Let's move to Mars If earth becomes too crowded, where else in the solar system could humans live? Steven Cutts considers the options Maoists go into thinking mode rajib chatterjee http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=276977 Prolific display of talent at theatre festival statesman news service Trucks torched by PCPA statesman news service Liberhan unlocks tour surge | ||
| TAPAS CHAKRABORTY | ||
Ayodhya, Dec. 5: Ankit Sharma didn't need to wade through the Liberhan commission report's more than 1,000 pages to figure out what it all meant. It meant revenues — for travel operators and the Uttar Pradesh tourism department, for which Sharma works. The November 24 tabling of the Liberhan report has led to a surge of tourist interest in the temple town, so much so that Ayodhya is poised to comfortably beat Agra and Varanasi this winter, tourism industry sources say. "During last winter's peak tourist season (November to February), Ayodhya drew about 5,000 to 6,000 tourists per day, compared with 4,500 for Varanasi and 6,000 for Agra," Sharma said today, on the eve of the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition. "This time I'm hoping for better." A source in the Ramjanmabhoomi Trust, which keeps records of visitors to the makeshift temple, said last year's inflow was 5,000-5,500 a day whereas an average of 7,500 people had been visiting the site daily for the past six days. Tour operators' campaign literature reflects their eagerness to cash in on the trend. "The mosque was razed to the ground in the year 1992 by a group of followers who believed that it was the site of Ram's birth and a mosque had been constructed here only after bringing down a temple," an online campaign by a Delhi-based tour operator says. "Liberhan has brought it all out. Visit the place," screams another operator's campaign pamphlet. Even the state tourism department tried to milk the craze — and went a bit too far in its enthusiasm. One of its publicity materials showed the Babri Masjid site as Ramjanmabhoomi last week, kicking up a row since the question whether the site was indeed Ram's birthplace is in court. A red-faced government has asked the regional tourism officer to explain the faux paus. "This inadvertent error in a small guide booklet on Ayodhya has caused us unnecessary embarrassment; so we are withdrawing it immediately," state tourism director-general Avanish Kumar Awasthi said. Azmadullah, a shopkeeper here who lost his brother and nephew in the 1992 riots, looks back in anguish at those events but admits that the days surrounding the demolition anniversary are good for business since the occasion coincides with the peak tourist season. "This time the rush is more. Liberhan has resurrected interest in the Ayodhya incidents of 1992," he said. Khalid Mohammad Aslam, a trader, said the rush of tourists causes no trouble — both the visitors and townsfolk ignore the political rhetoric on anniversary day and go about their business. The administration has assured the travel industry that despite the heavy security and the high alert sounded for tomorrow, tourist inflow wouldn't be hampered, said tour operator Viswanath Rai. "We expect at least 7,000 tourists the whole week beginning tomorrow," said Faizabad senior superintendent of police R.P.S. Rathore, adding that the makeshift temple draws between 500 to 1,500 pilgrims daily round the year. Ayodhya, however, draws fewer foreign tourists than Varanasi or Agra. The visitors are mostly from southern and western India, and are predominantly Hindus. They pay a quick visit to the Hanuman Garhi temple and then spend most of their time at the makeshift temple, often asking questions about the aborted terror attack in July 2005 when six militants were killed. Many of the visitors also make it to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad workshop 2km away where stone blocks and pillars were cut and chiselled for the construction of a "grand Ram temple" at the demolition site. The work stopped as the chances of building the temple got bleaker, but the sculptured pink Dholpur stones, pillars and motifs have been a tourist attraction, said workshop manager Annubhai Sonepura. The work stopped as the chances of building the temple got bleaker, but the sculptured pink Dholpur stones, pillars and motifs have been a tourist attraction, said workshop manager Annubhai Sonepura. | ||
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091206/jsp/frontpage/story_11828903.jsp |
Job cry amid AIDS scare Desperate, a village wants to be heard | ||
| SANTSOH K. KIRO | ||
Chautha (Vishnugarh), Dec. 5: About 100km away from the state capital, Chautha is living with the nightmare of over 50 HIV deaths in the last decade. Now that elections are on, their only wish from the next government is to provide their sons and daughters employment opportunities so that they do not have to migrate to other cities in search of a livelihood and risk contracting the virus. "HIV/AIDS is a big problem in our village. Frustrated with prolonged unemployment, several youths migrate to Mumbai and Delhi to work as taxi drivers. They come back after contracting the virus," explained Santosh Yadav, one of the few from Chautha who is a management graduate, that too from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. But he goes out of his way to explain that not many are as fortunate as him, referring to a family business in the state capital and elsewhere. Chautha, under Bagodar Assembly constituency in Vishnugarh block in Hazaribagh district, has about 800 families with well over 200 young graduates. But barring a few who got government jobs a few years ago, no one else has landed any kind of employment recently. Have they been able to talk about their problem to the candidates, including sitting MLA, Vinod Singh, of the CPI(ML)? No. For, one has has had the time to campaign there as yet. When confronted, RJD nominee Gautam Sagar Rana said he had plans to visit the village soon. "It is a various serious problem which can only be solved by giving jobs to local youths and stopping them from migrating," he added. But Vinod Singh, son of former Bagoder MLA Mahendra Singh, claimed it was he who took the initiative — since there was no help forthcoming from the state — to record all HIV positive cases in the region. "I have also forced the district administration to ensure relief for the widows by way of allotting Antodaya cards which entitle them to special food-based assistance," he claimed. Yet, he agreed it was a serious problem. "There are numerous widows throughout Vishnugarh in Hazaribagh