Over 60 jackfruit varieties on display
Special attractions include red jackfruit varieties and Rudrakshi, or round jackfruits. Saplings of high-quality varieties are also available for sale. Value-added jackfruit products such as chips, ice cream, halwa, dosa, biryani, and kababs are being showcased in over 55 stalls alongside organic seeds, fruits like mango and jamun, and artisan crafts.
Training sessions on jackfruit cultivation, pest and disease management, and marketing were also conducted. A jackfruit-eating competition is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. For more information, visitors shall contact Shanthakumar at 94487 74871.
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Time of India
03-08-2025
- Time of India
Bonds That Heal and Hold: Nagpur's Friendship Day Spirit Crosses Generations
Nagpur: While the city's popular hangouts like Futala Lake and Seminary Hills' Balodyan buzzed with the usual Friendship Day energy, laughter, selfies, colourful bands, and roses lit up every corner elsewhere in Nagpur. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now For 13-year-old Aanya Deshpande, friendship is her "safe space". "Even when I'm upset or in trouble, my friend Meher never leaves my side. I made her a friendship band from scratch. It's nothing fancy, but it's from the heart," she said, shyly smiling. Fourteen-year-old Aditya Zade shared how a simple gesture made a lifelong difference. "When I shifted to Nagpur and didn't know anyone, Aryan offered me his lunch on the first day. That made me feel seen. Since then, we've been inseparable," he said. Beyond classrooms and parks, friendship is also thriving in the digital space. Shreya Khanvilkar (17), who met her closest friend online during the lockdown, believes virtual bonds can be just as real. "Amrita lives in Kolkata; we've never met. But she's the one I talk to when I'm anxious, scared, or overwhelmed. She once stayed on a call with me for hours during my board exams. It may be online, but what we share is real," she said. On the other hand, at an old-age home in North Nagpur, 71-year-old Madhukar Joshi quietly wrote a letter to his childhood friend Shankar, the man who helped him recover from alcoholism when his own family turned away. "Shankar admitted me to rehab, visited me every week, and never let me feel abandoned. Everyone else left. He stayed," Joshi said, wiping his eyes. Across generations, one thing remains unchanged: the value of a true friend. Whether it begins on a school bench, over a video call, or across decades of life's ups and downs, friendship continues to be one of the most powerful, healing, and enduring bonds we share.
Indian Express
26-07-2025
- Indian Express
Around Town: Inside Dadar's Mama Kane, the 115-year-old eatery that arguably gave Mumbai its batata vada and Konkanis a taste of home
Right across from Mumbai's bustling Dadar railway station stands an eatery that has witnessed two World Wars, welcomed India's independence, survived the Covid-19 pandemic, and still holds its ground — Mama Kane. Founded in 1910 by a rice cultivator from Ratnagiri, it began as a humble eatery offering fresh, hygienic, home-style vegetarian Maharashtrian food for the common man — think thalis with chapati, two bhajis, dal-rice, papad, and pickle. A hundred and fifteen years later, Mama Kane continues to take pride in its consistency and founding principles. In the early 1900s, a young Narayan Vishnu Kane from Reel Kespuri, a village in Ratnagiri, reached Pen in Raigad district, where he began making Ganesha idols. But since the work was seasonal, he looked for something more sustainable and made his way to Dadar — then a part of Bombay, where many from the Konkan region came in search of livelihoods. Here, he noticed a gap — a lack of eateries that served clean, home-like food at affordable prices. So, in 1910, he rented a small shop near Vijay Nagar in Dadar and started a 15-seater eatery called 'Dakshini Brahminanche Swatchha Upahar Griha' in 1910. 'The first two words describe us. We are Brahmins from the southern part of Maharashtra,' shared Shridhar Kane, 62, who along with his brother Dilip Kane, 58, represents the fourth-generation custodian of the eatery, now popularly known as Mama Kane. 'But it was the third word 'swatchha' (clean) that really helped us earn people's trust,' he noted, adding that many had their meals here on a daily basis. Back then, the kitchen was run by Narayan's wife Lakshmi and his sister, lovingly called Akka. 'Whenever a kitchen is run by women, you can be sure it'll be clean.' In addition to thalis, commonly referred to as rice plates here, the menu also included poori-bhaji and seasonal sweets like sheera, ladoo, and shrikhand. The business picked up steadily. When the new Smriti Kunj building came up, Narayan rented 3,600 sq ft and moved the eatery to its current location in 1928. Two years later, his son Shankar joined the business. 