ORIGIN: BIG BANG to HUMANS

About: we have read about the origins of the Universe, our Milky Way Galaxy, the solar system, and our Planet Earth, of the beginning of time; of the beginning of life and everything as we know it today. With so many stories swirling about us, I was fascinated and wanted to pin-down our origins in about 15 minutes. This is an attempt to present how it all began in a simple manner, leaving alone much of evolutionary and scientific jargon – that’s for you to connect the dots. (The image shown is Grok AI generated).

Scientists describe the Universe beginning as an extremely tiny, incredibly hot, and unimaginably-dense point-called Singularity: where density and temperature is infinite. Everything-space, time, matter, and energy-was squeezed into something smaller than an atom. Then, suddenly, it began expanding very rapidly and finding its own ‘Space’. This expansion is what we call the Big Bang – so well explained by astrophysicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking (almost to the point that we believe he owned it). It wasn’t an explosion in space; it was space itself stretching out everywhere, all at once.

We do not know exactly what caused or triggered the Big Bang, which occurred about 13.70 billion years ago. Current scientific knowledge breaks down at that extreme point, so ‘what came before’ or ‘what caused it’ may not even make sense in the usual way. Time itself began with the Big Bang-there was no ‘before’ because time didn’t, exist yet – like asking what’s north of the North Pole. Hence, Time is Zero, when the Big Bang happened.

The first lively second produces gravity and other forces that govern physics. In less than a minute the Universe is a billion kilometres across and growing fast. All done in about the time it takes to make a sandwich.

Immediately after the Big Bang, things began cooling-down and scale-up, step-by-step: in the first moments and within about 3 minutes a soup of super-hot particles came into being. Then the Universe cooled just enough for the first protons and neutrons to form simple atomic nuclei-mostly hydrogen and helium. About 380,000 years later it cooled more, electrons joined nuclei and the first full atoms formed. Light could travel freely: we see this today as the cosmic microwave background-leftover glow from the early universe. In the next few hundred million years gravity pulled tiny differences in density into bigger clumps. The first stars and galaxies formed from gigantic clouds of hydrogen and helium gas. Stars ‘cooked’ heavier elements. Inside the stars itself, nuclear fusion created carbon, oxygen, iron, etc. When massive stars exploded as supernovae, they spread these elements into space.

About nine billion years after the Big Bang (4.6 billion years ago) in our Milky Way Galaxy, a cloud of gas and dust-enriched with those heavy elements from old stars-collapsed under gravity eventually leading to the formation of the Solar System: the centre became our Sun (a star that started fusing hydrogen). Around it, a spinning disk of leftover gas and dust formed. Tiny particles that stuck together grew into planetesimals (solid, rocky, or icy bodies ranging from a few kilometres to hundreds of kilometres across) collided and merged into planets.

About 4.5 to 4.6 billion years ago Planet Earth formed from rocky material in the inner part of the disk (closer to the Sun). Early Earth was molten from impacts and heat. A big collision with a Mars-sized object blasted debris that formed the Moon and also tilted the Earth’s Axis, causing the seasons we know. Over time, it cooled, water arrived (likely from comets and asteroids), oceans formed, and eventually life began. Then, about 3.8 billion years ago, the first organisms emerged.

Every scenario we know concerning the conditions necessary of life involves water. ’Origin of Species’ scientist Charles Darwin hypothesised a small, shallow, warm body of water-a pond or tidal pool on early Earth-where a cocktail of simple chemicals could concentrate and react under energy sources like sunlight, heat, and other catalysts to form complex organic molecules, such as proteins, eventually twitching into the first primitive life forms. That’s the ‘warm little pond concept’. And some theories suggest that deep-sea hydrothermal bubbling vents could have done the same.

Once life existed, any new proto-life would be quickly consumed by existing organisms, explaining why such spontaneous generation doesn’t happen today. Everything that has ever lived, plant or animal, began from this primordial twitch. But this ancestral packet of life did something additional and extraordinary: it cleaved itself and produced an heir. And a tiny bundle of genetic material passed from one living entity to another, and has never stopped moving since. It was the moment of creation for all of us. Biologists sometimes call it the Big Birth. All living things use the same code.

The Earth’s surface did not become solid until about 3.9 billion years ago. There was no oxygen to breathe back then than there is on Mars today. About 3.8 billion years ago the first bacterial organisms emerged, and for two billion years they were the only forms of life: they lived, reproduced, and swarmed, but did not show any particular inclination to move on to another more challenging level of existence.

At some point in the first billion years of life on Earth, a kind of bacteria called Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, learned to tap into a freely available resource – the hydrogen than exists in spectacular abundance in water. They absorbed water molecules, supped on the hydrogen and released oxygen as waste, and in doing so, invented photosynthesis. This is undoubtedly the most important single metabolic innovation in the history of life on the planet. And it was invented not by plants, but by ‘smart’ bacteria.

Now, finally, we had oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere, but it took awfully long for life to grow into the mind-boggling complex variety we know today. As the world had to wait until the simpler organisms had oxygenated the atmosphere sufficiently. Animals could not summon up the energy to do work. And it took about 2 billion years for oxygen levels to reach more or less modern levels of concentration in the atmosphere.

With the oxygen stage thus set-up brilliantly, quite suddenly an entirely new type of Cell arose, containing a nucleus and little bodies called organelles. The process is thought to have started when some blundering or over-adventurous bacterium either invaded or was captured by some other bacterium and it turned out that it suited them both. Call it a win-win situation. The captive bacterium became, it is thought, a mitochondrion, which made complex life organisms possible. In plants, a similar invasion produced chloroplasts, which enable plants to photosynthesise.

The uniqueness of mitochondria is that they are powerhouses, which use oxygen to breakdown food and release molecular energy. And without this ability, life on Earth would be nothing more than a sludge of simple microbes. They are also unique in that they have their own genetic material.

With the cell firmly established and having a means- an in-house power plant- of producing energy for its functions through the mitochondria, life naturally took the next step to building complex ‘skyscraper’ beings. Starting with a single cell, splitting to becoming two, and the two becoming four…life raced to build-up like crazy. Each cell carries the complete genetic code-the instruction manual for the living being it makes: it knows how to do its job and every other job of the body of the being. All living beings possess hundred of different types of cells. And the genetic code that enables them to be itself is the molecule called DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)- the stuff of life- a legend in its own right and the blueprint of life. DNA exists for just one reason: to create more DNA.

Quickly, ‘sizing-up’ the DNA: It holds the complete set of instructions for building and operating an organism and carries genetic instructions from parents to offspring ensuring traits are passed down the assembly line. DNA is responsible for making proteins-vital for life. But they do not speak the same language as the proteins they engineer. Enter the RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) which acts as an interpreter between the two, working with a ‘chemical clerk’ called a Ribosome to carry out the instructions of the Big Boss – the DNA. That’s it, we built this animal.

To give a timeline, the great oxygenation event occurred 2.4 billion years ago, which transformed the atmosphere into one capable of enabling life. Multicelluar algae appeared about 1 billion years ago and the first soft-bodied multicellular organisms appeared about 550 million years ago leading to organisms with hard parts (shells, exoskeletons), then marine invertebrates, which dominate for a period of time; then the first vertebrates (jawless fish), first land plants, then we reach the age of fishes, progressing to the first four-limbed vertebrates that venture onto land; forests appear; amphibians diversify, first reptiles evolve. And then the mighty Dinosaurs evolve from archosaur (vertebrate, four-legged)reptiles; early mammals and crocodilian relatives appear.

At the beginning of the age of Dinosaurs, about 230 million years, ago the continents were arranged together as a single supercontinent called Pangea. Dinosaurs lived on Earth for a fabulous 165 million years and during their existence the supercontinent slowly broke apart. Undoubtedly, they are one of the most successful groups of animals to have roamed the planet. But despite their long evolutionary history, the origin of Dinosaurs remains shrouded in mystery. They went extinct when an asteroid the size of a mountain slammed into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with the force of 100 trillion tons of TNT. The impact created a crater about 185 kilometres across and several kilometres deep and sent tons of rock, dust, and debris into the atmosphere. A darkness descended across the planet that, along with other related catastrophes, wiped out an estimated 80% of life on Earth. Whatever the causes, the huge extinction that ended the age of the Dinosaur left gaps in ecosystems around the world. And these were subsequently filled by the only Dinosaurs to survive – birds – and mammals, both of which went on to evolve rapidly.

After the Dinosaurs became extinct small, surviving mammals thrived in the empty ecosystems. Over millions of years, these shrew-like creatures evolved into primates, then Apes, and finally, after about 60–65 million years of evolution, early hominids emerged in Africa around 4 to 7 million years ago, eventually leading to Homo sapiens, 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. Humans did not appear immediately after the dinosaurs; rather, they are the result of a long, 65-million-year, evolutionary process of mammals that survived the Dinosaur extinction event. And Dinosaurs and Humans never lived together – as show in fantasy movies.

Having come thus from simple organisms to complex Dinosaurs, how did even more complex Humans appear? Human prehistory is still under an intensive investigation with all kinds of discoveries and debatable theories evolving from the pools, vents, mysterious caves, fossils, and what not? Whatever, what we roughly know is that for almost 100% of our history as organisms, we were in the same ancestral line as Chimpanzees. Hardly anything is known about the prehistory of Chimpanzees, but wherever they were, we were.

Then about 7 million years ago something monumental happened: a group of new beings emerged – walked – out of the tropical forests of Africa- somewhere in the Great Rift Valley – and began to move about in the open savanna. They were called the Australopithecines, or Hominina (Southern Ape) and for the next five million years they would be the world’s dominant hominid species. They were capable of walking upright and existed for over a million years. The most famous hominid is the about 3.18 million-year old Australopithecine discovered in Ethiopia, East Africa, in 1974, called Lucy, named after the Beatles song, ’Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’. Lucy is our earliest ancestor – the missing link between Ape and humans-said Donald Johanson the leader of the team that made the discovery. Lucy was tiny, just three and a half feet tall. She could walk and was evidently a good tree climber. She and her kind came down from the trees and out of the forests and did the walk of life. Now being out in the open, calls for more survival skills and all the elements would appear to have been in place for rapid evolution of a potent brain, and yet that seems not to have happened. For over three million years Lucy & Co scarcely changed at all. Their brain did not grow and there is no sign of them developing simple tools despite the fact that they lived alongside other early hominids who did use tools.

At one point between three million and two million years ago there were as many as six hominid types co-existing in Africa. Only one outlasted all of them: Homo, which emerged about two million years ago. The relationship between Australopithecines and Homo is unknown, but they co-existed for over a million years before Australopithecine vanished mysteriously, and possibly abruptly. The Homo line begins with Homo Habilis and concludes – rather continues – with us, Homo sapiens (the thinking man). In between there have been other Homo species: Homo ergaster, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo denisova, Homo rudolfensis, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo soloensis, Homo antecessor, and Homo erectus.

One group of tool users, Homo erectus, who seemed to arise out of nowhere, overlapped with Homo habilis and is said to be the dividing line: everything that came before them was apelike in character; everything that came after them was humanlike. Homo erectus was around for almost 2 million years, making them the most durable human species ever. Remember we, Homo sapiens are only about 200,000 years old, and we are still a long way from beating the record of Homo erectus.

Homo erectus was the first to hunt, the first to use fire, the first to fashion complex tools… and the first to look after the weak and frail. They were unprecedentedly adventurous and spread across the globe with breathtaking rapidity. Ultimately, Homo erectus and all other human species became extinct and Homo sapiens -outwitting all of them, probably with a thinking brain- was the only surviving human species, from about 13,000 years ago. And that’s all Out Of Africa.

To sum up, human evolution in over five million years from the distant puzzled Australopithecine to the fully modern human, produced a creature that is still 98.4% genetically indistinguishable from the modern chimpanzee.

So finally, what are human beings made-up of? We are fundamentally made of stardust forged inside ancient stars, or during their-supernova- explosive death, of course, billions of years ago. Humans are constructed with about fifty-nine elements. The top being – Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sulphur, and Calcium, which account for over 99%. They are the building blocks of life. We are incomplete without molybdenum, vanadium, manganese, tin, copper, cobalt, chromium, and others. The biggest component in any human, filling over 60% of available space is, Oxygen, which is bound up with say Hydrogen and other chemicals to stay in the body.

Let’s go back to the mitochondria story and talk about man and woman – the male and female of us, the Homo sapiens species.

I’m not delving into the structure of the DNA, the genome, or the 46 Chromosomes-23 pairs-each half coming to us from Mom & Dad and XX being female and XY being male. That’s for you to read-up. But, remember, each human cell defined by a cytoplasm boundary wall has a nucleus (holding the DNA) and specialised organelles such as Mitochondria, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Golgi, Ribosomes, Lysosomes, Cytoskeleton, among others.

Women are the sacred keepers of human mitochondria. Sperm pass on none of their mitochondria during conception, so all mitochondria information is transferred from generation to generation through mothers alone. Such a system means there were many extinctions along the way. A woman endows all her children with her mitochondria, but only her daughters have the mechanism to pass it onwards to future generations. That leads us all the way to a Mitochondrial Eve from whom all of us descended. And they say, the last common grandmother of humans and chimpanzees was about 6 million years ago.

Mitochondrial Eve is defined as the most recent woman from whom all living humans descend in an unbroken line purely through their mothers and through the mothers of those mothers, back until all lines converge on one woman. Scientific studies place Mitochondrial Eve in Africa, likely in the Great Rift Valley, roughly 160,000 to 200,000 years ago. Mitochondrial Eve was part of a contemporary population of humans. Other women alive at that time may have descendants living today, but their unbroken female lineages failed to persist, or they only had sons who could not pass on her specific mitochondrial DNA.

Here we are, Homo sapiens, with such great ancestry coded in our genes, in every cell of our body-made of star dust. And to be born with all this stuff inside us, is by itself a great achievement. And remember women have a place in the scheme of things, carrying the storyline onwards.

I quote Richard Dawkins’s, Unweaving the Rainbow, “…the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here”. Make the best of it. Make it count.

