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IPL-Will it Discourage Indian Cricket Fans?
2008-04-17 12:43:00
 Imagine this; scantily clad women imported from Washington Redskins country gyrating to the beat of percussion- heavy Bollywood music composed by the likes of Vishal Shekhar and Anu Malik. None other than the king himself, Shah Rukh Khan, and the pretty Ms. Zinta, joining in, along with a boisterous crowd. Lights, camera and plenty of action. Pipe dreams? May be not.   Over the next 45 days or so, we?re going to find whether the mindboggling gamble that is the Indian Premier League will end up being a Bollywood style tear- jerker for all the people who?ve pumped in millions, or manage to pull off an incredible coup that will change the dynamics of world cricket forever. The purists, of course, are having a nightmarish time imagining how the game?s gone from comparatively genteel white-clad five- day affairs to one-dayers, day-nighters and colored clothes to the bizarre mania of T20 in a mere few years. Some see the evolution, others the degeneration of the game. But like it or not ...
More About: Cricket , Sports , Fans , Indian Cricket

Its not easy to light Olympic Torch this time!
2008-04-16 11:35:00
As the Olympic torch coming closer to complete its Indian leg, the series of protest, back-outs, unfoiling of plots to disrupt the relay as expected are coming true. As more than 100 activists supporting Tibet cause, under the leadership of TIBETIAN YOUTH CONGRESS, tried to intrude into the CHINESE embassy in New Delhi today. Shouting and holding banners reading messages like ?Free Tibet?, ?Stop cultural genocide?, and ?No Olympics in China?, the protestors also shouted HU JINTAO MURDABAD ( down with Hu Jintao). A timely action from Delhi police though nipped it in the bud.   Indian government has deployed more than 15000 policemen and personnel from Para Military forces to avoid any incident which disrupted the Olympic relay in London and Paris. The two-kilometer route of the relay has been turned into a highly protected area. In an effort to avoid leaving no stone unturned for the safe completion of the DELHI-LEG of the Olympic torch relay, the government has  cancelled the parti...
More About: Sports , Time , Light , Easy

MNS IN WNS
2008-04-12 13:31:00
For the first time, labour strife could be creeping into parts of India?s outsourcing industry. WNS Global Services, one of India?s biggest BPO experienced this first hand at its Nasik    unit when a section of workers protested over pay earlier this week and approached local politicians to help them. Till now, attempts to unionize employees in the BPO industry have not been notably successful. While the Nasik matter has now been resolved, independent local sources in Nasik said the employees stayed away from work for two days and returned to work after repeated assurances from the management. Yearly earning from the BPO industry is estimated at $11 billion for 07-08. A WNS spokesperson denied there was a strike at the Nasik centre, but admitted some workers were asking for payment of additional bonus and that it was in talks with them. ?In October 2007the Government of India passed a notification which required the industry to retrospectively change its bonus payout for employees ...
More About: Culture

THE OLYMPIC TORCH ROUTE CURTAILED
2008-04-10 16:32:00
Giving in to Chinese concerns regarding the security of the Olympic torch during its relay here, the Union home ministry and the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) have agreed to curtail the relay route to the high-security stretch of Rajpath. The torch relay - which is slated to have 80 participants in all- may start from Vijay Chowk on April 17, the scheduled day for the Delhi leg of the torch relay that would span 135 destinations world-wide, and conclude at India Gate: a run of 2-3 km. A torch-bearing ceremony is likely to be held at India Gate, for which the entire C-hexagon may be cordoned off. In other words, traffic from all the arterial roads leading to India Gate will be barred: in all possibility, from the night before April 17. The security concerns relating to the Olympic torch relay here were discussed at a review meeting chaired on Monday by Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta and attended by senior officials of the Delhi government, IOA, intelligence agen...
More About: Sports , Route , Torch

