Monday, June 30, 2008
A salute to early British orientalists who opened up riches of Sanskrit
Setting foot on the moon, in 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong described his step as " one small step for (a) man, a giant leap for mankind."
A dozen men have walked on the moon between 1969 and 1972. Such flights were discontinued after 1972, as they served no scientific, strategic or economic purpose. The surface of earth's closest space neighbor was barren and had no treasures to yield.
How much more meaningful to the West has been in the long run its discovery of Sanskrit!
One of the first to study it, and notice its kinship to the classical languages of Europe was Sir William Jones, who famously remarked, at the third annual meeting of the Asiatic Society he founded in Calcutta in 1784, "The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure,more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists."
Jones was not alone in admiring the riches Sanskrit opened up before him.
The contempt for India and Indology -- best illustrated by the remark of Thomas Babington Macaulay -- ""a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia"-- had not yet become habitual with the British in India.
Indeed the reverse was true of Lord Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of India.
Hastings encouraged the study of Sanskrit, he was the patron of Charles Wilkins, who made the first direct translation of a Sanskrit work into a European language -- the Bhagavad Gita.
The avowed motive of Hastings was that a knowledge of Indian literature was necessary for a handful of Britons to rule India, but he recognized that the classics of Indian literature would remain long after the Raj faded from memory.
He was clear-headed. He recognized that Britain's dominion was based on ‘the right of conquest,' and that it weighed on Indians as ‘chains.' But unlike Macaulay, he recognized the timeless worth of the treasures being revealed by the new scholarship.
"Every application of knowledge and especially such as is obtained in social communication with people, over whom we exercise dominion, founded on the right of conquest, is useful to the state … It attracts and conciliates distant affections, it lessens the weight of the chain by which the natives are held in subjection and it imprints on the hearts of our countrymen the sense of obligation and benevolence… Every instance which brings their real character will impress us with more generous sense of feeling for their natural rights, and teach us to estimate them by the measure of our own…
"But such instances can only be gained in their writings; and these will survive when British domination in India shall have long ceased to exist, and when the sources which once yielded of wealth and power are lost to remembrance"
It is fashionable nowadays to question the motives of the early Indologists, but it will be rank ingratitude not to pay homage to the scholars of the class of 1780s, to Sir Wilson Jones, to Sir Charles Wilkins, or to the Serampore missionaries, who were never in the employ of the East India Company.
William Carey, John Clark Marshman, and William Ward, -- later known as the Serampore Trio, -- created a center of oriental learning at Serampore, just outside the East India Company's limits. Although not connected in any way with John Company's commercial and political activities, Carey was intimately connected with the training of its officials. Carey was appointed to the world's first Chair for Modern Indian Languages at the Fort William College . We will describe the wonderful work of the Serampore Trio and that of the next generation of orientalists in a subsequent article, but, for the moment, let us focus on the pioneers.
Wilkins was not only the first translator of the Gita into English, but was also the creator of the first Devanagari and Bengali type face.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
A dozen men have walked on the moon between 1969 and 1972. Such flights were discontinued after 1972, as they served no scientific, strategic or economic purpose. The surface of earth's closest space neighbor was barren and had no treasures to yield.
How much more meaningful to the West has been in the long run its discovery of Sanskrit!
One of the first to study it, and notice its kinship to the classical languages of Europe was Sir William Jones, who famously remarked, at the third annual meeting of the Asiatic Society he founded in Calcutta in 1784, "The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure,more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists."
Jones was not alone in admiring the riches Sanskrit opened up before him.
The contempt for India and Indology -- best illustrated by the remark of Thomas Babington Macaulay -- ""a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia"-- had not yet become habitual with the British in India.
Indeed the reverse was true of Lord Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of India.
Hastings encouraged the study of Sanskrit, he was the patron of Charles Wilkins, who made the first direct translation of a Sanskrit work into a European language -- the Bhagavad Gita.
The avowed motive of Hastings was that a knowledge of Indian literature was necessary for a handful of Britons to rule India, but he recognized that the classics of Indian literature would remain long after the Raj faded from memory.
He was clear-headed. He recognized that Britain's dominion was based on ‘the right of conquest,' and that it weighed on Indians as ‘chains.' But unlike Macaulay, he recognized the timeless worth of the treasures being revealed by the new scholarship.
"Every application of knowledge and especially such as is obtained in social communication with people, over whom we exercise dominion, founded on the right of conquest, is useful to the state … It attracts and conciliates distant affections, it lessens the weight of the chain by which the natives are held in subjection and it imprints on the hearts of our countrymen the sense of obligation and benevolence… Every instance which brings their real character will impress us with more generous sense of feeling for their natural rights, and teach us to estimate them by the measure of our own…
"But such instances can only be gained in their writings; and these will survive when British domination in India shall have long ceased to exist, and when the sources which once yielded of wealth and power are lost to remembrance"
It is fashionable nowadays to question the motives of the early Indologists, but it will be rank ingratitude not to pay homage to the scholars of the class of 1780s, to Sir Wilson Jones, to Sir Charles Wilkins, or to the Serampore missionaries, who were never in the employ of the East India Company.
William Carey, John Clark Marshman, and William Ward, -- later known as the Serampore Trio, -- created a center of oriental learning at Serampore, just outside the East India Company's limits. Although not connected in any way with John Company's commercial and political activities, Carey was intimately connected with the training of its officials. Carey was appointed to the world's first Chair for Modern Indian Languages at the Fort William College . We will describe the wonderful work of the Serampore Trio and that of the next generation of orientalists in a subsequent article, but, for the moment, let us focus on the pioneers.
Wilkins was not only the first translator of the Gita into English, but was also the creator of the first Devanagari and Bengali type face.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Bhagavad Gita, British orientalists, Calcutta, Charles Wilkins, East India Company, Europe, European language, india, Indologists, Moon, Neil Armstrong, patron, Sanskrit
Sunday, June 29, 2008
War hero Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, 94
His handlebar moustache and his ramrod stiff gait gave Field Marshal Sam Hor musji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw a commanding presence on the battle field, but to the troops that served under him he was their beloved "Sam Bahadur", a soldier's general who put their well- being before his own.Manekshaw, 94, who died at the military hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu early on June 27 after developing acute bronchopneumonia, will be best remembered for the decisive campaign he crafted during the 1971 India-Pakistan war that saw the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation after the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani troops in what was then the eastern wing of the country.
That campaign was the defining moment of his tenure as the Indian Army chief 1969-73 and led to his elevation as India's first field marshal, a largely ceremonial post but which ensured he maintained close links with the 1.1 million-strong force till the very end.
