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India Gazette
21-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
"A new chapter in Khelo India": Senior official as Diu hosts first Khelo India Beach Games
Diu (Daman and Diu) [India], May 21 (ANI): The first-ever edition of the Khelo India Beach Games is underway in Diu, bringing a fresh wave of excitement and sporting spirit to the coastal town. The multi-disciplinary event marks a significant expansion of the Khelo India initiative into beach sports, promoting diverse formats. Speaking with ANI on the occasion, Arun T, Sports Secretary of the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli, highlighted the importance of the event. 'The Government of India, under the Sports Authority of India, has launched the first edition of the Khelo India Beach Games,' he said. 'The interest, enthusiasm, and attention that sports have received under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi (Narendra Modi) is huge. Certainly, adding a new chapter to the Khelo India movement will give further impetus to the sports infrastructure,' he added. Earlier, Kirtana Acharya, Prasanna Bendre and Princess Thomas stood at the top podium ranking following their gold medal triumphs in different categories of Pencak Silat at the Khelo India Beach Games 2025. Pencak Silat is a form of Indonesian martial art, and it was great to see a Union Territory hemmed by the Arabian Sea excelling in the open competition at these Games. Hometown favourite, Kirtana Manojkumar Acharya, struck gold in the senior female category. Prasanna Bendre of Daman and Diu, won the gold in the senior men's tunggal (artistic) event. Bendre is the most accomplished player in the region, with a silver medal and two bronze medals from international events. He won the silver in the 2022 Asian championship in Jammu and Kashmir, while his two bronze medals came in the 2024 Asian championship in Dubai and the 2024 world championship in Abu Dhabi. Bendre believes the sport's inclusion in Khelo India is 'beneficial' for the athletes. Khelo India Beach Games are being held from May 19 to 24. (ANI)
The Print
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Print
Khelo India Beach Games 2025: Bendre, Acharya lead hosts' golden charge in pencak silat
It was Bendre who first lit up the arena with a commanding performance in the senior men's tunggal (artistic) category. The first gold medals of the Games were decided in pencak silat competition with Daman & Diu winning two of the first three on offer at the scenic Ghoghla Beach. Diu, May 20 (PTI) Prasanna Bendre and Kirtana Acharya bagged top honours in the pencak silat to make a golden start for hosts Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu on Day 2 of the inaugural Khelo India Beach Games here on Tuesday. Showcasing fluidity, precision, and control in his routine, the experienced martial artist scored 420 points to take the first gold of the Games for the hosts. His teammate, Acharya followed it up in style, dominating the senior female tunggal event with a well-executed performance that fetched her 408 points and the second gold for the Union Territory. For Bendre, the victory added to an already impressive resume. A silver medallist at the 2022 Asian Championship in Jammu and Kashmir and a double bronze winner at the 2024 Asian and World Championships in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively, Bendre said the Games had the potential to leave a lasting legacy. 'These Games can help boost tourism in Diu. That will strengthen the economy and help improve infrastructure for sports,' he said, hopeful that the exposure would open new doors for local athletes. The only other gold medal of the morning session in pencak silat went to Punjab's Aaryan, who topped the senior male solo creative category with an impressive score of 560. Odisha's Sohil Gurung took the silver with 542 points, while Maharashtra's Vaibhav Valmik Kale (541) and Nagaland's Kevin (525) rounded off the podium. The pencak silat competition, making its debut in the Khelo India Beach Games, is judged on artistic presentation and creativity, rather than combat, and is a test of discipline and body control. The participation and success of the hosts' team added a special buzz to the opening contests on the beach. Beach soccer ======== Meanwhile, the beach soccer tournament, which had started a day earlier, continued with a string of lopsided group matches. Lakshadweep men's team thrashed Gujarat 19-1 in one of the most dominant results of the day, while Odisha women's team steamrolled Madhya Pradesh 18-0 in their opener. Beach volleyball ========== In beach volleyball, the day saw several walkovers and easy wins. Telangana men's team received a walkover against Andaman & Nicobar, while Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir both posted straight-set wins over the host team. In the women's section, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra all won comfortably, mostly via walkovers, underlining the need for greater depth and preparedness among participating teams. The first edition of the Khelo India Beach Games will conclude on Saturday. The Games feature six medal sports — beach soccer, volleyball, kabaddi, open water swimming, sepak takraw, and pencak silat — along with two demonstration sports, mallakhamb and tug-of-war. PTI TAP PDS PDS This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Mad respect for authors, won't call myself one yet: Sonali Bendre
