Latest news with #Babli
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Youth commits suicide in Thane; woman booked for abetment based on phone chats
Thane, Police have registered a case against a 21-year-old woman for allegedly abetting a youth's suicide here after coming across their WhatsApp chats in which she encouraged him to end his life, officials said on Wednesday. Youth commits suicide in Thane; woman booked for abetment based on phone chats Sahil Sahdev Thakur, also aged 21, was found hanging at his home in Varchapada area at Sagav in Dombivli on June 26, an official from Manpada police station said. The man and the accused knew each other. On the day of the incident, the man was alone at home as his parents had gone out of town for a religious pilgrimage. After their return, his parents found him hanging at home and alerted the police, the official said. Initially, reasons behind the suicide remained unclear. However, the man's family later went through his mobile phone and found a series of WhatsApp chats with a woman, identified as "Babli", whose number was saved in the device. A former office-bearer of a political party on Monday accompanied the man's family to the Manpada police station where they showed the chat records, which allegedly contained disturbing exchanges between the man and the woman, hailing from Pade village, in the hours before the suicide, the official said. According to the police, between 2 am and 3.15 am on the night before his death, the man and the accused woman were engaged in an argument over phone. In the messages, the woman allegedly told the man: "There is no one at home, hang yourself. Don't use a new saree, use an old one," the official said. Senior Police Inspector Sandipan Shinde confirmed that the content of the chats was examined and found to be serious in nature. "Based on the digital evidence provided and the family's formal complaint, we registered a case against the woman on Monday under section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita," the official said. An investigation was underway to verify all aspects of the communication and the nature of the relationship between the deceased and the accused, the police said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
A real Sitaare Zameen Par: Living with Down syndrome, 45-year-old is dancer, champion swimmer and yoga instructor
At 45, Babli Ramachandran is a Bharatanatyam dancer, a yoga coach and a champion swimmer. Nobody quite enacts the navarasas the way she does on stage — be it pain, joy, fury or love. Overcoming physical difficulties and pain, she not only mastered her asanas but decided to become a yoga trainer. She has difficulty seeing underwater but by practising with float dividers, she developed her own sense of spatial awareness to keep her body on course. And win at the Special Olympics National Games. Currently, she is travelling across the UK with her mother, telling her to 'chill, feel the wind and not worry.' Born with Down syndrome, she may have had delayed learning but is a multi-disciplinary achiever. Babli, who was written off at birth, is more mainstream than normal people. And it is people like her who have inspired actor-producer Aamir Khan to make Sitaare Zameen Par, a film that argues for acceptability of neuro-diverse people. Babli even inspired her mother, Dr Surekha Ramachandran to become a researcher on Down Syndrome and pursue a doctorate on the mental health challenges it poses, like depression. She now runs the Down Syndrome Federation of India to help parents groom their children to lead independent, dignified and quality lives. 'Your child is not abnormal, just has a different intellectual and body capacity. They will be as strong and fearless as you are. If you fear this condition, then they will mirror it,' says Dr Ramachandran. IT ALL BEGINS WITH THE PARENT 'Raising a child with Down's syndrome demands a powerful emotional shift. Yes, they will need medical monitoring throughout as most have congenital defects. The child will adapt and grow, follow the parent's cue but the parent must evolve first and look at them just as they are,' says Dr Shrinidhi Nathany, consultant, molecular haematology and oncology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram. For that, she advises, parents have to absolve themselves of guilt. 