Ever the one to speak his mind out on matters military, Manekshaw, a highly decorated officer who was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during the Burma campaign of the Second World War, often found himself in a minority of one - but firmly stood his ground.
Three instances stand out vividly.
The first was when he famously refused to address then prime minister Indira Gandhi as "Madam", saying the sobriquet was reserved for occupants of a "certain kind of house".
"I shall stick to prime minister", he maintained.
The second was during the 1971 war when he had signboards reading "Hands in your pockets, You are entering Pakistani territory, Indian girls are prettier" erected at various spots as Indian troops advanced along the western frontier.
Manekshaw was panned as being sexist and accused of insulting Indian womanhood but he stood his ground.
"It's the best way of telling the troops to behave and to concentrate on the job at hand," he contended.
The third happened at the very end of his career, days after he had retired from the army.
A young reporter from a tabloid, at the fag end of an interview, asked a seemingly innocuous question, "What would have happened had you opted for Pakistan at the time of independence (in 1947)?"
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Labels: 1971 India-Pakistan war, battle field, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Hero, independence, Indian Army, Indira Gandhi, moustache, pakistan, Pakistani territory, Tamil Nadu, troops, War, Wellington
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Japanese invent car that runs on water
Tired of petrol prices rising daily at the pump? A Japanese company has invented an electric-powered and environmentally friendly car that it says runs solely on water.
Genepax unveiled the car in the western city of Osaka on June 12, saying that a liter of any kind of water -- rain, river or sea -- was all you needed to get the engine going for about an hour at a speed of 80 km (49.7 miles).
"The car will continue to run as long as you have a bottle of water to top up from time to time," Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa told local broadcaster TV Tokyo.
"It does not require you to build up an infrastructure to recharge your batteries, which is usually the case for most electric cars," he added.
Once the water is poured into the tank at the back of the car, a generator breaks it down and uses it to create electrical power, TV Tokyo said.
Whether the car makes it into showrooms remains to be seen. Genepax said it had just applied for a patent and is hoping to collaborate with Japanese auto manufacturers in the future.
To read the full article, click here...
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Genepax unveiled the car in the western city of Osaka on June 12, saying that a liter of any kind of water -- rain, river or sea -- was all you needed to get the engine going for about an hour at a speed of 80 km (49.7 miles).
"The car will continue to run as long as you have a bottle of water to top up from time to time," Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa told local broadcaster TV Tokyo.
"It does not require you to build up an infrastructure to recharge your batteries, which is usually the case for most electric cars," he added.
Once the water is poured into the tank at the back of the car, a generator breaks it down and uses it to create electrical power, TV Tokyo said.
Whether the car makes it into showrooms remains to be seen. Genepax said it had just applied for a patent and is hoping to collaborate with Japanese auto manufacturers in the future.
To read the full article, click here...
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Labels: batteries, electric cars, Genepax, Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa, generator, Japan, Japanese invent car, manufacturers, Osaka, runs, Tokyo, TV Tokyo, water
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
35 month prison term for India export case
The owner of an electronics company has been sentenced to 35 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to illegally export sensitive computer parts to India, a U.S. Justice Department spokesman said on June 17.
In March, Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 47, a resident of Simpsonville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to provide the parts to government entities in India that develop missiles, space launch vehicles and fighter jets.
According to court documents, Sudarshan did business as Cirrus Electronics and said he was the chief executive officer, managing director, president and group head. It has offices in Simpsonville, Singapore, and Bangalore, India.
Sudarshan previously had been an electrical engineer in the research and development section of India's state-run defense industry, before he emigrated to Singapore and started Cirrus in 1997, according to the documents.
The spokesman said the sentence was handed down on June 16 by a federal judge. He said Sudarshan already has been in custody and has served 15 months of the sentence.
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In March, Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 47, a resident of Simpsonville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to provide the parts to government entities in India that develop missiles, space launch vehicles and fighter jets.
According to court documents, Sudarshan did business as Cirrus Electronics and said he was the chief executive officer, managing director, president and group head. It has offices in Simpsonville, Singapore, and Bangalore, India.
Sudarshan previously had been an electrical engineer in the research and development section of India's state-run defense industry, before he emigrated to Singapore and started Cirrus in 1997, according to the documents.
The spokesman said the sentence was handed down on June 16 by a federal judge. He said Sudarshan already has been in custody and has served 15 months of the sentence.
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Labels: Cirrus Electronics, court documents, export case, fighter jets, india, missiles, Parthasarathy Sudarshan, prison, resident, Simpsonville, Singapore, South Carolina, space launch vehicles
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Washington, Islamabad joint investigation into border incident
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi agreed to conduct a joint military investigation into the recent U.S. cross border bombings by U.S. forces that allegedly led to the death of 11 Pakistani soldiers on June 11.
While the Bush administration 'regreted' the incident, and may be in favor of Islamabad making peace with tribes in the North west frontier, it would not brook any negotiations with terrorists, Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, speaking to media in Paris on June 13, on the sidelines of the Afghanistan donor countries' meeting, said.
He called the Rice-Qureshi meeting 'positive', a significant follow-up in the backdrop of Pakistani accusations that the U.S. military was trigger happy on the border. Qureshi is expected to visit Washington by mid July, Boucher indicated during the briefing.
"They did talk about the border incident. They discussed and supported the idea of a joint military investigation. That's been agreed between our militaries. They agreed that we are partners in the war on terror; we need to work together. The terrorism coming from Pakistan/Afghanistan border region is a threat to both peoples, Pakistan - actually Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and elsewhere," Boucher said.
"The Secretary expressed our regret for the deaths of the Pakistani soldiers in particular, knowing that they too are allies in the war on terror," he added.
The two leaders also discussed overall problems of extremism, including need for development in the border regions, as well as security, the problems that Pakistan is facing in financial matters, in energy and food, he said.
Boucher will visit Pakistan in early July and Qureshi is expected in Washington after that in a bid "to continue our high-level dialogue with the new government," Boucher indicated.
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While the Bush administration 'regreted' the incident, and may be in favor of Islamabad making peace with tribes in the North west frontier, it would not brook any negotiations with terrorists, Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, speaking to media in Paris on June 13, on the sidelines of the Afghanistan donor countries' meeting, said.
He called the Rice-Qureshi meeting 'positive', a significant follow-up in the backdrop of Pakistani accusations that the U.S. military was trigger happy on the border. Qureshi is expected to visit Washington by mid July, Boucher indicated during the briefing.