'The business really flourished under my grandfather,' Shridhar said. Shankar extended the operating hours from 10 am–7 pm to 6 am–9 pm. 'But no one really wanted poori-bhaji at 6 am, so he created batata vada, perhaps his way of reinventing poori-bhaji into a single, portable item that people could take to the station,' he added. Back in the day, children from the nearby Chhabildas School would flock to the eatery during recess to eat batata vada. 'It quickly became a popular, affordable breakfast option for the working class,' he said. There are even claims that Mama Kane invented the batata vada. While Shridhar doesn't officially claim that title, he is certain that 'at that time, no one else in Bombay was serving batata vade and we were the first to introduce it.' Shankar also expanded the menu to include thalipeeth, pohe, missal, jalebi, and more. It was during his tenure that the eatery got its current name. 'He expanded it to an 80-seater, brought in people from Konkan, and even roped in his sister's sons to help. They used to call him 'Mama' (maternal uncle), even in front of customers, and that name stuck,' said Shridhar. 'Eventually, it even made it to the signboard after World War II, because customers began asking for 'Mama Kane' by name.' Over 115 years, Mama Kane has weathered immense uncertainty and change. The family still recalls the fear that gripped them during World War II, when there were strong rumours of the then Bombay being bombed. 'My grandfather sent the family back to Pen, keeping only one nephew with him to run the eatery,' said Shridhar. The Covid-19 pandemic brought fresh challenges. 'In 2010, Dilip and I had converted a part of the dining space into two banquet halls. They did very well. People liked having a centrally located venue at a stone's throw distance from the station, with food they didn't have to worry about,' he said. But post-pandemic, business declined. 'Now everyone does meetings on Zoom. And more people prefer to order in than step out.' Still, Mama Kane retains its old-world charm, staying true to its founding principles of serving fresh, affordable food. Now a 52-seater, this no-frills eatery operates from 10 am to 8.30 pm and runs like a well-oiled machine. The moment you step inside, a staff member promptly asks, 'Kiti loka?' (how many people?) and, with a quick scan of the room, finds your group a seat. With just a few nods and glances, he signals to another worker to take your order, which arrives swiftly, followed by the bill, and the cycle continues with practiced precision. The family has consistently declined franchise offers and even refused to install air-conditioning. 'We do cater to a wide range of people, including lawyers and professionals from IndiaBulls, but our core customer is the common man. For someone who eats here daily, even a Rs 5 price hike adds up to Rs 150 a month, and that's a lot,' said Shridhar. 'From someone else's lens, we may not seem wildly successful. But from our lens, we're fulfilling a purpose, a service, just as our great-grandfather intended.' In line with this philosophy, Mama Kane also stopped selling bottled cold drinks upon learning of their health impacts about nearly two decades ago. Instead, they introduced a range of traditional sherbat options — year-round staples like kokum and limbu (lemon), and seasonal offerings like bel and aam panna. Shankar also strongly believed in education. He sent his eldest son Kamlakar (Shridhar's father) to Europe to study engineering. Upon returning, he insisted that his son get some experience and Kamlakar worked with Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) before joining the family business. Shankar retired in the 1960s once his sons Kamlakar, Ramkrishna, and Mukund were ready to take over. The next generation, too, pursued education: Dilip was a practicing CA until 2007, and Shridhar holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from IIT Bombay and still runs a consulting business. Mukund's daughters are CAs. So are Dilip and Shridhar's daughters, who represent the fifth generation ready to carry on the legacy. But as Shridhar puts it: 'It's not like we do our jobs and then look at the eatery. We first take care of Mama Kane, and only then take on as much consulting work as we can manage. This is not a business for us — it's a service.' Their offices are located in the same building as the eatery to ensure they're always accessible. Looking ahead, the younger generation has plans to expand without losing the core ethos. 'They want to launch an online delivery business to meet rising demand,' said Shridhar. 'It's their way of taking Mama Kane into the future, while staying true to what we've always been.'
