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Ayodhya residents AYODHYA, Oct 13: The residents of Ayodhya have criticised the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for having created a situation whereby they have to .....more At
88, Husain says he NEW DELHI, Oct 13: At 88, Maqbool Fida Husain, arguably India’s most celebrated painter, has but one regret that he cannot wipe.....more Disinvestment should continue: Lord Paul KOLKATA, Oct 13: Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul today supported the privatisation policy of Indian Government saying it should be ......more Ultra-modern
power SHIMLA, Oct 13: The ficst 250)Mw unit of the largest ultra-modern 1500 Mw Nathpa Jakhri Hydro-Electric Power Project over the Sutlej river in Rampur ....more |
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Ranjit raises issue of Sonia’s foreign origin NEW DELHI, Oct 13: Maharashtra Congress president Ranjit Deshmukh today climbed down on the issue of .....more In
Jessop case, Govt NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Union Government today pleaded before the Supreme Court that its recent judgement halting privatisation of oil PSUs on .....more SC
notice to states on NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre and all State Governments on a petition .......more Thai
boy fulfills NEW DELHI, Oct 13: A little boy once repeatedly begged the ticket seller of a cinema .....more |
Ayodhya residents annoyed with VHP AYODHYA, Oct 13: The residents of Ayodhya have criticised the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for having created a situation whereby they have to live with frequent restrictions and security checks. Stating that their problems have increased manifold ever since the launch of the Temple construction at Ayodhya, the former ruler of Ayodhya, Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Singh said the issue should be left to the Hindus and Muslims. "Ever since outsiders started interfering in the matter, our life has become difficult," Mr Singh said. Udyog Vyapar Mandal president Radheyshyam said that politics in the name of Ram Temple should stop immediately adding that at the local level there was not a single VHP supporter. Udyog Vyapar Mandal’s Faizabad city president Ved Prakash Gupta said the VHP was more interested in playing politics rather than constructing the Temple and its frequent programmes had made the life of the locals difficult. "As elections approach, the VHP’s love for Ayodhya increased," he said. He also criticised the Centre for not being serious on preventing the Ram Bhakts from reaching Ayodhya on October 17. "If the Centre was really serious, then all the important trains coming to Ayodhya should be cuncelled or divertsd, whereas the routes of a few had been altered till now," he pointed out. The districthadministration has deployed more than 100 companies of para-military forces at sensitive areas. The CRPF men have been deployed at many places to prevent the entry of Ram Bhakts into Ayodhya, Faizabaad Comissioner J P Sharma said. (UNI) |
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At 88, Husain says he would like to start afresh NEW DELHI, Oct 13: At 88, Maqbool Fida Husain, arguably India’s most celebrated painter, has but one regret that he cannot wipe out his entire oeuvre painted over a span of six decades, and begin afresh. I wish I could wipe put my entire work and start all over again. Do something new. I do not want to save my work for posterity, the silver-haired artist told UNI at a show, "Husain 88," here on Saturday. Husain recently celebrated his 88th birthday, and the show unveiled a fresh series of as many paintings by the artist done in four cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Paris. The works showcased marked a return by Husain to oils, a medium he had almost given up for 40 years. The artist said he returned to oils because: They are raw, almost like wild beasts. The 88 canvases "sum up my 60 years of painting and have been done in a span of 40 days and they are the essence of my life, the silver-haired artist said. Bare feet and dressed in a black outfit with a large paintbrush in his hand, resembling a magician s wand, Husain’s simplicity is endaaring. Askej how he related to his celebrity status and success, he said, This is also an aspect of society and I do not condemn it but I still sit in dhabas. I have not lost touch with my roots. Husain was born in Maharashtra in 1915 and is largely a self-taught artist. He began as a painter of cinema hoardings. He was noticed first in 1947 when he won an award at the annual exhibition of the Bombay art society. Since then there has been no looking back for the Padma Shree Awardee. Though he has been involved in controversies for his depiction of Indian Gods and Godesses, there is a sincerity that marks all his work. He undoubtedly remains an "Avant Garde" artist who has served to define contemporary Indian art. Husain once said: I have a very definite goal I must find a bridge between the western technique and the eastern concept. He has strived to find a voice, reclaimed from his Indian roots, with which to respond to a modernizing India marked by varied contradictions and present them to the western world. On his mantra for success, he quipped, hard work. My work keeps me busy and alive. You need stamina to work continuously for 56 years, he said. Asked if he had any message for the younger generation, he smiled, saying: I belong to the younger generation. However, Husain said most younger, upcoming artists were not willing to work hard. Ninety per cent are not true artists. He agreed that one had to struggle to make a mark in the art world and said artists should be prepared to face adversities. They should be willing to struggle for 30 to 40 years. But they want instant success.. When asked if he had reached the pinnacle of his success, the unassuming artist who has been