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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Shinde hauls up Shirsat as BJP fumes over controversial visit

Mumbai: In a glaring display of internal friction within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly issued a stern reprimand to Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat. The dressing-down comes in the wake of Shirsat’s highly controversial visit to the family of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the newly floated Cockroach Janta Party. The meeting has touched a raw nerve within the Bharatiya Janata Party, turning into a major...

Shinde hauls up Shirsat as BJP fumes over controversial visit

Mumbai: In a glaring display of internal friction within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly issued a stern reprimand to Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat. The dressing-down comes in the wake of Shirsat’s highly controversial visit to the family of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the newly floated Cockroach Janta Party. The meeting has touched a raw nerve within the Bharatiya Janata Party, turning into a major flashpoint between the alliance partners and raising serious questions about their internal coordination. The political storm began brewing when Shirsat called upon Dipke’s residence in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on July 26. The visit immediately raised eyebrows in the BJP camp, given that Dipke’s recent agitations have been squarely aimed at the saffron party, with direct rhetorical attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The simmering anger boiled over during Shah’s visit to Pune on August 1, where the Union Home Minister is said to have expressed his profound displeasure over the Sena minister’s diplomatic faux pas. Taking immediate cognizance of the BJP’s mounting outrage, Shinde reportedly summoned Shirsat over a phone call, demanding a swift explanation and firmly reprimanding him for the political indiscretion. However, neither the government nor party officials have issued an on-the-record confirmation of these developments. Political Battle Despite the fierce political backlash, Shirsat has stubbornly stood his ground, offering a personal justification for the contentious rendezvous. Defending his actions, the minister clarified that his ties with the Dipke family go back a long way and that he firmly believes in keeping political battles separate from personal relationships. He further noted that Abhijeet Dipke was in Delhi during the time of the visit, and the meeting was strictly limited to Dipke’s parents. Shirsat also pointed out that he had deliberately avoided visiting the family earlier to steer clear of the ongoing political controversies, though his belated visit seems to have done little to prevent a political firestorm. For the BJP, the visit is not just a matter of poor optics but a glaring breach of alliance protocol. Senior BJP leaders are reportedly furious that they were kept completely in the dark, insisting that the party leadership should have been informed in advance before a sitting Mahayuti minister extended an olive branch to a vocal critic. This lack of communication has once again brought the fragile issue of coordination within the Mahayuti alliance to the forefront, prompting the BJP to officially register its objection. Disciplinary Action The controversy has now sparked intense speculation about whether Shinde will wield the same disciplinary stick against MLC Bachchu Kadu. Kadu recently stirred the pot by not only meeting Dipke but doing so in the company of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Chandrakant Khaire. The BJP has already been nursing a grievance against Shinde for generously accommodating Kadu with a legislative council seat from his party’s own quota. As the dust refuses to settle on these controversial meetings, political circles in Maharashtra are watching with bated breath to see if this episode will further vitiate the atmosphere within the Mahayuti or trigger a fresh set of consequential political realignments.

Honour for cancer survivor

Odissi exponent Shubhada Varadkar gets Akademi award

Mumbai: Renowned Odissi virtuoso, Shubhada Varadkar has been honoured with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award – the country’s highest honour in performing arts – as an acknowledgement of her artistic excellence and a tribute to her passion for dancing.


Unlike many others, Varadkar plunged into dancing relatively late - after completing her Matriculation from the Chembur High School, honouring the family’s traditions of “education first, everything else later”.


The Varadkars were deeply committed to academics and public service, traits that passed down the generations. Her father Manohar Varadkar, was a freedom fighter who later worked at BARC Chembur in the administration department, while her mother Manik participated in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.


“I spent nearly 10 years learning Bharata Natyam under Guru Shree Mani and later did my ‘arangetram’ performance after completing my graduation from Ruia College,” said Varadkar, 65, at her Borivali home.


Somewhere down the line, the multi-faceted personality – she played inter-university for the Mumbai University cricket team, then became a lecturer in Economics at her alma mater, she also worked as a news anchor for Doordarshan (1987-1994) – changed her dancing tracks.


Varadkar had a chance encounter with the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, she discussed and learnt a lot about Odissi. She finally decided to embrace the classical dance form, giving her best to the art, trained to conquer all with her dazzling and dedicated performances.


Over the decades, her performances have enchanted audiences with her lyrical movements, expressive story-telling and a deep emotional connect, both in India and on the global stage, over the past four decades. Today, she is regarded as one of the most illustrious ambassadors of Odissi dance outside its native state, Odisha.


“I started with Bharat Natyam initially. Then I switched to Odissi… I felt I could explore a lot more through Odissi and it has brought me immense satisfaction and honours in my journey of performing arts,” Varadkar smiled in a chat with ‘The Perfect Voice’.


She admits that for the love of dancing, she had to gradually give up all her other passions of cricket, teaching, television with Odissi becoming her ‘fulltime passion and devotion’.


When she was soaring the heights of glory, during a performance in London in 2006, she was detected with ovarian cancer and had to cut short her tour to rush back home.


The gritty Varadkar underwent the full treatment protocols, but again after nearly 20-years in 2025, cancer returned in a different location in the body, the lungs – shocking the medicos.


In 2013, Varadkar penned down the long and inspiring struggle in her autobiography in Marathi, “Mayurpankh”, and following immense public response, she translated it into English as “The Celestial Plume” (2019).


Sanskrita Foundation for arts & sports
Around the time she was detected with cancer, in 2006, Shubhada Varadkar launched the ‘Sanskrita Foundation’. “We train students both in dancing and sports, especially those hailing from underprivileged backgrounds. We have multiple training centers for the youngsters for dancing and sports.”

Nurturing her flock of students, Sanskrita Foundation regularly organises classes, cultural festivals to promote classical arts and sporting events for the talented ones who lack resources or avenues to showcase their potential.

 

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