New Delhi, Actor Sonali Bendre, who recently released her second book "A Book of Books", says she has "mad respect" for authors and would not call herself one until she writes at least 20 of them. Bendre, best known for films such as "Diljale", "Major Saab", "Sarfarosh", "Zakhm", and "Hum Saath Saath Hain", said being a public figure gives her the "privilege" to write and engage in meaningful conversations though she still primarily views herself as an actor. "I'll call myself an author only if I write 20 books, not before that. I have some mad respect for authors what they do, the way they write, the way an author can transport you somewhere, the way they make you think; only an author can do that. "So, I have really not thought of myself as an author in that sense. I have always looked at myself more as an actor, but it is a creative field. I am a creative person, and there are various ways through which you express your creativity," Bendre told PTI in an interview. The actor's passion for books led her to launch 'Sonali's Book Club', a digital community that celebrates literature and meaningful conversations. She made debut as an author in 2015 with "The Modern Gurukul: My Experiment with Parenting". Her latest endeavour, "A Book of Books", is intended for everyone both avid readers and those less inclined and delves into the importance of reading, especially the value of starting young. Replete with colourful illustrations by Rohina Thapar, it also suggests what to read, with recommendations for children, young adults and adults, across genres and for varied reading interests. Bitten by the reading bug since childhood, the 50-year-old actor admits she would choose books over movies any day. She also feels that book-to-screen adaptations often fail to capture the true essence of the originals. However, Bendre said that "Dune", the American epic space opera film franchise adapted from Frank Herbert's 1965 novels, has come close to doing justice to the original work. "I still stand by the fact that no movie can do justice to books, but this comes close," she explained. That said, the actor has been actively searching for the right book for adaptation either for production or one in which she could play a character. "I haven't found that book yet, but I am looking for it, and I am sure I will find it," she said, adding that in Bollywood, her "Hum Saath Saath Hain" co-star Saif Ali Khan is also a "voracious reader". "It was good to exchange notes with Saif and have his recommendations in books". Bendre, who is married to producer Goldie Behl, took a break from work after she welcomed her son Ranveer in 2005 and later appeared as a judge on reality TV shows such as "India's Got Talent", "India's Best Dramebaaz" and TV series "Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye". She went on a seven-year hiatus in 2018 when she was diagnosed with cancer. During her recovery, Bendre credited reading especially a book on tennis icon Serena Williams that detailed her struggles, challenging pregnancies, and triumphant return to championship wins as a vital part of her healing journey. "She was such a role model. I thought, 'See what she has gone through, and she has come back to the physical fitness level of winning a championship'. Picking out stories like that, stories that encourage you to heal yourself, to try not just to get back to what you were, but to be better than what you were. "I really took my illness as a journey that was helping me educate myself, helping me evolve as a person, and because I was looking at it in that sense, the kinds of books I was reading also changed," she added. Bendre returned to acting with the first season of the ZEE5 web series "The Broken News", which premiered in 2022. The second chapter of the TV newsroom drama premiered last year. Having written two non-fiction books, Bendre who likes to pick something in the fantasy fiction genre to decompress herself hopes to write a novel in the future. "There are many stories and characters that come to mind, and they stay with me. But then I feel like I can't take them all the way to a full book. I can't make a whole story out of them. So maybe when I have a little more time, someday I'll pick out these various characters and see if I can bring them together and write something. You never say never," she added. "A Book of Books", priced at ₹599, is currently available for purchase across online and offline stores.
Indian Express
10-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
I went beyond the popular image of Kabir to create mine: Gulammohammed Sheikh
You joined the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University of Baroda in 1955, within five years of its opening. Coming from a provincial town, Surendranagar, what was your experience like? It was amazing to be part of a like-minded community of artists and aspirants; to have the doors of our studios in the art school open, day and night. I had never imagined there could be a whole library full of books, only on art! The atmosphere in the college was liberal, which made newcomers like me feel at ease. Our teachers worked in the studios after class hours. We saw the seminal paintings of our teacher NS Bendre being painted. He gave demonstrations of oil painting and watercolour with such mastery, leaving us spellbound. Art History classes were conducted by artists themselves, except for Dean Markand Bhatt, who had studied it at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. He taught us Western art and aesthetics, while Bendre taught us Chinese art, and sculptor Sankho Chaudhuri, Egyptian and Mesopotamian art. You started your teaching career in Art History before you shifted to Painting. When I was a post-graduate student, there was an opening in the department to teach art history. The then Dean, Bendre, asked me if I would like to teach. It was a godsend offer as I was living on a paltry scholarship. I taught for three years before going to London in 1963. Upon my return, I taught again for 15 years till I moved on to head the Painting department. London played a role in igniting your interest in early painting traditions. The Painting Department at the Royal College of Art was adjacent to the Victoria & Albert Museum and students had free access. I used to eat lunch in the museum restaurant to avoid the bland fare in the college canteen, and on my way, I would see paintings in the Indian section. I was aware of the various schools of Indian painting, but a magical-looking Kota painting of a nocturnal jungle scene in the moonlight fascinated me. Robert Skelton, the Assistant Keeper of the Indian section, became a mentor. Writing my dissertation on Kota enabled me to have a closer look at the regional school of Rajasthan. During the summer vacation, I hitch-hiked in Italy to see the