Monthly Archives: February 2014

Irrfan bags best actor trophy at Dubai Film Fest for ‘The Lunchbox’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, World Opinion, ,

Acclaimed Indian actor Irrfan Khan won the best actor award for his brilliant performance in ‘The Lunchbox’ at the 10th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

IrrfanKhanMPos04feb2014

Irrfan won the award Friday in the Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature category, while films writer-director Ritesh Batra got a special mention for screenplay for the film about a lunch box, which becomes a symbol of hope, in the same category. World renowned Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur headed the jury.

Sandeep Ray won the best director award for his Bengali language film ‘Shirno Bahu’ (Thin Arms), which revolves around an octogenarian woman who undergoes treatment for a debilitating medical condition, in the Muhr Asia Africa shorts category.

DIFF chairman Abdulhamid Juma said that the sense of community this year was palpable.

“After 10 years, we are seeing recurrent visitors, both film professionals and cinema lovers, from the region and beyond. This year we celebrated the gains that have been made in Arab cinema in the past decade, the result of years of work from our team to discover, nurture and promote talent from the Arab world,” he added.

“There is a feeling that Arab cinema has ‘arrived,’ with increasing numbers of Arab films on the world stage, winning awards at the most prestigious festivals, and gaining currency even with audiences who have never visited the region.”

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / indiatoday.in / Home> Movies> Bollywood / by IANS / December 16th, 2013

Hygiene Comes First on This Butcher’s Block

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Science & Technology,
BatchaBai’s meat shop in T Nagar | P Jawahar
BatchaBai’s meat shop in T Nagar | P Jawahar

Sparkling white tiles, gleaming metal counters, spotlessly clean knives and the soft humming of refrigerators… This could be the sight that greets you when you walk into a run-of-the-mill meat shop on the streets of Chennai. Not in a few years or even a few months, but right now.

The Meat Sciences Department of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), has been providing meat retailers free designs and consulting services to convert their shops into places where hygiene is the priority – and they have been doing it for the past five years.

“We have been giving out designs and consultation to any entrepreneur who wishes to start up or modernise his business,” says Robinson Abraham, Head of theMeat Services Department. “All they have to do is approach us.” Consulting at a private firm would be prohibitively expensive to the small businesses that most meat shops were, he pointed out.

But when asked about what these five years of free consulting has engendered, he points to just one operating shop in Chennai. The BatchaBai meat shop in Kilpauk stands as a silent testimony to what a few well-thought out improvements in slaughter house design can do.

There are counters made of stainless steel, teflon cutting boards, rounded edges to prevent wiping hands on tables and white tiles to make any spattered blood visible. Compared to the ill-lit, ill-washed rooms that most meat shops offer, the sight is almost unreal in its cleanliness. “These are very small but necessary design elements,” points out R Narendrababu, one of the three professors in the department. “They improve the hygiene of the shop tremendously.”

The reason why hygiene comes in a sad second in the owners’ list of priorities, he adds, is because consumers themselves have been desensitised to the dangers of bad hygiene. “Unless people refuse to buy meat from shops that don’t adhere to basic hygiene norms, retailers will never feel the need to implement these practices,” he says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Jonahan Ananda – Chennai / January 29th, 2014

Punching her way to Rio Olympics

Sports, World Opinion, , , , ,

India sat up and took notice when this 17-year-old girl from small-town Nizamabad punched her way to the gold medal at the Third Nations Cup International Boxing Tournament in Serbia earlier this month. Meet Nikhat Zareen, who is being hailed as the next Mary Kom for the striking similarities in their sparring styles and has won four medals in just four years of taking up the sport, including gold in the Women’s Junior and Youth World Championship in Turkey in 2011 and silver medals in Bulgaria and Serbia in 2013. The third child of a family of four girls from an orthodox Muslim family, Nikhat tells Siva G of TOI, about the trials and tribulations of taking up a traditionally male-dominated sport and how her goal is to grab a gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics, for which she has changed her weight category from 54 kgs to 51 kgs and is focusing on 2014 championships to make the cut.

