Mentor, author, performing-arts professional, and beauty pageant coach Mukul Phate has achieved a unique double milestone, receiving recognition from the National Book of Records while also earning a world record title as the youngest beauty pageant coach. Mukul’s journey has been shaped by his work across multiple creative disciplines. As an author, he has gained recognition for “Leela,” a practical manual designed for aspiring performers and theatre enthusiasts. The book reflects his experience in the performing arts and his belief in making creative education more accessible to emerging talent. His latest achievement takes that vision into the world of beauty pageantry. Recognized as the world’s youngest beauty pageant coach, Mukul has worked with aspiring models and contestants on areas including grooming, stage presence, communication, confidence, and overall presentation. Rather than approaching pageantry purely as a competition based on appearance, Mukul focuses on developing the individual behind the contestant. His coaching methodology brings together performing arts, personality development, communication, grooming, and stagecraft, helping participants build a stronger and more authentic presence. “I have always believed that talent becomes meaningful when a person learns how to present it with confidence. My work in theatre, writing, and pageantry comes from the same purpose — helping people understand their potential and giving them the tools to express it,” said Mukul Phate. The recognition marks an important chapter in Mukul’s evolving career, bringing together his accomplishments as an author and his growing influence as a mentor in the pageant industry. His multidisciplinary background allows him to approach coaching from a perspective that extends beyond conventional grooming, incorporating elements of performance, storytelling, body language, and confidence. His work also reflects a growing emphasis within the pageant and creative industries on personality, individuality, communication, and self-expression. Through his mentorship, Mukul aims to help young aspirants develop skills that extend beyond the stage and can contribute to their personal and professional growth. The combination of literary recognition and an international achievement in pageant coaching places Mukul Phate at an unusual intersection of literature, performing arts, mentorship, and beauty pageantry. As he continues to work with emerging talent, Mukul remains focused on creating opportunities for individuals to discover their strengths, develop their confidence, and turn their abilities into meaningful professional journeys.

New Delhi, 2026 — Acclaimed authoress, evolutionary feminist and social activist Mayaa SH has been honoured with the prestigious National Award "Bharat Gyaan Jyoti Samman 2026" for her outstanding contribution to literature and women's empowerment. Mayaa SH is a highly acclaimed and enthusiastic evolutionary feminist and a known name in contemporary literature. She is envisioned as a champion to free women from the bond of domestic slavery in a patriarchal social structure for women's rights. She is a suicide prevention specialist and anti -depression expert. Her work emphasises the importance of understanding the complex interaction between mental health issues and life conditions that can motivate individuals to think about not committing suicide and starting again with a 2.0 version of themselves, with the power of self-belief and determination in life. The award recognizes individuals who illuminate society through knowledge and selfless service. Mayaa was unanimously selected by the jury for her powerful advocacy against the invisible bonds of domestic slavery within patriarchal structures and for redefining prosperity as inner happiness. Known as one of the most visible and vocal voices in contemporary Indian literature, Mayaa SH champions evolutionary feminism — a philosophy rooted not in anger against men, but in the awakening of women. Through co-authoring over two hundred fifty books with over fourteen solo books, her writings blend spirituality, gratitude and humanism, inspiring millions to find divinity in everyday life. The citation honoured her as a “Bharat Gyaan Jyoti — A light of knowledge guiding society from darkness to enlightenment.”Accepting the honour, Mayaa said: “This award belongs to every woman told to dream smaller. Knowledge is like a lamp that lights another lamp. If my words have lit even a few lamps, my purpose is fulfilled.”With this honour, Mayaa SH continues to stand as not just an authoress, but a movement — reminding India that true progress lies in knowledge, empathy and inner light. As per her, a silent shore symbolises the quiet pause in life where the noise of the world finally fades, and the heart begins to speak. It is that in-between place — not the storm of the deep sea, nor the rush of the land — but a threshold of stillness where unfinished emotions, unspoken words, and forgotten dreams wash up like shells. From the perspective of life, it represents acceptance, reflection, and the gentle courage to just be without having to prove or chase. The notes of the heart on this shore are not loud symphonies, but soft, persistent melodies — the memory of love that stayed, the ache that taught you, the hope that still hums in low tide. Each wave brings a note of healing, and each silence between the notes holds meaning. Together, they compose life’s golden collection — not perfect, but profound, where even quietness becomes that symphony of life that connects two souls. The Ideology of Inking Her New Book "Silent Shores: A Collection Of Symphonies.." The acclaimed author, evolutionary feminist, and mental health advocate Mayaa SH has endeavoured to introduce her profound new concept of inking "Silent Shores: A Collection of Symphonies."Building upon her extensive work in psychological resilience and emotional healing, this new ideology captures the essence of life's quiet pauses—those vital moments when the chaotic noise of the external world finally recedes, allowing the inner voice to emerge. Mayaa SH envisions the "Silent Shore" not as a space of loneliness, but as a sacred threshold of stillness where individuals can process unfinished emotions, unspoken words, and forgotten dreams that wash ashore like delicate seashells. It represents a powerful shift away from the relentless pressure of modern societal expectations, offering instead a sanctuary for self-acceptance, deep reflection, and the courage simply to exist without the constant need to chase or prove oneself. At the core of this ideology is the belief that the true notes of the human heart are rarely loud symphonies; rather, they are soft, persistent melodies composed of enduring love, instructive aches, and the quiet hum of hope during life's low tides. Mayaa SH emphasises that every emotional wave brings an element of healing, and the spaces of silence between those waves hold profound meaning. By "inking" these experiences, individuals translate their vulnerabilities into life’s golden collection—an imperfect yet deeply profound tapestry where even quietness transforms into a unifying symphony connecting souls. Through this concept, Mayaa SH continues to guide humanity toward emotional liberation, encouraging individuals to find strength in stillness and rewrite their narratives with grace and self-belief. Deepening the Vision of Inking "Silent Shores: A Collection Of Symphonies.." Expanding further upon the conceptual framework, Mayaa SH’s Inking Silent Shores serves as an evolutionary milestone in her ongoing crusade for emotional emancipation and mental well-being. While her previous literary and advocacy works fiercely targeted systemic patriarchal oppression and the immediate rescue from psychological distress, this new ideology addresses the delicate, often overlooked post-crisis phase of human healing. It bridges the gap between survival and actualisation, providing a philosophical map for individuals who have weathered life's violent storms and now find themselves standing at the edge of quiet transformation. Mayaa SH posits that true self-mastery does not occur in the battlefield of constant striving, but rather on the tranquil, introspective shores where the residue of past trauma is gently washed, examined, and integrated into a renewed identity. The central objective of "Silent Shores" is to lead readers on a transformative journey towards psychological resilience and deep emotional healing by illuminating the profound power of stillness in an otherwise chaotic and noisy world. In today's fast-paced life, where external validation and relentless societal pressures often drown our inner voice, this book aims to redefine silence. It seeks to establish that the "Silent Shore" is not a space of loneliness, emptiness, or isolation, but rather a sacred and powerful threshold of peace, reflection, and self-reconnection. Through its carefully woven collection of sonnets, soulful poems, and timeless quotations, the book aspires to create a literary sanctuary for every reader. It provides a safe space to pause and process those unfinished emotions, unspoken words, and forgotten dreams that wash ashore like delicate seashells, waiting to be seen, heard, and healed. Another key objective is to foster self-acceptance and build inner strength. The book encourages readers to have the courage to simply exist — without the constant need to chase, compete, or prove their worth. It teaches that true growth lies not in constant motion, but in mindful pauses. Ultimately, "Silent Shores: A Collection Of Symphonies" aims to be more than just a book; it strives to be a companion, a mirror to the soul, and a lighthouse for those navigating emotional storms. Its final objective is to inspire every reader to grow with grace, heal with love, and continue to aspire to inspire others on their own path of inner peace and self-discovery. About Mayaa SH : Mayaa SH stands as a formidable voice in contemporary literature, advocacy, and mental health intervention, recognised globally for her multi-dimensional contributions to human empowerment and social liberation. As an acclaimed evolutionary feminist, she has dedicated her life's work to deconstructing deeply entrenched patriarchal structures that relegate women to the confines of domestic servitude. Her literary and advocacy platforms envision a society where women are liberated from systemic oppression, enabling them to reclaim autonomy, dignity, and self-worth. Beyond her feminist discourse, Mayaa SH is a distinguished suicide prevention specialist and anti-depression expert. By seamlessly integrating sociological critique with psychological resilience, she offers a holistic blueprint for personal transformation, urging individuals to shed their past traumas and embrace a revitalised, empowered existence. Early Life, Philosophical Foundations, and Evolutionary Feminism : To understand the depth of Mayaa SH's ideology, one must examine the foundational pillars of her evolutionary feminism. Unlike conventional frameworks that view gender equality solely through legal or political lenses, her approach evaluates the socio-biological and cultural