"They did talk about the border incident. They discussed and supported the idea of a joint military investigation. That's been agreed between our militaries. They agreed that we are partners in the war on terror; we need to work together. The terrorism coming from Pakistan/Afghanistan border region is a threat to both peoples, Pakistan - actually Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and elsewhere," Boucher said.
"The Secretary expressed our regret for the deaths of the Pakistani soldiers in particular, knowing that they too are allies in the war on terror," he added.
The two leaders also discussed overall problems of extremism, including need for development in the border regions, as well as security, the problems that Pakistan is facing in financial matters, in energy and food, he said.
Boucher will visit Pakistan in early July and Qureshi is expected in Washington after that in a bid "to continue our high-level dialogue with the new government," Boucher indicated.
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Labels: bombings . US forces, incident, investigation, Islamabad, pakistan, Pakistan border, Pakistan Foreign Minister, Pakistani soldiers, President George W. Bush, terror, Washington
Monday, June 23, 2008
Thousands of Hindus begin trek to Amarnath
Thousands of Hindu pilgrims chanted hymns as they set off to Amarnath shrine deep in Kashmir on June 17, despite fears of a possible militant attack on them.
Hundreds of policemen and soldiers were deployed along the 350-km ( 217.48 miles) route which runs through forests and mountains before reaching the shrine.
"We have made foolproof security and other arrangements for the pilgrims this year," Gulchain Singh Charak, a minister in the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir state said on June 17.
Pilgrims have been targeted by Muslim militants several times since a violent rebellion against Indian rule broke out in Kashmir in 1989.
Last year, a shopkeeper was killed and dozens of people were wounded in two separate attacks on pilgrims.
During the two-month-long annual pilgrimage, devoutee Hindus walk and ride ponies or palanquins to the cave - situated at an altitude of 3,800 meters, to pray to Lord Shiva.
Kashmiri political separatist groups have said they will protest against a decision by the government to transfer nearly 100 acres of forest land to the Hindu shrine trust, Amarnath Shrine Board, for erecting shelters for the pilgrims.
"I want to make it clear to New Delhi that we won't allow anybody to occupy our land and we will fight it tooth and nail," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmir's chief cleric and chairman of All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference said.
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Hundreds of policemen and soldiers were deployed along the 350-km ( 217.48 miles) route which runs through forests and mountains before reaching the shrine.
"We have made foolproof security and other arrangements for the pilgrims this year," Gulchain Singh Charak, a minister in the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir state said on June 17.
Pilgrims have been targeted by Muslim militants several times since a violent rebellion against Indian rule broke out in Kashmir in 1989.
Last year, a shopkeeper was killed and dozens of people were wounded in two separate attacks on pilgrims.
During the two-month-long annual pilgrimage, devoutee Hindus walk and ride ponies or palanquins to the cave - situated at an altitude of 3,800 meters, to pray to Lord Shiva.
Kashmiri political separatist groups have said they will protest against a decision by the government to transfer nearly 100 acres of forest land to the Hindu shrine trust, Amarnath Shrine Board, for erecting shelters for the pilgrims.
"I want to make it clear to New Delhi that we won't allow anybody to occupy our land and we will fight it tooth and nail," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmir's chief cleric and chairman of All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference said.
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Labels: Amarnath, begin, devotees, forest, Hindu pilgrims, kashmir, Lord Shiva, militant attack, security, trek
Scholars say Obama's campaign is history in motion
Already, the adjective ‘historic' seems permanently attached to news media descriptions of Barack Obama's emergence as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
News anchors and pundits deploy the term with abandon, but what do actual historians think?
"I think this will be in a class by itself," said John Hope Franklin, who at 93 is the dean of the American historians who think and write about race.
Obama's campaign "is the most radical, far-reaching, significant (undertaking) by any individual or group in our history," he said. "This strikes at the very heart of national ideology on race and the political patterns of this country's history."
Obama's candidacy is ‘monumental,' said Manning Marable, 58, professor of history at Columbia.
"It can redeem American history from the specter of race that has plagued us for nearly 400 years."
"Race is the original sin of American democracy," said William Chafe, 65, professor of history at Duke, so "this will be historic in a thousand ways."
It could be, added Alan Brinkley of Columbia, "a very important event in the effort to put race to bed as an issue."
These scholars were all talking about the phenomenon - unexpected for all of them of a black man becoming a leading candidate for president in 2008.
They agree that this is something big, even if it is too early to know just how big. And several of them agreed that it is also something complicated.
So Obama began his first speech as the presumptive nominee in St. Paul on June 5 night with eloquent thanks to "my grandmother, who helped raise me ... who poured everything she had into me and who helped to make me the man I am today." She is Madelyn Dunham, Obama's white grandmother.
Race in America has never been a blackand-white matter. Many Americans have a mixed racial background, "but that is something we have never wanted to acknowledge," said Clement Alexander Price, 62, professor of history at Rutgers.
"For a long time, the races (in America) have been joined at the hip." A further refinement: Obama's African ancestry is not traceable to an American descendant of slaves, but to his Kenyan father who in 1959 arrived in the United States, where he met and married Obama's white mother. So the candidate's pedigree, like his new standing in history, is unusual.
"It is one of those exquisite moments in American history," said Johnnetta B. Cole, 71, former president of Spelman College and an anthropologist, "that teaches all of us, especially the young, what is possible in this country."
Ultimately only history can determine what is historic. Obama's status in history will depend on future events that are today mostly unknowable, though the first whether he will or won't be elected president in November - will be known relatively soon.
Even if he wins, the important presidencies are the ones that change the country and its politics, said David Blight of Yale. A President Obama's place in history "would depend so much on whether he truly can develop a new coalition" that creates a new politics.
To read the full article , click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
News anchors and pundits deploy the term with abandon, but what do actual historians think?
"I think this will be in a class by itself," said John Hope Franklin, who at 93 is the dean of the American historians who think and write about race.
Obama's campaign "is the most radical, far-reaching, significant (undertaking) by any individual or group in our history," he said. "This strikes at the very heart of national ideology on race and the political patterns of this country's history."
Obama's candidacy is ‘monumental,' said Manning Marable, 58, professor of history at Columbia.
"It can redeem American history from the specter of race that has plagued us for nearly 400 years."
"Race is the original sin of American democracy," said William Chafe, 65, professor of history at Duke, so "this will be historic in a thousand ways."
It could be, added Alan Brinkley of Columbia, "a very important event in the effort to put race to bed as an issue."
These scholars were all talking about the phenomenon - unexpected for all of them of a black man becoming a leading candidate for president in 2008.
They agree that this is something big, even if it is too early to know just how big. And several of them agreed that it is also something complicated.