How and why did you take up boxing, considered a masculine sport?

Even before taking up boxing, I was an athlete. I won six medals in different athletic events at the school level and also the best sports person award in sixth standard. I decided to switch to boxing after I found that nobody was taking it up in school. When I asked my father why girls don’t participate in boxing, he said girls do not have the strength to fight. That’s when I decided to take up boxing and show the world that girls too can spar just like boys. I started boxing in 2009 and won the best boxer award at the national level the very next year. So far, I have won two gold and silver medals each in international championships. I have now changed my weight category from 54 kgs to 51 kgs, because only three weight categories for women are allowed in the 2016 Olympics.

Did you face any resistance from your family and community?

I am the third of four girl children. My father Jameel Ahmed, a real estate businessman, is my strength. He used to take me for practice on his moped and always stayed behind for practice. My mother, Parveen Sultana, was very upset as she felt that if I received any injuries on my nose, ears or head, nobody will marry me. I told her that if I get name and fame, everything will come to my doorstep and even marriage will not be a problem. She used to cry on seeing my face bleed during practice sessions with boys because there were no girls to fight with. Relatives from my father’s side too raised objections as they felt girls should not join a sport like boxing due to the danger of facial injuries. But nothing has happened to me so far. We wear protective gear while fighting.

Did your decision to take up boxing cause any problems in school or college?

My school friends at Nirmal Hriday used to tease me, saying don’t crack jokes against Nikhat, she will beat you to pulp. I told them that I am a boxer, not a street fighter as I box only in the ring and not on the streets. It was only after I started winning medals in national and international tournaments that they started to appreciate my talent and the fact that a girl from a small place like Nizamabad had made it big. Seeing my success, my relatives and people of Nizamabad are now encouraging girls to take up male dominated sports like boxing. A majority of people in my home town belong to the Muslim community but are now ready to let their daughters take up sports. Unfortunately, we don’t have any facilities in the district to nurture talent. If we have good stadiums with better equipment, girls will shine in sports.

How important is it for girls to learn sports like boxing and karate given the rise in crimes against women? What will you do if somebody tries to tease or molest you on the road?

I will teach them a lesson by beating them black and blue. I won’t spare anybody trying to take advantage of women. Girls face such experiences on the roads every other day, which is why I feel they should learn self-defence techniques or a sport like boxing or karate to develop self confidence and fitness to fight their attackers. Women should be alert on the roads and have the courage to face the odds. The government should also make self-defence compulsory in school and college.

What are your strong and weak points in the game?

Frankly speaking, I don’t know. My coach, Dronacharya awardee I Venkateswara Rao feels I am ready to take any risk in the ring. He feels I am very good at throwing a combination of punches and have a good sense of the game. He tells me that I am a technical boxer but need to improve my strength. I have never been afraid of my opponents. Once I step into the ring, my only aim is to defeat them. I got a chance to improve my game under coach Rao after joining the Sport Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Visakhapatnam in 2012.

Seniors see in you another Mary Kom thanks to your style of boxing. Comments

There may be a few similarities between us but there is a lot that is different too. She is a very experienced boxer, while I am still learning. Her willpower and technique are far greater than mine. She has strived hard for years to reach the top and I wish to reach that position by winning medals for the country. So, please don’t compare with me with Mary Kom at this point.

What is the biggest challenge you are facing now?

In the Serbia championship recently, I fought in the 51kg category for the first time. The quarterfinals and finals were tough as I was up against tough Russian opponents. Losing weight reduced some of the power in my punches but I made up for it with speed and technique. Now, my main focus is on honing my punching power, as competition is tougher in the new weight category. We are training to take on opponents from Russia, China, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan.

What is your next goal?

I wish to bring home a gold medal in the 2016 Olympics. To bag a place in the Indian Olympic team, I am concentrating on the World Championship in Sofia in Bulgaria and Youth Olympics to be held in China this year. This year is very crucial as it is my performance in these two events that will decide whether I get a place in the Indian team.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Boxing / TNN / January 20th, 2014