evolution of humankind. She argues that domestic slavery, the systemic expectation that women shoulder unpaid, unrecognised domestic labour while being denied socio-economic independence, is an artificial construct maintained by patriarchal conditioning. Through her extensive writings and public lectures, she challenges these archaic narratives, advocating for an egalitarian paradigm where women are recognised as sovereign agents of change. Her literary footprint reflects this fierce advocacy, utilising prose and poetry as instruments of psychological liberation and social awakening. Mental Health Advocacy and Suicide Prevention : In parallel with her sociological critiques, Mayaa SH has carved a pioneering path as a mental health specialist. Recognising that systemic oppression, chronic stress, and isolation are primary catalysts for severe psychological distress, she approaches suicide prevention through a socio-environmental lens. Her clinical and advisory framework emphasises that mental health struggles cannot be effectively addressed in a vacuum; they are intrinsically linked to an individual’s life conditions, trauma histories, and societal pressures. As an anti-depression expert, she works tirelessly to dismantle the social stigma surrounding mental illness, creating safe spaces for vulnerable populations to seek help without fear of judgment. Her intervention strategies are rooted in empathy, active listening, and the restructuring of cognitive distortions that lead individuals to perceive suicide as a viable escape. The Philosophy of the 2.0 Version and Self-Belief : At the heart of Mayaa SH’s therapeutic and motivational philosophy is the concept of personal rebirth—popularly encapsulated in her teachings as the transition toward a 2.0 version of oneself. She posits that extreme life crises, while devastating, offer a crucible for profound metamorphosis. Rather than allowing individuals to remain defined by their darkest moments, she equips them with the psychological tools necessary to rewrite their life narratives. T This process relies heavily on the cultivation of unwavering self-belief and stubborn determination. By teaching people how to decouple their self-worth from external validation and societal expectations, she instils a resilient mindset capable of weathering profound adversity. Her guidance encourages survivors of trauma and depression to view their struggles not as permanent scars, but as the foundational lessons that build a stronger, wiser, and more authentic personal identity. Literary Contributions and Cultural Impact : Mayaa SH’s influence extends deeply into contemporary literature, where her works serve as both mirrors reflecting societal flaws and maps guiding readers toward personal emancipation. Her anthologies, articles, and poetry collections explore the intersections of gender, trauma, healing, and existential awakening. By blending raw emotional honesty with sharp intellectual rigour, she engages readers on a transformative journey. Her writing style is distinct—imbued with a sense of urgency, compassion, and uncompromising truth. Consequently, her literary outputs have garnered critical acclaim, resonating with a diverse readership that spans academics, trauma survivors, young women seeking autonomy, and mental health advocates. Legacy and Ongoing Mission : As a multifaceted luminary, Mayaa SH continues to redefine the boundaries of feminist literature and psychological advocacy. Her legacy is defined by a relentless commitment to saving lives and liberating minds. Whether she is challenging the patriarchal status quo or sitting across from an individual teetering on the edge of despair, her core message remains constant: human existence is malleable, and through the alchemy of self-belief, anyone can break free from structural and internal bondage. Mayaa SH's enduring mission is to foster a world where women are entirely free from domestic subjugation, and where every individual battling the shadows of depression is handed the tools to construct a hopeful, empowered future. Through her pen, her voice, and her unwavering empathy, she remains a true beacon of hope in modern society. Mayaa SH extensively analyses the structural mechanics of abusive relationships, breaking down the predictable phases of tension-building, the abusive incident itself, reconciliation (the honeymoon phase), and calm. Furthermore, she highlights how children raised in volatile environments are disproportionately at risk of perpetuating these cycles in their adult lives, reinforcing the urgent need for early education and systemic intervention. A vital philosophical distinction in her advocacy is the necessity of approaching survivors with deep empathy rather than superficial sympathy. While sympathy can create emotional distance and unintentional judgment, active empathy validates a survivor's psychological state, breaks down self-blame, and fosters the trust required for true healing and recovery. Grounded in feminist theory, her perspective views domestic violence not as an isolated interpersonal issue, but as a systemic consequence of gender inequality and broader patriarchal power imbalances. She advocates for comprehensive, multi-faceted solutions encompassing public discourse, legislative protection, robust data collection on gender-based violence, and supportive workplace cultures that prioritise mental health resources..

Written by - Arunima Jha, High Court of Bombay & Arkadyuti Sarkar, High Court of Calcutta Artificial intelligence is sold and adopted as a clean and weightless technology. Yet, its physical substrate consumes electricity on a national scale, drinks fresh water in cities that cannot spare it, and leaves a widening trail of electronic waste. The carbon footprint of AI systems alone is projected at between 32.6 and 79.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2025, with a water footprint reaching hundreds of billions of litres. No jurisdiction has enacted a binding, purpose-built framework that holds AI infrastructure accountable for this harm. This article argues that India’s constitutional environmental jurisprudence, its polluter pays and precautionary principles, and the activist mandate of the National Green Tribunal together supply the doctrinal tools to govern AI’s environmental cost. The deficit is not conceptual but political. By comparing the Indian jurisprudence with the European Union, the United States, and China, the article maps the existing jurisprudential gaps and proposes the elements of a dedicated AI environmental liability regime. India has the instruments; what it lacks is the will to use them. PART I: THE PROBLEM 1. Introduction 1.1 The Myth of the Clean Industry Artificial intelligence occupies a peculiar place in the public imagination. It is spoken of as intangible, frictionless, and post-industrial, a matter of code and clever mathematics rather than of steel, concrete, and combustion. A user typing a query into a chatbot perceives software, not infrastructure. That perception is the foundational error this article seeks to correct. Behind every user-entered prompt sits a physical economy of hyperscale data centres, racks of power-hungry graphics processing units, industrial cooling systems, diesel backup generators, and a global supply chain that begins in cobalt and lithium mines. The model is software; the cost is overwhelmingly physical. The scale of that physical reality is no longer speculative. A single AI-focused data centre can consume as much electricity as over 100,000 households, approximately, and draw up to several million litres of water a day for cooling. Constructing such a facility, before it processes a single instruction, embeds enormous quantities of carbon in its concrete, steel, and semiconductors. The gap between how AI is perceived and what it actually demands of the natural world is the problem from which every legal question in this article follows. 1.2 The Legal Silence Against this expanding footprint stands a near-total legal silence. No jurisdiction in the world has enacted a binding, purpose-built framework imposing environmental liability on AI systems or the data centres that run them. The European Union, through its Artificial Intelligence Act, has gone furthest, yet its environmental provisions amount to little more than a mandate to develop voluntary standards. In the United States, the only dedicated federal proposal never actually advanced beyond committee. While India to date has neither any AI-specific environmental regulation, nor mandatory environmental disclosure tied to computational activity, nor a liability mechanism designed for diffuse, infrastructure-driven harm of this kind. The central question of this article is thus twofold: can existing legal frameworks be stretched to cover AI’s environmental harm, and if they cannot, what must replace them? 1.3 Scope and Argument This article takes Indian law as its primary frame, with comparative reference to the European Union, the United States, and China. The analysis is doctrinal, drawing on environmental statutes, corporate disclosure law, and constitutional jurisprudence. Its principal claim is that the polluter pays principle, the precautionary principle, the public trust doctrine, and the body of fundamental-rights jurisprudence built around Article 21 of the Constitution collectively demand accountability for the environmental harm caused by artificial intelligence. The claim is normative as much as descriptive: the doctrinal foundation already exists, and the failure to build upon it is a choice, not an inevitability. 1.4 Methodology This article adopts a doctrinal legal methodology combining comparative jurisprudence and policy analysis. The primary references include: constitutional provisions, statutes, judicial decisions, and regulatory instruments for comparative analysis of the European Union, the United States, and China to identify regulatory approaches suited to the Indian context. 2. Watts, Water, and Waste: The Scale of the Problem 2.1 Energy: The Watt Problem Energy is the most quantified dimension of AI’s environmental cost. The carbon footprint of AI systems alone is projected to fall between 32.6 and 79.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2025. In the United States, a detailed study of more than two thousand facilities found that data centres accounted for over four percent of national electricity consumption, that fifty-six percent of that power was derived from fossil fuels, and that the sector generated more than 105 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with a carbon intensity roughly forty-eight percent above the national average. Energy is consumed across the full lifecycle of a model, in the compute-intensive training phase and again, cumulatively and indefinitely, in the inference phase each time the model is queried. In India, the harm has an additional and more direct legal dimension: data centres routinely operate large diesel backup generators during grid outages, and generator emissions constitute “air pollution” within the clear meaning of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 - a pathway to liability under existing law that requires no doctrinal extension whatsoever. The corporate record exposes the contradiction at the heart of industry climate pledges. Google has reported that its greenhouse gas emissions rose by roughly half since 2019, driven by the energy intensity of AI compute, and it has abandoned its claim to operational carbon neutrality. Microsoft has reported emissions well above its 2020 baseline despite a pledge to become carbon negative, attributing the increase to the construction of AI-optimised data centres. Both firms remain in self-declared breach of their own targets. For India, the danger is magnified: a national grid still heavily relying on thermo-electric sources means that every additional watt drawn by a domestic data centre adds to a higher carbon penalty than the same watt drawn from a grid rich in renewables or nuclear power. Computational growth layered onto a coal-fired grid is a multiplier of harm, not a neutral input. 