So Obama began his first speech as the presumptive nominee in St. Paul on June 5 night with eloquent thanks to "my grandmother, who helped raise me ... who poured everything she had into me and who helped to make me the man I am today." She is Madelyn Dunham, Obama's white grandmother.
Race in America has never been a blackand-white matter. Many Americans have a mixed racial background, "but that is something we have never wanted to acknowledge," said Clement Alexander Price, 62, professor of history at Rutgers.
"For a long time, the races (in America) have been joined at the hip." A further refinement: Obama's African ancestry is not traceable to an American descendant of slaves, but to his Kenyan father who in 1959 arrived in the United States, where he met and married Obama's white mother. So the candidate's pedigree, like his new standing in history, is unusual.
"It is one of those exquisite moments in American history," said Johnnetta B. Cole, 71, former president of Spelman College and an anthropologist, "that teaches all of us, especially the young, what is possible in this country."
Ultimately only history can determine what is historic. Obama's status in history will depend on future events that are today mostly unknowable, though the first whether he will or won't be elected president in November - will be known relatively soon.
Even if he wins, the important presidencies are the ones that change the country and its politics, said David Blight of Yale. A President Obama's place in history "would depend so much on whether he truly can develop a new coalition" that creates a new politics.
To read the full article , click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: American historians, Americans, Barack Obama, black vote, Columbia, Democratic nominee, Democratic presidential nominees, history, Republican Party, US
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Workers from India suspend hunger strike with rally outside Department of Justice
Approximately 100 workers from India who came to the post-Katrina Gulf Coast in 2006 with H2B visas under a guest-worker program, held a rally and press conference outside the Department of Justice in Washington,D.C., June 11, to demand the Attorney General grant them "continued presence" under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Led by the Indian Workers Congress, the organizers used the occasion to suspend a 29-day hunger strike undertaken by some 20 workers, five of whom were hospitalized according to a release from the California based advocacy organization National Network of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR).
After the workers broke the fast in a ceremony blessed by several faith leaders, a delegation of supporters went into the Department of Justice and met with Constituent Relations Associate Director Julie Warren, who they said had agreed to set a meeting between the workers and the DoJ Civil Rights Division for the week of June 16th.
"Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act because we recognized that modern day slavery exists and that workers trafficked into the United States should be able to place their faith in the United States justice system," Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is quoted saying at the rally, one week after he and 17 Congressional colleagues, including Washington, D.C. Rep.
To read the full article, click here...
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Led by the Indian Workers Congress, the organizers used the occasion to suspend a 29-day hunger strike undertaken by some 20 workers, five of whom were hospitalized according to a release from the California based advocacy organization National Network of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR).
After the workers broke the fast in a ceremony blessed by several faith leaders, a delegation of supporters went into the Department of Justice and met with Constituent Relations Associate Director Julie Warren, who they said had agreed to set a meeting between the workers and the DoJ Civil Rights Division for the week of June 16th.
"Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act because we recognized that modern day slavery exists and that workers trafficked into the United States should be able to place their faith in the United States justice system," Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is quoted saying at the rally, one week after he and 17 Congressional colleagues, including Washington, D.C. Rep.
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Labels: Department of Justice, H2B visas, hunger strike, Indian Workers Congress, NNIRR, rally, suspend, Trafficking Victims Protection Act, US, Washington, workers
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
United States wants India to move forward on controversial nuclear deal in Doha
The U.S. wants India to quickly move forward on their civil nuclear deal, shoulder its "international responsibilities" as an important global economic power and stop being "a roadblock" in the Doha world trade talks.
Washington also hopes India will make more progress in areas such as caps on foreign equity in retail, insurance, and financial services. It would like to see more protection for intellectual property, particularly in the life sciences, where India seeks to attract more investment.
"Indeed, we hope India will propel the bilateral relationship forward by working with us on a high-standard bilateral investment treaty," U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Christopher Padilla said herein Washington on June 9, at a panel discussion on 'U.S.-India Synergy: Facing the Economic Challenges of the 21st Century' at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
"The benefits for India are clear, and we hope that India's government will choose to move forward as quickly as possible to fully realize the potential of this historic agreement," Padilla said. "It would be tragic for India to forgo this opportunity for a strategic partnership with the United States."
India is proof of the remarkable effects that opening up an economy can have on a country's citizens, Padilla said. "So it is disappointing that India has been a roadblock to success in the Doha negotiations," insisting that it and other developing countries be protected from any real market opening in industrial goods or agriculture or services, while it asks developed countries to do ever more, he said.
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Washington also hopes India will make more progress in areas such as caps on foreign equity in retail, insurance, and financial services. It would like to see more protection for intellectual property, particularly in the life sciences, where India seeks to attract more investment.
"Indeed, we hope India will propel the bilateral relationship forward by working with us on a high-standard bilateral investment treaty," U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Christopher Padilla said herein Washington on June 9, at a panel discussion on 'U.S.-India Synergy: Facing the Economic Challenges of the 21st Century' at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
"The benefits for India are clear, and we hope that India's government will choose to move forward as quickly as possible to fully realize the potential of this historic agreement," Padilla said. "It would be tragic for India to forgo this opportunity for a strategic partnership with the United States."
India is proof of the remarkable effects that opening up an economy can have on a country's citizens, Padilla said. "So it is disappointing that India has been a roadblock to success in the Doha negotiations," insisting that it and other developing countries be protected from any real market opening in industrial goods or agriculture or services, while it asks developed countries to do ever more, he said.
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Labels: agriculture, controversial, Doha, Economic Challenges, india, India's government, nuclear deal, real market, United states, Washington
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Virginia Museum of Fine Art acquires pioneering work by American painter and Pala
The world renowned Indian and India-related art collection at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VMFA) has recently been enriched with two acquisitions, VMFA announced on June 4 in a press release.One is an oil on canvas - done in academic style, but with lots of light in it, with colors that might have been borrowed from an Impressionist palette - by the first American artist known to have visited India, Edwin Lord Weeks.
The lustrous painting, ‘The Hour of Prayer at Moti Musjid (The Pearl Mosque), Agra,' dates from about 1888-89 and is nearly 10 feet wide by almost 7 feet tall. Weeks was awarded a Gold Medal at the 1889 Paris Salon for the work.Although not as widely known in India as the aquatints by Thomas and William Daniell, Weeks imbued his scenes with more magic and light, while not departing from almost photographic verisimilitude, than any other western artists before or after him. His ‘The Bazaar at Oudeypore' or ‘The Rajah Setting Out on a Hunt' are gorgeous - and yet as naturalistic as a National Geographic photo.