SIXTH PAY COMMISSION: RIGHT OR WRONG?
2008-04-10 15:24:00
People at the top of government get paid two or three times less than they should and people at the bottom of government get paid three or four times more than they should. There is no real system to reward or punish a good or bad job, we have too many people in government, and about 75% of compensation is not salary. Unfortunately most of this will be true even after the sixth pay commission is implemented. Any vibrant organisation (private, public or non-profit) knows that the sure path to mediocrity is a performance management system that does not create differentiation or what Alexis de Tocqueville called the “fear of falling and hope of rising”. The lack of a credible system to punish and reward performance means that year of joining is the primary metric for promotions. This may be objective but has lower predictive efficacy than palm reacting. I often fought with my “1964″ civil servant father when he identified people by their joining year...
More About: Finance , Commission , Wrong

PICTURE THIS: KHUDA KE LIYE
2008-04-10 15:21:00
If you were fond of movies and were there in 1965, you will probably remember the year as being an especially happy one. Vijay Anand’s Guide, starring Dev Anand, had been released to box-office and critical success. Satyajit Ray had been conferred the Silver Bear for Best Direction at the Berlin Film Festival for his 1964 film Charulata. On the more ‘popular’ side, Mehmood’s Bhut Bungla saw the legendary songwriter-singer duo of Rahul Dev Burman and Kishore Kumar team up for the first time. Perhaps less memorable, if you were a filmi fan, would be the fact that after September 6, 1965, when war between India and Pakistan broke out, an official ban was Imposed between the two neighbours on each other’s movies. So despite its runaway success in the Punjab, the M.J. Rana Pakistani-Punjabi blockbuster Jeedar would not be seen in Punjab on the other side of the border. The ban remained in place till Friday, when Khuda Kay Liye, directed by Sho...
More About: Bollywood , Picture , Khuda Ke Liye , Picture This

BAISAKHI : culturally
2008-04-10 12:07:00
BAISAKHI is one of the most enthusiastically celebrated festival of the Punjab and some adjoining states. This festival falls on the first day of BAISAKH which is also the first day of the new year of the VIKRAM SAMVAT which makes it all the more auspicious. This day corresponds to 13th April. Since wheat is the staple crop of the Punjab, it is the wealth, the measure of economic prosperity, the life and soul of the Punjabi farmers, who regard it as a gift from benevolent Nature. Baisakhi is by when the wheat crop is ripened and harvested. This ends the day and night vigil of the fields. Now it?s time for fun and frolic. BHANRAS are danced by boys and young men and GIDDA and PHOOHI by girls and young brides. Baisakhi melas are held in villages and small towns.   As farmers are flush with money, new clothes, utensils and othe`r household goods are bought. But during all this jubilation our farmers do not forget benevolent Nature. Though not always well-read, they understand the veda...
More About: Culture

INVESTORS TO BLAME FOR PRICES?
2008-04-09 16:18:00
High food prices around the world? Blame - at least in part - the investors who moved their money into commodities in the past five years, looking for better returns than they were getting from stocks and bonds. Global investment funds saw the potential for profits in commodities outstripping those from the stock market, and from 2002 started diving into oil, followed by metals and then grains. This move was fueled by falling interest rates in major economies, which make fixed-income investments less attractive, and a weak dollar, which tends to drive up the price of dollar-denominated investments such as most grains. These in turn attracted investors with little or no connection to the grain market often labeled as speculators, who took corn, soybean and wheat prices to a whole new altitude. In March, corn futures hit a record $5.88 a bushel and, soybeans $15.86-3/4 on the Chicago Board of Trade, the benchmark for world prices. CBOT wheat peaked at $13.49-3/4 a bush...
More About: Finance , Investors , Prices