feted all over the world, said: there s no peak, I still feel I am just starting. The artist who has also dabbled in film-making and had a soft corner for actresses Madhuri Dixit and Tabu, said he did not wish to convey any message through the paintings. They merely are an expressions of sheer joy, a celebration of life. On his future plans, Husain said he never planned things. There is no planning in the creative world, only continuity. His 88 untitled works are typically Husain, very stylised with clean lines, bold colours and clarity of form. Husain remains an artist who defies stereotypes and definitions. He is an iconoclast and an icon, a classicist and a contemporary in the same stroke. He paints a wide canvas, spanning various mediums and themes from Chinese Inkbrush watercolours to sufi prayers and early renaissance, from contemporary films to nuclear politics. Eminent critic Khalid Mohammad has said of Husain: His works look deceptively simple, yet they are extraordinarily complex because of the relation between his art and the themes and variety of metaphors, images, colours and moods. An indigenous folk element overrides his oeuvre as well as an astounding modernity. On the occasion, a book by Mohammad, 88 Husain’s in oil was released by artist Anjolie Ela Menon. A set of five CDs on Husain’s life were also released by Minister of State for External Affairs Vinod Khanna, Among others present were painters Satish Gujral, Ram Kumar and Ghulam Sheikh, Congress MP T Subbarami Reddy, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minster Dr Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar, lawyer Kapil Sibal, former minister Maneka Gandhi and Bharatnatyam Danseuse Sharon Lowen. (UNI) |
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Disinvestment should continue: Lord Paul KOLKATA, Oct 13: Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul today supported the privatisation policy of Indian Government saying it should be actively pursued in order to create more value. "Government has no business running businesses and it should get out of it. India has wasted a lot of money in last 50 years on sick public sector undertakings. I am of the view that government’s job is only to look after areas of health, education and law and order," Lord Paul, Britain’s business Ambassador , told reporters after addressing members of young leaders’ forum here. "Government should be only involved in business for creation of value," the chairman of the Caparo Group said. Asked about his opinion on privatisation of profit making companies like BPCL and HPCL, Lord Paul, said, "you should not think that only sick companies can be disinvested. We will, however, have to see whether somebody else could create more value." "It is to be examined whether companies like BPCL and HPCL could start making higher profit under private hands... Can somebody create more value?" Lord Paul said. Asked about the recent protests in the UK over outsourcing from India, he said, "In democracy people have every right to protest, but this will not prevent us from continuing on the path of globalisation." Lord Paul said staging protests was a democratic right and it should not be taken away. About it companies, he said, "Indian companies should work hard. Only way to get over protests is by offering superior services." "Keep working, develop new products, develop better products, be innovative is my message to Indian it companies," he said. To a query, he said fashion technology was one area which was doing immense business in the UK and in addition ready to eat business was also expanding and these were possible areas for Indo-British co-operation. (PTI) |
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SC notice to states on over spending of Rs 1,91,554 crore NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre and all State Governments on a petition accusing them of spending more than Rs 1,91,554 crore without getting approval from Parliament as mandated under Article 115 and 205 of the Constitution of India. A bench comprising Justice P V Reddi and Justice A R Lakshmanan issued the notices on a Public Interest Litigation filed by ex-MP Era Sezhiyan through advocate E C Agrawala seeking a direction to the State Governments to place for approval of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies the demand for excess expenditure. In the report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) published in April this year it was shown that a sum of Rs 1,91,554 crore had been spent in violation of Article 115 and 205 of the Constitution. The notices were issued to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and also to the CAG. The petitioner pointed out that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha had ruled as early as August 22, 1956 that the demand for money already spent in excess of the voted grant should be made not be way of supplementary demand but in the form of an excess demand. It alleged that till 2002, both the Centre and the States have expended funds in excess of 1,91,544 crore without regularising such excess expenditure by placing them before the legislature. By making way for the expenditure through supplementary demands, the States and the Centre have curtailed the right of the Legislature to know why the excess spending was required, the petitioner alleged. Sezhiyan, who was the former chairman of Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, said the ciitizens of the country had a fundamental right to know "as to how, where and when the State has expended these public funds". Seeking a direction to the Centre and State to place such additional expenditures for approval of the legislature, the petitioner gave details of the States spending in excess of their approved expenditure and identified Assam as the worst example in the case. (PTI) |
