Latest news with #Datta
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Tripura BJP activists visit CPM ex-MP Sankar Prasad Datta to protest his Hanuman remark: ‘We'll pray he gains knowledge'
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal protested in Agartala on Tuesday against an allegedly derogatory remark about Lord Hanuman made by former CPM MP Sankar Prasad Datta. They burned Datta in effigy and demanded that he apologise for the remark he allegedly made while speaking at a CITU conference two days ago. 'A few days back, the CPM leader called Lord Hanuman 'shonda' (bully). Hanumanji is our deity. Protesting against this, we burnt his effigy. We will recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of his home and we will compel him to seek an apology in front of Hanumanji and God in our presence,' said a VHP leader. A group of BJP activists visited Datta's home and offered him a portrait of Lord Hanuman and Hanuman chalisa. 'They (CPM) have made derogatory remarks about Hindu religion on several occasions. The BJP brings out people from darkness to light. We came to his house today with Hanuman Chalisa. We will pray that he gains knowledge and may Lord Hanuman forgive him,' said a BJP activist. The BJP's youth wing, the Tripura Pradesh Yuva Morcha, also protested against the remark in the capital city. 'The entire state has condemned the incident. We demand Sankar Prasad Datta should be immediately arrested. We have seen earlier that they tried to hurt our religious sentiments. After the rally, we will recite Hanuman chalisa near the Kali temple at Melarmath,' a protester said. Datta or the CPM has not reacted to the controversy.
Mint
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Planner: 5 events that pack a punch this week
Kallol Datta has always looked at the intersections of gender, history and politics in his textile practice. He carries these threads forward in his new solo, Volume IV: Truths, Half-Truths, Half Lies, Lies—his first at Experimenter's Colaba space in Mumbai and third with the gallery overall. The project came about after Datta came across edits and proclamations for women, which were circulated across the Korean Peninsula and Japan between the 16th and early 20th centuries. Their impact is felt even today. Through this show, Datta continues his investigation of the clothing practices of these places over time. At Experimenter, Colaba, Mumbai till 20 August, 10.30am-6.30pm (Tuesday to Saturday). Painting by Rashmimala, Oil palm tree, Elaeis guineensis 2025 Gallery Espace is presenting Vadodara-based artist Rashmimala's first solo, titled How We Breathe. The show includes recent works, which are centred around the vegetation and flora of the Capital and the North-East. Though she draws inspiration from the botanical drawings prevalent in the 18th-19th centuries, Rashmimala bases her documentation of vegetation in the 21st century. She looks at the resilience of nature, and its ability to heal itself, through examples of plants like ruderals, which grow easily on soil degraded by natural disasters or construction. At Gallery Espace, New Delhi, till 12 August, 11am-7pm (closed on Sunday). A promotional image for the 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' musical produced by Phase 1 World, Bengaluru. It's going to be a musical week for Bengaluru. For, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat returns as an all-male pop opera, directed by music and theatre director Kevin Oliver and produced by Phase 1 World. With 16 songs spanning genres from energy rock anthems and pop grooves to semi-classical Indian melodies and Broadway ballads, and over 100 male vocalists performing, the production promises to be a sonic treat. Adding a grand element to things are Dubai's celebrated couturiers Michael Cinco and Furne One Amato. 'The visual centerpiece—the Dreamcoat itself—weighs over 21 kilos and features more than 30 fabrics and textures, crafted to shimmer, ripple, and evolve with every musical passage,' reveals the press note. At Good Shepherd Auditorium, Richmond Town, Bengaluru, 17 -19 July, 8pm. Tickets on Bookmyshow. Beef and Bone is on the limited edition Nikkei Menu by chef Randy Cultivo. Wabi Sabi at The Oberoi, Bengaluru is hosting a limited edition Nikkei Menu by chef Randy Cultivo. The menu, inspired by chef Cultivo's explorations of the cuisine and his travels around Peru, includes signature dishes like the Tiradito, Beef and Bone, The Wabi Sabi Sizzle and Ceviche de Atún with fresh jalapeño peppers. While vegetarian options include Fruit ceviche and Three carrots and H, desserts include Chimu Reimagined, Caviar Box and Flavours of Yutori. At Wabi Sabi at The Oberoi, Bengaluru, 10-27 July, for lunch and dinner. For reservations, call +91 80 2558 5858. The promotional poster for Superqueens directed by Vivek Mansukhani. On Sunday, The Piano Man is hosting 'Superqueens', touted as