Absence makes hearts grow fonder, and who knows it better than Farah Khan. And that’s why the director is planning another film with her best friend Shah Rukh Khan , even before their latest collaboration has hit the screens.
Farah, SRK still best of friends
Farah Khan recently told a leading tabloid that the superstar will feature in her next film post Happy New Year.
Farah and Shah Rukh, gave blockbusters Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om, have been friends since their early days in Bollywood. Their friendship soured after the two had a fallout over Farah’s husband Shirish Kunder. But like all true friendships, they swam past it.
When asked how did they resolve their differences, Farah credited SRK’s wife Gauri for the patch-up. “She kept the friendship going”, said Farah.
Well, we wish them all the best for Happy New Year that releases next week.
source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> Movies> Bollywood / October 14th, 2014
It is dubbed a silent killer. But many tend to take the doctor’s advice with a pinch of salt. Literally. Studies show that Indians consume twice the recommended salt intake, exposing themselves to high health risks. While there is enough literature on the dangers of high salt diet in English, the same is not the case with vernacular languages.
Urdu readers can now heave a sigh of relief. For the first time perhaps, a good Urdu booklet on the need for reducing salt intake has hit the market. Abid Moiz explains the deleterious effects of excessive salt consumption in a telling manner in his book Namak Ka Istemal Kam Karein. Through charts and tables, the 35-page booklet lists the risks involved and the care to be taken.
Dr. Moiz talks about salt in a gripping manner, adopting a narrative style. In easy to understand language, he traces the history of salt and how it was earlier used as a preservative to store meat and other food. Salt is made up of 40 per cent sodium and 60 per cent chloride. “It might add to the flavour of food, but its overuse impacts the kidney and heart, says Dr. Moiz.
He also establishes a link between the excessive use of salt and high rate of calcium excretion. “Cutting down on salt is also necessary to prevent bones from becoming brittle,” he writes.
In the coming days, Dr. Moiz plans to bring out health series on different subjects such as low consumption of sugar, choosing the right of type of cooking oil, excessive use of fruits and vegetables.
Another interesting book recently penned by Dr. Moiz in Urdu is about medical tests – Aam Tibbi Muaine. It is quite informative as it talks in depth about different types of tests such as stool, body fluids tests, mammography, endoscopy, imaging and prenatal tests. There is also a chapter about unnecessary tests being prescribed by doctors these days. ‘Defensive medicine’ as it is called, is intended to avert future possibility of malpractice. Such tests are primarily to avoid liability rather than benefit the patient, says Dr. Moiz.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by J. S. Ifthekhar / Hyderabad – October 13th, 2014
In a move that could shed more light on the important historical aspects of Naya Qila heritage complex, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started excavating the site of what was once the Qutub Shahi Gardens.
Reliable sources from the Archaeological Survey of India told TOI that officials of the Hyderabad Circle of the archaeological juggernaut conducted an inspection of the heritage precinct last week. The land is currently in possession of the tourism department and its private partner, the Hyderabad Golf Association, the sources said.
“We have received orders from the director general of the ASI in New Delhi to begin work. The intention is to expose the Qutub Shahi Gardens, also known as Deccani Gardens. Further, there has been a long-pending demand from the activists for us to begin work,” said an ASI official who did not wish to be identified.
The ASI plans to drain the land parcel of the sewage water that has been accumulated over the years. Further, the vegetation and the debris on the heritage land would be also cleared as part of the plan.
“A report by eminent historian Ghulam Yazdani explains the presence of Qutub Shahi Gardens. We are hopeful that the results will be seen within a week of the excavation,” said ASI superintending archaeologist R Krishnaiah.
Rumours about the ASI unearthing a treasure chest began spreading early last week. The ASI, on the other hand, was swift enough to deny these claims.
“There is no treasure. The land was tilled by farmers until a few years ago. All these reports are baseless,” an ASI official said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / October 06th, 2014
Freedom fighter and Indian National Army war veteran, Captain Abbas Ali, 92, died of cardiac arrest today at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.
Capt. Abbas Ali was born on 3rd January 1922 in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. From his early days, he was inspired by the revolutionary ideas of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. While pursuing his studies in Aligarh Muslim University, he came in contact with great communist leader of his time Kunwar Muhammed Ashraf. On his inspiration, he joined British Army in 1939 and was posted in South East Asia during World War II.
In 1945 when Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose called for revolt, he left British Army and joined Netaji’s Indian National Army (INA) but later he was arrested, court marshalled and awarded death sentence. After India gained Independence in 1947, he was released by Indian Government.
In 1948, Capt. Abbas Ali joined Socialist Party led by Acharya Narendra Deva, Jai Prakash Narayan and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and remained associated with the Socialist Party till its merger with the Janata Party in 1977. He was General Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Unit of Socialist Party in 1967 and 1974 and member of its Parliamentary board.
