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Bhojpuri
film star Manoj Tiwari, Indian face
on Dutch stamp
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Bhojpuri
superstar Manoj Tiwari is on cloud
nine as he has piped maestro Pandit
Hari Prasad Chaurasia to be the Indian
face on a Dutch postage stamp. Dazed,
delighted and quite disbelieving at
the honour, Tiwari says the Dutch
government's decision to issue a postage
stamp with his face on it comes as
a complete surprise to him. "About
a month back, I got a call from them
(Dutch government) saying they needed
my picture for a postage stamp. I
guided them to my website and gave
the matter no serious thought. When
I got to know that they had actually
issued a stamp with my face in the
Netherlands I couldn't believe it,"
Manoj said. "Two Indian names were
put forward for the honour. Pandit
Hari Prasad Chaurasia and mine, the
fact that I was chosen over a man
of such stature and seniority fills
me with both pride and humility."
The Netherlands has a sizeable population
of Bhojpuri-speaking north Indians
who regard Manoj as an icon. "For
an actor who belongs to a cinema that's
seen as a poor country cousin of Bollywood,
I feel I've contributed my bit. I
felt all my years of working towards
popularising the Bhojpuri language
through films and by other means have
paid off," says the Bhojpuri superstar,
who sang more than 2,000 songs in
Bhojpuri from 1996 until acting beckoned
with a film. "Sasura Bada Paise Wala"
was made in 2003 with Manoj in the
lead. A three million rupees budget
film made over Rs 200 million profit.
Since then, there was no looking back
for Manoj. The actor, along with Ravi
Kissan, has been credited with reviving
the Bhojpuri film industry. "Not just
Bhojpuri cinema, but I've been toiling
tirelessly to promote Bhojpuri all
over the world wherever there's sizeable
Bhojpuri population, like in Mauritius
and Surinam which is a former Dutch
colony. I feel the postage stamp has
a lot to with my popularity and the
popularity of the Bhojpuri 'bhasha'
(language) among Indians in Surinam
and the Netherlands," says the actor
in Hindi. Manoj feels the pride for
regional languages is evaporating
in the north. "That is why I've opened
Bhojpuri academies in various cities
all over the world including Surinam.
I feel the Bhojpuri that Indians speak
in foreign countries is hybridised
and incorrect," says the actor, who
proceeds to the Netherlands May 22
to be honoured in person. Manoj has
now set his eyes on Bhojpuri cinema
and language gaining credence all
over the world. "In Mauritius, where
the Indian population dates back 150
years, I've been a regular visitor.
In fact, I accompanied Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar's contingent
to Mauritius. If I say so myself,
I paved the way for a political dialogue
in Mauritius. Unfortunately, my work
doesn't get the recognition that it
deserves."
Courtesy:
www.headlinesindia.com, April 14,
2008
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Shah
Jahan's dagger auctioned for 1.7 mn
pounds
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An
elegant personal dagger carried by
emperor Shah Jahan was sold at a London
auction for an astounding 1.7 million
pounds - more than three times the
expected bid. "Of course we are very
happy - it was a great sale," said
a spokeswoman for auctioneers Bonhams
minutes after the dagger went under
the hammer on Thursday. She was unable
to immediately disclose name of the
buyer. The dagger, which has fine
gold inscriptions and decorations
and dates back to 1629-30, was expected
to attract bids of around 300,000
to 500,000 pounds. It was the star
attraction at an auction of objects
belonging to the late French collector
Jacques Desenfans, who spent over
50 years amassing Indian, Islamic
and Southeast Asian arms and armour,
early pottery and works of art. The
inscriptions in the nasta'liq script
on the 40.8 cm-long dagger include
Shah Jahan's official titles, date
and place of birth, and the honorific
parasol, the ancient pan-Asian symbol
of divinity of royalty, all of which
point to the fact that it was the
personal dagger of Shahjahan. In an
article written for the Bonhams Magazine,
New Delhi-based author William Dalrymple
says: "The emperor's love of beautiful
and precious objects - damascened
and gold-embellished blades, enamels
and hammered metals, precious lapidary,
inlaid hard stones and inscribed gems
- was something many visitors commented
on." Dalrymple said Edward Terry,
the chaplain to the British ambassador,
described Shah Jahan as "the greatest
and richest master of precious stones
that inhabits the whole earth".
