The Indian Panorama

Month: June 2014

  • PREITY ZINTA BACK TO WORK

    PREITY ZINTA BACK TO WORK

    Finally it seems to be a happy ending for the ‘Happy Ending’ team which were left in the lurch when Preity Zinta suddenly left for Los Angeles after filing an FIR accusing her former boyfriend Ness Wadia of abuse. The actress has a cameo in the film which also features Saif Ali Khan, Ileana’D’Cruz and Kalki Koechlin in the lead roles.

    Preity shot some of her portions in LA early this year but some of her scenes are yet to be filmed. Revealed a source, “The producers were worried for the actress and also their film as they couldn’t chalk out their next schedule.” But now that she’s back in town, director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK are relieved. Preity got in touch with them a few days ago and allotted a chunk of dates in the first week of July so they could complete the shoot.

  • SONAM KAPOOR ASKED TO LOSE EIGHT KILOS FOR SALMAN KHAN

    SONAM KAPOOR ASKED TO LOSE EIGHT KILOS FOR SALMAN KHAN

    For the Arbaaz Khan-produced ‘Dolly Ki Doli’, Sonam Kapoor, who plays a curvaceous Punjabi kudi, had to put on a few extra kilos. But now the actresss has to lose between six-eight kilos before she can romance Salman Khan in Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’.

    Fortunately for the actress, she doesn’t have to go on a starvation diet. She can eat everything—chicken, fish and salads—in moderation. She takes small meals ever two hours. And that’s not all. Her personal trainer Radhika Karle reveals that besides doing pilates and 45-minutes of cardio, Sonam is also undergoing ‘interval training’.

    “It’s a high intensity workout regime that will tone her down,” she explains. As Sonam starts shooting in July, she will travel with her gym equipment so as not to disrupt her workout regimen. “Soon, we will also begin swimming exercises,” says Radhika who’s trying to fight Sonam’s sweet tooth.

  • Hafiz Saeed slams ‘terror’ label for Jamat-ud-Dawa, says it serves people

    Hafiz Saeed slams ‘terror’ label for Jamat-ud-Dawa, says it serves people

    LAHORE, PAKISTAN (TIP): The leader of a Pakistani Islamist organization that was labeled a terror group and slapped with economic sanctions by the United States denied having any links to militancy on June 26 and vowed to hold protests. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is chief of Jamat-ud-Dawa (Organisation for Preaching), insisted his group was a charity and not a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant outfit which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has no link whatsoever with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is a resistance wing in Kashmir,” he told a press conference in the eastern city of Lahore.

    “It is an independent Pakistani organization taking part in the promotion of education and relief operations. It is only serving the Pakistani people,” added Saeed. JuD is listed as an alias of LeT by the United Nations, which has also labelled Saeed an abettor of Al Qaeda and brought sanctions on him, though he has never been convicted of a crime inside Pakistan. Apart from the Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people, LeT is active against Indian forces in Kashmir and was blamed for an attack on the Indian consul in Herat, Afghanistan in May. The US State Department announced the amendments to its Foreign Terrorist Organization list on Tuesday, where it also listed three further groups as fronts for LeT and brought sanctions against two more LeT operatives.

    The US Treasury said Nazir Ahmad Chaudhry, one of the two hit with sanctions, has been a senior leader and strategist for LeT since the early 2000s, while the second, Muhammad Hussein Gill, is an LeT founder and its chief financial officer. Saeed, 64, produced both men in front of the media and vowed to protest the decisions against them. “The designation of two JuD members is condemnable and we will hold protest rallies against the decision on Friday.

    “Americans don’t have any independent thought… they are stupid. They have been unleashing a negative propaganda campaign against us at the behest of India,” he added.A foreign office spokeswoman said the US sanctions would have no bearing any Pakistani response. “An action by any state individually does not have any bearing or obligations on Pakistan,” she said.

  • ANGELINA JOLIE NOT RETIRING COMPLETELY FROM HOLLYWOOD

    ANGELINA JOLIE NOT RETIRING COMPLETELY FROM HOLLYWOOD

    Angelina Jolie insists she has no plans to retire ”completely.” The Oscar-winning actress – who previously hinted she is preparing to step away from her career in front of the camera to focus on her other passions, including her humanitarian work – plans to be much more selective, but will continue to take on roles that challenge her.

    The 38-year-old star told reporters at a press conference in Japan ahead of the Tokyo premiere of ‘Maleficent’: ”I’m not retiring completely, but I’m going to focus more on my writing, directing and my humanitarian work, so I will do less films and hopefully that will also make it possible to be very selective and do a few I feel really compelled to do.

    But I will be doing much less.” Earlier this month, the brunette beauty, who is engaged to Brad Pitt, suggested her role in an upcoming movie about Cleopatra could be her last. She confessed: ”That’s where you finish, in a great way. You kind of go, ‘What could you do beyond that one?’ Put it all into that one.”

  • Shots fired at Pak plane while landing in Peshawar, 1 killed

    Shots fired at Pak plane while landing in Peshawar, 1 killed

    PESHAWAR (TIP): One person was killed and two others injured when shots were fired at a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane landing at the Peshawar airport on June 22 night. The shots were fired at the Boeing flight PK756 carrying nearly 180 passengers from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to Peshawar, PIA spokesman Mashood Tajwar told PTI. “I can confirm two people were injured — a steward and a woman passengers,” he said.

    But news channels reported that the woman had expired while two others on the flight were injured. Tajwar said engineers were inspecting the airplane after it landed safely and passengers were evacuated.”They were 178 passengers besides crew members on the flight,” Tajwar added.A police official said the shots could have been fired from a nearby residential area which is close to the airport. “We have to see whether the plane was targeted or whether it was hit by bullets from aerial firing which is common in these areas,” he added.

  • CINDY CRAWFORD TO RELEASE HER ‘HYBRID BOOK’ IN 2015

    CINDY CRAWFORD TO RELEASE HER ‘HYBRID BOOK’ IN 2015

    Super model Cindy Crawford will unveil a book, which is not a biography. The 48-year-old’s book will be published by Rizzoli, reports femalefirst.co.uk. She said: “It’s not just a coffeetable book with images, although that will be part of it.

    It’s not a biography. It’s sort of a hybrid book.” “It’ll come out in the fall before I turn 50, so it’s kind of a way to celebrate 50 as opposed to dreading it,” she added. She was named as the world’s highest paid supermodel in Forbes magazine in 1995 and has featured in campaigns for brands such as Versace and Omega watches.

    She also has a number of her own product ranges, including a skincare line titled Meaningful Beauty.

  • Nepal PM diagnosed with tuberculosis: Party spokesman

    Nepal PM diagnosed with tuberculosis: Party spokesman

    KATHMANDU (TIP): US doctors treating Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala have ruled out lung cancer and diagnosed the 75-year-old with tuberculosis, a spokesman for the premier’s Nepali Congress party said on June 26. Koirala travelled to New York’s Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center last week for treatment after routine tests showed up a spot on his lungs, prompting cancer fears.