The next 15 minutes story coming up is about the first human civilisations, how they evolved, the various ages of human knowledge…up to the Industrial Revolution. Watch this Space-without dust in your eyes.

A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS

About: From the time we are born, through childhood, adolescence, adulthood and probably into old age as well, we acquire and carry a chestful of fetishes, likes, dislikes, crazy beliefs, and what not? Let us call the best of them as Favourite Things. These are a few of my favourite things, and I’m sure you will be able to relate to them, with nostalgia. Also a run, down memory lane from the 1960s, in Tamil Nadu, India.

The title itself is one of my favourites-a song from the unforgettable classic Hollywood movie, The Sound of Music, released in the year 1965, which starts with, when I am sad I remember a few of my favourite things: “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm wooden mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these a few of my favourite things…”

Recall, the Sound of Music won five Oscars from ten nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Scoring Music, and Best Sound (proved that the sound is indeed good). The movie forever trapped the Von Trapp Family and Austria’s Vienna in my memory: an enthralling musical by Hollywood’s Rodgers & Hammerstein. And of course, the tongue-keeping songs such as, Do-Re-Mi, doe a deer; I am sixteen going on seventeen; so long farewell; Edelweiss… Well, I’m not actually sad at the moment, but being in a cheerful mood, I can pack my favourite things for any gloomy times ahead.

When studying in Boarding School in the Hill Station of Yercaud, I used to come home only twice a year: a fifteen-day, Half-Yearly Holiday in the middle of the year, and a three-month Annual Holiday-beginning in November and ending in January of the following year.

I lived on a farm in the wonder years and bringing the early learnings of the Hill Station School to the farm, and mixing it up, was often incredibly crazy. For e.g., I thought the water springing in a well was because of salt (in Tamil, Thaneer ooruthu) and I dug a small hole – my own tiny well- in a field. And when Mom was not looking, stole some table salt and put it in the well along with water hoping the water will spring and overflow! I then cut down a few papaya tree branches-they have a hole running through the length-to serve as pipelines, to take out the spring water (to the fields for irrigation). I waited for days, but the water never got itself out of the well and into the papaya pipelines: it dried out leaving only the salt (for Mom to gather). And I moved on. Lesson learnt.

Those days, in the villages, the most popular means of ‘cleaning your teeth’ was with Gopal Tooth Powder (Gopal Palpodi). It was a pinkish red powder with herbal ingredients (KFC’s Colonel must have drawn inspiration or stolen parts of the formula while brushing his teeth in India?) and came in cool mini-sachets. And you took some of it in your left palm and used the right second finger to rub the cleansing powder over your teeth. I always had a sachet of Gopal Palpodi whenever I travelled, visiting Aunties and Uncles, Grandmas and Grandfathers, during the holidays. Then came the white Colgate tooth power, before toothpaste and tooth brushes bristled into action, stealing the breath and whitening the teeth of India.

In Boarding School it was always the Toothpaste and Tooth Brush combo- strictly no finger-licking tooth powder. My favourite toothpaste, without hesitation, was Binaca, which came with cute miniature collectibles of soft plastic toys in each pack. A plethora of rhinos, panthers, hippos, monkeys, cats, parrots, giraffes, foxes, frogs, penguins, fish, deer, bisons, camels, tortoises, donkeys, ducks, sea-horses, pelicans and cranes, lizards, snails, bears, chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants, creatures great and small… of all colours and shapes, they all came to me in, of all things, the toothpaste box. Oh, how I waited for the next Binaca. Of course, I did eat toothpaste to bring the animals sooner. Then there was this silent, serious-looking bitter tasting fluoride based Forhans Toothpaste, which never gave foam but was said to be a product created by Dentists and for safeguarding gums and enamel. It came in an orange pack and was fierce looking. An Aunt actually forced me to use it. I remember an advertisement when a kid asks the mother, ‘Ethil nurai varumma’ (Will this foam?)

My favourite soap was the pleasant green, Hamam, backed-up by Mysore Sandal Soap for special occasions. The transparent Pears was for the babies seeing-through, before Johnson’s Baby products toddled-in. I despised the other brands such as Margo and the ayurvedic Medimix (later it became a standard feature of almost every Hotel and Lodge).The beauty ‘girlish’ soaps at that time were Lux International and also the ’come alive with freshness soap’, Liril, featuring the bathing beauty Karen Lunel -wearing a green two-piece bikini – under a waterfall, and I did dream about her a lot!

Sunlight was the washing soap that Mom used for the dirty clothes and the pale yellow-bar could always be seen at home. I could not imagine a world without Sunlight before surfing for Surf and then Nirma Washing Powder dancing into our homes. So so did the blue Rin and Det soap, about that time.

Face power was typically Ponds, and later Nycil, with the girls going for that vintage Remy and Cuticura – dusting on the face using a puff held in a nice little powder box.

I never wore a wrist-watch until University and in those days HMT watches- Time keepers to the Nation-was the rage. Of course, I forced my uncle to part with his 24-jewelled, Made-In-Japan Ricoh Automatic Watch for a period. It had a fancy glass-cut as if it was a diamond. This diamond was not forever and I had to return it to my Uncle, after a while. My first owned watch was a Titan, which the Tata’s launched to bring ‘electronic clock’ times to India. And I still have the favourite first watch: a white checked dial base with date, day, month watch at the 3rd hour.

Going back to Films, beyond The Sound of Music, my favourite movie, that I watched and watched over and over again, was the eleven Oscars winning epic Ben-Hur. That galley-slave battle sequence, the Chariot Race, and the story of Jesus Christ without showing us his face, struck a chord and raced in the mind.

Another ‘watched again-and-again’ favourite is Bruce Lee’s, ‘Enter the Dragon’. The superb, clever Kung-Fu fight sequences are a delight to watch. And it was devastating to learn that Bruce Lee unfortunately died at age 32, six days before the movie’s premiere in Hong Kong. He never witnessed the massive ground-breaking international success of Enter The Dragon, which was his first. I would call it a cult movie of the time and thereafter Bruce Lee became a global icon.

Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, and Charlton Heston were my favourite heroes and almost all Hollywood heroines stepped into a long list. Spoilt for choice. Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Sophia Lauren, Raquel Welch, Ursula Andress – she was constantly in a state in undressing – and was the Bond girl, rising up from the sea, in the first ever James Bond movie, Dr No.

In our own Indian Film World, MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Kamal Hassan, Rajinikanth, Savithri, Saroja Devi, Sri Devi and Zeenath Amman were a few of my favourites. And music by M S Viswanathan, and later Ilayaraja, with songs sung by T M Soundararajan, S P Balasubramanian, P B Sreenivas, P Susheela, S Janaki, always hummed inside.

Over time, I became a voracious reader and comics paved the way to serious reading. Tarzan-of the Apes, Phantom-the Ghost Who Walks (Oh, I loved Diana Palmer, the Horse-Hero, and the Wolf Dog-Devil, and the Phantom rings), Richie-Rich, Wendy the Witch, Little Lotta, and later Asterix ruled this part of the world. Mandrake the magician and a local Tamil comic series, ‘Irumbukkai Maayavai’ (the man with the iron hand) was another electrifying story, which was based on Steel Claw-one of the most famous British Weekly Adventure Comics. Then there was the comic strip Axa, which featured a semi-nude, busty, sexy, sword-wielding long-haired blonde heroine. Stirred-up many a thing.

Top-gear novels were Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, The Secret Seven, and Captain W E Johns’ Biggles (James Bigglesworth) detective series. Then I delved into the Westerns such as Oliver Strange-the Marshall of Lawless -the James Green series being a favourite. Harold Robbins’s ‘Never Love A Stranger’ and novels by James Hadley Chase opened new worlds filled with smooth mountain peaks and bushy valleys. Debonair and Playboy -I never dared buy them, but borrowed – they were magazines I read-nay, looked- beneath bed-sheets or in the dark alleys of Boarding School life. In later years Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot – Murder on the Orient Express -were my favourite detectives solving crime after crime. Often I would sit down in a corner of a restaurant and ‘play’ Sherlock Holmes in the mind.

Shoes and slippers were invariably Bata, then BSC (Bata Shoe Company), and with another brand called Corona a distant competition. One of my favourites was a brown-colour, foot-covering sandal, which I used until it broke-fractured into two- and helplessly stitched together to hold for many more times, at least while walking on the farm, at home.

Studying in an Anglo-Indian English Medium School from the beginning I was naturally drawn to Western music, The Bee Gees- every song; Beatles – yellow submarine and other songs; ABBA-Dancing Queen, Fernando; Osibisa, dance the body music; Boney M, The Rivers of Babylon; and Eruption’s, ‘One Way Ticket to the Moon’; The Eagles, Hotel California; Survivor, the Eye of the Tiger; Johnny Wakelin – The Black Superman, about Muhammad Ali flying like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. Later on, Air Supply, Foreigner, Dire Straits, Police, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd-the Wall – became favourites.

In the early days – due to my ‘English’ upbringing – I struggled with the Tamil language and an Aunt of mine introduced me to two magazines, which made my Tamil almost poetic and even classic. One was ‘Kumudham’ and the second was ‘Kalkandu’. Tamilvanan was the founding editor of the then widely read Kalkandu (Sugar Crystals), which published fiction, articles about state politics, and Tamil cinema, and pages of factoids. Tamilvanan’s novels featured the detective hero Shankarlal, who travels the world solving crimes and battling criminals, much like a James Bond. The novels often contain a good deal of factual information about the settings, which educated the Tamil audience about countries to which, at the time, relatively few Indians could afford to travel. Shankarlal frequently travelled with his wife Indra and his servants, Kathrikai (the nickname means ‘eggplant’ a reference to his fat belly and tuft of hair) and Manickam. Shankarlal always wore a black hat and sunglasses and was famous for drinking great quantities of tea. Tamilvanan’s motto as a journalist was ‘courage is the best companion’ (in Tamil ‘Thunivee Thunai’). In Kalkandu, he often substantiated his facts and statistics with authorities such as Encyclopaedia Britannica and Guinness Book of World Records besides other scholarly works.

Then there was Thiruvalluvar’s 1330 verse Thirukkural, which was a must read and must study. The Public Transport Buses in Tamil Nadu had a verse, or more, painted on the inside- to educate yourself, on the move.

On the English side, I loved the cheekyThe Illustrated Weekly of India – a weekly, odd-sized magazine newspaper and The Indian Express newspaper. I hated the stubborn and serious looking, The Hindu newspaper, and it was best used for lining shelves. An Aunt (oh, the same one!) of mine even used it to line the trays when she bought her first ever refrigerator. Those days the popular brands were, Kelvinator, Godrej, and Voltas.

In the school days chewing gum was popular as was Fruitex confectioneries. In the 1960s and 70s Fruitex were known for having collectible stamps inside its wrappers. Sweets with stamps for stamp collection, and I became a Stamp Collector.

I was always fascinated by Mermaids: those mythical, beautiful long-haired, curvy, well-endowed beauties, with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. And two years ago, when I went to Poland’s Warsaw I learnt about ‘The Mermaid of Warsaw’, which armed with a sword and shield is believed to protect the City. I bought a momento of the Warsaw Mermaid, which I keep close to my heart (might prevent a Heart Attack). Legend says that the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen is the Warsaw mermaid’s sister and they went separate ways from the Baltic Sea.

My favourite off-school games were, Marbles, Tops-Pambaram, Killi-Thandu/Gilli Danda, Snakes & Ladders (Paramapadham), Aadu Puli Aatam. Dhaayam – Daayakattai similar to the ancient Chaupur, as played in the Mahabharata, or modern-day Ludo. Chinese checkers and Chess did climb up the ladder as I progressed in School.

In Golli Gundu -as it was called in Tamil -we used glass marbles to hit and capture other players’s marbles placed in a circular area. As in a form of ‘rudimentary golf’ we shoot marbles into a small dug-out hole. I’m unable to recall the exact rules of the game, but I do remember pivoting my left fingers on the ground, holding a marble in the middle or index finger with the right hand and releasing it with precise aim, much like a catapult. Also a kind of ‘ground billiards’. And I could aim and hit another marble at quite a distance.

Pambaram (Top – made of wood) where we spin it as long as possible with a deft sting pull and a clever nail on which the Top spins. Sometimes we attack another top placed in a circle on the ground, by hitting it in a top strike. And I was an expert in making the top spin on my palm (with a flat nail). Perhaps this became the basis for the Hero spinning a Pambaram on the Heroine’s bare belly, in a popular Tamil movie. That was tingling, for sure!

In Gilli-Danda, a two-team game, a short stick with tapering ends is lobbed into the air by the longer stick the Danda, and hit as far as possible. The distance from the ‘hit point’ to the spot where Gili lands is measured in Dandas. If the Gilli is caught by the opposite team, while in the air, he is considered out (sometimes the whole team) or if he fails to strike the Gili on three consecutive attempts he is declared out. Some kind of ancient baseball?

During my school days electricity had yet to arrive at home, and we used simple wick-Kerosene lamps or the pressurised Kerosene Petromax Lamps. The latter was a special feature for lighting up Weddings. I particularly enjoyed fitting the incandescent filament, lighting it with a match-stick and then hand-pumping the lamp (pressurising) until the filament glowed a brilliant white light.

As electricity creeped into our Homes, other favourites occupied my mind: the ‘slowly heating-up’ valve-radios, the mobile battery operated Transistor Radios, the Vinyl record-players, he Philips and Bush brands were a huge hit until the National Panasonic cassette players took our world by storm. You can delve into them at

https://kumargovindan.com/2025/05/03/radio-blaa-blaa/

I started writing this article with few things in mind and as it opened and flowed, the few began growing – overwhelmed – and I thought maybe ‘many’ would be a better word but certainly not ‘less’. Should I plan a sequel as ‘much more’ Favourite Things stack-up?

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the headline news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 30 November to 31 December 2025: War & peace; turmoil in Iran; humanitarian crisis in Sudan; cost of living crisis in Nigeria; and India news – especially about Thiruparankundram Temple in Tamil Nadu.

THE WORLD

December 2025 saw heightened geopolitical tensions, diplomatic efforts towards peace in ongoing conflicts, and military escalations, particularly in Europe and Asia. Many hostilities just meandered on, with probably the sole winners being the arms manufacturers and suppliers.

