India, undoubtedly is a land of cultures, diversity and uniqueness. As Swami Vivekananda stated, “It teaches not only tolerance, but also acceptance. Various languages, cultures, practices have flourished throughout the nation with all their multiplicity. It has therefore retained it’s originality, in spite of the advent of modernity. In other words, some of these arts have become successful in coping with the dynsmism of the society by undergoing some changes in it along with retaining it’s original essence. Every such community inherits it’s own way of life and culture. However, all such diversities are blended together by epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Puranic stories. It has become the common hold which brings all the diversities yo lead a harmonious life.

We can take a example of South Canara. It is not an exception to this. Yakshagana, Harikatha, Bhutakola, Kambala and so on represent the uniqueness of our culture. While Kambala and Bhutakola glorify our local ethnicity, Yakshagana and Harikatha through the recitation of mythological stories uphold common life and simultaneously educate the younger generation to lead a humble and meaningful life.

Value education is must to the younger generation, both for peaceful existence and national progress. Hence it would be a good idea to educate them in this direction by exposing them to such arts which not only provide entertainment but also develop a deeper insight and introspection, distinction between good and evil, along with the imparting human values among them. This in turn, reduces cruelty, inefficiency, increases love for truth, justice and universal welfare.

I have seen number of Yakshagana episodes in my childhood. I have always associated myself with the divine and just personalities, both in their joys and sorrows acknowingly. I have shed tears for their downfall and pains and have also rejoiced in their joys and victories. Therefore, we have been brought up in such a way that we are not only cleansed to injustice but also made to respond to another’s agony.

In this way, people through their involvement with these kinds of regional arts, get cleansed from all evils and have been imparted virtues without bothering much about the trivialities of life. While an innocent mind is fascinated by its miraculous nature, the matured mind is fashioned by its historicity. However, as they delve into it more and more, they discover something which makes the world more tangible and intangible. By and large, there is necessary for the exposure of children to the regional arts which not only cultivates passion for literature, but also open their thoughts to the harsh realities of life and show the path towards solving problems.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has greeted the people on the occasion of Independence Day. He conveyed his greetings and good wishes to the people of the country.

Mr Naidu paid tributes and remembered the brave freedom fighters who made countless sacrifices to build an independent nation. Mr Naidu said, the most meaningful tribute which can be paid to the patriots is to build an India they aspired for. 

He urged every citizen to renew commitment towards building a united, strong, prosperous, inclusive and peaceful nation where a billion plus dream can find expression and fulfillment. The Vice President wished for amity, harmony and prosperity in the country on the eve of the 74th Independence Day.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the government is doing everything to keep the morale of armed forces high and meet the operational requirement. He said, the country’s forces are at the forefront in the defence of the nation. 

Mr Singh said, history is a witness to the fact that India has never attacked anywhere and anytime to capture the land of another country. He said, India believes in winning hearts and not land. He said, but it does not mean that we will allow our self-respect to come down and whatever we do in the realm of national security, we always do it for self-defence and not for attacking others. The Defence Minister said, if any enemy country attacks on India, then it will be given a befitting reply.

Mr Singh said, Indian Air Force was lacking modern combat aircraft for a long time and as soon as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government took over, it started procurement of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France through agreement. Mr Singh said, five Rafale aircraft have already arrived at Ambala air base two weeks ago and the remaining aircrafts will also arrive soon.

The Defence Minister said, DRDO in collaboration with the Home Ministry, Health  Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Armed Forces and other industry groups built the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Covid Hospital in New Delhi in a record time of 12 days.

He said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always supported the idea of permanent commission for women and also announced this  during his Independence Day speech in 2018. He said, Defence Ministry has issued formal government approval letter on 23rd July to provide permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army and thus paving the way for empowering women officers to discharge big roles in the organization.

The Defence Minister also paid tributes to Indian Soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Galwan valley in Ladakh and assured their family members that the whole country is standing with them. On the occasion of Independence Day, Mr Singh also extended his greetings to the armed forces personnel.

A total of 926 Police personnel have been awarded Medals on the occasion of Independence Day. Police Medals for Gallantry have been awarded to 215 police personnel for their conspicuous gallant action. 

President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service has been awarded to 80 police personnel and Police Medal for Meritorious Service to 631 police personnel. 

Among the majority of the 215 Gallantry Awards, 123 personnel are being awarded for their gallant action in Jammu and Kashmir, 29 personnel for their gallant action in Left Wing extremism affected areas and 8 personnel for their gallant action in North-East Region. 

