Latest news with #Renuka
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Renuka Shahane REACTS to Anushka Sharma's Chakda Xpress allegedly being shelved: 'I am totally heartbroken... She's really done such a good job'
The buzz around Chakda 'Xpress, 's long-awaited biopic on Indian cricket legend , has taken a sudden turn—with reports suggesting the film may have been shelved. While no official confirmation has been issued by the makers, the news has left fans disappointed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Now, actor , who plays a pivotal role in the film, has reacted with disbelief and heartbreak over the project's uncertain fate. Shocked by the reports In conversation with NDTV, Renuka said that she was completely unaware of the film being reportedly shelved. Expressing her disappointment, Shahane said she was 'very shocked' and described the project as a 'beautiful, impactful' film made with 'a very big heart.' She had completed shooting her part in 2022. The actress further expressed her heartbreak over the reports, saying she felt deeply saddened given the immense effort poured into the project. She highlighted Anushka Sharma's dedication to the role and recalled that the scenes she was part of were especially powerful and meaningful—particularly for women in sports. A tribute to Jhulan Goswami's legacy Renuka also spoke about the significance of Chakda 'Xpress, calling Jhulan Goswami an 'iconic' figure who rose from humble beginnings to become a cricketing legend. She pointed out the persistent disparity between men's and women's cricket, adding that the film captured the true spirit of sportsmanship and highlighted these important issues. Anushka's committed performance Shahane further praised Anushka's performance as Jhulan Goswami, noting the difficulty of portraying a real-life icon. She commended Anushka for authentically bringing the character to life, highlighting the added challenge of embodying someone so well-known and admired. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The veteran star shared that most of her scenes were with Anushka Sharma, and while dubbing, she had the chance to watch portions of the film. She praised its cinematography and overall quality, calling it a beautifully made project. Expressing her disappointment, she said she had been eagerly waiting for its release and hoped there might still be a way to salvage it. A film worth watching Renuka praised director for his craft and expressed pride in being part of Chakda Xpress, a film that she felt powerfully showcased the struggles and determination of women athletes. She also reflected on her own role, describing it as emotionally meaningful and rooted in the spirit of sportsmanship. Shot in 2022 and reportedly wrapped up by 2023, Chakda Xpress was envisioned as a compelling tribute to cricket legend Jhulan Goswami's journey. However, with the project now reportedly shelved indefinitely, actors like Renuka Shahane and are left reflecting on a film they poured their hearts into—one that may never reach its audience. The makers of Chakda Xpress have yet to officially confirm whether the film has been shelved, leaving its future uncertain.
NDTV
16 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
With Womens ODI World Cup Looming, India Grapples With Fast-Bowling Injury Crisis
As India builds toward a critical Women's ODI World Cup campaign on home soil, a troubling pattern has caught everyone's attention: the conspicuous absence of its frontline fast bowlers from recent assignments in Sri Lanka and England. With Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Titas Sadhu sidelined after injuries post the 2025 Women's Premier League (WPL), India fielded an inexperienced pace attack that raised eyebrows. Though India won the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka and secured ODI and T20I series wins in England, the absence of frontline pacers in run-up to the ODI World Cup in concerning – though Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur and Arundhati Reddy managed things admirably. While Titas has been named in India 'A' squad for the upcoming Australia tour in August, uncertainty looms over Renuka and Pooja, with the latter undergoing shoulder surgery three months ago. These recurring breakdowns prompt deeper inquiry: is there a systemic issue in how India manages its women fast bowlers? The injuries may differ in nature, but the pattern reflects broader concerns around the spike in match volumes post Covid-19. "A fast bowler would play 10-15 matches in a year, but now they are probably touching 35-40 or even 50 games in a year. There are multiple camps happening, including the national camps. States have started doing a lot of camps, and that means bowling has increased. Also, there are a lot of WPL camps and doing their personal practice. So, overall, the fast bowlers are bowling far more than what they would do say three years back," said a source aware of the developments to IANS. A closer look at the calendar backs this claim. In 2018/19, a senior domestic cricketer playing T20 and 50-over competitions would play six or seven league matches and five more games if her team reached the final. With challenger trophies, a player would feature in three respective games of 50-over and 20-over events. In contrast, the 2024/25 domestic season saw a player take part in six or seven league matches in each white-ball format, and four knockout games. Add to it, five games in