Monthly Archives: February 2015

‘Ek Yaad Mukesh ke Baad ‘ on Feb.22

February 20, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Part of the proceeds to be donated for treatment of kidney dialysis patients

Mysore:

A singer in a class of his own, his voice held a haunting, melancholic quality that could tug at your heart and move you to tears. One of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood history, Mukesh Chand Mathur made his way into the hearts of music-lovers with his song Dil Jaltha Hai To Jalne Dein from the movie Pehli Nazar (1945). Initially, though his voice seemed to imitate yet another legendary singer K.L. Saigal, Mukesh carved a niche for himself with his unique style in the film Andaz in 1949.

It’s been 39 years since Mukesh passed away but his songs remain evergreen and his fan club has never diminished. For all his fans, the Sunheri Yaadein Music Club in city is bringing back his memories with the lilting tunes.

Ek Yaad Mukesh Ke Baad, to be held on Feb. 22 at the MMC Platinum Jubilee Auditorium from 6.30 pm onwards, will feature the best of Mukesh’s songs and will be rendered by Mukthar Shah from Ahmedabad, who is popularly known as the voice of Mukesh.

Mukthar, an ardent fan of Mukesh and an advocate by profession, started singing in the early 1980s and has performed all over the world. Last month he created a record by singing 130 songs non-stop for 14 hours and entered into the Limca Book of Records.

Mukthar has accompanied many celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan and sung along with celebrated singers including Sonu Nigam and Shaan.

Sandeep Lokhande, a popular RJ from Mumbai, who has compered several music shows and award functions, will be the anchor.

A live 12-member orchestra ensemble from Calicut with renowned musicians will be the added attraction in the concert. Sushant from Calicut is the Orchestra Organiser.

Aiswarya Developers are the main sponsors of the concert. A part of the proceeds of the concert will be donated for the treatment of dialysis patients.

Venkatesh, the founder of the Sunheri Yaadein Music Club in 1994, who is an established singer himself, along with his singer wife Veena, has been organising concerts in city in memory of the legendary singers of Bollywood.

With a view to entertain the lovers of retro music, Venkatesh plans to hold four concerts a year in memory of all legendary singers. With a subscription to the Club, the fans will be given free passes for 3 concerts while the fourth one will be held to encourage budding talents of the member group.

For donor passes, contact Mob: 94484-74224 or 87628- 54751.

— Nandini Srinivasan

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Saturday – February 14th, 2015

Municipal Corporation to light up memorial of 257 freedom fighters

February 18, 2015Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, World Opinionmpositiveone@gmail.com

Bareilly :

The Bareilly Municipal Corporation is all set to light up the memorial of 257 freedom fighters who laid down their lives during the country’s first war of independence in 1857.

The tower built in their memory is situated in the compound housing the office of divisional commissioner.

Though the memorial was built in 2006, there are no lights at the venue, plunging the place into darkness after evening hours.

The municipal authorities will install high mast lights around the memorial so that the venue is well lit and easily visible to commuters on the road running in front of the park during late evening hours.

After divisional commissioner Pradyuman Yadav took over as Bareilly commissioner, he asked municipal authorities to light up the park where the memorial is situated

“It was disappointing to learn that the tower built in the memory of 257 freedom fighters is lying in darkness. A majority of the locals are unaware about the importance and historical significance of this place,” said Sheeldhar Yadav, municipal commissioner.

Teams of municipal corporation visited the park where the memorial tower is situated on Sunday to survey the area. “We will install white or cream-colour high mast lights around the memorial so that it is able to grab the attraction of commuters moving on the opposite side of roads,” said the commissioner, adding that the work will be completed in the next 10 days.

Explaining the significance of this memorial, Yadav said these 257 freedom fighters were hanged to death on the branches of the banyan tree situated next to tower. During the first revolt of Independence against the British, Bareilly was the headquarter of Rohilkhand region, which included districts of Bareilly, Moradabad, Badaun, Pilibhit, Bijnor, Rampur and Shahjahanpur. On May 31, 1857, the freedom fighters killed British officials, including the principal of Bareilly College, during the revolt.

After their victory, the freedom fighters had made Khan Bahadur Khan, who was the grandson of Hafiz Rehmat Khan, the ruler of Rohilkhand region. Khan formed his own government and ruled the region till May 5, 1858. However, on the morning of May 5, the army of British forces gheraoed the city from all four corners. The British forces defeated the freedom fighters the next day by bombarding the city.

“Khan, along with his trustworthy 257 sepoys, fled to Nepal but British forces, with the help of Nepalese, captured them,” said Abhay Singh, associate professor, department of ancient history and culture at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule (MJP) Rohilkhand University.

