Latest news with #Meghdoot
The Hindu
31-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Lt. Gen. Pushpendra Singh named new army Vice-Chief
Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, an officer of the Parachute Regiment, has been appointed as the Vice-Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), will take over the charge on Friday. Mr. Singh have an illustrious career spanning more than 35 years of dedicated service to the Indian Army. He will be succeeding Lt. Gen. NS Raja Subramani, who assumed the office of VCOAS on July 1, 2024. Also, Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, is set to be the next Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command. He had assumed charge as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) on May 1, 2024. Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, set to be the next VCNS, will take charge on August 1, confirmed a senior official. Lt. Gen. Pushpendra Singh is an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy and was commissioned into the 4 Para (Special Forces) in December 1987. He participated in numerous operations, including Pawan, Meghdoot, Rakshak, and Orchid. His foreign combat exposure includes serving in United Nations Peacekeeping Missions in Lebanon and Sri Lanka. Mr. Singh has held various leadership roles throughout his career, including serving as the General Officer Commanding of the Rising Star Corps since April 2022. His exceptional service has been recognised with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Sena Medal, which he has been awarded twice.
Hindustan Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Delhi monsoon: Rain, poetry, and birds are on radar of heritage walkers this season; ready to soak in the vibe?
Clouds hover over the city making way for monsoon, announcing that it's time to soak in the vibe of the season. But Delhiites are not one to do that by just sitting beside the window That's why walk curators across the city are gearing up to curate special experiences where raindrops kiss the face when sky turns dramatic, and one gets to be amid Nature that acquires a fresh makeover in that moment. From chasing misty sunsets to spotting flashy colourful wings, and listening to rain-soaked poetry, you can do it all with your walk buddies. Here's how you can get just the right mix of calm, creativity, and pure vibe. Let the clouds lead the way! Haritage walk groups across Delhi-NCR are curating diverse experiences to beautifully capture the essence of the monsoon season. DelhiByFoot is hosting a special monsoon-themed, poetry-infused heritage walk at Mehrauli. 'The monsoon in Delhi has its own charm, it's like poetry coming to life,' says Ramit Mitra of DelhiByFoot (+91-9871181775), which is hosting a special monsoon-themed, poetry-infused heritage walk at Mehrauli Archaeological Park on July 6. 'The poetry we share moves between classical and contemporary, from Hindi to Urdu,' adds co-founder Priyanka Bhaskar, 'Take for example, Kalidasa's Meghdoot, where he names the clouds as messengers to his estranged lover. Then there are verses that instantly bring back childhood rains, Kaagaz ki kashti, baarish ka paani...' What makes the evening special, she says, is the spontaneity: 'Nothing is rehearsed. Poetry flows naturally, inspired by the weather, the sky, and the moment itself. And yes, attendees are welcome to join in and recite a few lines too, making it an immersive experience.' Catching winged wonders Hosting a special birdwatching walks this season will be the group named delhibird.(Photo: Nikhil Devasar) Rains don't just transform the landscape, they bring forests and parks alive with colour, calls and movement. 'The monsoon is when birds nest, sing and flaunt their brightest plumage; it's like their festival of life,' says Nikhil Devasar of delhibird (+91-9910003399), who is hosting special birdwatching walks this season. 'The star of these walks is the Indian Pitta, a stunning little bird that carries the mood of the monsoon on its wings,' he shares, 'With nine vivid colours shimmering across its feathers, it's fondly called navrang. In places like Bhondsi, Gurugram, it arrives with the first monsoon showers, building a ball-shaped nest from dry leaves and twigs. Even its fleeting glimpse feels like spotting a rainbow with wings.' Other monsoon visitors include the Sarus crane (above), the world's tallest flying bird, which also breeds during this season. Click, click: Sunrise to sunset Delhi Photography Club is organising photography walks to capture the beauty of monsoon, especially the magical moments of sunrise and sunset.(Photo: Virendra Shekhawat) For photography enthusiasts, the monsoon offers the perfect chance to blend their craft with the season's mood. Virendra Shekhawat of Delhi Photography Club (+91-8826712162), says, 'Capturing a sunrise or sunset when the sky is cloaked in clouds is magical.' Their next walk is scheduled for July 13 at Qutb Minar, and you don't need a DSLR to join in, just a camera, a keen eye, and the monsoon does the rest. 'We organise in small groups of about 20 photogs at places like Sunder Nursery, Lodhi Gardens, etc.' Pearls on water Namaste Delhi Travels' monsoon special lake walks are a must to catch if you love the quaint side of Delhi's waterbodies.(File Photo: Manish Rajput/HT) The city's water bodies also take on a unique character during the rains, offering a very different experience in the monsoon. 'Walking by the lake at Sanjay Van Park in the rain is a whole vibe,' says Manu Rao of Namaste Delhi Travels (+91-9953011097), which is hosting monsoon special lake walks. 'These walks are perfect for those who want to experience Delhi's softer, quieter side,' he adds, 'The best part is the pause... we give everyone time to sit by the lake, soak in the stillness, jot down thoughts, or simply watch the rain. When it drizzles, the lake shimmers and the raindrops look like tiny pearls dancing on the water. We also offer private walks and can customise the experience to suit group's preferences.' For more, follow HT City Delhi Junction