United States (US) President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago Resort, Palm Beach, Florida, on 28th December, for talks on a potential peace deal. It appears that progress was made on 15-year US security guarantees for Ukraine, though territorial issues (with Russia) remained unresolved. Ukrainian negotiators agreed to 90% of a 20-point peace plan cooked by Ukraine, US negotiators, and European countries. A deal seems close at hand?

In Russia, President Putin’s residence came under a drone attack and Ukraine was accused of orchestrating it. This, amid ongoing Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, the European Union approved a Euro 90 billion loan to Ukraine for defense funding.

In the Israel-Hamas conflict, Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 29th December, to discuss the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire (including international peacekeeping forces) and warned Iran of potential strikes.

Israel approved new West Bank settlements-pushing for more ‘Israel’.

The US military along with Jordan launched airstrikes on multiple sites, targeted ISIS in Syria, following attacks.

Iran is witnessing its largest unrest in three years. And the Government grapples with its most serious challenge in years. Chants of ‘mullahs must leave’ and ‘death to the dictator’ echoed across major Iranian cities as protesters clashed with security forces of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei-led theocratic regime. The eruption of anger and turmoil has been fuelled by a collapsing Rial, record inflation, and years of sanctions, amid renewed American pressure.

The country’s currency, Rial, plummeted to a record low against the US dollar, and the head of the Central Bank resigned. While traders and shopkeepers rallied in Saadi Street in downtown Tehran as well as in the Shush neighbourhood near Tehran’s main Grand Bazaar. Recall, merchants at the market played a crucial role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the monarchy and brought the present crop of Islamists to power.

Turkey and Armenia agreed to simplify visa procedures as a step toward normalising ties between the countries.

China conducted its largest military drills to date, Justice Mission 2025, encircling Taiwan with live-fire exercises, simulated strikes, and port blockades starting late December. This followed a major US arms package to Taiwan and came amid broader regional frictions.

Thailand and Cambodia held talks, mediated by China, to address border clashes. The Southeast Asian neighbours agreed on a ceasefire that took effect at noon on 27th December, stopping 20 days of fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides. The ceasefire included a halt to fighter-jet sorties, exchanges of rocket fire, and artillery barrages. The Thailand-Cambodia conflict was sparked by a skirmish in late May 2025, that left one Cambodian soldier dead. The incident stemmed from a long-running dispute over ownership of ancient temples and their surrounding land, and contributed to a broader escalation of tensions that later developed into sustained fighting.

The ongoing, seemingly, never-ending humanitarian crises in Sudan persisted with limited international attention (need someone to pay ‘attention to the matter’?) Over 30 million people, almost two thirds of Sudan’s population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. Almost 25 million people, are facing acute hunger, with 637,000 of these classified as on the brink of famine. The civil war erupted amid tensions over the integration of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)-a Sudanese paramilitary force formerly operated by the Sudanese Government- into the Sudanese Army following the 2021 coup. It started with RSF attacks on government sites in Khartoum and other cities. The capital region was soon divided between the two factions.

Nigeria is experiencing severe security challenges, including a sharp rise in mass abductions of schoolchildren in the north, and ongoing insurgencies by groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). This instability, along with other factors, has led to a major hunger crisis, particularly in the northeast, and displacement of millions of people. Economically, the country faces its worst cost of living crisis in 30 years due to 2023 reforms, and has also seen issues like inflation and social unrest.

In late November, armed bandits kidnapped 303 children and 12 teachers from the St. Mary’s Private Catholic school in the country’s north-central Niger State. The students are both male and female, some as young as ten. About 50 managed to escape-soon after the abduction- and during December all students and teachers were released from captivity, first 100, then the remaining. Nigeria is home to some of the world’s largest Muslim and Christian populations with the northern region predominantly Muslim and the southern region largely Christian. Indigenous religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, are in the minority. The country’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

Myanmar’s civil war intensified in late 2025, with the military junta facing significant setbacks against a unified resistance of Ethnic Armed Groups and People’s Defence Forces, losing control over vast territories, particularly in border areas, leading to major displacement, increased humanitarian needs, and the junta attempting to legitimise its rule through contested elections amidst escalating violence, airstrikes, and ground offensives. Over 3 million people have been displaced, and nearly half the population needs aid, with ongoing conflict disrupting lives and essential services. Triggered by the 2021 military coup, the war is a culmination of long-standing ethnic tensions and resistance to military rule. In essence, Myanmar is in a full-blown civil war where the military is losing ground and struggling to maintain control against a determined, though often fragmented opposition.

INDIA

India came up with a new Rural Employment Law: The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025, was enacted to replace MGNREGA (The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per rural household. The Rural Development Ministry began coordinating with States to prevent fake demands during the transition.

The Election Commission extended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in multiple states, amid opposition demands for discussions on voter lists and national security during the Winter Session of Parliament. The SIR is doing the job of weeding-out very well. For e.g., in Tamil Nadu, the Chief Electoral Officer said that 97.37 lakh names have been dropped from the electoral rolls under the categories of Absent, Shifted, and Dead.

India’s Supreme Court stayed the suspension of Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s (a former BJP MLA) life sentence in the Unnao Rape Case. The case is about the gang rape of a 17 year old girl in Unnao Uttar Pradesh State in June 2017. Kuldeep Singh was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2019.

The Supreme Court also put its earlier Aravalli Hills definition on hold amid environmental concerns and sought the opinion of an expert committee under the Union Environment Ministry for a fuller, comprehensive, definition. The aim is to prevent unregulated mining in ecologically sensitive areas. The criteria defined ‘Aravalli Hills’ as a landform with an elevation of 100 metres or above the local relief. Two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other constitute an ‘Aravalli Range’. The Aravalli Hills and Ranges are among India’s oldest geological formations stretching from Delhi through Haryana, Rajasthan, and into Gujarat, in a span of about 650-800km.

In business news, the Index of Industrial Production rose 6.7% in November 2025, a 25-month high, driven by manufacturing and capital goods. Australia announced duty-free access for all Indian exports from January 2026 under the ECTA’s (India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement) third anniversary. India’s Lok Sabha passed a bill raising Foreign Direct Investment FDI in insurance to 100%. New Free Trade Agreement, including with New Zealand, were concluded amid global tariff challenges. The Reserve Bank of India stepped in with reductions in the repo rate to 5.25% in December, part of multiple cuts in 2025 supporting economic recovery. New Labour Codes were notified; Digital Personal Data Protection Act implemented.

People in India’s capital ‘continued to see pillar-mounted water tanks as UFOs’, as Delhi vanished under severe Air Pollution, recording its worst December Air Quality Index (AQI) since 2018 (average 349), with ‘severe’ levels persisting.

India’s largest (by passenger traffic and market share) Airline IndiGo faced massive disruptions in early December due to new flight duty rules, and fog, cancelling over 1,600 flights in a day. The Government promptly rolled back the new rules, and looking through the eyes of a stranded passenger in a Terminal Building, the Airline clearly showed the middle finger to the Government.

The Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Thiruparankundram Hill located in a suburb of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Hindu God Lord Murugan. It is one of the six abodes (Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan, a set of foremost and sacred Hindu temples, dedicated to the Lord. The original temple was built by the Pandyas during the 6th century CE. It is a rock-cut temple carved into the side of a large monolithic hill. The temple is under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Murugan killed the asura Surapadman at Tiruchendur and later married Deivanai, the daughter of Indra, at Thiruparankundram.

It is customary during the Festival of Karthigai Deepam– a ceremonial holy lamp-to light a lamp (and Diyas) at the Temple. For over a century, the lamp had been lit at a lower elevation near the Uchipillaiyar Temple to avoid the upper peak, which houses a Dargah (Sufi Shrine) containing the grave of Sultan Sikandhar Badushah. The temple’s hilltop includes an ancient Deepathoon pillar, and a year 1923 decree (upheld by the then Privy Council – now abolished, in 1949) confirmed the temple’s ownership of unoccupied portions of the hill.

In early December a petitioner approached the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) seeking permission to light the lamp at the hilltop Deepathoon pillar, arguing that periodic rituals at the spot assert ownership rights. Justice GR Swaminathan issued an order directing the temple’s executive officer (under the HRCE) to light the lamp at the hilltop by 6pm that day, with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) protection to ensure safety, emphasising that this would not infringe on the Dargah’s rights and that failure to act could lead to loss of temple claims. The judge stressed the importance of upholding Hindu devotees’ religious rights under the Indian Constitution.

The Tamil Nadu Government under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), disobeyed the ruling by lighting the lamp only at the traditional lower spot, claiming no historical evidence supported hilltop lighting and that over 100 years of practice justified the lower location. Authorities failed to make arrangements for the hilltop ritual, blocked devotees from accessing the site, imposed prohibitory orders to prevent gatherings, which led to clashes between police and devotees attempting to comply with the order.

The temple administration filed an appeal against the directive on the same day, which the court viewed as a deliberate tactic to evade implementation, noting that the Dargah (the potentially affected party) did not appeal.

Later the High Court accepted contempt petitions against Madurai district authorities, including the District Collector, Superintendent of Police, and temple executive officer, for ‘wilful disobedience’. Justice Swaminathan sharply criticised the state for ‘cocking a snook’ at the court’s authority, stating that the breach was ‘deliberate’ and that defying judicial orders ‘sounds the death knell of democracy itself.’ He warned that no one is above the law, ordered the officials to appear personally to explain the violation, and permitted the petitioner and 10 associates to symbolically light the lamp at the hilltop under CISF escort to affirm the order. The court reiterated that administrative excuses like law and order concerns cannot override judicial directives unless stayed by a higher court, and condemned the actions as a gross infringement on Hindus’ fundamental rights.

Perhaps, taking a cue from IndiGo the Govt of Tamil Nadu looked at its fingers and showed the middle to the Courts. And did not implement the Court Order, a second time.

The worst part is India’s Opposition Members of Parliament moved to impeach Justice Swaminathan. The impeachment will fail because the Opposition does not have the numbers, but the attempt is to browbeat anyone who dares back Hindu rights. However, a group of 56 judges joined together to slam the ill-thought out move. Hope, a better sense of justice prevails in the new year.

I think the Govt at the Centre needs to find its backbone: it should unflinchingly dismiss a State Government that fails to honour a Court Order – not once but twice. Would not this lead to an anarchy stand where one says, “Why should I follow the Laws, Rules and Orders? I’ll appeal to God – wherever he is. Until then, wait”.

Normally, the rowdies on the street are the ‘traditional’ Rule-Breakers. Now, how can we allow a State Govt to become rowdyish? How can a Rule-Maker become a Rule-Breaker?

Lots to think about as we close down the year 2025. Mankind should solve more problems that it creates.

I’ll be transitioning to a newer way of spreading the news of the world in 2026. A forged-on-iron format is in the works. It will be worth the wait.

Happy New Year 2026. Take full responsibility for your life on Earth.

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of interesting events from 1 November to 29 November 2025: Downfall of a Prince; India’s Bahubali; India’s Bad Doctors; Stunning Bihar Elections; and India’s Women’s Cricket on a high.

A Prince is Taken Down

The scandalous Jeffery Epstein story has been telling in the media over many years and this October it took down a Prince-who was blamed for being ‘sincerely’ involved.

Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender operated a vast sex trafficking network of underage girls for himself and his elite associates. His death by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, while awaiting trial, triggered widespread outrage and conspiracy theories.

On 31st October, Prince Andrew of Britain’s Royal Family, brother of the reigning King Charles, was stripped of his royal titles and duties and asked to move out of his royal residence at Windsor Mansion, Royal Lodge, following weeks of intense scrutiny over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew will now be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

He will now live in private accommodation in Sandringham Estate, which is privately funded by the King. Andrew’s two adult daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, will retain their titles as Princesses. Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife, will also move out of Royal Lodge.

Earlier in October, Andrew gave up his other royal titles, including the Duke of York. In a separate development, it has come to light that Andrew hosted Jeffrey Epstein at Royal Lodge as part of his daughter Beatrice’s birthday celebrations in 2006 – two months after a US arrest warrant had been issued for Epstein for the sexual assault of a minor. What perhaps was the final ‘gold’ nail on the coffin of Andrew’s sacking as Prince arising from his misadventures, was the memoir of Virginia Giuffre who repeated allegations that, as a teenager, she had sex with Andrew on three separate occasions.

Virginia Giuffre was an American and Australian advocate for survivors of sex trafficking and one of the most prominent accusers of Jeffrey Epstein. She founded Victims Refuse Silence, a US non-profit organization dedicated to supporting survivors. Giuffre provided elaborate details about being trafficked by Epstein and his partner-in-crime, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Giuffre pursued criminal and civil actions against Epstein and Maxwell while appealing directly to the public for justice and awareness. She sued Ghislaine Maxwell for defamation in 2015 and the case was settled in her favour in 2017 for an undisclosed sum. In July 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the unsealing of documents from Giuffre’s civil suit against Maxwell. The first batch of documents was released in August 2019, further implicating Epstein, Maxwell, and their associates. The following day, Epstein was found dead in his prison cell.

In December 2019, Giuffre described being trafficked by Epstein to the Royal Lodge, which shifted public opinion against Andrew. She later sued him in a New York civil court. The suit was settled in February 2022 with Andrew paying Giuffre an undisclosed amount and also making a substantial donation to her charity. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025. Her memoir ‘Nobody’s Girl’ was published posthumously in October 2025 and perhaps galvanised the King to act.

The Royal Family is bound to be, and set, an example in all aspects of life in the Kingdom, and there are no ifs and buts.

ISRO’s Bahubali

India’s, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after being quiet for quite some time, is back with a bang and a new swag.

On 2nd November, ISRO successfully deployed GSAT-7R, a next-generation communication satellite for the Indian Navy, using its LVM3-M5 heavy-lift launch Vehicle Rocket, nicknamed as ‘Bahubali’. The launch took place from the time-tested Sriharikota, and with this success India’s space capabilities received a mighty upgrade. ‘Bahubali’ means ‘one with strong arms’ and the name reflects the Launch Vehicle’s immense lifting strength and consistent reliability across missions.