On March 25, 1860, Khan was sentenced in the district jail of Bareilly, but 257 freedom fighters, who fought with him, were hanged to death with rope on the branches of the banyan tree in the presence of locals. The state government had constructed the tower next to the banyan tree in 2006 in memory of these freedom fighters.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bareilly / by Priyangi Agarwal, TNN / February 16th, 2015

79 tour operators from 27 countries to give global touch to UP’s first Travel Mart

February 18, 2015Business & Economy, Travel & Tourismmpositiveone@gmail.com

Lucknow :

The four-day long UP’s first Travel Mart, which would begin on February 22 is likely to witness participation of as many as 79 tour operators from 27 countries. This also includes 25 tour operators from India. Director general of tourism Amrit Abhijat said that the Travel Mart would be inaugurated by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, and would be held at La Martiniere Boys College ground.

He further stated that earlier the event used to be held in Jaipur under the name of ‘great Indian Travel Bazaar’, but under an agreement between FICCI and UP Tourism, the event has been slated for Lucknow, and for the next five years, it would be held in Lucknow.

“The Travel Mart would prove to be useful both for domestic and international tour operators, and at the same time, it would add another dimension to the different tourist places of the state,” Abhijat said, and added that it will also help the foreign tour operators to design better tour packages keeping in mind the historical monuments of the state.

A meeting was also held recently to formalise the preparations of the Travel Mart. The meeting was attended by Amit Gupta (of FICCI), ASI director PK Mishra, head of Heritage Hotel Association PND Singh and Salim Ali and Tariq Khan (of Roomi Foundation). A meeting was also held under the chairmanship of Mahesh Kumar Gupta, divisional commissioner of Lucknow, which was also attended by Amrit Abhijat and other senior officials.

The meeting which is jointly organised by FICCI and UP Tourism is likely to see maximum participation of 8 tour operators from United Kingdom, followed by 7 each from China and Australia, 6 each from Germany and Thailand, and 5 from the USA.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Arunav Sinha, TNN / February 17th, 2015

Mughal-era coins donated to AMU by alumnus

February 18, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourismmpositiveone@gmail.com

Aligarh:

Two alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), SM Javed, former principal of Yasin Meo Degree College in Haryana, and his wife Imam Bano, professor at the JN Medical College in the city, have donated their personal collection of historical artifacts – which includes some rare coins dating to the times of Akbar and Jahangir — to their alma mater. The collection, which the academic couple said had been in their family for many generations, contains 58 coins and medals along with documents of the Mughal court known as parwanas. Among the pride of the collection are silver and copper coins minted during the reign of emperors Akbar, Jahangir, Aurangzeb and Shah Alam, believed to be worth a few lakh rupees.

Elaborating on the reasons behind their decision to donate these family heirlooms, Javed, who passed out of AMU in 1968, said, “We could have easily got a tidy sum if we chose to sell these coins at online auction portals. But we decided that we would rather have these priceless items exhibited at the university museum where more people can see and appreciate them.”

A particularly interesting coin in the collection is a chau gosha or four-cornered coin minted in Akbar’s reign. “Akbar was an emperor who experimented consistently with the shape of his coins. Consequently, coins during his reign came in various shapes -round, square as well as hexagonal,” said Javed. The chau gosha bears the emperor’s full name ‘Jalaluddin Akbar’ and also has the names of the four caliphs inscribed on it.

Another unique coin has the words – Zarb-Zafar Urdu inscribed on it, indicating that it was a coin minted for the use of the army during military expeditions. “Urdu was a term used to denote a lashkar or military camp during Mughal times. Imperial marching armies were like moving cities and they needed their own currency while at war,” said Javed.

The collection also includes coins from the time of Queen Victoria, East India Company, King Edward VII and King George V. Besides, there are gallantry medals of World War II. “My uncles were in the British Army during the war. The medals that they won are also a part of the collection,” said Javed.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Eram Agha, TNN / February 11th, 2015

Azamgarh boy to get Chancellor Gold Medal

February 18, 2015Educationmpositiveone@gmail.com

The IXth Convocation of UP Rajarshi Tandon Open University would be held at Pt Madan Mohan Malviya convocation ground of Phaphamau campus on Saturday.

Vice-chancellor Prof M P Dubey said that governor and chancellor of the University Ram Naik would preside over the convocation. The convocation address would be delivered by Indian Space Research Organization’s Professor YS Rajan.

Nearly 12,500 students, who cleared examinations of December 2013 and June 2014 would be awarded degrees and diplomas at the convocation. Besides, 18 brilliant students would be felicitated with gold medals. The Chancellor Gold Medal has been bagged by MSc (Bio-Chemistry) student Brijbhan Yadav of Azamgarh who topped the December 2013-June 2014 examination and scored highest marks (82.08%) among all undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Other recipients of the University Gold Medal for PG course include Yadvendra Saroj, Bechan Chauhan, Vinit Kumar, Seema Kashyap, Sadhana Pandey and Brijbhan Yadav. UG students include Anamika Yadav, Kirti Gupta, Mohammad Wasim Sidhhiqui, Bhawna Sharma, Angad Kumar Yadav and Neha Verma.

