Firstpost Editor's Picks: Kanaka Durga's life post entering Sabarimala, gender bias, unemployment in Uttarakhand; today's must-read stories

**‘Miss my children’: Kanaka Durga, woman who entered Sabarimala, says she is not afraid of fighting for just cause** Ostracised by her relatives and neighbours, the 39-year-old woman has been living like a prisoner in her house, surrounded by a posse of police personnel deputed by the state government for her security. Durga, who has etched her name in the history as one of the first two women to enter the forbidden temple for the first time after the apex court lifted the ban on women of childbearing age on 28 September, is not disheartened by the backlash. The woman, who was lauded for the courage she displayed in defying the violent protests, is gearing up for another battle to regain her normal life with her husband and children. Durga, who works with the state-owned civil supplies corporation, shares her travails with Firstpost in this exclusive interview. Bachendri Pal's ascent of Mount Everest was just a stepping stone in her endeavour to touch people's lives positively Though the first basic mountaineering course had been conducted by the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in 1962, it was only now, 22 years later, that a plan had materialised to put Indian women on the mountaineering map. In 1965, a team led by Captain MS Kohli had put the first Indians on top of Everest. Three years before Pal climbed Everest, the first Indian women had made it to the summit of Nanda Devi – the highest mountain, completely in Indian territory. The time then was ripe to take on Everest yet again. 'Let's go see Agasthya' Part 2: Atop a Kerala peak, women reflect on what it takes to dismantle gender bias In the 2017 meeting with forest officials and the tribe leaders, the activists pressured the ministry further beyond their proposal to sanction access till Athirumala. Finally agreeing to waive off the exclusionary regulation, the ministry guaranteed that it would facilitate trekking for women that very year, in 2017. From the Agastya Ne Kaanam group, 51 participants were committed registrations to undertake the trip on 24 February 2017 (a day after the termination of the same year’s official trekking season). From 4-BHK mansion in hills of Uttarakhand to a 1-RK flat in Dehradun: State’s unemployed youth forced to move to plains This story of abandonment is one which is seen in every other house in Rautu Ki Beli. According to the 2011 census, the village, that falls in the Dhanaulti tehsil of Tehri Garhwal district was home to 1,116 people who live in its 182 houses. Today, about 20 families remain. In the last decade, the young of the village, especially the men, have left it in search of work. “A war is being waged on the village,” say its elders. How Rajinikanth's Petta and Ajith's Viswasam steered Tamil film industry to a historic box-office period Petta vs Viswasam was the first ever clash between Superstar Rajinikanth and Thala Ajith at the box-office, and the results at the ticket window have been extremely heartening for both sides. It’s been exactly 30 days since both films saw the light of day on 10 January, the long extended weekend of Pongal holidays, and set the cash registers ringing. As of now, the combined theatrical sales of Petta and Viswasam stand at a whopping Rs 235 cr in Tamil Nadu. In fact, more than Rs 200 cr of the revenue from both films have come from the 22 odd days in January alone.