INFLATION: IT WILL PINCH YOU AS WELL
2008-04-09 16:14:00
Spiraling food and commodity prices pushed the inflation rate to a worrisome 7 per cent and a concerned government, confronted with major supply constraints, threatened to come down heavily on hoarders. The latest price data released on Friday showed that the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) reached its highest since December 2004. The rate of inflation in the previous week was 6.68 per cent and 6.54 per cent in the corresponding week a year-ago. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath warned that the government would come down heavily on those found to be involved in hoarding and profiteering. “We will not hesitate to take the strictest measures, including using legal provisions, against hoarding and profiteering, whether in food, cement or steel,” Nath said. The Centre has already empowered state governments to impose stock limit orders on essential commodities to check hoarding. Earlier this week, the government announced a slew of measures, including imp...
More About: Finance , Inflation

KINGS XI PUNJAB
2008-04-09 16:11:00
KINGS XI PUNJAB - that’s what the Mohali franchise owned by Preity Zinta and partners will be known as- announced its arrival in a fashion not quite befitting the kings at the PCA Stadium. The setting in the first place wasn’t exactly royal - the venue had to be shifted at the eleventh hour from the scheduled Sector 17 to the PCA stadium- but the bubbly and energetic Preity Zinta, the powerful theme song by Punjab i pop star Daler Mehndi and the dashing Yuvraj Singh, Irfan pathan and Sreesanth made the occasion king size with their never-say-die spirit and attitude. “We wanted to launch our team with the people at people’s place in Sector 17. Unfortunately, the local authorities feared it could cause huge chaos as thousands of people wanted to come for the launch. So we had to shift the venue and put up alternative arrangements within two and half hours, and still we have put up the show. That’s what Kings XI stands for and you would see ...
More About: Culture

CORBETT NATIONAL PARK
2008-04-08 16:30:00
Corbett has the highest density of Tiger in the country- approximately one every 5 sq.km. and it was here that the prestigious ?Project Tiger? was launched in 1973. Four of deer- hog deer, samber, chital and barking deer and other prey like the wild boar support the predator. Besides the tiger, Corbett national park is a haven for 50 mammals, 580 kinds of birds and 25 reptile specie. The park has elephants, the Himalayan black bear in the higher elevations, sloth bear, varieties of lesser cats, dhole- the wild dog and an entire spectrum of colorful birds including water birds, pheasants, jungle fowl and the Indian hornbill.   Basking along the banks of the Ramganga are the slender snouted Gharial and the mugger or marsh crocodile. The river is rich in the magnificent mahaseer?a fine sporting fish prized by anglers, though angling is not permitted inside the national park. Other varieties fish found here are the goonch and the brown trout. The nearest airport to the Corbett Park is ...
More About: Travel , National , National Park

Retain Incentives For E&P
2008-04-08 15:51:00
The withdrawal of tax benefits for petroleum refineries, proposed in the budget, needs to be seen in the proper perspective. There is clearly no shortage of domestic refining capacity. There is much scope for exports of petro- products. In fact, petro-goods are now our biggest export item.  But the idea that the exchequer needs to continue propping up export capacities with generous tax exemptions is thor0ughly questionable. Multi-year fiscal benefits for capital intensive oil refineries may well mean actual misallocation of resources and over-investment, in what remains a rather poor country.   That is why the move to do away with 100% income- tax holiday available on refinery profits, for seven years, as per Section 80 IE (9) of the I-T Act, makes ample sense. Reports say that at least three upcoming refinery projects, in Bhatinda, Bina and Paradeep, would be affected. But oil refineries need to be viable sans fiscal prop-ups. Also, proper project management and fast-forward...
More About: Finance , Incentives

TOP HOOKERS IN BOLLYWOOD
2008-04-08 15:47:00
Julia Roberts has a new claim to fame. She’s topped an online poll for the most memorable on-screen prostitute. The Oscar winner’s role in Pretty Woman saw her beating off competition from Jennifer Jason Leigh and Patricia Arquette among others. But it’s not just Hollywood that has created memorable hookers; Bollywood too, has had its share. Here we pick five of the best.   The first name to pop up is from a little while back. Sharmila Tagore, might be busy heading the Indian Censor Board, but was uncensored and fabulous as Kajli in Mausam, where she played a foul-mouthed prostitute living in a brothel. Fast forward to the Naughtiest and you have a slew of young actresses doing full justice to their roles as women of the night and delivering award winning performances. Like our next nominee, Kareena Kapoor in Chameli. In this movie by Sudhir Mishra, she played a prostitute who has been sold at a young age by her uncle to a brothel. For this tough, street smar...
More About: Hookers