who are afflicted by AIDS. These helpless women have been left by the state to fend for themselves, despite numerous demands for setting up a testing centre." Ironically, the village has only one sub-public health centre with absolutely no facilities or expertise to treat AIDS patients. And when things get bad, patients go to Hazaribagh to a treatment centre run by an NGO. Chautha has other concerns too. Rice and wheat supply through PDS is irregular at best. Residents, mostly farmers, could do with better irrigation facilities as all they have are a few wells that they had themselves dug up. There is a canal that cuts through the village, but it has remained dry for the last 25 years as it hasn't been linked to a dam. The Jamunia rivulet flows though Chautha, which is surrounded by thick forests that have now become Maoists dens, though the rebels have so far stayed away from the village. "If the government constructs small check dams on the rivulet, we can irrigate our fields. We can grow vegetables and improve our lot," said Mahavir Yadav, a farmer. There are two railway stations, Hazaribagh Road and Parasnath, nearby. And each day more than 20 young men of the area, including Vishnugarh and Bagodar blocks, board trains in search of a better life in Mumbai or Delhi. On many days, an equal number of youths get off here, comng back home after realising they are sick and can't work anymore. "If the next government fails to address the unemployment issue, we will have no option but to leave our homes for good," said Mantu Yadav, a third-year BA student of Ghaghra Science College, Bagodar. Is anyone listening? |
Return to Ground Zero | ||||||||||||
| Seventeen years after the Babri Masjid was demolished, Seetha returns to Ayodhya and finds that its residents have put the incidents of December 6, 1992, behind them. What fires them today is not God but Mammon | ||||||||||||
The three black domes no longer loom on the skyline as one approaches Ayodhya. That's the first thing that strikes anyone visiting the place 17 years after ravaging mobs brought down the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. Today, high yellow railings block any view of Ayodhya's own Ground Zero. Gun-toting security personnel — on the approach road and on 13 watchtowers — keep a strict eye on would-be intruders. Forty closed circuit cameras monitor the entire periphery of the disputed site and the 74-acre area is guarded by hundreds of Uttar Pradesh police, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. What's more, two fire engines and a bullet-proof vehicle are permanently stationed there.
Cut to December 6, 1992. By the afternoon of that fateful day, a surging mob of kar sevaks had clambered atop the domes of Babri Masjid. They hacked away at the ancient structure, demolishing it brick by brick. Thunderous cries of Jai Shri Ram rent the air, the security personnel were in disarray, and if you happened to be a journalist you knew that you were recording the story of a lifetime. But now there's no way you can stroll into the site of the mayhem of that day. The only way to get to the spot where the masjid stood is to go as a devotee to see the makeshift temple of Ram Lalla that came up overnight between December 6 and 7, 1992. Vehicles are stopped over a kilometer away and you have to walk to the first of the three security checkpoints. The frisking at each is intrusive — shoes are checked, as are socks; a kneecap over an arthritic knee is pulled at suspiciously — 'what is this? Is there anything in this?' All one can carry is prasad and some money ("even God doesn't refuse money," sniggers driver Ram Kripal Maurya).
The approach to the temple is through metal cages, with PAC and CRPF personnel watching from both sides. As you go near the temple, holy threads tied to the iron mesh by devotees obscure the view outside. The 'temple' — the jewel-studded idols of Ram and his brothers under a blue canopy — hasn't changed since 1992, except for the caged approach. Offerings are given to the priest through the railings. The reason for this over-the-top security is a planned terrorist attack that was foiled in July 2005. The administration of Faizabad district (under which Ayodhya falls) is in a heightened state of alert every December 6 (since Hindus observe it as Shaurya Divas — bravery day — and the Muslims as Gham-e-Divas or the day of sorrow). The vigilance has been stepped up this year since the M.S. Liberhan Commission report that enquired into the demolition was made public recently. The report, which blames several top BJP leaders for having instigated the demolition, has generated much political heat. But Liberhan hardly finds any echo in Ayodhya. Kasim Ali, 60, a dholak maker whose house was burnt on the night of December 6, 1992, shrugs when asked if he feels vindicated by the report: "That is for our leaders. We have been living peacefully since then." Many ordinary Hindu residents echo the point. "It's only the media that is creating hysteria about Liberhan and Ayodhya. Nothing will happen here," says 40-year-old R.K. Pandey, administrator of the Divya Kali Mutt, one of the hundreds of mutts in Ayodhya. Nothing ever does, adds Faizabad's senior superintendent of police R.K.S. Rathore. Terrorist attacks, not communal tension, is the main worry. In fact, the 1992 demolition is a money spinner for many locals. Take Raju — his stall selling religious knick knacks just outside the Ram Lalla temple area has a television playing a film of the Babri Masjid demolition. It is a hot-selling item, he says. Apart from that, Ayodhya seems to be putting the events of December 1992 behind it. The signs are everywhere. The overwhelming sight of khakhi uniforms on the main street has been replaced by the colourful dresses of pilgrims. The then-deserted street is now choc-a-bloc with chaotic, noisy traffic. It took close to three years for the atmosphere to get back to normal, residents say. The grounds of Karsevakpuram, where tents of kar sevaks were pitched, are now deserted; schoolchildren are playing cricket there. A shed in the complex displays a model of the proposed temple. If and when it gets built, the temple will be 21 feet long, 11 feet wide, 9 feet high and be lit by 51,000 lights. Nearby is the Ram Janmabhoomi Karyashala (workshop), which then resonated with sounds of artisans from Rajasthan working on stone columns and pillars for the temple and the whirr of a stone-cutting machine. The machine is now rusty and silent, the columns and the Shri Ram bricks that came from all over the country stand desolate, guarded by three PAC constables.