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, April
10, 2008
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India
images sold at 512,000 pounds at Bonhams
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A
collection of photographic images
of India from 1850s to 1940s owned
by NRI businessman Kanwardip Gujral
was sold for a record price of 512,000
pounds at the Bonhams Auction House
in London on Wednesday. The strength
of interest in the sale impressed
Bonhams specialists who said the sale
had set a new benchmark for images
of this kind. David Park, head of
Books Maps and Manuscripts at Bonhams
said: "The sale of Collection received
a huge amount of interest. As a result
the sale made 512,000 pounds with
many items going to three to four
times their estimate." This sale has
rewritten the prices for all the major
photographers whose works were featured
in the sale. The value of their work
has been seriously raised, he said.
Top item in the sale was Lot 14 ,
a series of 102 prints of Kashmir
in the 1860s and 70s owned by Lord
Lansdowne, Viceroy of India from 1886
to 1894. It had been estimated to
sell for 10,000 to 20,000 pounds but
at the Bonhams sale it went for 72,000
pounds. The photographs were by John
Burke, William Baker and James Craddock.
The Collection was that of the late
Kanwardip Gujral, a Hamburg-based
businessman who was born in Lahore
before partition but brought up in
Agra after 1947. His first purchase
of Indian photographs was in 1976,
but he began collecting in earnest
in 1990 when he bought a group of
nineteenth century albums while on
holiday in Italy.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, April
10, 2008
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This
is Balaji's blessing," coo Chandravenu
and his coy bride Rajani at Muthyalareddypalle
in Chittoor district, almost in chorus.
Like most people in the state's countryside
these days, they had also chosen to
be part of the unique TTD (Tirumala
Tirupati Devasthanams) sponsored kalyanamastu
(mass marriage ceremony). A wedding
in the traditional sense would have
cost both families about Rs 1 lakh
each, plus the cost of wedding clothes
and travel. Nothing has caught the
imagination of young couples in the
state as the mass marriages, which
TTD first organised in February 2007.
"The poor borrow large sums for marriages
and get stuck in debt. With kalyanamastu,
they are free now," points out TTD's
Executive Officer K.V. Ramanachary.
Kalyanamastu is not just for the indigent.
It is also aimed at creating awareness
among Hindus to curb wasteful expenditure.
Couples who avail the services offered
by TTD, get clothes, a mangalsutra
(gold chain symbolising wedlock) weighing
2 gm and silver mettalu (toe rings)
for the bride. Those wanting to get
married have to obtain the consent
of their parents and register their
names in advance with the local kalyanamastu
committee. TTD spends about Rs 7,000
on each couple, which includes arranging
for the priests, a band and hosting
a vegetarian meal for the guests-
restricted to 60 persons for each
couple. Thereafter, the newly-weds
and the parents of both are given
six tickets to visit Tirumala Temple
within three months of their marriage.
Kalyanamastu has become popular because
it is held simultaneously at 294 places
across the state, either at TTD kalyana
mandapams, prominent Hindu temples
in its vicinity or open grounds, depending
on the number of registered applicants
in a place. The mangalsutras gifted
to the couples are kept at the feet
of the presiding deity at Tirumala
during a special prayer and sanctified
before their dispatch to the wedding
venues. Those who wish but cannot
afford to invite Brahmins to perform
their marriage, this TTD initiative
is truly Godsend. Amidst Vedic chants,
the priests of TTD and others hired
for the occasion solemnise the weddings.
