Because Every Life Is Precious...

I still remember that day and it shakes me to my core till date. That evening felt heavier than usual. That day when nothing made sense. I hadn’t eaten, not even spoken to anyone. I had failed UPSC, the exam I had prepared for day and night, the exam that carried not just my dreams, but the expectations of my parents too, their disappointment cut deeper than any wound. I felt like a failure. A thought kept haunting me until it consumed me completely, "Am I not good enough?”. That evening, I went up to the terrace. I felt numb as I stood there, looking down, thinking to myself that ending it all would be easier than carrying this pain, the pain of expectations. All that was left was just one step further and it’ll all be over. 

But just as I was about to, I heard a voice. My friend had followed me upstairs, he looked at me with pure concern, pulled me back, and said, “You don’t have to do this. You’re not alone.” I started sobbing uncontrollably. Just hearing those words saved my life. My friend didn’t stop there, he recommended me a psychologist, and I began therapy. Slowly, I began to understand myself better. I realized that what I wanted wasn’t death, but an escape from the heavy burden I was carrying. Suicide was a mere step to run away from all my problems. I understood that failing an exam didn't mean life was over, rather it was an opening to a new way of how I looked at my own life. But sadly I chose the wrong path back then, but not anymore! With the right support, I began to heal.

This is where I understood something important: people who attempt suicide don’t always want to die. They are crushed by their pain, whether it’s academic failure like mine, family pressure, financial struggles, society's impossible expectations or their own. The mind gets so trapped in darkness that ending life feels like the only way out.

Today is 10th September, World Suicide Prevention Day, and it makes me remind that not everyone is as fortunate as I was. I had a friend who saved me, but many others stand on the same edge, and there is no one to stop them, no one to say “Everything will be alright”. Every person in this society, may it be a farmer or a student like me should know that failure is not the end of life. They should get proper assistance, from a psychologist, a friend or even a family member. 

It's not just about them, but also about us, just being there for someone who is screaming but no one can hear. Sometimes, a kind word, attentive listening, or reminding them that they matter can change everything for a person. So if you ever come across someone who looks disheartened, even if it's your enemy, don’t just pass by. A small 'Are you okay?' or just spending a little time with them can mean a lot more than we realize. As someone who has been on the other end, take it from me that the tiniest effort we show today could be the reason someone decides to hold on for tomorrow.

-Mrunmayee Pataskar 

दृष्टी

 

कविता ही अशी देणगी आहे जी कधी कधी काही प्रसंगांना सहजच शब्दबध्द करून जाते, तशीच ही माझी कविता! आपण कधीकधी आपल्या दुःखांना मोठं समजतो पण कधी असं झालंय तुमच्यासोबत की कुणीतरी नकळत तुम्हाला हसत हसत संकटांना सामोरं जायला शिकवून गेलंय ? माझ्यासोबत एकदा असं झालं आणि त्या प्रसंगाने मला जीवनाकडे सकारात्मकपणे बघण्याची एक नवीन 'दृष्टी' दिली.

ते स्तब्ध होते; माझ्या मनात मात्र विचारांचे वादळ होते.

त्यांच्या चेहऱ्यावर शांती आणि निरागसतेचा संगम;

माझ्या मनात मात्र कोलाहल, प्रश्न, संभ्रम होते.

माझ्याकडे सगळं असूनही मी अतृप्त होतो;

त्यांच्याकडल्या उणीवाही त्यांना जगण्याचं बळ देत होत्या.

मला चिंता होती भविष्यातल्या 'जर-तर'ची;

ते वर्तमानातील चिंतांशीही मैत्री करून जगत होते.

ते एकमेकांचा हात घट्ट धरून उभे होते;

मी तर हेव्यादाव्यांच्या जगात कधीच एकटा पडलो होतो.

ते एक एक पाऊल सावकाश टाकत होते,

आणि मी पुढे जायच्या घाईत काही पाऊलं कधीच गाळली होती.