Time of India
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Unabashedly Romancing The Monsoon
The monsoon brings with it the promise of flirtations and romance, creative imagination, poetry and music, musings and reflection. The pitter-patter of falling rain and cool, caressing breeze could rouse the dormant poet in anyone capable of finer feelings. What comes to mind is Meghdoot, The Cloud Messenger, by Kalidas, a lyrical narrative of a yaksha's yearning for his dear wife. Separated from his bride due to his master Kubera's orders, he pleads with the cloud to carry his message of love and longing, and the resultant 120 stanzas are an outpouring from a monsoon-inspired Kalidas. As a pluviophile, who enjoys rain, clouds, and even the darkness that comes with a looming monsoon, with perhaps thunder and lightning flashes, this is the perfect season for finer thoughts, to curl up in a cozy corner facing the window and read while listening to music, and generally let one's imagination run wild with passion. And Kalidas provides the perfect atmospherics, as he narrates the story of an exiled man pining for his bride, who is at home in the Himalayas. As eight months pass, the lover, emaciated, finds his gold bracelet slip down his wrist onto the floor. He asks the cloud to carry his heartfelt message to his wife, saying: "Though thou be pledged to ease my darling's pain, Yet I foresee delay on every hill Where jasmines blow, and where the peacock-train Cries forth with joyful tears a welcome shrill; Thy sacrifice is great, but haste thy journey still." In another verse from Ritusamhara (The Seasons), attributed to Kalidas, the poet speaks in the voice of the lonely lover pining for his lady love: To you, dear, may the cloudy time/Bring all that you desire, Bring every pleasure, perfect, prime/To set a bride on fire; May rain whereby life wakes and shines/Where there is power of life, The unchanging friend of clinging vines/Shower blessings on my wife. Rabindranath Tagore wrote that when it rained, his heart would dance with joy: My heart dances today - Dances like a peacock. A heavy downpour falls on the new leaves, The garden quivers with the chirrup of crickets. The river has crossed the bank and approaches the village. My heart dances today - dances like a peacock. In religious traditions, Chaturmas, between July and Oct, has special significance. Vishnu is said to rest for four months on his serpent bed in yog nidra on the milky ocean, for the cosmic order to reboot itself. This is also believed to be when during samudra manthan, churning of the ocean, Shiv swallowed and held the poison in his throat and came to be called Neelkanth, During Chaturmas many Hindu festivals are celebrated, including Janmashtami, Navratri and Deepavali. Jain monks don't travel during Varsh Yog, the rainy season, to avoid hurting insects that may not be visible to the naked eye. The season is utilised for prayer and reflection, studying and discourse and they also observe the Paryushan festival . My favourite account is that of Alexander Frater, who, in his Chasing the Monsoon , says: "As a romantic ideal, turbulent, impoverished India could still weave its spell, and the key to it all - the colours, the moods, the scents, the subtle, mysterious light, the poetry, the heightened expectations, the kind of beauty that made your heart miss a beat - well, that remained the monsoon." Authored by: Narayani Ganesh ganeshnarayani@ Why Arjun Was Chosen: The Untold Secret of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 3
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Indian Express
Here's how the early onset of monsoon could drive up tomato prices
With the early onset of monsoon in Maharashtra and other places, the price of tomatoes may soon start climbing as farmers have already started reporting heavy losses though excess area is under cultivation this year. Farmers said the current crop, which was planted in February, is unable to withstand the heavy rain and the yield would dip even more in the coming weeks, which could lead to further escalation in prices. Ajit Gholap, who grows tomatoes in Pune's Junnar taluka, said his crop started to face issues since the first week of May. Pune, along with other parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, had then reported showers due to the development of a low-pressure area over the Arabian Sea. Monsoon arrived in Pune on Monday, 14 days ahead of its usual onset. On Sunday, Maharashtra witnessed advanced onset of the Southwest Monsoon, 10 days before the usual date of June 5. This is also the earliest onset of monsoon that Mumbai has seen in 35 years. Prior to this, monsoon had entered Kerala and other parts of the southern peninsula earlier than usual. While the early onset gives a much-needed break from the summer heat, it has upset the calculations of tomato growers. 'My crop was in the third picking stage and would have produced enough till the middle of June. The variety we have grown is suitable for summer, but excess rainfall has resulted in quality deterioration, with the grown produce reporting cracking of skin,' said Gholap who plants the summer variety of tomatoes on his 15-acre farm in Rohkadi village. Transplanted in February, the variety continues to bear fruit till July-August. Ganesh Nazirkar, a tomato and grape grower in Pune's Baramati, said farmers who had planted the summer crop in May reported losses due to the month's exceptionally heavy showers. 'Prices will continue to rise till the plantation figures stabilise,' he said. Nazirkar runs a consultancy which advises farmers on the best practices for growing tomatoes. He explained that a majority of the farmers use the TO 6242 variety for the summer crop, which is not amenable to heavy rain. 