    “The doctors have diagnosed the PM with tuberculosis, not cancer, and have told him that it can be cured quite easily,” said Dilendra Prasad Badu, spokesman for the ruling Nepali Congress party. “I spoke to the PM today, he is feeling good and expects to be back in Nepal within a week to ten days,” Badu told AFP in Kathmandu. Koirala, who was a habitual cigarette smoker until he was diagnosed with tongue cancer eight years ago, will undergo radiation treatment to prevent a recurrence of that illness before returning to Nepal, Badu said.

    The prime minister, who heads the Nepali Congress, took office in February after winning elections on a pledge to deliver a long-delayed constitution to the Himalayan nation within a year.

  • Chef Cast:

    Chef Cast:

    Cast: Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Dustin
    Hoffmann, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Robert Downey
    Jr., Scarlett Johansson
    Direction: Jon Favreau
    Genre: Comedy
    Duration: 2 hours

    Story: A chef in a fancy restaurant is removed from his job one day and strikes out on his own, on the road, by starting a food truck. And in doing so, he finds his true calling in life. Review: If you’re passionate about food, this movie, replete with its food imagery, will whet your appetite for all things epicurean.

    But apart from that, this is a simple story that is simply told, with various food analogies, of a man who breaks a monotonous cycle and follows his instincts. And so we have the portly chef Carl Casper (Favreau) who toils away in a fancy Los Angeles restaurant, under the aegis of the unadventurous owner Riva (Hoffmann).

    Casper sweats and fumes about his job and clearly does not get along with Riva. The latter likes to play it safe and have the menu stick to crowd favourites. Casper tries his best to experiment with the food and give diners a taste of more adventurous flavours.

    The narrative bubbles its way to a boiling point, when one day a respected food reviewer called Ramsey (Platt) visits the restaurant. Seeing this as an opportunity to try and impress the critic with a special menu, Casper gets to work. But he is told by the boss to stick to the favourites.

    Predictably enough, the restaurant is panned and the vengeful Casper’s spat with Ramsey goes viral. The jobless Casper manages to get a ramshackle food truck with the help of his ex-wife Inez (Vergara) and her current husband (Downey Jr.) and goes on a road trip. His old friend Martin (Leguizamo) as well as his son join him as they cook up Cubanos.

    Pleasing yet somewhat predictable, this film marks a sharp departure from Favreau’s various blockbuster (*Iron Man*) films into something far simpler. Johansson, however, is somewhat under-used but on the whole, the story is paced nicely. With food remaining the biggest star of this show, the side dishes also include some family-bonding as well. And the result is a serving of something refreshingly original.

  • 800 Taliban fought Afghan troops in 5- day battle: Officials

    800 Taliban fought Afghan troops in 5- day battle: Officials

    KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (TIP): More than 800 Taliban insurgents have launched a major offensive in southern Afghanistan to try to gain territory recently vacated by US troops, officials said on June 25, as five days of fighting left about 40 civilians dead. “About 800 fighters started to storm four districts of Helmand last Thursday night,” Helmand provincial governor spokesman Omar Zwak told AFP. “At least 21 Afghan forces have died and close to 40 civilians were killed.

  • MYANMAR MULLS RELIGIOUS MARRIAGE CURB

    MYANMAR MULLS RELIGIOUS MARRIAGE CURB

    YANGON (TIP): Proposals by radical Buddhist monks to criminalize interfaith marriage in Myanmar face strong opposition from women’s rights groups in a tussle over the nation’s religious identity that has sparked international alarm. Buddhist nationalists, feeding off the fear and uncertainty caused by successive waves of anti-Muslim violence, have issued fiery pronouncements that the very fabric of the country’s main religion is under threat, casting a dark shadow over ongoing democratic reforms.

    The marriage law is one of four bills suggested by a hardline faction within the Buddhist clergy and put to the fledgling parliament by the president. To “protect” Buddhism — the religion of more than 80 per cent of the population — radical monks have urged boycotts of Muslim businesses, including of Qatari telecoms firm Ooredoo, despite its promise to bring much-needed affordable mobile access. And they have warned that Buddhist women are at risk from Muslim men, a tactic “calibrated for emotional impact”, said Nicholas Farrelly, a research fellow at the Australian National University.

    “These calls help to generate a mood of crisis that radicalises those who would otherwise be relatively apathetic about other religions in Myanmar,” he told AFP. While the country is dominated by ethnic Bamar Buddhists, it has sizeable religious minorities thanks in part to the legacy of British colonial rule. Christians make up around four per cent of the population, and Muslims are thought to account for between four and 10 per cent. The commercial hub of Yangon is dominated by the glittering Shwedagon, a revered golden pagoda, but the city also boasts dozens of churches and mosques.

    Conflict flared between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2012, leaving more than 200 people dead and 140,000 displaced. The displaced were mainly Rohingya, who had already been subject to marriage restrictions and a “two-child policy” in some areas. Anti-Muslim bloodshed spread to other parts of the country last year, unearthing deep-seated animosities as the nation emerges from totalitarian junta rule. If enacted, Farrelly said the laws could receive “wide support”, particularly in working-class and middle-class Buddhist areas “where angst about Muslim ‘incursions’ is high” at a time of huge transition in the country.

    The proposed restrictions — on marriage, religious conversion, polygamy and birth rate — were put forward by a 200-strong group of monks called “Mabatha”, or the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion. A draft of the conversion bill — which would require anyone wanting to change religion to seek a slew of bureaucratic permissions — has already been produced. The bill “has no place in the 21st century”, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which warned that together the proposals risk stoking violence and discrimination.

    A leaflet from Mabatha claims the ills of inter-faith marriage range from rape, murder and forced conversion to “not saluting the Myanmar national flag”. It says men of minority faiths should be jailed for up to a decade if they marry Buddhist women without first converting. Leading Mabatha monk Sopaka defended the measures, saying they would help combat violence. “I really believe that this law can protect Myanmar Buddhist women,” he told AFP, dismissing the group’s critics as having “wrong views”.

    Human Rights Watch has said one version of the marriage bill requires men of another religion to seek permission in writing from his Buddhist bride’s parents.Nearly one hundred women’s groups signed a statement last month criticising the proposals, saying they failed to acknowledge Buddhist women’s ability to “think rationally and make decisions” about their own lives.

  • SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB

    SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB

    CONTD FROM Vol 8 ISSUE 23

    They are satiated with the sublime essence of the Lord, and they merge in celestial peace; in each and every heart, they see the all-pervading Lord.

    They alone are the friendly Saints, and they alone are happy, who are pleasing to their Lord and Master. Says Nanak, I am forever a sacrifice to those who have seen the Lord God. || 2 || SHALOK: The body is blind, totally blind and desolate, without the Naam.

    O Nanak, fruitful is the life of that being, within whose heart the True Lord and Master abides. || 1 || CHHANT: I am cut into pieces as a sacrifice, to those who have seen my Lord God. His humble servants partake of the sweet Ambrosial Nectar of the Lord, Har, Har, and are satiated. The Lord seems sweet to their minds; God is merciful to them. His Ambrosial Nectar rains down upon them, and they are at peace.