In 1967, he played a key role in formation of the first Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) government led by former Prime Minister, the late Chaudhry Charan Singh in Uttar Pradesh. In 1977, when Janata Party came into power, he was appointed first President of Uttar Pradesh Unit of Janata Party.
In 1978, he was elected to UP Legislative Council for six years. He had been a member of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board for six years.
Abbas Ali is survived by his son, noted journalist Qurban Ali and two daughters. He will be laid to rest later this evening at Qila Road graveyard.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home / by TCN News / October 11th, 2014
Actor-producer Saif Ali Khan has been appointed the brand ambassador of Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) to raise funds for the training of the athletes supported by the not-for-profit organisation. He has committed a contribution of Rs.20 lakh annually to the NGO until the Rio Olympics 2016.
OGQ is co-founded by sports legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone.
As brand ambassador, Saif, the son of late cricketer star Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and film star Sharmila Tagore, will garner donations and contributions for the benefit of athletes. He will also spread awareness about OGQ, its mission, vision and impact.
“I am thrilled to be the brand ambassador of OGQ as I love all sports. OGQ has been doing wonderful work to help Indian athletes in their quest for Olympic glory. These athletes are the true heroes and we must all do our bit to support them,” Saif said in a statement.
“I’m announcing a contribution of Rs.20 lakh per annum to OGQ until the Rio 2016 Olympics. This will go towards the training of the athletes supported by OGQ. In addition to this, we will be doing a lot of fund raising events for Olympic Gold Quest,” he added.
OGQ currently supports 57 athletes who are training for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Hindi> Bollywood / IANS / October 08th, 2014
The prestigious Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi (UPSNA) awards for music, dance and drama which were discontinued in 2003 have been revived. This was announced by UPSNA president Naved Siddiqui and secretary Veena Vidyarthi on Thursday.
“Besides a shawl and brass plaque, awardees will be given a purse money of Rs 10,001 on November 11,” said Siddiqui.
The past 12 years awards will be given in retrospect in two phases. To begin with, awards this year will be given for those entitled between 2003-2008 and in the next financial year the remaining till 2014 will be honored.
Out of the 115 entries, 66 have been shortlisted (11 artistes are awarded annually) to be honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi awards and 12 for Ratan Sadasyata at the three-day fest from November 11-13 to mark the centenary of UPSNA.
Ratan Sadasyata will be given to Sulochana Brahaspati (classical music) and Hari Prasad Chaurasiya (flute) for 2003; N Rajan (violin) and Daya Prakash Sinha (stage drama) for 2004; Savita Devi (light classical music) and Rajan Mishr (classical music) for 2005; Chhannulal Mishra (classical music) and Anoop Jalota (light classical music) for 2006; Saadat Hussain (qawwali) and Anil Rastogi (drama) for 2007 and Mudra Rakshas (drama) and Wilayat Jaafri (drama) for 2008.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / October 10th, 2014
The painting titled ‘General Claude Martin and his Friends’ or ‘Colonel Polier with his Friends’ depicts Colonel Antoine Polier, Claude Martin, and John Wombwell with the painter himself, Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), in the background, being waited on by Indian servants, probably in Lucknow around 1786-87.
Kolkata :
The Victoria Memorial Hall’s collections will find a place in the largest-ever digital repository of exhibits and collections on a global platform created by Google. Apart from Victoria, some others on the list are Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York, British Museum, National Gallery and Tate Gallery in London, Musee d’Orsay in Paris, Acropolis Museum in Athens and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Victoria Memorial curator Jayanta Sengupta told TOI that the museum and its finest collection of art and artifacts are expected to join the Google Cultural Institute, a cyber platform created by Google Art that enables users to view high resolution images from various museums and even compile their own digital collection. It is fast emerging as an invaluable resource for researchers as they can have access to objects from museums across the world and learn about art objects, their history and artists at the click of a mouse.
“A team from Google will reach Kolkata with sophisticated video and still cameras to film the museum and photograph the 120-odd highlights. Of these, they will select one item and photograph it with high-definition gigapixel camera so that it can be magnified online without distortion. Once the exercise is over in a couple of months, a virtual tour of the galleries at Victoria Memorial will be created and the images uploaded on Google Cultural Institute,” said Sengupta.
Victoria Memorial signed a memorandum of understanding with Google Art in February 2013 and has been communicating with the team since. The museum has sent the list of 120 items it considers the best among its collection of 33,000+ objects of art apart from the 10,000+ small objects like stamps.