each white-ball challenger tournament and three multi-day matches. For U23, U19, and U15 players, nine games (five league matches and four knockout games) were possible. Internationally, as per Cricket-21 database, India played 37 matches in 2018, 27 games in 2019, and 22 games in 2021 post a Covid-19 affected 2020, which had 10 matches. That rose sharply to 43 games in 2022, before coming down to 26 and 37 matches in 2023 and 2024 respectively. In 2025, the count already stands at 16. The injury timeline mirrors this toll. Renuka suffered a back stress injury post-WPL 2023 and returned in December 2024 with reduced pace—dropping from 110-120 kmph to 90-100 kmph. Titas was sidelined with a back injury after the May 2024 Bangladesh tour, returned in December, and then faced another back issue post-WPL 2025 but is now fit for the 'A' tour. Pooja last played at the 2024 T20 World Cup before undergoing a shoulder surgery. Fellow seam-bowling all-rounder Kashvee Gautam, a breakout star from WPL 2025, debuted in Sri Lanka but was soon ruled out with a leg injury. 'An under 15 player will play U15, U19, U23 and possibly senior tournaments, as many of them don't clash and there are a lot of matches to play. So the generation of players till U23 - they play all but two tournaments. But the U19 and U15 players, they play four age groups tournaments each and that is extra load to start with.' 'The number of matches have increased per player, but the fitness level of every player has not increased to meet the requirements. I mean, how can you have four-five-six fast bowlers injured and that too for the second time?' said an official privy to the developments to IANS. One key issue that has been talked about is the disparity in intensity between domestic and international cricket. 'When you step up onto the international stage, the player has to be ready to be able to take that load of higher intensities of game. So, they cannot expect domestic-like intensity at an international level. When there is that change in the intensity, the body will take some time to recover from it – that's number one. 'Number two is too much too soon. A lot of players would want to return to competitive cricket as soon as possible, which is absolutely understandable from an athlete's point of view. But sometimes the body does not heal as per our liking. Some take a little longer, while some take shorter time, as multifactorial things are behind - it can be hormonal or just the way the bones are made.' 'You can't pinpoint one reason for it. So, the players will have to have good amount of preparation. After an injury, during the rehab and while getting back to the sport, they need to consistently be able to practice, train, practice at the intensities of the international cricket, which is very important,' said Neha Karnik, former physiotherapist of the India women's team, to IANS. There's also the mounting psychological pressure on fast bowlers graduate to the senior and international level. Neha also pointed out how fast bowlers' bodies need proper rest and recovery, making proper periodisation - structuring training, skill work, recovery, and nutrition - very essential. Under this, every aspect has to be carefully planned and aligned with the demands of a season. It can't be random — like bowling 10 overs one day, another 10 overs to bowl the following day, then taking two weeks off, only to suddenly push for 20 overs again. This kind of inconsistent approach doesn't support long-term development or performance. 'So, even these spike in workload - suddenly doing some activity, and then having a longer break of couple of weeks of not doing anything is also a dangerous concoction. That also leads to a lot of players not having consistency in skill, or fitness. It's like do little but consistently - that is the thing, rather than doing tons of things at once, then not doing anything and breaking down and then again doing loads of things again. 'So, lack of consistency, poor fitness planning and skill sessions also puts athletes at a much bigger risk of overuse injuries. Hence, the players probably become very competitive, and instead of building a stronger foundation, giving their body and mind time to adapt to the skill, they just want to perform, and get ahead of others. This is where they start breaking down,' added Neha, who served as the physiotherapist of 2025 U19 Women's T20 World Cup winning Indian team. Another rising issue is RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports), a low-energy condition driven by physical and psychological factors. With the rise of social media usage, players are increasingly exposed to a flood of fitness advice, much of it is misleading and puts them on the pursuit of achieving a particular body image. 'Now what happens is when the players see a certain kind of misinformation, they wouldn't know it's wrong or right. Many of them are teenagers, so it happens, and they would want to look a certain way. So they will get into crash diets or stop having meals because they want to lose a little bit of fat and that too quickly. 'But they end up actually compromising on their nutrition, which puts them at a very, very high risk of energy availability. They would train too much to get the same results quickly and as a result, they're burning more than what they're actually consuming,' added Neha. With women's fast bowlers more prone to bone and muscle-related injuries, one of the most important signs of someone being diagnosed with RED-S is missing or delayed periods. 