2.2 Water: The Invisible Consumption Water is the least visible and least disclosed of AI’s appetites. A mid-sized data centre can consume well over a million litres a day just for cooling, while the indirect water cost of generating its electricity is often larger still. A leading analysis grounded in Phoenix, Arizona, found that roughly a third of data centres nationally sit in areas of high or extremely high water stress, and projected that water use tied to data centre electricity demand in the Phoenix region could rise by as much as four hundred percent, with regional water stress increasing by up to thirty-two percent if all planned facilities come online. The opacity is structural: leading developers publish little to no facility-level water data, leaving regulators and citizens unable to measure the harm they are asked to absorb without clarity. India’s exposure is acute. The country supports eighteen percent of the world’s population relying on four percent of its fresh water, and its data centre boom is concentrated in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune, with all these cities already competing for scarce supply. Industry projections see data centre water consumption in India rising from roughly 150 billion litres in 2025 toward 358 billion litres by 2030. A water-cooling facility sited in a water-stressed basin converts a global technological ambition into a local subsistence crisis, drawing from the same aquifers and reservoirs on which households and agriculture depend. 2.3 Waste: Hardware and Supply Chain Harm The third dimension is waste, and it is the one least amenable to a snapshot statistic because it accrues across a lifecycle involving GPU turnover rates, impacts of semiconductor manufacturing, extraction of rare earth metals, and other indirect contributors to the AI-environmental relation. According to a 2024 research article titled “E-Waste Challenges of Generative Artificial Intelligence,” suggested that AI-generated e-waste can cumulatively hit 1.2 to 5 million tonnes between 2020 and 2030, based on adoption patterns. The research further estimated AI becoming a significant contributor to global e-waste surge unless the present hardware obsolescence is reduced. The relentless cycle of GPU obsolescence, as each hardware generation is superseded by a faster successor, accelerates the generation of electronic waste. Upstream, the extraction of cobalt, lithium, and coltan inflicts ecological damage at the source, often in jurisdictions with weak environmental enforcement. The appropriate unit of legal analysis is therefore not the operating data centre in isolation but the entire chain, from mine to manufacture to deployment to disposal. India occupies a doubly exposed position in this chain. It is simultaneously a fast-growing destination for data centre construction, with hubs emerging around New Town Kolkata and the broader Bengal Silicon Valley corridor, and one of the world’s significant processors of electronic waste, much of it handled in an informal sector with serious consequences for workers and groundwater alike. The country thus bears both the front-end burden of hosting energy- and water-intensive infrastructure and the back-end burden of absorbing the hardware it discards. Any framework that addresses only operational emissions, ignoring the embodied and end-of-life harm, will capture a fraction of the true cost. While India has E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 in place, it was specifically designed to deal with consumer electronics, electrical equipment, and conventional IT hardware. Therefore, it proves insufficient to address AI-related issues like requiring disclosure of AI-related hardware turnover, tracking AI accelerator disposal, imposing environmental reporting obligations on AI developers, and accounting for lifecycle impacts of large-scale AI computation. Thus, AI-generated e-waste often lands in a regulatory blind spot which actually necessitates targeted intervention. PART II: THE LAW AND ITS FAILURES 3. Indian Environmental Law: Structural Inadequacy 3.1 The Constitutional Foundation India’s constitutional environmental jurisprudence is among the most expansive in the world, and it furnishes the strongest available normative basis for AI environmental accountability. In Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to enjoy pollution-free water and air. That guarantee is reinforced by the Directive Principle in Article 48A, which casts a positive legislative duty on the State to protect and improve the environment, and by the fundamental duty in Article 51A(g) binding every citizen to protect the natural environment. Together, these provisions create both a right to be protected from environmental harm and a corresponding obligation upon the State to regulate the sources of that harm. The parallel with privacy is instructive. In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, a nine-judge constitutional bench recognised that fundamental rights can be violated in ways that are invisible, diffuse, and systemic rather than discrete and immediate. AI’s environmental harm shares precisely that character. No single act of pollution is visible to the citizen whose air and water are degraded by the cumulative draw of distant data centres. If the Constitution can reach the invisible architecture of data collection, it can reach the equally invisible architecture of data computation. 3.2 The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 The principal statutory instrument concerning India’s environmental legislation is the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Section 3 of the statute confers on the Central Government broad power to adopt all measures necessary to protect and improve the environment, while Section 7 prohibits the discharge of environmental pollutants in excess of prescribed standards. The difficulty is definitional. The Act considers a “pollutant” as a solid, liquid, or gaseous substance present in a concentration injurious to the environment, and of “environmental pollution” as the presence of such a substance. It is far from clear if the energy overconsumption of a data centre, or the carbon attributable to the grid powering it, fits this frame. The harm of AI is often not a discharge from an identifiable pipe but the aggregate consequence of consumption. The Act was built for physical pollutants emanating from identifiable point sources, and AI infrastructure fits that template only awkwardly. 3.3 The Polluter Pays Principle and Its Limits 3.3A. Sustainable Development as a Governing Principle The polluter pays and absolute liability principles are the doctrinal heart of Indian environmental law. In M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, the Oleum Gas Leak case, the Supreme Court fashioned a rule of absolute liability under which an enterprise engaged in a hazardous or inherently dangerous activity is liable to compensate for harm without the exceptions that qualify the English rule in Rylands v. Fletcher. In Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India, the Court affirmed that the financial burden of remedying environmental degradation falls on the polluter who caused it. In Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v. Union of India, it held that the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle are part of the law of the land. Furthermore, the Vellore Citizens' case has its significance for another reason too. Alongside the polluter pays and precautionary principles, the Supreme Court also considered sustainable development to be an inherent part of India’s environmental jurisprudence. The doctrine discards the myth that economic growth and environmental protection cannot go alongside, and instead suggests that developmental activities need to internalise their environmental costs. Thus, this principle becomes particularly relevant for artificial intelligence. AI systems promise substantial economic and social benefits, yet their supporting infrastructure requires humungous quantities of electrical power, water, and computing hardware. The challenge, therefore, is not whether to develop AI but whether the environmental costs of doing so should be externalised onto communities and ecosystems. Viewed through the lens of sustainable development, environmental disclosure, impact assessment, and resource-efficiency obligations are not obstacles to innovation but the conditions under which innovation remains ecologically legitimate. Now, applying absolute liability principles to AI infrastructure comes with both opportunities and challenges. Contrary to the nature of hazardous industries considered in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, hyperscale data centres apparently do not pose risks of sudden industrial accidents, toxic releases, or catastrophic physical harm. However, their environmental impact arises from continued and extensive consumption of electricity, water, and hardware resources, generating cumulative externalities through carbon emissions, resource depletion, and electronic waste. Still, the rationale underlying the doctrine of absolute liability stays relevant. Large-scale AI infrastructure operators possess substantial control over environmentally consequential activities, while reaping significant economic fruits from them, and are best positioned as monitors and mitigators of the resulting environmental impacts. As environmental harm cascades through patterns of intensive resource consumption rather than discrete pollution events, there is a plausible case to re-examine whether the principles developed in the Oleum Gas case should significantly evolve to deal with the advanced threats of emerging environmentally hazardous activity. The question is not whether AI infrastructure is hazardous in the traditional industrial sense, but rather whether enterprises generating foreseeable and substantial environmental externalities need to be required to bear the costs of those externalities on a no-fault basis. 