Rs 40 for cows, Rs 12 for kids: MP’s odd math
In Madhya Pradesh, nutrition economics is simple: a cow’s daily feed is worth Rs 40, but a child must survive on Rs 8. If the child is malnourished, the amount doubles — to Rs 12, which is still less than the price of a cutting chai outside the school gates.
According to figures tabled in the state Assembly, 1.36 lakh children in Madhya Pradesh are malnourished, including nearly 30,000 categorised as severely malnourished. The Opposition called the budget “grossly inadequate.” Grossly inadequate might be an understatement when milk costs Rs 70 per litre, but the state thinks a child can grow on a sum that won’t even buy a packet of biscuits.
Congress MLA Vikrant Bhuria said: “Skin stuck to bone is given Rs 12. Cow feed is Rs 40. Meeting snacks cost thousands. Who is the state nourishing?”
In Sheopur, one-year-old Kartik’s protruding bones tell the story better than government paperwork. Six-month-old twins Gaurav and Saurav in Bhikhapur are battling the same arithmetic.
Women and child development minister Nirmala Bhuria admitted the inadequacy, though she said requests for additional funds have been made to the Centre.
From Silicon Valley to Satsang
A podcast clip doing the rounds online has given India yet another viral moment, this time featuring a singer who believes modern computing is powered by spirituality.
According to him, computers run on “Ram,” and in the same way, the world itself runs on Ram too.
He wasn’t talking about just Random Access Memory. He was talking about Lord Ram too. And if that wasn’t enough, he drew another connection: in Hindi, Daaata means giver, and in English, data runs the world. Coincidence? He thinks not.
The singer even claimed to have shared these insights during visits to Google headquarters in Silicon Valley.
The internet has had a field day. Some are calling it a clever play on words, others see it as a stretch longer than the cloud storage capacity of an actual data centre.
In a country where divinity meets daily life at every turn, this mash-up of RAM, Ram, Daaata, and data shows once again that when it comes to imagination, India’s servers never run out of power.
Mumbai's Spiderman fighting floods, not villains
Forget saving the world from supervillains, Mumbai’s ‘Spiderman’ is tackling a different kind of crisis — the city’s monsoon!
Instead of swinging between skyscrapers or chasing villains, someone clad in the full Marvel costume was spotted lending a hand to the city struggling under the relentless rains.
Viral videos show the man wading through knee-deep water in Bhiwandi market, mop in hand, attempting to unclog drains and swim across waterlogged streets, much to the amusement of passersby and the internet.
He even takes out a polythene bag filled with garbage from the water and throws it away, giving the impression of cleaning the area.
The video went viral, with people calling him the "Real Superhero of Mumbai" in the comment section.
While many praised the creativity, others pointed out the deeper issue, “It’s not funny, that looks really bad. Waters need to be drained fast or people will suffer for a long time.” Another quipped, “The leaders of Bhiwandi do this much work. So our Spidey doesn’t need to work so much.”
Mumbai the “city of dreams.” It feels more like a city of despair for many as it drowns every year in the monsoon.
Bride wanted, terms and conditions apply
A mother’s rant about her son’s marriage woes has gone viral.
The son, who works in Bollywood, apparently told her that he has plenty of female friends but none of them are willing to tie the knot. According to her, he then requested, “Mummy, please find me a good girl from a good family who will be worth being my wife.”
The mother, unimpressed with the new generation, declared that today’s girls are “not worth marrying,” sparking both eye-rolls and giggles across social media.
Netizens jumped in with commentary, some comparing the son’s wishlist to a job description, “Position open: Bride. Salary: lifelong patience. Perks: Bollywood tag.”
Others joked that the poor guy was treating friendships like product trials while waiting for the “final purchase.”
Mic check, suspension check
What happens when a tehsildar trades files for filmi notes? In Umri, Nanded, the answer is suspension.
At his farewell function, Prashant Thorat decided to leave behind not just memories but also a performance. Sitting in his official chair, with taluka magistrate written boldly behind him, he sang “yara teri yari ko” from the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Yaarana.
The staff clapped in perfect sync, turning the tehsil office into an impromptu concert hall. The video, of course, found its way to social media and reactions followed.
The administration wasn’t humming along. After learning about the controversy, the Nanded collector submitted a report to higher authorities, stating that Thorat’s conduct had tarnished the image of the administration and violated the Maharashtra Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1979.
Divisional Commissioner of Revenue Jitendra Papalkar, based in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, ordered Thorat’s suspension.
So here’s the lesson: in government offices, karaoke is risky business. One Bollywood song at the wrong time, in the wrong chair, can turn a farewell into a suspension special.
MP villager raises ‘sweet’ protest over missing laddoo
In what may be the most sugary controversy of this Independence Day, a man from Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, decided that freedom means freedom to have two laddoos, not one.
Kamlesh Kushwaha of Naudha village reportedly lodged a formal complaint on the Chief Minister’s Helpline because his celebration packet contained only a single laddoo. Officials said he felt cheated of his birthright to double sweetness and went after the sarpanch and secretary like a man on a mission.
Trying to make peace, the panchayat bought a whole kilo of laddoos for distribution. But in true dramatic fashion, Kushwaha allegedly turned up his nose, declaring that this was not about the quantity but about principle—the principle of “thou shalt not reduce laddoos”.
The panchayat secretary, Ravindra Shrivastava, sighed that Kushwaha was well-practiced in such theatrics, having already filed 107 complaints on everything from potholes to possibly uneven pakoras.
In short, while the nation celebrated freedom, one man in Bhind fought for what he believed in: justice, democracy, and the right to exactly two laddoos.
False ceiling, true odour: Kerala HC halts hearings
On some mornings, justice is blind. On Tuesday in Kerala, it also held its nose.
Proceedings began like any other day until an uninvited bar member from the animal kingdom passed its own order from above.
Civets, apparently squatting in the false ceiling, had been urinating for days. By Monday, the stench became "unbearable," and by Tuesday morning the proceedings were adjourned due to eau de civet.
By 11:30 a.m., the courtroom doors were locked and the mops summoned.
A senior pleader confirmed that traps had been set earlier, and one civet was apprehended on Tuesday morning. The rest remain at large, reportedly still holed up in the ceiling and contesting eviction.