“The politicians, who rush to us even by crossing hills to seek votes during elections, are not remembering us now. No representatives or top officials visited and consoled us when we lost everything, including our homes, in the natural disaster. Nobody is listening to our cries,” lamented victims who have taken shelter at a Madrasa in Napoklu village in the Taluk.

Muchaki Lakma walked anxiously into the thatch-shelter where we were all assembled, guided by his 12-year-old son, Sukda.  He had just returned from Durma, a village some four kilometres away. When he began talking about the August 6 encounter in which the Chhattisgarh police claim to have killed 15 “Maoists”, he broke down and wept inconsolably.

Kodagu is a district covered with hills and valleys. Conservation of these hills is a must to save Kodagu district. It is impossible to imagine Kodagu without hills and valleys. Instead of natural disaster, manmade disasters are the main reason for the present situation of Kodagu district.

Hundreds of rain-flood, landslides victims from villages around Jodupala in Madikeri taluk in Kodagu district are still spending days at various rescue camps. The victims of these villages have been housed in the rescue camps at Tekkil Community Hall, Sampaje and Devarakolli Government Schools in Sullia Taluk.

A video of a boy tearing the Indian flag and saying, “Pakka Musalman hoon” is being circulated widely on social media. A Twitter handle, @AnuMishraBJP , posted the video stating, “भारत के राष्ट्रीय ध्वज को फाड़ के फेंक दिया इस लड़के ने कह रहा है…. कि “पक्का मुसलमान हूँ” ये मानसिकता कहाँ से पैदा हो रही है? @sardanarohit @KapilMishra_IND @TajinderBagga” (Tearing and throwing away the national flag of India, this boy is saying that … “I am a true Muslim” where is this mentality being born? -Translated). It has been retweeted more than 2100 times and ‘liked’ more than 2300 times.

As India celebrated its 71st Independence Day on Aug. 15, the southern coastal state of Kerala was being ravaged by the worst floods in nearly 100 years.

A nationalist, a gifted orator and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jawaharlal Nehru – here’s what the Indian newspapers had to say about Atal Bihari Vajpayee who passed away on Thursday, 16 August. International media, too, paid their tribute to the nonagenarian – calling him “instrumental in strengthening India’s international ties”.

Yakshagana Performance in its original form is truly a mesmerising experience. Through the night air there come the tense high-pitched drumming beats of the chande, mellower rhythm of the maddale and the tinkling brass peal of the tala accompanying the melodious singing of the story-teller the “Bagawatha”. Yakshagana is a rare and unique traditional theatre of Coastal region of Karnataka state in India and has a recorded history of more than five centuries. It is a rich artistic blend of loud music, forceful dance, extempore speech and gorgeous costumes, this art combines the features of opera as well as drama, the characteristics of moral education and mass entertainment.