TTD employees arrange for the kalyanamastu
in tandem with district officials,
public representatives, social activists
and volunteers called Srivari Sevaks.
To lend a touch of glamour to the
occasion, local celebrities are invited
to greet the newly-weds. TTD has conducted
the kalyanamastu thrice- the latest
on March 9-spending more than Rs 12
crore with 19,140 couples having taken
their marriage vows so far. The number
is bound to grow, judging by the concerted
efforts to spread awareness and incentives
coming in the way of those entering
into wedlock. Local committees are
offering clothes and other freebies
depending on the generosity of philanthropists
in different places. Some donors have
come forward to pay for short honeymoon
trips for those getting married in
Tirupati. The Andhra Pradesh State
Road Transport Corporation is planning
to offer subsidised tickets for a
three-day round trip to the newly-weds.
Such small misadventures aside, TTD
is planning to set up an exclusive
kalyanamastu trust as Reddy's plan
"is to perpetuate the Hindu marital
system which is the most sacred among
all institutionalised marriages".
He is optimistic that with the flux
of time even the well-to-do will opt
for these less ostentatious marriages.
And it may well lead prospective newly-weds
as well as parents of eligible boys
and girls to chant louder "in Venkateswara
we trust."
Courtesy:
India Today, April7, 2008
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UK
Army's first Hindu chaplain uses Bhagwad
Gita to comfort soldiers
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The
first Hindu chaplain to the British
Army believes Bhagwad Gita is one
of his most crucial tools to help
Hindu recruits, of whom 470 are in
the Armed Forces, going to war in
Iraq or Afghanistan. Acharya Krishan
Kant Attri has been serving the British
Army since 2005. ''I use it all the
time,'' said the priest when asked
about the Bhagwad Gita. Mr Attri said
the Mahaabharata could help soldiers
worried about going to war in Iraq
or Afghanistan and fearing they would
not be able to come back. He turned
to the Sanskrit text, the portion
of the epic in which the god Krishna
counsels the hero Arjuna just before
battle. The famous second chapter
has been the most trenchant for young
British Hindu soldiers. Mr Attri said,
''Arjuna is concerned about going
to fight, and Krishna tells him 'You
are not a killing machine. You are
just doing your duty, and should leave
the rest to almighty God''. In whichever
of his eight languages Mr Attri used
to counsel the soldier, the message
was the same, ''I tell them, 'God
has given you an opportunity to protect
your country and maintain peace in
the world'. They need to know they
are not killing anybody but just performing
a duty, he added. When the priest
was interviewed at the Ministry of
Defence for the job of Britain's first
Hindu chaplain, he was asked what
he would say if a soldier did not
want to go to war. Hindu teachings,
he responded, offer good guidance.
''Duty is our priority. It's our karma,
and we have to face it,'' he told
them. Hindu teachings have armed most
of the soldiers he counseled with
resolve. ''They know they've undertaken
a contract to look after the boundary
walls of the country,'' said the 45-year-old
pandit. Mr Attri performed army weddings,
supported soldiers and their families,
and acted as a liaison between Hindu
troops and their commanding officers,
explaining small but symbolically
charged issues. Why Hindu soldiers
want to wear rakhi, or symbolic red
strings, around their wrists, or why
strict vegetarians do not want to
use spoons that have touched meat
at meals. He has also gone to Nepal
to select chaplains for the Gurkhas,
and this spring would visit troops
in Afghanistan. ''I want to see what
the soldiers go through, to help me
advise them and support the families
left behind,'' he informed. The son
of a Brahmin sweet-shop owner in Kasauli,
in the north Indian state of Himachal
Pradesh, Mr Attri came to Britain
as a 22-year old priest to serve at
the Hindu temple in Newcastle upon
Tyne. He arrived in Britain with no
English, no Britain-based relatives
or friends. About British Hindus,
he said, ''Religions are to unite,
not to divide. Our tradition says
'intermingle with other communities,
don't create problems, and don't try
to impose your own belief on others.''