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Thai boy fulfills childhood dream, brings the unborn to IFFI NEW DELHI, Oct 13: A little boy once repeatedly begged the ticket seller of a cinema hall near his home to let him watch movies without tickets. He has now entered the Asian Cinema Competition at the 34th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here with his horror film "the unborn." Thirty-two-year-old filmmaker from Thailand Bundit Thongdee told UNI in an interview that what struck him about the Indian film industry was the amount of money spent on movies. He said he had thought the Indian film industry would be much smaller. Thongdee, WHB wants to show his movies to the whole world, is now a name to reckon with in the thai film industry. His first movie hoe down show down was the second-highest grossing box office hit for 2002 and his film the father’s heritage was appreciated by critics as well as the audiences. His film is the only entry from Thailand at this year’s IFFI. But the unassuming filmmaker seems to be unaffected by his success back home. He is more bothered about the fact that the people of his country don’t like serious cinema. "They only like to watch action, horror and comedy. They don’t like complex movies or those with profound themes," he said, adding that people need to be educated about movies so that they are able to appreciate and ofjoy good films. But he said that of late a good trend has started in Thailand. People now want to watch more movies. "Due to the increasing demand, now good movies are new being made. Some are even entering competitions like the Oscars and those at Cannes. Pointing at the growth in Thai film industry, he said last year 12 movies were made in his country but this year the number has increased to 40. On why he chose to make a horror film, he said through this story he wants to show how human beings can at times be more terrible than ghosts. Also, horror movies attract people because they are scared of the unknown. The unborn is based on a true story that became the talk of the town in Thailand in 2000. It is about a pregnant woman who wakes up in a hospital after being brutally beaten by a drug dealer. Trapped between reality and illusion, she faces the most terrifying experience of her life there. Thongdee said he enjoys watching horror films and has seen many such movies made in Korea, Japan and Hollywood like the ring , sixth sense and what lies beneath . Thoroughly enjoying his first experience of participating at IFFI, he said the Indian audience is very good. While Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra discussed projects to improve connectivity between the two countries, Thongdee was his doing his own bit at connectivity. He has watched old Indian movies based on love stories. He also said he liked Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay . "This is the good thing about cinema," he said, adding," movies reflect the culture and society of a country and bring people of different cultures together. As an example he said it was only after watching the film Madame Broutte from Senegal at this festival that he realised that even people in African countries could be so civilised and democratic." (UNI) Bengali film "Abar Aranye" to be re-produced for Bangladesh NEW DELHI, Oct 13: Critically acclaimed Bengali feature film Abar Aranye , the sequel to Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri , could be reproduced in Bangladesh considering its popularity in the region and to cash in on the star-status of Bangladeshi actress Chamba, film director Goutam Ghose said today. Abar Aranye apart from being the first sequel to be made in India is also the first Bengali film of noted actress Tabu. The film forms part of the Indian Panorama at the 34th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Ghose told UNI that since an Indian film could not be released for show in Bangladeshi theatres, the producers and the team of Abar Aranye were considering producing it afresh for release in Bangladesh theatres soon. Under the Cinematography Act in Bangladesh, a non-Bangladesh film cannot be released in cinema theatres and Abar Aranye being a complete Indian film has to be re-produced there before being released. Had it been a co-production still we could have released it there. But now if we want to release the film in the theatres in Bangladesh, we will have to re-produce. We are seriously considering it, Mr Ghose said. Apart from targeting Bangladesh, the producers of the film are planning to launch the film in North America and European countries where a chunk of Bangla speaking people live. The producers of Abar Aranye have also decided to release the film in the metros, to target the huge number of the Bengali populace living there. In the first phase, the film will be released in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. We know that people in these cities want to watch the film and there is a huge curiosity for the film. Mr Ghose said there is a huge entertainment market for regional films in the country, but they need a little push from the Government. About Abar Aranye . In the 60s, four city-bred young men had wandered into the jungles of Palamau for a vacation. This was in Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri (days and nights in the forest). In the new millennium, three of them decide to return to the forest in a trip down memory lane. However, in between a lot of things have changed. One of the three is dead, while another is dying of cancer. They are accompanied this time by their spouses and children. Even the forest is different because Palamau, now infested by Maoists, is unsafe for tourists. They drive off into the more picturesque forests of North Bengal. The three protagonists now have reached middle age from their earlier wild youth. And they want to relive the past. The film, co-produced by Ramesh Gandhi and Sumitra Bhattacharya, has Sharmila Tagore, the actress of Ray’s Aranyer as mother, Soumitra