ते जात होते पुढे चाचपडत, पण योग्य दिशेने;

मात्र मी निवडलेली दिशा योग्य आहे का नाही, हे कधी पडताळून पाहिले नव्हते.

त्यांच्या चेहऱ्यावर आशावाद स्पष्ट दिसत होता;

त्यांच्याकडे उमेद होती,

मी मात्र उसनं अवसान आणून, एकेक दिवस पुढे ढकलत होतो.

त्यांच्यातल्या कमींसाठी ते कधी मागत नव्हते सहानुभूती;

ना देवाला दोष, ना ग्रह-ताऱ्यांची भिती त्यांना होती.

त्यांना बघून जणू माझं भावविश्वच ढवळून निघालं;

विचारांचा वेग वाढला,

आणि मी स्वतःलाच कोड्यात पाडलं.

तेव्हा कळून आलं — माझ्याकडे नजर होती,

पण त्यांच्याकडे दृष्टी होती.

ते दृष्टीहीन नव्हतेच; मुळी मीच स्वार्थांध होतो.

ते जगण्यासाठी धडपडत होते,

मी धडपडत जगत होतो.

तेवढ्यात सिग्नल हिरवा झाला;

गाडी सुसाट सुटली,

आणि या अल्पशा वेळात जणू जीवनाची नवी वाट गवसली.

नेहमीप्रमाणे मी कॉलेजला जाण्यासाठी बसने प्रवास करत होते. एका लाल सिग्नलवर थांबले असताना खिडकीतून बाहेर पाहताना मला असे काही दिसले की त्या पाच मिनिटांतच आयुष्याचा एक मोठा धडा शिकायला मिळाला. त्या अनुभवातून उमटलेली ही कविता — माझ्या भावविश्वाचा तो दृष्टांत तुमच्यापर्यंत पोहोचवण्याचा प्रयत्न आहे. ही कविता तुम्हालाही माझ्यासारखंच जीवनाचं बळ देऊन जावो!

-मनाली देशपांडे

Bharat: A Civilizational Identity, Not a Colonial Construct

 

From the past 104 years, on 1st August, Vaadasabha, which is the official debating union of S. P. College, has been organizing Lokmanya Tilak Punyatithi programme in the remembrance of Lokmanya Tilak. This year Vaadasabha had the honour of hosting Hon. Sanjeev Sanyal, who is a celebrated economist, historian, and thinker. His address was a powerful blend of history, geopolitics, and civilizational introspection, focused on a theme both ancient and urgent: the origins of our national identity as Bharat.

In a world where national identities are often defined by colonial timelines, India, or more accurately, Bharat stands out as an ancient civilization whose continuity predates modern statehood by millennia.

Yet ironically, even in 2025, it becomes necessary to reassert this civilizational truth. As Hon. Sanjeev Sanyal pointed out in his lecture and presentation, the colonial attempt to erase the idea of India wasn’t some historical misstep, it was a deliberate strategy of domination. Calling India “no more a nation than the equator” wasn’t just Churchill’s rhetoric but civilizational gaslighting.

The roots of Bharat go far deeper than modern maps or Mughal chronicles. The term Bharata first appears in the Rigveda, tied to a small tribe — the Bharata-Trutsu, who lived along the once-mighty Saraswati River, lauded as Sindhu-mata, the mother of rivers. This river, dismissed for years as mythical, is now visible through satellite imagery and archaeological evidence, flowing from the Himalayas to the Rann of Kutch, supporting a flourishing Saraswati-Harappan civilization that collapsed not by war, but by climate.

But here's the kicker: India didn’t become a civilization despite its diversity, it became one because it assimilated it. The Battle of Ten Kings, often treated as a mere military episode, laid the foundation of something deeper. After victory, King Sudasa didn't impose, he assimilated. The Vedas emerged not as sectarian texts, but as a Samhita — a compilation of shared wisdom across tribes. This principle ‘unity without uniformity’ became the operating system of Indic civilization.

