Brought into the market by local concern Saransh Ads, the eight poems on offer have been translated by Dr. Arvind Lele. There is also a piece on Atal Behari Vajpayee by Lele himself, titled Tya Uncha Parvatachi Kholi Athaang Aahe. Set to music by Shrinivas Keskar, the poems have been sung by Suresh Wadkar.

The opening poem, Geet Nave Gaato Mi, takes you back two decades, to the times when the country was just emerging from the constraints of Emergency and feeling its way about again. Another appeals to the collective conscience with its clarion call Ya Ho Phirooni Deep Chetavu, urging people towards a new beginning. Will the literary message inspire a political result?

Space-hunting!
Is there life in outer space? Are extra-terrestrials trying to contact us? The best possible answers can perhaps be found at the Giant Metre radio Telescope (GMRT), Narayangaon, 80 km. from Pune. This telescope investigates problems ranging from the nearby solar system to the distant edge of observable universe.

And MITEEH, a Pune-based event management organisation, has teamed up with the National Centre of Radio Astrophysics to take field trips from Pune to Narayangaon on April 17 and May 1, 15 and 29.

The trip, which will cost Rs. 150 (including lunch), will also comprise an hour-long show organised by the scientists of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Only 100 people are allowed at one time, so make sure you don't miss the bus. You can drop in at the Vedanta Business Centre, Deccan Gymkhana or contact MITEEH for your bookings.

Ties that bind
``He has been a kind of father figure to all of us. He has helped us in our studies and guided us,'' says Praveen More, a Ph.d student, about 63-year-old Kushal Bhatia. For students like him who have come from outside Pune, the old gentleman, who stays on the University of Pune campus, acted as friend and philosopher.

After an accident on March 29, in which he sustained multiple fractures and a hipbone dislocation, Bhatia was transferred to the Sassoon General Hospital where the students take turns to look after him. ``Nobody knows much about him except that he probably lost his family during the partition and came to the university as a student. He has studied philosophy, psychology, law and English. He also gives English tuitions to foreign students,'' says Shardul Thakur, a student of English.

Along with Thakur and Bhagwan Sahu, another student, More has undertaken a fund-raising drive among post-graduate students at the university. ``We plan to collect enough to tide over the operation costs and medical expenses,'' says More.

``These students are my family now. I don't know how I will be able to repay their kindness,'' says Bhatia. The heartening sight of students looking after the old gentleman - family in the true sense!