Skip to main content

A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...

Don't think of becoming Bill Gates overnight : Chief Justice Manjula Chellur



Published in 2017 

Giving a pep talk to lawyers, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Justice Manjula Chellur said there are no shortcut to success. Concentrate on your profession... Don't think of becoming Bill Gates overnight...  Don’t think of having Mercedes, BMWs overnight... Work hard... Success will be yours... She was speaking at a function here in city on Tuesday after inaugurating renovated late Adv. R K Manohar High Court Bar Association’s (HCBA) library at Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court.
Justice Bhushan Gavai, Justice P B Vairale, HCBA President Adv. Anil Kilor, Secretary Adv. Khubalkar were also seated on the dais. 
In her 20 minutes of candid speech, Justice Chellur touched every aspect of law and justice. At the outset, she recalled glorious history of Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court and it’s stalwart Judges, her earlier days in field of law and these statements drew wide response from the audience. But when her voice got firm and she listed out do's and don'ts in the temple of justice, there was a studied silence in the auditorium. 
“Justice Vivian Bose and Justice Mohd Hidyatullah did not had these technical facilities during those days but they overcame this handicap as their memory was phenomenal. Now you can get every information by pressing just one button. You have better technology. Use this modern techniques and become ten times more efficient that Justice Bose and Hidyatullah,” she appealed. 

Work hard in life to achieve something 

She asked the audience to work hard in life to achieve something and laid a great stress on leading an ethical life. The path you choose to reach the goal must also be good. Be committed to your work. Be committed to case you take up and be committed to seniors who guides you, she opined. Having facilities doesn’t mean you should  relax but put in more efforts and overcome the obstacles but do not waver from commitments made to oneself, she further added.  
The Chief Justice also desired that lawyers should innovate as the world is now a global village and today's is information age. At the same time she asked the legal gathering to refrain from delaying the case in the temple of justice, and lawyers particularly should be honest while giving advice to clients. Offer what is best for them and one which is cost affective.
“Do not unnecessarily make the client to run from one court to another court,” she said further and added if a lawyer follows right path while practicing 10 more people will become their client. Similarly, punctuality, proper drafting of petitions, straight forwardness, open heart, affection for others will always pay in long run. You may not see wonders overnight but you will definitely reap the benefits over the period,” stated Justice Chellur and added that  as you grow older and older your refutation as lawyer increases, you will be recognised.

Throw away that big ‘I'

She also asked senior lawyers to identify potential and good qualities in their juniors. That good quality will be of some assistance to society, to make it a good place to live. If you have a good society to live in, many of the problems can be sorted out amicably. Frowning on selfishness in legal practice, Chief Justice said, some selfish persons only thinking of I, I and I... the big I. Throw away that big I’ within you, she appealed to the legal hawks. 
Making clear that she would not tolerate non-sense, the Chief Justice desired that her institution should look clean and sad there is no room for inequality their. There should no injustice with anyone. Everything is same and no matter what's your background, stated Justice Chellur while making it clear that everyone is equal before the law.
Commenting on Public Interest Litigation’s (PILs) at notice, she said that unwanted, irrelevant matters are increasing sought to be projected as public interest. She asked lawyers that its their responsibility to prevent such matters from coming to Bench, such matters are new tools for making money but are increasing burden on the courts. Asking lawyers to introspect whether they are doing any good to the society, good to the institution, good to the client, and asked them to think as a human being first. 
Raising importance of values in life, Justice Chellur opined that people were not remembered because they are very rich but for their good qualities, commitment to the institution and justice.  People can make money but they can't be useful to society.
Justice Bhushan Gavai said that new HCBA body have done great work within a span of five months. The new library would be helpful for the lawyers practicing in the High Court. Interest of the common man is dear to our heart. This association (HCBA) has produced eminent jurist for the country. Praising the bar further, Justice Gavai said, this bar has very talented members and recalled that the library was the brain child of Justice V C Daga.
Adv Anil Kilor in his introductory speech said that large numbers of reference books are available in the library. Sitting capacity of library was doubled after the renovation work. Adv. Preeti Rane compared the programme while Adv. Khubalkar proposed a vote of thanks. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IGP Prasanna : The man who stopped Obama’s convoy

IGP Mallikarjuna Prasanna By Dheeraj Fartode  Published on Feb/17/2019 NOT many are aware of an episode during the then US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in 2010. The world’s most powerful man was made to wait for 11 minutes in his car while an Indian cop took on American officials for their unwarranted interference in the US President’s security. KM Mallikarjuna Prasanna, Special Inspector General of Police of Nagpur Range, still continues to work with the same pride, wearing his patriotism on the sleeve. “Had they (Americans) deployed their personnel for area security, then the message would have been Indians are unable to protect VIPs in their nation,” recounted Prasanna on the episode that is one of the highlights of his distinguished career of a skillful investigator. The story of the IPS officer of 2000 batch is worth a film. In fact, a movie (Nagarjun-starrer ‘Officer’) has already been made by Ram Gopal Verma last year. His real life script als...

DCP Sunil Kolhe gets IPS cadre

DCP (crime) Sunil Kolhe By Dheeraj Fartode About 28 State Police Service (SPS) officers were granted  Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre on Monday. At Nagpur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Crime) Sunil Kolhe is among these officers. With their promotion, Maharashtra Government will fill-up the existing vacancies of cadre posts across the State. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India, approved the promotion and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), issued the notification of 28 state police officers into IPS cadre.  Maharashtra Government had earlier empanelled the 28 officers for promotion of SPS officers into IPS and criteria was they should have served for atleast eight years as Superintendent of Police (SP) or Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). The list includes names of officers belonging to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP) batches between 1988 and 1995, who were promoted to the IPS cadre. The officers are S V Ja...

How a mom won fight for justice after 15 years

Pintu Shirke  THE love of a mother can move mountains. But for Vijaya Dilipsingh Shirke the task ahead was much tougher. She was taking on the mountain of a corrupt system, enduring threats to life, and fighting the might of muscle power. Never did she flinch even once, and after a longdrawn legal battle of 15 years ensured that the killers of her son did not go unpunished. After all, it was a resolute mother’s promise to her  slain son. On October 31, 2017 the mother was full of anxiety waiting for a word about the outcome of hearing in the Apex Court. The decision would have a bearing on the Shirkes’ years of struggle to get justice for their slain son Swapnil alias Pintu Shirke. When the learned Apex Court judges threw out challenge of main culprits, including prime plotter Vijay Mate, and upheld life sentence handed out by the High Court, the 15-yearlong fight of Vijaya Shirke had finally reached its logical conclusion. “The promise made to Swapnil when...