Though the Google team is at liberty to select any one of the 120 objects listed by Sengupta’s team as the museum’s highlight for the gigapixel photography, the curator has suggested a painting titled ‘General Claude Martin & his Friends’. The painting that has an alternative title ‘Colonel Polier with his Friends’ depicts Colonel Antoine Polier, Claude Martin, and John Wombwell with the painter himself, Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), in the background, being waited on by Indian servants, probably in Lucknow around 1786-87.
“We have suggested the painting by 18th century German neoclassical painter because it is intricate. There are six paintings within the painting that can be enlarged and viewed in detail when photographed in a gigapixel image,” explained Sengupta. Other paintings that make the cut are ‘Bharat Mata’ and ‘Passing of Shah Jahan’.
Among the other objects in the highlights shortlist are oil paintings by Thomas and William Daniel, Abanindranath Tagore and Gaganendranath Tagore, a 1964 copy of the Ain-e-Akbari manuscript, Persian translation of Aristotle’s treatise Six Principles of Ethical Life and commentary by Dara Shukoh as well as his Persian translations of Gita and Upanishad, Aurungzeb’s personal Quran, Tipu Sultan’s dagger, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s sword and Queen Victoria’s piano.
“Once Victoria Memorial Hall joins the others on the Google Cultural Institute website, all objects that comprise the museum highlights will be there for the world to see and experience online. We have been working on documenting each object, detailing the history, the artist and its relevance. We are currently in the final lap of that exercise and expect to be on the website by this yearend or early next year,” said Sengupta.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Subhro Niyogi, TNN / September 07th, 2014
Motor vehicle inspector Shefiq B.’s photograph of a leopard at the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary won a prize at the State-level wildlife photography competition. Photo: K.K. Mustafah / The Hindu
A motor vehicle inspector’s commitment to wildlife photography
: His passion for photography almost cost him his life a decade ago when he was chased around by a herd of wild elephants in Thekkady. And that night in 2003, he stayed atop a tree to escape the wrath of the pachyderms.
For someone who took pictures with trembling hands and landed himself in trouble out of his ignorance about positioning, Shefiq B. has come a long way to grab the victor’s prize at the State-level wildlife photography conducted by the forest department.
A motor vehicle inspector by profession, Mr. Shefiq will receive the award from Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Tuesday at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady.
Motor vehicle inspector Shefiq B.’s photograph of a leopard at the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary won a prize at the State-level wildlife photography competition. Photo: K.K. Mustafah / The Hindu
The picture of a leopard lying on a rock at the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary won him the prize.
“Initially, the animal was behind a rock and was not fully visible before it stepped on to the rock. From its stomach I could gauge that the animal had had its prey just then and would be resting there for a while,” he said.
Photography became his passion after he took a five-year break from his job as a vehicle inspector.
During this time, he took up a job in the Middle East which gave him the opportunity to travel to the wildlife sanctuaries of Kenya, a photographer’s delight.
So much was he consumed by the passion that he didn’t think twice before taking a loan for purchasing a professional worth Rs. 2.5 lakh.
Since rejoining duty at the Aluva Regional Transport Office last year, Shefiq puts in extra hours at work, so that he can go exploring nature in the company of his camera on weekends .
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by M.P. Praveen / Kochi – October 07th, 2014
A majestic pre-Independence era haveli in Old City is caught in a controversy with the UP Sunni Waqf Board asking district administration to halt shooting schedule of a Hindi film in it.
Tucked away in the congested Akbari Gate area on Abdul Aziz Road, Ahmad Manzil was built in 1922 and belonged to tobacco merchants Ahmad Ali and Sons of global fame. In the 1940’s, owner Khan Bahadur Syed Ahmad Husain Rizvi declared it wakf property and laid out conditions under which the property was to be utilised by his descendants. The current mutawalli (caretaker) Iqbal Rizvi allegedly granted permission to the makers of ‘Tanu Weds Manu-2’ to shoot inside the building.
This has irked other residents of the haveli who allege that shooting of the film in the building is against the will of the wakif Khan Bahadur Syed Ahmad Husain Rizvi. “Shooting cannot be allowed since no such activity can take place on the haveli compound without unanimous consent of all beneficiaries of the property. Also, nothing that’s against the ‘Shariah’ (Islamic jurisprudence) can be allowed,” says Fareed Rizvi whose letter to the Waqf Board prompted the latter’s letter to the district magistrate.
Incidentally, the Waqf Board had written a similar letter to the DM during the shooting of ‘Dabangg-2’ but by the time a district administration inspection team reached the venue, shooting for the film had already concluded.
When contacted, the haveli’s caretaker Iqbal Rizvi remained tight-lipped on the issue. DM Raj Shekhar said the Wakf Board letter could not be tabled for discussion due to holidays but appropriate action will be taken after studying the facts of the case.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City>Lucknow / by Ali Rizvi, TNN / October 08th, 2014