Weeks (1849-1903) was born in Boston and trained in Paris and was an inveterate traveler, according to Dr. Sylvia Yount, who is VMFA's Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art and head of the American department.
He was inspired by exotic historical subjects and the painterly techniques of the French academicians. He attracted critical and popular attention on both sides of the Atlantic for his contemporary North African and Middle Eastern scenes before visiting India for the first time in 1882.
VMFA's new painting dates from the second of three trips Weeks made to India and has rarely been seen since. When it was shown in Paris, an American critic deemed it "almost a perfect picture, complete in religious sentiment and poetical inspiration."
The painting comes to VMFA in its original frame, which was made by American painter designer Lockwood de Forest, a business partner of Louis Comfort Tiffany who, before the era of outsourcing and globalization -- maintained a workshop in Ahmedabad, India.
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Labels: acquires, Agra, Ahmedabad, American painter, American painter designer Lockwood de Forest, india, Moti Musjid, Pala, pioneering work, VMFA
Award ceremony at Siam Niramit Hall complete with glitz
Screaming Indian fans got within handshaking distance of their favorite Bollywood stars collecting autographs and taking their pictures with their digital cameras as they descended on this bustling city for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards held from June 7-9.Scores of fans, mostly young, gathered outside the Dusit Thani Hotel, one of the oldest five-star hotels in Bangkok, to catch a glimpse of the stars during the three-day extravaganza that drew the cream of Bollywood led by the Bachchan family.
From Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor to Fardeen Khan, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif and Viveik Oberoi - people went ga-ga over the superstars as well as budding actors.
But the Bachchan family was the most popular of them all. Fans turned out in huge numbers to see the Bollywood's most sought after couple Aishwarya and Abhishek - they had the longest line of autograph seekers.
Rarely are such star-studded extravaganzas organized in Thailand. So, when the Bollywood fraternity was finally present in the city, not many missed the opportunity to see and talk to them.
The awards ceremony was held at Siam Niramit Hall on June 8 evening, complete with glitzy performances."IIFA means a lot for us Indians living here. It is a perfect showcasing of India in terms of our stars and glamour," Ravi Mathur, who works as general manager in a company in Bangkok, told IANS.
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Labels: Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Asihwarya Rai, awards, Bangkok, Famous Bollywood stars, fans, IIFA, Kareena Kapoor, performances, Saif Ali Khan, Thailand
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Rescued child workers should be treated as bonded labor
Rescued child workers should be treated as bonded labor for better rehabilitation and a better tomorrow, says Shantha Sinha, chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) .
Calling the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act "weak" because it does not guarantee rehabilitation, Sinha said the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976, would provide a stronger framework.
"The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976, ensures statutory benefits; it provides rehabilitative benefits of Rs.20,000 ($ 465) to the family of the rescued laborer. Rescued child laborers should therefore be treated under this rather than under the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act," Sinha told IANS in an interview.
Although the Indian government puts the number of child laborers in the country at 12.6 million, child rights activists estimate that the number is around 60 million. As against this, in the eight years between 1997-98 and 2005-06, there were just 670,000 violations of the law detected and only 22,588 convictions, according to the labor ministry's annual report 2007-08.
Agreeing that the low conviction rate under the child labor act had failed to be a deterrent for people who violate the law, Sinha said the NCPCR had urged the labor ministry for strong and continuous enforcement of the law until it started discouraging people.
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Calling the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act "weak" because it does not guarantee rehabilitation, Sinha said the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976, would provide a stronger framework.
"The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976, ensures statutory benefits; it provides rehabilitative benefits of Rs.20,000 ($ 465) to the family of the rescued laborer. Rescued child laborers should therefore be treated under this rather than under the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act," Sinha told IANS in an interview.
Although the Indian government puts the number of child laborers in the country at 12.6 million, child rights activists estimate that the number is around 60 million. As against this, in the eight years between 1997-98 and 2005-06, there were just 670,000 violations of the law detected and only 22,588 convictions, according to the labor ministry's annual report 2007-08.
Agreeing that the low conviction rate under the child labor act had failed to be a deterrent for people who violate the law, Sinha said the NCPCR had urged the labor ministry for strong and continuous enforcement of the law until it started discouraging people.
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Labels: bonded labor, child labor, child rights, child workers, childern, convictions, NCPCR, Rescued
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Bachchan family stars in "Enron" drama ‘Sarkar Raj'
‘Sarkar Raj', a film on a shrewd businesswoman's plan to build a power plant caught up in development politics, is drawing comparisons with the controversy behind the failed Indian project of U.S. utilities giant Enron.
Director Ram Gopal Varma, however, said Enron did not inspire ‘Sarkar Raj' which was released on June 6.
"There is politics, but it's not entirely a political film," he said. "When you make a realistic film, there is bound to be some reference point in existing characters and the existing issue."
‘Sarkar Raj', billed as a sequel to ‘Sarkar' released three years ago, picks up on the life of Subhash Nagre, a charismatic, grey-haired leader played by Amitabh Bachchan is not in government but wields enormous influence through an army of die-hard followers.
Not much in the film's Mumbai moves without the consent of Nagre, a figure shrouded in a God father-like mystique. He is approached by the London-based CEO of a power firm, who realizes his blessings are vital to setting up the plant.
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Director Ram Gopal Varma, however, said Enron did not inspire ‘Sarkar Raj' which was released on June 6.
"There is politics, but it's not entirely a political film," he said. "When you make a realistic film, there is bound to be some reference point in existing characters and the existing issue."
‘Sarkar Raj', billed as a sequel to ‘Sarkar' released three years ago, picks up on the life of Subhash Nagre, a charismatic, grey-haired leader played by Amitabh Bachchan is not in government but wields enormous influence through an army of die-hard followers.
Not much in the film's Mumbai moves without the consent of Nagre, a figure shrouded in a God father-like mystique. He is approached by the London-based CEO of a power firm, who realizes his blessings are vital to setting up the plant.
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Labels: Bachchan family stars, Bollywood actress, drama, Enron, Famous Bollywood stars, Ram Gopal Verma, Sarkar Raj
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Popcorn ingredient causes lung disease
A chemical used to give butter flavor to popcorn can damage the lungs and airways of mice, U.S. government experts reported last month.
Tests on mice show that diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can cause a condition known as lymphocytic bronchiolitis, said the team at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.
The condition can lead to obliterative bronchiolitis -- or "popcorn lung" -- a rare and debilitating disease seen in workers at microwave popcorn packaging plants and at least one consumer.
At least two microwave popcorn makers -ConAgra Foods Inc and Weaver Popcorn Co Inc have said recently they would stop using diacetyl.