Among the personnel receiving Gallantry Awards, 55 are from CRPF, 81 are from J & K police, 23 are from Uttar Pradesh, 16 from Delhi Police, 14 from Maharashtra and 12 are from Jharkhand and the remaining from the other States and UTs and Central Armed Police Forces.

President Ram Nath Kovind has approved 84 gallantry awards for defence personnel, including nine Shaurya Chakra. The Kirti Chakra has been posthumously awarded to Abdul Rashid Kalas, Head Constable, Jammu and Kashmir Police. 

Those from the Army who have been awarded the Shaurya Chakra for counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir are Lt.Col. Krishan Singh Rawat from the elite Special Forces, Major Anil Urs and Havildar Alok Kumar Dubey. Wing Commander Vishak Nair from the Indian Air Force was also awarded the Shaurya Chakra.

The Shaurya Chakra is awarded for ‘gallantry otherwise than in the face of the enemy’. It is the third highest gallantry award in peacetime.    

The President also approved Sena Medal (gallantry) to 60 Army personnel, Nao Sena Medal (gallantry) to four from the Navy and five Vayu Sena Medal (gallantry) for the Air Force. The Bar to Sena Medal has been approved for five Army personnel. 

The President has also approved 19 Mention-in-Despatches to the Army personnel for their significant contributions in different military operations, which include eight posthumous for ‘Operation Meghdoot’ and ‘Operation Rakshak’.  

Operation ‘Meghdoot’ was launched in 1984 to secure control of the heights predominating the Siachen Glacier. 

‘Operation Rakshak’ is also an ongoing counter-insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Prime Minister said India is dealing effectively with both terrorism and expansionism. He said those who challenged India’s sovereignty, be it at LOC or LAC, have been given a befitting reply in their own language. He asserted that India became a challenge to forces of expansionism with its freedom struggle. The Prime Minister said that respect for India’s sovereignty is supreme and the world has seen in Ladakh what country’s brave soldiers can do to uphold this resolution.

The Prime Minister said one-fourth of the world’s population lives in South Asia and several possibilities can be created with cooperation and participation. He said all leaders of the countries of the region have an important responsibility towards the development and progress of this population. 

He said ASEAN countries, which are also India’s maritime neighbors, also hold very special importance. He said that as much as India’s efforts are for peace and harmony, India is committed to its security and strengthening the army. He said India is working towards self-sufficiency in defence production.

Mr Modi in his Independence Day speech, said many big companies of the world are turning to India today. He said, the country must not only go ahead with the mantra of Make in India, but Make for World as well. He said there is a need to give a new direction to the overall infrastructure development of the country to move India towards modernity at a fast pace.

He said the National Infrastructure Pipeline Project will enable this and the country is moving towards spending more than Rs 100 lakh crore on this. He said about 7,000 projects of different sectors have been identified to bring a new revolution in infrastructure.

He emphasised on the need to remove silos saying that the entire country has to move towards multi-modal connectivity infrastructure. He said the Vocal for Local, Re-Skill and Up-Skill campaigns will raise the standard of living of people below the poverty line.

He said many areas of the country have lagged behind in terms of development and by choosing more than 110 such aspirational districts, special efforts are being made there so that people get better education, better health facilities, and better employment opportunities. He said 7 crore poor families were given free gas cylinders, more than 80 crore people were provided free food grains, and about Rs 90,000 crores were directly transferred to bank accounts.

The Prime Minister said education has a great importance in building self-reliant India. Keeping this in mind, Mr Modi said, a new National Education Policy was brought.  He said Digital India too has a great role to play in making the nation self reliant.

Mr Modi said before 2014, only 5 dozen panchayats in the country were connected with optical fiber. In the last five years, 1.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country have been connected with optical fiber. The Prime Minister said in the coming 1,000 days, every village in the country will be connected with optical fiber.

He said there is a need to give a new direction to the overall infrastructure development of the country to move India towards modernity at a fast pace. He said the National Infrastructure Pipeline Project will enable this and the country is moving towards spending more than Rs 100 lakh crore on this. 

He said about 7,000 projects of different sectors have been identified to bring a new revolution in infrastructure. He emphasised on the need to remove silos saying that the entire country has to move towards multi-modal connectivity infrastructure. 

The Prime Minister also said that a special campaign with a holistic approach is also being worked out to reduce pollution in 100 selected cities of the country. He said India is fully committed to the preservation and promotion of its biodiversity. 

In the recent past, the tiger population has increased at a rapid pace in the country. Mr Modi said a project for safeguarding Asiatic lions is also going to start in the country soon. He said Project Dolphin is also going to begin for protection of dolphins both in rivers and seas. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India must become self-reliant and use its vast natural resources to produce for the domestic as well as the global market. 