'Most cases of Down syndrome, a condition when a human has 47 instead of 46 chromosomes, arise from a random error in cell division during the formation of the reproductive cells (egg or sperm) or in early embryonic development. While Down syndrome is a genetic condition, the extra chromosome that causes it is usually not passed down from parent to child,' she explains. Now the life expectancy of those living with it has increased to 60 years with some even living beyond, given the right environment. Dr Ramachandran recalls how Babli was born with cataract, required surgery, had multiple health issues and a bad bout of pneumonia, all within six months. But her heart was strong and she came back every single time. 'The fact that everybody believed she would die was an eye-opener. Everybody chose to focus on her limitations, her drooling, her seizures or the fact that she had to be given enema every day to clear out her intestines because her gut muscles were weak and unable to contract. So I decided to work on her strengths and treated her just like her brother. She realised she may be different but was equally valued,' says Dr Ramachandran. Of course, puberty brought its own challenges for Dr Ramachandran. 'Babli became detached, indulged in self-talk, had hallucinations and talked to imaginary people. There were bouts of aggression, eating disorders, facial tics, mood swings and repetitive, obsessive behaviour. While her behavioural issues compounded, I realised that it was also the time of developing her communication, self-care and motor skills,' she says. THE MAKING OF AN ACE SWIMMER AND MORE Dr Ramachandran enrolled her for swimming and dancing, both of which would enhance her cognitive and motor capacities. In fact, she signed up Babli for regular swimming classes and contests where there were bigger and stronger competitors. 'She would lower herself in the water, hear a whistle and then lunge forward. And then she would ask me to move away. That was a fantastic feeling. It meant that if I trusted her as a parent, she would be in charge,' says Dr Ramachandran. Similarly as a Bharat Natyam dancer, Babli developed her own grammar of finding her spot on the stage although she couldn't see the markings. She would follow the spotlight, go to its rim and assume her posture. 'Babli talks through her dance. She started emoting in her sleep, while eating, while bathing and throughout the day and night. It is her tool of self-expression,' says Dr Ramachandra. She has now been part of dance troupes to Singapore, Malaysia and MIT and since Covid imparts yoga lessons to people living with Down's syndrome. Despite the gloom of lockdown, Babli ensured that she spent her time doing all that she wanted to do. 'She swam, she dressed up, she had fun with her nephews and she kept herself busy with music and dance,' says her mother. 'There was a time when she sought companionship, wanted to get married, which is such a stigma. She even went into severe depression. That's why we encourage social meet-ups between those with Down syndrome, so that they can find their partners,' says Dr Ramachandran. WHY DOWN SYNDROME KIDS ARE TALENTED Children with Down syndrome often surprise us—not by doing what we think is impossible, but by doing it in their own time and in their own way. 'Scientifically, we know that the condition affects cognitive development, but this tells us little about the child's spirit, creativity or emotional intelligence,' says Dr Nathany. Many children with Down syndrome have extraordinary mimicry skills, strong musicality, a natural affinity for rhythm, and an infectious ability to connect emotionally with others. 'Their memory for faces, songs and daily routines can be remarkable. Their sincerity, lack of pretension, and empathy make them exceptional friends, coworkers, and sometimes, artists. We now understand these are not exceptions; they are expressions of neurodiverse potential,' adds Dr Nathany. When given access to early therapies and inclusive education, many go on to develop real-world skills—some become dancers, painters, athletes, even entrepreneurs. MAKING THEM A PART OF SOCIETY Dr Nathany believes that the biggest barrier is not chromosomal but societal. 'Scientifically, we know that the brain is plastic. Neurodevelopment is shaped as much by environment as by genes. A nurturing home can change a child's trajectory,' she says. Mainstreaming begins with inclusive education: schools must adapt curriculum and teaching strategies, not label children as 'slow.' 'Employers must open doors to roles that match their abilities. Policy must shift from tokenism to genuine accommodation—accessible transport, adult transition support, workplace sensitization,' suggests Dr Nathany. As for Babli, Dr Ramachandra tells us that she likes to call herself Purneshwari (one who is complete). 'But for me she is bubbling with life. She is so sentient that she always calms me down, saying, 'Everything will always be okay.''