Laboratory mice made to inhale diacetyl vapors for three months developed lymphocytic bronchiolitis, the NIEHS team said.
"This is one of the first studies to evaluate the respiratory toxicity of diacetyl at levels relevant to human health," Daniel Morgan at NIEHS, whose team led the study, said in a statement.
Writing in the journal Toxicological Sciences, the researchers said findings suggest that workplace exposure to diacetyl contributes to the development of obliterative bronchiolitis.
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Tests on mice show that diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can cause a condition known as lymphocytic bronchiolitis, said the team at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.
The condition can lead to obliterative bronchiolitis -- or "popcorn lung" -- a rare and debilitating disease seen in workers at microwave popcorn packaging plants and at least one consumer.
At least two microwave popcorn makers -ConAgra Foods Inc and Weaver Popcorn Co Inc have said recently they would stop using diacetyl.
Laboratory mice made to inhale diacetyl vapors for three months developed lymphocytic bronchiolitis, the NIEHS team said.
"This is one of the first studies to evaluate the respiratory toxicity of diacetyl at levels relevant to human health," Daniel Morgan at NIEHS, whose team led the study, said in a statement.
Writing in the journal Toxicological Sciences, the researchers said findings suggest that workplace exposure to diacetyl contributes to the development of obliterative bronchiolitis.
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Labels: causes, ingredient, lung disease, microwave, NIEHS, Popcorn, popcorn makers, U.S. government
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Food crisis could affect 1.5 million Indian children with malnutrition
If the world community did not act fast enough, the food price crisis could send more than a million children in India alone, into malnutrition, according to Robert Zoellick, World Bank President. Speaking at the Rome World Food Security Summit June 3, he said that while it was not a famine, the more than 800 million suffering from lack of nourishment could expand fast.
"Without fast action, this crisis will steal the potential of a generation," Zoellick warned. "In India, alone, 1.5 million more children are already at risk of malnutrition because of the crisis."
He presented numbers affected for several countries in Africa and Latin America noting that global World Bank estimates show "that this crisis could push 100 million people into poverty, 30 million in Africa alone reversing the gains made in poverty reduction over the last seven years."
"It is man-made and can be fixed by us. It does not take complex research. We know what has to be done. We just need action and resources in real time."
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"Without fast action, this crisis will steal the potential of a generation," Zoellick warned. "In India, alone, 1.5 million more children are already at risk of malnutrition because of the crisis."
He presented numbers affected for several countries in Africa and Latin America noting that global World Bank estimates show "that this crisis could push 100 million people into poverty, 30 million in Africa alone reversing the gains made in poverty reduction over the last seven years."
"It is man-made and can be fixed by us. It does not take complex research. We know what has to be done. We just need action and resources in real time."
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Labels: affect, Africa, Food crisis, india, Indian children, malnutrition, poverty, Rome World Food Security Summit, World Bank, World Bank President
Monday, June 9, 2008
ETASHA is training poor Indian youth to get jobs in burgeoning service sector
ETASHA, a New Delhi based tax exempt non-profit, which stands for Enabling and Training Adolescents for Successful and Health Adulthood, has already been successful in its endeavors through a proven strategy, say its founders, so the best help non-resident Indians could give it is financial.
"ETASHA's model has proved to be successful, with trainees getting placed within a month of program completion," says Meenakshi Nayar, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a Masters in Psychology, who founded the organization.
"The model is highly scalable in terms of geographies as well as industries. We have also figured out the processes of recruitment and training of trainers required for scaling up," she told News India-Times by email from New Delhi where the organization is based.
"All we need is funding for operations as well as capital expenses for infrastructure development for more Career Development Centers.!!" she asserts when asked what NRIs could do to help.
Since January 2006, its volunteers and staff have been designing training programs to meet entry-level requirements in the emerging service sectors. They implement these programs at the Career Development Centre in Madanpur Khadar, a large cluster of slum colonies in Delhi, as well as for other non-governmental organizations.
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"ETASHA's model has proved to be successful, with trainees getting placed within a month of program completion," says Meenakshi Nayar, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a Masters in Psychology, who founded the organization.
"The model is highly scalable in terms of geographies as well as industries. We have also figured out the processes of recruitment and training of trainers required for scaling up," she told News India-Times by email from New Delhi where the organization is based.
"All we need is funding for operations as well as capital expenses for infrastructure development for more Career Development Centers.!!" she asserts when asked what NRIs could do to help.
Since January 2006, its volunteers and staff have been designing training programs to meet entry-level requirements in the emerging service sectors. They implement these programs at the Career Development Centre in Madanpur Khadar, a large cluster of slum colonies in Delhi, as well as for other non-governmental organizations.
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Labels: designing training programs, ETASHA, Indian Institute of Management, New Delhi, NRIs, recruitment, trainees
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Banner year for children in major national competitions
This has been a banner year for Indian American children who began showing their talent at national competitions back in the mid-eighties. This year, they again excelled in major competitions such as the National Spelling Bee and the National Geography Bee. On May 30, 13-year old Sameer Mishra of West Lafayette, Indiana, walked away with $40,000 in cash and prizes when he won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on the word 'guerdon' which appropriately means 'something that one has earned or gained', especially as his victory came after a grueling competition. Thirty five South Asian American students reached the finals, and five of them did their families and communities proud, ending up in the top 10 finishers.
Just ten days before the spelling bee, 11-year old Akshay Rajgopal of Lincoln, Nebraska, won the National Geographic Bee, securing a college fund of $25,000 and other prizes.
Following are the final results of the National Spelling Bee:
Sameer Mishra, 8th Grader at West Lafayette Junior High School, kept up his great sense of humor during the competition. The 13 year old loves to read and is part of his school's book club. Inspired and coached by his sister Shruti, who also participated in the Bee in earlier years, Mishra enjoys playing computer, video and board games, has played the violin for four years in his school orchestra, likes to do what his peers do ride his bike and hang out with his friends. His favorite subjects are science and math.
He participates in contests such as Spell Bowl, Academic Super Bowl and Indiana State School Music Association. He wants to be a neuro surgeon.
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Just ten days before the spelling bee, 11-year old Akshay Rajgopal of Lincoln, Nebraska, won the National Geographic Bee, securing a college fund of $25,000 and other prizes.
Following are the final results of the National Spelling Bee:
Sameer Mishra, 8th Grader at West Lafayette Junior High School, kept up his great sense of humor during the competition. The 13 year old loves to read and is part of his school's book club. Inspired and coached by his sister Shruti, who also participated in the Bee in earlier years, Mishra enjoys playing computer, video and board games, has played the violin for four years in his school orchestra, likes to do what his peers do ride his bike and hang out with his friends. His favorite subjects are science and math.
