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New Delhi: Self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, accused of sexually harassing 17 women students at a private institute in Delhi, was arrested from Agra early on Sunday, Delhi Police said.As per a PTI report, the police traced the 62-year-old Saraswati to Agra following a tip-off. He was apprehended from a hotel late at night, and the Delhi Police team has returned to the city to produce him in court later today.Earlier, police froze Rs 8 crore linked to Saraswati, which was held across multiple bank accounts and fixed deposits.According to the FIR, Saraswati, a former chairman of the management institute in southwest Delhi, allegedly forced female students to visit his quarters late at night and sent them inappropriate text messages at odd hours. He is also accused of keeping track of the students’ movements through his phone.Saraswati faces charges of molesting female students pursuing PGDM courses under the EWS scholarship and forgery. Delhi Police are continuing their investigation into the case.Inputs from PTI

When Shaju R , the chief technology officer at DCUBE Ai, a Thiruvananthapuram-based company providing software solutions, felt a creeping sense of burnout, he did not turn to ChatGPT for answers. The 45-year-old looked to something ancient and rooted in his land—the martial art form called kalaripayattu.Shaju, who has spent over two decades in the high-pressure world of IT, says long hours, poor posture and stress had all taken a toll on him, physically and mentally. Gym did not seem inviting any longer, thanks to recurring back pain and a frustrating plateau in fitness. That’s when kalarippayattu swung into his ken as he saw his children perform the basics.His kids had recently enrolled in a local kalaripayattu class. Intrigued by its blend of movement, discipline and heritage, Shaju decided to give it a try. He signed up for Nalludal, a wellness programme rooted in kalari practice run by Agasthyam Kalari in Thiruvananthapuram, and he found himself moving with a purpose that no gym equipment had ever given him.Shaju recently cycled over 60 km from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam. “Kalari has given me the confidence to return to marathon running, too. At 45, I feel better than I did at 35,” he says. Now, he practises kalari thrice a week and, on other days, he repeats the sequences at home. It does not require any equipment; all it needs is presence and commitment. For a man who travels constantly, this portability is everything.More than fitness gains like better posture, reduced back pain and improved flexibility, Shaju says kalari has given him something else: clarity and calm. “It has helped reduce sleepless nights, lowered stress and built resilience. The focus kalari demands trains your mind to stay anchored in your body,” he says.Shaju is not an outlier. Across the country, busy professionals, wellness seekers and cultural enthusiasts are turning to traditional Indian martial arts and practices for something the gym never promised: a sense of wholeness.STICK SHIFT Anita Pradhan (name changed), a legal head at a Delhi-based automotive firm, has always been health-conscious. The 50-yearold packed her days with gym sessions, yoga and walks. “But I wanted something more visceral. Something that combined movement with purpose and self-defence,” she says.124186567A corporate wellness workshop introduced her to silambam, a martial artform of Tamil Nadu that uses a bamboo staff. What began as a curiosity soon grew into a passion.“Silambam is rhythmic, technical and beautifully challenging. It is unlike anything I have done before,” says Pradhan. She increased her martial arts sessions while keeping the gym routines for strength and cardio. The combination has worked for her. “My shoulder and core strength have improved, my back is healthier and my focus has sharpened. Stick work demands precision and attention. It’s a moving meditation.”Her martial arts journey hasn’t just made her physically stronger; she says it has improved her decision-making skills in highstakes boardroom scenarios. “It has taught me to stay calm in crisis. Martial arts discipline spills over into sleep, diet and stress management,” she adds.Keshav Raghavender, founder of KSR Silambam Studio in Chennai, says, “When the stick rotates near your body, your brain sharpens, stress melts.” He has students from all age groups, practising freestyle and combat Silambam.Meanwhile, Shyam Mohan, a retired aerospace engineer from ISRO, has gone back to kalaripayattu. As a teenager, he had trained in Thekkan Kalari or southern kalari, practised in the southern parts of Kerala. But it got sidelined in the rush of life and work. At 60, he returned. While he has been unable to join a gym due to his erratic travel, he can practise kalari on the move. “Kalari sessions today are adapted to age and ability,” he says. “At the end of every session, I feel alive.”Many people are taking up martial arts not as replacement for gyms, but as effective complements. In this hybrid fitness routine, kalari is for mobility, coordination and focus, and weights for strength and endurance. The new professional wants muscles and balance.The founder of a Mumbai-based stockbroking firm, who trains in kalari and requests anonymity for the story, says: “Our corporate roles are demanding. Kalari gives me mental clarity, discipline and a break from screens. It keeps me from burning out.”S Mahesh, the gurukkal at Agasthyam Kalari, says: “Kalaripayattu is not just a combat system. It aligns body, breath, mind and life force. Each of its movements comes from nature—the lion, the serpent, the elephant. It is both destructive and healing.” Kalari is interwoven with healing traditions like ayurveda and siddha. “The same hands that strike can also heal,” says Mahesh.Agasthyam Kalari says it has trained more than 12,000 girls in self-defence in its programmes like Shakthi. POLE POSTURES Among the traditional practices that are seeing a resurgence is mallakhamb, in which postures are performed using a pole and a rope. Once confined to Maharashtra, this rather strenuous activity is now practised almost across the country.Uday Deshpande, who won the Padma Shri in 2024, heads the Shree Samarth Vyayam Mandir in Mumbai. He has trained thousands, including the visually impaired. Deshpande says mallakhamb is used in blind schools as it can develop strength, balance, body awareness, confidence and independence, and does not require visual inputs.Gatka, a martial tradition associated with Sikh warriors, is also finding new ground. “It’s self-defence, it’s identity, it’s discipline,” says Harjeet Singh Grewal, president, National Gatka Association of India.Meanwhile, in urban India, games associated with Mangalagaur, a festival celebrated by married women in Maharashtra, are returning as fitness dance sessions. Groups like Parampara, led by Uma Himani, bring games like phugdi and lezim to apartment complexes, promising improved stamina and flexibility.Boutique resorts like CGH Earth train their massage therapists in kalaripayattu. “It improves body awareness during massage and aligns mind and breath,” says Dr Jayan Pandaraparambil of Kalari Kovilakom, CGH Earth’s ayurvedic hospital in Palakkad.Fitness expert Leena Mogre explains the appeal: “While gyms target muscle groups, martial arts build total body fitness, emotional balance and cultural connection.”LOCKED IN TIME Yet Indian martial arts haven’t achieved global recognition like karate or taekwondo. Experts blame colonialism, lack of centralisation and limited portrayal in pop culture. Also, unlike East Asia’s martial diplomacy, India underinvested in showcasing its ancient systems, says Grewal. While Israel’s Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu became popular, Indian arts were seen as ritualistic or esoteric, despite their battlefield origins.That’s changing. But their popularity is still largely confined to the regions where they originated from. The primary barrier to wider adoption is accessibility. Unlike gyms and yoga studios, training centres for martial arts are very few.A CEO at a consultancy firm, who took up mallakhamb for three months, says: “I loved it. But when my job moved away from the training centre, I had to give it up.”However, Agasthyam Kalari, with Milind Soman as brand ambassador, aims to take the martial art nationwide. “Kalari is the mother of all martial arts. Anyone who tries it will feel the transformation,” says Soman.As more training centres open and as Indians, from children to CXOs, warm up to these ancient workouts, the future of Indian fitness may well lie in its past.Why People Are Taking Up Martial ArtsDesire for Holistic Wellness: Martial arts integrate breath, movement and mindfulness.Burnout & Mental Fatigue: Demanding careers are pushing people toward practices that offer more than physical benefits.Cultural Curiosity: Growing pride in indigenous traditions, amplified by initiatives like Khelo IndiaAccessibility & Adaptability: Many martial arts -- kalari, mallakhamb, silambam, mudgal—can be practiced with minimal equipment and anywhere.