3.4. Public Trust Doctrine and Its Relevance in the Emerging AI Era While the Polluter Pays Principle can only be applied when pollution has occurred, resulting in quantifiable harm and the polluter is known. However, the principle falls short in dealing with AI-related environmental conflicts, as the harm is cumulative, water consumption is ongoing, and resource depletion usually precedes the occurrence of any obvious environmental damage. The Public Trust Doctrine, having its source in Roman law and developed through American jurisprudence, holds that certain natural and environmental resources are preserved for public utilities. Such resources may be held in trust of the State and include waterbodies, land, forest and wildlife, etc. Coming to Indian environmental jurisprudence, this doctrine was first applied in the landmark case of M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1997), wherein the Supreme Court held that natural resources like rivers and forests, being public property, make the State their trustee and liable for protecting them for public use. The same principle was reiterated in another landmark decision in M.I. Builders Pvt. Ltd. v. Radhey Shyam Sahu (1999), reinforcing the judicial commitment towards protecting environmental resources and preserving public utilities. Having already explained previously and throughout this article about the extensive level of water consumption by AI data centres, the environmental challenge resulting from artificial intelligence is not only about pollution but resource allocation as well. In a country like India, where droughts and water shortage issues are quite common in many regions, the allocation of substantial quantities of freshwater for operating privately owned AI infrastructure raises the constitutional question of whether the State is performing its obligations in the AI era as the trustee as required by the doctrine? 3.5 The National Green Tribunal: Bridge or Destination? The most immediately available vehicle for environmental accountability is the National Green Tribunal. Section 14 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 empowers the Green Tribunal with jurisdiction over all civil cases involving a substantial question relating to the environment, a deliberately broad jurisdictional hook. The Tribunal has developed an activist jurisprudence by asserting suo motu powers, granting expansive standing, and awarding compensation under a polluter pays rationale. A public interest petition before the Tribunal, framed around the environmental compliance of data centres and grounded in the constitutional right to a clean environment, is the first practical step available today, without waiting for Parliament to bring forth special legislation or any amendment to the existing piece. Yet the Tribunal is simply a bridge, not a destination. It can fill gaps case by case and compel disclosure or operational conditions in a particular dispute, but cannot legislate a comprehensive liability regime, set standardised metrics across the sector, or build the administrative architecture that systematic regulation requires. Its proper role is to hold the line and build a factual and legal record while the legislature acts, not to substitute indefinitely for legislation that has not yet been written. 3.6 Corporate Disclosure Frameworks: Why They Fall Short Corporate disclosure law offers a partial entry point. The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting framework has, since the financial year 2022–23, required the thousand largest listed companies by market capitalisation to disclose data on energy, water, and emissions. The framework is detailed, but it contains no metric tailored to computational activity, no measure of energy per training run or water per query, and no mechanism to capture the harm of unlisted operators or foreign developers. The corporate social responsibility regime under Section 135 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 permits environmental expenditure as a qualifying activity, but it is voluntary spending, not liability or accountability. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which governs the very data that AI systems process, embedded no environmental obligation at all, a conspicuous missed opportunity to align data regulation with environmental accountability. 4. The Global Landscape: Nobody Has Solved This 4.1 The EU AI Act: Promised Much, Delivered Little The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act is the most ambitious attempt anywhere to regulate AI, and its environmental provisions are its most disappointing feature. Article 40 directs European standardisation bodies to develop deliverables on reducing the energy and resource consumption of high-risk systems and on the energy-efficient development of general-purpose models, and the technical documentation of such models must include their computational and estimated energy consumption. What the European Parliament originally pressed for was more demanding: mandatory lifecycle assessment and binding sustainability requirements. What survived the trilogue negotiations was a regime of voluntary codes of conduct, deferred standard-setting, and self-assessment whose results need not be published. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive complements the Act by imposing diligence obligations along corporate value chains, and may capture some environmental harm indirectly. Even read together, however, the European framework relies on the goodwill of policymakers to make voluntary standards exacting and on the goodwill of firms to comply with standards that are largely unenforced. It is the high-water mark of global ambition, and it remains structurally inadequate on the environment. 4.2 United States and China: Contrasting Approaches The United States and China illustrate opposite ends of the regulatory spectrum. In the United States, the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024 would have directed the Environmental Protection Agency to study AI’s environmental impacts and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop measurement standards and a voluntary reporting system, but the bill never advanced beyond committee. The most instructive precedent, however, lies not in the United States but in Singapore, which imposed a complete moratorium on new data centre construction from 2019 to 2022 specifically because of energy and land constraints, and restarted approvals only under a regulated, sustainability-conditioned framework. Singapore’s experience demonstrates that binding environmental conditions on data centre development are not merely theoretically achievable but have been successfully implemented by a jurisdiction with comparable levels of digital infrastructure ambition. China, by contrast, operates the most prescriptive existing framework. Under its public-procurement and efficiency standards, the power usage effectiveness of a data centre must fall below 1.4 from June 2023 and below 1.3 from 2025, and the ratio of annual water consumption to IT power consumption must remain under 2.5 litres per kilowatt-hour. Whatever one makes of the political system that produced them, these are binding numerical standards for AI infrastructure. The lesson is unambiguous: enforceable standards are technically and legally achievable. The variable that separates China from the United States is not about capacity but different political will, and China’s tiered efficiency classification offers a concrete template that a country like India could adapt to its own constitutional and administrative setting. 4.3 The Comparative Lesson for India Three conclusions follow from the comparison. First, no jurisdiction has comprehensively solved the problem; India would not be playing catch-up so much as entering an open field. Second, India’s constitutional environmental jurisprudence is more expansive, and its National Green Tribunal more activist, than the comparable institutions of the European Union, the United States, or China, which means India begins with stronger doctrinal foundations than any of them. Third, India’s domestic data centre boom makes action urgent rather than academic: the facilities are being built now, in water-stressed cities, on a coal-heavy grid. India is, on this analysis, uniquely positioned to lead, possessing the constitutional tradition, the judicial machinery, and the pressing domestic need at the same moment. PART III: BUILDING THE ANSWER 5. The Case for a Purpose-Built Framework 5.1 Why Existing Law Cannot Be Stretched Far Enough The argument for a purpose-built framework rests on four gaps that judicial creativity alone cannot close. The first is definitional: the concepts of pollutant, point source, and identifiable harm, on which existing environmental law depends, do not map cleanly onto a harm that is consumptive, distributed, and embodied. The second is jurisdictional: the largest AI developers operate across borders, and national law has limited reach over conduct and supply chains located in other jurisdictions. The third is evidential: the transparency of corporate environmental data, particularly on water, makes liability difficult to establish even where doctrine would otherwise apply. The fourth is institutional: no Indian regulator currently holds a specific mandate over AI’s environmental footprint, leaving authority fragmented and partial. Each gap can be narrowed by litigation, but none can be fully bridged without legislation. Incremental application of existing law is necessary, and it is insufficient. 5.2 The Constitutional Imperative The action case is ultimately a constitutional one. AI’s environmental harm degrades air, water, and climate, and so engages the right to life under Article 21 as construed in Subhash Kumar. The State’s duty under Article 48A to protect and improve the environment is, in this light, a positive obligation to regulate that harm rather than a discretionary aspiration. India’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement commit to reducing the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 and achieving 50% of cumulative electricity from non-fossil sources by the same year; expanding AI data centre capacity on a coal-heavy grid places the State in direct tension with its own internationally declared obligations. The precautionary principle, embedded in Indian law by Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum, instructs that scientific uncertainty about the precise magnitude of harm is not a licence for regulatory inaction. A public interest petition can frame the question directly: whether the State’s failure to regulate the environmental harm of artificial intelligence violates Articles 14, 21, and 48A of the Constitution. So framed, the issue is justiciable today, in the Supreme Court or before the National Green Tribunal. 