The name Bahubali is most famously associated with a revered figure in Jain mythology. Bahubali also known as Gomateshvara was a prince who renounced his kingdom after winning a nonviolent duel with his elder brother. Thereafter he meditated for a long time, eventually leading to his spiritual liberation. And the name became famous after a movie – nothing to do with the original -was made showing Bahubali as one of immense physical strength and of heroic character. He is worshipped across India and especially in the State of Karnataka with huge statues showing his full form. One even had creepers crawling up his body, while he was lost in meditation.

Bahubali is India’s heaviest operational rocket, earlier known as GSLV Mk-III with a payload capacity of up to 4,000 kg to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and up to 8,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It is configured as a three-stage launch system consisting of S200 solid strap-on boosters for liftoff thrust; L110 liquid core stage powered by twin Vikas engines; C25 cryogenic upper stage-developed entirely in India.

Bahubali will serve as the baseline launcher for India’s Moon venture – Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight Mission, where its modified version is called Human-Rated LVM3 (HRLV).

The Bad Doctors

India’s capital New Delhi has been relatively free from terrorism for over 14 years. The last time there was a bomb blast was in September 2011 when Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister of India. It took place outside Gate No. 5 of the Delhi High Court, where a briefcase bomb was planted. The blast killed 15 people and injured 79. The Terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) ) claimed responsibility, carrying out the attack with the support of the Indian Mujahideen-an Islamic jihadist group and designated terrorist organisation. Its signature weapons are timed Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) made from Ammonium Nitrate. To complete the connections, HuJI is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The motive for the attack was the commuting of the death sentence, ordered by India’s Supreme Court, for the 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru. The demand was that Afzal Guru should not be hanged. Later, Afzal Guru was indeed hanged, in February 2013, in Tihar Jail.

Over to the present.

In early November this year, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) police stumbled upon wall posters that appeared in Nowgam, Srinagar, expressing support for Jaish-e-Mohammad- yet another Pakistani militant group active in J&K. Until 2019, posters glorifying terror groups were a common sight in Kashmir. The police would usually remove them, but not every time was there a serious investigation into who put them up.

This time, an alert Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer Sundeep Chakravarthy, currently Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, had a hunch that it might be something more than the usual, and began probing. He started the hunt for the man who put-up the posters. And what followed was not routine. It was a revelation.

From those wall-posters unraveled a terror web, 2900 kilograms of IEDs, a chain of sleeper cells, and a treacherous plot meant to tear through India.

Sundeep didn’t just see paper on a wall, he saw the writing on it and acted before it became an epitaph. The rest never saw it coming. The probe led to the busting of Faridabad’s – what is now termed- White-Collar Doctor (Medical) terror module. That single decision, to investigate promptly, set off a butterfly effect. CCTV footage led to Dr Adil Ahmed Rather of Saharanpur, which led to Dr Muzzammil Shakeel, the seizure of IED-making material, and finally to a full-blown terror module stretching from Kashmir to Delhi and Faridabad.

It’s abundantly clear that had the J&K Police not acted when they did, those explosives, ten to fifteen times more than the one that happened in Pulwama in 2019, could have unleashed devastation on a scale India has not seen since 26/11.

In the following days a joint operation by J&K police, Intelligence Bureau and Haryana police lead them to the residence of Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai, a Pulwama native and faculty member at Al-Falah Medical College in Dhauj, Faridabad. Adeel Ahmed Rather of Kulgam, employed at a private health facility in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is arrested soon after. On Monday, 10th November around 2,900 kg of explosive material, including 360 kg of ammonium nitrate, is seized from Dr Ganai’s rented home in Faridabad along with an assault rifle, ammunition, batteries, remotes, and timers. An AK-47 rifle and some ammunition are recovered from a sedan car owned by a female doctor, Dr Shaheed, from the same medical college. Several arrests are made in connection with the terror module, all linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Meanwhile, on the same day, 10th November, during peak hours near New Delhi’s Red Fort in the evening, a Hyundai i20 car came to a halt at a traffic signal near Gate No. 1 of Lal Qila Metro Station, roughly 300 metres from the Red Fort, in the midst of slow-moving traffic. The time was 6.52 pm; the signal had turned red. Just then, the car exploded. Several people nearby were blown apart, their body parts strewn. Multiple other cars caught fire, windowpanes were blown, buildings trembled. The explosion killed 13 and injured several others, leaving nearby vehicles gutted, but no shrapnel or pellets were found at the site. It took about three minutes for someone to call the fire brigade.

Then the police and India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) swiftly began a hunt for the attackers and piece-together the ‘doctored’ plan. The multiple-times -sold i20 Hyundai car is traced through registration records and the driver is identified as Dr Umar Mohammad alias Umar Nabi, from Pulwama, J&K. The Bad Doctor was part of the terror module, and panicked after the arrests and seizure of the Ammonium Nitrate, earlier in the day. And turned himself as a suicide bomber driving the i20 Hyundai Car across Delhi, staying put in a parking lot, probably waiting for the busy evening, and then moving into the traffic, for the kill.

Dr Umar was working as an Assistant Professor in the general medicine department at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. His identity was established forensically by the NIA.

Ammonium Nitrate is an odourless, white crystalline chemical widely used as a fertiliser but is also a powerful oxidiser that, under the right conditions, can cause a powerful explosion resulting in fires that burn at high temperatures for sustained periods. Ammonium Nitrate by itself is not considered an explosive. It needs to be mixed with a secondary substance-in this case, fuel oil, which is a petroleum-based product- and triggered by an external detonation that gives off immense heat to explode. And it can be mixed with almost any kind of volatile substance. But the quality is important; pure Ammonium Nitrate is chemically and thermally stable, meaning it requires that external detonation. When combined with fuel oil, it becomes ammonium nitrate fuel, or ANFO, which is a commonly used bulk explosive in the construction and mining industries. It is popular because it is an inexpensive and simple explosive to manufacture and, if handled correctly, safe to store.

The J&K Police quickly arrested Dr Shaheen, a member of the Faridabad terror module, from Al-Falah University in Faridabad and later took her to Srinagar for questioning. Dr Shaheen confessed during interrogation that she and her group of doctors were plotting terror attacks across India. Shaheen told the Police that they had been collecting explosives for the last two years. She was in direct contact with Saadia Azhar, the sister of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, and was an active member of Jamaat-ul-Mominat, the women’s wing of the JeM terror outfit. The wing was established by Saadia in October 2025 to avenge her husband’s death during India’s Operation Sindoor, earlier this year.

Dr. Shaheen completed her MBBS from Allahabad Medical College (1996–2001) batch and later earned an MD in Pharmacology. From 2006 to 2013, she worked as an Assistant Professor at Kanpur Medical College after being selected through the UP Public Service Commission. After that, she suddenly disappeared. She was later dismissed in 2021 for not responding to college notices. After this, she started working at Al-Falah University and where she came in contact with Dr Muzammil.

To sum up, the NIA identified the accused as Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganai, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather and his brother Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay of J&K and Dr Shaheen Saeed of Uttar Pradesh. The Bad Doctors involved in the Delhi blast were radicalised over the last five years and freely operated from a room in the campus of the Al-Falah University. Of course, the College denies any knowledge, but it’s their job to know what’s happening on its campus. The heat turned on the Medical College itself and further skeletons began tumbling from the proverbial cupboard. The origins of the College had a dubious history. Maybe we need more Sundeep Chakravarthys in the right places?

The Indian Press had a blast of a week with terms such as White-Collar Terror, Home-Grown Terror, gaining traction. Meanwhile, recall that the Government had vowed to treat any terrorist action from the Pakistan side as an ‘act of war’. For the moment we have to wait as the investigation works its way and finds inconvertible evidence to nail the people or country behind. The Bad Doctors had links to Turkey and that would an interesting angle.

Bihar Elections

The Assembly Elections in the State of Bihar was one of the most anticipated this year. When the counting of votes was done on 14th November and final results tumbled out it was an unbelievable, stunning, landslide victory of the India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The NDA secured 202 of the 243 seats, defeating the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB) Alliance, which secured just 35 seats.

In the NDA, the BJP won 89 seats (20.08% votes); JDU (Janata Dal-United)- 85 seats (19.25%); LJPRV (Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas) -19 (4.97%); HAMS -5 (Hindustani Awami Morcha-Secular); RLM (Rashtriya Lok Morcha) -4.

In the MGB, the RJD won 25 seats (23% of the vote); INC (Indian National Congress -6 (8.7%), plus others.

Incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took the oath for a record tenth time. Incumbent deputy chief ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took the oath as the deputy chief ministers for the second consecutive time. For the first time, the BJP won the most seats in a Bihar Legislative Assembly election. The RJD, led by Tejashwi Yadav, fell to third for the first time since 2010, while Nitish Kumar’s JDU recorded its best result since 2010. The LJPRV and RLM secured seats for the first time. That’s a great making of new records.

The Congress’ Opposition Leader in Parliament who made wild, baseless statements and allegations against the Prime Minister and the Election Commission of India suffered his record 95th defeat in elections. He left abroad – perhaps of a yet another holiday – tail firmly between his legs.

Sports

India’s Women’s Cricket Team captained by Harmanpreet Kaur clinched the ICC Women’s World Cup in a first-ever win, on 3 November 2025, at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. India beat South Africa by 52 runs in the Finals.

South Africa won the toss and chose to field. India made 298 for the loss of 7 wickets, in 50 overs. That total was the second-highest ever achieved in a Women’s World Cup final.

India’s Shafali Verma, in an extraordinary batting display made 87 off 78 balls to set-up a total of 298 for South Africa to chase down. Deepti Sharma, a world-class off spinner who has raised her batting to a new level this year, backed up with a run-a-ball half-century, making 58 runs.

In reply, South Africa were bowled out for 246 in the 46th over, despite a superb 101 runs off 98 balls, by Captain Laura Wolvaardt. Again, India’s Shafali Verma took two unexpected wickets of characteristic cheek at a crucial juncture, while Deepti Sharma took a five-wicket haul that combined old-school overspin with new-age defensive skills to power the historic win. Perhaps it was the day for Indian all-rounders to discover their class.

India’s has been a campaign of redemption and resilience. From three straight defeats in the group stage to a flawless knockout run, India’s turnaround was as dramatic as it was defining. For a cricket-mad nation long waiting for its women to stand shoulder to shoulder with its men, this triumph felt epochal! Hope, it is the bellwether of a new era!

Overall, sports in India has seen an upswing in recent years, with people making their mark in various games across continents.

More wonderful stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay with Freewheeling.

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 11 October to 31 October 2025: The return of Israel hostages; Ireland’s new PM; the Trump roll in Asia; the heist of the century; and India Women’s Cricket.

HOSTAGE RETURN

On 13th October, after ‘Trumped-up’ efforts and execution of the agreed and signed first phase of the United States mediated 20-Point Peace Plan, all 20 living hostages were released by the terrorist Hamas. They were handed over to the Red Cross and subsequently transported home to Israel for medical check-ups, and rejoining with families. With this, there is not one living hostage under captivity, ending the 736 hostage saga, in the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza.

Recall, the hostages were taken on 7th October 2023 during that barbaric attack on Israel, by Hamas. Israel breathed in relief after two years of unbelievable agony, especially the families of the hostages-dead and alive.

However, Hamas did not fully keep its promise of handing over the bodies of the 28 dead hostages at one time. It delayed, with only 4 bodies being handed over at the start and now the count has tortuously reached 15. And tensions swelled again.

President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to receive the hostages, address Israel’s Parliament, and receive its highest civilian honour-the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour. This, of course, is for his role in brokering the Gaza ceasefire and securing the release of Israeli hostages.

The honour is to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to Israel or to humanity. Former US Presidents, Barack Obama received the award in 2013, and Joe Biden in 2022, for promoting friendship between Israel and America and in building up Israel’s military capabilities.

The ceasefire deal moves to more treacherous grounds of-return of the bodies of the remaining dead hostages is a carry forward item- execution and further phases of the Peace Plan. Israel’s forces remain inside the boundary designated by a Yellow Line, as agreed. Any default by Hamas could result in an immediate strike by Israel. And there was indeed a strike in Gaza on the 28th October after Israel accused Hamas of killing a soldier and staging the discovery of a deceased hostage. The strike killed at least 105 people, making it the deadliest day since the ceasefire.

It’s beyond my comprehension on how anybody can take the side of Hamas in the name of Palestine in the present conflict. For e.g., Ireland’s newly elected President (she won by a Landslide), Catherine Connolly has in the past labelled Israel as a ‘Terrorist State’ and defended Hamas as ‘part of Palestine society’. She is an outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in the Gaza and probably needs to be put on ‘a program to change her mindset’ as is envisaged in the Peace-Deal with Israel. A civilisational, transformational, mindset change is require across borders – not only in Gaza.

Staying with Ireland, the 68 years old Catherine Connolly secured 63% first preference votes-a record in Irish presidential election history. She takes over from Michael Higgins who completed two terms. Irish Presidents are elected directly by the people for a seven-year term and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.

Catherine Connolly comes from a family of 14 children. Her mother died when she was nine years old, when the youngest child in the family was a one-year-old baby. Her two elder sisters stepped into the breach, spending their teenage years looking after and raising their younger siblings.

Catherine Connolly has worked as a clinical psychologist before becoming a barrister, and then entering politics. She is a passionate Irish speaker and a keen sportswoman who ran marathons and played competitive badminton. She is married to Brian McEnery-a woodwork teacher-and has two grown-up sons. The couple have been married for a ‘wood solid’ 33 years.

JAPAN: A NEW PM

In September this year, Japan was engulfed in a political crisis when its Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stepped down after less than a year in office, following two major election losses. This came a day before his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was expected to vote on whether to hold an internal leadership vote that could have forced him out. The LDP has governed Japan for most of the past seven decades, but under Ishiba it lost its majority in the Lower House for the first time in 15 years and then lost its majority in the Upper House, as well, in July, this year.