He participates in contests such as Spell Bowl, Academic Super Bowl and Indiana State School Music Association. He wants to be a neuro surgeon.
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Labels: childern, contests, Indian American children, national competitions, National Spelling Bee, participates, Sameer Mishra, science, Scripps National Spelling Bee, talent
Friday, June 6, 2008
For much of the world, Obama's victory was a moment to admire United States
For much of the world, Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the Democratic primaries was a moment to admire the United States, at a time when the nation's image abroad is in tatters.
From hundreds of supporters crowded around televisions in rural Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland, to jubilant Britons writing "WE DID IT!" on the "Brits for Barack" site on Face book, people celebrated what they called an important racial and generational milestone for the United States.
"This is close to a miracle. I was certain that some things will not happen in my lifetime," said Sunila Patel, 62, encountered on the streets of New Delhi. "A black president of the U.S. will mean that there will be more American tolerance for people around the world who are different."
The primary elections generated unprecedented interest around the world, as people in distant parliament buildings and that ched roof huts followed the political ups and downs as if they were watching a Hollywood thriller.
Much of the interest simply reflects hunger for change from President Bush, who is deeply unpopular in much of the world.
At the same time, many people abroad seemed impressed - sometimes even shocked - by the wide-open nature of U.S. democracy and the history-making race between a woman and a black man.
"The primaries showed that the U.S. is actually the nation we had believed it to be, a place that is open-minded enough to have a woman or an African-American as its president," said Minoru Morita, a Tokyo political analyst.
"I think it will be put down as a shining, historical moment in the history of America," said Fumiaki Kubo, a professor at Tokyo University.
While Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has admirers around the world, especially from her days as first lady, interviews on four continents suggested that Obama's candidacy has most captured the world's imagination.
"Obama is the exciting image of what we always hoped America was," said Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House, a London think tank. "We have immensely enjoyed the ride and can't wait for the next phase."
The presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, who has extensive overseas experience, is known and respected in much of the world. In interviews, McCain seemed more popular than Obama in countries such as Israel, where he is particularly admired for his hard line against Iran.
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From hundreds of supporters crowded around televisions in rural Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland, to jubilant Britons writing "WE DID IT!" on the "Brits for Barack" site on Face book, people celebrated what they called an important racial and generational milestone for the United States.
"This is close to a miracle. I was certain that some things will not happen in my lifetime," said Sunila Patel, 62, encountered on the streets of New Delhi. "A black president of the U.S. will mean that there will be more American tolerance for people around the world who are different."
The primary elections generated unprecedented interest around the world, as people in distant parliament buildings and that ched roof huts followed the political ups and downs as if they were watching a Hollywood thriller.
Much of the interest simply reflects hunger for change from President Bush, who is deeply unpopular in much of the world.
At the same time, many people abroad seemed impressed - sometimes even shocked - by the wide-open nature of U.S. democracy and the history-making race between a woman and a black man.
"The primaries showed that the U.S. is actually the nation we had believed it to be, a place that is open-minded enough to have a woman or an African-American as its president," said Minoru Morita, a Tokyo political analyst.
"I think it will be put down as a shining, historical moment in the history of America," said Fumiaki Kubo, a professor at Tokyo University.
While Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has admirers around the world, especially from her days as first lady, interviews on four continents suggested that Obama's candidacy has most captured the world's imagination.
"Obama is the exciting image of what we always hoped America was," said Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House, a London think tank. "We have immensely enjoyed the ride and can't wait for the next phase."
The presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, who has extensive overseas experience, is known and respected in much of the world. In interviews, McCain seemed more popular than Obama in countries such as Israel, where he is particularly admired for his hard line against Iran.
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Labels: America, Barack Obama, Black President, China, Democratic administration, Hillary Rodham Clinton, historical moment, John McCain, President Bush, Republican nominee, United states, Victory
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Fully preserved Ashokan column, great temples, marks of India beyond its borders
In a previous article in this series, we traced the travels of the Ramayana beyond India's shores, it was part of a general cultural dispersion which took many forms.Although it is well known that India left its imprint not only on the religion, art, literature and language of all Asia to its east, travelers have often been surprised to find marks of India outside its borders.
Traditional lists of Ashokan columns compiled by the Archeological Survey of India, for example, do not include a surprisingly well-preserved Ashokan pillar - complete with the dharma chakra, ‘the wheel of dharma' on the top - newly discovered at Wat U Mong in Thailand.
A photo of the pillar was taken by one L.N.Roychowdhury in 2003 at the behest of an anonymous contributor to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on the Web - which we have the pleasure of reproducing alongside this article.
Among the first modern Indians to study this dispersion across the seas was poet Rabindranath Tagore.
In 1927, Tagore set out for Indonesia, accompanied by a group of historians and linguists, including Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, author of the monumental ‘Origin and Development of the Bengali Language.' Tagore's biographers, Andrew Robinson and Krishna Dutta, writes of the Indonesian tour: " Signs of ancient India was everywhere. On Bali, Rabindranath found himself in a car with a local chief and no interpreter.
Unable to communicate, he looked out of the window at the luscious beauty of the island. Suddenly there was a glimpse of the ocean through a gap in the forest, and suddenly the chief uttered the word samudra - Sanskrit for sea.
Seeing that his eminent guest was both surprised and pleased, the chief went on to repeat the Sanskrit synonyms, following them with saptasamudra (the seven seas), sapta-parvata (the seven mountains), sapta-vana (seven forests), and saptaakasha (seven skies).
Then he pointed to a hill and, having given the Sanskrit for hill, he recited the names of mountains: Sumeru, Himalaya, Vindhya, Malaya, Rishyamukha.
When they came to a river, he continued: Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Godavari, Kaveri, Saraswati… "Of the famous Javanese shadow theatre, with its ever popular stories from the Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, Tagore noted:
‘When we entered part of the hall facing the lighted side of the screen, the effect was somewhat disappointing. Then we were taken over to the dark side where the women were seated. Here the cutouts and their manipulators were no longer visible, there were only the shadows dancing on the screen, like the dance of the demon Mahmaya on the body of the prostrate Shiva.
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Labels: Ashokan columns, Ashokan pillar, dharma chakra, Ganga, Godavari, india, Indian epics, Kaveri, luscious beauty, Narmada, Poet Rabindranath Tagore, Ramayana, Sanskrit for sea, Saraswati, Yamuna
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Cannes has been memorable experience ... never been about wardrobe
While Aishwarya Rai Bachchan understands the constant need for people to check out her clothes and accessories at important events, what the star actor cannot fathom is why her clothes at the Cannes Film Festival become more important than what she does.