Mandatory IPO Underwriting A Failed Idea
2008-04-08 15:44:00
SEBI’s primary market advisory committee is reportedly in favour of making underwriting mandatory for initial public offers (IPOs). This is an avoidable complication, and one which we have already experimented with in the past. It would further distract retail investors and may even give them false comfort. In the early 1990s, SEBI had introduced mandatory underwriting when IPO pricing was freed. But the concept was found wanting and mandatory underwriting was withdrawn in October 1994. Underwriting of IPOs is essentially a risk-mitigating mechanism, a kind of insurance.     The issuer enters into an agreement with the underwriter(s) to take up the unsubscribed portion, if any, subject to some limits, of the IPO so that the issue sails through even if investor response is poor. In exchange, the issuer pays an underwriting fee to the underwriters. Therefore, while underwriting pushes up the issue costs, it provides a cover against under-subscription. Meanwhile, investors, ...
More About: Finance , Idea

IT IS SHAURYA
2008-04-07 18:05:00
No, no, it’s not afew good men. Or its Indian stage adaptation Court Martial. It’s Shaurya by Samar Khan who’s claiming that he’s made a slice of army life original.   Jaane bhi do Tom Cruise- Demi Moore. After all, the outcome doeshave its rewards. To be fair, there are genuinely gripping moments, fine performances and seamless cinematography byCarlos Catalan. At the core of the needlessly lengthy screenplay, find a feud betweeen a group of extra- senior armyofficers and an army legal eagle (Rahul Bose) who’s more adventurous than Stevan Seagal. Order, order, Eagle must get serious now. Because h has to defend a captain (Muslim, of course) accused of shooting an officer with a gun that throws up more smoke than a HOOKAH. Bose, now worried, wriggles toes.   Accompained by an intrepid journalist (Minissha Lamba looking like none of our female colleagues), Bose plays part Sherlock Holmes- part- superb-lawyer-part-humanist-part-well-jus t-part-part-all-big-...
More About: Bollywood

UPHILL STRUGGLE
2008-04-07 16:29:00
Every little up move seems such a struggle nowadays. It is like swimming against a tide. Even tailwinds like global rallies do not seem to help us much. Up-moves are laboured, down drifts are quicker and effortless. The market is getting more and more distrustful of these intermittent global up-moves. Only a sustained up-move or a reduction in global volatility can settle things somewhat but sadly; that is just not coming about. Hopefully; we will be able to strike out a more substantial global up-move in April, even if it is just a relief rally. Anything to lift us out of this morass. , By the end of this week, there could be more bad news on the inflation front. In the US, while the manufacturing data was a bit better than expected, the non-farm payroll data on Friday will be watched closely. Next week onwards, the earnings season begins for us here. The market is visibly worried and rumours are flying thick and fast on which stocks will need to make ugly disclosure...
More About: Culture

When River-Water Disputes Peak
2008-04-07 16:26:00
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are two states divided by a common river in more ways than one. The passions flowing from the inter-state Cauvery dispute stem not from the falling levels of water in the river but the rising levels of political rhetoric, espedal1y when elections loom in either Karnataka or Tamil Nadu. Earlier, all Bangaloreans had to do to ascertain that the river-water dispute was on the boil was to switch on their TVs. The surest sign the dispute had peaked was when all Tamil TV channels were blacked out! This time, the TV channels have so far been spared the guillotine in the wake of the TN CM’s decision to press ahead with the Hogenakkal drinking-water project. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists prevented the screening of Tamil movies. Some Chennai lawyers showed their respect for the law by ransacking a Kannadiga-owned fast-food joint on the Madras High Court premises. The saving grace: there is as yet no move to indefinitely black out Tamil chan...
More About: Culture , River , Water , Disputes , Peak