'Fruits crack in case of excess moisture,' he said. Nazirkar said that during the Kharif season, the Meghdoot variety is grown, which can withstand heavy rains to an extent. Once the monsoon rains hit, it is the growers from Nashik, Karnataka and other places who take up the task of producing tomatoes for the market for the rest of the year. This crop is planted from May, with farmers continuing the process till July. At Pune's wholesale market in Gultekdi, tomato prices have already seen a threefold increase over the last three weeks. On May 2, the average traded price of tomato in this market was Rs 850 per quintal, which has since then touched Rs 2,000 per quintal as of May 26. Similarly, at Madanapalle market in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district, the prices of tomatoes has increased from Rs 680 to Rs 740 per quintal in the last three weeks. At present, the retail price of tomato has touched Rs 60-70 per kilogram in Pune and other cities – a sharp rise from the Rs 20-30 per kilogram it was trading for in the first week of May. The price rise comes even as the country reports higher-than-usual planting of summer tomatoes. This summer, farmers had planted the crop over 3.24 lakh hectares as against 3.14 lakh hectares last year only for the early onset of monsoon to have toppled the cart.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
News in Frames: Chasing the monsoon
The southwest monsoon, which kick-starts the agrarian economy of India every year, has inspired poets, filmmakers and artists, with a literary work as ancient as Kalidasa's Meghdoot describing its arrival. Gusty winds and the repeated pattern and direction of coastal waves are strong indications for a fisherman to gauge the arrival of the rains. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has a certain set of criteria to follow before declaring the onset of the southwest monsoon, which usually hits the Kerala coast roughly between May and June every year. Specifications such as the amount of rainfall, wind speed and direction, and the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) recorded by satellites have to fall in a range for a specific period of time for meteorologists to declare the onset. This year, there has been a significant shift in the weather pattern. Unlike previous years, pre-monsoon rain has caused havoc in some South Indian cities. Bengaluru has witnessed a flood-like situation with all its major roads waterlogged for days. In the past, the city has seen similar floods and extremely heavy rain during peak monsoon or the post-monsoon period. However, this is the first time the city got flooded during pre-monsoon rain. Parts of Tamil Nadu, mainly Chennai, Puducherry and Karaikal, have received light to moderate rain, bringing relief from the summer heat, and conditions have remained favourable for an early onset of the monsoon in the State for over a week. The upper cyclonic circulation over the coast of Andhra Pradesh is attributed to the advancement of the monsoon in the State, resulting in moderate rain that continued in Visakhapatnam with dark clouds covering the skies throughout the week. The low-pressure system over the Arabian Sea has also favoured an early onset and advancement of the monsoon in the State. 'The onset phase is going to be vigorous, and we are expecting continuous very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in most of the districts of Kerala in the next three days. The prevailing La-Nina-like condition in the Pacific Ocean should also give good rain this monsoon,' says Neetha Gopal, scientist and Director of IMD, Thiruvananthapuram. Some meteorologists predicted a rare occurrence of monsoon onset in Kerala and parts of Karnataka simultaneously as conditions have remained favourable throughout the week in both the States. 'We were still missing the OLR data which should be below 200 W/m 2 in the range between 5-10° N Latitude and 70-75° E Longitude, the reason why monsoon onset could not be declared in Kerala on Friday,' said Rajeevan K., meteorologist with the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority. On Saturday afternoon, the IMD officially declared the onset of the southwest monsoon, which is eight days in advance of the normal date, thus marking the earliest onset of the monsoon since 2009. Last month, the IMD said India was likely to receive 'above normal' monsoon rainfall, or 5% more than the historical average of 87 centimeters (Text by Nirmal Harindran) Windy day: A man walks along the promenade on the Shangumugham beach in Thiruvananthapuram, a significant entry point of the monsoon on mainland India. Bolt from the blue: A streak of lightning illuminates the sky over a statue of Jawaharlal Nehru on the picturesque Beach Road in Visakhapatnam on May 12. Coastal vibes: Women enjoy the rain, waves and wind on the Puthuvype beach in Kochi on May 22 as the overcast sky portends a heavy spell. Towards shelter: Rescue personnel take stranded people to safety on a dinghy through a flooded street in Sai Layout in Bengaluru on May 19 as overnight showers inundated the city. Slow business: A pushcart vendor taking cover under his umbrella braves heavy rain as motorists whiz past at Minsk Square in the central business district of Bengaluru on May 17. Topsy-turvy world: A boy and girl practise mallakhamb as clouds darken the Mumbai skyline at Shivaji Park on May 20. Grey outlook: Dark clouds loom over the Puthuvype beach in Kochi in Kerala as heavy rain pummelled the coastal city on May 21. Rain song: A man and woman ride through pounding rain on a two-wheeler as pre-monsoon rain lashes Visakhapatnam on May 21. Relaxed mood: A man rests on the beach as waves lap around him while two women enjoy the showers at Kannamaly in Kochi in Kerala on May 24.