The local leaders too seem tired. "No politician on earth can stop the construction of the temple," says Mahant Nritya Gopal Dass, president of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (trust), which owns the land around the disputed area. But somehow he doesn't sound as fiery as he did in 1992. Haji Mohboob Ahamad, a member of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, also sounds a bit jaded as he talks about how both communities must sit together and work out a solution. "People have lost their zeal," admits Pandey. "Someone needs to take the lead and then they will get enthused." It's a tad more difficult for Ayodhya's Muslims to forget everything. The demolition may have hurt the sentiments of Muslims elsewhere, but they, after all, lost their homes. Kasim is beholden to his Hindu neighbours for taking him away from his home on December 5 and sheltering him for three days. But he also knows that it was other Ayodhya residents who pointed out Muslim homes to the mobs. This is the first year since then that Muslims have not left Ayodhya in the week preceding December 6, admits Iqbal, who makes khadau (strapless wooden sandals). He had taken shelter in a wooded area near his house that night. Hindu-Muslim camaraderie is back, but the hurt hasn't gone away. Some Muslims are wary. "I have nothing to say. Go talk to our leaders," is the curt response I get from two. It's other issues that dominate people's concerns. Dirty open drains and heaps of garbage and plastic bags lend an air of decrepitude to the town. What pains Pandey of the Divya Kali Mutt more than the lack of progress on the temple is the neglect of the rest of Ayodhya. His mutt faces the Ram Pairi, the ghats on the Sarayu river where Ram is supposed to have taken his daily dip. The water is a slimy green and the paved area around is filthy.
Ayodhya's economy is linked to four major and several mini festivals and the thousands of pilgrims that visit it every day. "There are no guides, no toilets, not enough dharamshalas for people to stay," laments Pandey. After school, complains Shambu Nath Modalwal, a shopkeeper, there are hardly any decent higher education facilities in Ayodhya or even in Faizabad. Ayodhya, with its 5000-odd temples is more than the Ram Janmabhoomi, notes A.P. Gaur, a government official and local historian. If the infrastructure is improved and cultural festivals held regularly, it can become a thriving tourism centre and generate jobs, he argues. In February, the Uttar Pradesh government announced a Rs 233-crore Ayodhya package to improve civic services and roads and develop tourism infrastructure, among other things. "God knows where that money goes," says Mahinder Singh, former head of the municipal council and among the 50-odd Sikh residents of Ayodhya. Nothing epitomises the desire for change more than Modalwal the shopkeeper. Two years back, he converted his shop selling prasad into a mobile phone store, which his teenage son helps him run. "That took up too much effort, money and storage space. There's nothing left in it." Mobile phone shops are ubiquitous and bridge the religious divide. There's a Ram Lalla Mobile Store and one owned by 20-year-old Aftab. Iqbal too doesn't want his teenaged son in the family's traditional vocation of making khadaus. The boy is training as a mechanic in a Honda generator shop. Twenty-eight-year-old Shailesh Pandey's family manages a mutt, but his role model is Sahara India group chief Subroto Roy. "He started with Rs 2,000 and now Rs 2,000 crore is nothing for him," says Shailesh, who works for the Sahara group's para-banking business and runs a mobile phone shop. His other dream: to start a cricket club for Ayodhya — by 2014, he promises. "Once I get roti, I will chant Ram, Shyam and even Ravana," says Shailesh. "Let the temple be built," says Mohammed Salim Khan, sitting outside his house right next to the yellow barricades. "My earnings will improve," he guffaws. A proper temple will bring more tourists and more business for this taxi driver. Just that morning, he had picked up some pilgrims from the station and arranged a visit to the Ram Lalla temple. Forget Ram. Forget Allah. Mammon is clearly the God of choice in Ayodhya. | ||||||||||||
| http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091206/jsp/7days/story_11828746.jsp |
The aura around Auro | |
| celebrity circus | |
| BHARATHI S. PRADHAN | |
Even if Abhishek Bachchan and R. Balki chose to unnecessarily hyperventilate against the media in one scene of Paa, the fourth estate gave the film a standing ovation at the end of a press screening in Mumbai. Wish the Bachchans had watched that unstinted gesture of appreciation. Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par was probably the last time a film got that kind of response from the media. Amitabh Bachchan's delightful, sweet-funny-moving return to his childhood was precisely what this column talked about last Sunday — throw the actor a real challenge and watch him, even at 67, go at it with a twinkle in his eye. At the premiere of Paa, Amitabh had thoughtfully divided his star guests into two groups. Those that fell into Shah Rukh Khan's coterie — Karan Johar, Juhi Chawla, Hrithik Roshan — were put in one hall while Aamir Khan's aficionados like Rajkumar Hirani and Vinod Chopra watched it in another. Of course, the third Khan, Salman didn't figure anywhere. Aamir Khan's entry was so awaited that the screening was delayed until he arrived. And once he was in, the hosts (the Bachchans, Balki, Vidya Balan and the ubiquitous Amar Singh) even disbanded their welcome committee and walked away from the entrance. Ram Gopal Varma, who