    Pain is eliminated and doubt is dispelled from the body; meditating on the Lord of the World, their victory is celebrated. They are rid of emotional attachment, their sins are erased, and their association with the five passions is broken off. Says Nanak, I am every bit a sacrifice to those, within whose hearts my Lord God abides. || 3 || SHALOK: Those who long for the Lord, are said to be His servants. Nanak knows this Truth, that the Lord is not separate from His Saints.

    || 1 || CHHANT: As water mixes and blends with water, so does one’s light mix and blend with the Light. Merging with the perfect, all-powerful Creator, one comes to know his own self. Then, one is intuitively absorbed in state of absolute Samaadhi, and one speaks of the One and Only Lord. He Himself is unmanifest, and He Himself is liberated; He Himself speaks of Himself. O Nanak, doubts, fears and the limitations of the three qualities are dispelled, as one merges, like water blending with water.

    || 4 || 2 || WADAHANS, FIFTH MEHL: God is the all-powerful Creator, the Cause of causes. He preserves the whole world, reaching out with His hand. He is the allpowerful, safe Sanctuary, Lord and Master, Treasure of mercy, Giver of peace. I am a sacrifice to Your slaves, who recognize only the One Lord. His color and shape cannot be seen; His description is indescribable. Prays Nanak, hear my prayer, O God, Almighty Creator, Cause of causes.

    || 1 || These beings are Yours; You are their Creator. God is the Destroyer of pain, suffering and doubt. Eliminate my doubt, pain and suffering in an instant, and preserve me, O Lord, Merciful to the meek. You are mother, father and friend, O Lord and Master; the whole world is Your child, O Lord of the World. One who comes seeking Your Sanctuary obtains the treasure of virtue, and does not have to enter the cycle of birth and death again. Prays Nanak, I am Your slave. All beings are Yours; You are their Creator.

    || 2 || Meditate on the Lord, twenty-four hours a day; the fruits of the heart’s desires are obtained. The heart’s desires are obtained by meditating on God, and the fear of death is dispelled. I sing of the Lord of the Universe in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, and my hopes are fulfilled. Renouncing possessiveness, emotional attachment and all corruption, we become pleasing to the Mind of God. Prays Nanak, day and night, meditate forever on the Lord, Har, Har.

    || 3 || At His Door, the unstruck melody resounds. In each and every heart, the Lord, the Lord of the Universe, sings. The Lord of the Universe sings, and abides forever; He is unfathomable, profoundly deep, lofty and exalted. His virtues are infinite – none of them can be described. No one can reach Him. He Himself creates, and He Himself nurtures; all beings and creatures are fashioned by Him. Prays Nanak, peace comes from devotional worship of the Naam; at His Door, the unstruck melody resounds.

    || 4 || 3 || RAAG WADAHANS, FIRST MEHL, FIFTH HOUSE, ALAAHANEES ~ SONGS OF MOURNING: ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: Blessed is the Creator, the True King, who has linked the whole world to its tasks. When one’s time is up, and the measure is full, this dear soul is caught, and driven off. This dear soul is caught and driven off, when the pre-ordained Order is received; all the relatives cry out in mourning. The body and the swan-soul become separated, when one’s days are past and done, O my mother. As is one’s pre-ordained Destiny, so does one receive, according to one’s past actions. Blessed is the Creator, the True King, who has linked the whole world to its tasks.

    || 1 || Meditate in remembrance on the Lord and Master, O my Siblings of Destiny; everyone has to pass this way. These false entanglements last for only a few days; then, one must surely move on to the world hereafter. He must surely move on to the world hereafter, like a guest; so why does he indulge in pride? Chant the Name of the Lord; serving Him, you shall obtain peace in His Court. In the world hereafter, no one’s commands will be obeyed. According to their actions, each and every person proceeds. Meditate in remembrance on the Lord and Master, O my Siblings of Destiny; everyone has to pass this way.

    || 2 || Whatever pleases the Almighty Lord – that alone comes to pass; this world is an opportunity to please Him. The True Creator Lord is pervading and permeating the water, the land and the air. The True Creator Lord is invisible and infinite; His limits cannot be found. Fruitful is the coming of those, who meditate singlemindedly on Him. He destroys, and having destroyed, He creates; by His Order, He adorns us.Whatever pleases the Almighty Lord – that alone comes to pass; this world is an opportunity to please Him.

    || 3 || Nanak: he alone is known to weep, O Baba, who weeps in the Lord’s Love. One who weeps for the sake of worldly objects, O Baba, weeps totally in vain. This weeping is totally in vain; the world forgets the Lord, and weeps for the sake of Maya. They do not distinguish between good and evil; they waste away their lives in vain. Everyone who comes here, shall have to leave; to act in egotism is false. Nanak: he alone is known to weep, O Baba, who weeps in the Lord’s Love.

    || 4 || 1 || WADAHANS, FIRST MEHL: Come, O my companions – let us meet together and dwell upon the True Name. Let us weep over the body’s separation from our Lord and Master; let us remember Him in contemplation. Let us remember our Lord and Master in contemplation, and keep a watchful eye on the Path.We shall have to go there as well. The One who created also destroys; whatever happens is by His Will. Whatever He has done, has come to pass; how can we command Him? Come, O my companions – let us meet together and dwell upon the True Name.

    || 1 || Death would not be called bad, O people, if one knew how to truly die. Serve your Almighty Lord and Master, and your path in the world hereafter will be easy. Take this easy path, and you shall obtain the fruits of your rewards, and receive honor in the world hereafter. Go there with your offering, and you shall merge in the True Lord; your honor shall be confirmed. You shall obtain a place in the Mansion of the Lord Master’s Presence; being pleasing to Him, you shall enjoy the pleasures of His Love. Death would not be called bad, O people, if one knew how to truly die.

    || 2 || The death of brave heroes is blessed, if it is approved by God. They alone are proclaimed as brave warriors in the world hereafter, who receive true honor in the Court of the Lord. They are honored in the Court of the Lord; they depart with honor, and they do not suffer pain in the world hereafter. They meditate on the One Lord, and obtain the fruits of their rewards. Serving the Lord, their fear is dispelled. Do not place yourself above others; dwell within your own mind. The Knower Himself knows everything. The death of brave heroes is blessed, if it is approved by God.

    || 3 || Nanak: for whom should we mourn, O Baba? This world is merely a drama. The Lord Master beholds His work, and contemplates His creative potency. He contemplates His creative potency, having established the Universe. He who created it, He alone knows. He Himself beholds it, and He Himself understands it. He Himself realizes the Hukam of His Command. The One who created these things – He alone knows. His subtle form is infinite. Nanak: for whom should we mourn, O Baba? This world is merely a drama.

    || 4 || 2 || WADAHANS, FIRST MEHL, DAKHANEE: The True Creator Lord is True – know this well; He is the True Sustainer. He Himself fashioned Himself; the True Lord is invisible and infinite. He brought together and then separated the two grinding stones of the earth and the sky; without the Guru, there is only pitch darkness. He created the sun and the moon; night and day, they move according to His Thought.