5.3 The Polluter Pays Principle: A New Formulation for AI The polluter pays principle must be revamped to fit the structure of AI-generated harm. Its traditional formulation presumes an identifiable polluter, an identifiable harm, and a direct causal chain. AI’s harm has none of these in pure form; it is produced by multiple actors through diffuse pathways across global supply chains. The answer is a regime of proportionate liability, in which an operator’s responsibility is calibrated to objective and measurable factors: the computational intensity of the system it runs, its energy consumption above a renewable-energy threshold, its water consumption in water-stressed locations, and the hardware lifecycle and electronic waste it generates. This is best achieved by extending the absolute liability doctrine of M.C. Mehta to large-scale AI infrastructure, treating a hyperscale data centre as an inherently resource-intensive enterprise whose operator bears liability for the environmental harm its operation necessarily entails. Where harm is genuinely diffuse and cannot be attributed to a single operator, joint and several liability across the AI supply chain provides the mechanism to ensure that the cost is borne by those who profit from the activity rather than by the public that suffers its consequences. The doctrine need not be invented; it needs to be adapted. 6. Elements of a Proposed Framework 6.1 Mandatory AI Environmental Impact Assessment The cornerstone of any framework should be a mandatory environmental impact assessment for AI, modelled on the existing Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. Application should be threshold-based, capturing large language models, generative systems, and data centres above a specified computational capacity, so that the burden falls on facilities whose footprint is material. A pre-deployment assessment would require projection of energy consumption, water usage, and hardware lifecycle. Periodic post-deployment reporting would compare actual against projected consumption, subject to independent verification, and the results would be publicly disclosed in a form accessible to citizens, civil society, and the National Green Tribunal. Disclosure is the precondition for every other form of accountability; without it, liability cannot be established, and enforcement cannot begin. 6.2 Regulatory Architecture The present regulatory landscape is fragmented across the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the securities regulator, and the central bank, each holding partial jurisdiction and none holding a complete mandate. The proposal is a dedicated AI Environmental Division within the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, equipped with inspection authority, the power to mandate disclosure, the power to impose penalties, and the power to attach environmental conditions to data centre licences. Such a division would coordinate with the State Pollution Control Boards, which already exercise operational and emissions oversight, and would provide a single locus of responsibility in place of the current diffusion of authority. Clear reporting lines and a defined appeal structure would give the regime both coherence and due process. 6.3 Liability and Enforcement The liability regime should impose strict liability on large-scale AI infrastructure, dispensing with any requirement to prove negligence, consistent with the absolute liability tradition. Extended producer responsibility, already a feature of India’s electronic waste regime, should be applied so that hardware manufacturers remain liable for waste across the lifecycle of their products. Carbon pricing should attach to data centre emissions above the national grid average carbon intensity, a mechanism already partially enabled by the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme established under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022, which provides an existing legislative vehicle for AI-specific carbon obligations without requiring entirely new primary legislation and water tariffs should reflect the true scarcity value of water in stressed locations rather than a subsidised rate that conceals the real cost. Penalties should be structured in tiers, combining financial penalties with operational restrictions and, for repeat violations, licence cancellation, and they should be calibrated to computational scale rather than imposed at a flat rate, so that the largest emitters face the largest consequences. 6.4 Transparency and Disclosure Obligations Transparency obligations should run parallel with liability. Mandatory model cards should include standardised environmental impact data, and large operators should file annual AI environmental impact reports with the regulator on the public record. Metrics should be standardised across the sector, covering energy per query, water per training run, and hardware lifecycle emissions, so that disclosures are comparable rather than idiosyncratic. The application of the Right to Information Act, 2005 to public sector AI deployments should be clarified by legislation, ensuring that citizens can interrogate the environmental cost of AI procured in their name. Employees who disclose environmental violations by AI companies should receive whistleblower protection, recognising that those inside the firm are often the only people with access to the data that opacity otherwise conceals. 6.5 The Interim Role of the NGT Pending legislation, the National Green Tribunal should act as the interim guardian. Suo motu action on data centre environmental compliance is the most immediate step available, and a carefully framed public interest petition, attentive to standing, forum selection, and the constitutional framing of its prayer, can secure interim directions requiring disclosure and imposing operational conditions while Parliament deliberates. Standing under Section 19 of the National Green Tribunal Act is available to persons likely to sustain injury and to representative bodies with a record of environmental work, making environmental NGOs, affected residents near data centre clusters, and public-spirited legal practitioners all potential petitioners without the narrower threshold that applies before civil courts. The jurisprudence the Tribunal develops in the process would supply the factual and legal record on which durable, comprehensive legislation can later be built. The Tribunal cannot be the final answer, but it can ensure that the years before legislation are not years of complete impunity. PART IV: CONCLUSION 7. Conclusion and Recommendations 7.1 Summary of Findings The findings of this article can be stated compactly. AI’s environmental footprint, across energy, water, and waste, is real, rapidly growing, and at present almost entirely unaccounted for in law. Indian environmental law, through the Environment (Protection) Act, the National Green Tribunal Act, the constitutional provisions, and the polluter pays and precautionary principles, supplies a genuine doctrinal foundation but not a complete answer. Global frameworks, including the most ambitious of them in the European Union, have failed to deliver binding environmental accountability for AI. A purpose-built AI environmental liability framework is ultimately necessary; incremental fixes cannot bridge these gaps alone. 7.2 The Central Argument Restated The law has always, eventually, caught up with technologies that cause harm. It caught up with the lead in petrol, asbestos in buildings, and with chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere, in each case after a period of profitable denial during which the harm was known and unaddressed. Artificial intelligence is today’s legally unregulated harm. The only question that matters is whether the law catches up before the damage, to water tables, to a warming climate, to the communities living beside these facilities, becomes irreversible. The history of environmental regulation is a history of belated correction; the opportunity here is to correct early, while correction is still cheap. 7.3 Recommendations The following measures, ordered by instrument and timeline, would together constitute a credible response. Recommendation Instrument Timeline Mandatory AI EIA MoEF Notification under EPA 1986 Immediate AI-specific BRSR disclosure SEBI LODR Amendment Short term Dedicated AI Environmental Division Administrative order, MoEF Short term Strict liability for AI infrastructure NGT PIL / Supreme Court Immediate via litigation Carbon pricing for data centre emissions Finance Act Amendment Medium term Water tariff reform for AI cooling State water policy Short term Extended producer responsibility E-Waste Rules Amendment Short term Mandatory model cards, environmental data MeitY Regulation Short term RTI clarification for public sector AI RTI Act Clarification Immediate AI Environmental Liability Act Primary legislation Long term 7.4 Closing With artificial intelligence becoming an inherent part of socio-economic lifestyle, its environmental impacts need to be considered through the lens of legal accountability. The challenge for India is not the absence of legal principles, but in adapting the existing environmental jurisprudence to a new form of resource-intensive digital infrastructure.

Bataan, Philippines: Renowned educationist, researcher, innovation mentor, and international academic speaker Dr. Pratik Mungekar has been honoured with a Letter of Commendation from Hon. Joet Garcia, Governor of Bataan, in recognition of his exceptional service and significant contributions to Philippine education. The recognition acknowledges Dr. Mungekar’s continued contributions to research, innovation, international academic collaborations, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building initiatives for Filipino students, educators, researchers, and professionals. Dr. Pratik Mungekar Honoured by Governor of Bataan with Letter of Commendation for Exceptional Service to Philippine Education Over the years, Dr. Mungekar has delivered numerous lectures, workshops, training programmes, and Faculty Development Programmes across the Philippines, addressing contemporary and emerging areas including Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Emerging Technologies, Research, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Global Education. His active engagement with Philippine universities and educational institutions has contributed to strengthening India–Philippines academic collaboration, creating opportunities for knowledge sharing, research partnerships, professional development, and international exposure for students and educators. Expressing his gratitude for the recognition, Dr. Pratik Mungekar thanked Hon. Governor Joet Garcia and the Government of Bataan for acknowledging his contribution to Philippine education. “This recognition is not merely an honour; it is a responsibility and an inspiration to continue contributing to education, research, innovation, and international academic collaboration. Knowledge has no boundaries, and meaningful educational partnerships can create lasting impact across nations,” said Dr. Mungekar. Dr. Mungekar has been actively involved in promoting global education, research excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology-enabled learning. His continued academic engagements in the Philippines reflect his commitment to building stronger bridges between institutions and empowering the next generation of learners, educators, and researchers. The recognition is being viewed as a significant acknowledgement of his contribution to Philippine education and India–Philippines academic cooperation, further strengthening the growing relationship between the two countries in education, research, innovation, and knowledge exchange.