takes pride in announcing that he is too rebelliously different to attend marriages, parties or premieres, makes an exception for the Bachchans. After happily attending the Aishwarya-Abhishek wedding, he was there once again for the premiere of Paa. Naturally, he's still got to release Rann, an Amitabh Bachchan starrer, which makes him just as conventional as any film industry man. With Shabana Azmi missing, guess who Javed Akhtar sat with at the well-attended premiere? Ex-wife Honey Irani! There were two things that worked behind-the-scenes for Paa. One was that the Bachchans were careful not to overkill before release. You didn't have Auro, the 12-year-old struck by progeria, staring at you out of every magazine cover. That way he retained his freshness and turned out to be more lovable than ET. Perhaps that's what a maker confident of his product should be doing in these times when overhype can sometimes repulse instead of romancing the viewer. The second factor in favour of Paa is something we've discussed ad nauseam in this column — the budget. Amitabh Bachchan has been giving his son complete credit for keeping the cost of Paa under Rs 15 crore. It is a reasonable, easy-to-recover amount unlike the recent Akshay Kumar starrer, De Dana Dan, which cost nearly Rs 70 crore to make. Akshay has again done himself in by foolishly believing that the more he inflates the budget of a film, the bigger the star he is. After overlooking the scream-decibel performances of all the actors, Pritam's tepid music and the profusion of characters, De Dana Dan still had enough chuckles to sail home comfortably like Malaamal Weekly, if only it had been made like a Priyadarshan film — on a budget of less than Rs 20 crore. While Amitabh's Auro should fetch him all the best actor awards for 2009 (hope Reid & Taylor can rustle up enough suits for him), there are two comparisons that must be made. One is with Hrithik Roshan who played the mentally challenged Rohit in Koi Mil Gaya. In that film it was still Hrithik we saw playing a retard. But as Auro, except for that extremely expressive pair of eyes, Amitabh Bachchan disappeared, along with his famous baritone. Which brings us to the second comparison which is with Amitabh Bachchan himself. Years ago, when his turn as the kohl-lined don in Agneepath failed, Bachchan had been miffed that he'd changed his voice for the role but met with disaster. He had been angry because for years he had been criticised for repeating his angry young man act and when he tried to be different, he was lambasted for it. But trading his wonderful baritone for an irritating rasp in Agneepath, and that too for no apparent reason, was hardly what one could accept as challengingly different. But yes Amit, moulding your deep, sexy throat to suit a bright and happy 12-year-old is what we'd call a real challenge. A challenge you have met with aplomb. Hey, did you hear that Himesh Reshammiya was so impressed after watching Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, that he said wonderstruck, "Sometimes you hear of god-given perfection. That's what Ranbir has — he is simply, amazingly perfect. He has everything in the perfect proportions to make a perfect actor. I'll watch the film again only to see Ranbir." That compliment cannot be returned to Himesh for Radio as he has everything in disastrous proportions to make a perfectly unsuitable actor. This is one radio you wish you could switch off forever. |
Small screen, big stars | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The youth brigade is stepping into the limelight in a clutch of Bengali soaps, says Nandini Guha | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Gaurab Chatterjee's life has altered beyond recognition. Until a year ago he was a carefree youngster studying for his B.Com degree and spending hours in the gym to ensure that he was in peak physical condition. Now he's slogging for 10-12 hours a day at the Star Jalsha studios as the hero of the soap Durga. He has had to drop out of his B.Com course and hopes to write the exams next year. Also, he has cut back on his workout sessions. "I am a fitness freak and I used to normally work out twice a day. I don't find the time to do that anymore," he says, sadly. Noyona Palit is keeping even tighter schedules. The 23-year-old is dashing between two studios and two different small screen identities. She's slapping on the make-up for her prime role as Brinda in ETV Bangla's Barir Naam Bhalobasha and also has a smaller part in Star Jalsha's soap, Kuheli. Gaurab and Noyona are part of the new gang of youngsters who are making waves on the small screen and being invited into Bengali homes every night. They're young and fresh-faced and above all, they have a refreshing, bubbly enthusiasm that could propel them into the big league — if they work at it hard enough. Amazingly, some of these budding stars have fallen into their new careers almost by chance. Ritabhari Chakraborty, 17, who plays Lolita in Ogo Bodhu Sundori (OBS), was studying in class 11 when she was picked for the role after a screen test by director Ravi Ojha. "I did go through a screen test and acting workshop," she says. "But it's only now that I have learnt to draw attention to myself in front of the camera." Her co-star in OBS is 25-year-old Rajdeep Gupta who has also been plucked from the chorus line and pushed into the limelight, so to speak. Rajdeep, until recently, was a DJ at a five-star hotel. "Initially I was scared of acting with veterans but my fears have been allayed by helpful co-stars", says Rajdeep. OBS has the highest ratings among all the soaps, so Rajdeep's stardom is on the ascendant currently.