    || 1 || O True Lord and Master, You are True. O True Lord, please bless me with Your Love.

    || Pause || You created the Universe; You are the Giver of pleasure and pain. You created woman and man, the love of poison and emotional attachment to Maya. The four sources of creation and the power of the Word are also of Your making. You give Support to all beings. You have made the Creation as Your Throne; You are the True Judge.

    || 2 || You created comings and goings, but You are ever-stable, O Creator Lord. In birth and death, in coming and going, this soul is held in bondage by corruption. The evil person has forgotten the Naam; he has drowned – what can he do now? Forsaking merit, he has loaded the poisonous cargo of demerits; he is a trader of sins.

    || 3 || The beloved soul has received the Call, the Command of the True Creator Lord. The husband-soul has become separated from the body-bride. The Lord is the re-uniter of the separated ones. No one cares for your beauty, O beautiful bride; the Messenger of Death is bound only by the Commander’s Command. He does not distinguish between young children and old people; he tears apart love and affection.

    || 4 || The nine doors are closed by the True Lord’s Command, and the swan-soul takes flight into the skies. The body-bride is separated, and defrauded by falsehood; she is now a widow – the dead body lies in the courtyard. The widow cries out at the door, “The light of my mind has gone out, O my mother, with his death.” So cry out, O soulbrides of the Husband Lord, and dwell on the Glorious Praises of the True Lord.

    || 5 || Her loved one is cleansed, bathed in water, and dressed in silken robes. The musicians play, and the Bani of the True Word is sung; the five relatives feel as if they too are dead, so deadened are their minds. “Separation from my beloved is like death to me!” cries the widow. “My life in this world is cursed and worthless!” But she alone is approved, who dies, while yet still alive; she lives for the sake of the Love of her Beloved.

    || 6 || So cry out in mourning – you who have come to mourn; this world is false and fraudulent. I too have been defrauded, chasing after worldly entanglements; my Husband Lord has forsaken me – I act like a wife without a spouse. In each and every home, are the brides of the Husband Lord; they gaze upon their handsome Lord with love and affection.

  • Bangladesh war crimes: Verdict on Jamaat chief deferred

    Bangladesh war crimes: Verdict on Jamaat chief deferred

    DHAKA (TIP): A Bangladesh tribunal on June 22 deferred the verdict on the chief of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, accused of war crimes during the country’s liberation war against Pakistan in 1971, at the last minute after authorities said he was sick and could not be moved from jail. Motiur Rahman Nizami, 69, is charged with 16 counts of war crimes including murder, rape, looting, abatement and the massacre of Bengali intellectuals during the liberation war and could face the death penalty.

    “Reviewing all aspects, we have come to the conclusion that it will not be logical to deliver the verdict today… the judgment is kept on CAV (Curia Advisari Vult or reserving of judgement),” said Justice M Enayetur Rahim, chairman of the threemember panel of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal. The special court was set to pronounce the judgment on Tuesday. Legal experts said the legal term, CAV, meant that the judges would like to take time to deliver the verdict.

    Ahead of the deferring of the judgement, the tribunal sought opinions of both the prosecution and defence lawyers, referring a letter to them from the prison authorities informing the court about Nizami’s illness. Both the sides said under the law, the accused, if detained in jail, must appear before the court when the verdict is delivered, unless one deliberately refuses to appear, suffers from prolonged illness or is set free on bail. “His (Nizami) blood pressure rose and he was given medication,” senior jail superintendent Farman Ali told reporters. They are planning to send him to a specialised state-run facility to be treated for his sickness, he said.

    The charges against Nizami include the murder of 70 people and torching of 72 houses in December, 1971, in Pabna’s Bera Upazila, murdering 450 people in Demra and Baushia villages and killing many more in front of a Hindu temple in Santhiya Upazila. About three million people were killed by the Pakistani army and their Bengalispeaking collaborators during the liberation war, according to official estimates.

    Nizami, the then head of the East-Pakistan unit of Jamaat’s student affiliate — Islami Chhatra Shangha — is one of the last highprofile accused in the case. Almost the entire leadership of Jamaat-e- Islami stands accused of war crimes. Eight people have been so far handed down death sentences and two others were sentenced to life term since the trial of war crimes began in 2011 by two tribunals set up by the Awami League government.

  • National imperatives in a complex world

    National imperatives in a complex world

    A well-thought-through response combining intelligence, the internal security apparatus and mature political initiatives are called for. The design and execution of a response that is successful will need to ensure that the response itself does not exacerbate the problem, as would appear to be the case so far. Use of a sledge hammer either leaves a crater or results in diffusion and dispersion even more difficult to address”, says the author.

    Adecisive electoral mandate provides just the opportunity required for a comprehensive review of the national security architecture long overdue. It gives the Prime Minister the freedom and authority to evaluate existing systems. Considered judgment will be needed on the efficacy of existing systems and structures, particularly of their cohesiveness and efficient functioning. Should the “review” so warrant, new systems capable of assessing threats and delivering appropriate responses to challenges to the nation’s security will need to be put in place early before existing systems are tested.

    New threats

    The nature of threats to national security is fast altering. These emerge inter alia from the changing nature of violence in troubled hotspots like Afghanistan, Yemen, from Syria and Iraq where there are deepening and exploding sectarian fault lines, from transnational organized crime like piracy and terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, cyber security and from instability in fragile states and cities. The BJP’s election manifesto acknowledges the comprehensive canvas of national security to include military security, economic security, cyber security, energy, food, water and health security and social cohesion and harmony.

    In the BJP’s view, the lack of strong and visionary leadership over the past decade, coupled with multiple power centers, has led to a chaotic situation. Clarity is required on the factors that have led to this. Revisiting the genesis of the national security architecture as it has evolved, including prior to 1998 when the first National Security Advisor (NSA), Brajesh Mishra assumed office is instructive. It was clear all along that crafting a national security architecture on a Cabinet Parliamentary model would pose difficulties.

    Members of the Cabinet, entrusted with responsibility for defense, external affairs, home and finance invariably are senior political figures. As members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), given their seniority and influence, there was anticipation they could operate as independent silos. Experience has shown there are in-built institutional constraints to correctly assess emerging threats in an evolving and fastchanging strategic landscape by functionaries within a silo. The institution of a National Security Adviser (NSA) has worked best in a Presidential system, such as in the United States, where the NSA draws authority from the President as the chief executive.

    This apprehension has been validated over the past decade and a half, variations in the personality of individuals notwithstanding. The strategic community, both within the country and outside has looked to the NSA to obtain the government’s line on issues central to the nation’s security. The ability to respond quickly, appropriately and, if necessary, decisively to threats to national security, imminent and real is of vital essence. This has, however, not always been the case.

    The “review” being proposed could catalogue the challenges to national security over the past decade and a half and critically examine them as case studies to evaluate the efficacy of our response. Caution needs to be exercised. Not always is the failure to respond appropriately due to institutional constraints. Weak political leadership in the past has also been an important factor.