'We have not seen this in the national team, but at a domestic level, the girls are okay and happy on not getting periods and not doing the math of it. But the other side of it is that it's doing more harm to your body than anything good.' 'So we try to encourage and educate them that they should forget about losing quick kgs and body fat. Otherwise, bone stress injuries have already become very, very common. Once there's a bone stress injury, it takes much, much longer time to heal than other injuries,' added Neha. Going forward, Neha believes collecting injury data at the domestic level could be transformative in preventing recurring injures in female fast bowlers. 'Data is everything - if you show players numbers, they will realize it. But if you just give them gyaan, they will not take it because they would want to see and know numbers. So once we have this data, these kind of injuries can be reduced further,' she said. India's bench strength in women's fast bowling is now at a transition point. The talent is undeniable, and the skill set exists to take on and even get the better of top-tier teams like Australia. But without urgent structural reforms in fitness management, injury prevention, and long-term athlete care, India risks losing its most promising fast bowlers to injuries before and during their peak years. 'All fast bowlers have different ways of training in the gym, and loading ways. So there has to be some criteria there that whether you want to take a call now, get the fitness levels right and then proceed further or you just want players to come in and go like that. Like, how come Renuka is getting so much injured all the time? 'That means you are not monitoring something - either her diet, number of overs, and matches she has played. So, there are a lot of loopholes and what happens is after the injury, there is a lot of blame game going on – like so and so person was responsible,' said the source. The focus, as per the source, must shift from finger-pointing to problem-solving. Instead of engaging in blame games after every injury, the priority should be to identify the root cause and implement measures to prevent recurrence - ensuring that athletes can have long and sustainable careers. 'The ecosystem needs to find a solution for the recurring injuries, because the biggest problem is that you won't have enough players, especially fast bowlers, to play even 11 matches. For that you have to monitor their workload, rest periods, fitness testing, one run mile running numbers, results after undergoing DEXA scans every six months, nutrition patterns and how much sleep they are getting. 'All of this has to be followed rigorously so that these injuries can be curtailed. Skills of players is amazing, but the way players they are being handled is not right. In the last two years cricket has increased a lot, but the fear of pacers breaking down is looming large and that has to be handled from now onwards,' added the source. Until that happens, India's most promising fast bowlers may continue to fall—one injury at a time and that could ultimately jeopardise the side's chances in a crucial ODI World Cup year.
Hans India
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Hans India
With Women's ODI World Cup looming, India grapples with fast-bowling injury crisis
New Delhi: As India builds toward a critical Women's ODI World Cup campaign on home soil, a troubling pattern has caught everyone's attention: the conspicuous absence of its frontline fast bowlers from recent assignments in Sri Lanka and England. With Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Titas Sadhu sidelined after injuries post the 2025 Women's Premier League (WPL), India fielded an inexperienced pace attack that raised eyebrows. Though India won the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka and secured ODI and T20I series wins in England, the absence of frontline pacers in run-up to the ODI World Cup in concerning – though Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur and Arundhati Reddy managed things admirably. While Titas has been named in India 'A' squad for the upcoming Australia tour in August, uncertainty looms over Renuka and Pooja, with the latter undergoing shoulder surgery three months ago. These recurring breakdowns prompt deeper inquiry: is there a systemic issue in how India manages its women fast bowlers? The injuries may differ in nature, but the pattern reflects broader concerns around the spike in match volumes post Covid-19. "A fast bowler would play 10-15 matches in a year, but now they are probably touching 35-40 or even 50 games in a year. There are multiple camps happening, including the national camps. States have started doing a lot of camps, and that means bowling has increased. Also, there are a lot of WPL camps and doing their personal practice. So, overall, the fast bowlers are bowling far more than what they would do say three years back," said a source aware of the developments to IANS. A closer look at the calendar backs this claim. In 2018/19, a senior domestic cricketer playing T20 and 50-over competitions would play six or seven league matches and five more games if her team reached the final. With challenger trophies, a player would feature in three respective games of 50-over and 20-over events. In contrast, the 2024/25 domestic season saw a player take part in six or seven league matches in each white-ball format, and four