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Despair to dignity: How micro loans helped rebuild livelihoods post Covid
Babli took a Rs 80,000 loan to set up a grocery shop in Surajpur When the Covid-19 lockdown brought life to a standstill in early 2020, Babli, a sanitation worker in Greater Noida, was among the millions suddenly left without income. Within weeks, her two sons lost their factory jobs. Her husband, who drove an autorickshaw, also found himself stranded. "We had nothing," she recalled. "No job, no food. Just fear." But a govt announcement blaring through her Surajpur lane in June 2020 changed everything. That was the first time Babli heard of PM Svanidhi — the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor Atmanirbhar Nidhi — a central scheme launched to provide collateral-free working capital loans to small vendors affected by the pandemic. Though she wasn't a registered street vendor, Babli managed to get a letter of recommendation from the Greater Noida Authority. With it, she started a modest vegetable cart. Her first loan was Rs 10,000. She repaid it in 12 months. Then came a Rs 20,000 second-term loan, which she cleared in 18 months. By 2023, she became eligible for the third-term loan of Rs 50,000. "That helped me open a small shop in my colony," Babli said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Calcule cuánto podría ganar invirtiendo $200 en Amazon CFD's y otras acciones de indetenible Undo "We sell groceries, oil, toiletries — enough to live with dignity now." Babli is one of 403 street vendors in Noida to receive the third loan under the scheme. Her story mirrors that of hundreds who escaped the poverty trap with timely financial aid. In Dadri, Vinod Prajapati, a diploma holder in bike mechanics, also watched his livelihood vanish during the lockdown. "I had to shut my shop. There were no vehicles to repair," he said. A father of five daughters, he feared he might have to pull his eldest out of school. But then he learnt about the Svanidhi scheme from newspapers in June 2020. With Rs 10,000, he opened a tea stall. Slowly, earnings trickled in. "It was hard, but I paid back every rupee," he says. His wife, Babita, took a loan too and began selling vegetables. Together, their home stabilised. Vinod's next loans — Rs 20,000 and then Rs 50,000 — helped expand the business. By 2024, he secured Rs 1.9 lakh under the Mudra scheme too. Today, they run a grocery and stationery shop. "All five daughters are in school or college — the eldest pursuing a BE degree. Without the scheme, I might've lost everything," Vinod said. The third-term loans were distributed on Dec 31, 2024. Now, many, like Akhilesh Upadhyay from Chipyana, are waiting for the fourth phase, expected to offer Rs 1 lakh. Upadhyay, who had worked in construction before the pandemic hit, used his first loan to start a small snack cart. "My wife is disabled, and I have young children. These loans kept us afloat," he said. The third loan of Rs 50,000 helped him grow the business, but a fourth is urgently needed. "I've paid off more than half already. But I need the next loan to keep going." Launched on June 1, 2020, PM Svanidhi offers street vendors an escalating loan ladder — Rs 10,000 for the first term, Rs 20,000 for the second, Rs 50,000 for the third, and Rs 1 lakh planned for the fourth. There's also a digital incentive: vendors receive Rs 50 for completing 50 digital transactions in a month, with up to Rs 100 in total cashback for exceeding 200 transactions. To qualify, vendors must have a certificate of vending or a letter of recommendation from local authorities. In Gautam Budh Nagar, only those under the Noida Authority had vending certificates. Others were supported through LoRs issued after requests by the district's urban mission team. City mission manager Sheela explained, "We ensured the process remained inclusive, even for informal vendors. That's how thousands could benefit." To reach the poorest, loans are disbursed via a wide range of financial institutions — from nationalised banks like SBI (5.6 lakh beneficiaries) and PNB (3 lakh), Bank of Baroda (2.9 lakh), Union Bank of India (1.9lakh) and Indian Bank (1.7lakh) to micro-finance institutions and SHGs, like Stree Nidhi. In UP alone, 95 institutions took part, with SBI serving the largest number of beneficiaries. Repaying 10,000 struggle for many While UP successfully extended PM Svanidhi to nearly 20 lakh urban street vendors, striking a success rate of over 100%, several beneficiaries struggled to repay the first tranche of the loan. While in the first phase, 13.9 lakh beneficiaries received loans, only 5.2 lakh were eligible for the second round and just 76,872 for the third. In Noida, 4,756 vendors availed the first loan. Of them, only 2,270 repaid the loan and secured the second, and 403 moved on to the third, reflecting the challenge of timely repayments. Across the country, over 96 lakh loans have been disbursed—nearly 70 lakh first-term, 23 lakh second-term, and close to 5 lakh third-term loans.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Harish questions Revanth, Uttam's silence on AP's Godavari project