    The attack by the Haqqani network on our Embassy in Kabul was anticipated by the CIA but could not be prevented. By the time its deputy director reached Islamabad, the terror machine had struck. No self-respecting nation can allow itself to be repeatedly wounded. Unless retribution is demonstrated, further attacks will follow.

    Bifurcation of two jobs

    The first NSA’s success was partly due to the fact that he doubled up as the Principal Secretary and was known to enjoy the full confidence of the Prime Minister. Healthy disagreements between the first NSA and the then External Affairs Minister, in spite of both being familiar with issues relating to defense, intelligence and diplomacy, the three components of national security, viewed holistically, was, however, an early pointer of the shape of things to come. The decision to bifurcate the two jobs for a short period under UPA-I is well documented for its shortcomings. Even Mani Dixit, the tallest professional of his generation, could not manage the pressures from the EAM and turf battles within the PMO.

    The performance of successors largely content “to push files”, succeeded or failed depending on how weak or strong the silos were in defense, external affairs and home. The NSA’s influence fluctuated particularly in relation to the incumbent in the Home Ministry. In the absence of full play in the areas of defense and home, even a talented professional ended up as no more than a foreign policy advisor. The portfolios of home, defense, finance and external affairs now have incumbents who, in terms of seniority within the BJP, have the benefit of several decades of association with the Prime Minister.

    This gives them clout which no civil servant can ever hope to acquire. Battles for turf are central to the functioning of any democracy. Weak political leadership in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over the last decade, in spite of a first-rate Foreign Service has led to the relative weakening of the MEA. This weakness has been most manifest in relation to the conduct of our bilateral relationships in our immediate neighborhood which are in varying degrees of disrepair, as are our relations with China and the United States.

    The policy of acquiescence with China will need to be shed at the earliest and more clinical and realistic assessments put in place. Deep incursions into our territory cannot continue to be explained away in terms of an un-demarcated border. With the United States, the transactional nature of the relationship resulting from absence or insufficient attention in Washington has been more than matched by our own shortsightedness. It will be easier to deal with China, if our relations with the United States are perceived to be on the upswing.

    Focusing on Japan alone will place us in an untenable situation. The game changer will be the twin focus on US and China. In terms of military strength, there has been lack of clarity in what capability we are seeking. Most war games and doctrines are still addressing either 1971- type scenarios or a tactical nuclear weapons exchange. It is a sad reflection on the state of play that we are the biggest importers of conventional armaments, even after acquiring strategic capability.

    Rationalization of armed forces

    Every other country, including China and now the United States have “rationalized” their Armed Forces, a euphemism for reducing. On the other hand, we are seeking creation of three more Commands – Special Forces, Aerospace and Cyberspace. The Central Army and Southern Air force Commands have limited roles yet, we keep increasing our “tails and turf”. There is an urgent need to rationalize our defense thinking and structures as part of an overall national security review.

    In 1965, the Government of India had commissioned Arthur D. Little, an American consultancy firm to make recommendations on defense production in India. Many of their recommendations, including on the involvement of the Indian private sector, are still valid. It should not be difficult given the visible and available political will to break through the dependence on imports to modernize our own defense production structures using FDI and an infusion of technology. The present system is unsustainable.

    Resources are not only limited but the evolving situation in Iraq could place us in dire straits. Every dollar increase in the benchmark price of brent crude results in an additional liability of Rs 3,000 to 5,000 crore. The producers of oil are salivating at the prospect of oil prices touching new highs. This could spell gloom and even doom for importing countries, particularly those heavily dependent on imports, the price having gone up from $106 to $115 in just five days.

    Shoring up security
    ● In 1965, the Government of India had commissioned Arthur D. Little, an American consultancy firm to make recommendations on defense production in India. Many of their recommendations, including on the involvement of the Indian private sector, are still valid.
    ● Given the political will, it will be easy to break through the dependence on imports to modernize our own defense production structures using FDI and an infusion of technology.
    ● Along with an evaluation of existing systems, a comprehensive review of all security challenges emanating from developments outside our borders is imperative.
    ● We are the biggest importers of conventional armaments, even after acquiring strategic capability. Every other country, including China and now the United States have “rationalized” their Armed Forces The attack by the Haqqani network on our Embassy in Kabul was anticipated by the CIA but could not be prevented. Along with an evaluation of existing systems, a comprehensive review of all security challenges emanating from developments outside our borders is imperative.

    Entities known to be inimical to India’s interests, particularly those enjoying some form of support from agencies of the state, if not outright patronage, in a few countries in our immediate neighborhood would readily suggest themselves and constitute the relatively easier part of this exercise. The ability of these entities to make common cause with sections of our own population whose alienation quotient has been enhanced by internal mismanagement is easy to identify if not easy to counter.

    A well-thought-through response combining intelligence, the internal security apparatus and mature political initiatives are called for. The design and execution of a response that is successful will need to ensure that the response itself does not exacerbate the problem, as would appear to be the case so far. Use of a sledge hammer either leaves a crater or results in diffusion and dispersion even more difficult to address. The BJP’s election manifesto separately calls for a study of India’s nuclear doctrine and its updating to make it relevant to current challenges.

    (The author, a retired diplomat, was till early 2013 India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He is presently Non- Resident Senior Adviser, International Peace Institute, New York. He has recently joined the BJP).

  • Credibility at stake

    Credibility at stake

    Politics must not decide judicial appointments

    The BJP, which had often accused the UPA of weakening institutions like the CAG and the CBI, is doing exactly that being in power at the Centre. While its attempts to use the UGC to make Delhi University fall in line are a subject of media debate, former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium has questioned the Modi government’s ability to “appreciate and respect the independence, integrity and glory of the judicial institution”. According to him, “a very carefully orchestrated drama” has been played and adverse reports have been planted in the media in recent weeks to scuttle his appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

    Media reports have questioned his role in the 2G scam and alleged his links with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. The government has reportedly asked the Supreme Court collegium to reconsider his case, while clearing the three other names. This has prompted Subramanium to withdraw his consent to be a Judge, alleging “my independence as a lawyer is causing apprehensions that I will not toe the line of the government”. What lends weight to the charge is the fact that as an amicus curiae Subramanium had brought Gujarat encounters under the Supreme Court scrutiny and forced the state government to prosecute guilty police officers.

    Secondly, had there been anything shady in Subramanimum’s past, why would the CBI engage him as its lead counsel in important cases for so many years? Let the government contest Subramanium’s charges and place in public domain reasons for stalling his appointment. There are two key takeaways from this unpleasant development. One, it is a dangerous trend to discredit public personalities by planting motivated stories in the media based on questionable IB/CBI reports.

    Two, the Modi government has exposed itself to the charge of working towards a committed judiciary. Incidentally, a Mumbai CBI Judge, who had pulled up BJP leader Amit Shah for failing to appear in a case, has been transferred. While the judiciary has to be proactive in guarding its independence, the Modi government has a lot to explain.