Then stepped-in Sanae Takaichi, a former government minister and TV host, and once a drummer in a heavy metal band, who announced her candidacy for the LDP Presidency, in the resulting leadership election. Her challenger was the agricultural minister in government, Shinjiro Koizumi.

In the election held on 4th October, Takaichi received 183 votes (31%) during the first round, the most of any candidate. Koizumi came in second with 164 votes (28%). As no candidate achieved a majority in the first round, a run-off election was held between Takaichi and Koizumi. Takaichi won the runoff by a 54.25% to 45.75% margin, becoming the first woman to hold the post of LDP President.

Meanwhile, Tetsuo Saito, the leader of Komeito party announced, on 10th October, that his party would break with the LDP and leave the governing coalition, citing disagreements with Takaichi’s leadership and the LDP’s handling of a recent government scandal. This led to the collapse of the 26-year-old LDP–Komeito coalition: as a result, the parliamentary election to choose Japan’s next prime minister was pushed back from 15th to 20th October.

Takaichi then replaced her coalition partner-Komeito Party-with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, led by Hirofumi Yoshimura. The leaders of both parties signed a coalition agreement on 20th October, clearing Takaichi’s path to the premiership.

At the 21st October meeting of Japan’s Parliament-the Diet-both houses nominated Takaichi to be the country’s first female prime minister. Takaichi avoided a runoff in the Lower House, garnering 237 votes against Constitutional Democratic Party leader Yoshihiko Noda’s 149. She was officially appointed Prime Minister by Emperor Naruhito in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace later that day.

Japan’s first female leader is an admirer of Britain’s conservative Prime Minister ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher, and hopes to take some leaves out of her book. In her first speech as PM, Takaichi said that defence is a priority for her country as the region experiences uncertainty with Russia, China and North Korea.

THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY

If you haven’t heard by now, the Louvre-the world’s busiest museum-was cooly robbed on Sunday, 19th October. But this wasn’t the stuff of an Ocean’s Eleven film or The Da Vinci Code, conducted in the middle of the night and avoiding laser security systems.

In a daring well-planned operation, lasting less than 10 minutes, a group of four thieves broke into the Louvre Museum, in broad daylight, within an hour of opening. They parked a truck right out front with a retractable ladder, did a smash-and-grab of the King’s Jewels, and then drove away from the centre of Paris on scooters: in what can be described as the ‘slowest escape and the one with the highest visibility’.

The four Robbers arrived with a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Gallery of Apollo, leading to the first-floor, via a balcony, close to the River Seine.

Two of the thieves got inside by cutting through the window with power tools, including an angle grinder, to smash two display cases containing priceless jewels. This after threatening the guards, who evacuated the premises.

It was later revealed that one in three rooms in the area of the museum raided had no CCTV cameras. The thieves were inside for four minutes and made good their escape on two Yamaha TMax scooters promptly waiting outside.

Eight items were stolen including diadems (a jewelled headband), necklaces, ear-rings and brooches. All are from the 19th century, and once belonged to French royalty or imperial rulers. A tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III; an emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise; a tiara, necklace, and single earring from the sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense; a brooch known as the ‘reliquary brooch’. Between them, these pieces are adorned with thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones.

Empress Eugenie’s crown was found damaged on the escape route, apparently having been dropped during the escape. The stolen jewels are described as priceless and of immeasurable heritage value.

What will the thieves do? The jewel thieves are not going to keep them intact; they are going to break them up, melt down the valuable metal, re-cut the valuable stones and hide evidence of their crime. Crowns and diadems can easily be broken apart and sold in small parts. If the Police cannot recover the stolen jewels within a week’s time they are probably gone forever!

Let’s look at the history of similar Museum thefts. And it’s quite interesting.

In 1911, an Italian museum employee was able to make off with the Mona Lisa under his coat after lifting the painting-which was then little-known to the public-straight off the wall of a quiet gallery. It was recovered after two years and the culprit later said he was motivated by the belief the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece belonged in Italy. Fewer chances are taken with the Mona Lisa these days: the painting, one of the most renowned in the museum’s collection, hangs in a high-security glass compartment. In 1998, the Le Chemin de Sevres – a 19th century painting by Camille Corot – was stolen and has never been found. The incident prompted a massive overhaul of museum security. In November 2024, seven items of ‘great historic and heritage value’ were stolen from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris. Only five were recovered recently. The same month, armed robbers raided the Hieron Museum in Burgundy, firing shots before escaping with millions of pounds worth of 20th century artworks.

Sometimes the truth is stranger, or in this case, funnier than fiction, and the ‘snakes & ladders were out’ on social media. There were plenty of references to Inspector Clouseau of the famous Pink Panther series, others climbed to Knives Out’s, Benoit Blanc (starring Daniel Craig), and of course, Agatha Christie’s legendary Hercule Poirot. I had Sherlock Holmes, Enola Holmes, and even James Bond, in mind, as the best fit to catch the thieves!

While thieves made merry and decamped with French Jewels former French President Nicolas Sarkozy become the first French ex-President to go to jail, and he started a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. His singer, songwriter, and fashion model wife, Carla Bruni, walked him down the steps leading to jail, holding his hand. Sarkozy, who was President from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Sante prison, where he will occupy an unfashionable small cell in the jail’s isolation wing. Lots to think over!

US President Donald Trump’s on a roll, literally. He arrived in Asia for a whirlwind week of diplomacy which included a much-anticipated meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping on trade-and area where tensions between the countries has been soaring.

He first landed in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur as a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began on Sunday, 26th October.

He oversaw the signing of a ‘historic Peace Deal’ between Thailand and Vietnam on a long standing border dispute-that’s another step closer the next Nobel?

He then flew to Japan where the newly-minted Japanese PM rolled out the red carpet, promising-you said it-a Nobel nomination, and foreign investments in the US. The also signed a deal on rare earth minerals and a document heralding a new golden age of US-Japan ties. Sanae Takaichi basked in Trump’s sunshine and it was a show of white teeth and cryptic smiles all over.

In the last leg, finally Trump met Xi Jinping in the City of Busan, South Korea – a first in over 5 years. Trump declared that the US’ dispute with China over the supply of rare earths had been settled, China would resume buying US soybeans, and the US would reduce its tariffs on China. He said President Xi Jinping had agreed to work ‘very hard’ to prevent the production of the synthetic opioid fentanyl – blamed for many American deaths. And in exchange the US would reduce fentanyl-linked tariffs from 20% to 10%, lowering China’s overall tariff burden from 57% to 47%.

WATER WORLD

Cyclone Montha and Hurricane Melissa occupied space and news in the sky.

Rains before, during, and after Montha got into the skin of people living in Tamil Nadu-off the Bay of Bengal- especially the capital Chennai. Despite promises of usefully using INR 4000 crore, many parts of the city went underwater and people were left searching for the money that went down the drain.

Not to be left unnoticed, Hurricane Melissa ripped a path of destruction in the Caribbean storming through Jamaica after making landfall as one of the most powerful and devastating hurricanes on record. It lashed the Island nation with brutal winds- at speeds of about 200km per hour-and torrential rain before taking aim at Cuba.

INDIA’s WOMEN

India stunned title holders, Australia, in a record run-chase to reach the final of the 13 edition of the ICC Women’s World Cup. The One Day International (ODI), Cricket World Cup is being hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka. It is India’s fourth time hosting -after the 1978, 1997, and 2013 editions- and Sri Lanka’s first. The tournament began on 30th September and will close on 2nd November.

In the opening ceremony, Bollywood singer Shreya Ghoshal performed the official World Cup anthem, ‘Bring it Home’ and it looks like India’s women have taken the theme song seriously. India hopes to dance to it on 2nd November!

Set 339 runs to win after a wonderful century from Australia’s opener Phoebe Litchfield, India’s women cooked their nerves well in a mammoth pursuit, with Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur firing the way with a 167-run stand. This game in Navi Mumbai will go down as an instant classic and with the defending champions dumped out, there will be a new name on this year’s trophy.

Harmanpreet fell for 89, with 113 runs still needed, but Rodrigues remained, reaching her hundred from 115 balls, and she was there up to the very end as the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history was achieved with nine balls to spare.

This will be the first Women’s World Cup final to not feature either Australia or England, as India will face South Africa on Sunday, 2nd November, at the DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai.

More thrilling stories playing-out in the weeks ahead. Watch the world with Freewheeling.

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 27 September to 10 October 2025: Peace at last in the Middle East; Terror in the UK; a killer stampede in India; and an expert on Chimpanzees climbs a higher tree.

PEACE

United States President Donald Trump, taking along Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hammered and forged what appears to be a comprehensive 20-Point Plan to end the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. It is the best attempt, so far, at stopping this over two-year old war, and perhaps progressing to everlasting peace in the region. Since the Plan was first in made in end September, it has now crossed many deadlines, but without any significant changes in the points. It included a ‘go to hell’ deadline of 5th October if Hamas did not accept.

All 48 hostages-alive and dead are to be released within 72 hours of Israel’s acceptance. That was many 72 hours ago. The Hamas side delayed, trying to draw thin wire from thick bar stock metal, even while almost all Arab nations and other countries approved the Plan. Then Trump had to deploy his special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, and outside Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner to squeeze out a breakthrough. And finally the signatures were made, and the ceasefire effected, with Israel’s forces withdrawing to the first, of many lines of control – a Yellow Line – on Friday, 10th October. This marks the beginning of the 72 hour count-down to the release of all the hostages.

There was instant jubilation on both sides: while Israel began making preparations to receive the hostages, the Palestinians began crawling back to Gaza. At this stage, Israel still controls about 53% of Gaza.

All the living hostages are to be transferred to the Red Cross, then to Israeli custody for medical care and reunification with families. This is expected to take place on Monday, 13th October. The remains of slain hostages will be returned to Israel with full military honours and forensic identification. A special Israel Defence Forces (IDF) engineering unit will inspect every coffin to ensure they do not contain explosives.

Now, with the first point kicking-in, Israel on its part gets ready to release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans. Israel will not free members of the Nukhba Force—Hamas’s elite commando unit responsible for the 7th October massacre and mass kidnappings—nor Marwan Barghouti, the mastermind of the Second Intifada, who is currently serving five life sentences.

Other points of the Plan are as follows.

Those, of Hamas, who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Those who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage. For the other Gazans, no one will be forced to leave and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. People will be encouraged to stay and use the opportunity to build a New Gaza. Full aid will be immediately sent into Gaza through the United Nations and Agencies not associated with Israel or Hamas. Gaza will be made a ‘deradicalized’ terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours. And Gaza will be redeveloped. The IDF will withdraw to the agreed upon lines, starting from the release of the hostages. During this time, all military operations will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.

Gaza will be governed by a temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering day-to-day running of public services. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the ‘Board of Peace,’ which will be headed and chaired by Donald Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals.

A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have created modern miracle cities in the Middle East. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.

Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed-not rebuilt. Gaza will be demilitarised under the supervision of independent monitors. The New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with its neighbours. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and its factions, comply with their obligations.

The US will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza in consultation with Jordan and Egypt. This force will be the internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces.

Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control, the IDF will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarisation that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the Guarantors, and the US. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it now controls to the ISF. This will be according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat. In the event Hamas delays or rejects the Plan, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.

An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasising the benefits that can be derived from peace. While this advances and the reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood – the aspiration of the Palestinian people.

UNITED KINGDOM: TERROR

Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar. It is a solemn time of fasting and atonement, thought to be the day God seals the fate of each person for the coming years. Traditionally, Jews ask for forgiveness for wrongdoings over the past year, from both God and fellow humans. Work is forbidden on the day and is set aside for prayer and reflection.

This year on 2nd October Jews were gathering for a prayer service at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area in north Manchester. A man-later identified as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie- driving a car rammed it directly at people outside the Synagogue, got down and began stabbing people before being shot dead by Police who arrived within seven minutes of a call being made to emergency services. The Police gave the attacker, then holding a knife a couple of warnings before they opened fire, killing him.

Two members of the Jewish community died, while a fourth has been hospitalised with severe injuries.

The head of Counter Terrorism Policing says they believe Jihad Al-Shamie may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology. The attacker was on police bail for an alleged rape before this incident-he was yet to be charged with the crime.

INDIA: A KILLER STAMPEDE

On 27th September a tragic crowd crush occurred during a political, ‘Meet The People’ Meeting, organised by the newly formed Political Party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam(TVK) ahead of the State Assembly Elections due in 2026. TVK is founded by popular Tamil film actor Joseph Vijay. 41 people were killed and over a 100 were injured, which included 18 women and 10 children (aged 5 to 15).

The tragedy happened in Velusamypuram, on the Karur–Erode Highway, Karur District, Tamil Nadu. This was the third leg of Vijay’s bellowing campaign tour, following successful, staggering, crowd-pulling events in districts like Tiruchi, Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and Namakkal. The Karur rally was permitted by the Police between 3pm and 10pm, with an expected crowd of around 10,000–15,000, but turnout swelled to over 25,000.

TVK organisers initially proposed venues in densely populated areas of Karur town, which the Police rejected for safety reasons, suggesting Velusamypuram instead. Supporters began arriving from 9am from neighbouring areas-mostly to see the Actor rather than listen to him-creating early congestion on the arterial roads. TVK announced Vijay’s arrival at noon, but he reached the venue around only 7pm. This delay was seen as a cause for restlessness in the crowd.

When Vijay’s convoy finally reached the venue, a massive surge occurred. Supporters rushed toward his campaign-bus to catch a glimpse, causing people to squeeze sideways and trample each other. People climbed nearby trees and mounted the tin-roof of shops for a better view. The crowd pushed toward an electricity generator enclosure, triggering a power outage that plunged the area into darkness and heightened panic, exacerbating the chaos. Ambulances in the vicinity were pressed into service to carry away those fallen or fainted and providing a getaway path for them became a serious challenge for the Police. In this melee, the stampede unfolded rapidly around 7.20 pm while Vijay was beginning his speech. The Police were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the crowd. The incident lasted minutes but resulted in suffocation, crush injuries, and trampling.