Chatterjee, Rupa Ganguly,Subhendu Chatterjee and Samit Bhanja. Talking to reporters this morning on the film which was shown at the Siri Fort auditoriam yesterday, Tabu said she wanted to do a film in Bengali for a long time and was waiting for the right script. The moment I heard that a sequel of Ray’s historic Aranyer. Was being made, I lapped it up,the winner of two national award for best actress said. She said the character of Amrita played by her in the film reflect her own personality. I can identify myself with the film. Mr Ghose said though several decades have passed ever since Ray’s film was made, conditions in a large part of the rural India still remained unchanged and that was the reason that he chose to take off from the Ray’s 1960s work. He said the film covers an interesting journey of two generations almost like a picnic, though ending on a sad note. In any case, life is so uncertain and has so many shades that one cannot expect to always see it end the way he or she wants, Mr Ghose added. Asked what motivated him to make a sequel to Ray’s film, he said the film was his attempt to do a bit of soul searching. How much we know about our own country? he asked. Replying to a question about the difference between doing a Hindi and a non-Hindi film, Tabu said, an artiste cannot Judge a film by a language. You have to completely be the character because that is what makes it easy and difficult for him or her, she explained. One why there were only a few actors and actress doing parallel movies, Tabu said she would not like to comment on others but she did it because she felt it more satisfying and also because she wanted to do different kind of roles. (UNI) 3 accused arrested under POTA in Gateway of India blast MUMBAI, Oct 13: In a fresh development, police today arrested under POTA three prime suspects in August 25 bomb blast at Gateway of India. The suspects are Sayed Mohammed Hanif (40), his wife Fahimida (37) and associate Arshat Shafi Ahmed Ansari (26). Hanif, Fahimida and Arshat were already in judicial custody in connection with July 28 Ghatkopar blast and were also suspected to be involved in the twin blast of August 25 at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar. However, they were today arrested in connection with Gateway of India explosion. Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed the POTA court that all these accused had been identified by most of the witnesses, including the driver of the taxi which exploded at Gateway of India in south Mumbai. He sought the permission of the Court to arrest the accused in Gateway of India blast case in view of the identification parade conducted by the police. After the designated Judge A P Bhangale granted permission they were arrested and remanded to custody. The accused were produced amidst tight security in the Court. In all 53 persons were killed and more than 100 injured in the bomb blasts at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar. (PTI) Hindujas allowed to go abroad till the end of Bofors trial NEW DELHI, Oct 13: Rejecting CBI’s plea, the Supreme Court today gave a major relief to the three Europe-based Hinduja brothers by permitting them to travel abroad till the Trial Court decided the Bofors payoff case against them. Making absolute an interim order of the Court, a bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice G P Mathur rejected the plea of CBI to revive the Court’s earlier order by which they were allowed to go abroad in rotation as one of them was directed to be in India at all points of time. In its earlier interim order allowing the three brothers to be abroad at the same time, the Apex Court had said that they should be present before the Trial Court as and when their presence in the trial proceedings was required. Acceeding to the request of senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, the bench ordered that "the present arrangement shall continue to operate until the special Judge disposed of the trial of the case." The three brothers - Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand - had been chargesheeted by CBI for receiving commission from a Swedish company in the supply of Bofors 155Mm Howitzer field guns almost 17 years back. The trial of the case has not been proceeding at present as the Delhi High Court is seized of a petition by the Hindujas challenging the framing of charges against them in the case. They have also sought quashing of the chargesheet against them on the ground of inordinate delay in its filing. (PTI) Rally ban order stayed by High Court KOLKATA, Oct 13: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court today stayed Justice Amitava Lala’s order banning rallies and processions during specified hours in the metropolis on weekdays, until further orders. The bench, comprising Justice Ashok Ganguly and Justice S P Talukder, passed the order in response to an appeal, filed by the West Bengal Government with supplementary affidavits, challenging the single bench’s order passed on September 29. The bench stayed all the directions of Justice Lala until further orders. The state was directed to file paper book by two weeks after the Puja vacation. The High Court reopens after the vacation on October 27. State’s Advocate-General Balai Roy moved the appeal on behalf of the state Government and submitted to the bench copies of the order of Justice Lala on the ban. The Advocate-General submitted in the affidavit that several political parties and other organisations were asking for permission from the state Government as well as the police for holding rallies and processions. In the affidavit, the state sought a direction from the court for a stay on the order of Justice Lala. The Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, had issued a statement yesterday stating that the state would move the High Court vacation bench tomorrow.(PTI) |
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