later did Sikkim become an official state of the Indian Union.

While official records of his life remain sparse for the most part, the Sikkimese government recognised his contributions to the Indian freedom struggle when it conferred the LD Kazi [first chief minister of Sikkim] Award for Democratic Movement during the 43rd State Celebration in May 2018. There is evidently a lot we dont know about his life, but recognitions like these do offer hope that one day it will inspire more scholars from Sikkim to learn more about this forgotten figure of the Indian freedom struggle.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

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Gandhi Pokhrel, The Unsung Freedom Fighter Who Pioneered Swadeshi In Sikkim - The Better India

Chinmay Mandal* For the past two decades, 75-year-old Swami Shivanand Saraswati has been an eco-champion, fighting for the cause of protecting the holy river Ganga, fasting with fellow seers of Matri Sadan, posing the right questions for the decision-makers. One who has fasted for the cause of Ganga, surviving on just five glasses of water, living at a small forest-ashram in Haridwar, Swami Shivanand Saraswati, along with environmental advocates of Matri Sadan, have raised serious concerns over the repercussions of actions taken against the laws of nature. Going back to the myths about the rivers origin, Swami Shivanand believes that the human race has offered nothing but their sins to the perennial, life-sustaining river. But one would think, why seers like Swami Shivanand have had to embark on several fasts unto death for saving the river when government authorities claim to have taken proactive steps for the river conservation and development. Recently, the fifth India Water Impact Summit 2020 was organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and its think tank, Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga), on the theme River Conservation Synchronised Human Settlement. This is just one of the many endeavours India has taken towards the mission of rejuvenating and cleaning the river Ganga. In 2014, an Integrated Conservation Mission called the Namami Gange Programme, was approved by the Union Government as a flagship programme with a budget outlay of Rs 20,000 crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of Ganga river. The programme is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and its state counterparts -- State Programme Management Groups. Ever since 2014, several Central and state councils have been formed, involving chief ministers of the Ganga basin states and officials from local bodies and grass-root level organizations, numerous MoUs have been signed between institutions to synergise the activities under the programme, but these developments have been questioned time and again by experts and environmental activists like Swami Shivanand. Although initiatives to clean the Ganga began with the Ganga Action Plan I in 1986, till date problems have spiralled out of control for the river and the lives impacted by the river. The NMCG website talks about the impact of the river on the towns which belong to five states on the main Ganga basin -- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, which are considered for pollution abatement -- though not the ones which lie on the tributaries of the Ganga. To make matters worse, according to a report published by the Wildlife Institute of India in May 2018, 16 existing, 14 ongoing and 14 proposed hydroelectric projects on the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda river basins have turned the upper stretch of the Ganga into ecological desert in Uttarakhand. Increased water levels in different reservoirs have not only submerged vast areas in the Himalayan region but have also resulted in frequent landslides. Due to restrictions on the river flow, the velocity of the river decreased, siltation has deteriorated and therefore minerals of the water have settled down at the riverbed. Near the foothills of the Himalayas, the stretch of the river Ganga has become an epicentre of unsustainable ways of quarrying and illegal sand mining. And the problems are not limited to Uttarakhand. Indeed, in the 21st century, no river can satisfy the demands of the worlds biggest cities. The river Ganga flows through some of the most densely populated cities of the world like Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Patna in Bihar and Howrah in West Bengal. The Central Pollution Control Boards (CPCB) March 2019 data show that water at only 13 of the 61 live monitoring stations in the Ganga was fit for bathing.

Whose demands should be met first fasting sanyasis of Matri Sadan, or millions of people in rural India who lack access to electricity?

Some recent data compiled by CPCB shows that the actual measured discharge of wastewater into Ganga is 6,087 MLD, 123 per cent higher than the estimated discharge of wastewater. The dysfunctional and low-capacity sewage treatment plants (STP) have led to faecal coliform levels far above the permissible limits. Domestic sewage and faecal sludge are not the only concern for the authorities. Industries, tanneries and factories along the river Ganga dispose harmful industrial waste into drains which flow into the river. And it goes without saying that these anthropogenic activities catalysed by increased population growth, industrial development and rapid urbanization have left an adverse impact of on the ecological health of the river, including its natural resources and biodiversity. Ganga impacts the lives of more than 400 million people. It is argued that the hydroelectric projects on Ganga are the best option for meeting energy requirements as they are renewable, sustainable and have a much lesser influence on climate change due to their minimal impact especially regarding the emission of green house gases. As per a report published by PWC and FICCI, India is projected to require around 7% annual growth in electricity supply to sustain a GDP growth of around 8.5% per annum over the next few years. To address the deficit and for meeting this demand growth for accelerating economic development while taking into account considerations of long-term sustainability, environmental and social aspects, hydroelectric projects appear to be winners. So, whose demands should be met first the fasting sanyasis of the Matri Sadan Ashram, who have offered their lives to safeguard the river? Or the millions of people in rural India who still lack access to electricity? While the government needs to plan and re-think on the promise of cleaning the Ganga, it also needs to strategize about the efforts to boost the economy through sustainable development. But several questions remain unanswered. Will Ganga ever be cleaned? And can India afford to take a step towards sustainability and be an advocate of environmental activism when basic needs like access to electricity is still a dream for millions of Indians? --- *MBA student at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad

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Will Swami Shivanand, other eco-champions' drive to clean Ganga ever succeed? - COUNTERVIEW

I Wish I Could Sing by George Bongo Joe Coleman

I am a music writer and radio broadcaster, so my travels are punctuated by record shop visits. Montreal is one of the finest cities for record shopping. I picked up this odd, amazing, remarkable album by Bongo Joe Coleman a character who made his own kit from oil drums at a now-defunct store on the outskirts of the city. On a pilgrimage there, I knocked on what looked like someones front door pushchair and childrens shoes in the porch expecting to be in the wrong place. Greeted by someone holding a beer, we were invited into a wood-panelled back room that smelled like dust and discovery, the walls plastered with posters and stacks of tapes on the windowsill and under the record bins. I left with a stack of gems, including this.

For me, driving music is a genre in itself. It is no small thing to get a driving licence as a teenager the world expands instantly and exponentially by the new possibilities offered by a borrowed car. I grew up between Manchester and the Peak District and would blaze over the moors in my mums Ford Fiesta with the music turned up as loud as it would go, high on my new freedom. Most of all, I loved driving Snake Pass at night, riding the road fast and alone as the asphalt coursed beneath me, and the soundtrack to those teenage drives was PJ Harveys Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. I would sing along at the top of my voice, arriving home hoarse and aglow with all the new experiences that were hurtling towards me.

Shots of pure pleasure can come from serendipitous collisions of sound. At St Pauls carnival in Bristol in 2018, we were moving between sound systems in school playgrounds, front gardens, city squares and street corners playing dub, dancehall, soca, and reggae. On a run of terraces off the main carnival route, one household had set up their massive telly outside to show the England v Sweden World Cup game, while the people next door blasted out dancehall hits by Vybz Kartel, Spice, and Popcaan on a mushy PA. When Englands second goal was scored, the dancers roared and the footie chants fused with the dancehall in a perfect soundclash, as we danced and cheered on the pavement clutching warm cans of Red Stripe under a hot afternoon sun.

For my 30th birthday I saved up to go to Japan and on the actual day I sang Peg by Steely Dan six times in a row in a karaoke booth in Osaka because we couldnt work out how to change the song. I went to gigs and trawled record shops, but my memories from that trip are overwhelmingly visual: I remember feeling that my eyes were saturated in colour. Moments of wonder came in glorious hues: a small temple in a fairytale garden of emerald green moss; the intense vermilion of the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha shinto shrine gates; the candy-pink boiler suits of service workers on the bullet train and the reflective red enamel of a bento box containing baby squid, curled ferns and tofu in gold-painted shells.

When my partner and I first got together, he was living in a boring town in Sweden. I would get the cheapest, early-morning Ryanair flight to visit, and on the weekend we would get the train to Stockholm. My favourite shop there, An Ideal for Living, has a shopfront full of 1960s homewares and a basement full of records, with a special box in the corner of rare LPs. It included the first album by Trd, Grs Och Stenar, a Swedish psych band I adore. I could not afford it, but their tripped-out cover of All Along The Watchtower still takes me back to those weekends where we were newly in love, strolling around the city, sitting on benches eating cardamom buns and drinking strong Swedish filter coffee, as the pale-gold glow of Nordic sunlight bounced off the icy water that surrounds the citys islands.