knockout games. Add to it, five games in each white-ball challenger tournament and three multi-day matches. For U23, U19, and U15 players, nine games (five league matches and four knockout games) were possible. Internationally, as per Cricket-21 database, India played 37 matches in 2018, 27 games in 2019, and 22 games in 2021 post a Covid-19 affected 2020, which had 10 matches. That rose sharply to 43 games in 2022, before coming down to 26 and 37 matches in 2023 and 2024 respectively. In 2025, the count already stands at 16. The injury timeline mirrors this toll. Renuka suffered a back stress injury post-WPL 2023 and returned in December 2024 with reduced pace—dropping from 110-120 kmph to 90-100 kmph. Titas was sidelined with a back injury after the May 2024 Bangladesh tour, returned in December, and then faced another back issue post-WPL 2025 but is now fit for the 'A' tour. Pooja last played at the 2024 T20 World Cup before undergoing a shoulder surgery. Fellow seam-bowling all-rounder Kashvee Gautam, a breakout star from WPL 2025, debuted in Sri Lanka but was soon ruled out with a leg injury. 'An under 15 player will play U15, U19, U23 and possibly senior tournaments, as many of them don't clash and there are a lot of matches to play. So the generation of players till U23 - they play all but two tournaments. But the U19 and U15 players, they play four age groups tournaments each and that is extra load to start with.' 'The number of matches have increased per player, but the fitness level of every player has not increased to meet the requirements. I mean, how can you have four-five-six fast bowlers injured and that too for the second time?' said an official privy to the developments to IANS. One key issue that has been talked about is the disparity in intensity between domestic and international cricket. 'When you step up onto the international stage, the player has to be ready to be able to take that load of higher intensities of game. So, they cannot expect domestic-like intensity at an international level. When there is that change in the intensity, the body will take some time to recover from it – that's number one. 'Number two is too much too soon. A lot of players would want to return to competitive cricket as soon as possible, which is absolutely understandable from an athlete's point of view. But sometimes the body does not heal as per our liking. Some take a little longer, while some take shorter time, as multifactorial things are behind - it can be hormonal or just the way the bones are made.' 'You can't pinpoint one reason for it. So, the players will have to have good amount of preparation. After an injury, during the rehab and while getting back to the sport, they need to consistently be able to practice, train, practice at the intensities of the international cricket, which is very important,' said Neha Karnik, former physiotherapist of the India women's team, to IANS. There's also the mounting psychological pressure on fast bowlers graduate to the senior and international level. Neha also pointed out how fast bowlers' bodies need proper rest and recovery, making proper periodisation - structuring training, skill work, recovery, and nutrition - very essential. Under this, every aspect has to be carefully planned and aligned with the demands of a season. It can't be random — like bowling 10 overs one day, another 10 overs to bowl the following day, then taking two weeks off, only to suddenly push for 20 overs again. This kind of inconsistent approach doesn't support long-term development or performance. 'So, even these spike in workload - suddenly doing some activity, and then having a longer break of couple of weeks of not doing anything is also a dangerous concoction. That also leads to a lot of players not having consistency in skill, or fitness. It's like do little but consistently - that is the thing, rather than doing tons of things at once, then not doing anything and breaking down and then again doing loads of things again. 'So, lack of consistency, poor fitness planning and skill sessions also puts athletes at a much bigger risk of overuse injuries. Hence, the players probably become very competitive, and instead of building a stronger foundation, giving their body and mind time to adapt to the skill, they just want to perform, and get ahead of others. This is where they start breaking down,' added Neha, who served as the physiotherapist of 2025 U19 Women's T20 World Cup winning Indian team. Another rising issue is RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports), a low-energy condition driven by physical and psychological factors. With the rise of social media usage, players are increasingly exposed to a flood of fitness advice, much of it is misleading and puts them on the pursuit of achieving a particular body image. 'Now what happens is when the players see a certain kind of misinformation, they wouldn't know it's wrong or right. Many of them are teenagers, so it happens, and they would want to look a certain way. So they will get into crash diets or stop having meals because they want to lose a little bit of fat and that too quickly. 'But they end up actually compromising on their nutrition, which puts them at a very, very high risk of energy availability. They would train too much to get the same results quickly and as a result, they're burning more than what they're actually consuming,' added Neha. With women's fast bowlers more prone to bone and muscle-related injuries, one of the most important signs of someone being diagnosed with RED-S is missing or delayed periods. 