The modern marathon is changing—and at the 15th edition of the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon 2026 powered by IDFC FIRST Bank, that evolution was visible not just on the stopwatch, but on the faces of the runners. Among women participants in the Half Marathon and Full Marathon, face glitter, colourful makeup and carefully styled race-day looks emerged as a noticeable trend, adding a fresh dimension to the traditional running experience. For these runners, race day was about more than kilometres, pace and endurance. It was also about personality, confidence, celebration and self-expression. When the Race Course Becomes a Runway For years, marathon culture has revolved around performance—training schedules, running shoes, split times, personal bests and finish-line medals. But a new generation of runners is expanding that definition. The emerging philosophy could be summed up simply: Run Good. Look Good. Feel Good. Chennai-based half marathoners Anantha Sri, Swetha and Anjana, who participated in the Hyderabad race, were among those embracing this spirit. For many women, adding glitter or colourful styling to a race-day look is not simply a fashion statement. It is an expression of confidence and individuality—a way of celebrating the journey that brought them to the starting line. Runners celebrate the completion of a half marathon with medals and glittering face decorations, embodying the vibrant spirit of self-expression on race day. From Running to Creating Memories The evolution extends beyond appearance. Several runners arrived with photographers, videographers and dedicated reel makers, transforming their race-day participation into a visual story. The starting line, the course, the cheering crowds, moments of exhaustion, celebrations and finally the finish-line medal all become chapters in a personal narrative. This is creating a new kind of participant: the content runner. Some runners carry action cameras or smartphones themselves. Others bring photographers or videographers to document their journey from start to finish. The race is no longer experienced only as a sporting event. It is increasingly becoming an experience that is captured, remembered and shared. The Rise of the Content Runner The phenomenon is particularly visible among younger and socially connected participants, for whom running is increasingly intertwined with identity, community and self-expression. A runner can chase a personal best, look their best, record the journey and share the achievement—all during the same race. Technology has naturally followed this evolution. Running essentials that were once largely defined by shoes, apparel and timing watches are now complemented by action cameras, smart wearables, wireless headphones, selfie sticks, hydration accessories and content-creation equipment. The marathon route itself has become both a sporting arena and a backdrop for photographs, reels and personal stories. The medal remains the ultimate physical reward. But for many runners, the memories captured along the way are becoming almost as valuable as the finish-line moment. A New Chapter for India's Running Culture The face-glitter phenomenon may appear to be a small race-day fashion trend, but it reflects a larger evolution in India's running ecosystem. Running is becoming increasingly experiential. Participants are not simply asking, "How fast did I finish?" They are also asking: Who did I run with? How did I feel? What did I experience? What memories did I create? How can I tell that story? This represents a movement from performance-only participation toward experience-led participation. For women in particular, the trend highlights a growing confidence to embrace athleticism and personal style simultaneously. A runner does not have to choose between being competitive and expressive, athletic and glamorous, disciplined and playful. She can be all of them. Beyond the Stopwatch The 15th edition of the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon 2026 offered another glimpse into how India's running culture is evolving. The modern marathon is becoming more than a test of endurance. It is becoming a platform for identity, community and celebration. One runner may be focused on breaking a personal record. Another may be completing her first major race. Someone else may be celebrating a fitness milestone, running alongside friends or simply enjoying the atmosphere. And increasingly, someone may arrive with glitter on her face, a camera in her hand and a story waiting to be told. The finish line remains important. But the experience between the starting gun and the medal ceremony is becoming equally meaningful. The marathon mantra is evolving from "run to finish" to: Run. Experience. Capture. Share. And perhaps the new race-day philosophy is already here: Run Good. Look Good. Feel Good. Capture It. Share It.

ARTICLE BY PARAG BISWAS Political satire, burlesque, and banter have traditionally been very popular in Bengal. Be it the notorious joke about a stout guard dog from East Germany narrating its plight under the totalitarian rule in its country, across the Berlin Wall, to a sick and lean hound from West Germany—hungry but happy in its democratic homeland—or the 1980 Satyajit Ray film, Hirak Rajar Deshe, in which the two magically gifted musician friends, Goopy Gayen and Bagha Bayen, help an exiled teacher overthrow a ruthless tyrant, political satire and allegory—especially against fascism, dictatorship, and authoritarian rule—have always been immensely popular in Bengal. So, when Nrityarambh, an 18-year-old dance institute of the state, opened its two-day annual programme with Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s famous satirical dance-drama, Tasher Desh (The Land of Cards), it was readily lapped up by the large crowd gathered at the Dinabandhu Mancha in Siliguri on August 27. Unlike modern productions of the dance-drama, which frequently incorporate regional and classical movements, including Manipuri mudras, martial Purulia Chhau steps, and contemporary Western styles, the Samaveda presentation, choreographed by the Nrityarambh supremo, Jataveda Sen, chose to stick to the original lyrical and interpretive dance language of Rabindra Nritya—the fluid dance form in which Tagore first performed the dance-drama. Based on the original work of the maestro, in which a prince and his trader friend arrive in a land ruled by rigid cards and strict laws and inspire the people with their rebellious spirit to embrace freedom, the choreography very adeptly contrasted the stiff, two-dimensional, mechanical steps of the card characters with the free-flowing, energetic movements of the visiting prince. The captivating presentation brought out to the full the imagination in Tagore’s masterpiece, which runs wild, and the reality that takes on a surreal twist through the use of a fantasy kingdom of playing cards to satirize societal rigidity, regimentation, and lifeless conformity. The other production, which stole the show, was one of Tagore’s most celebrated romantic dance-dramas, Chitrangada (The Warrior Princess), which tells the story of a warrior princess who transforms herself to win Arjuna’s love, but ultimately learns to seek acceptance for her true self. One of the most exquisite lyrical dance-dramas of Bengal, this Tagore creation, which most eloquently represents the inner conflict between societal expectations of beauty and authentic self-worth, has been performed innumerable times across the globe. But the one staged at the Dinabandhu Mancha in Siliguri on August 27 was special, as it was presented in the traditional style that Tagore had used to transform a brief episode from the Mahabharata into a profound exploration of identity, feminism, and true love. The multi-scene drama, choreographed by Jataveda Sen and presented under the tutelage of Dr Ashmita Ghosh Adhikari and Akash Karmakar by the Bharatanatyam students of the Nrityanjali dance school in Raiganj, took the story and spirit of Tagore’s immortal work as its springboard for a full-length performance featuring a huge, talented cast, gorgeous costumes, and impressive dancing. Though in the play Tagore chose to break away from rigid mythological tropes to champion gender equality and inner worth over physical embellishment, Sen decided to stick to the traditional form as she mesmerised the audience with her incredible choreography. The rest of the two-day programme, the second day of which was held at a major cultural nerve-centre of northeastern India—the Cosmos Atrium in Siliguri—featured over 80 selected dancers of various age groups, as well as ten renowned groups from all over North Bengal. The objective of the two-day dance extravaganza, Sen said, was to offer a platform to aspiring performers of Bharatanatyam, folk dance, Rabindra Nritya, Narul Nritya, Bollywood, and creative dance forms to showcase their talents. “Our main aim was to promote and popularize both traditional and modern dancing. Our programme featured different dance forms, but our main purpose was to acquaint youngsters with our traditional dance forms and their rich heritage,” she said. The chief guest of the programme, noted Indian philanthropist and social activist Mr Ravindra Kumar Jain, who spoke in superlatives about the dancers’ precision, alignment, footwork, and mastery of specific styles, especially Bharatanatyam, during the two-day-long programme, felt that renowned dancing schools in different parts of the country should also come up with similar shows in their respective regions. E.O.M.

Rising actor, model, and dancer Mukul Phate is once again making waves in the entertainment and fashion world, with select photographs from his latest portfolio shoot officially shortlisted for upcoming editions of premier fashion magazines. Combining sharp high-fashion aesthetics with effortless charisma, Mukul’s latest shoot showcases his versatility and growing confidence in front of the camera. The editorial-style photographs capture a distinct blend of sophistication, personality, and contemporary fashion, further establishing his presence in the industry. Mukul’s journey toward the spotlight began early. In 2019, he earned the titles of Mr. Teen India All-Rounder and Mr. Teen India Talented, marking an important milestone in his journey as a young talent. Continuing to expand his presence on the international stage, he was honored as Asia’s Most Handsome Face in 2024 and went on to achieve a world record as the World’s Youngest Beauty Pageant Coach. Since beginning his professional artistic journey in 2021, Mukul has explored multiple creative disciplines, seamlessly moving between dance, commercial modeling, and acting. His ability to adapt across different platforms has helped him build a distinctive identity while opening doors to exciting opportunities in both the fashion and entertainment industries. With high-profile brand collaborations and upcoming screen projects adding to the anticipation around his career, Mukul’s forthcoming magazine features appear to be another significant step in his rapid rise. As fans, fashion followers, and industry observers await the official release of his high-fashion editorial spreads, Mukul Phate continues to carve out his own space as a promising young face to watch in India’s evolving entertainment and fashion landscape.