Hyderabad: Former minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao alleged that the Andhra Pradesh govt was conspiring to divert 200 TMC from Godavari waters through the proposed Banakacherla Godavari link project. He accused the Congress govt of remaining silent on the issue despite there being a major threat to the interests of Telangana. He demanded that the Banakacherla project be halted immediately to prevent irreversible damage. Harish Rao, who gave a PPT on the Banakacherla-Godavari scheme at Telangana Bhavan on Saturday, explained how the neighbouring state was swiftly taking up the project. The Centre, under the guise of interlinking rivers, is enabling Andhra Pradesh to divert water even without the completion of Polavaram. "Despite all this, the Telangana govt has shown no urgency, no resistance," Harish said. He said after the injustice faced in Krishna river waters, there is another threat in the form of the Banakacherla project. "While the AP govt is pushing ahead with tenders for this project, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy and irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy have chosen to remain silent," he alleged. He criticised the Congress govt for focusing more on political vendetta than public welfare. "They are busy filing false cases against KTR and BRS leaders. Sadly, the state's interests are being mortgaged for the sake of political power," he said. Harish Rao said Telangana has eight BJP MPs, eight Congress MPs, and two Union ministers, yet no one is raising their voice. "Is their loyalty to Delhi more important than their responsibility towards Telangana?" he asked. Drawing a contrast, he recalled how Chandrababu Naidu once fought Maharashtra over just 2 TMC from the Babli project. "Now, with 200 TMC on the line, shouldn't the Telangana govt be fighting even harder?" He alleged that Revanth Reddy is compromising state interests to protect his friendship with Chandrababu Naidu. "If the state govt is serious, BRS is ready to support a resolution in the Assembly. But if you fail to act, we will launch a people's movement and pursue legal action," the former minister said. On Uttam Kumar Reddy's letter, Harish said, "Today, I gave a presentation on the Banakacherla project. On the same day, Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy released a letter with yesterday's date. I thank him for responding at least after our presentation," said Harish Rao. He said writing letters is not enough. "If the minister is serious, he should ask the chief minister to demand an apex council meeting on Banakacherla. That is what the people of Telangana are expecting. " He said Telangana needs action, not publicity. "Backdated letters won't protect our water. Only a strong stand will." 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 .
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Bunty Aur Babli turns 20: Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji's crime caper is a sharp, spirited portrait of middle-class ambition in post-liberalisation India
It was the early 2000s. Aditya Chopra had seen failure, and not just once; the industry had started to lose faith as well as some within his own family. He was no longer the golden boy, and that silence around him was growing heavier. Hence, he made a decision. Not to retreat, but to move and to try something unexpected. He wanted to make a crime caper, with Abhishek Bachchan in the lead. He handed the reins to a young director, known only for a remake, and gave him a story that set out to change the syntax of commercial storytelling. For Yash Raj Films, this was unfamiliar territory. It had none of the soft-focus charm of their romantic sagas. There was no moral compass pointing north. Not even NRI nostalgia to cushion the fall. At its heart, it was about thieves, beneath the ever-watchful eye of capitalism's glimmering tower, stealing not for malice, but for meaning. Many might think this is about Dhoom, with its bikes, its pace, its swagger. That's another story for another day. This is about something else. Something gentler, but sharper. This is about Bunty Aur Babli. On paper, the film read like a loose riff on Bonnie and Clyde, but the comparison falls apart on contact. The conflict, the characters, even the tonal register, everything diverges. There's a deliberate lightness here, a sense of joy that's not accidental. What distinguishes it, though, is its grounding in a newly liberalized Indian economy. What resonates most is the social and generational context from which Bunty and Babli emerge. They're children of a transitional India, where aspiration outpaces infrastructure, where dreams travel faster than opportunity. Their world is shaped by cable television, their life is defined by endless stories of success featuring people like them, but never quite about them. They come from the moral certainties of the middle class, yet no longer find themselves entirely at home in them. So unlike Bonnie and Clyde, their rebellion isn't just romantic or criminal — it's existential. They're not simply running from the law; they're running towards meaning, place, and identity. Bunty (Abhishek Bachchan) comes from Fursatganj. Babli (Rani Mukerji) runs away from Pankinagar. Towns like these don't figure in the imagination of India A. They are not destinations, just glimpses from a moving train, places you pass through on your way elsewhere. The kind of small towns, which Gulzar described as 'chhote chhote shehron se', towns that appear as two-minute railway halts, or as dhaba stops on long, anonymous highways. It's no accident, then, that the film is filled with trains and roads. They're