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Time of India
Love rekindled: Age or a failed marriage is no longer a stigma to getting hitched again
A few weeks ago, news surfaced of TMC MP Mahua Moitra marrying Pinaki Misra, a former BJD MP, in an intimate ceremony in Berlin on May 30. With both being significantly older – Moitra is 50 while her husband is 65 - by societal standards to walk down the aisle and that too for the second time in their respective lives, the news naturally garnered public attention. But this evolving narrative is not just limited to the elites, highlighting that love and companionship are universal desires, regardless of age or social status. Across Odisha and elsewhere in the country, more and more individuals, like divorcees, widowers and those who didn't marry in their youth, are finding love later in life. Sociologists opined that following the loss of a spouse or divorce, many seniors are actively seeking companionship, valuing the emotional support and shared experiences that come with partnership. Improved healthcare and longer life expectancies, besides changing social attitudes, have made it more acceptable for older adults to pursue new relationships. Shukadeba Naik, a retired professor of sociology of Sambalpur University, said that while remarriages in older age groups are more common among the elite, the desire for companionship transcends social classes. 'Late marriages are often about seeking partners with whom one is compatible. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Arranged marriages used to be family-to-family relations, which meant fewer breakdowns, but now it's more individualistic and people are more open to finding new partners when relationships don't work out,' he added. Take for example Shankar Sahoo, a 53-year-old employee of Rourkela Steel Plant. In 1999, Shankar married a woman, who was also a working professional, and had two daughters with her. But four years into the marriage, the couple's relationship was on the rocks and they eventually divorced in 2015. The separation agreement stipulated that Shankar would bear the educational and wedding expenses of his daughters, who stayed with their mother. Despite the emotional toll of the divorce, Shankar found solace in the support of his parents, who lived with him -- and in the company of a woman 18 years his junior whom he is now married to and who is the mother of his nine-year-old son. 'After the divorce, I had decided not to marry again due to the trauma I experienced,' Shankar said. But his family encouraged him to consider remarrying. Today, he has a blended family that includes his daughters as well. 'My wife has brought happiness and peace not only to me but to my entire family as she accepted my daughters whole-heartedly,' Shankar said. Similarly, a businesswoman, who lost her husband to dengue shortly after the birth of her daughter in 2010, gave marriage a second chance when she lost her father. 'My father was a huge support system after my first husband's passing. It was him who helped me take over my late husband's business and he raised my daughter as well. After my father's passing, I felt a void, which is when my family encouraged me to consider marrying again,' she said. And in 2017, through an arranged marriage set up, she exchanged vows with a man who had also lost his spouse and had a daughter as well. 'I never thought I would marry again, but it was in my destiny,' she said, adding, 'After my second marriage, my daughter and I found a new home and happiness.' Naik added that with both men and women becoming career-oriented, the average age of marriage is getting delayed for the middle class as people, who don't want to get married until they become financially independent or achieve something. Rabi Behera, a social activist from Jagatsinghpur, married just months shy of his 50th birthday. Behera's journey to matrimony was not a conventional one. Engrossed in his passion for social activism, the thought of marriage took a backseat. It wasn't until he met his current wife, Sujata Barik, at a workshop that the idea of marriage became a reality. Both Behera and Barik, a fellow social activist from Kendrapada, found common ground in their dedication to social justice and soon, they became romantically involved. "Social justice was a common issue we both worked for and we got attracted to each other and got married,' Behera added. Barik echoed similar sentiments, having initially decided against marriage. "I had kind of decided that I won't get married. But when he proposed, I decided to take the plunge," she said. Today, the couple resides in Bhubaneswar and is raising their seven-year-old daughter, balancing their family life with their ongoing commitment to social causes. Anup Dash, a retired professor of Utkal University, said, " With rising cases of divorces, many are looking to remarry and age is no longer a barrier as people seek companionship and compatible partners." Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