'We have not seen this in the national team, but at a domestic level, the girls are okay and happy on not getting periods and not doing the math of it. But the other side of it is that it's doing more harm to your body than anything good.' 'So we try to encourage and educate them that they should forget about losing quick kgs and body fat. Otherwise, bone stress injuries have already become very, very common. Once there's a bone stress injury, it takes much, much longer time to heal than other injuries,' added Neha. Going forward, Neha believes collecting injury data at the domestic level could be transformative in preventing recurring injures in female fast bowlers. 'Data is everything - if you show players numbers, they will realize it. But if you just give them gyaan, they will not take it because they would want to see and know numbers. So once we have this data, these kind of injuries can be reduced further,' she said. India's bench strength in women's fast bowling is now at a transition point. The talent is undeniable, and the skill set exists to take on and even get the better of top-tier teams like Australia. But without urgent structural reforms in fitness management, injury prevention, and long-term athlete care, India risks losing its most promising fast bowlers to injuries before and during their peak years. 'All fast bowlers have different ways of training in the gym, and loading ways. So there has to be some criteria there that whether you want to take a call now, get the fitness levels right and then proceed further or you just want players to come in and go like that. Like, how come Renuka is getting so much injured all the time? 'That means you are not monitoring something - either her diet, number of overs, and matches she has played. So, there are a lot of loopholes and what happens is after the injury, there is a lot of blame game going on – like so and so person was responsible,' said the source. The focus, as per the source, must shift from finger-pointing to problem-solving. Instead of engaging in blame games after every injury, the priority should be to identify the root cause and implement measures to prevent recurrence - ensuring that athletes can have long and sustainable careers. 'The ecosystem needs to find a solution for the recurring injuries, because the biggest problem is that you won't have enough players, especially fast bowlers, to play even 11 matches. For that you have to monitor their workload, rest periods, fitness testing, one run mile running numbers, results after undergoing DEXA scans every six months, nutrition patterns and how much sleep they are getting. 'All of this has to be followed rigorously so that these injuries can be curtailed. Skills of players is amazing, but the way players they are being handled is not right. In the last two years cricket has increased a lot, but the fear of pacers breaking down is looming large and that has to be handled from now onwards,' added the source. Until that happens, India's most promising fast bowlers may continue to fall—one injury at a time and that could ultimately jeopardise the side's chances in a crucial ODI World Cup year.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
‘I work hard so my children will not struggle the way I do': Irish aid supports enterprising women in Sri Lanka
"I make these items for sports kits so that one day, I can send my kids abroad to university.' Those are the words of 54-year-old Renuka, based in Piliyandala in the Colombo district of Sri Lanka. She is one of thousands of Sri Lankan women who have taken on the role of family's breadwinner through skills that they have repurposed over several years. Women in Sri Lanka have resorted to setting up businesses in their own homes to support their families and cover day-to-day expenses, in an economic climate which has seen great destitution and poverty following the 2022 economic crisis that swamped the country. Inflation, near depletion of foreign reserves, shortages of medical supplies, and the increase in prices of basic commodities, including food, began in 2019. This was followed by the covid pandemic, leading to the 2022 protests which saw Sri Lankan citizens throw out the Rajapaksa government. Renuka: 'I work at all hours of the day' For Renuka, her work sewing and creating items for cricket uniform kits is her only source of income. 54-year-old Renuka works long hours making items for cricket uniform kits in Piliyandala, Sri Lanka: 'My kids go to bed, and I would be working with my sewing machine until maybe 1am or 2am.' The Maradana native said she makes between 90,000 and 200,000 rupees (€253-€563) a month and says most of this money goes towards the costs of food, bills, and extra grinds classes for her two children who are currently sitting their O-Levels and A-Levels — the equivalent of the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert. She also supports her bedridden mother and the medical expenses of her younger sister. 'I work at all hours of the day — sometimes I could be working very late into the night if I have a big order that I need to get through,' Renuka told the Irish Examiner. 'My kids go to bed, and I would be working with my sewing machine until maybe 1am or 2am. 'Sometimes I find myself cutting all the fabric shapes out on the floor here — you can still see the marks from the knife — and then I may fall asleep on the ground. 