India's first-ever drag musical. Conceived as a cabaret-style theatrical experience, the 90-minute musical, according to the press note, takes the viewer on a 'hilarious, heartfelt and high-energy journey into the lives of five fierce drag queens in Delhi,' set to a soundtrack of Bollywood hits, club anthems, and pop classics. The cast features some of India's best-known drag artists: Lush Monsoon, Betta Naan Stop, Hash Brownie, Whacker Cracker and Sickk. The musical is directed by Vivek Mansukhani, choreographed by Shohini Dutta and Udisha Uniyal and written by Vivek Mansukhani, Aishwarya Ayushmaan, Teya and Prateek Sachdeva. At The Piano Man, Eldeco Centre, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, on 13 July, 8.30 pm. For details, visit
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Time of India
B'desh woman crosses over to Tripura to meet lover, lands in jail
Agartala: A Bangladeshi woman has landed in a Tripura jail after she crossed the international border to meet the love of her life whom she met virtually eight months ago. Her boyfriend, who came all the way from Karnataka to meet her, is also in judicial custody. Gulshana Akhter, a resident of Palsa village in Bangladesh's Bogura district, met Datta Yadav from Karnataka on Instagram. As the months passed, their bond grew stronger, fueled by countless texts, shared photos, and promises over video calls. The digital world was no longer enough to contain their love, and the yearning to meet in person became an irresistible force. It was this longing that led Gulshana to make a daring decision, one that would change the course of their lives forever. On Wednesday, Gulshana crossed the international border driven by the hope of finally meeting Datta. The journey was fraught with risk, but love knows no fear. Meanwhile, Datta travelled from Bangalore to the border village of Harihordula in Sepahijala district, police said. Their meeting was a moment of pure joy, a culmination of months of longing and dreams. But the happiness was fleeting, as the harsh reality of their actions soon caught up with them. The BSF noticed their presence and swiftly intervened, detaining the couple and handing them over to the Madhupur police station. On Thursday, they were produced in court that remanded them in 14-day judicial custody. Police have registered specific cases under the Passports Act, the Foreigners Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. As Gulshana sat in the unfamiliar confines of a Tripura jail, her heart ached with the weight of their predicament. The authorities launched an investigation, suspecting a human trafficking network might have aided her illegal crossing. Yet, amid the uncertainty and fear, the love that had brought them together remained unshaken.
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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Fintech firm Cashfree Payments plans to add 100 lenders for VKYC by FY26
Fintech firm Cashfree Payments plans to scale its AI-based Video Know Your Customer (KYC) solution from the current four to at least 100 lenders by the end of the current financial year (FY26), a senior company executive said. The Bengaluru-based company is targeting Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-regulated entities such as non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to expand the offering, aiming to improve conversion rates and reduce wait times for end customers. The company claims a conversion rate of 80%, higher than the industry average of 50%, and says it can complete a VKYC process in less time than the industry standard of eight to ten minutes. 'The idea is to get NBFCs to route all their flows through us and scale to at least 100 lenders by the end of this financial year,' said Reeju Datta, co-founder, Cashfree Payments. 'It's built for lenders in tier II and III since it works even on 150 kbps bandwidth and uses smart OCR (optical character recognition) while alerting you to issues like low light or blurred images,' he added. At present, operational challenges such as network bandwidth, document verification processes, and the availability of agents to conduct VKYC continue to exist. 'We handle document and PAN verification separately, before the VKYC process. Users enter VKYC only after completing PAN checks. This avoids failures from missing PAN during VKYC and improves success rates by running these steps asynchronously,' he explained. A longer waiting period also leads to increased drop-offs during the VKYC process, leading to a lower conversion rate for any given entity. To address this, the company is deploying an AI-driven solution capable of scheduling agent calls with customers. 'The agent scheduling is fully AI-driven, ensuring optimal capacity utilization. VKYC wait times, which are typically 3–5 minutes, are reduced to under a minute with smart scheduling, boosting conversion rates,' Datta added.