The new US Gold Card programme that promises a quick pathway to US residency has seen significant interest from Indians, after the Trump administration imposed a steep $100,000 one-time fee on the popular non-immigrant H-1B visas.Immigration firms said they are now getting 30-40% more enquiries from Indians, especially the wealthy, about the Gold Card programme.Individuals can purchase the Gold Card for $1 million. President Donald Trump, who has been talking about introducing the programme since his inauguration earlier this year, signed an executive order on September 19, bringing it into effect.124186092"Interest has gone up sharply since the H-1B revisions," said Sahil Nyati, founder of immigration consultancy Jinee Green Card & Meritmap.ai. Most of the enquiries are from mid-career tech professionals who are in their 30s-40s with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) backgrounds, he said.The Gold Card is structured around a non-refundable $1 million "gift" to the US Treasury, or $2 million via corporate sponsorship. The US government framed this not as an investment-based visa like EB5, but as a contribution toward American industry and commerce, according to experts.Trump followed up on the Gold Card programme with an unexpected announcement increasing the fee for the H-1B visa programme for skilled foreign workers to a flat $100,000. The fee previously was $2,000-5,000, depending on the size of the company that sponsored the visa. Indians are the most affected by the H-1B fee hike."In our own practice, conversations referencing the Gold Card are up around 40% this week compared with a normal week, mainly from individuals who were originally considering H-1B or EB-5," said Sukanya Raman, country head at immigration firm Davies & Associates.Official statistics on the number of Gold Card enquiries and applications are not yet available. But US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick claimed that there have already been about a quarter million expressions of interest, according to Rohit Jain, managing partner at Singhania & Co."Our Immigration law teams are noticing a surge in queries from potential clients, particularly corporations, since the announcement of a steep hike in H-1B fees," he said.Prachi Shah, who runs an eponymous law firm, however, said the interest in the Gold Card among the South Asian client base is low. "This is primarily due to the significant investment requirements and the perception that the Gold Card demands a non-refundable $1 million commitment."Immigration lawyers are also seeing some Indians warming up to other countries instead of the US due to Washinton making immigration visas more expensive and difficult to get.In addition to the Gold Card, the US government is also looking at launching the 'Trump Platinum Card', which will require a $5 million contribution to get a residency permit.

The ministry of road transport and highways has mandated all new private and commercial electric vehicles to be fitted with Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) with effect from October 1, 2026 while the existing models will have time till October 1, 2027 to fit AVAS. The move is aimed at alerting pedestrians about approaching EVs which do not emit any sound and sometimes result in accidents. “On and after 1st October 2026 in case of new models and 1st October 2027 in case of existing models, electrified vehicles of category M and N shall be fitted with Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) meeting requirements with regard to audibility,” the ministry said in a draft notification.An Acoustic Vehicle Alert System (AVAS) is a safety feature in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids that emits sounds to alert pedestrians and other road users to their presence.Since EVs are significantly quieter than traditional vehicles, AVAS uses external speakers to produce an audible warning sound that varies with speed, enhancing pedestrian safety, particularly at low speeds and in reverse.Electrified vehicles of Category M include electric cars and buses designed for passenger transport, while Category N vehicles are electric-powered trucks and goods vehicles used for transporting cargo.As per the draft notification, this would also apply to electric three-wheelers, E-risckshaw and E-cart.Countries like the US, Japan and some of the European Union nations have already mandated uses of AVAS in hybrid vehicles.