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By:

Ruddhi Phadke

22 September 2024 at 10:17:54 am

Gudhi Padwa draws world to Girgaum

Mumbai: It was the 24 th  celebration of Gudhi Padwa in Girgaum on Thursday, and as usual, the festivities were grand, picturesque and saw humongous response not just from the local residents. This year, the celebration saw huge participation of enthusiasts from beyond the borders. While some coincidentally bumped into the event, some others actually typed ‘Gudhi Padwa 2026 schedule’ in their google search bar to ensure they did not miss this ‘must do’ event while planning their holiday...

Gudhi Padwa draws world to Girgaum

Mumbai: It was the 24 th  celebration of Gudhi Padwa in Girgaum on Thursday, and as usual, the festivities were grand, picturesque and saw humongous response not just from the local residents. This year, the celebration saw huge participation of enthusiasts from beyond the borders. While some coincidentally bumped into the event, some others actually typed ‘Gudhi Padwa 2026 schedule’ in their google search bar to ensure they did not miss this ‘must do’ event while planning their holiday travel in India. It is indeed a big moment for a Mumbaikar to know that an international traveler has Girgaon listed as one of the ‘must do’ destinations for an India trip in their diary; Gudhi Padwa being the cause is even more interesting. Tana, who lives in the Netherlands embarked on a long duration trip to India earlier this month, visited Mumbai specifically to enjoy the festivities. She told ‘The Perfect Voice’ , “I came here to celebrate Gudhi Padwa with you. I am here to experience everything that I see, all the beautiful outfits, beautiful people. I did a lot of research. I knew that today is the day New Year is celebrated in Maharashtra. I am a tourist. I am alone. I am indulging in everything here from food, festivals, dresses. I adore India. I actually typed Gudhi Padwa in the search bar to ensure I did not miss this must-do event during my trip to India.” Shivani Dopavkar, a Hula Hoop artist who is a regular and active participant had made an interesting statement when she had spoken to ‘The Perfect Voice’  during last year’s Shobha Yaatra. She had said, “I quit my IT profession to take up Hula Hoop as my full-time art. I wish to take Girgaum to a level where it is recognised globally. I have chosen Hula Hoop to accomplish this dream for which Gudhi Padwa Shobha Yatra is a perfect platform.” The dream doesn’t seem to be far from success as a lot of foreign participants dressed up in traditional Indian attire were seen enjoying the activities Annie, from Berlin who came to India as a tourist co-incidentally got introduced to the festivities. “It is really colourful. I have come from Berlin with my Indian friend. German culture is very different. Everything is colourful and vibrant here. The women on the bikes, the flowers, everything that we see around is very eventful,” said Annie. Early Preparations Girgaum woke up to busy preparations right from six am, as participants and volunteers geared up for the day ahead. The action began at around nine am, with people from different walks of life wounding their happiness around different themes from Hindu mythology to ancient Marathi traditions. From Children to elderly, to differently abled individuals, all enthusiastically navigated through densely crowded tiny lanes that whole-heartedly accommodated hundreds of visitors. Kamini Darji, a Gujarathi speaking Girgaum resident was present in the middle of the action with her differently abled son. Darji said, “I get my son every year to witness the festivities. The environment gives a very united and positive vibe. We never miss the event.” From Lejhim to Dhol Tasha Pathak, from bike borne Navvari saree clad women to Hula hoop artists; from live bhajan singing to Mardani Khel to children dressed up based on different themes from Chandrayaan to ‘Vithoba-Rakhmai’; the celebration gave a perfect introduction of India’s cultural wealth to all the international visitors. Jennifer from Germany who participated in Mardani Khel wearing a traditional nine-yard saree said, “We play Mardani khel every year for Gudhi Padwa. I have been to Maharashtra many times. This is the first time that I have come to Mumbai. I learnt this art at Shivaji Raje Mardani Akhada in Pune. I have been visiting India for nine years. Earlier I used to live in Bengaluru.” Vande Mataram Theme While it was a beautiful blend of all the aspects that define India, the cherry on the top was – the ‘Vandya Vande Mataram’ – theme. To commemorate 150 th  anniversary of India’s national song Vande Mataram, most of the Tableaus and art work revolved around patriotic sentiment. While Shobha yatra 2024 was all about Lord Shri Ram and 2025 about pride for Marathi language, the year 2026 was all about freedom struggle and love for India. The most interesting highlight was the 25-foot-tall paper statue of freedom fighter Swatantryaveer Savarkar that was carried past to the thunderous beats of drums filling the air with exuberance. A 31-year-old sculptor Gaurav Pawar made the statue along with his brother Gitesh and other volunteers. Gaurav said, “Last year we made a statue of Dnyaneshwar. This year we got an opportunity to make a statue of Savarkar Ji. We took 10 days to make the statue out of paper and bamboo material. It was completely eco-friendly. We got to learn a lot about Savarkar ji during the process and it was a very very sensitive experience.” The Statue was prepared in Bedekar Sadan which is one of the buildings located in Shantaram Chawl Complex which was the hotbed of freedom movement. The residents unknowingly carry forward the legacy of the enclosed structure, a place where prominent freedom fighters like Lokmanya Tilak, Annie Basant, Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Lala Lajpat Rai used to gather to lead historic movements.