It was a similar story for Sandipta Sen who plays Durga. She landed the lead role in the serial by the same name at a Star Jalsha audition. A psychology graduate, Sandipta was deciding whether to do an MBA when the role fell into her lap. One year later, she is almost a cult figure among the rural and semi-urban audiences of Bengal. Stardom came suddenly for nine-year-old Oishi Bhattacharya. Oishi is studying in class three and she went for a Zee Bangla audition almost by accident. Now, she's playing princess Khona in the soap Khona. "She had no make-up or costume and was just asked to test for the part. When she was chosen, we were delighted", says mother Putul Bhattacharya, who accompanies her spunky star-kid on every single shoot. But most of the newcomers have been working their way up in one way or another. Take Arnab Banerjee, who has arrived on the small screen after working for four years on the stage. He's now playing the male lead in Jao Pakhi on Rupashi Bangla and also Shayan, a key character in Ke Tumi Nandini, a new soap on Zee Bangla. Similarly, Manoj Ojha, who's the male star in Binni Dhaner Khoi opposite veteran actor Monami Ghosh also slogged it out on stage before landing a plum role on television. Manoj reckons he still has a long way to go and says: "One not only needs to keep focus but also watch films and update one's acting skills."
Making their debut on the small screen has been a life-altering experience for these youngsters. Most were ordinary youngsters till a short time ago, going to school or university and hanging out with their friends. But now that's in the distant past. Take Manali De who plays a simple village girl in Bou Katha Kou, which has been running for over a year. At one level, Manali's life has changed because she's working almost 14 hours a day. But she's also now getting used to the fact that she is mobbed for autographs every time she goes shopping with her friends. "It feels wonderful. But people's expectations have skyrocketed after seeing me perform in Bou Katha Kou." Manali will be taking her higher secondary exams next year, though she's not a regular student at school any longer.
Are the channels taking a big risk by experimenting with fresh-faced youngsters? The fact is that they've made their calculations and have good reasons for casting youngsters in plum roles. Star Jalsha creative director, Yubaraj Bhattacharya points out that it decided to break the rules a bit when it launched the channel last year. Says Bhattacharya: "We purposely decided to launch new faces in prime time soaps. That's because we wanted the characters to be bigger than the actors in the channel. Everybody may or may not remember Smriti Irani but people do remember Tulsi. Today, everybody recognises Durga, Mouri, Rupam, Nikhil from our soaps." The other channels too are taking chances and giving newcomers a break. But they too say that the risks have been carefully calibrated. So they have a smart mix of experienced actors and newcomers. Actors like Noyona and Manoj for example, have been cast along with veterans like Chandreyee Ghosh and Monami Ghosh in soaps like Barir Naam Bhalobasha and Binni Dhaner Khoi. Says ETV Bangla, channel head, Parthasarathi Talukdar: "We saw the newcomers earlier in very small cameos or in non-fictional programmes. So, after considering their acting potential we decided to cast them in meatier roles for our soaps. In fact, they have turned out to be quite capable." However, some channels admit that hiring newcomers can be a calculated gamble and they make sure to hold acting workshops for the newcomers. "You never know whether it will click. We first see whether the looks will match and then take the actors through regular acting workshops since they are inexperienced," says Neeloy Das, an assistant director for Jao Pakhi. What do they look out for when they hire freshers? There are no rules to this one, but the one word that crops up time and again when talking to channel executives and young stars, is 'bubbly'. "Raviji (director Ravi Ojha) just wanted me to play a bubbly teenager for Lolita's character," says Ritabhari. Adds Noyona: "I play a bubbly young girl in this soap." Similarly, Arnab says: "It helps that I can identify myself with the character of Shayan, who is a bubbly youngster." Some youngsters are already making the most of their opportunities and are looking out for new shows or even movies where they can prove their mettle. Take Manali, who is busy shooting for a Bengali feature film Achin Pakhi and juggling her shoot timings.
And Rajdeep who has made his mark in OBS, aims to get into films after his contract with Jalsha ends. He's watching both modern stars and the legends of yesteryears as he attempts to build his career. "Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee among Bengali stars and Rahul Bose and Ranvir Shorey are my favourite actors. I try to pick up their mannerisms and acting styles," he says. One reason why the youngsters are being noticed is because the new genre of Bengali soaps is more lavishly produced and have therefore clicked. They have slick sets, glamorous looks, better costumes and smart furniture. While Star Jalsha is spending around Rs 1 lakh on each episode, Zee and ETV are spending around Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 for each episode. "Earlier, the realistic look was in, so Bengali soaps didn't have the rich look that Hindi soaps had. Now audiences prefer a designer look in everything. The camera and the lighting have also become far more sophisticated," says Shaibal Bandopadhyay, director, Binni Dhaner Khoi, which is one of the most popular soaps on ETV.
It must be emphasised that these youngsters have a long way to go before they make it big time. Most of these new actors are contracted with the channel — and paid about Rs 30,000 per month — to ensure that they stick around. That isn't a king's ransom but it's more than many youngsters fresh out of college earn. Says Jalsha honcho Yubaraj: "We ensure that they get good pay. We pay the producers and they in turn pay the actors. The pay may not be as much as what a doctor or an engineer earns but it is certainly more lucrative than what a normal graduate earns". Adds Gaurab: "For me, the fact that I got a good break is more important than the money." Some directors and producers are sceptical about whether these new crop of actors will last more than a handful of big serials. "I often wonder if these youngsters will remain focused on their work, which is acting for the rest of their lives. Right now, they are very young and many such youngsters have disappeared without a trace," says Rakesh Kumar, director, OBS.