The few Hindus he has seen tempted
by Hindu extremism, he said, have
been dealt with at ''a grass roots-level,
through community and temple leaders.''
India's multi-faith history has served
them well, ''We don't expect society
to change for us. You adapt to the
environment around you, and respect
your neighbours,'' he said.
Courtesy:
www.webindia123.com, April 06, 2008
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New
TV channel for British Asians
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Brit
Asia TV , a new free-to-air television
channel aimed at the British Asian
audience, will be officially launched
on Monday. The Birmingham-based channel
says that its aim is to "broadcast
and promote Asian culture amongst
British Asians" in the UK and across
Europe. It will be available on the
Sky Digital platform, but unofficial
broadcast has already begun. With
a mix of feature shows, music, entertainment
news, chat shows, drama serials, reality
TV shows and more, the station hopes
to capture the lucrative young British
Asian market, joining similar rivals
such as Raj TV. Director of Brit Asia
TV Jaz Bal said: "This is a unique
and highly entertaining TV channel
that will plug the gap for quality
programming by British Asians for
British Asians." "This unique television
channel is determined to put its UK
British Asian audience first by giving
them the television content that they
want to see with original and exclusive
shows. All material on the channel
is relevant and focused on Asian lives
in Britain," a channel spokesperson
said. Apart from several popular channels
beamed out of the Indian sub-continent,
there are many channels that are based
in the UK and target the British Asian
audience. These include the Leicester-based
MATV. The growth of channels within
the UK targeting the British Asian
audience reflects market research
that the vast majority of British
Asians and other ethnic minorities
are not satisfied with the mainstream
programming available on BBC. The
channels also broadcast advertising
aimed at the prosperous British Asian
audience that is identified with the
'brown pound' the increasing economic
clout in Britain of people from the
Indian sub-continent, as consumers
as well as entrepreneurs.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, April
05, 2008
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Reliance
Entertainment's Big cinemas to open
in US
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Reliance
Entertainment Private Limited (REPL)
is all set to start its cinema chain
in the US under the brand name Big
from next month. More than 200 theatres
will screen Hindi as well as regional
films from India. Confirming the schedule,
a company official said, "We are still
renovating and refitting the cinemas
we have acquired in some cities there.
A formal announcement about their
opening will be made later." Over
the last one year, Reliance Entertainment
has acquired over 200 cinema halls
in 28 North American cities, including
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta,
Detroit and Washington. Taken on a
long-term lease, these theatres will
bear the company's entertainment brand
name Big, and not Adlabs, as REPL's
cinemas in India are called. It is
learnt that REPL has also bought over
an American theatre management firm
to oversee the operations of its Big
cinema chain. REPL may also distribute
movies overseas. Since it is already
into producing movies in Hindi and
other Indian regional languages under
the Big Pictures banner, its exhibition
outlets abroad will help it firm up
its distribution venture. In order
to expand its overseas exhibition
network, the company is now scouting
for more cinema halls in other countries
as well. The Big cinema chain in the
US will not only screen Bollywood
movies, but will also run Indian regional
language movies, particularly the
productions from the south, and movies
from other Asian countries to cater
to large expatriate populations. These
200-odd cinema halls are located in
cities where there are large concentrations
of people from the Indian subcontinent
and other parts of Asia. The chain
will be marketed as any other American
cinema chain. Mainstream Hollywood
movies, art house productions and
movies made by the independent producers
will also adorn the marques of the
Big cinemas. REPL's cinema operations
in the US, spread across different
cities, will go a long way in making
the presence of the Bollywood movies,
in particular, more prominent there
and help them reap good harvest from
the US box-office. Already, some recent
Bollywood movies have made it to the
top of the US box-office chart. UTV-distributed
Tip Films' "Race," for example, has
secured 18th position in the US box-office
in the first week of its release on
96 screens.
Courtesy:
www.headlinesindia.com, April 02,
2008
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