Prof Dubey also said that donor gold medals would also be awarded to Kirti Srivastava, Seema Kashyap, Pooja Jaiswal, Kirti Gupta and Richa Tiwari.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / TNN / February 12th, 2015

CORRIDORS OF POWER – People queue up to see Abdul Kalam

February 18, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Science & Technologympositiveone@gmail.com

When he visited his friend in Madurai, people waited patiently to cheer him and lined up on the road when he left

Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is known for visiting Madurai with a packed schedule as he goes about attending functions at schools, colleges and hospitals in and around the district. And his two-day visit to the Temple city on Friday and Saturday was no exception. Yet, the octogenarian found time to pay a visit to his former ISRO colleague D. Narayanamoorthy’s modest house at Vishwanathapuram fourth street in the city and spent almost an hour enquiring about the health of the former’s 94-year-old father N. Devarajan, who had been suffering from age-related ailments. Though the police had cordoned off the entire locality and prevented vehicular movement, a large number of people gathered outside the house to take a glimpse of the former President. Mr. Kalam entered the house at around 9.20 p.m. and emerged out only at 10.15 p.m. but the crowd waited patiently to cheer him with loud roars, whistles and claps. Then the people lined up on both sides of the road as his convoy passed through with Mr. Kalam waving to the crowd enthusiastically from the brightly lit backseat of an Ambassador car. Mr. Devarajan’s other son D. Sachidanandam said that Mr. Kalam had a great regard and admiration for his father, a retired BSNL engineer. “This is his second visit to our house. Though we did not inform anybody about the visit, people gathered up on seeing the presence of huge posse of policemen and the mobile metal detectors that were placed in our house.”

Media persons who had assembled for a press briefing by the Collector and District Election Officer in Tiruchi last week were surprised when V.Manoharan, who was shifted as the Returning Officer and Revenue Divisional Officer of Srirangam ahead of the by-election, walked in for a brief and informal interaction. The previous evening, the Election Commission had appointed T.G.Vinay, an IAS officer, in his place. With a disarming smile and folded hands, Mr.Manoharan told the reporters that he just wanted to thank all the reporters for their cooperation and coverage of the by-election related news. “I am moving out now, but wish to thank you all. I have no complaints,” he said, without any hint of rancour.

Sticklers for rules in the University of Madras may regret the resignation of the Head of the Department of Management Studies, a member of the university Syndicate a fortnight ago.

The professor, who turned 60 some months ago, was to retire in June as is the University norm. One of the few Syndicate members who ensured that laws and rules governing the university were followed in letter and spirit, he was respected for his knowledge of the statutes.

In the past several years he along with another senior professor questioned the University’s decisions to appoint heads of departments. With another Syndicate election coming up in a few weeks the University circles wonder if the associations will nominate persons who will take forward his legacy of checking violations.

( Mohammed Imranullah S, S. Ganesan, Syed Muthahar Saqaf )

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / February 16th, 2015

Pathan brothers steal the show

February 18, 2015Leaders, Sportsmpositiveone@gmail.com

Cricketer Irfan Pathan engaging with fans during the Ranji Trophy match in Mysuru on Saturday.— Photo: M.A. Sriram

It may have been Karnataka’s home match, but it was two opposition players who stole the show at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Ground here.

During the four-day Ranji Trophy cricket fixture between Karnataka and Baroda, the Pathan brothers — Irfan and Yusuf — proved to be a huge hit.

The crowd could not get enough of the international cricketers, and their vocal support was appreciated by the duo, who took numerous selfies with the fans.

Irfan even engaged in some casual banter with spectators while fielding at mid-on.

“You guys will not win,” yelled one fan, on Saturday, the final day of the drawn encounter. Irfan shrugged, as if to say that the result was not a foregone conclusion yet. “Don’t worry, Karnataka will not win either,” came another quip from the stands, and this time, Irfan responded with a chuckle and a thumbs-up sign.

“I love playing at Mysuru. I have been here before. The fans here are unbelievable, and both Yusuf and I have a terrific time every time we come here. We feel that it is our duty to at least say hi to the hundreds of people who call out our names,” Irfan said, after the match on Saturday.

He added that the groundsmen had done a tremendous job in keeping the outfield lush, green and smooth.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Ashwin Achal / Mysuru – January 25th, 2015

Fukrey actor Ashraful Haque passes away in Mumbai

February 17, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainmentmpositiveone@gmail.com

Ashraful Haque started his career with a critically acclaimed film, Behrupiya. (Photo courtesy: moviespictures.org)

Delhi Belly and Fukrey actor Ashraful Haque passed away at Sunita Hospital in Andheri East in Mumabi on Tuesday. He was 46.

Haque was suffering from bone marrow cancer and was going through intensive treatment.

His condition deteriorated recently and he was put on ventilator.

The actor, who started his career with a critically acclaimed film, Behrupiya, has performed in more than 30 Indian plays and acted in over approximately 30 films apart from his Telly Serials and Ad films.

Haque graduated from National School of Drama, New Delhi in Dramatics with specialization in Acting in 1997.

He acted in movies like Company, Jungle, Dil Kya Kare, Calcutta Mail, Deewaar, Black Friday, Delhi Belly, Paan Singh tomar.

Haque is survived by his wife and a son.

source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday.in / Home> India> West / New Delhi – February 17th, 2015