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of India’s 74th Independence Day, Mr Modi said in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, 130 crore Indians have pledged to build an ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’. He expressed confidence that India will realise this dream.

The Prime Minister said the country received record foreign direct investments during the last fiscal and the FDI growth was recorded at 18 per cent. He said even during the Coronavirus pandemic, big global companies are looking towards India.

Mr Modi reiterated the ‘Vocal for Local’ call and said that India should strive for meeting the needs of the world as well. He wondered how long the country would continue to export raw materials and import finished products. He said India has vast natural resources and the need of the hour is value addition. 

He said, the nation has to move forward with the mantra of Make for the World along with Make-in-India. He further said ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ does not mean only reducing dependence on imports, but strengthening India’s capacity, creativity and skills. 

Addressing the nation for the seventh time in a row from the Red Fort, he said there are numerous challenges in becoming self-reliant, but there are millions of solutions as well. He said India has always believed that the entire world is one family and while India focuses on economic growth and development, humanity must retain a central role in this process. Citing an example of what India can do, Mr Modi said before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country was not making N-95 masks, PPE and ventilators, but now it is in a position to export such items. 

The Prime Minister said that Atma Nirbhar Krishi and Atma Nirbhar Kisan are priorities of an Atma Nirbhar India. He said, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs one lakh crore has been created recently to give modern infrastructure to the farmers of the country. 

Mr Modi said the Jal Jeevan Mission was announced from the Red Fort last year and now, more than one lakh houses are getting water connection every day.

The Prime Minister said, education has a great importance in building self-reliant India. Keeping this in mind, Mr Modi said, a new National Education Policy was brought. 

He said Digital India too has a great role to play in making the nation self reliant. Mr Modi said before 2014, only 5 dozen panchayats in the country were connected with optical fiber. In the last five years, 1.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country have been connected with optical fiber. The Prime Minister said in the coming 1,000 days, every village in the country will be connected with optical fiber. He said Lakshadweep will also be connected to submarine optical fiber cable. 

He said NCC is being expanded in border areas and special training will be provided to about one lakh new NCC cadets.

Mr Modi stressed that women empowerment has a huge role to play in Atma Nirbhar bharat. He informed that of the 40 crore Jan Dhan accounts opened in the country, about 22 crore accounts belong to women. He said that in April, May and June this year, about Rs 30,000 crore have been directly transferred to the accounts of women.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of National Digital Health Mission from today. He said the National Digital Health Mission will bring a new revolution in India’s health sector and all Indians will get health IDs. He said every test, every disease, medicines prescribed by doctors, reports and related information will be contained in this one health ID.

Mr Modi informed that three Corona vaccines are in various stages of trial in India and  large-scale production will begin once scientists give their nod. He said the government’s roadmap to bring a Corona vaccine to all Indians in the shortest possible time is ready.

Mr Modi said the government fulfilled a long standing demand of people by making Ladakh a Union Territory last year.  He said Ladakh is moving forward today to touch new heights of development. He said just as Sikkim has made its mark as an organic State, efforts are being made to make Ladakh a carbon neutral region.

The Nation is celebrating 74th Independence Day today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the national flag at the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi and addressed the nation this morning. Mr Modi was received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Red Fort. The Prime Minister then inspected the Guard of Honour.
 
The Guard of Honour contingent for the Prime Minister consisted of one officer and 24 men each from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police. This year, the Guard of Honour was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Gaurav S Yewalkar.
 
Before coming to Red Fort, the Prime Minister paid homage to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

Why do we chose to buy or to wear the clothes we have? Is the intention to be attractive? Revealing? Modest? I always wonder why a lady would like to appear to be sexy. I what is her intention? It applies for men too……. I believe that what we wear is a true refection of the heart. When you go shopping, you only buy what you like, and when you wear it, you advertise the fact. So you show off your personality and reveal your character to those who see you. Does it make sense!?

The choice of your clothing speaks louder than the talk. The motives of one’s charecter are always judged by what they wear. People will always judge you by the looks. If you present yourself in cheap clothing, the thing that will be remembered is this and not your goodness or character.

Though we have the freedom to dress anyway we please, I do believe that our clothes reflect our character and hence we should be careful.

But if we think from another perspective, we miss out on many opportunities by judging by appearance only. This happens a lot of times. Dressing varies from land to land do judging personality based on dressing would be inappropriate. True Charecter I’d reflected is how we behave and not in how we dress.

In my opinion, in the case of a few, we can judge them by their looks while in some other cases, we cannot do like that. To be sure, dressing is your choice. Wear what you like, but only decent ones.