Veteran actor and line producer Arindam Sil has doubts too: "The new league of actors seems to be better groomed and less inhibited than their predecessors. But if they have to survive in the big, bad world of acting, they have to be able to work in different roles and avoid being typecast." Survival can be tough in show business. Take a look at Oishi who sometimes works seven days a week. Her mother ensures that she goes to school in the mornings before going for shooting and carries along her school books to the sets. "I don't think I'll let her work for a mega-serial soon. I don't mind her taking up smaller roles though," says her mother Putul. Also, there could be many more potential stars coming up in the near future. And, only the grittiest of these youngsters will stay the course. Says Yubaraj: "We provide the launching pad. The rest is upto you." |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091206/jsp/graphiti/story_11823329.jsp
FEAR IN THE GUTS - Is the Copenhagen summit humanity's last chance? | |
| - Ian Jack | |
I've known a few writers who claim never to read reviews of their books or plays. This seems sensible: a laudatory review might derange a writer with vanity and a savage one destroy him with grief and self-doubt — not forever, but for a day, a week, or a month, depending on the thickness of his skin. But I do read reviews. I don't publish enough books not to, if you see what I mean. So far, fingers crossed for the future, those for my new anthology, The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain, have been kind and (I like to think) perceptive, and both those words certainly apply to the one in this newspaper by Sunanda K. Datta-Ray (October 30, 2009). It began with a sentence, however, that made my heart sink — that I "first became known in India for a scurrilous comment on Indira Gandhi when it was open season on her". I hesitate over what I'm about to write next. The "scurrilous comment" is a sleeping dog I've been happy to let lie for more than thirty years, but now that Mr Datta-Ray has prodded the dog — and the dog, as it were, has opened an eye — I might as well go further and get the beast to its feet. It happened in early March, 1977. Mrs Gandhi had ended the Emergency a few weeks before and called an election. I'd been in India since December — my first visit — and my paper, then the Sunday Times, asked me to write a big piece on Sanjay Gandhi, a controversial figure (no more need be said) whose essential role in the Emergency now continued into his mother's election campaign. I followed Sanjay to Lucknow and then Amethi but couldn't get an interview. I talked to his associates — names such as Ambika Soni and Roxana Sultana come to mind. A strong element in the speculation about him concerned the hold he seemed to have over his mother. Why had she alienated so many of her allies by indulging and promoting him? Now we know a simple answer: that she trusted him as much as she distrusted almost everyone else. But that was too straightforward an explanation at a time when India was emerging from media censorship and gossip was a substitute for news. At the Emergency's start, an American reporter had published the rumour that Sanjay had slapped his mother across the face at a dinner party. Blackmail was sometimes mentioned — people said that Mrs Gandhi had conceded so much power to Sanjay because he had "something on her". Then at a party in Delhi, a well-known film critic told me, "You know what they're saying in Calcutta? They're saying the mother is sleeping with the son!" When I came to write the piece I was, if anything, rather too fair to Sanjay, but I included a paragraph about the speculation, which seemed to me just as fantastical then as it does now. I mentioned the rumours that flew around Delhi parties and added the fateful words, "the most bizarre and ludicrous of which are blackmail and incest". The Sunday Times published the piece with these words unchanged, and then republished the same words a week later to emphasize how obvious it was that neither the newspaper nor I gave any credence to the stories (thereby adding, as an editor on the paper later remarked, "incest to injury"). All hell broke loose. The Indian high commissioner in London went to see the Foreign Office, the Foreign Office spoke to the Sunday Times, the Sunday Times obeyed the FO's advice and got me out of the country and on a plane to Karachi. Mrs Gandhi instructed London solicitors with a view to libel proceedings. Let me be plain about this: I was an idiot. I'd been a journalist long enough to know that a favourite technique of spreading a rumour is to deny it — and that denial of a damaging rumour, while at the same time publishing it, would be a fragile defence in the English libel courts. My forgetfulness of these facts came, I think, from a combination of circumstances. I was working for the first time in a culture different to my own; incest was then a buried subject in Britain and its reality not often acknowledged; and the sheer absurdity of the tittle-tattle seemed noteworthy, and in some way needed illustration. Very few people, I have to say, believed in this explanation. In Pakistan, I was welcomed quite wrongly as someone who had spoken out daringly against Mrs Gandhi's regime. Even when I returned to India the next year I discovered that what people remembered was that one word rather than the context of its dismissal. A couple of years later, when I got married by a magistrate in Delhi, I had to read the marriage form's long list of forbidden relationships before I could sign the certificate. Perhaps only then did I realize that what to me had seemed remote (and therefore fanciful) resonated differently among others. I wrote an apology to Mrs Gandhi and later she was gracious enough to allow me an interview. Eventually, mercifully, people forgot. Mrs Gandhi, Sanjay, the Indian film critic: all are dead. As for Mr Datta-Ray, I make only two small points. One, it wasn't yet "open season" on Mrs Gandhi when the piece appeared. That came later, after she lost the election and the Shah Commission got going. Two, my comment was scurrilously interpreted rather than scurrilously intended. But in not anticipating its likely reception I have, of course, only myself to blame. ************** According to its promoters, this month's Copenhagen summit on climate change is our last chance to save humanity from a horrible future. I don't know if I quite believe this — last chances have a way of repeating themselves, like Rolling Stones tours — but it promotes a sense of urgency that's very necessary if you believe (as I do) that man-made global warming is one of the two