Vijay was quickly escorted away to de-escalate the situation and he ‘fled the scene’, taking a chartered plane from Tiruchi Airport to Chennai. It appears that this was done to prevent ‘see crowds’ gathering again and enable relief efforts?

Should Vijay have stayed back and helped get the injured to Hospital instead of abandoning them? I think he should have stood his ground and ensured every possible relief to the affected, at that point of time. Never mind, he could be lynched, but then he has his safety bouncers around him. And what is a Hero for?
A one-member commission under retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan was formed to probe and submit its findings within two months. On 5th October a Madras High Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by IPS officer Asra Garg, began investigations.

Will this yield results and a means of ‘Lessons Learning’? The illicit liquor tragedy which occurred in June 2024, when people in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district consumed illegal liquor contaminated with methanol, leading to the deaths of 68 people is still under investigation.

Actor Vijay alleged a vendetta by the ruling State Government ahead of elections, questioning why the incident happened only in Karur (a stronghold of the Govt). TVK blamed a power outage, police lathi charges, and stone-pelting, slipper throwing incidents. A probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is being sought to unravel the reasons behind the stampede.

It is said that the request for a Meeting at the same, for another Political party, was denied on the grounds of that Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for such kind of meetings was under development. Whatever, we should know once the reasons are found and are published.

This incident highlights risks in celebrity-driven politics: over-reliance on star power without robust second-tier leadership or safety protocols. It echoes past tragedies like the 2024 Hathras stampede but underscores Tamil Nadu’s history of actor-politicians managing crowds. The probe’s findings could impact Vijay’s 2026 prospects, with calls for stricter rally guidelines. TVK maintains the ‘truth will emerge’ vowing to continue with greater strength. Families continue to grieve, with ongoing treatment for survivors.

Responsibility for safety at Election Meetings is a shared one, the Party Meeting Organisers, the Police, and the people themselves. Ultimately the buck stops at the desk of the Chief Minister of the Govt, for maintaining law & order – they have the experience to tackle such crowds. It’s their job to gather intelligence and make swift changes or even cancel a Meeting seeing a seemingly uncontrollable surge in crowding. And law & Order has failed time and again in multiple dimensions in Tamil Nadu.

On the other hand, Vijay’s TVK cannot absolve themselves. If he cannot ‘govern’ a meeting, how can he govern the State? Serious questions! The TVK chooses Saturdays for its Meetings and Vijay is hardly a talker. He doesn’t seem to have built up a political team around him and appears to be a one-man show. The second-rung of leadership is glaringly missing. This could well be a wake-up call.

Finally, nothing beats self-control: the people are driven crazy and lose control of themselves ‘to see their Star Leader’.

Another reason for the stampede is abysmal civic facilities – an open sewer swallowed kids and people falling in them! Infrastructure should be able to absorb any ‘growth in people’. And the Government has a responsibility here as well.

People, especially in Tamil Nadu, should shun the frenzy to see movie stars – their outward glamour and shine does not help in anyway. Watch the movies, whistle and shout in the theatres, but when you return home you must learn to forget the stars and focus on living your life well. Become the star of your own life.

JANE GOODALL

Over six million years ago lived the last grandmother of humans and chimpanzees – Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind.
On 1st October, primatologist, ethologist, conservationist, animal advocate, and educator Dr Jane Goodall died at age 91. Goodwill founded the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and is a United Nations Messenger of Peace. She passed away in her sleep due to natural causes in Los Angeles, California, while on a speaking tour in the United States.

The JGI promotes understanding and protection of the Great Apes and its habitat and its goal is to inspire individual action by young people of all ages to help animals, other people, and to protect this shared world of ours.

JGI’s research continues the world’s longest-running field research on chimpanzees. This research provides ever-new insights into the daily lives of chimpa nzees, and has developed a deep knowledge of the lives and behaviour of over 200 chimps since Jane’s early work in it’s over 55 years of study. The research plays a unique role in understanding our closest living relatives, providing essential information for the conservation of chimpanzees and contributing to a myriad of other scientific discoveries that benefit humans and chimpanzees alike.

Jane Goodwill is considered the world’s preeminent chimpanzee expert. And was best known for more than six decades of field research on the social and family life of wild chimpanzees in the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Beginning in 1960, under the mentorship of the palaeontologist Louis Leakey, Goodall’s research demonstrated that chimpanzees share many key traits with humans, such as using tools, having complex emotions, forming lasting social bonds, engaging in organised warfare, and passing on knowledge across generations. This redefined the traditional view that humans are uniquely different from other animals.

While observing one chimpanzee feeding at a termite mound, she watched him repeatedly place stalks of grass into termite holes, then remove them from the hole covered with clinging termites, effectively ‘fishing’ for termites. The chimpanzees would also take twigs from trees and strip off the leaves to make the twig more effective, a form of object modification that is the rudimentary beginnings of toolmaking.

Goodall set herself apart from convention by naming the animals in her studies of primates instead of assigning each a number. Numbering was a nearly universal practice at the time and was thought to be important in avoiding emotional attachment to the subject being studied. Among those whom Goodall named during her years in Gombe were: David Greybeard, a grey-chinned male who first warmed up to Goodall; Goliath, a friend of David Greybeard, originally the alpha male named for his bold nature; Mike, who through his cunning and improvisation displaced Goliath as the alpha male; Humphrey, a big, strong, bullysome male; Gigi, a large, sterile female who delighted in being the ‘Aunt’ of any young chimps or humans… to mention a few. Wonder, if there was an Uncle around?

Said about her by the CEO of the National Geographic Society, “Dr. Jane Goodall brought so much light into this world, demonstrating beautifully what one person can achieve. To know Jane was to know an extraordinary scientist, conservationist, humanitarian, educator, mentor and, perhaps most profoundly, an enduring champion for hope”.

Goodall was married twice. In March 1964 she married Baron Hugo van Lawick, a Dutch nobleman and wildlife photographer in London. She was known during their marriage as Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall. The couple had a son. They divorced in 1974. The following year, she married Derek Bryceson, a member of Tanzania’s parliament and the director of that country’s national parks. Bryceson died of cancer in October 1980. Owing to his position in the Tanzanian government as head of the country’s national park system, Bryceson was able to protect Goodall’s research project and implement an embargo on tourism at Gombe.

Goodall said that dogs, and not the chimpanzees she studied, were her favourite animal.

LAST WORD

US President Donald Trump had probably set himself the goal of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. And he seems to have almost done it with the Israel-Hamas Peace Plan , which is slowly beginning to shape-up.

Meanwhile, the Noble Peace Committee thought it could not wait any longer and awarded the prize to Venezuela’s Opposition Leader, who promptly dedicated the Award to Donald Trump. Did the Nobel Committee miss something here?

On 10 October, the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to Maria Corina Machado, who it said is ‘a brave and committed champion of peace – to a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness’. She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Venezuela’s authoritarian regime under Nicolas Maduro has been in power since the death of former President Hugo Chavez, in 2013. In the Election held in 2024, Machado was the opposition’s presidential candidate, but the regime blocked her candidacy. She then backed the representative of a different party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in the election. And though the Opposition won in a landslide Maduro refused to accept the results and only tightened his grip on power.

The next STOP for Trump must be the Russia-Ukraine War. If he indeed does it, he might have just booked himself the next Nobel?

In the good old days, in my part of the world, when you wanted to book a seat in a Bus, which just entered the Bus Stand, you ran alongside it and dropped a handkerchief through the window on a seat – to occupy it – while you body-massaged yourself through the crowds. I reckon Donald Trump did just that. Hope the hankie stays its course.

More war and peace stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay alive with Freewheeling.

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 16 September to 26 September 2025: Rumblings of a Palestine State; Trump at the UN; more Tariffs on India; Leprosy concerns; and a cure for Huntington’s Disease.

Rumblings

France’s President Macron is clearly off the grid, saying, “The recognition of a Palestinian State is the best way to isolate Hamas”. Well, without anyone asking, that was what Israel did- albeit in a different way-in the year 2005. It unilaterally, and with the best intentions, wholly vacated the Gaza Strip, even going to the depth of digging up graves of buried Israelis and shifting them to mainland Israel. It left behind flourishing businesses, especially modern Green Houses, which were destroyed and parts cannibalised for making and sending rockets into Israel, in an endless cycle of violence. The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip voted for Hamas to rule them, and look what’s happened. Instead, Macron needs to be schooled-maybe even slapped on the face by his once-upon-a-time Teacher wife, to say, “Release the 48 hostages, give-up arms, show us you can peacefully co-exist alongside Israel, and we’ll think about recognising or helping you establish a peace-loving Palestine State”. Some sense does prevail in the world with countries such as Singapore, Japan, New Zealand saying exactly that. I wished India, which recognised Palestine way back in the 1980s, would re-consider and ‘de-recognise’, on similar lines. Diplomacy is a tough task; some things cannot be undone?
Some States are formed on pure love; some on unalloyed hatred.

US President Donald Trump stormed the United Nations (UN) with a commonsensical, blunt speech, after he and wife Melania Trump were almost knocked off an Escalator, which suddenly stopped working. And thanks to their great fitness levels, they stood standing. Trump used the Escalator malfunction to talk about the ineffectiveness of the UN in preventing wars. He boasted of having stopped seven wars and it being the UN’s job to stop wars, it was nowhere in sight, did not even call him to ask; only writing letters of condemnation. And not paying attention to the matter.

He flung Climate Change out of the Sky back onto Planet Earth, saying the ‘Go Green’ initiative is the biggest cheat and fake thing happening in the world: with all the noisy windmills and acres of solar panels stifling real green vegetation. Become friends with coal- fall in love with it – gas, and oil and use these resources to grow and develop. And he had a word on Immigration that each country should safeguard its borders – else they will find themselves heading to hell. What with people who have nothing to do with your culture and faith entering your country – built on the shoulders, the blood, sweat, and tears of your forefathers (wish Churchill was around – he would have imposed a 100% tariff on stealing his famous lines)? He rambled on to say, the jails of Germany, Austria, and beautiful Switzerland are filled with immigrants, who refuse to follow your rules!

The load on India cannot get heavier. Donald Trump, with his Bull-in-China-Shop attitude, imposed at $100,000 fee per H1 B Visa for ‘talent’ coming into the US, from India. That works out to about ₹89 Lakhs. Initially, it was thought that it would apply annually and to everyone, but then it was said to be a one-time fee and only for the newcomers. Better India keeps its good stuff within its borders. And why did India not think of holding its great talent pool, incubated in its superb Institutions, instead of letting them walk to America? Do we need a Trump to show us what is wrong with our systems?

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in the field of cinema, given by the Government of India and presented annually at the National Film Awards. The recipient is honoured for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000. It is named after Dadasaheb Phalke, who is regarded as the father of Indian cinema. He directed India’s first full-length feature film, ‘Raja Harishchandra’ in the year 1913.

This year, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award Selection Committee selected Malayalam Actor Mohanlal Viswanathan, 65, for the Award. Mohanlal is a legendary actor, director, and producer, who with his unmatched talent, versatility, and relentless hard work has set a golden standard in Indian film history. The Award was presented at the 71st National Film Awards ceremony on 23 September 2025.

Mohanlal predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, and has also occasionally appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. He has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 400 films. The Government honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001, and Padma Bhushan in 2019, Mohanlal was named as one of ‘the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema’ by CNN.

A little known fact is, he is married to famous Tamil Actor and Filmmaker K Balaji’s daughter Suchitra. The couple have two children.

Leprosy

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest update, which recorded nearly 182,815 new Leprosy cases world-wide rings alarm bells. A tails-up approach is required. India reported 107,851 of these, a 59% share of the world’s new cases. 20 years earlier, the global tally stood at 451,325 and India’s share then was even more, at 81 %, with 367,143 cases.

Leprosy is a Neglected Tropical Disease, which still occurs in more than 120 countries with about 200,000 cases reported every year. As per Year 2023 data, Brazil, India, and Indonesia continue to report over 10,000 new cases, every year.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by a Bacteria, Mycobacterium Leprae, which affects the skin and peripheral nerves (nerves and ganglia which lie outside the Brain and Spinal Cord – the Central Nervous System), mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, and eyes. If left untreated it may cause progressive and permanent disabilities.

Transmission is via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with untreated people having the disease. It does not spread through casual contact such as shaking hands, hugging, sharing meals or sitting next to an affected person. Leprosy is curable with Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT). And the best part is, the person stops transmitting upon initiation of treatment.

Leprosy manifests itself through skin lesions and enlargement of the peripheral nerves. Cardinal signs are, definite loss of sensation in a pale or reddish skin patch, thickened peripheral nerves with loss of sensation or weakness of muscles supplied by that nerve. And by microscopic detection of the bacilli is a slit skin smear.

India has set itself a target of year 2027 for eradication of Leprosy through The National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP). The aim is to achieve zero transmission, zero disability, and zero discrimination by 2027.

Leprosy was declared a Notifiable Disease in 2025. Any disease that is required as per law to be reported to the Public Health Authorities is a Notifiable Disease. Besides Leprosy, eleven other notifiable diseases in India are: Cholera; Diphtheria; Encephalitis; Plague; Malaria; Measles; Hepatitis A, B, C, and E; Meningitis; Dengue; Tuberculosis; and AIDS.

Huntington’s Disease

One of the most devastating diseases in the world, Huntington’s Disease, has been successfully treated for the first time, marking a break-through milestone in medicine. It is a genetic disease-hence hereditary-runs through families, and is known for killing brain cells. The symptoms resemble a combination of dementia, Parkinson’s, and motor neuron disease.

The disease gets its name from George Huntington, an American physician who contributed a classic, clinical description of the disease. We do not get to know about a lot many things until someone catches it by the collar and effectively pins it down by an understandable description. By George, Huntington did just that!

He described this condition in the first of only two scientific papers he ever wrote in 1872, when he was just 22, a year after receiving his medical degree from Columbia University in New York. It is said that, “In the history of medicine, there are few instances in which a disease has been more accurately, more graphically or more briefly described.”

It is a throughly wretched disease, characterised by the jerky movements of the sufferers. The first symptoms of Huntington’s disease appear in your thirties or forties, and progresses without control leading to senility and premature death within two decades of its onset.