?Hey Ram Hey Ram? by Jagjit Singh - Getting in touch with your spiritual si
2008-04-06 21:48:00
Click on the title to listen and watch Hey Ram by Jagjit Singh , one of the great spiritual songs. It?s always a great experience when you have so many different religions in one country. You can listen to great spiritual songs and share your thoughts with everyone.
More About: Video , Spiritual , Touch , Religions

DREAMS SHATTERED
2008-04-06 15:51:00
Another up move that flattered to deceive, the second in 2 months. All of us want to believe the worst is over, but the ticker simply refuses to oblige. Hopes are raised every time the Nifty pulls back towards the 5,000 mark and then there is despair as it fizzles out. Perhaps there are just too many headwinds at this point for the market to move ahead unfettered. The biggest trigger for the recent sell-off is inflation. The inflation data and reactions from policy makers have left little room for doubt for the equity market that all hopes of interest rate cuts should be abandoned for the moment. In fact, many economists have begun talking about interest rate hikes, which would be disastrous for the stock market.   Another up move that flattered to deceive, the second in 2 months. All of us want to believe the worst is over, but the ticker simply refuses to oblige. Hopes are raised every time the Nifty pulls back towards the 5,000 mark and then there is despair as it fizzles o...
More About: Dreams , Finance

AKSHAY DARED TO JOIN DEVILS
2008-04-06 10:08:00
Akshay Kumar loves to talk in hyperbolic excess. “My name is Akshay Kumar Hari Om Bhatia, and I hail from Delhi’s Paranthe Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk,” he said, executing imaginary pulls, drives and cuts in a rhythm that matched his drawl. But when the setting and the occasion is such - it was the launch of Delhi Daredevils’ website and official clothing - showboating and hyperbole have to rule the roost. And who better to pull off the “act” than Hari Om Bhatia, brand partner of GMR Sports - owners of the Delhi IPL franchise. Emerging from the sudden darkness that descended upon the ritzy hall, Akshay, wearing a cricket helmet, was quick to take a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about his playing days at Lal Quila, before professing his loyalty towards his new “muse”- the Delhi Daredevils. Perhaps it was fitting too that glamour transcended purpose as the four actual “Daredevils” who had turned up - Virender Sehwag, Gau...
More About: Join , Devils

TRANSFER OF ASSETS & PEOPLE
2008-04-06 07:02:00
The shape of outsourcing is changing. Indian IT companies, which have traditionally fought shy of taking on any projects involving transfer of assets and people, are now increasingly becoming open to them. In the last one year, large Indian IT firms have announced five such deals that involve taking over some part of the client’s facilities or staff. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest software exporter, has so far clinched four deals involving the transfer of hardware and software assets and people. Last month, as part of a contract it won from Nokia-Siemens Networks to provide research services, TCS also took over 90 employees of Nokia-Siemens. It is a natural evolution. When the scale of opportunity is big, then asset takeover is one of the options. In general we don?t takeover people or assets unless we be1ieve it is strategic to us, and the people are bringing knowledge that is essential. Through the transfer, TCS gained a delivery centre staff...
More About: People , Finance , Transfer

THEY ARE MARRIED
2008-04-06 06:58:00
There was a time when long jumper Anju Bobby George was an object of envy. For most, marriage comes as a rude end to their dreams, days of glory and hope. Not for George; she peaked. But for every George there were many Neetu Davids. The left-arm off-spinner gave up a career with 171 wickets to get married. And that was the last anyone heard of her. Times have changed, however. Cricketer Anjum Chopra, shuttler Shruti Kurien and hockey player Pritam Rani Siwach are handling a successful sporting career and marriage quite well.   Anjum Chopra is the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. Her batting and captaincy have not lost their edge or finesse after marriage. In fact, she is perhaps a better player. Busy with her cricket, Chopra had not given a thought to marriage. But there were others worrying for her. So at 28, she took the plunge. . Her husband is an IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. It’s been three years since; and she has no complaints - she re...
More About: Sports , Married