  • DISINFECT YOUR WARDROBE

    DISINFECT YOUR WARDROBE

    All sorts of insects may want to set up residence in your wardrobe, find out ways to annihilate them Your favourite clothes can meet an untimely destruction no thanks to creepy crawlies or insects who like the wooden wardrobe too much. But there are way to ward off insects with easy tips that can be followed:

    You need to give special attention to your clothes to prevent them from being insect ridden. Put some camphor in a bowl of coconut oil and apply this to the wardrobe walls and corners. Let this mix dry a bit before you keep your clothes back.

    Keep all your clothes in the sun at least once a month. Keep your wardrobe doors open for an hour and then wipe it with clean cloth.

    Spray disinfectant in your wardrobe once a week (but remember to take your clothes out before that and let the disinfectant settle for an hour before your pack your wardrobe again).

    Make small cotton bags with naphthalene, dried red chilli and dried neem and store them in various corners and portions of the wardrobe.

  • WHY THE HINDI-FIRST ORDER THREATENS EFFICIENCY

    WHY THE HINDI-FIRST ORDER THREATENS EFFICIENCY

    Language is a vehicle, not a destination. In government, it is a means, not an end. The Hindiwallahs fail to appreciate that, since promoting Hindi, for them, is an end in itself” says the author

    The unnecessary controversy over the use of Hindi by the government in official communications and social media revealed two essential truths about our country. The first is that, whatever the Hindi chauvinists might say, we don’t have one “national language” in India, but several. The second is that zealots have an unfortunate tendency to provoke a battle they will lose – at a time when they were quietly winning the war. Hindi is the mother tongue of some 50% of our population; the percentage has been growing thanks to the spectacular failure of population control in much of North India.

    It is not, however, the mother tongue of the rest of us. When Hindi speakers emotionally decry the use of an alien language imposed on the country by British colonialists and demand that Hindi be used because it speaks for “the soul of India”, or when they declare that “Hindi is our mother, English is a stranger”, they are missing the point twice over. First, because no Tamil or Bengali will accept that Hindi is the language of his soul, and second because injecting anti- English xenophobia into the argument is utterly irrelevant to the issue at stake.

    That issue is quite simple: all Indians need to deal with the government. We need government services, government information and government support; we need to understand easily what our government is saying to us or demanding of us. When the government does so in our mother tongue, it is easier for us. But when it does so in someone else’s mother tongue with which we are less familiar than our neighbor, our incomprehension is intensified by resentment. Why should Shukla be spoken to by the Government of India in the language that comes easiest to him, but not Subramaniam? The de facto solution to this question has been a practical one: use Hindi where it is understood, but use English everywhere, since it places all Indians from all parts of our country at an equal disadvantage or advantage.

    English does not express Subramaniam’s soul any more than it does Shukla’s, but it serves a functional purpose for both, and what’s more, it helps Subramaniam to understand the same thing as Shukla. Ideally, of course, every Central Government document, tax form or tweet should be in every one of India’s languages. Since that is not possible in practice – because we would have to do everything in 23 versions – we have chosen to have two official languages, English and Hindi. State governments complement these by producing official material in the language of their states. That leaves everyone more or less happy.

    The new government’s requirement that Hindi be privileged actually works against the interests of efficiency. Obliging a Keralite bureaucrat in Delhi to read and write file notations in Hindi to be submitted to a superior officer from Odisha makes no sense, since neither man would be using a language with which he is at ease. Obliging both to digest a complex argument by a UPite subordinate writing in his mother-tongue is unfair to both. Both may write atrocious English, for that matter, but it’s the language in which they are equal, and it serves to get the work done. Language is a vehicle, not a destination.

    In government, it is a means, not an end. The Hindi-wallahs fail to appreciate that, since promoting Hindi, for them, is an end in itself. The result is episodes like the time that Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, who punctuates English speeches in Parliament with cries of “Hindi bolo” from time to time, became Defence Minister of India and wrote to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, in Hindi. In due course he received a reply – in Bengali. One is only grateful that no urgent issue of national security was involved in either communication. The irony is, as I observed earlier, that the Hindi chauvinists should realize they were winning the war.

    The prevalence of Hindi is far greater across India today than it was half a century ago. This is not because of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s imprecations or the assiduous efforts of the Parliamentary Committee on the Promotion of Hindi. It is, quite simply, because of Bollywood, which has brought a demotic conversational Hindi into every Indian home. South Indians and north-easterners alike are developing an ease and familiarity with Hindi because it is a language in which they are entertained.

    In time, this alone could have made Hindi truly the national language. But it would become so only because Indians freely and voluntarily adopt it, not because some Hindi chauvinist in Delhi thrusts his language down the throats of the unwilling. The fact is, its vocabulary, gender rules and locutions do not come instinctively to everyone: native speakers of languages like Malayalam that do not use gender can understand why a woman must be feminine (“woh aurat aayi hain”) but are genuinely mystified as to why a table should be feminine too.

    If you’ve grown up with Hindi at home, it’s a matter of instinct for you that it should be “desh kihaalat acchi hain” rather than “desh ka haalat burahain,” but for the rest of us, there’s no logical reason to see anything feminine about the national condition. Still, if we watch enough Bollywood movies, we’ll pick it up one day. Just don’t tell us that we must, or else. Language should be an instrument of opportunity, not of oppression. It is time to let sleeping dogmas lie.

    (The author, a two-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram and the former Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Human Resource Development, is a prolific writer. He has written 14 books, including, most recently, Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century.)

  • ADD MAGIC TO YOUR HOME DECOR

    ADD MAGIC TO YOUR HOME DECOR

    Proper lighting: Lighting can make or break a room: Mood lighting is very essential part of decor. Invest in a nice table lamp. Even hanging lamps will add much magic to your room. A little bit of greenery: The sure shot way to add life to your room is to have an element of greenery in the room.

    Having plants in a room also has a soothing effect on one’s mind. You can also have fresh flowers in the vase. The fragrance of jasmine in a room really uplifts the soul. In your kitchen, add a small herb garden to your windowsill to add life to the room. Plus, they taste great! Framed memories: Photographs are wonderful ways to add warmth and a sense of vibrancy to your home decor.

    Photographs that recall fond memories also can give a personal touch to your home. It brings in loads of happy memories. If you have old family photographs, then have these framed and hang them on the wall. Choose your frames carefully. A frame adds much life to photographs. Fabric magic: Fabric is an easy and inexpensive way to combine all the elements of your room. Break in the monotony and play with your imagination. Think beyond only the ready-made fabric. Have fun by combining patterns, styles and different textures of fabric in accessories and furniture.

  • Indian-American felicitated for strengthening Indo-US ties

    Indian-American felicitated for strengthening Indo-US ties

    TEXAS (TIP): A K Mago, an eminent Indian- American has been felicitated by top American lawmakers for his contribution to strengthening Indo-US ties. A K Mago, the chairman of a Dallas-based business and investment consulting company, was felicitated at an event organized by the US India Chamber of Commerce in Dallas. “If it weren’t for A K Mago, I would have not had the occasion to visit India,” top Republican Senator John Cornyn. Cornyn, who is co-Chair of the Senate Indian Caucus, and co-founded it with then Senator Hillary Clinton attributed the formation of this only country-specific Caucus to Mago.

