
Opinion: Ayodhya Verdict...
On the 9th of November 2019, a five member panel led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) of the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment in the Ayodhya land dispute case. The bench unanimously ruled in favor of the Ram Janmabhoomi. It rested the title to the 2.77 acre plot of contested land with the deity Ram Lalla (Infant Ram) and vested its guardianship with a trust to be set up within three months by the central government. The Hindus can now build their much coveted Ram Mandir on the site. The judges instructed the central and UP state government to give a 5 acre...[By Philip Mudartha]

Our economic slowdown: the government is in denial
After a month or two of living in denial, the Modi government seems to have grudgingly accepted that our national economy has slowed down. Our Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitaraman has held, at the behest of tough taskmaster and No.2 in the government packing order, Home Minister (HM) Amit Shah, several pressers last week, to announce a slew of measures intended to revive public consumption and investment...[By Philip Mudartha]

Udupi/MāBelle: Feast of Nativity of Mother Mary (Monthi Festh) Celebrated with Devotion and Joy
Devotion and joy marked the celebration of the nativity of Mother Mary, popularly known as āMonthi Festhā in the Karnataka Coastal region on Sunday, 8 September 2019 in all churches. Children in their finest of dresses carrying flowers could be seen with broad smiles and happiness. The service associated with the celebration of the birthday of Mother Mary commenced in St. Lawrence Church, Moodubelle at 8am with parishioners gathering in front of the Grotto. Gurkars of different wards carried bundles of new paddy and stood in two lines in front of the Grotto. Monthi Feast celebrations around the world
Travelogue: Group Tour to enchanting former Russian countries Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
A group of 25 senior citizens Tour was organized by well known travel company - Veena World to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. Our tour manager, Vivek Kochrikar under his guidance and each country we visited local guide..

Travelogue: Living in the boat houses-An Experience to Remember
Netherlands is my most favorite destination on work as well as leisure for the past 25 years having been there two dozen times mostly on work and other times on family holidays. Last month, I had been there with my wife and son on the way to Budapest. I had booked the boat house few weeks in advance for two days.ā Asile Flottantā is a 6 boat cluster hotel. Though it was bit expensive, experience was worth it...[By Ronald Saby]

Responsible Parenting, Spoilt Brats & what ought not to be done
Every so often one comes across a child who displays such brashness and disregard for othersā feelings that one cannot but think: āthat kid is a spoilt brat!ā The numbers of such spoilt brats are steadily on the rise. Parents are unsure how to raise them and let them grow like wild weeds. Usually, parents will not take responsibility for their childrenās brash behavior but I am going to recount a story of a mother...[By Philip Mudartha]

Back to Bellevision: A journey through diabetes, and neuro-illnesses
If you had heard about my ill-health, you had heard correctly. I was suffering from hard breathing, and breathlessness while walking daily in the morning in the nearby garden. I could not climb stairs at all. I was worried that I may die soon. Driven by worry, my fasting blood sugar skyrocketed to above 300 mg/dl. I constantly thought of the killer disease. The more I worried, the more it pushed me deeper into depression. I couldnāt sleep; I used to wake up in the middle...[By Philip Mudartha]

The Heart-wrenching story of Kumpala Selen Preethi Pinto
A mind-boggling news story of our gem from a remote village, Kumpala near Deralakatte in Mangalore (South) talukas of Dakshina Kannada district came to light through a Face Book story by Louis Pinto. I was stunned that the story of an extremely intelligent teenager from the coastal districts had gone unreported in any of the stateās, regionās , and local news media, the TV and radio stations, the news papers and a multitude of websites...[By Philip Mudartha]

Will Narendra Modi come back as Prime Minister?
The general elections to the 17th Lok Sabha have been announced. The Election Commission (EC) has scheduled them to commence on April 11 and end on May 19. The voting will be held in 7 phases, due to the special security needs of the country. The vote counting will take place on May 23 and the results will be announced..[By Philip Mudartha]

The Fourth Commandment: Honor thy Father and Mother
After the three basic commandments concerning the just relationship to honor oneās father and mother, the Decalogue contemplates at once the whole gamut of filial relations. It captures concisely the spirit of filial relation and obligations in that single phrase: Honor thy father and mother. This commandment while concerning oneās own parents can and must include more broadly, any physical, moral, intellectual or spiritual authority to which a person... [By Philip Mudartha]

Social Environment as the Nursery of a Personās Upbringingā¦.
Every human being is born in a family. Traditionally, a family meant husband and wife, at least, besides parents, in-laws, siblings, children and so on. Now-a-days, even though the traditional sense is retained to a certain extent, situations like single parents and separations have become common.Despite all this, it still makes sense to say that every human being is born in a family. This family not only brings up the child into existence, but also nurtures him or her physically, socially,...[By Philip Mudartha]

The joy of growing plants and flowers at home!!
To my mind there is no spot of ground however arid, bare or ugly, that cannot be tamed into such a state as may give an impression of beauty and delight. As an English proverb that says, if you want to be happy for a year plant a garden. A garden requires patient labour and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. Itās true that I have a wide range...[By Francis Saldanha]

Udupi/MāBelle: St. Lawrence Community Hall-Souharda Soudha Inaugurated and Dedicated to the People
A landmark was created in the History of Moodubelle as the beautifully constructed magnificent Community Hall-Souharda Soudha was inaugurated, blessed and dedicated to the people jointly by Most Rev. Dr. Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi Diocese and Most Rev. Dr. Albert DāSouza, Archbishop of Archdiocese of Agra and native of Moodubelle in the presence of a large number of priests, religious, parishioners and the villagers of Mooddubelle on Sunday, 2 December 2018. The inauguration and blessing of the Community Hall was preceded by solemn thanksgiving mass..

Udupi/MāBelle: Dream Project-St. Lawrence Parish Community Hall To Be Inaugurated and Blessed on Sunday, 2 December
The dream project of St. Lawrence Parish, Moodubelle, the ultra-modern, spacious and elegant Community Hall will be inaugurated on Sunday, 2 December 2018 in the presence of two Bishops, priests, religious, parishioners and villagers.The inauguration function will precede by a solemn Thanksgiving Mass at 10 am offered by Most Rev. Dr. Gerlad Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi Diocese as the main celebrant along with Most Rev. Dr. Albert DāSouza, Archbishop of Agra..

Udupi/MāBelle: Aloy Qatar Champions and Tatasky-LIC Runners Up of Lawrencian State Level Volleyball Tournament
Following the inauguration function at 8 pm on Saturday, 17 November 2918 and trial match, regular knock out matches commenced from 10.30 pm. A large number of spectators witnessed some of the exciting matches between different teams. Eventually four teams tried their luck for final in semi final duel. The first semi-final was between ACT Dubai and Tatasky-LIC in which Tatasky-LIC emerged victorious with 2-0 result. In the second semi-final between Aloy Qatar and Family Friends, Aloy Qatar were victorious with 2-1 scores.