'My children then, who wake up will come in and see me asleep on the floor with no pillow, no blanket, and then give out to me saying: 'You should not be working that late.' ' Renuka's home is a small two-bedroom house with a red-clay floor. Her living room also acts as a kitchen, and her sewing machine sits right next to the front door, in front of the kitchen sink. 'My dream is to send my children abroad, to make sure that they don't suffer as I do here in Sri Lanka,' she said. I will struggle, and I will do as much as I can. I will try to bring as much money home so that when they finish school and then get a degree, they will not struggle the way that I do now. 'At some point in my life I would also like to open up a shop selling sports kits. That has always been my dream, for the past 25 years.' Renuka said she has always been sewing since before her children were born. 'When I was heavily pregnant with my son, 18 years ago, I was sewing all the orders which would fit into gallon bags, and carrying them by myself to the shops to give it to them. 'They would wonder, 'how are you carrying these all by yourself,' and I would say: 'It's all OK, I can do this.' 'I really struggled for the past few years. Things were really difficult, I would go seeking help, any kind of support that I could get, crying because I needed to support my two children and make sure that they get through their education.' Disabled sisters run their own business Sumeda, 37, and her sisters, Kamani and Kumudu, set up a small business selling bags to tourist companies and tourist shops across the country. Sumeda runs a business, Vinitha Bags, which se set up with her sisters, Kamani and Kumudu: 'The work that we do here has allowed us to feel independent, pay our bills, buy our food, and look after each other.' All three sisters have muscular dystrophy and are wheelchair users. They were living in a home for disabled people after their mother died. However, after learning how to sew and paint, they decided they wanted to set up a business to support their independent living and to live freely in their own home. After receiving support from Sarvodaya, a Sri Lankan NGO, they were able to get land and a home where they can continue working their business. Sumeda said: The work that we do here has allowed us to feel independent, pay our bills, buy our food, and look after each other. 'I have always loved to sew, and just because I am disabled does not mean I cannot do it. 'Each of us does a different task. My sister Kumudu paints the art on the bags. My other sister Kamani adds the zips and handles to it. 'We all do different things, but we do this together.' Sumeda hopes that one day their business will take off and allow them to eventually purchase a wheelchair-accessible van. The sisters smiled as they spoke to the Irish Examiner about their passion for creating. They moved to Godagama after leaving the home for disabled people in Rajagiriya. 'One day, we hope that we can live well enough and not worry about anything else,' Sumeda said. Latha: 'I love what I am doing' Meanwhile, in Kolonnawa near the Kelaniya river, Latha, 42, works hard every day designing handbags, backpacks, and travel bags for eager customers who place orders of between 100-300 items. Latha tells Imasha Costa she makes 100,000 rupees (€281) a month from her business designing handbags, backpacks, and travel bags. But 'after paying our food, our bills, and my daughters' education fees, their school travel fees, nothing is left over.' Originally from Matale in the Central Province north of Kandy, Latha says she makes 100,000 rupees (€281) a month from her business. 'After paying our food, our bills, and my daughters' education fees, their school travel fees, nothing is left over,' the mother of three said. 'I love what I am doing. I wake up at 5am every morning, get everything in the house done before I start working. And some nights I do not finish until 1am or 2am, and then I am up again. It's constant. 'My husband helps me transport the items wherever they need to go, like to the Petta markets, the fairs across different areas, and even up north to Jaffna. It is a great help.' Latha said that when she first started out, when she wanted to get into the business at first, she was told she needed over 500,000 rupees (€1,407) as a downpayment. 'I sold two of my gold bangles for 260,000 rupees [€732], and pawned my sister's two bangles for a similar amount,' she said. However, she was at a loss after that, after the deal fell apart and she lost her money because the plan did not come to fruition. Now, she works from her home, with another woman in her employ, and has already begun teaching some of her neighbours how to sew bags as well. 'My dream is to own a bigger place so that my family and I can thrive there. This means that I can hire more people and we can carry out more orders,' Latha said. Impact of Trump's defunding of USAID Project manager and deputy executive director for Sarvodaya, JMM Niswi, said that Latha, Sumeda, and Renuka and her sisters are examples of thousands of women across the country who start small businesses out of their homes to support their families. Sarvodaya supports many women across Sri Lanka and, following a 'due process screening' and applications, it provides what these women need to help them carry out their business. However, Mr Niswi raised concerns about Donald Trump's freezing of US aid, which the organisation and many others across the country benefited from. Since 1956, the US has provided over $2bn (€1.69bn) in development assistance to the country. After it was frozen in March this year, we had to stop three projects and terminate contracts of 22 staff members. "Talented, very talented, staff who we could not fund anymore,' he said. 