masters of the Renaissance. I was especially touched by the Sienese artists such as Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Sassetta. For them, painting was an act of love offered with humility and passionate conviction. I found them close to Indian painting in sensibility. After finishing my studies in London, I returned to India, mostly travelling overland. The three-month-long journey evoked greater love for the wanderings than I was already prone to. The year 1981 seems to be seminal, as you completed several important works. Yes, in that year I showed with artists such as Bhupen Khakhar, Vivan Sundaram, Nalini Malani, Jogen Chowdhury and Sudhir Patwardhan in the exhibition we called, 'Place for People'. Each of us was involved in exploring and focusing on the world we lived in. In that sense, several works were autobiographical. In my case, Speaking Street recalled memories of my childhood in a provincial town. Following it, a large painting, titled City for Sale, dealt with the irony of communal riots raging at one end, and on the other portrayed a cinema hall audience, totally oblivious of it. The Tree of Life (1996), which you painted for the Vidhan Bhavan in Bhopal, was the first time you took up painting on such a massive scale for a public building. Yes, I had long desired to make a mural in a public space, after I saw the cityscape, Effects of Good Government, by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in Sienna. The mural in the Legislative Assembly was 31-feet high and 21-feet wide. The idea was to cover a cultural tapestry of India with its multiplicity and diversity. The central motif of The Tree of Life represents the lives of people, both past and present, including glorious as well as turbulent periods. Then, Kabir appeared in your work. The beginning of the 1990s was a period of great turbulence, which needed a healing touch. Kabir was the answer. Instead of using just the popular rendition of Kabir as a Vaishnavite saint, I also searched other images of Kabir as prototypes to create mine. The man who said 'tera Saai(n) tujh me', indicated looking inwards, instead of seeking an answer in the outer world. You started with a small town. Then, you entered the belly of a city, and then you moved to the world. In a chance encounter I found a medieval map of the world — the Ebstorf mappa mundi — which I used as a basis for re-enacting the world. In the 20-odd years, many such maps were made to reframe the world. The use of a portable shrine or Kaavad served as an alternative to the easel painting. Its format allows multiple stories like a picture book unfolding gradually. The recent work, Kaarawaan, at its core, holds the idea of a journey, wherein I packed my favourite characters from history, mythology and the world of dreams. I painted within it all the artists, poets and thinkers whom I admire. The intention was to paint a civilisational ark carrying a world of humanity in the midst of highly turbulent waters.
News18
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Sonali Bendre On How She Dealt With Link-Up Rumours: ‘I Learnt A Lesson'
Last Updated: Sonali Bendre recently disclosed how she handled link-up rumours during the initial years of her career. Sonali Bendre has always been admired for her incredible acting skills. Besides her acting stint, the actress has been known for her frank manner. Recently, Bendre revealed how she navigated through link-up rumours early in her career. The veteran actress was often linked to her co-stars when she started working. In a recent interview, when Sonali Bendre was asked about the same, the Aag actress revealed how she learnt from her mistakes. 'You learn to grow slightly thicker skin. I didn't make the same mistake twice. Once I learnt a lesson, I understood that this is how it works, and then I knew how to deal with it and nip it in the butt the next time. So, it never happened again," she told Zoom. In the same conversation, the actress mentioned she had to change schools every two years due to her father's transferable job, and this helped her in dealing with the link-up rumours. Bendre was born to a civil servant father and studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya. She said, 'I was just a quick learner. I adapted well. I think the fact that I travelled—every two years, I was in a new school, adapting to new situations made me the person who didn't crave for attention all the time, who didn't need validation all the time and who was happy to be alone and with herself, because that was my childhood. When you keep constantly moving, you can deal with that peer pressure." The Hum Saath-Saath Hain actress continued, 'I learnt how to deal with it, where I realised that sometimes it's an overactive imagination of the journalist. Because today, you talk about clickbait, that time, it was headlines, and that headline sold the magazine," adding how she navigated through the unethical practice of yellow journalism prevalent in those days. 'But sometimes it was because either the producer wanted the PR or the actor wanted to feel good about themselves, and that's why they were putting it out," she mentioned. Despite all this, she also discussed the perks of her job and pondered the probable reasons behind those rumours that spread like wildfire. 'There were multiple reasons for things to go out. So, you couldn't blame any one person. That was the circumstance and a part of the environment. So, the fact was that the same environment was giving me fame, money, and work. I just started looking at it as the pros and the cons of the job," Bendre concluded. On the personal front, Bendre is married to filmmaker Goldie Behl, son of director Ramesh Behl. FYI: They met each other for the first time on the sets of her 1994 film Naaraaz, directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The duo instantly felt a spark and gradually started dating. After a couple of years of courtship, the actress tied the knot with Behl on November 12, 2002. They were blessed with their son in 2005. The actress will reportedly feature in an untitled action-thriller series alongside Ali Fazal next. First Published:
