E-paper Feb. 23, 2009

VOL: 2 ISSUE 45

Feb. 23, 2009

AR Rahman creates history, wins two Oscars Los Angeles, Feb 23: Music maestro AR Rahman created history by becoming the first Indian to win two Oscar Awards in the 'Best Original Score' and 'Best S o n g ' c a te g o ri e s fo r 'Slumdog Millionaire' at the

glad she could be here," said Rahman. He ended the acceptance speech by saying in Tamil 'Ella P u g h a z h u m Eraivanukke' meaning "God is great" , he said after winning every award.

perceptions, and shown that the West likes the sound of India. ‘ S l u m d o g Millionaire’ is having a sweeping win at the Oscars, currently on in Los Angeles. The much acclaimed flick won eight

A R Rahman wins two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire Academy Awards in LA. The film had 10 Oscar nominations, including 3 for Rahman. He was nominated in the Best Original Score and Best Song categories for ‘O Saaya’ and ‘Jai Ho’ respectively, of which he won two awards each for ‘O Saaya’ and ‘Jai Ho’. The composer was overwhelmed and interspersed his speech with Hindi as well as Tamil after receiving the coveted trophy here on Sunday. "There is a dialogue from an old Hindi film - "Mere paas ma hai" - which means I have nothing but a mother. My mother is here, I have her blessings. I am

He shared the second Oscar for best original song for the film's theme number "Jai Ho" with noted Indian lyricist Gulzar. "All my life I had a choice between hate and love. I chose love and I am here," said Rahman after receiving his second golden statuette. This honour comes as recognition of popular Indian cinema in the West that for long has shunned Indian movies as too long and too full of song-and-dance sequences. Rahman's exuberant score has shattered all those

awards in all, which include- ‘Best Direction’, 'Best Original Score', 'Best Song', ‘Best Sound Mixing’, ‘Best Editing’ ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ and 'Best Cinematography'. THE OSCAR WINNERS... Best Picture: Producer Christian Colson for Slumdog Millionaire. “It has been collaboration between hundreds of people. All of us are here to share this moment. T h i s w a s a n extraordinary journey,” says the Slumdog... team. Best Direction: Danny Boyle for

Slumdog Millionaire Best Original Song: A R Rahman and Gulzar for ‘Jai Ho...’ (Slumdog Millionarie) The Indian music maestro, Rahman wooed the audience with ‘O Saya’ and ‘Jai Ho...’ the nominated songs from ‘Slumdog...’, a s t h e nominees for Best Original Song were b e i n g announced. Best Original Score: A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire . “I have nothing b u t m y mother and she is there with me. I thank her for making me coming all this way with h e r blessings,” said a proud Rahman. Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire Best Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Resul Pookutty and Richard Pryke for Slumdog Millionaire. “This is just not a sound award, but a history being handed over,” said Indian receiver Pookutty. B e s t Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire. “The cast and crew of the film told me so much about India and writing,” said a proud Beaufoy. B e s t

Documentary Short Subject: Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki Best Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn for Milk. Best Actressin a Leading Role: Kate Winslet for The Reader. Breathless Kate confessed experiencing the fainting

actor’s family - mother Sally, father Kim and sister Kate who came to receive the trophy on Ledger’s behalf. Best Live action short film: Jochen A l e x a n d e r f o r Spielzeugland Toyland Best Make-up:

feeling just like Penelope Cruz. She shouted onstage and waved at her father. She said, “I want to thank my family as they love me the way I am and lets me do what I want to.” By the time she finished her speech she was already in tears. Best Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan) Best Sound Editing: Richard King for The Dark Knight Best Visual Effects: Eric Barba for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button B e s t Documentary Feature Film: James Marsh for Man on Wire Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight . It was a special moment for

Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Best Costume Design: Michael O’Connor for The Duchess Best Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Best Animated Short Film: Kunio Kato for La Maison En Petits Cubes Best Animated Feature: Andrew Stanton for Wall-E Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. “Has anyone fainted here, may be I will be the first one,” exclaimed Penelope immediately after receiving the award. -Agencies

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Lawyer-Police imbroglio : Karunanidhi threatens fast Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi Sunday night threatened to launch a fast aggrieved that the Lawyers and police were at loggerheads after the February 19 violence in the Madras High Court complex. In a statement here, he said until the police and the lawyers bury their hatchet and give him an assurance to remain united, he would launch the fast at the hospital, where he was recuperating after a spine surgery. He said police and lawyers should let him know whether he should undertake the fast or not. ''If they don't give the undertaking, I will soon announce the date of the fast'', the octogenarian leader, who had been in hospital following back ache since January 26, said. Accusing some political party leaders (PMK, MDMK VCK and CPI) of politicising the Sri Lankan Tamils issue by deliberately keeping out the DMK and the Congress, Mr Karunanidhi said these forces, with an ulterior motive of breaking the DMK-Congress alliance, had been indulging in some mudslinging campaigns. By instigating people to launch agitations, these forces were trying to create a law and order problem in the state to destablise the

DMK government. These forces have now taken the February 19 policelawyers clash as the main weapon and not the protection of Sri Lankan Tamils, to realise their dream, he charged. Stating that he was convalescing in a hospital after a surgery and sutures were yet to be removed, Mr Karunanidhi said people of the state were well aware of the campaign being launched by them against the government. ''My appeal is that lawyers and police, inadvertantly, should not become a scape-goat.'' These forces, by forgetting the Sri Lankan Ta m i l s i s s u e , h a d instigated the lawyers to launch agitations against the government and the lawyers should not fall prey to such sinister desgins, he added. Observing that he had been constantly appealing to lawyers and the police to sink their differences, Mr Karunanidhi, however, said such a cordial atmosphere was not forthcoming because of the venomous attitude of these political forces. ''But the lawyers were not able to see through this and did not understand the sinister designs of the venomous forces'', he regretted. I t w a s

unfortunate that a section of lawyers and police had gone on a course of confrontation, leading to law and order problem. ' W h e t h e r lawyers or police, they should not fall prey to the efforts of these forces to create law and order problem in the state. ''Both the lawyers and the police should function as brothers of the government and serve the people'', he said. Referring to Chief Justice of India K.G Baalakrishnaa's appeal to find an amicable solution to the impasse, Mr Karunanidhi said some forces were again trying to instigate the lawyers and police through statements. Asking both sides to ignore such statements, Mr Karunanidhi said ''let bygones be bygones''. Appealing to them to shed confrontation by heeding to his advise and the suggestions of saner counsels, he said if they accepted his advise he would be happy. ''If they did not accept it, he would launch a fast from his hospital-bed'', he said and left the decision whether to embark on it or not, to the lawyers and police. -Agencies

HC asks advocates to leave court premises after duty hours Chennai, Feb 23 Madras High Court has restricted the Advocates from remaining inside the court premises after 1800 hrs on working days and barred them from entering the premises during holidays. According to official sources, a Bench consisting of the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) S J Mukhopadhaya and Justices V Dhanapalan and K Chandru at a special sitting at the ACJ's official r e s i d e n c e y e s t e r d a y, passing further orders on suo motu proceedings, directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure that the Police Commissioners and

District Superintendents of Police enforce the decision in their respective court premises immediately. The Bench also instructed the police to permit half-an-hour excess time for advocates to leave the court campus after the duty hours with a warning. If the advocates failed to listen, they should be sent out by force, they added. The Bench also asked the police to remove all the vehicles from the court campus after 1800 hrs, except the staff members of the court. It may be recalled that the Court

had issued a show-cause notice to the Chennai Commissioner of Police K Radhakrishnan and the then Joint Commissioner ( n o r t h ) , M Ramasubramani asking them why suo motu criminal contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against officers and constables responsible for the February 19 violence that rocked the HC campus. The concerned police officials will have to primarily answer queries concerning the clashes between police and advocates, which lasted a few hours. - Agencies

Feb. 23, 2009

Ruling DMK appeals to advocates to end indefinite boycott Chennai, Feb. 23 The Legal wing of the ruling DMK on Sunday appealed to advocates to end their indefinite boycott of courts demanding action against senior police officials involved in the clash between lawyers and police personnel at the Madras High Court premises on February 19. A resolution

adopted at a meeting of the legal wing said the advocates should end their boycott in public interest and with the hope that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and the High Court Chief Justice would take steps for an amicable solution. Thanking the advocates for expressing their solidarity with the suffering Sri Lankan Tamils by organising

agitations, the meeting appealed to lawyers to leave the responsibility of finding a solution to the Tamil Nadu government. Condemning the violence in the court campus, the meeting also appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to provide adequate compensation to owners of the vehicles damaged in the incident. -Agencies

HC Committee requests lawyers not to enter campus by force Chennai, Feb 23 A five-member High Court Judges Committee constituted by acting Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya to find a solution to defuse the confrontation between lawyers and police, Sunday night requested and directed the advocates not to enter the High Court premises for the next two days. The request came in the wake of agitating lawyers

announcing earlier in the afternoon that they would enter the High Court premises by force tomorrow and take out a procession and observe a dharna before embarking on a fasting agitation. Under the direction of the High Court yesterday, the city police took the High Court complex which had witnessed a bloody clash between advocates and police four days ago,

under their control, locking up all the gates on the four sides of the campus. Following this the lawyers decided to gatecrash into the High Court complex, tomorrow.. The request of the committee to the advocates not to enter the campus as it could only worsen the situation further, was released by the Registrar General of the High Court. -Agencies

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A R Rahman's sister elated with win TN Assembly witnessess uproar Chennai, Feb 23: Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly when Public Works Minister Duraimurugan alleged that the government suspected the hand of the Opposition, AIADMK, in the attack on Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy inside the court hall on February 17, which triggered the subsequent violence in the court campus on February 19. Replying to Deputy Leader of O p p o s i t i o n O Panneerselvam charge (AIADMK) that the government had failed to protect the law and order in the court campus, Mr Duraimurugan said those who hurled eggs at Dr Swamy could not be lawyers and strongly suspected the involvement of the AIADMK in it, in a bid to create law and order problem and topple the DMK government. Stating that the protests by Lawyers to express their solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamils had nothing to do with the violent incidents, he said only after the entry of Dr Swamy to the court hall the trouble had started and eggs were hurled at him. Observing that no advocates would come to the court hall with rotten eggs in their pockets, Mr Duraimurugan described it as as a ''planned act'' by some political parties to dislodge the DMK government by creating law and order problem in the State. ''Some anti-social

elements in the garb of advocates could have made their way to the court hall and hurled eggs at Dr Swamy,'' he said. As the AIADMK members objected to this, Mr Duraimurugan queered the pitch saying he did not specify any party by name and why should the AIADMK get angry about it. ''Is it the handiwork of Dr Swamy and the AIADMK leadership,'' he asked. This infuriated the Opposition camp which took objections to h i s r e m a r k . Pendemonium prevailed in the House as the AIADMK members, who were on their feet, shouted slogans. Reiterating that some political parties were trying to dislodge the government, Mr Duraimurugan said Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who was recuperating in a hospital after a spine s u r g e r y, w a n t e d t o resolve the issue amicably and even offered to visit the Acting Chief Justice S J Mukhopadahya to find an amicable solution. Recalling the Chief Minister's announcement that he would observe a fast to bring truce between the police and the lawyers, the Minister said the attack on Dr Swamy and the subsequent violence was a ''joint conspiracy.'' As AIADMK members continued to oppose his r e m a r k s , M r Panneerselvam said Dr Swamy had come to the

Lawyers in Chennai go on fast Chennai, Feb. 23: A group of around 300 lawyers on Monday went on a day-long fast in front of the Madras High Court, a day after their associations decided to indefinitely boycott courts to press their demands, including action against police officials for the February 19 lathicharge in the court premises. Lawyers belonging to various associations, including the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA), began the fast this morning. MHAA secretary M Velmurugan said the future course of action would be decided at the end of the fast in the evening. Meanwhile, courts all over Tamil Nadu remained closed today as per the order of the High Court to keep them shut till Tuesday to enable restoration of normalcy. Hardening their stand, various associations of the lawyers on Sunday had decided to boycott the courts indefinitely and sought the removal of state DGP and the City Commissioner of Police in connection with the violence in the court complex. They had also sought deployment of central security forces in the High Court complex. Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, convalescing in a hospital after a spine surgery, had said last night that he would go on a fast if the police and lawyers failed to find an amicable solution to end the standoff. -Agencies

court to implead himself in a case and there was no link between the two incidents -- assault on Dr Swamy and the court campus violence. There were shouts and counters h o u t s a f t e r Duraimurugan said since the AIADMK was trying to go to the rescue of Dr S w a m y, h e w a s suspecting the involvement of the AIADMK in the incident. M r Panneerselvam said Mr Duraimurgan attributing motives to the incident and linking it with the AIADMK was wrong and urged Speaker R Avudaiyappan to expunge the remarks. As the noisy scenes continued, the Speaker sought to put an end to the issue by stating that other issues would be taken up later and moved to the debate on the budget. -Agencies

Chennai, Feb. 23 Musical genius A.R. Rahman's sister Reihana couldn't stop thanking God and the prayers of millions of Indians on Monday for her brother's double win at the Oscars for his work in much acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire". "It is God's blessing and all the accolades to Him (God)," Reihana said as she watched her brother stride towards the Kodak stage in Los Angeles to receive his second Oscar for Danny Boyle's ragsto-riches story. "We are elated. Rahman has won, thanks to the whole nation's prayers," Reihana, a well-known Tamil music composer and singer said. She had not yet called up her brother to congratulate him, but said she would speak to him soon. "I don't want to disturb him in the middle of his glory at the function, right now. When he gets back, we will express our delirious happiness and much

more... We are speechless," said the ecstatic sister. Rahman picked up the awards for his best original score as also the best original song "Jai ho" from the film with lyrics by Gulzar and Sukhwinder Singh as the lead singer. Asked if she had any special gift in mind for her brother, Reihana said: "I haven't planned one as yet. But I think Rahman should give me a gift since I prayed so hard for him to win!" She once again stressed that it was God's blessings that had made Rahman triumph at the Academy Awards. “Once he returns, Rahman and I and the rest of the family will go on thanksgiving pilgrimages to several dargahs (Muslim shrines) to express our gratitude to God for blessing us so mercifully and in such magnitude," Reihana said. "We hope this means more Hollywood offers for Rahman after this," the proud sister added.

Accolades for the music maestro poured in from his colleagues from the film industry here. Tanvi Shah, who sang part of the Oscar winning number "Jai Ho", jumped with joy and said that Rahman had won the Oscars for the whole nation. “I'm just so thankful to God for this. Rahman deserves every bit of this. This award is for India," said Tanvi, who watched the entire Oscar ceremony with her family. "I was crying throughout the ceremony and praying really hard for him to win. The one person our team is missing the most is sound engineer H. Sreedhar, the sound engineer who created the final copy. Sadly, he passed away recently," she added. Madhumita, who sang "Liquid Dance" and "Millionaire" in the movie, is also elated. "Jai Ho Rahman sir! You have done our country proud. I feel so blessed right now to be a part of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and am on cloud nine," she said. -Agencies

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TN Assembly greets Rahman, CM congratulate him for winning Oscar

It's 'official': Laila-Majnu buried in Rajasthan Bikaner: Feb. 23, According to rural legend here, Laila and Majnu were from Sindh and escaped to these parts and d i e d h e r e . N o w, t h e S r i g a n g a n a g a r administration has taken up the derelict, open graves of two lovers — according to local belief, Laila and Majnu — in Bijnore village and decided to spruce it up as a tribute to the eternal love icons. Said assistant director of Rajasthan tourism, Hanuman Mal Arya, ‘‘We discussed projects to improve facilities at the border post of Hindumalkot on the

India-Pakistan border. As part of this, we decided to spend Rs 25 lakh on the beautification of the tomb of Laila-Majnu,’’ said Arya. The iconic romantic pair made their first appearance in Persian literature way back in the 7th century through the writings of Nezami Ganjvir. They have surfaced in different cultures, including Indian and Turkish, at different times. There’s no historicity associated with the story of Qais, who loved Laila to the point of madness and was hence called ‘Majnu’

or ‘The Mad’. But people of Bijnore proudly show a well, a few metres from the tomb, which was supposedly used by the two lovers. ‘‘If there’s no truth to their story, how did the age-old tradition of an annual fair around the tomb commence?’’ says Baba Chopdas, the caretaker of the open mausoleum. The two-day fair in June is attended by hundreds of newlyweds and lovers despite there being no facilities for an overnight stay. - Agencies

60+ pilots may be eased out New Delhi, Feb. 23: ‘‘Senior citizen’’ pilots may eventually be allowed to fly only private planes and not schedule commercial Indian airliners. The government had extended pilots’ flying age in India from 60 to 65 about three years ago due to a severe shortage of pilots, owing to an unprecedented aviation boom then. But, now, with the boom gone bust and scores of young commercial pilot licence (CPL) holders idling after spending lakhs on their training, a rethink is on in the higher echelons of government. ‘‘The reducing of upper age limit can progressively be

considered, depending on the ground situation, for schedule airlines but not for private planes,’’ aviation minister Praful Patel said. I n d u s t r y insiders put the number of 60 plus pilots flying Indian carriers between 400 and 500. The aviation boom led hundreds of young students to pursue commercial flying and procure CPL training at prohibitive cost. But, now, with air traffic declining sharply, airlines have reduced their current fleet sizes and cancelled or delayed future delivery of aircraft as well. As a result, there are excess co-pilots and fresh CPL

ago).’’ The temple site is a mound in Sanchankot in Unnao. The excavations have been going on since 2004, when UGC cleared the project for funding. ‘‘A lot of things have come to fore since we began, but the temple complex has suddenly given impetus to our research,’’ said Prof Tewari. Spread across an area of 600 acres, the temple is made of baked bricks. In India, most of the brick temples were built in the Gupta period which existed in the fourth century AD. The temple’s architecture is ‘apsidal’ (semi-circular or u-shaped) in nature. The LU has many artifacts to conclude that Lord Shiva was worshipped in this temple. Prof Tewari said,

Chennai, Feb 23: The Tamil Nadu Assembly today congratulated music maestro A R Rahman for winning two Oscars for his musical score in 'Slumdog Millionaire.' Soon after the Question H o u r, S p e a k e r R Avudaiappan informed the House about Rahman winning two Oscars which was greeted with loud thumping of desk by all members.

H a i l i n g Rahman, the speaker said ''For the first time in India, that too a person from Tamil Nadu has bagged the world's highest honour given for cinema.'' Stating that a Tamilian has taken the Tamil film to dizzy heights in the world fora and for this the House congratulate him for winning the honour. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, in a statement also

- Agencies

‘‘A terracotta seal bearing the legend of ‘Kaalanjar peeth’ in Brahmi script was found from the site in Dec 2008.’’ A shivling, trishul, nandi bull, and a river are inscribed over the seal. The legend of ‘Kaalanjar peeth’ is inscribed just below the river. - Agencies

congratulated Rahman for winning the Oscar. I n a congratulatory message, Mr Karunanidhi said Mr Rahman, hailing from a minority community has won a place in the hearts of six crore people of Tamil Nadu and One billion people of India. ‘'I wish him all the best for many more such awards,'' Mr Karunanidhi said. - Agencies

From ‘Best Music’ to ‘Best Film’, Slumdog bags all Los Angeles, Feb 23: The much

winning the Best Director Oscar for 'Slumdog

acclaimed flick ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has won as much as eight Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony being held in LA. Music maestro AR Rahman created history by becoming the first Indian to win two Oscar Awards in the Rahman bagged the Oscars for best original score in "Slumdog Millionaire" and its theme song "Jai Ho", at the Academy Awards in LA. ' S l u m d o g Millionaire' has won the 'Best Film' award, along with Danny Boyle

Millionaire’. The much acclaimed flick also got laurels to various of its technicians includingChris Dickens for ‘Best Editing’, Resul Pookutty for ‘Best Sound Mixing’, Simon Beaufoy for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ and Anthony Dod Mantle for 'Best Cinematography'. Resul Pookutty created history by becoming the first Indian to win an Oscar for sound mixing for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. P o o k u t t y shared the award with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke for their work in the Mumbai-based fairy-tale

holders are not getting jobs. Moreover, with airlines cutting flights, even active duty pilots are also being paid progressively less. For instance, one of India’s biggest private airline recently reduced the number of days its pilots must be available from 22 days a month to just 15. ‘‘Airlines have over 1,000 foreign pilots and a large number of pilots above 60 years of age. While the expats must be sent back, we have nothing against our senior pilots. Only thing is that in current situation, fresh openings need to be made,’’ said a senior pilot.

2000-yr-old Shiva shrine found Lucknow, Feb. 23: Believed to be among the oldest brick shrines in India, Lucknow University’s department of ancient Indian history and archaeology has Shiva temple unearthed by a team from Lucknow University's ancient Indian history and archaeology department unearthed a 2,000-year-old Shiva temple as part of its excavation project recently in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district. ‘‘It’s actually a complex comprising five temples,’’ Prof D P Tewari of the Lucknow University said. ‘‘While four temples belong to the Kushana period (1st-3rd century AD or 2,000 years ago), it appears that the primary temple was constructed during the Sunga period (2nd century BC to 1st century AD or 2,200 years

Feb. 23, 2009

journey of a slum boy. "This is unbelievable. I share this stage with two magicians? I dedicate this award to my c o u n t r y, " Pookutty said in his acceptance speech here on Sunday. Simon Beaufoy bagged the first Oscar for this real to the core movie based on Indian slum of Dharavi. Other films in contention included ‘The Curious Case of B e n j a m i n Button’, ‘Doubt’, ‘Frost/Nixon’, a n d ‘ T h e Reader’. While Anthony Dod Mantle bagged the Best Cinematography Oscar for the same. In his Oscar winning speech, Beaufoy thanked the author of ‘Q&A’ Vikas Swarup from whose novel the movie screenplay was derived from. While Anthony thanked Director Danny Boyle for giving him the opportunity, and also thanked his beloved wife for the support. ‘Slumdog’ is in contention for ten awards and is being pitted to have a clean sweep at the ceremony. -Agencies

Tata "Nano" reaches at Khwaja's durbar Ajmer, Feb 23: Tata "Nano," the people's car from The Tata Motors, was displayed before Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti's Dargah here. The car manufacturers brought the car to the dargah yesterday afternoon and held prayers for the successful launch in the market. The car was on its pre-launch road test. The Company Country Head Vikram Sinha and other officials were present on the occasion - Agencies

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Supreme Court refers negative voting issue to larger bench ‘Process for judges’ selection failed’ New Delhi, Feb 23: Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj Monday said that the judiciary's in-house m e c h a n i s m f o r appointment of judges and dealing with complaints against them has "completely failed" and there is a need for an alternative system. "There has to be alternative system in place of existing mechanism. In-

house procedure for dealing with complaints (against the judges) has failed completely...," Bhardwaj said. "The collegium system for appointment of judges has also failed," the Minister told PTI on the sidelines of a conference on 'Corporate Governance' here. Bhardwaj said, "I would have changed

the system if I could but there is need to evolve broader consensus on the issue in Parliament". His remark's assume significance in the wake of recent controversy s u r r o u n d i n g appointment of judges and allegations of corruption against judges. -Agencies

India will respond to information sought by Pak: Pranab Mukherjee New Delhi, Feb 23: India on Monday promised to respond to any information sought by Pakistan in connection with probe into the Mumbai attacks but underlined that the request should come through official channels only. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India will cooperate "as and when" necessary but ruled out a joint investigation in the attacks. "Whatever information we get from Pakistan, we respond to it. But information must be

made available through official channels and not through media," he told reporters here. He said India is ready to cooperate with Pakistan "as and when it is necessary" in its investigation into the Mumbai attacks and in this direction referred to the material provided to Islamabad about linkages in that country. "As far as joint investigation is concerned, I have told you we are having investigation," he said. After being provided the dossier of

evidence on Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has sought more information and in this regard given a list of 30 questions. India has said it is examining it and will provide whatever information is possible. Mukherjee made the statement as Pakistan's High Commissioner Shahid Malik met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon to discuss aspects related to the Mumbai attacks. -Agencies

EC to hold pre-poll meetings New Delhi, Feb 23: The Election Commission (EC) will conduct series of meetings from Monday before announcing dates for the Lok Sabha elections. Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami and other t w o E l e c t i o n Commissioners Navin Chawla and S Y Quraishi are scheduled to meet

Te l e c o m S e c r e t a r y Siddartha Behura today t o e x p a n d communication network. The Commission will also meet Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta to review the law and order situation across the country. Besides, the t h r e e - m e m b e r Commission is likely to hold discussion on the

accessibility of Central paramilitary forces to avoid any kind of untoward incident during polls. The team is already meeting political parties leaders before gearing up for the General Elections and simultaneous assembly polls in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim. -Agencies

BSP brings out booklet targeting Opposition Lucknow Feb. 23: In an effort to turn the tables on the opposition parties targeting it on various issues, the BSP has come out with a 64page booklet highlighting the "wrongdoings" of its rivals ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Under fire for alleged collection of donations for the birthday of party supremo and UP Chief Minister Mayawati and murder of a PWD engineer allegedly by a party MLA in Auraiya, the BSP has launched a c o u n t e r o ff e n s i v e b y "exposing" the scams

during the regime of the opposition parties. The BSP is distributing the 64-page booklet "Jaise ko Taisa" among workers and voters, in a bid to h i g h l i g h t t h e wrongdoings of the opposition parties and set its record straight ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The booklet highlights various scams during the regime of opposition parties including Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party starting from the jeep scandal of 1957 to Oil for

Food scam, besides disappropriate assets case against SP supermo Mulayam Singh Yadav. The booklet dedicates 21 pages to Samajwadi Party, giving details of the assets owned by its supremo. While flaying the opposition, the BSP has made an attempt to come clean on the donation controversy by stating that on the directives of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, Mayawati's birthday is celebrated as Arthik Sahyog Diwas. -Agencies

New Delhi, Feb 23: The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a larger bench the question as to whether a voter should be permitted to cast a negative vote during elections. A two judge bench of Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi said the issue needs to be examined by a larger bench as the question involved interpretation of a citizen's fundamental right. The Bench

requested the Chief Justice to refer the matter to an appropriate larger bench for further consideration. People Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a n N G O , h a d approached the apex court seeking directions to the Centre to ensure amendment to the Representation of People's Act (RPA) so that a voter can mark "none of the above" in the electronic voting machine. This is because

presently a voter if he or she desires not to cast vote in favour of any candidate, he or she should mandatorily inform the presiding officer of the polling booth. Such a precondition was violative of the citizens right under Article 19(2) (Freedom of Expression and Speech) and makes the voter vulnerable to threats and intimidation from political parties, the PUCL had stated. -Agencies

'Corporate culture' being promoted by Modi: Congress New Delhi Feb. 23: The Congress on Sunday hit back at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that "corporate culture" was being promoted by him and the BJP even as poor diamond workers were suffering in the state. Reacting to the statement of Modi in which he had accused the Congress of "trying to puncture the Nano car project", party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told PTI, "Modi and BJP are promoting corporate culture while the poor diamond workers are suffering in the state". The war of words between the two parties began after

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi charged the Gujarat government with doling out incentives worth crores of rupees to Tata's Nano project while neglecting diamond workers. "What Rahul ji has said is right ... We are not against the Nano car project but at the same time, the Gujarat government is duty bound to protect the interests of the suffering diamond workers," Ahmed said. Another party spokesman Manish Tewari alleged that Modi's neglect of diamond workers reflected his "utter insensitivity" to their plight and claimed the

workers were being forced to commit suicide because of this. "The CM of Gujarat can dole out crores of concession to the big fish of corporate India but he has no time or money for the hapless workers of the diamond industry whose blood and sweat has contributed to the making of brand Gujarat internationally," Tewari told PTI. ]Referring to the statement of Modi on BJP members being fishes in t h e o c e a n , Te w a r i remarked, "The CM of Gujarat is absolutely correct when he calls himself a fish in the ocean ... But he is the species of a fish called Pirana." -Agencies

CPM asks govt to seek details of Swiss bank accounts New Delhi, Feb. 23 With one of the Swiss banks agreeing to provide information to the US about its accountholders, the CPM on Monday demanded that the UPA government should seek details of Indians who have illegally stashed funds in Switzerland and other tax havens. The CPM Polit Bureau said it is imperative that the UPA government demand details of Indian account-holders from Swiss banks and from banks in other tax havens. "In the case of India, it is not only a case of tax evasion but also of funds being illegally stashed abroad, or used for money laundering," the CPM said in a statement. T h e C P M reminded the government that UBS, the largest Swiss Bank, has agreed to provide information to the US of account-holders who are suspected to have evaded taxes in America while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also called for such an action. "If the (UPA) government is serious about stopping black money and raising

resources to meet growing economic crisis, it must take steps to bring back the unaccounted or ill-gotten wealth of Indians abroad," the party said. The Swiss banks with secret accounts are known to hold substantial sum of money deposited

by Indians, it said adding "these funds amounting to billions of dollars were either illegally taken out of the country or were deposited in Switzerland and other tax havens instead of being repatriated to India." -Agencies

Maoists attack Orissa village; 1 killed Malkangiri Orissa, Feb. 23: Maoists struck Gobindapali village in the district, killing a businessman and setting afire a BSNL control room, forest office and over a dozen vehicles, police said on Monday. Maoists stormed the village, about 50 km from here on Monday night and attacked the house of construction contractor Prasanna Swain, who was dragged out and killed with sharp edged weapons, Superintendent of Police Satyabrata Bhoi said. The ultras threw Swain's body on the road and ransacked his house damaging furniture and household goods besides, torching two vehicles, he said. The Maoists also set on fire a BSNL control room causing extensive damage to the building, he said adding that the outlaws blocked nearby roads by felling trees and placing boulders. A forest range office was also targeted by the ultras, who ransacked furniture and set afire documents in the building. A power distribution centre, which was under construction, was also ransacked and about ten vehicles, parked in the premises, torched, police said. The naxals left after putting up posters in the village against the Naveen Patnaik government. Additional police force was deployed in the area and a massive combing operation launched. - Agencies

Times Chennai E-Paper

Feb. 23, 2009

SBI sees 25 % growth in SME advances

Business

BSNL to launch "India-Golden 50" from March one: Karunanidhi Chennai, Feb 23: Come March one, the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would launch the revolutionary ''IndiaGolden Fifty'' scheme under which calls could be made to any part of the country at just 0.50 paise. T h i s w a s announced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi while launching the BSNL's Third generation 3G services, by making the first call to Union Communications and IT Minister A Raja from his hospital-bed, where he was recuperating after a spine surgery. Recalling the ''One India '' scheme launched by former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, he said another scheme

''India-Golden Fifty'' would be launched from March 1 by the BSNL. The scheme, allowing the people to make a call to any part of the country at 0.50 paise, would be useful to the people and would help in the growth of the BSNL. Stating that he had proved to the nation that rice could be given to people at Rs One a kg under the PDS scheme, he said he would always strive for the welfare of the poor and wanted the people to ensure that his government continues and the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre to save India's sovereignty. Apparently referring to the recent violent incidents in the

state in the aftermath of the bloody clashes between the police and lawyers, Mr Karunanidhi urged the people to stop their agitation, shed violence and allow the state and central governments to contuinue to serve the poor. Mr Karunanidhi lauded Mr Raja for launching the scheme for the first time in India and that too in Chennai. He said he had kept his promise to launch the scheme ignoring the advice of the doctors to show that he would work to solve the people's issues and strive for the welfare of the poor and the nation till his last breath. -Agencies

CAG pulls up IRDA, SEBI for retaining their surplus funds New Delhi, Feb 23: Official auditing watchdog CAG has rapped market regulator SEBI and insurance regulator IRDA for keeping their surplus funds worth over Rs 1,325 crore collected through fee and penalty outside the Government accounts in 2007-08. The practice by the two regulators are in contravention of the instructions issued by the Finance Ministry that all m i n i s t r i e s a n d departments of the Government would ensure that funds of regulatory bodies are maintained in the Public Account, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said. "SEBI and IRDA are retaining their surplus funds... aggregating to Rs 1,325.49 crore at the end of March 2008 outside the government account. This is in contravention of the instructions of the Ministry of Finance," CAG said in its report on the Union Government accounts 2007-08.

The Sebi has retained Rs 987.95 crore surplus fund, while the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has kept Rs 337.54 crore outside the government accounts, the report said. It added that in January 2005, the Department of Economic Affairs had directed all ministries and departments to ensure that funds of regulatory bodies are maintained in Public Account. The CAG pulled up the two regulators saying that the retention of surplus funds was not only a violation of the government's norm but also "inconsistent with the Constitutional provisions". According to constitutional provision, "These bodies have been established by Acts of Parliament...the money collected by these bodies should be credited to government account."

F u r t h e r, t h e CAG said the IRDA was directed by the Finance Ministry in 2002 to deposit its funds in the public account, while the ministry did not direct the market regulator despite continued violation of the g o v e r n m e n t ' s instructions. Apart from flouting the constitutional and government norms, both the regulatory bodies violated accounting procedure too, the report added. "Retention of funds by IRDA and Sebi outside the government account is also not consistent with the accounting procedure followed by other similarly placed independent and regulatory bodies such as TRAI, which are maintaining their accounts as part of government accounts," the report added. -Agencies

Mobile number portability by August: Raja Chennai Feb. 23: Mobile customers need no longer worry about the need to change numbers when they opt for a different operator as the Centre plans to introduce mobile number portability in the country by August this year. "The mobile number portability enabling customers to retain their old number while shifting

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from one operator to another would be launched in major cities by August this year," Union Minister for IT and Communication A Raja told reporters here on the occasion of launch of BSNL's 3G services. He said the service would be launched in major cities by August and subsequently in other

cities by end of this year. Reacting to the announcement, BSNL Chairman Kuldeep Goyal, who was also present, said that it "was a welcome step" and expressed hope BSNL would get many new subscribers because of this. -Agencies