'Some 18% to 20% of projects within our organisation were funded by USAid. Now we have been informed that it may take more than three years before we see anything come our way. Latha works from home in Kolonnawa, Sri Lanka, designing and making handbags, backpacks, and travel bags and she now employs another woman. 'These women that we support need continuous progress. It's not just that we get grants to give them, say, for example, a sewing machine — we also support them through promoting themselves, how to market, how to sell, and how to compete with corporate markets. 'If we lose this funding, then we would have to pause those supports, which could lead to these women and their work being put on hold, which could lead to them to become disheartened, lose hope, and all the effort that we have put in for them to progress will be lost.' Mr Niswi added that while they are looking elsewhere for funding, it is difficult to get anything at all. 'We are looking to European funding, but they are much more lengthy and specific and very likely to get your proposals rejected,' he said. 'Sri Lanka, unlike other countries, does not have a culture of funding its homegrown NGOs, and I do not think it ever will.' Ireland's humanitarian and development work When asked, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it is continuing to 'closely assess the immediate and long-term impact of funding cuts from the US and other countries'. 'The impact of these cuts are being felt across many countries. We are continuing to work with our partners, including civil society and multilateral partners, to assess the impact of funding cuts,' a spokesperson said. Minister of state Neale Richmond said that 'at a time when humanitarian needs are rising globally, the impact of funding cuts from the US and elsewhere are having a severe impact.' The budget for Irish Aid is at record levels and we are going to continue to invest in supporting the people in the world left furthest behind. 'The impact of Ireland's humanitarian and development work around the world is something Irish people should feel very proud about. 'Through our embassy in India, Ireland has supported civil society organisations in Sri Lanka. Most recently we supported Misean Cara's work to strengthen the rights of women and children.' Mr Richmond said this work is 'vital' and that its embassy in India remains 'engaged in Sri Lanka and, along with EU partners, we are monitoring political developments and human rights of vulnerable people'. This reporting was facilitated by a grant from the Simon Cumbers Fund
Hindustan Times
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Renuka Shahane speaks out on Marathi-Hindi row in Maharashtra: 'Slapping people will not help the language'
Actor Renuka Shahane has weighed in on the ongoing language debate in Maharashtra, urging people to respect local languages and cultures while firmly opposing any form of aggression in the name of linguistic pride. Speaking on the podcast InControversial with Pooja Chaudhri, the actor, who hails from Maharashtra herself, shared her thoughts on the tensions that have emerged between Hindi and Marathi speakers in the state. Renuka Shahane stressed the importance of understanding local culture and avoiding violence. Renuka on respecting the local culture 'If you've been living in a place for a long time, it's a good thing to understand the local language, culture and be more respectful than anything else. It's not about the speaking of it, much more than the intention of wanting to, you know, respect it. I do not like people who do not feel the necessity to be accommodating of the local language and local culture." Renuka said. 'I do not like violence at all, you know; I do not like the fact that people can be rude about it. Going into a place where Marathi is not spoken and just slapping two or three people, it's not going to help the language in any way. We have to find ways to get across the language to people in a way that people would find it convenient and accept it happily. Language is not something that should is forced. That is why I was against the forced addition of Hindi from a very early stage in Maharashtra. I think it should be something of a choice, which I also had growing up." Renuka added. During a recent interaction with ANI, Renuka's husband, actor Ashutosh Rana also addressed the issue. 'Bhasha samwaad ka vishay hoti hai, vivaad ka nahi. Bharat samwaad mein vishwas rakhta hai, vivaad mein nahi (Language is a topic of discussion and not controversy. India believes in talks and not controversy)," Ashutosh said, emphasising that language should be a tool for dialogue, not division. Marathi-Hindi language row Renuka and Ashutosh's comments come amid growing tensions in Maharashtra around language identity. The debate reignited in April 2025, after the state government announced — and then quickly rolled back — a decision to make Hindi a compulsory third language in schools. Since then, several confrontations have been reported where individuals allegedly linked to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have clashed with people for not speaking Marathi in public.