Lateral upgrade to ailing annihilation

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Lateral upgrade to ailing annihilation

Being the first person from the private sector to be appointed as chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as part of the government’s lateral initiative, Madhabi Puri Buch also holds the honour of being the first woman to hold the top post as capital market regulator.

But the laurels that the former private sector banker enjoyed in her earlier stint with ICICI Bank, was marred with allegations that she and her husband were having a stake in offshore entities, which were used to artificially inflate shares of Adani group companies.

Terming the allegation as `character assassination, Buch clarified that all disclosures have already been furnished and the fund in question did not invest in any securities involving the Adani group.

When it rains, it pours. This allegation was subsequently followed by Congress Party allegation that Buch had received salary and post-retirement benefits from ICICI Bank after she quit the private sector bank.

In its clarification to the stock exchanges, ICICI Bank asserted that the payments made to Buch were purely retirement benefits after her exit from the bank and they were neither salary nor employee stock options.

Prior to these allegations, Buch tenure at SEBI was all about bringing in quick reforms on operational issues by changing the format of consultation paper to bring in larger responses digitally. Being data savvy, the rationale of her decisions were democratic based on big data analysis derived from the responses received to the consultation papers.

Further she bifurcated the duties of the SEBI staff between operations and enforcement, which were done by the same persons earlier. Having worked for the private sector in the capital market domain space, Buch had a better understanding of the subject compared to officers from the administrative service in the past that reflected even in her orders as a whole-time director at SEBI before becoming the chairperson. As a whole time director at SEBI, her orders on adjudication issues were more directional to the capital market space, according to experts in the compliance space. She was also quick to revamp the old provisions of the 90s at SEBI.

Being tech and data savvy, Buch enhanced regulatory surveillance and detection of market manipulation, insider trading and fraud while also emphasizing on strengthening corporate governance by introducing stricter rules for independent directors and enhancing disclosures for related-party transactions.

To put in perspective, the annual report of the capital market regulator in the just concluded financial year revealed that the number of investigations related to insider trading jumped to 175 in 2023-24 from 85 in the preceding year while probes related to front running jumped over three times to 83 from 24 in the preceding year.

Transparency in mutual funds by implementing measures to protect retail investors along with tightening norms for initial public offers, particularly in the SME platforms were some of her other positive initiatives including confirmation of denial of any market rumours within 24 hours for the top 100 listed companies which will be extended to top 250 companies from December 1. However increased transparency and compliance with tightening regulations led to increased operational costs for the market participants and hence faced resistance from certain quarters. Born in 1966, Buch completed her primary education in Mumbai and graduated with specialization in Mathematics from Delhi and later obtained a management degree from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. In between, she got engaged to Dhawal Buch, a director at a consumer goods multinational at the age of eighteen and got married at the age of 21.

Besides ICICI Bank, Buch also worked as a lecturer at a college in England, worked at Greater Pacific Capital in Singapore and ICICI Securities as its CEO. She also worked as executive director on several private sector companies and as a consultant for New Development Bank (Brics Bank).

What now remains to be seen, is whether Buch, who survived the 26/11 terror attack when she along with her husband, was attending a meeting at Taj, be able to overcome the current ordeal. Keeping fingers crossed for the times to come.

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