The lie of the land
2008-04-06 06:56:00
In the seminal Shadowlines, a book almost certain to survive the mélange called Indian - English writing, there’s a rather interesting episode. A character puts a compass to a map and finds that an incomprehensible Chinese city is much closer to ‘home’ than the imagined centre of reference, say, Kolkata or Delhi. Nations, it has been said, are often merely imagined communities, and the maps that circumscribe their outer limits can be as much cartographic depictions of perceived difference with those outside borders as much as an attempt to assimilate the differences within.   Often, more so in recent times, one can find the seemingly permanent contours of countries and continents suddenly, and alarmingly, shift shape. Call it one of the fringe effects of rapid globalization. And Europe, with all its associations of relative stability and permanence, has been surprisingly most affected. One could have a reasonably long list of the number of sudden eruptions of...
More About: Culture , Land

HOLLYWOOD COMING TO INDIA?
2008-04-05 16:49:00
Karan Johar may well be Twentieth Century Fox and Star India ’s route to make a mark in the Bollywood space. Not willing to lose out in the Bollywood race, ‘Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Star India are now well on their way to firm up India entry strategy. In two months, the Indian film industry will see Fox Star Studios-a 50:50 JV between Rupert Murdoch’s television business in the country and News Corp’s Hollywood Studio.   Star insiders told that Star is currently in advanced negotiations with Karan Johar to do a slate of films jointly with Dharma Productions. The funding of the film will be entirely done by Fox Star Studios. Fox Star is negotiating to retain all commercial rights for the first 10 years. The IPR of the film will later go back to Dharma Productions. In fact, the negations on currently are on the possibility for a slate of movies that both parties will coproduce. “Both Fox and Star are evaluating the film and entertainment ...
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SHIFT REFORM FOCUS TO PRIMARY MARKET
2008-04-05 06:56:00
Almost four years ago, the present chairman of securities market regulator SEBI was a member of a committee?Securities Market Infrastructure Leveraging Expert Task Force (SMILE)-to carry out a health check on the state of infrastructure and processes of the local primary market. That committee presented its report way back in 2004. Yet, while there has been significant progress in reforms relating to the secondary market, much of that seems to have bypassed the primary market, although this segment has been rocked by issues of manipulation of the IPO allotment process, besides pricing of IPOs. There is a widespread belief in the financial markets that the SMILE report was dumped then due to the fact that the committee was headed by PJ Nayak, now chairman of Axis Bank against whom were ranged some powerful officials in SEBI.   Now there is a growing realisation both within the regulator’s office and the government that the focus ought to be on primary market reforms both ...
More About: Finance , Reform , Focus , Primary

SAIF & THE TATTOO
2008-04-05 06:54:00
From all the public displays of affection and sentimental declarations, there’s no doubt that the love between Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor is genuine. But, according to the rumour mills, the same can’t be said about the actor’s much publicised tattoo.  “Sources” and tattoo artists, claim that the work of art is a temporary tattoo that needs re- inking every six days - repeating what I thought of it when I first saw. According to a film industry source, “When Saif and Kareena went out to party after Race’s premiere, Saif took off his coat and there was no tattoo on his arm,” From previous interviews, he’s made it clear he prefers not to talk about the tattoo.   So how do you spot the real thing from the not-so-real thing? Michael Cowasji, proprietor of Body Art Studio, a popular tattoo establishment in Delhi, says, “When I first saw the tattoo on Saif’s arm, it seemed neither artistic nor quite real. For a t...
More About: Bollywood , Tattoo