Mumbai, Feb 23: The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has said that its advances to small and medium enterprises are likely to grow by 25 per cent in the current fiscal. The lender has targetted a similar growth in the portfolio in the next fiscal as well, a senior SBI official said. "We expect a 25 per cent growth in our SME advances this fiscal. The growth is likely to be in this range during the next financial year as

well," the official said. The bank expects to disburse Rs 23,000 crore loans in the portfolio in 2008-09 as against the targetted Rs 26,000 crore, the official said. "We had earlier targetted to disburse Rs 26,000 crore. Given the current market situations, the bank may be able to achieve Rs 23,000-crore by Marchend," the official said. SBI has seen a decline in credit demand in its SME portfolio this fiscal due to slowdown in

export-oriented sectors such as gems and jewellery, textile and auto, the official said. "This (lower disbursements) is due to the fact that the economic slowdown has hit segments like textile, gems and jewellery and auto," the official said. Many of SBI's SME clients were not even availing the sanctioned advance limits due to adverse market conditions, the official said. -Agencies

Room for RBI to cut rates: PMEAC New Delhi, Feb 23: W i t h t h e inflation falling below four per cent, the Prime Minister's advisory panel on Sunday said there is room for the Reserve Bank to signal further interest rate cuts to spur industrial growth, which turned negative for the second time in December this fiscal. "There is room for rates cut by the RBI," Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman Tendulkar told reporters. He, however, declined to specify the percentage of rate cuts that he expected, saying the decision is with the RBI's domain and the apex bank "will take a call on that". After more than a year, inflation fell below four per cent to touch 3.92 per cent by the end of the first week of February from close of 13 per cent in August 2008, raising hope for the central bank to slash rates. The industrial production has contracted for the second time in December by 2 per cent.

Before this, the industrial output fell for the first time in 15 years in October 2008 by 0.3 per cent. RBI Governor D Subbarao had himself said in Tokyo, "There certainly is room for cutting rates." Even though the RBI has released over Rs 4,00,000 crore into the system by a series of cuts in policy rates and other tools, it refrained from making any changes in these rates in the third quarterly review of its monetary policy. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath had also said, "(The) RBI is looking into the monetary policy and will perhaps respond to it (sliding inflation)." India's largest private lender ICICI Bank CEO K V Kamath had said, "when inflation is going towards two per cent, there is scope for interest rates to go down." When asked whether the fiscal deficit would be a problem for India in the next few years as pointed out by the financial services firm

Goldman Sachs, Tendulkar said, "I do not subscribe to that at all." On Friday, Goldman Sachs had said in a research report that India's deficit would not come down substantially over the next few years due to increase in spending, especially on higher wages and unemployment benefits as well as a large increase in the governments interest burden. The report added India's fiscal deficit, including both the Centre and the states, would be among the highest in the world. It is likely to be 10.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in the current fiscal and 10 per cent in the next fiscal. The Centre's fiscal deficit is projected to be 6 per cent in the current fiscal against 2.5 estimated earlier. For 2009-10, the it is projected to be 5.5 per cent. If items like oil, fertiliser bonds are also taken into account, the Centre's deficit would soar further than projected in the budget. -Agencies

Minor ports need infrastructure plan: Cochin Port Trust head Kochi, Feb. 23: A systematic action plan is required for greater utilisation of infrastructure available at minor ports, Cochin Port Tr u s t C h a i r m a n N . Ramachandran said. "The more we start using these facilities the more facilities would develop," he said speaking at a function here late Sunday. It is important to integrate road transport, inland water transport and coastal shipping to bring about a reduction in

total cost in the supply chain, he said. The existing pattern of coastal shipping service is mainly port-to-port whereas shippers require value-added door-to-door services, he said. T h o u g h passenger traffic is concentrated mainly between the mainland and the islands of Andaman and Nicobar as well as the Lakshadweep Islands, there is tremendous potential for

promoting coastal shipping targeting leisure travellers, particularly considering the sops being offered by the shipping and tourism ministry for promoting tourism. There needs to be a very strong drive for a model shift to coastal shipping from trucking by giving financial and other incentives to the shippers, he said. Freight transport demand was likely to grow significantly during the next few years, he said. -Agencies

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Times Chennai E-Paper

Feb. 23, 2009

Times Chennai E-Paper

Feb. 23, 2009

Page 9

The remarkable journey of AR Rahman Los Angeles, Feb 23: I t w a s a remarkable journey from Chennai to Hollywood for music maestro Allah Rakha Rahman who on

symphonies, is creating w a v e s o n t h e international stage with his composition in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Born as AS

Monday made a billion Indians proud, adding another feather in his cap by bagging two Oscars for his score in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. It was a 'Jai ho' for the soft-spoken Rahman, hailed by Time Magazine as the 'Mozart of Madras', when he walked to receive the award for Best Original Score and Best Song 'Jai Ho'. The 'Mozart of Madras', who redefined contemporary Indian music and has been a role model for millions of Indians, has already won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his music in Oscar-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. The 43-year-old music wizard, who has enthralled audience in the country and abroad with his heart-warming

Dileep Kumar in a musically affluent family in Chennai on January 06, 1966, he changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman after his family converted to Islam in the late 1980s. Rahman was forced to shoulder the responsibilities of his family at the age of nine after his father RK Shekhar, who was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam movies, died due to illness. The music genius came to the limelight with his music for a Bombay Dyeing ad and Leo Coffee in 1980s which became very popular. But the major break in his career came when noted filmmaker M a n i R a t n a m

Prez, PM congratulate Slumdog Millionaire team New Delhi, Feb 23: With Slumdog Millionaire creating history at the Oscars, President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the entire team of the film including musician AR Rahman have done India proud. The Prime Minister "congratulates A R Rahman, Resul Pookutty (sound engineer), Gulzar (lyricist), and entire Slumdog Millionaire team for the success at the Oscars," a PMO spokesperson said. Singh said "they have done India proud". Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath

Chatterjee also congratulated the Slumdog team on bringing laurels to India by winning the Oscars. The film bagged eight awards including two Oscars for Rahman for Best Original Score and Best Song for the song "Jai Ho", which was penned by lyricist Gulzar. P o o k u t t y, a s o u n d technician from Kerala, won the Oscar in the Sound Mixing category. The movie also won the award for Best Film, Best Director for Danny Boyle and Best Adapted Screenplay for Simon Beaufoy. -Agencies

approached Rahman, who was then a keyboard player with composer Illayaraja, to compose for his film 'Roja' in 1992. The music of the film, which was a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill renditions, made Rahman a star overnight and brought him his maiden Best Music Director trophy at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutante film composer. Rahman was introduced to the Hindi film industry in Ram Gopal Verma's ‘Rangeela’. The music of the film became a rage and the genius continued to give some brilliant compositions for films such as ‘Bombay’, ‘Dil Se’, ‘Taal’, ‘Lagaan’ and ‘Rang De Basanti’ among others. What made Rahman's music click with the listeners was the refreshing use of percussions, sound and melody, most of which were inspired from the Indian folk music. R a h m a n developed a trademark by mixing traditional

Indian tunes with International beats from African drums to electronic funk. The composer is also famous for his fondness to the newest sound and technologies in the world of music. His 1998 superhit composition 'chaiyya chaiyya' which was deeply rooted in Sufi mysticism, became a rage among Indians and is still considered one of the best compositions of the musician. R a h m a n gradually became a known face on the international platform and in 1999 he performed with Michael Jackson in Munich for 'Michael Jackson and Friends Concert'. In 2002, he gave the music for his maiden stage production ‘Bombay Dreams’ directed by legendary musical theatre composer, Andrew Lloyd W e b b e r. R a h m a n ' s music was also a hit from London's ‘West End’ to New York's ‘Broadway’. In 2004, with Finnish folk music band

‘Varttina’, he composed the music for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ theatre production. Rahman's composition ‘Jai Ho’ for British director Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' has been lapped up by western audiences and made headlines when world renowned fashion designer John Galliano used it as a theme during his fashion show. The music has already earned him the Critics Choice Award for Best Composer in 2008 and the Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Score. A four-time National Award winner, Rahman was honoured with the Padma Shri and received six awards at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, besides 11 awards for his scores at the Filmfare and Filmfare Awards South each. In 2006, he received an honorary award from Stanford University for his contributions to global music. In 1995, he also received the Mauritius

National Award and a Malaysian Award. The music director, who is known for his humble demeanour, gave a new definition to patriotism with his modern r e n d i t i o n o f ' Va n d e Mataram'. His latest tract 'Jiya Se Jiya' is another attempt to send the message of peace and love through music. Rahman, who maintains a low-profile, tied the knot with Sairo Bano in 1995 and the couple has three children - Khadijah, Rahima and Aman. The music composer is also involved with charitable causes and had conducted concerts to raise funds for cancer patients. In 2004, Rahman was appointed as the global ambassador of the Stop TB partnership, a project by the World Health Organisation (WHO). He also recently launched the AR Rahman foundation, which is a step towards eradication of hunger and poverty. -Agencies

Rahman's win gives Bollywood big reason to celebrate New Delhi, Feb 23: Indian music maestro AR Rahman's wife used to wake up in the middle of the night and say "I want you to win an Oscar". Now he has won two. It's not only her dream that has turned into reality at the 81st annual Academy Awards, it's a milestone for Bollywood too. Bollywood celebrated as Rahman bagged the Oscars for best original score in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and its theme song ‘Jai Ho’. Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap is all praises for the singer-composer. He said, "This is a happy moment for all of us. We all should celebrate because he (Rahman) has made us proud. Finally we did it! Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who has worked with Rahman for his films ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘Delhi-6’, says the singercomposer truly deserved the award. "I am proud and so happy that it's AR. He brought north and south India together when he started composing music

and now he has successfully bridged the gap between the east and the west. It's incredible! There are more people in the west who know him now than they know about his work," Mehra said. Rahman, the first Indian musician to win the annual Academy Award, was listed for three of the film's 10 Oscar nominations - one for his original score and two others for songs composed by him, ‘O Saya’ and ‘Jai Ho’. According to singer Mohit Chauhan who has sung in Rahman's latest hit composition ‘Masakalli’ from ‘Delhi-6’, this Oscar win is an inspiration for the Indian music industry. "It is very encouraging. Rahman is a great inspiration for all the musicians in the country. And it’s a great honour also. Our films are going places and so is our music. We can look ahead to good times," said Chauhan. Veteran filmmaker and critic Aziz Mirza says, "The international recognition that Rahman has earned for himself

makes every Indian proud. He deserves it more than anybody else for his wholehearted dedication to music. It's a rare honour. I congratulate Rahman." Southern actor R Madhavan feels Rahman should have won an Oscar the very first time he composed music because he truly deserves it. Actress Divya Dutta hails the composer and says she is extremely proud of his win.

"Like every Indian, I am very happy about the win. I was sure Rahman will come back with the award. The film was amazing," said Dutta. Before this, only two Indians have won the Oscar in its 80 year history Satyajit Ray was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992 and Bhanu Athaiya won the best costume design Oscar along with John Mollo for the 1982 film ‘Gandhi’. -Agencies

Mumbai dwarfs the Oscar statue: Danny Boyle Los Angeles, Feb 23: British filmmaker Danny Boyle, who received the ‘Best Director’ Oscar for his movie "Slumdog Millionaire" that tells the heart-warming tale of a Mumbai slum boy who goes on to win a multimillion dollar quiz show on TV thanked Mumbai and its people. Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" highlights the pain and misery of the impoverished section who lives in the slums of India. He set his story in Mumbai's teeming slums in Nehru Nagar and nearby Dharavi, which is home to more than a million people and is the largest slum in Asia. In his speech Boyle said, "I want to thank my dad, my sisters and my wife... one person we haven't thanked is the choreographer who directed the last song in the film - Longines. I want to thank him too”. In a tribute to Mumbai, the director exclaimed, “Mumbai dwarfs even this statue (Oscar)”.

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