"I don't even want to think about what people thought of my clothes earlier and what they think of it now. To me how I conduct myself at Cannes and how people react to me are far more important than what I wear," Rai Bachchan, who has been attending the prestigious film fest since 2002, told IANS.
"Cannes has always been a marvellous and memorable experience. This time was no different. It's never about the wardrobe for me. I don't focus on that at all," added the actress who went there for the first time with ‘Devdas'.
She reminisces about each year she has attended the Cannes fest, saying, "That was the year of 'Devdas'. That experience remains embedded in my mind. It wasn't just about how much they liked me in a sari or walking the red carpet. It was more memorable for the standing ovation that we got after the screening of 'Devdas'. What an ovation! It was a very special experience.
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"I don't even want to think about what people thought of my clothes earlier and what they think of it now. To me how I conduct myself at Cannes and how people react to me are far more important than what I wear," Rai Bachchan, who has been attending the prestigious film fest since 2002, told IANS.
"Cannes has always been a marvellous and memorable experience. This time was no different. It's never about the wardrobe for me. I don't focus on that at all," added the actress who went there for the first time with ‘Devdas'.
She reminisces about each year she has attended the Cannes fest, saying, "That was the year of 'Devdas'. That experience remains embedded in my mind. It wasn't just about how much they liked me in a sari or walking the red carpet. It was more memorable for the standing ovation that we got after the screening of 'Devdas'. What an ovation! It was a very special experience.
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Labels: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bollywood actress, Cannes Film Festival, clothes, Devdas, marvellous, red carpet
With incomes rising more people are eating protein-rich meat, diary
Rice prices have surged this year for many reasons, but unlike most other commodities, fast growing Chinese and Indian demand isn't one of them.
With incomes rising in two countries where a third of the world's population consumes about half of the world's rice, more people are eating protein-rich meat and diary, or sampling new foods like pasta, leaving less room on the plate for rice.
If Chinese rice demand follows the trend seen in wealthy Japan it could fall by half in the coming decades, bringing relief to world consumers more anxious than ever after a near trebling in benchmark Asian rice prices this year.
"People are making more money and are eager to try other tasty food," said Chai Weizhong, asso ciate professor at Peking University, where he studies public nutrition.
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With incomes rising in two countries where a third of the world's population consumes about half of the world's rice, more people are eating protein-rich meat and diary, or sampling new foods like pasta, leaving less room on the plate for rice.
If Chinese rice demand follows the trend seen in wealthy Japan it could fall by half in the coming decades, bringing relief to world consumers more anxious than ever after a near trebling in benchmark Asian rice prices this year.
"People are making more money and are eager to try other tasty food," said Chai Weizhong, asso ciate professor at Peking University, where he studies public nutrition.
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Labels: Chinese rice demand, healthy, Indian demand, meat, nutritious, protein, R ce prices, vegetables
Monday, June 2, 2008
United Nations employee crowned ‘Miss Pakistan World 2008'
Natasha Peracha, 23, was crowned ‘Miss Pakistan World' at the sixth annual pageant held in Mississauga on May 23. More than 500 guests came to see the nine contestants vying for the title.
Contestants began with Pakistani traditional wear, followed by a talent show and evening gown rounds. Participants showed a variety of talents from flamenco dance to playing clarinet, singing and belly dancing. The 2005 title winner Naomi Zaman sang ‘I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston as a tribute.
York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge was the chief guest. Consul General of Sri Lanka Bandula Jayasekara and several other dignitaries also came as guests.
Peracha, director of communications at the United Nations, which she represented at the pageant, won the title, impressing the judges with her answer to the deciding question: "What should be done to better the India-Pakistan relationship?" Her solution to the long standing tension between the two countries she said, was to start exchange programs for youth so that they can learn each other's political, cultural and business systems. According to her youth have to be the focus of discussions and progress toward peaceful co existence between the two countries.
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Contestants began with Pakistani traditional wear, followed by a talent show and evening gown rounds. Participants showed a variety of talents from flamenco dance to playing clarinet, singing and belly dancing. The 2005 title winner Naomi Zaman sang ‘I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston as a tribute.
York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge was the chief guest. Consul General of Sri Lanka Bandula Jayasekara and several other dignitaries also came as guests.
Peracha, director of communications at the United Nations, which she represented at the pageant, won the title, impressing the judges with her answer to the deciding question: "What should be done to better the India-Pakistan relationship?" Her solution to the long standing tension between the two countries she said, was to start exchange programs for youth so that they can learn each other's political, cultural and business systems. According to her youth have to be the focus of discussions and progress toward peaceful co existence between the two countries.
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Labels: Beauty pageant, Contestants, crowned, cultural, employee, guests, Miss Pakistan World 2008, Naomi Zaman, Natasha Peracha, Pakistani traditional wear, United Nations
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Higher risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes among South Asians
The study, ‘Ontario Survey on the Prevalence and Control of Hypertension' released on May 21, contributes to research done over the last decade that found higher rates of heart disease, strokes, and diabetes, among people of Indian descent.
Hypertension in Ontario is three times higher among South Asians and those of African descent, than among whites, according to a joint study released by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Statistics Canada, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. But the good news is that treatment of high blood pressure was the same for all groups.
"The first major finding is everything else being equal, South Asians are three times more likely to get hypertension as compared to Caucasians. Secondly, in addition, they develop it at an earlier age, which is of course, a very important additional concern," Dr. Frans Leenen of the University of Ottawa, who was the lead researcher, told News India-Times. "Between the ages of 40 and 60, already 40 percent of South Asians have high blood pressure as compared to Caucasians. In the 60-plus age group, 75 percent have high blood pressure, so it is extremely prevalent."
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Hypertension in Ontario is three times higher among South Asians and those of African descent, than among whites, according to a joint study released by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Statistics Canada, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. But the good news is that treatment of high blood pressure was the same for all groups.
"The first major finding is everything else being equal, South Asians are three times more likely to get hypertension as compared to Caucasians. Secondly, in addition, they develop it at an earlier age, which is of course, a very important additional concern," Dr. Frans Leenen of the University of Ottawa, who was the lead researcher, told News India-Times. "Between the ages of 40 and 60, already 40 percent of South Asians have high blood pressure as compared to Caucasians. In the 60-plus age group, 75 percent have high blood pressure, so it is extremely prevalent."
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: African, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, Indian descent, Ontario Survey, Prevalence and Control of Hypertension, research, risk, South Asians, strokes, treatment
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