biggest challenges humankind has ever faced, with unrestricted and unsustainable economic growth as its partner. If the two go uncurbed they seem certain to destroy or at the very least ruin the lives of our children's children. In terms of human history, the prognosis has arrived at lightning speed. Only twenty years ago in Dhaka, at a conference on sea-level rise, most of the Bengali audience left after the morning coffee and cake, which meant that only a very few of us were still there when the climatologist unveiled his ominous maps. That kind of sangfroid ('Barisal under the sea? Another piece of cake?') is no longer so common, but it would be a mistake to think that even in Europe, where environmentalism makes most noise, the science that links carbon emissions to melting ice caps is generally accepted. According to recent opinion polls, more than half the British population either disbelieves in climate change completely or accepts that it exists but rejects human behaviour as the cause. At the intellectual heart of this denial is a small group of people, most visible as a few journalists published in the Mail and Telegraph newspapers, which was out to prove a 'conspiracy' on the part of thousands of climate scientists, politicians, and the 'alarmist' liberal elites of almost every country in the world (a group that would include the BBC). For Peter Hitchens, writing in the Mail on Sunday, Copenhagen will be "a festival of panic and exaggerated woe" and yet another staging post in a frenzy that "could end by bankrupting the West and leaving us sitting in the cold and the dark whistling for a wind to power our dead computers — while China and India surge on to growth and prosperity because they have had the sense to ignore the whole stupid thing." Setting the many good scientific arguments aside, the main problem for the conspiracy theory of climate change is the lack of a motive. Why would so many governments want for no good reason to bankrupt their countries or introduce unpopular carbon taxes? What's in it for them? The best answer Hitchens and his allies can supply is that they and most of the world's scientific academy are in the grip of a semi-religious hysteria. Utterly unconvincing — but many people in Britain like to hear this kind of opinion because it gives them the perfect excuse to carry on as before. Anything, anything, to ignore the fear in our guts. |
Carrot for renowned varsities |
| CHARU SUDAN KASTURI |
| New Delhi, Dec. 5: India may unconditionally exempt globally "reputable" universities from almost all provisions of a proposed law to regulate foreign varsities under fresh modifications recommended by the Prime Minister's Office to attract these institutions. The latest draft of the law, which will be vetted by a panel of bureaucrats, exempts select foreign institutions from all but one provision, under alterations based on the PMO's suggestions, The Telegraph has learnt. The select institutions — like all other foreign universities — will not be allowed to repatriate surplus revenues to their home country, and will have to reinvest any profits into institutions within India. But the select institutions — mentioned under a separate clause of the bill — can be exempted from any other provisions of the act without a condition that the earlier draft imposed, officials said. The earlier version of the bill granted exemption to "reputable" institutions from its provisions only if they invest not less than 51 per cent of the total capital investment for setting up the institution in India. But the latest draft of the human resource development ministry's bill — under consideration of a committee of secretaries — omits this condition. This modification is the result of apprehensions from the PMO that the 51 per cent condition would deter top institutions from collaborating with Indian entities. Government sources said "there may be world-class institutions of high repute who may not like to control institutions but merely collaborate for improving the quality of Indian institutions". Imposing provisions of the proposed act on such institutions of repute would hurt "public institutions in India which may not require investment by world class institutions while collaborating with them", an official said. Exemptions from the proposed law will be granted on a "case-by-case" basis by a panel of experts which will scrutinise applications from foreign institutions and evaluate the merit of their demand. The government sources said the move was aimed at benefiting only renowned institutions — like Oxford, Cambridge or the Ivy League universities. But the bill does not lay down any specific parameters on the basis of which an institution will be categorised as one of "repute". Based on the recommendations of the PMO, the government has also made other modifications to the bill — starting with its name. The words "maintenance of quality and prevention of commercialisation" are being dropped from the name of the bill. Earlier called the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill, the draft legislation is now titled the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill. Maintenance of quality and prevention of commercialisation — bedrock of the Indian education policy — will be taken care of by the regulation of entry and operations, the government sources said. The University Grants Commission or its successor — the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research — had powers to inspect foreign institutions here under the earlier draft. Under the draft before the committee of secretaries, Indian regulators will no longer have the power to inspect foreign institutions. But it will be mandatory for foreign institutions to disclose details of their fees and admission process. The earlier draft named the central government as the appellate authority to which foreign institutions could complain. Under the new draft, education tribunals — proposed under a separate law — will act as appellate authorities. Since the bill specifies that all other domestic Indian laws will be applicable on these institutions, clauses referring to national security interests and linguistic sensitivities are being dropped from the earlier draft. |
| http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091206/jsp/frontpage/story_11828913.jsp |
Mausam weds, Malda turns up | ||
| CHANDREYEE CHATTERJEE | ||