Hindustan Times
11-07-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Creature feature: Wildlife rescuers on the one mission they'll never forget
By all means, add 200 panda Reels to your Insta Blend. Pet every kitty that lets you. Foster a pup and fall in love. Feed your friend's fish when they're on vacation. Make friends with the neighbour's turtle, even. But don't for a moment believe that showing up for animals is fun or glamorous. Nirit Datta works with street dogs, reptiles and birds. He was once bitten by a cobra while trying to rescue it. Across cities and villages, regular folks are making it their business to protect species that most Indians want to attack on sight. Some spend a whole day coaxing a snake out of a stairwell, others have convinced panicked villagers to spare the life of a monitor lizard. Young people have rehabbed bats, wrangled baby crocs from poachers, and seen lizard eggs as worth saving. We asked some of them about the rescues they'll never forget. When a cobra got too closeNirit Datta (@Infant_Wild) Datta, 28, started early. At 13, he was already rescuing street dogs and snakes in Kolkata. Now, as a wildlife conservationist and environmentalist, he works with everything from civets to birds of prey. The rescue that left a mark happened a decade ago, just after he'd moved to a college in Dehradun. Word spread that a cobra had entered a village 11km from campus. Datta knew he had to save the animal before locals killed it. He got there and managed to trap the reptile into a bag. 'But I got distracted by the crowd and forgot to zip the bag shut,' he recalls. The cobra bit him. Panic hit. Cobra venom is neurotoxic. Symptoms begin within minutes: Blurred vision, blackened skin, slurred speech, drowsiness, often death. The nearest hospital with antivenom was 30 kilometres away. 'I was sure I'd die. I couldn't even call my parents because they didn't approve of my jungli pursuits.' An hour went by, but there were no symptoms. Turns out it was a dry bite – without venom. But Datta learnt his lesson: Concern for an animal isn't enough. Prep matters too. Even now, when he sometimes handles up to 10 rescues a day, he keeps in mind that there are no rules in the wild. Aakash Vimal rehabilitates owls and vultures. The owl who got a second chanceAakash Vimal (@Wildly_Indian_Official) In the decade that he's been rescuing owls and vultures in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Vimal has found that humans are a greater threat to animals than the other way around. Humans in small towns are particularly dangerous – they compete with wildlife for space and resources, and they prefer superstition to conservation. In May this year, Vimal, 30, was called to Seemapuri, in north-east Delhi. A rickshaw driver had just sold someone a barn owl for ₹5,000. It was about to be sacrificed in a black-magic ritual. Vimal got there in time to prevent the killing, but his problems had only just begun. The owl's legs were tied and it had been force-fed alcohol, 'so the bird cannot fight back'. He spent the next few days stabilising the bird with electrolytes and food, before it was well enough to fly. Surya Keerthi has rescued more than 30,000 reptiles. The croc of one's dreamsSurya Keerthi (@SuryaKeerthi728) Some rescues begin even before you wake. One summer morning two years ago, Keerthi, 24, had a strange dream: He was wading through a village lake when a baby crocodile surfaced. As he reached for it, someone hurled a stone into the water. Another giant croc stirred beneath. He woke up unsettled. Two minutes later, his phone rang. A baby croc had been hauled up in a fishnet and dumped at the Mysuru fish market. Keerthi grew up around reptiles; his father, 'Snake' Shyam, has rescued countless snakes. Keerthi himself has been part of 30,000 rescues. Toolkit in tow, he rescued the 10-inch croc. But where to put the little guy? He built a 2ft x 3ft tank filled with water, mud and later, just rocks. He added a heat lamp for basking and watched the baby constantly. 'I had to teach it to hunt, and to not get too used to humans,' he says. He looked up what crocs eat in the wild, but local bazaars didn't stock tiny fish – fishing nets aren't woven closely enough to trap them. So, he built a second tank just for prey, releasing only a few into the croc's tank to simulate real hunting conditions. 'If you interfere too much, you change their instincts. I didn't want to change the law of nature.' It worked. Keerthi's croc, when it was finally released into the wild weeks later, knew exactly what to do in its new world. Don't try this at home. Animals belong in the wild. Sushil Kumar Jain was recently injured while rescuing a wild boar that had barged into a Delhi college. A boar on campusSushil Kumar Jain (@BailATail) Just last week, a wild boar barged into a college in Delhi, causing full-blown evening chaos. Students and staff were trapped indoors, terrified to step out. Authorities called Sushil Kumar Jain, 59, founder of the wildlife rescue trust Bail A Tail. He and his team joined wildlife officials and spent 90 minutes safely trapping the panicked animal to release him into the forest. Boars are fast, unpredictable, and fearless. Even big cats avoid them. Two weeks previously, one had attacked a woman drying clothes outdoors in North Delhi, slamming into her from behind and injuring her leg so badly, she needed 15 stitches. Jain's team worked quickly, using heavy nets to form a three-sided barrier and guide the animal into a cage. Two rescuers were injured in the scuffle. But the boar was safely handed over to the Delhi Forest Department. Jain has been doing this since 1998, after he and his family moved to Sainik Farms and found that locals tended to kill any reptile on sight, especially snakes. So, he told neighbours to call him instead. That one promise grew into a massive rescue network. He has one strict rule: No photos during rescues. 'This is serious work,' he says. 'Not a spectacle.' From HT Brunch, July 12, 2025 Follow us on