The Rigveda even ends with a civilizational compact: “Common be your assembly, common your thought.” This idea would echo for centuries, from the scattered Shakti Peethas to Shankaracharya’s pan-India yatras, from Tolkappiyam (the oldest Tamil grammar) rooted in Vedic wisdom to the sacred geography described in the Puranas — rivers, mountain ranges, and even people like the Kiratas and Yavanas are mapped into a cohesive whole.

Even when colonial powers tried to fracture this identity, the internal memory of Jambudwipa (the sacred land of the rose apple) held, from Kashmir’s sages to Kerala’s Mahabali. And nothing symbolizes this better than the Ashoka Chakra on our national flag. It is not merely a wheel, it is the ancient emblem of the Chakravartin — the universal sovereign. King Sudasa once wielded this very symbol, not to dominate, but to unify. Today, it stands not for empire, but for democratic dharma, the wheel that turns not by force, but by consensus.

This blog isn’t a nostalgic ode. It’s a civilizational reminder, that in the face of fractured narratives, we must remember we are not fragments. We are the fire. We shall speak together, let our minds be one, Samgacchadhvam samvadadhvam.

-Aditya Phad

Beyond the Battlefield: The Strategic Role of The Air Force

What is the first thing that comes to our mind when we hear about the Kargil War, the boots on the ground maybe. However, the Kargil Victory is incomplete without acknowledging the role of The Air Force, which played a decisive role in it. On that account, we celebrate July 26th (Kargil Vijay Diwas), as an attempt to pay tribute to the unmatched bravery of The Indian Air Force in the Kargil War (1999).

The wars in the 21st century are not absolute without the usage of advanced fighter jets. The Kargil War is the prime evidence of it, as it was the first time India used combat jets intensely in a war situation. The Indian Air Force launched ‘Operation Safed Sagar’, which targeted the undercover foes situated in Tiger Hills. The Indian Air Force deployed Mirage-2000 fighter jets using laser-guided bombs to destroy major enemy camps like Muntho Dhalo (intruders supply line). While mirages were used to hit from far-distance heights, MiG-27 pilots flew dangerously at lower ranges to bomb enemy targets for precise attacks. 

Transport planes like the AN-32 served well to carry soldiers and goods for military personnel in hilly areas with altitudes of 16000 feet. It is also a lesser-known fact that India used Heron drones provided by Israel for the first time in the war history of India. The Kargil War proved to be a turning point in the technological advancements of The Indian Air Force. India identified the limitations of contemporary air defence and began working on it, since then, it has never looked back. This resulted in the development of an indigenous fighter jet—Tejas, and all of this progress gave rise to the fourth largest military, globally. 

At last, we may infer that the Kargil War victory was the outcome of a military operation in which The Army and The Air Force worked together strategically. We should be aware of heroes like Vikram Batra, and indeed they are significant, but we must also value the sacrifices that aren’t always evident. It's our civic duty to respect, remember, and reiterate the life stories of the fighters who sacrificed themselves for this mother nation.

Jai Hind!!!

-Shlok Nanda

इतिहासाचे साक्षीदार ते जागतिक वारसा...

 

"शिवरायांचे आठवावे रूप l शिवरायांचा आठवावा प्रताप l 

शिवरायांचा आठवावा साक्षेप l भूमंडळी ll"

समर्थांच्या या ओळी सार्थ करणारी घटना गेल्या काही दिवसांपूर्वी आपल्याकडे घडली. युनेस्को (UNESCO) म्हणजेच संयुक्त राष्ट्र शैक्षणिक, वैज्ञानिक आणि सांस्कृतिक संघटना. या संघटनेने 'मराठा लष्करी लँडस्केप' (Maratha Military Landscapes) या नावाने महाराष्ट्रातील १२ किल्ल्यांची निवड जागतिक वारसा स्थळांच्या यादी मध्ये केली. ही यादी ४७ व्या जागतिक वारसा समितीच्या अधिवेशनात जाहीर करण्यात आली. 

छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराजांचा ज्या ठिकाणी जन्म झाला असा 'शिवनेरी', महाराजांनी जिंकलेला पहिला किल्ला 'तोरणा', महाराजांची पहिली राजधानी 'राजगड', ज्या ठिकाणी महाराजांचा राज्याभिषेक झाला असा 'रायगड', अफजलखानाच्या वधाची ऐतिहासिक घटना घडली तो 'प्रतापगड', सिद्धी जौहर सोबत ऐतिहासिक झुंज दिली तो 'पन्हाळा', जिथे मुघलांविरुद्ध भयंकर युद्ध झाले असा 'साल्हेर', भक्कम तटबंदी आणि नैसर्गिक सौंदर्य असलेला आणि पोलादासम मजबूत असलेला 'लोहगड', सागरी संरक्षणासाठी महत्त्वाचा किल्ला म्हणजे 'विजयदुर्ग', समुद्रात बांधलेला अभेद्य किल्ला 'सिंधुदुर्ग', अरबी समुद्रातील 'सुवर्णदुर्ग', आणि शिवाजी महाराजांचे दक्षिणेतील लष्करी ठाणे म्हणजे 'जिंजीचा किल्ला'. प्रत्येक गड आणि त्या प्रत्येकाचं असलेलं विशेष महत्व... 

आज अभिमानाने उर भरून येतो की, भारतासारख्या देशात आम्ही राहतो— जेथील संस्कृती, सनातन वैदिक संस्कृती आहे. इथल्या केवळ वस्तू आणि व्यक्तीच नाही तर येथील मातीच्या कणाकणाला देखील ऐतिहासिक, आणि सांस्कृतिक महत्व आहे. 

पण आज आमचं दुर्दैव असं, की त्याची किंमत कळायला मात्र आम्हाला वेळ लागतोय! परदेशी व्यक्ती तिकीट काढून, लांब पल्ल्याचा प्रवास करून आमच्या गडकिल्यांचा अभ्यास करायला येतात; पण आम्ही भारतीय मात्र अनेकदा आमच्या गडकिल्ल्यांकडे केवळ भ्रमंती करण्याचे एक क्षेत्र म्हणून बघतो. किल्यांच्या भिंतीवर नाव कोरण्यात आम्हाला आमचं यश वाटतं. आणि यामुळे आम्ही त्या गडाच्या सौंदर्याला धक्का लावतो. 

खरंतर आपले गडकिल्ले हे आपल्यासाठी पवित्र मंदिरांप्रमाणे आहेत. स्वराज्याचे शिल्पकार छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज आणि आपल्या अखेरच्या श्वासापर्यंत केवळ 'स्वराज्य' हाच मंत्र जपलेल्या धर्मवीर छत्रपती संभाजी महाराज, या कार्यामध्ये वेळोवेळी त्यांना साथ देणारे— स्वराज्यासाठी लढलेले, झटलेले, झगडलेले, स्वराज्यासाठी आपल्या प्राणांचे बलिदान दिलेले सर्व हरहुन्नरी मावळे, आज या प्रत्येकाच्या स्मृती गडाच्या कणाकणांत आहेत. आज त्यांचं रक्त गडाच्या मातीत मिसळलं म्हणून स्वराज्य टिकलं! आणि अशा या आपल्या पवित्र गडकिल्ल्यांवर चढवलेला 'मानाचा मुकुट' म्हणजे जागतिक वारसा स्थळांच्या यादीमध्ये या किल्ल्यांना दिलेला बहुमान आहे. ह्या ऐतिहासिक घटनेचे आपण सर्व साक्षीदार आहोत हे आपले भाग्य! जे गडकिल्ले आज या सर्वाची साक्ष देतात, त्यांना इथून पुढे प्राणपणाने जपणे हेच आपले कर्तव्य! तेव्हाच खऱ्या अर्थाने आणि अभिमानाने आपण सांगू की, "होय! जेथील 12 किल्ल्यांचा समावे्श आज जागतिक वारसा स्थळांच्या यादीमध्ये आहे, ते किल्ले आमच्या मराठी माणसांची— आमच्या इतिहासाची ओळख आहेत....!!

- पूर्वा काणे