    “AK more than anybody I know, has nourished and encouraged people like me and acknowledge the contribution that the Indian American community has made in the United States,” he said. Praising the contribution of Mago in India-US ties, Congressman Pete Sessions said he played a key role in Texan understanding the people from this part of the world. “There are days and nights when AK would travel and talk and be proud of the country that he knows and loves well,” he said. The Indian Ambassador to the US, S Jaishankar, in a video message said, “He is a success story in the United States, a wonderful example of equality of opportunity that this society symbolizes.”

  • Congresswoman Meng Wants Modification in Visa Approval for Indian Doctors

    Congresswoman Meng Wants Modification in Visa Approval for Indian Doctors

    NEW YORK (TIP): A renowned U.S. lawmaker inquired the State Department for the betterment of visa approval process for doctors from India and Pakistan. In a letter to the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, New York Congresswoman Grace Meng said international physicians set to do their residencies at American hospitals have encountered great difficulty in obtaining J-1 visas from their U.S. Embassies, especially those located in India and Pakistan. The problem has resulted in serious dilemmas for the physicians, and the American hospitals at which they’re set to work, she said.

    “I am told that in the past years, there have been several instances where undue delays in the issuance of visas resulted in hospitals having to withdraw offers to foreign physicians who had already accepted, effectively preventing these physicians from entering the U.S. at all,” Mend wrote. “I understand that the Department of State has made great strides in recognizing the unique time frame that international physicians face as they apply for these visas.

    “However, given the high turnover of staff in U.S. Embassies located in India and Pakistan, it is difficult to maintain the institutional knowledge and understanding of this issue needed to adjudicate the visas in the appropriate timeframe,” Meng noted. Meng’s letter has the support of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA).

  • Google will try again to launch Android TV, flop notwithstanding

    Google will try again to launch Android TV, flop notwithstanding

    NEW YORK (TIP): Nearly four years after struggling to achieve its vision and watching it flop, Google, June 24, declared that it will try again. At the Google I/O conference for application developers, the company demonstrated a system that purports to tie various devices together to deliver quick access to movies, television shows, video games and Web videos on smartphones, tablets and TVs.

    Google’s new run at television validates the importance of owning a piece of the living room, said Colin Dixon of the tech consulting firm nScreenMedia. The Android operating system simplified work for mobile device manufacturers and now powers about 70% of smartphones worldwide, according to IHS. Forecast by MarketsandMarkets to be worth $265 billion by 2016, the smart-TV market could be far more lucrative for Google.

  • FOODS TO REDUCE CHOLESTEROL

    FOODS TO REDUCE CHOLESTEROL

    Have a salmon fish dinner. Snack on a handful of nuts. Pour a dash of olive oil in your salad. And bite into that sinister chocolate.

    Now you can do all this guilt-free! All these foods help in fighting bad cholesterol. According to the American Heart Association, ‘You can reduce cholesterol in your blood by eating healthy foods’.

    So, here we are today with our list of top 10 cholesterol fighting foods.

    Oats: If you change your morning meal to oats then you can do your cholesterol level a whole lot of good. Do note that two servings of oats can lower LDL cholesterol by 5.3% in only 6 weeks. Essentially, oats contain a substance called beta-glucan which absorbs bad cholesterol.

    Red Wine: Here’s yet another reason to toast to your health. The red grapes used in the manufacturing of red wine have an important effect on cholesterol levels. Two glasses of red wine in a week can do you a whole lot of good.

    Salmon and fatty Fish: Full of Omega-3 fatty acids, salmon is a natural health wonder, which helps in keeping heart conditions such as heart attacks, stroke and high cholesterol levels at bay. Fishes such as salmon, sardines and herring help in raising good cholesterol levels by 4%.

    Nuts: Mono-unsaturated fats (found in nuts, seeds etc.) have the lowest fatty acid molecules and are the best of the three fats, namely poly-saturated fats, saturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Nuts are the best way to get those required healthy fats into your body without feeling guilty. Since the fats that come from nuts are natural and are not chemically processed, this makes them heart healthy, filling, and nutritious options.

    Beans: Excellent for the heart, ½ a cup of beans added in our diet (in the form of any dish or soup), helps in lowering cholesterol levels by 8%. You should try black, kidney, or pinto beans; each one of them supplies about one-third of your day’s fiber needs.

    Tea: Tea has antioxidants and less amounts of caffeine than coffee. An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup. Tea helps in protecting your bones because of the presence of phytochemicals in them. It is also a great defense against LDL cholesterol levels.

    Chocolate: Chocoholics can celebrate with a healthy dose of dark chocolate as it is full of antioxidants and cholesterolreducing properties. According to a Spanish study published in 2010 in the “Journal of Hepatology,”, “the antioxidants in dark chocolate reduce the damage that can occur to blood vessels, which can further threaten the health of people with cirrhosis.

    The dark chocolate can help prevent the blood vessels in the liver from rupturing”. Medical experts suggest that munching on 100 grams of chocolate every day helps in reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular mishaps by 21 percent.

    Spinach. Popeye the sailor was quite right when crediting his muscle power to this green leafy vegetable. It is believed that spinach contains around 13 flavonoid compounds which keep us away from cancer, heart diseases and osteoporosis. 1/2 a cup of this lutein-rich food, daily, guards us against heart attacks.

    Olive oil: This oil has many health benefits. It contains mono-unsaturated fatty acids which lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides, without lowering good cholesterol levels. Different stages of pressing and processing yield different varieties of olive oil.

  • 10 GLASSES OF WATER A DAY TO CUT FAT

    10 GLASSES OF WATER A DAY TO CUT FAT

    We have all heard this advice innumerable times. Drink eight to 10 glass of water a day. Experts say that if you are overweight or tend to get most of your calories from processed and salty food, eight to 10 glass of water could actually help you reduce your weight. Water could lower your BMI.

    If you drink eight to 10 glass of water everyday you will end up eating less and also drink fewer calorie-laden beverages. Drinking about 500 ml of water before meal can cut the calories and help in losing weight and as a result lower body mass index (BMI). Water helps in burning fat. You can burn about 50 per cent more fat after drinking water compared with a higher calorie beverage.

    Water helps you play your sports better. Sweating away just two per cent of your body’s water content affects the performance of a sportsperson to a great extent. Drinking enough water can improve your game and save you from the risk of dehydration. Water can fight hangovers. Being adequately hydrated is the best way not to feel lousy and grouchy after a late night party. Drink a couple of glasses of water hours before the event. Even when you are flying a long distance flight, staying hydrated helps you fight hangover.

  • Hema Malini Dazzles in ‘Durga’ Dance Ballet

    Hema Malini Dazzles in ‘Durga’ Dance Ballet

    Kajol Bishnoi

    NEW JERSEY (TIP): India’s renowned classical dancer and Bollywood actor Hema Malini dazzled the audiences in her dramatic and exquisite dance ballet “Durga” at the NJPAC in New Jersey on Saturday, June 21, 2014. The auditorium was packed with an excited audience, eager to see Hema Malini perform her much-renowned ballet. The evening began on an auspicious note with the traditional lamp lighting ceremony led by legendary music maestro Pandit Jasraj and Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, Consul General of India in New York.