more than just setting, they're the spirit. Movement becomes metaphor. The story sways towards the form of a road movie, but what it really tracks is the velocity of desire, the shape of a search. Bunty and Babli's journey begins with the pulse of 'Dhadak Dhadak', introduced separately (notice Babli, dancing in an akhada, subverting every expectation of the YRF heroine). By the interval, they're together, dancing to 'Nach Baliye', on a set that feels like Broadway filtered through Mumbai, brought alive by Sharmishta Roy. It's more than a spectacle, it's a declaration. They've arrived. Not by permission, but by defiance. Because for towns like Fursatganj and Pankinagar, the law does not build ladders. It builds maps that forget them. Also Read | Bunty Aur Babli 2 review: Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukerji kindle the old spark At the interval point, another shift takes place, not just in the story, but in the film's very form. This is when Amitabh Bachchan enters as Commissioner Dashrath Singh, tasked with hunting down Bunty and Babli. And with his arrival, something changes. Until now, the film had moved along the undercurrent of contrast, between different Indias, between aspiration and limitation, but that tension remained largely subtextual. With Bachchan's entry, the polarity becomes tonal. The first half of Bunty aur Babli is grounded. It belongs to the soil. Its language, texture, and rhythm echo the realism of Amol Palekar or Basu Chatterjee movies. But post-interval, the film shapeshifts. It leaps into the zone of a Manmohan Desai caper: louder, faster, glossier. The satire gets broader, the stakes more stylized. What was once rooted starts to float. The chase becomes theatrical, the con jobs more elaborate, the narrative more self-aware. And by the end, the homages are unmistakable. This is Catch Me If You Can, filtered through a Bollywood lens, stitched with spectacle and swagger. The film wears its love for the '70s on its sleeve. Look closely, and a Hath Ki Safai poster slips into the mise-en-scène like a memory. Listen carefully, and you'll hear 'Dil Cheez Kya Hai' floating in the background, as Bachchan's voice reflects on lost love. Ranjeet plays Ranjeet. Prem Chopra appears, but not as himself. And Sholay? It haunts the form. Bunty and Babli don the jackets of Jai and Veeru, not as parody but as inheritance. And in the end, there's a moving train, a face-off between an honest cop (read: Thakur) and two outlaws. But the most pointed homage is the casting of Bachchan himself. Once the face of rebellion, the original angry young man, he now stands on the other side. No longer the drifter, no longer the spark, he is the law, the system, the state. He chases what he once embodied. The film, without ever raising its voice, offers a mirror. A deconstruction. Bachchan as Dashrath Singh isn't just a cop chasing thieves, he's really time chasing itself. He's a myth returning to watch its own unravelling. You can almost sense that director Shaad Ali is working from a place of deep fascination. His enthusiasm doesn't just sit on the surface, it feels visceral, alive in every frame. But at no point does this passion overwhelm the story. Instead, it powers it from within. His gaze is packed with ideas, and what's remarkable is how effortlessly he brings each one to life. There's also a clear and genuine love for the song-and-dance tradition of Bombay cinema. Shaad doesn't treat music as decoration, he uses it to its fullest potential. Each song becomes a narrative moment, revealing themes, emotions, even entire storylines. But the real giant here — the cultural juggernaut, is Kajra Re. It's the song that defined a decade. Shaad Ali never directed a bigger musical moment. Alisha Chinai never sang a more iconic hit. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy never produced a more crowd-moving track. And Aishwarya Rai never danced with such massy charm and controlled fire. Even Gulzar, always philosophical, hit a rare balance here between the everyday and the eternal. Just look at the lines: 'Surmein se likhe tere waade, aankhon ki zubaani aate hain': a love promise written not in ink but in gaze. Or 'Aankhein bhi kamaal karti hain, personal se sawaal karti hain': as if eyes alone could interrogate intimacy. These are the kinds of lines you might find scribbled on the back of a truck, but in Gulzar's hands, they take on something almost existential. Speaking of memorable lines, you simply can't talk about Bunty Aur Babli without bringing up Jaideep Sahni's writing. As always, he returns to the themes he knows best: middle-class morality, amidst the changing fabric of post-liberalised India. And yet, even within this familiar terrain, he manages to craft a story that feels both fresh and utterly relatable. You could easily go on at length about Sahni's sharp writing. But often, just one scene, or even a single moment, a single line, is enough to reveal the depth of his craft. Take the wildly audacious moment when Bunty and Babli con a foreigner by 'selling' the Taj Mahal. Just moments earlier, a corrupt minister is confronted by a furious crowd chanting, 'Tanashahi nahi chalegi!' She snaps back, 'Arey kiski?' And the crowd replies — 'Kisi ki bhi.' That's it. That's Sahni for you. His writing doesn't shout, it slices. With one line, he can expose an entire system. With one exchange, he can turn satire into truth.