Two years ago, I toured around the UK with musician Beatrice Dillon and artist Keith Harrison, a sound technician called Alan Burgess, a duo called Copper Sounds and my friend and co-producer Al Cameron. Beatrice and Keith had devised Ecstatic Material a performance and artwork played on a soundsystem built from industrial crates. The upturned speakers were filled with salt, cream of tartar, and pink goo, which moved and splashed and formed patterns when activated with Beatrices music. Every night after the show we would stay late in these chilly venues a Digbeth warehouse space; a tiny art gallery in Bradford; a cold storage unit in Salford to empty the goo and powder from the speakers and clean them up ready for the next nights show. We developed a ritual: crack a beer, dole out mops, blue roll and the Henry vacuum cleaner we had put on the rider, and yell for Alan to cue up Albatross on the PA.

Until recently, I lived mostly alone in Southend-on-Sea. For a few years I hired a desk in an office in a Methodist church down the coast in Leigh-on-Sea, and so my daily commute was a cycle along the coast. I would ride past the amusement arcades New York New York, Electric Avenue, Monte Carlo and The Sunspot just as they were opening and switching on the games. For years, all the claw machines in the front, where you could win fake Elsa dolls, stuffed unicorns and plush Angry Birds, would play a lo-fi version of Oxygene Pt 4 by Jean-Michel Jarre. Hearing it takes me back to those hazy morning commutes along the estuary, pedalling against the wind to the sound of 100 machines playing the same song.

Alice Coltrane is one of my favourite musicians. Years ago, before I knew much about her, I found myself in New York during an extravagant press trip whose purpose was to hard-sell lame wifi speakers. So, I went on a long walk through the city, to clear my head and try to get hold of one of her books that was not available in the UK. I thought I was making a pilgrimage to a branch of her ashram, and found what I thought was the place. They had the text a hard-bound volume of spiritual prose with florid gold-embossed titling but I later found out the place had nothing to do with Alices ashram. Hers was in California! I have no idea where I went, nor why they had a copy of that text, but it will be forever locked to a few hours carved out for myself on the streets of New York.

Last year I travelled to Caracas in Venezuela to teach, and my students all recommended this track. Caracas is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, and I wasnt allowed to walk around the city, so only really saw it from a car window where I remember gazing up at its bold concrete architecture dripping with tropical plants, bright macaws soaring between skyscrapers. I couldnt go out at night because of security restrictions, so would take lists of Venezuelan music from my students back to my hotel room and look them up online. Tonada De Luna Llena is one I can never play just once it is raw and intimate, impossibly tender a song about the moon, milking cows, and the plains, which transports me to being alone in that hotel room with little to do except listen to music and watch the pink evening sky turn to night over the city.

The first time I ever sang (and enjoyed it) was with the musician Laura Cannell, at an English Heritage site called Mistley Towers, a midpoint we found between our homes. Mistley is on the estuary of the River Stour in north Essex and the towers are now all that remains of a grandiose and unconventional Georgian church designed by Robert Adam in 1776. A politician called Richard Rigby later attempted to turn the town into a spa retreat, and although he failed, a painted swan fountain and these two porticoed towers remain. To get inside you borrow the key from the hotel and restaurant down the road, and let yourself in. Theres not much to see, just small square rooms and some stonework, but the acoustics mean that singing a note any note will gather in a cumulus of resonant sound above your head. I remember that chilly, wondrous moment every time I hear Lauras music.

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10 songs that bring back great travel memories: Jennifer Lucy Allans playlist - The Guardian

Bhubaneswar: Ama Pathaagaara, aims to re-ignite the library movement in the state and was inaugurated in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

This drive was launched at an event and was hosted by Barsha Priyadarshini.

It was attended by several dignitaries, including Dash Benhur, eminent writer, Dr. Sanghamitra Mishra, eminent writer, Banoj Tripathy, publisher, Pakhighar, and Bijaya Malla, eminent lyricist and writer, who consented to give their blessings for its success.

Actor and activist Barsha Priyadarshini, is trying to re-ignite the library movement pioneered by Dasia Aja, through the initiative Ama Pathaagaara.

As part of the above initiative, Varsha donated two cabinets of books ranging from school textbooks and reference books to famed novels and biographies, collected from willing donors, to the children at Jeevan Jyoti Ashram, Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar, earlier in the day on Wednesday.

The actress has also decided to collect books and magazines from enthusiastic donors across the state and beyond, and donate them to needy children all over the state.

Dileswari Dharua, hailing from Phuljharan village in Balangir, was felicitated in the event. She won acclaim from across the country due to her selfless efforts to teach the children of her village during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure that they did not lag behind due to the temporary shutdown of the government school in the village.

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'Ama Pathaagaara' An Initiative To Re-Ignite Library Movement In Odisha - Kalinga TV