Huntington’s Disease is because of a gene, gone rouge-one mutation in the HTT gene-which produces a protein called huntingtin. The mutation turns the gene into a ’neuron-killer’.

The huntingtin protein is one of the most complex proteins in the human body, and we have no idea what it is actually for. Somebody will hunt it down, one day!

In the United Kingdom, Huntington’s Disease Centre Professor Sarah Tabrizi spoke after the disease had been successfully treated for the first time. The Research Team said the data showed that the disease slowed by 75% in patients. The decline patients usually expected in one year would ultimately take four years after treatment, giving patients decades of a ‘good quality’ of life.

The new treatment is a type of gene therapy given within 12 to 18 hours of a delicate brain injury. It uses cutting-edge genetic medicine combining gene therapy and ‘gene silencing’ technologies. It starts with a safe virus that has been altered to contain a specially designed sequence of DNA. The virus then acts like a microscopic postman – delivering the new piece of DNA inside brain cells, where it becomes active. This leads to lower levels of mutant huntingtin in the brain. In the new treatment there’s a 50% chance that one will inherit the altered gene. The future looks bright and promising.

More healthy stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay watchful with Freewheeling.

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 1 September to 15th September: the churn and restlessness in the world; Gen Z in Nepal; India pulls up its sleeves; and the passing of fashion designer Armani.

The World on a Spin

The World is definitely spinning-now it seems more on the inside-churning and in a multi-dimensional whirl!

France dived into a political crisis when its Prime Minister (PM) Francois Bayrou was defeated in a confidence vote in the National Assembly: 364 votes against to 194 for. He submitted his government’s resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, who quickly decided to replace him with close ally Sebastien Lecornu. This is France’s seventh PM under Macron, and the fifth in less than two years: a pointer to the disenchantment and full-grown frustration with Macron’s second term.

Lecornu, 39, has spent the past three years as Minister of the Armed Forces focusing on France’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. He has now been given the task of consulting political parties, probably on a war-footing, with the aim of adopting France’s next budget.

In the United Kingdom, the British seem to have taken US Vice-President J D Vance’s words -said in jest-seriously. He joked that Britain could well become the “first truly Islamist country to get a nuclear weapon,” following the Labour Party’s election victory. And with the appointment of a Pro-Palestine rabble-rouser as Home Secretary, along with the climbing incidents of Islamic lawlessness, they are on course to achieving that status. Shabana Mahmood has been appointed new UK Home Secretary, replacing Yvette Cooper following a major Cabinet reshuffle in the Labour-led government, triggered by the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Meanwhile, in recent times, Central London has become the stage of many protests. ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by around 110,000 people. Then there was the ‘Stand Up to Racism’ counter-protest, besides the ever-so-often, running-on-your-screens, pro-Palestine protests.

Looks like it’s back to old assassination ways in the United States of America: the guns were always there; many are finding the trigger more often than before.

Charlie Kirk, 31, a close associate of US President Donald Trump was assassinated on 10th September while on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, for a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event, ‘The American Comeback Tour’. Kirk was fatally shot in the neck, around 20 minutes after the event began, in front of an audience of about 3,000 people.

Charlie was a political activist, author, and media personality. He co-founded the student organisation TPUSA in 2012, which caters to conservative youth on American university campuses and was its Executive Director. He was one of the most prominent voices of the populist MAGA movement and exemplified the growth of Christian nationalism in the Republican Party. He leaves behind two young kids and his wife Erika Kirk who pledged to keep his legacy alive.

The suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22 was arrested for the killing, turned in by his own father, to who he admitted the crime. This, after the father saw released photos of the suspect and confirmed that was it was his son. It is said that despite a good upbringing, Tyler Robinson was radicalised ‘in a fairly short amount of time’. Tyler is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed.

On the same day, 10th September Indian origin Chandra Nagamallaiah was brutally beheaded in a Dallas Motel by an undocumented immigrant, an illegal alien from Cuba, Yordanis Cobos Martinez, in front of his wife and son. The gruesome act took place at the Downtown Suites Motel in Dallas where Chandra Nagamallaiah and Cobos-Martinez were workers. Nagamallaiah had approached Cobos-Martinez and a female colleague while they were cleaning a room, telling them not to use a broken washing machine. Cobos-Martinez became enraged as Nagamallaiah had asked the female colleague to translate what he was saying instead of addressing him directly. Cobos-Martinez left the room, pulled out a machete ‘from his person’ and launching the assault. Nagamallaiah ran through the motel’s car park screaming for help, but the suspect chased him down and struck him repeatedly.

In late August Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was killed on a train at the East/West Boulevard light rail station on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina. Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who had fled her country because of the Russian invasion, was fatally stabbed. Her assailant, Decarlos Brown Jr., was arrested upon exiting the train and charged with first-degree murder. The 34-year-old Brown was arrested 14 times before the stabbing; he was convicted of breaking and entering. While on probation, he was arrested for armed robbery. And was incarcerated for more than five years in state prison

What’s happening in the United States of America?

Generation Z (Gen Z) is the generation born in the late 1990s or the early 21st century, perceived as being familiar with the use of digital technology, the internet, and social media from a very young age.

It was student and youth-led, Generation Z’s simmering churn in Sri Lanka some time ago, which spread to Bangladesh and leaders of both countries flying-out to escape the fury of the mobs. This time it was the turn of Nepal.

Nepal is in the grip of its worst political turmoils in decades after Gen Z led protests over a social media ban erupted and transformed into a nationwide uprising against corruption and entrenched political leadership. At least 70 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, which appears to have ignited latent fury. Demonstrators scorched the streets, torched the homes of senior leaders, and stormed (burnt it as well) Parliament leading to the resignation of the Prime Minister.

In events leading to the chaos, Nepal banned social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram, after they did not register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. A notice said social media giants are given a week to register with the government, starting 28th August. But none, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Alphabet (YouTube), X, Reddit, and LinkedIn – had submitted applications, by the deadline.

The number of Facebook users in Nepal can be put at around 13.5 million, and Instagram at around 3.6 million. Many rely on social media for their business. As the social media platforms went down in Nepal, those affected started protesting. The demonstrations against social media ban then snowballed into an anti-corruption protest.

There have been a series of corruption scams and allegations against high-ranking political leaders in Nepal, with little action taken and hardly anyone brought to book. Another factor is the ‘Nepo kids’ phenomenon. The children of political leaders flaunted their wealth and lavish lifestyles, which fuelled resentment among young people.

The turmoil appears to have subsided for the moment, with the ‘social media’ selection of former Chief Justice Mrs Sushila Karki, as interim Prime Minister. Karki took the oath of office after an agreement with protest leaders from the Gen Z movement. Nepal’s newly-appointed interim PM says she will be in the post for no longer than six months. “I did not wish for this job. It was after voices from the streets that I was compelled to accept,” Sushila Karki said, speaking for the first time since being sworn into office on Friday. She said she would hand over to the new government which will emerge after elections on 5th March, next year. Incidentally, Karki’s husband, Durga Prasad Subedi, is a Nepalese democracy fighter, author, and politician who was one of the three youth wing leaders of the Nepali Congress involved in the 1973 Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 hijacking. We sure have a potboiler in Nepal.

In keeping with the ‘World tempo’ the other two ‘good old wars’ have become a part of everyday life. Russia continues slamming Ukraine with gunfire, and Israel is working hard on its plan to take full control of Gaza City. Israel says it has over 40% of the city under its control.

On 8th September six people were killed on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting. In a lightening response, on 9th September, Israel make a tactical surgical strike on Hamas’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, targeting the Hamas leadership based in the city, which was getting together for a meeting. The usual noises of violating international law, sovereignty, were made by Qatar, Saudi Arabia… and of course the decaying United Nations.

India

Thanks to US President Donal Trump’s belligerent stance on Tariffs, India began hugging the Russian Bear and kissing the Chinese Dragon to counter the draconian measures. And then, there is also no denying the ‘nudge’ to become self-reliant.

Russia has always been a friend-through thick and thin times; China is different with ‘bone-of-contention’ border issues, often drawing blood. Maybe, India’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have read the story from the Epic Mahabharata and are following through. The story is narrated by Bhishma to Yudhishthira, to illustrate the principle of forming temporary, self-interested, mutually-beneficial Alliances, during times of crisis. It goes like this.

In a large forest, there lived a Rat in a hole at the base of a Banyan Tree, while a Cat lived on the Tree. One day, the Rat ventured out of its hole only to bump into the Cat. Rats being a traditional meal for cats, the Rat, in question, sought to quickly dart away, but was stopped on its tracks by the Cat. “Let’s be friends”, said the Cat. “No” said the Rat, “how is that possible with rats being something cats always eat for dinner?” Meanwhile, a Hunter in the Forest set a trap-spreading a net under the tree-to trap birds and animals for his dinner, and the Cat got caught in it. Hearing its cries, the Rat came out of its hole. “Help Me”, cried the Cat, bite the net with your strong teeth and release me before the Hunter arrives. I promise I will not attempt to eat you”. About this time, an Owl and a Mongoose arrived on the scene and the Rat was rattled. It proposed a deal to the Cat, “Allow me to hide in your fur until the ‘clear and present danger’ passes and then I shall release you from the net”. All right, said the Cat and allowed the Rat to hide in its fur while the Owl and Mongoose went their own ways. When the Rat got out, the Cat asked it to gnaw the net and release him, as promised. “I’ll do it, said the Rat, but at a time of my choosing as you can still hunt me down for a meal. I will release you just before the Hunter arrives so that both of us have enough time to escape and we have no other motive other than saving ourselves. And you will be fully focussed on escaping without bothering to eat me”. The Rat did just that – the Hunter lost his meal. Thereafter, the Cat and the Rat went their separate ways.

India should treat China like the Rat treated the Cat. Enjoy the ‘alliance’ for mutual benefit, but be wary of China’s Dragon Fire. China cannot be trusted – at least at the Borders.

India’s Epics, especially the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are a cornucopia of knowledge- ‘the distilled essence of solutions’ to problems plaguing mankind. They are waiting to be read, understood, and applied sensibly in today’s context. Did not someone say, ‘Old is Gold’?

US President Donald Trump’s rant was typical, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together”. Thanks for your attention to the matter? He seems to have mellowed down later and began making overtures of India. No love lost?

Meanwhile, there is another Politician in India’s Tamil Nadu: the Opposition Leader Edappadi Palanisamy who is fighting to hold his Party (AIADMK) together with fragments falling off. Maybe he needs to pay attention to the cat & rat matter?

Goods & Services Tax (GST)

India’s PM promised a deluge of tax reliefs in the form of ‘Next Generation GST Reforms’ during his 15th August, Independence Day Address: seems to have worked it out beforehand. On 3rd September the GST Council met and unanimously accepted a two-tier tax structure of 5% and 18% plus a topping of 40% for ‘Sin Goods’. Many items were pushed down to the 5% slab and 18 % slabs from the previous 12% and 24% slabs respectively. There was cheers all-around and Industry had an ear-to-ear grin. Now they must pass-on the benefit to the common-man. A stellar achievement was the 18% GST on health Insurance was made ‘Nil’ on a quite vociferous demand through the year.Ouch, that hurt. I had just renewed my Health Insurance paying over 10,000 as GST!

Vice President of India

India got itself a new Vice President, C P Radhakrishnan, who took oath on 12 September. In the Vice Presidential elections he secured 452 votes for a maximum possible 437 votes of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Of the 767 votes cast votes, 15 were invalid votes and the opposition candidate secured 300 votes – of a possible 315.

ARMANI

Legendary, iconic, Italian designer Giorgio Armani, a master of style and elegance who reimagined fashion for a modern audience, died on 4 September 2025 at the ripe ‘unfashionable’ age of 91. Armani was indefatigable, driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present, and to people. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern fashion forever changing the way people think about clothes, something that most fashion designers rarely accomplish. Armani leaves behind one of the most successful business empires in fashion history. The superlatives are deadly.

Armani elevated red carpet fashion to the aura of brightness we see it today. He was the first to ban underweight models-of Body Mass Index (BMI) under 18- from the runway, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa, in 2006.

The Armani Fashion House diversified and expanded from fashion into an empire spanning beauty, fragrance, music, sport, and even luxury hotels, earning billions of dollars a year.

Armani revolutionised fashion in the 1970s with minimalist, deconstructed silhouettes (intentionally unfinished), embodied in his famous soft jackets and unstructured suits. He transformed masculine and feminine elegance into a contemporary, sober and sophisticated form. He loosened the restrictions of stiffer styles of suit wear, helping to make men wearing suits feel sophisticated while empowering women in formal settings such as work. In summary, he reinvented the suit: softened menswear making it more sensual and hardened womenswear.

Armani was born in Piacenza, Northern Italy, in July 1934. He was one of three children. His father worked as an accountant. His family’s comfortable middle-class lifestyle was destroyed by the war. He endured a difficult childhood, when there wasn’t very much food on the table, and his mother had a difficult time feeding the children. Going back, his earliest memory was hunger. And he recalled playing with unexploded artillery shells in the street, until one suddenly went off: which severely burnt him, and a close friend was killed.

As a young man, Armani drifted. In 1956, he began a medicine degree, but dropped out after three years, and joined the Army. Swiftly tiring of life in the military, he found a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente – a department store in Milan – where he moved swiftly through the ranks.

Soon, Armani was working for Nino Cerruti – an influential haute couture designer. Within months, Cerruti asked him to restructure the company’s approach. He also went on to design the company’s Hitman Menswear Collection. His work at Cerruti was a crucial period that shaped his future aesthetic, and was also foundational to his knowledge of fabrics. Most designers learn their trade as apprentices or at fashion school, but Armani’s education took place on the shop floor. He learned what fabrics the customers liked, and went to the textile mills to buy them. He became an expert in how cloth was constructed, and used his knowledge to perfect tailoring. While at Cerruti, Armani began to strip away the stiff, traditional Italian tailoring. He created softer, less structured suits that offered men a more modern attitude and freedom of movement.