Some love stories begin with two people finding each other. A Love That Refuses to Stay in the Shadow by Priyanka Agrawal begins with something more intriguing—a woman trying to find herself again. Set against the ambitious and unforgiving backdrop of New York City, the novel follows Katerine Devaney as she arrives in the city carrying the emotional weight of betrayal and scandal. Determined to rebuild her life on her own terms, Katerine focuses on establishing herself as a brilliant litigator. She has learned the hard way that trust can come at a price, and she is determined not to make the same mistake twice. Then she meets Ethan Loughton. Ambitious, enigmatic and powerful, Ethan is also her client. His arrival in Katerine's carefully controlled professional world creates a complication she never anticipated: an attraction that refuses to remain neatly within the boundaries she has established. When Professional Boundaries Meet Personal Desire At the heart of the novel lies a compelling question: What happens when the person you are professionally expected to keep at a distance becomes the person you cannot emotionally ignore? Katerine's professional world is built on facts, evidence, arguments and strategy. In the courtroom, every position requires justification, every decision has consequences, and emotions must take a back seat. But attraction does not operate according to courtroom logic. Desire is uncertain. Vulnerability is unpredictable. And love rarely follows evidence. This contrast gives Katerine and Ethan's relationship much of its dramatic energy. For Katerine, Ethan is not simply a potential romantic partner. He becomes a challenge to the identity she has carefully reconstructed after betrayal. A Romance Built on Emotional Conflict One of the novel's strongest elements is the range of emotions woven into Katerine's journey. Betrayal provides the emotional foundation. Fear influences her instinct to protect herself, while ambition drives her determination to succeed. Attraction gradually complicates the professional distance between her and Ethan, while desire challenges the boundaries she has created. Doubt then enters the picture, forcing Katherine to question whether she can trust not only Ethan but also her own feelings. Eventually, vulnerability and emotional courage become essential. This progression gives the story greater depth than a conventional romance. It becomes a story about what happens after heartbreak—when someone has built their walls so carefully that even genuine affection can begin to feel like a threat. Ethan Loughton: The Disruption Katerine Never Expected Ethan is the kind of character who naturally disrupts Katerine's carefully ordered world. Ambitious, mysterious, powerful and emotionally complicated, he represents everything that can make attraction both exciting and dangerous. As her client, Ethan occupies a position that should demand professional distance. Yet the closer their worlds become, the more difficult it is for Katerine to separate professional responsibility from personal attraction. His importance to the story goes beyond his role as the romantic interest. Ethan forces Katherine to confront parts of herself that she has tried to keep hidden. Sometimes another person does not enter our lives to change them. Sometimes they enter to reveal what we have been hiding from ourselves. A Title That Reflects the Heart of the Story The title, A Love That Refuses to Stay in the Shadow, captures the novel's central emotional conflict. The question is not simply whether Katherine and Ethan will fall in love. It is whether their feelings can survive circumstances, fear, professional boundaries and the wounds of the past. The “shadow” can be understood in several ways: the shadow of betrayal, fear, professional boundaries, self-protection and the emotional life we are sometimes afraid to acknowledge. In that sense, the title represents more than a romantic relationship. It reflects the struggle between hiding from vulnerability and finding the courage to step into the light. Can We Really Start Again? At the heart of Katerine's journey is a question that reaches far beyond romantic fiction: Can we truly build a new life if we allow the experiences of our past to determine what we are willing to risk in the future? Most readers may never find themselves in a New York courtroom with a dangerously compelling client, but many will recognise Katerine's instinct for self-protection. After being hurt, we become cautious. We establish boundaries. We become more analytical. We convince ourselves that emotional distance is a form of strength. Sometimes it is. But sometimes strength means recognising when it is safe to lower those walls. Healing does not necessarily mean forgetting what happened. Sometimes it means refusing to allow what happened to determine what happens next. Romance, Ambition and Suspense in New York The novel brings together romance, ambition, betrayal, professional conflict, attraction and questions of trust, creating a narrative that extends beyond a straightforward love story. Its New York setting complements these themes particularly well. The city becomes a backdrop for ambition, competition, reinvention and the possibility of starting over. Katerine comes to New York intending to rebuild her professional identity. What she does not expect is that rebuilding her life may also require her to reconsider her understanding of trust, intimacy and love. That contradiction is where much of the story's appeal lies. The Question That Stays With the Reader The strongest hook of A Love That Refuses to Stay in the Shadow is therefore not simply: Will Katherine and Ethan fall in love? The more intriguing question is: What will they have to risk to discover whether that love deserves a place in the light? That question gives the romance its emotional stakes. Falling in love can be exciting, but choosing to trust again after betrayal is considerably more difficult. And that is what makes Katherine's journey relatable: the battle is not only about finding another person. It is about finding the courage to believe that a different future is possible. Final Verdict With its 366-page narrative, New York setting, and intriguing combination of litigation and romance, A Love That Refuses to Stay in the Shadow presents a story about attraction while also exploring reinvention, ambition, emotional vulnerability and the courage to trust again. Readers who enjoy literary romance, romantic suspense, emotionally layered relationships, ambitious protagonists, professional-romantic conflicts and stories about healing and starting over may find plenty to appreciate here. Ultimately, the novel leaves readers with a thought that extends well beyond its pages: Sometimes the greatest battle isn't winning someone else's heart. It is convincing your own heart that it is safe to love again. Rating: 4/5 ⭐ Recommended for: Readers who enjoy literary romance, romantic suspense, emotionally layered relationships, ambitious protagonists, professional-romantic conflicts and stories about healing, reinvention and starting over. Book Details Book: A Love That Refuses to Stay in the Shadow: A Fresh Start. A Dangerous City. A Heart She Swore She'd Never Risk Again Author: Priyanka Agrawal Publisher: Notion Press Publication: June 2026 Pages: 366 Formats: Paperback & eBook Where to Buy / Read Paperback: Flipkart, Amazon US, Amazon UK and AbeBooks eBook: Kobo, Google Play Books, Amazon Kindle and Apple Books. Read it, feel it, and discover whether a love that has lived in the shadows can finally step into the light.

Loni, August 21, 2026: With the inspiring message “Small Hands for the Best Future,” Pravara Girls English Medium School (PGEMS), Loni, took a meaningful step towards environmental conservation by organizing a Kitchen Garden Project on Thursday, August 21, 2026. The initiative was designed to give students hands-on experience in gardening while creating awareness about organic farming, nutritious food, healthy lifestyles, and environmental sustainability. Through the activity, students enthusiastically participated in cultivating plants and learned how simple, sustainable practices can make a positive difference in everyday life. The programme was conducted in the presence of Mr. Randhe, Kendrapramukh, Loni Cluster; Mr. Gorakshnath Chavan Sir, Kendra Mukhyadhyapak, Loni; and Mr. Sarjerao Ghodke, Panchayat Samiti, Education Department, Rahata, along with the dedicated staff members of PGEMS. Highlighting the significance of the project, Dr. Renu Patil said that such initiatives help inculcate in students the values of organic farming, healthy eating, and environmental conservation. The project also encouraged students to develop a closer connection with nature and understand the importance of growing fresh and chemical-free food. The initiative was warmly appreciated and supported by Dr. Susmita Vikhe Patil, CEO, Pravara Rural Education Society; Mrs. Leelavati Sarode, Director, School Education; and Dr. Pradeep Dighe, Director, Higher Education and Non-Technical Department. The Kitchen Garden Project stands as a wonderful example of learning beyond the classroom. By nurturing plants with their own hands, PGEMS students are not only growing a garden but also cultivating responsibility, sustainability, and hope for a greener future.

Brunda Manurkar's How We Show Up is a thoughtful exploration of what it truly means to be present—in our personal lives, professional relationships, leadership roles, and communities. Rather than focusing on superficial ideas of success or productivity, the book invites readers to cultivate authenticity, empathy, and intentional action. At its heart, the book suggests that "showing up" is not merely about being physically present. It is about bringing awareness, curiosity, courage, empathy, and compassion into every interaction. One of the book's greatest strengths is its practical and relatable approach. Drawing upon years of experience in facilitation, leadership development, and human-centred learning, Author Brunda presents concepts through real-life examples, reflective exercises, and engaging stories. This makes the book accessible to professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, students, and anyone interested in becoming a more conscious communicator and leader. Core Themes 1. Presence Over Performance The central message emphasises that meaningful impact begins with genuine presence. Author Brunda challenges the tendency to prioritise appearances or outcomes over authentic engagement. She encourages readers to replace the need to impress with the willingness to connect. In a world where visibility is often confused with influence, the book reminds us that being present is much deeper than simply being seen. 2. Self-Awareness as the Foundation The book repeatedly returns to the importance of understanding oneself before attempting to influence others. Reflection, emotional awareness, and recognising personal biases become essential tools for better leadership and healthier relationships. The ability to pause, reflect and understand our own responses can fundamentally change the way we communicate with others. 3. Facilitation as Leadership Instead of presenting leadership simply as authority, the book reframes it as the ability to create spaces where others can think, contribute, participate and grow. This perspective is especially valuable in today's collaborative workplaces, where influence often matters more than hierarchy. Author Brunda demonstrates how creating the right environment can sometimes be more powerful than having all the answers. 4. Listening with Intention A recurring lesson is that listening is an active practice rather than a passive activity. Author Brunda highlights how deep listening can build trust, reduce conflict, encourage diverse perspectives and improve decision-making across teams and communities. In an age where everyone wants to respond quickly, the ability to genuinely listen has become a powerful leadership skill. 