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Steel Fortress

Before You Read This Story On 5 February 2026, near Podewada village in the Maad area of Gadchiroli district, police and C-60 commandos carried out a cordon-and-search operation in which seven Maoist revolutionaries, including three women, were killed. One among them was Loketi Chander, the leader of that guerrilla unit. This is his story. At the time of his death, he was around 63 years old. Many people in Telangana
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అయ్యో రామ!

“ఏమైపోయావురా? నేన్నిన్ను పోల్చుకోలేకపోయాను తెలుసా?” నమ్మలేనట్టు యెగాదిగా చూస్తూ అడిగాడు బట్టతలమనిషి. చింపిరిజుట్టూ గడ్డంతోవున్న మనిషి యేమీ మాట్లాడలేదు. పుసులు కట్టిన అతని లోతు కళ్ళలో తడి. బలహీనంగా వున్నాడు, మాసిన దుస్తుల్లో. కాలాన్ని అందుకోవాలన్నట్టు రైలు దూసుకుపోతోంది. ఇద్దరి మధ్యన నిశ్శబ్దం. బహుశా వాళ్ళు వాళ్ళ బాల్యపు బావుల్లో పడి కొట్టుకుంటున్నట్టున్నారు. తగ్గిన స్లీపర్ కోచ్‌లవల్ల కాస్తంత రద్దీగానే వుంది బోగీ. బట్టతలమనిషి తన వుద్యోగము గురించి చెప్పాడు. ఆతరువాత పిల్లల చదువుల గురించి అలాగే అనుకూలవతయిన భార్య గురించి చెప్పాడు. అన్నిటికీ సమాధానంగా జీవంలేని నవ్వు ముఖంతో చూశాడు చింపిరిజుట్టు గడ్డంమనిషి. “అది అట... యిదట
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Backwardness

The moonlight was bright! Green fields surrounded by rows of coconut trees greeted the comrades who had traveled from afar, easing their fatigue and offering them a pleasing sightas they halted among the sweet limetrees on the village outskirts. The wind blew, frantically trying to extinguish the fire of hunger in their bellies. While everyone else was engrossed in admiring the beautiful scenery and trying to forget their tiredness, Ashokanna
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Collective Grief

‘Chinnamma, here, have just this one idli’, Aruna said to her aunt pleadingly. Kamalamma  shook her head in a way that showed more inability than refusal. Aruna put her arms around her aunt’s shoulders and said, ‘You haven’t eaten since this morning, you must eat.’ ‘No, bidda’, she said, turning away, hiding the tears that were threatening to flow out of her eyes, and rested her head against the seat.
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Tender Hands

It is the courtyard of a police station, which is not like the current ultra-modern hi-tech police station with bright colours and high impenetrable walls. We are talking of a time before somebody with a heart burn blasted it with bombs. It is an old building with tiled veranda and mud coloured walls. The courtyard is surrounded by a four foot high compound wall. Chitti, who was thrown into a
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Diku

The dawn broke. The fragrance of Mahua flowers wafted intoxicatingly from the forest adjoining the village. Reelamala, Maini, and Budhini, activists of the women's organisation, finished their meeting and had to go to another village for the next task in their planned program. They quickly completed their morning routines, packed their bags, and set off. These were villages mostly inhabited by Adivasi people in Jharkhand, located either within or adjacent
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Two Surgeons

Once a decision is made in life, it’s made; there’s no need to think more about it.Just get on with it, whether the decision is a big or small one. But I have this big problem – before making up my mind, I keep goingback and forth a lot. Then,once I’ve decided, I keep having this dilemma whether it’s right or wrong. Take my decision to become a doctor. It
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MEDICAL ‘GUIDE’

A professor, who is an academician, was coming from a neighbouring state to attend a meeting. Crowds of people were eagerly waiting for his arrival. There, he has come at last! The diligent looking, respectable professor was crossing the road, smiling and waving magnificently. But suddenly a motor cycle rode past him at jet speed, pumping a number of bullets into the dignified academician, and he fell down instantly. This
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The flow

What have you decided?“ asked Ravi, looking into her face. “Didn’t I tell you that there is no change in my decision!“ Sobha said looking at the stream flowing at her feet. “Won’t you change your mind?” he pleaded. “No” she said firmly without taking her eyes off the flowing stream. He looked at her with hurt for a few moments. She sat leaning to the left, with her left
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New Education

Sukru stays in an orphanage run by an NGO which is meant exclusively for Madiya Gond children who are orphans. There are fifty such children in it. Sukru is twelve or thirteen years old. You should listen to Sukru’s story in his own words. His eyes blaze with anger whenever he tells his story. So, let’s hear what he has to say.                                                                                                 ***** Our lives prior to the