In 1966, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, a young apprentice architect and fashion designer. Galeotti and Armani began a long personal relationship that would serve as the backbone of their future professional relationship as well. Galeotti prodded Armani to start on his own believing in his potential, and in turn making Armani believe in himself and see the bigger picture in starting his own fashion line.

Then at the age of 41, in 1975, having enough experience and self-belief, and with his partner Sergio Galeotti at his side, he launched his own label, Giorgio Armani. The story goes that Galeotti convinced Armani to sell his Volkswagen Beetle- for start-up capital, to hire staff and secure office space in Milan. They started small: their first office was so dingy that Armani took the shades off the lamps in order to see the fabrics. But their work was nothing short of a revolution in fashion.

Galeotti was the force behind the Armani machine, masterminding the business side, leading the financial sector and administrative aspects of the company.

The 1960s middle classes could not afford haute couture, but yearned for a stylish, distinctive look of their own. With his expertise in fabrics, Armani provided an answer. His fine cloths made possible a menswear range with neat, precise cuts that could be manufactured at scale. Its distinctively Italian style began to influence the way the fashionable dressed. And with more women entering the workplace, Armani spotted an opportunity. “I realised that they needed a way to dress that was equivalent to that of men,” he said. “Something that would give them dignity in their work life.”

With Armani’s elegantly tailored power suits, women were offered an alternative to the stiff and stuffy dresses their mothers had worn to work. They exuded femininity, but were a powerful statement of equality.

Armani received his breakthrough in the 1980s when Hollywood Actor Richard Gere donned Armani suits in the film ‘American Gigolo’. This propelled the brand into the global spotlight, cementing Armani as a household name. Soon, stars from Michelle Pfeiffer to John Travolta embraced his creations, making him the designer of choice for both red carpets and everyday luxury. He broadcast his collection live on the Internet, the first in the world of haute couture, on 24 January 2007.

Armani famously collaborated with model Vittoria Ceretti a prominent Italian supermodel who has frequently worked with Armani throughout her career, appearing in campaigns and wearing his designs at major events.

But Armani didn’t stop at clothes. He expanded into perfumes, eyewear, and multiple lines such as Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange, targeting different segments of the global market. His company’s revenue soared into billions, while his boutiques multiplied across continents. He also built a global hospitality business, spanning hotels, cafes, restaurants and bars, that carried the same elegance as his fashion line. The centrepiece of his hospitality business is the Armani Hotels developed in partnership with Dubai’s Emaar Properties.

As a sports fan, he designed suits for Chelsea and the England football team, and made the uniforms for Italy’s Olympic team in 2012. Working tirelessly Armani through his fashion and hospitality businesses built an empire worthy of a king.

Though Armani remained CEO and sole shareholder right until his death, in his lifetime, Armani drew up a succession plan consisting of a gradual transition of the responsibilities that he had always handled to those closest to him, such as Leo Dell’Orco, the members of his family, and the entire working team. He wanted the succession to be organic and not amount to rupture.

Beyond his family, his heirs will include his long-term collaborator and right-hand man, Pantaelo Dell’Orco, and a foundation. This foundation was established in 2016 and plays a significant role in the preservation of Armani’s legacy and is designed to protect the company. The will instructs heirs to sell a 15% stake in the Italian fashion house within 18 months and later transfer an additional stake to the same buyer between three and five years after his death, or pursue an initial public offering.

His family members, consist of his nieces, Silvana and Roberta Armani, his nephew, Andrea Camerana. Silvana worked at Armani designs, running the womenswear collections. Meanwhile, Roberta, the daughter of his late brother Sergio, has been the director of Armani’s public relations, becoming the bridge between the brand and Hollywood. Roberta orchestrated Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding in an Italian castle in 2006, with Armani personally designing both the bride’s and groom’s attire. Andrea, Armani’s nephew, joined the company in 2000 and worked as both a counsellor and licensing director. He eventually became Armani’s sustainability managing director, and focuses on the brand’s policy toward the environment.

Dell’Orco, described as Armani’s right-hand man, has been involved in the company since 1977 and currently heads the men’s style office. He frequently appears by the designer’s side at various fashion shows, and events. In fact, in June 2025, when Armani missed the menswear show during Milan Fashion Week for the first time in 50 years due to an undisclosed illness, Dell’Orco took over.

Remaining independent his entire life, Armani has also stated in his will no major mergers or IPOs would be permitted until five years after his death, providing a period of stability. With this, he sought to protect his brand against potential acquisitions by other giants in the Industry.

Armani was an intensely private man. He never married or had children. And had relationships with both men and women. He had a longstanding personal relationship with Sergio Galeotti, who died of complications from AIDS in 1985. Reflecting in 2015, Armani said of Galeotti: “when I travel, I bring his photograph. There is something that remains. His spirit lingers. For sure. He lives on. I see Sergio everywhere, and I am sure he sees me. And I have hope that whatever I have done, he knows about it”. Armani described his inability to prevent Galeotti’s death as the greatest failure of his career.

In later years, Armani spent much of his time on his yacht, and loved sailing. He had been in declining health in the months leading up to his death.

More well-dressed stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Suit and boot yourself with Freewheeling.

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 15 August 2025 to 31 August 2025: Trump & Putin; Trump & Europe; India’s dogs; Israel goes all-out; Putin-Modi-Xi axis.

Trump-Putin: Alaska Stays Cold

United Sates President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met across the Bering Strait in Alaska – almost a Putin swag walk from Russia. A reminder that that America and Russia are so awfully close – just a Strait away.

The Summit was broadcasted as a vital step towards peace in Ukraine and the blue background banner of the Trump-Putin Press briefing had the title, ‘Pursuing Peace’.

Trump waited for Putin on the red carpet, clapped a ‘welcome back to the world stage’ message, and shook hands before Putin accepted a lift in Trump’s armoured Presidential Limousine. Ever since Russia’s war on Ukraine, Putin had almost become a pariah- sanctioned and shunned by the West. And this was probably his comeback moment. That broad laugh on the back-seat of The Beast said it all.

There was no cease fire announced on the Russia-Ukraine War and the talks ended sooner than expected with Putin gathering all his English and telling Trump, ‘Next time in Moscow’. In Trump parlance, “There were many points that we agreed on” and adding that great progress had been made in an extremely productive meeting, ending with “We didn’t get there”.

The wide grins, firm hand-shakes, and B2 Stealth Bombers ‘guarding Putin’s head’ were the key takeaways. I reckon tomorrow is another day!

Back to School

Following the Alaska Summit, Trump called over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House for a chat on the next steps. Zelensky needed armour and several European leaders who also flew to Washington to attend the meeting provided exactly that. The scene of all of them seated in the Oval Office was much like a School principal meeting with his School Teachers, was a memorable photo – one that would hang around for a long time to come. Peace or no-peace.

Given his trenchant previous visit to the Oval Office in February, the Ukrainian President went to considerable lengths to charm his American host – including a flurry of six ‘thank yous’ within the first few minutes of the meeting. This time, Zelenksy was wearing a dark suit rather than his traditional military garb, which caused Trump to quip, “all dressed up today”.

Again, nothing significant was achieved beyond the Super Star gathering of Heads of European Countries. There was no concrete commitments to security guarantees or steps towards a peace deal. Trump told Zelensky the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the war, without specifying the extent of any assistance. Trump did not offer US boots on the ground.

The Next would probably be a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky to find that elusive, shielded cease fire button. President Donald Trump said he thought it’d be better if President Zelensky and Russian President Putin meet without him. That sure is Great Thinking.

Israel

In the Israel-Hamas War, Israel has scaled-up the offensive and is going all-out in seizing control of Gaza City and hoping to rescue the remaining 48 hostages in the process. Preparations are underway to fully capture Gaza’s biggest city after nearly two years of war, despite warnings the campaign will have disastrous and unbearable consequences for Palestinians in the besieged region.

The bodies of two hostages, Ilan Weiss and Idan Shtivi, who were killed in the 7 October 2023 savagery by Hamas, have been recovered on 29th August. Initially, Idan Shtivi could not be identified, but after analysis at Israel’s Institute of Forensic Medicine, it was confirmed. Weiss’ wife and daughter were kidnapped on 7th October, but released during the first ceasefire in November 2023.

Israel’s pain grows every day.

India’s Dogs

In recent times, India’s Supreme Court has been barking louder than ever before. And what better opportunity when the issue of stray street dogs, prowling the streets of New Delhi and The National Capital Region, stands before it on all legs! It ordered all of them to be caught and housed in Dog Shelters. Stories of children and all kinds of people being attacked by street dogs, blood flowing on the streets, and the scare of Rabies was the sound in the air.

The Dog-lovers, instead of putting their tails between their legs, began squealing and fighting for the right of dogs to bite and to be fed.

This is a comprehensive failure of the administration, which should have kept the dogs under leash. In India, everything goes to the Supremes. What next, I go to court on a sewage overflow?

Then in a second coming, the Supreme Court modified its previous Order directing that all healthy stray dogs be sterilised, vaccinated, and returned to their original locations, in line with the Animal Birth Control Rules. Rabid or aggressive dogs, however, are to be kept in separate facilities. The court also ‘nudged’ the creation of feeding areas for dogs in each ward.

That sure was a denouement. Long live the dog in the Country of the Dogs?

India’s Honest Elections

India’s Leader of the Opposition decided that he cannot win elections without fraud and challenged the Election Commission of India on its cleanliness. A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is being conducted in the State of Bihar -ahead of Legislative Elections in November this year. And of course, it was challenged in the Supremes, which barked rightly and said ‘go ahead’. And it said that it’s actually an inclusive exercise. The opposition called it ‘vote dacoity’ and that the exercise is being used to manipulate the vote list in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

If indeed that was the case, then how did the BJP fall short of a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, and how did the Opposition clean-sweep some States? Tamil Nadu, for example!

The SIR Electoral Roll is a unique voter list verification process, and its importance is ensuring accurate, fraud-free elections through comprehensive voter validation. The process is still ongoing, with the first draft already published.

In the first findings, about 22 lakh names have been marked as deceased, 7 lakh voters were found registered in more than one place, and about 35 lakh people were untraceable or had permanently moved away.

Such is the scale of fraud: certainly this needs to be brought under control and voter data updated to make elections more accurate and meaningful.

Tariffs and India

US tariffs of 50% -among the highest in the world -on goods from India kicked-in from Wednesday, 27 August, as Donald Trump sought to punish India for buying Russian oil and weapons.

India shrugged-off the Trump Tariff mania and cooly continued its purchases, calling the tariffs unfair and vowing to choose the best deal on buying oil to protect its people. But fears lurk that exports and growth could suffer with India trying to improve its ‘world’s fifth largest economy’ status. The US was, until recently, India’s largest trading partner.

The tariff setback has sent India into (fire) fighting mode, with an aggressive positive stance.

Earlier this month, India’s Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi promised to cut taxes to mitigate the impact of the tariffs, which will disrupt millions of livelihoods across the country’s export-driven industries that supply everything from clothes to diamonds and shrimp to American consumers. He used his 15th August Independence Day Address, from the ramparts of Delhi’s Red Fort, to drive home confidence and healthy fight-back measures.

PM Modi promised Next-Generation Goods & Service Tax (GST) reforms by Diwali-a Diwali gift in the form of a massive tax bonanza- which will reduce taxes on daily essentials, benefiting MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Scale), local vendors, and consumers, while simultaneously stimulating economic growth and creating a more efficient, people-friendly economy. Modi also urged small shop owners and businesses to put up boards of ‘Swadeshi’ or ‘Made in India’ outside their stores. “We should become self-reliant-not out of desperation, but out of pride,” he said. “Economic selfishness is on the rise globally, and we mustn’t sit and cry about our difficulties, we must rise above and not allow others to hold us in their clutches.”

A Task Force for Next-Generation Reforms will be formed, which will evaluate all current laws, rules, and procedures related to economic activities. The Task Force will work within a set timeline to: reduce compliance costs for startups, MSMEs, and entrepreneurs; provide freedom from fear of arbitrary legal actions and ensure laws are streamlined for ease of doing business.

Over the past years, India has undertaken a historic wave of reforms, abolishing over 40,000 unnecessary compliances, and repealing more than 1,500 outdated laws. Dozens of other laws were simplified in Parliament. In the recent session alone, over 280 provisions were removed, making governance simpler and more accessible to the people.

A High-Powered Demography Mission will be launched aimed at ensuring India’s unity, integrity, and security, tackling both strategic and social challenges.

India will launch ‘Made in India’ semiconductor chips by the end of 2025, reflecting the nation’s growing strength in critical technology sectors.

And in a grande finale rebuff to Trump’s flagrant behaviour, PM Modi visited China to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The meeting was in China’s port city of Tianjin. Putin called Modi his ‘dear friend’ and gave him a lift in his armoured limousine. Lots of armoured lifts and rides these days!

China and India are the biggest buyers of crude oil from Russia. And despite Trump, there is no sign that India or China are going to stop buying cheap oil, anytime soon.

PM Modi welcomed recent efforts aimed at stopping the war in Ukraine, which he hoped would end as soon as possible. And reaffirmed his support for a peaceful settlement during a telephone conversation with Ukraine’s President Zelensky.

Well, if PM Modi can magically bring about a ceasefire, literally out of the Magician’s Turban, he will give Trump a run for his Nobel Peace Prize ‘case-building’.

More wagging and biting stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Stay solid with Freewheeling.

This is my Blog where I essay stories on life about and around me, on subjects that stir and shake me up, as I turn, and make life's pages count: hoping to inspire you to live your own story!

THE WORLD

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A Prince is Taken Down

ISRO’s Bahubali

The Bad Doctors

Bihar Elections

Sports

HOSTAGE RETURN

JAPAN: A NEW PM

THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY

WATER WORLD

INDIA’s WOMEN

PEACE

UNITED KINGDOM: TERROR

INDIA: A KILLER STAMPEDE

JANE GOODALL

LAST WORD

Rumblings

Leprosy

Huntington’s Disease

The World on a Spin

India

Goods & Services Tax (GST)

Vice President of India

ARMANI

Trump-Putin: Alaska Stays Cold

Back to School

Israel

India’s Dogs

India’s Honest Elections

Tariffs and India

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