5. Courage Through Vulnerability Rather than portraying vulnerability as weakness, the book presents openness and honesty as important elements of meaningful human connection. Leaders who acknowledge uncertainty, ask questions, admit mistakes and invite diverse perspectives can create stronger relationships and greater trust than those who feel compelled to project certainty at all times. Strengths of the Book One of the most impressive aspects of How We Show Up is its balance between theory and practice. Important ideas are accompanied by actionable suggestions that readers can apply in meetings, classrooms, coaching conversations, professional settings or everyday relationships. Another notable strength is the book's human-centred perspective. Instead of offering quick-fix formulas, it encourages sustainable behavioural change rooted in empathy, awareness and reflection. The writing style is conversational without sacrificing depth. Complex ideas around leadership, communication, facilitation and human behaviour are presented in an accessible manner, making the book useful for both experienced professionals and newcomers. The book also reflects contemporary workplace realities, where collaboration, emotional intelligence, inclusion, psychological safety and effective communication are becoming increasingly important characteristics of successful organisations. Key Takeaways - Authentic presence creates stronger relationships than polished performance. - Leadership begins with self-awareness rather than positional authority. - Deep listening can sometimes solve problems before solutions are even proposed. - Facilitation is an essential leadership capability in collaborative environments. - Trust grows when people feel heard, respected and psychologically safe. - Reflection transforms experiences into lasting learning. - Vulnerability can strengthen relationships when expressed with authenticity and purpose. - Small, consistent behaviours can create greater long-term impact than dramatic gestures. - The way we engage with people can be as important as the outcomes we achieve. Areas Where Readers May Want More Readers seeking highly structured frameworks, detailed research citations or quantitative leadership models may find the book intentionally more reflective than academic. Its focus remains on practical wisdom, lived experience, human behaviour and reflection rather than extensive theoretical discussion. Some readers may also wish for additional case studies from a wider range of industries and organisational environments. However, the universal nature of the principles presented makes the lessons broadly applicable. Who Should Read This Book? How We Show Up is particularly valuable for: - Leaders and managers building collaborative teams - HR professionals and learning facilitators - Coaches and mentors - Teachers and educators - Entrepreneurs leading growing organisations - Students preparing for leadership roles - Professionals working in collaborative environments - Anyone seeking deeper personal and professional relationships Why the Book Matters Today The relevance of How We Show Up becomes particularly apparent in today's fast-moving world. Technology has made communication faster, but faster communication does not automatically mean better communication. Organisations are becoming more collaborative, but collaboration does not automatically create connection. People are more visible than ever through digital platforms, yet genuine presence can sometimes feel increasingly rare. Against this backdrop, Author Brunda brings the conversation back to something fundamental: the quality of our human engagement. The book encourages us to consider how we enter a conversation, how we respond to disagreement, how we listen to another person's perspective, how we handle uncertainty and, most importantly, how others experience our presence. Final Verdict How We Show Up is less a traditional leadership manual and more a guide to becoming a more intentional human being. Brunda Manurkar reminds readers that genuine influence comes not from authority, charisma or expertise alone, but from consistently showing up with curiosity, empathy, integrity and purpose. The book's greatest strength lies in its human-first philosophy. It places the person before the position, the relationship before the transaction and presence before performance. In an age defined by distraction, rapid change and increasing complexity, How We Show Up offers a timely reminder that our greatest contribution often lies in how we make others feel seen, heard and valued. Whether read by aspiring leaders, experienced professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, facilitators or individuals seeking personal growth, the book provides insights that extend far beyond the workplace into almost every meaningful human interaction. Ultimately, How We Show Up asks us to look beyond the simple question of what we do and examine the deeper question of how we show up while doing it. That is perhaps the book's most enduring message. Our presence can change a conversation. Our listening can change a relationship. Our leadership can change a team. And sometimes, simply showing up differently can change the outcome entirely. Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.7/5) Reviewer's Note How We Show Up succeeds because it doesn't merely tell readers how to become better leaders—it encourages them to become better people first. That human-first philosophy is what gives the book its enduring relevance and impact. Where to Buy: Amazon: https://amzn.in/d/07IZdrQr Flipkart: https://dl.flipkart.com/s/Tqc3S1uuuN

Pune, August 15, 2026: Ekrang 3.0, a celebration of inclusion, diversity and community, brought together more than 600 people on Independence Day for a day filled with talent, achievement, creativity and meaningful conversations. The event brought together neurodivergent individuals and their families, educators, NGOs, organizations, entrepreneurs and supporters on a common platform to celebrate abilities and create greater awareness around inclusion. The event opened with a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony in the presence of the founders of Ghumakkad and Ahilya, Ms. Soma Gupta; the founders of Aashayein — Ms. Pooja Narang, Ms. Pooja Nahar and Ms. Shilpa; representatives of title sponsor KOVE Early Intervention Centre by KLAY; and Mrs. Anjali Patil from Millennium Semiconductors. Mr. Rajesh and Ms. Danika from KOVE were also present. Mr. Sunil Deshmukh and Dr. Meena Ganorkar supported the event as co-sponsors. A soulful Ganesh Vandana by Anya marked the beginning of the celebrations. One of the key sessions, the Ghumakkad Inclusion Circle, hosted by Ms. Janhavi Ghare, brought together around 60 educators representing nearly 25 organizations. The session provided a platform for parents and educators to exchange ideas and discuss education, inclusion and support systems for children. KOVE also conducted engaging activities during the session, which concluded with the felicitation of participating educators. The Wings of Hope Awards celebrated the achievements and talents of 20 neurodivergent children across different fields. The awards were presented by Chief Guest Lt. Col. Nikhil Pathak, Paralympian and two-time bronze medallist Mr. Bharat Patil, along with representatives from KOVE and Millennium Semiconductors. The recognition highlighted the determination, talent and accomplishments of the young awardees. The Aparajita Awards honoured 20 parents of neurodivergent children for their strength, dedication and unwavering support. The awards were presented in the presence of Chief Guest Mrs. Nisha Ghosh, a well-known literary personality and consultant with The Times of India, along with Bipul Gupta, Prabhav Gupta and Sanskriti Agarwal. Another thought-provoking session, Designing Synergies, hosted by Mrs. Natasha Pilakudy, brought together 15 neurodivergent and neurotypical young people. The participants shared their ideas and perspectives on building a more inclusive future. The session encouraged open dialogue, mutual understanding and collaboration among young people. The Inclusive Family Fashion Show, organised by Ms. Neha Hurkat of Fashion O, with support from Poorva and Bhumi, was among the major attractions of the event. Around 60 children participated alongside their parents, making the show a celebration of families, creativity and confidence. The performances and themes included popular concepts such as Singham and Ganpati celebrations. A special highlight of the fashion show was the participation of Ms. Deepakshi Shringare, Mrs. India Runners-up, who walked the ramp alongside neurodivergent children. Her presence conveyed a powerful message of confidence, acceptance and inclusion. Ms. Shringare also served as the Chief Guest for the Family Fashion Show. The Independence Day celebrations were further enriched by a patriotic performance by the children of The Asha School, which added a special significance to the occasion. A lively flash mob by Club Youngistan, led by Baali Sir, brought energy and excitement to the celebrations. Together, the performances and participation of children and parents transformed the fashion show into a joyful celebration of family, talent and togetherness. The Ahilya Bazaar provided another important platform for empowerment and entrepreneurship. Featuring 20 stalls, the bazaar showcased products created by women entrepreneurs and neurodivergent individuals. NGOs and organisations including Prism Foundation, Nayi Disha, SWABHIMAN and Grip Foundation participated in the initiative. Visitors explored handmade jewellery, bags, rakhis, artwork, crafts and food products, giving them an opportunity to support inclusive entrepreneurship and appreciate the skills and creativity of the participants. The event was hosted by Vinamrata Bhatia, who brought together the various programmes and celebrations throughout the day. With more than 600 attendees and participation from over 40 organisations, Ekrang 3.0 emerged as a meaningful platform for inclusion, awareness and community building. From recognising the achievements of neurodivergent children and supporting their parents to creating opportunities for young people, educators and entrepreneurs, the event showcased the many possibilities that emerge when communities come together. Ekrang continues to grow as a platform where families, educators, organisations and communities can connect, share experiences and create opportunities for a more inclusive society. Ekrang 3.0 was more than an event — it was a celebration of unique abilities, dreams, achievements and the limitless possibilities that inclusion can create.

Mumbai, August 15, 2026: Rising actor Mukul Phate added a touch of glamour to Mumbai’s Independence Day celebrations as he attended the Independence Ride Festival as the chief celebrity guest. The grand event was hosted at the Outlet Mall of India and brought together biking enthusiasts, visitors, and members of the community to celebrate the spirit of the nation. The festival witnessed an energetic turnout, with attendees coming together to mark Independence Day through a celebration that combined patriotism, community spirit, and the passion for biking. Mukul Phate was among the major attractions of the event. The young actor interacted with fans and visitors, creating memorable moments and adding to the excitement surrounding the festivities. His participation in key ceremonial activities further strengthened the celebratory and patriotic atmosphere. The actor’s appearance was warmly received by the gathering, with his presence bringing additional star appeal to an event centred on unity and national pride. His interaction with attendees also allowed fans to meet the rising star in a lively community setting. With enthusiastic participation from biking enthusiasts and the added presence of Mukul Phate, the Independence Ride Festival concluded as a spirited Independence Day celebration, successfully bringing together entertainment, community engagement, and patriotic fervour.