    Then followed a powerful performance of four tremendously talented local dance groups. They set the tone and mood for the main act with their phenomenal dance skills. They included: Bina Menon’s Kalashri School of Arts, Archana Joglekar’s Archana Nrityalaya, Rita Sharma’s Rita Dance Academy, and Sudha Grover’s Sudhamini Dance Academy. Hema Malini’s first performance in North America in 2014 was a much-anticipated event and she commanded the stage with grace, talent, beauty and a power-packed performance as “Sati, Parvati, and Durga.”


    11
    Hema Malini’s captivating performance

    The audience was spellbound as she and her group of 25 dancers and artists gave an enthralling and vivid performance. This spectacular event featured rich, colorful and authentic costumes, and the exquisite staging such as the dramatic rendering of Sati’s funeral pyre had the audience gasping. Hema Malini excelled as Durga. Beautiful, fiery, and majestic – she was a vision to watch.

    The ballet is in the form of a humble offering to the Divine Mother and is an attempt to capture the passion and devotion that invariably accompanies Mother worship. The subject matter of this choreography is based on the Charitas (stories) from the Devi Mahatmaya and also from the common folklore of Sati, Parvati, and Durga, in that order. The audiences at NJPAC gave Hema Malini a standing ovation!

  • WAYS TO BOOST YOUR MEMORY

    WAYS TO BOOST YOUR MEMORY

    Not many of us can boast of a sharp memory, and those who do, certainly seem to have an edge professionally and personally as well. We’re not recommending any magic pill to boost your memory but rather some tips that will help you do so:

    Clench your fist

    This may sound weird but research suggests that balling up your right hand and squeezing it tightly actually makes it easier to memorise phone numbers or shopping lists. Later, when you want to retrieve the information, clench the left fist. Researchers think the movements activate brain regions key to the storing and recall of memories.

    Alphabets to the rescue

    When you’re trying to recall a piece of information such as the name of an actor in a film but just can’t seem to do so, use the alphabet search method. Basically, go through the alphabet to find the first letter of the word or name you are trying to remember in order to jog your memory. This trick really works.

    Exercise more frequently

    This is no rocket science because many studies have shown that aerobic exercise improves cognitive function and is particularly good at enhancing memory. Also, exercise is believed to encourage the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus – an area of the brain important in memory and learning.

    Ditch drinking at night

    Alcohol may help you fall asleep but it leads to a disrupted night’s rest. Moreover, it has a harmful effect on concentration and memory, opine researchers. Not to forget the more you drink, the less deep – or REM – sleep you get.

    Say the words out loud

    Perhaps, the easiest of all methods for remembering anything is to say the words out loud, be it remembering where you put your car keys or what you need from the shop or revising for a test, say memory experts. Studies found that saying what you want to remember out loud to yourself – or even mouthing it – will help with recall.

  • GOPIO-CT HONORS FIVE INDIAN AMERICAN ACHIEVERS AND CONGRESSMAN JIM HIMES AS FRIEND OF INDIA

    GOPIO-CT HONORS FIVE INDIAN AMERICAN ACHIEVERS AND CONGRESSMAN JIM HIMES AS FRIEND OF INDIA

    GOPIO-CT honors 5 Indian American achievers

    Congressman Jim Himes is honored as Friend of India

    STAMFORD (TIP): The Connecticut Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) honored five Indian American achievers and those who provide service to the community or the society at large. Several dignitaries attended the event including India’s Consul General in New York Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Rep Jim Himes (D, CT 4th District), Stamford Mayor David Martin, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Upendra Chivukula and Connecticut Assemblyman Dr. Prasad Srinivasan.

    The program started with a welcome by GOPIO-CT President Shelly Nichani who said the chapter initiated several new programs including a cancer walk fundraiser, participation in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Stamford, interactive session with elected officials in addition to the regular program such as sponsoring and volunteering in soup kitchens, India Independence Day flag hoisting and Diwali. Stamford Mayor David Martin extended a warm welcome to everyone and complimented GOPIO-CT for its outstanding community work.

    This year, GOPIO-CT had selected U.S. Representative from Connecticut 4th District Congressman Jim Himes as Friend of India. A member of India Caucus, Jim has been a supporter of Indian American community. Congressman Himes had traveled several times to India while he was working for Goldman Sachs. As a Congressman Himes is committed to provide all children in America, access to a first-rate public school, affordable and effective health care, a decent and safe home, and a supportive community. An undergraduate from Harvard, Jim earned a Rhodes Scholarship, and attended Oxford University in England.

    There Indian Americans are honored for their achievements in business and profession. Dr. Subbarao Bollepalli, MD FAPA, is honored for his achievement in medicine. Dr. Bollepalli is a leading psychiatrist in the State of Connecticut. He retired as a Colonel from United States Army Reserve, which was activated during the Iraqi War. He is a member of the Governing Council of Connecticut Medical Society(CSMS). He is currently the President of Connecticut Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (CAPI). His interests include philanthropy, social service, spiritual reading and playing tennis.

    A husband and wife team in business, Ashok and Meera Vasudevan, have been selected to receive entrepreneurship award. Ashok is ‘corporateur’ turned entrepreneur who has co-founded with his wife Meera, Preferred Brands International, which makes Tasty Bite, a leader in the specialty food industry. He is the CEO of Tasty Bite and serves also on the Board of several NGOs both in India and the US. He is the Adjunct Professor of International Entrepreneurship of Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, India.

    Ashok attended the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Bajaj Institute Bombay and the Harvard Business School. Meera Vasudevan is a co-founder and Principal of ASG-Omni, a strategy-consulting firm that designs and develops entry strategies for large US corporations looking to do business in India. She has also worked closely on social research projects with the Indian government and UNICEF. She has a Bachelor in English with post-graduate qualifications in Marketing from the University of Madras and INSEAD, France.

    Arati Sureddi received an award for young achievers. Arati is the Founder of Lotus Alliance, a social enterprise addressing human trafficking and forced labor through the responsible tourism industry. She has also helped in launching the Not My Life Awareness Initiative, whose goal is to increase awareness of human trafficking among individuals who are in a position to influence policy and advocate for change. She is a graduate of Boston University’s School of Management.

    Prasad Chirnomula, an avid restaurateur, received a special award for promoting India cuisine to American society by helping community groups through media. Chirnomula creates delectable and imaginative food in each of his four Thali restaurants and Mexican in his latest venture – Oaxaca Kitchen. In addition to running his five restaurants, Chef Prasad leads tasting tours of India, hosts private tasting dinners, teaches cooking classes and offers his services at multiple charity events for such groups as the American Liver Foundation, Varli, James Beard House, the American Red Cross, Share Our Strength, the Connecticut Food Bank and the Food Bank for New York City.

    He has studied at the Food Craft Institute of Poona, including culinary arts and hotel management. Connecticut Senator Blumenthal in a message complimented GOPIO-CT for its outstanding community service and advocacy work and presented certificate of appreciation to all award recipients. The program ended with an entertainment by Bollywood dancers and a dinner.