LIGHTENING IT UP
2008-04-05 06:52:00
Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss is an extremely fit and healthy man. And as is wont with fit and healthy men, they want everyone around them to be fit and healthy. Nothing wrong with that. But like Mahatma Gandhi, our Health Minister isn’t very understanding about the shortcomings of his fellow men who might not be too fit and healthy. In fact, Mr. Ramadoss downright despises people who ruin their bodies by indulging in that disgusting, leprous habit: smoking. So in a fit of extreme righteousness, the minister is now reportedly planning yet another cut and thrust in his ongoing duel with smokers in this country. Mr. Ramadoss, sensing that not enough is done to dissuade employees to give up that nicotine addiction, wants organisations to be fined for allowing their workers to smoke inside their premises. This wriggling deeper into the smoky zone cigarette smokers with the next stop perhaps being in the bathrooms of people’s houses.   The dear minister obviously is doing this...
More About: Indian History

TOP SHUTTLERS IN HYDERABAD
2008-04-04 06:37:00
 The arrow reads ‘14 km to Gachibowli Stadium’ in Hyderbad. Suddenly one gets to see huge posters of local heroes; Saina Nehwal and Chetan Anand, welcoming badminton lovers to the Indian Open Grand Prix. But as one enters the stadium, one gets to see just four Chinese and a Korean shuttler training in the indoor courts. Considering that the big event starts, one expects frenetic activity. “The players have just started coming,” says one of the organisers. As evening approached, more players started coming in, including fourth seed and world number 11 Sung Hwan Park from Korea. The tall and lanky shuttler plays India’s Arvind Bhat in the second round and he seemed pretty confident of winning “only if the weather is a little bit cooler“. This is my second visit to India. I played the Thomas Cup Asia Zone qualifiers in Jaipur in 2006: Everything is good here except the weather.The heat can be worrying,” says Park. The Indian team - excep...
More About: Sports , Hyderabad

COPIES FROM THE PAST
2008-04-03 16:59:00
Down south recently, I was struck by the number of Tamil songs turned, verbatim, into Hindi hits. For instance, Chitragupta’s Main Chup Rahungi Lata and chorus raag Bhairavi number, Tumheen ho mata pita tumheen ho, emerged as the Tamil Ammavum neeye appavum neeye from Kalathur Kannaamma. The same composer’s Main bhi Ladki Hoon Lata-P B Srinivos duet, Chanda se hogaa woh pyaara on Dharmendra:- Meena Kumari, what’s it if not Poopole poopole pirakkum from Nanum Oru Penn? Next, composer Hemant Kumar’s Lata-Rafi Miss Mary duet on Rekha’s dad Gemini Ganesan alongside Jamuna, Brindavan ka Krishna Kanhaiya in raag Pahadi, has its total origin in A M Rajah-P Susheela’s Brindavanatil Nandakumaran from Missiamma. What came as a culture shock was to find Madan Mohan’s passing off Meow meow punnakutti (from the Tamil Kumudam) as Lata’s Meow meow meri sakhi on Nimmi (in Pooja Ke Phool). Any gripe then in that Tami1speaking Muslim from the south, M...
More About: Bollywood , Past

IT WAS VEERU?S TEST
2008-04-03 16:31:00
It would be wrong to begin any analysis of the Test match with any subject other than Virender Sehwag’s incredible triple century. ?Of course, it was a flat track for batting but that does not explain the skill, imagination, strength and fitness to score at more than a run a ball for nine hours. Many times I thought ‘this can’t carryon’ because he was playing so many shots. Surely, he would make a mistake. But he didn’t and I couldn’t help admiring his stroke play.   As a batting all-rounder rather than a bowling all-rounder, I have had plenty to say over the years about pitches which offer an unfair advantage to bowlers and make life difficult for the batsmen, so I must be careful what I say now. I am in favour of pitches which provide an even contest between bat and ball, which provide even bounce for the batsmen but also some movement, seam or spin, for the bowlers. Obviously this pitch did not do that. I would have been happy to bat on i...
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