Malda, Dec. 5: The wedding was supposed to be a private affair but at least 12,000 people turned up at the gates of the Khan Chowdhury home to wish the bride — their MP, Mausam Noor. The 28-year-old Congress leader, one of the younger faces in this Lok Sabha, married her law school classmate Mirza Kayesh Begg this morning. The bride liked the throng at the gate. "I am very happy, especially because so many people have come here today to give me their blessings," Mausam said. She had said earlier that she wanted the wedding to be "for the people of Malda". The gathering, however, surpassed the expectations of her family. They had estimated 8,000 guests but had around 12,000 eating the lunch of pulao, rice, naan, vegetable curry, daal, fried brinjal, paneer butter masala, fish, meat, salad, chutney and rasogolla. About 450 hands were involved in cooking the feast, shepherding the guests in batches of 600 and serving them the food. The lunch got over at 5pm. "Khoob bhalo khaiyechhey (they fed us well)," said a satisfied 75-year-old Arjun Mondal. He came from Old Malda to wish the couple. The nikaah, where Mausam's uncle and Malda South MP Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury was the wakil , was not open for all to witness and was held before schedule. Mausam wore a green sari with silver zari work. She also wore her grandmother's antique emerald choker, her late mother Ruby Noor's diamond tiara and a long gold necklace from the groom's family. Kayesh wore a cream coloured sherwani. "I miss boro mama (the late Congress MP and railway minister from Malda, A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury), my mother and my father. They would have been happy to see me get married in this house," Mausam said, emerging after the ceremony with Kayesh around 11.30am. While Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury was the wakil — he helped solemnise the wedding — Syed Mansoor Ali, Kayesh's brother-in-law, and Qazi Amirul Islam, his maternal uncle, were the witnesses. Qazi Abdul Hai from Sujapur officiated the wedding. Kayesh, also 28, and his family arrived on the Gour Express today and headed straight for Kotwali. Before the ceremony, the two families had a spot of fun while negotiating the den mohor, a token amount promised by the groom to the bride's family. "It is just a custom now. The bride's family wants to raise the amount and the groom's side wants to bring it down. It was settled at Rs 86,786 worth of gold mohors or coins," said Sonia, Mausam's sister. Congratulatory messages came from Mausam's colleagues in Parliament. Congress president Sonia Gandhi sent her a bright pink silk sari and a white shawl for the groom along with a long congratulatory letter. A party was held in the evening for officials in Malda. Another will be held in Calcutta on December 13, where Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is an invitee. The menu had 19 items including mutton biryani, chicken chaap and fruit salad. The bride wore a red-and-green Benarasi and gold jewellery, and the groom a suit. | ||
| http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091206/jsp/bengal/story_11828768.jsp |
Mine rule tweak to hurt Bengal steel | ||
| OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | ||
Calcutta, Dec. 5: The proposed changes in the central mine allocation policy may spell doom for a number of mega steel projects in Bengal. The revision favours open auction of various mine blocks, including coal, where the highest bidder will walk away with the right to develop and sell mineral resources. Bengal industry minister Nirupam Sen today said the coal ministry was in favour of auction of untapped reserves in the state, while it was not stating clearly if past practices — where states had a say in mine allotment — would be dumped. The state had asked for 15 coal blocks to distribute among industries, especially steel. Sen said it had so far got only six and nothing had come after 2006. The Centre used to allocate these blocks under the "state dispensation route" whereby the state government had the right to decide who would mine. The Bengal government had allocated blocks to steel companies such as JSW Bengal, Jai Balaji Group to set up projects in the state. However, many more are in the queue — Videocon, Kalyani Steel, Bhushan Steel among others — to get coal through the state list. "The chief minister and I have met the coal minister. The chief minister even met the Prime Minister but we have not got any more mines. Yesterday, I got a letter from the coal minister saying the Centre would pursue open auction. It is a matter of great concern for us," Sen said while speaking at the 'Steel Conclave' organised by industry body CII. The letter did not say if the state dispensation route would be done away with, Sen added. The Bengal government has signed several agreements with firms in the metal sector promising them a coal block once the Centre allocated. If the companies are now asked to bid, they may not choose to set up a plant in Bengal which does not have iron ore, the other main ingredient in steelmaking. Steel companies came to Bengal in the hope of getting coal to produce cheap power to fire the steel plant. "This is bad news," said JSW Bengal managing director Biswadip Gupta. | ||
| http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091206/jsp/business/story_11828959.jsp |
Global tea output drops |
| SOUNAK MITRA |
| Calcutta, Dec. 5: Global tea output is likely to be lower by about 140 million kg this year, 40 per cent more than the estimated 100 million kg shortage for the full year. Tea-producing countries such as Africa, Kenya, India and Sri Lanka have suffered a sharp fall in output this year because of drought conditions during the producing months. In India, however, production has picked up in the last quarter because of improved weather conditions in the tea-growing regions. According to statistics available, the deficit in Africa and Sri Lanka is now 70 million kg, while India is likely to end the year with a shortage of 50 million kg. Taking into account a 25 million kg shortage at the beginning of the year, the industry is staring at a shortage of a little more than 140 million kg. Kenya's tea production during the January-October period declined 11 per cent to 242.2 million kg compared with the same period a year ago, according to the Tea Board of Kenya. Kenya is the largest exporter of black tea. During the January-September period, world tea production stood at 1,275.5 million kg, down by about 89 million kg. Production in January-September fell 10 million kg to 696.7 million kg, a fall of 1.4 per cent over the last year. In the first five months of 2009, the shortfall in production over the previous year was almost 13 million kg. Companies are hopeful that due to output shortage globally, India's tea exports will grow by about 6 million kg during the full year. |
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